Favorite Foto Friday #4 - Spring

Today's Favorite Foto Friday entry is from last Easter.  Max with his olive helmets.  I used to wear olives on my fingers as a kid and I too used to pretend they were football players! 

  (photo credit @startpointmedia)

Don't forget to add your link to the MckLinky on Annie's page too.

Sewing Space Accessories

I have been coveting a few things for my sewing space for a while.  Each time I take a trip to Joann's I say to myself or to Chris, or to whoever is in ear shot...  'Someday, I will have one of those for MY lovely spools of thread to be displayed upon.  Someday....' 

Well, that someday has arrived!  Please welcome my new thread stand:

I know most of us have a strange affinity to office organizational items and office supplies (right? we all get a little giddy when we get to organize  our paper clips and pencils... right?  Oh just me? ok, never mind...) well this crosses the streams of Office organizational item for CRAFTY stuffs!  As my 3 year old would say, "How COOL! Mama!  How COOL!!!"  My overall assessment of the stand is, well, I need more thread. LOL  But really, isn't it pretty?

Also, if you look at the photo, you'll see another organizational item, that would be a brand new button case!  Yes, I HAVE a button case!

You have no idea how much fun I had organizing my thread and my buttons by color of course! A friend joked if they were sorted by "Alpha" or by "Rainbow".  The thread is by rainbow, the buttons aren't.  I think I'll have more button organizing to do after the Salvation Army Fabric Sale in April!  Can't WAIT to check out the notions table this year!

Spring Craft Projects

With the new Spring season arriving this past weekend, I wanted to share a few craft projects that I've done in for Spring in the past! 

Knit Easter Chicks were a big hit last year, they are very easy to knit up too! Even though Easter is less than two weeks way, you still have time to knit some of these adorable finger puppets up!

If you're more into sewing (like I have been recently....) take a look at another set of finger puppets!  This link just came across my desk this morning and they are just too cute not to share.  Again, courtesy of the PurlBee.com.

Thinking about sewing a cute summery shirt for yourself? Check out Smashing by Anna Marie Horner and found in her book Seams to Me.  Here is my post about her pattern for Smashing. I'm going to attempt this shirt again soon.

Are you looking for a new bag to carry for the Spring?  Or do you need a gift for a mother in your life? Check out the free pattern for Buttercup bag by Made by Rae.  Here is my post about the Buttercup bag that I made for my sister in law's birthday. 

Happy Spring Everyone!

Favorite Foto Friday #3 - Green

This is our ONLY pear we grew last year.  It was growing so nicely and I was being so patient by not picking it prematurely.  I envisioned eating it as a late afternoon treat with my kids and my husband where I would quarter it and we would all get to taste our ONE little pear....  Yeah, that dream was dashed when I found it MUNCHED by a DAMNED DEER! 

Come join the fun over on Annie's Blog and dont' forget to add your link to the MckLinky :)

Favorite Foto #2 - Sunshine

It's week two of Favorite Foto Friday and the assignment this week is Sunshine. 

I wanted to use a more recent photo for this week, but after going through my flickr from the last few months I found that there are very few photos that involve sun or even the outdoors.  So this morning, I took the little guy for a walk while Max was in preschool.  He was happy to get outside (it was in the 60's already by 9:45 today!) And I was happy to catch some sunshine photos. 

This is me, walking down the sidewalk after Andy, he practically RAN 2/3's of the way around the block.  It was a very clear bright day today and the temps actually reached 67 this afternoon. We no longer have any snow in our front yard, the neighbors do for some reason though... and we also have a bunch left in our back yard since it's quite shady back there... 

If you decide to join in on Favorite Foto Friday, don't forget to add your blog to the MckLinky over at Becoming Family. Next weeks assignment  is GREEN in honor of St. Patrick's day.

