Monday blues on Tuesday

Tuesdays are my Mondays... Hubby works his contract job Tuesday thru Friday, and is "off" Saturday thru Monday. Except lately, he's been working like a dog catapulting us towards our 5-year plan, so we don't get much time together.

No matter what, Monday is always our day. We may do nothing, but we always have at least one day as a family. With all this work