Favorite Foto Friday #1 - You

My friend Annie has decided to resurrect Favorite Foto Friday, a blog she used to read used to have this feature and she loved to see all the photos and loved finding new blogs to read that way.  She's decided to start this idea so far, it's just the two of us but we hope more folks will join in soon.

This is week #1 and the assignment is You.  Choose a photo that you feel really shows who you are.  It can be anything!  Be sure to include a little explanation too.  Annie has set up a little MckLinky so don't forget to add your post to the list!

My Favorite Foto Friday #1 - You:

 

This was taken in late November 2009, the four of us went to an old school park complete with metal slides, HUGE earth mover sized tires that had been partially buried in the land for I'm sure more than 30 years and one of those spinney merry go round things that you have to run next to to get it really going then you all hop on and enjoy the ride.  Remember those? Anyways, while there I took a ride on the swings.  I love the swings and I have loved them for as long as I can remember.  I love the feeling of flying, the breeze even on a chilly fall day and the ability to glide with my eyes closed and facing the sun.  So this is me, flying carefree on the swings!

The Introduction of a Multi-Hat Wearing Mama

  How would you answer the following?

I was asked to do so last week and let me tell you, it wasn't easy.  I opted for Self Employed and Other, where I continued to type the following: "Small biz owner, social media coordinator and stay at home mom."  The reality is that I could have selected WAY more than one out of each category....

Last week, I was reading this blog post over at BeckyandHollee.com, it is about job titles and  descriptions.  Then I came across this blog post at PittsburghCreative.com/blog, it too is about the art of introduction.  (By the way, both posts are great and deserve a read.)  The topic really struck me (I even commented on Becky and Hollee's blog complete with a typo - GO ME!).  Then I realized that I really STRUGGLE with this quite often.  I mean, look at my description on my about me page here, it's a list.  I'm a family member and wear many hats under that one umbrella.  I'm a mom, and we all know how many hats that encompasses, chef/nurse/maid/teacher just to name a few. I also have hobbies that I enjoy and those are a whole new set of hats I wear (and make lol). In addition to all the above, I also run our small businesses (insert a whole slew of new hats under this umbrella) AND I take care of a client and their social networking needs.

See why I struggle?  I can't easily say, "Oh, well, I'm a stay-at-home-mom, or I'm an accountant, or I'm a teacher, or I work at Any Favorite Business from 9am to 5pm then I go home to my family and spend quality time with them while we cook dinner and play games and put them to bed to later relax with my husband in front of the TV." (Yes, I realize that is pretty idealistic but a girl can have dreams right?).  Do I wish for this idealistic image?  Some days, yes. Do I like wearing my many hats, most days that answer is a resounding YES (this past Friday for example, not so much).

Usually, no classification is needed.  I do my jobs, I wear my not-so-fancy and sometimes fancy hats and I'm happy with that.  But on those rare occasions when I meet someone new or have to introduce myself to a group of people for the first time, what do I say?  Do I start with a warning, "Hey look, this isn't a quick one-liner, pull up a chair, a drink and I'll tell you all about it?"  Chances are, no.  The reality is in that particular setting, I probably can exclude some of my jobs titles.  But it's the on-the-spot thinking that causes me strife.  How do I tell someone what I do in a quick, informative and memorable way?

In those situations, my inner dialog usually sounds like this, "Will it strike a chord with this professional woman if I mention that I stay at home AND do all these other wonderful things?" Or, "Should I exclude the social media stuff with this older person?" Or, "Will the mom on the playground think I am nuts because I won't shut up if I tell her all about my many hats?"  {insert awkward thinking pause}.

I guess the nuts and bolts of this particular post is that I need to find a title and introduction.  I need my own perfectly honed response to, "Nice to meet you and what do you do?"  I've been asked to speak to a few professional groups about social media and networking.  Before those speaking engagements, I need to find an answer to this question.  I would LOVE to hear your suggestions or examples.  So I'm asking: Do you wear a lot of hats?  How do YOU introduce yourself?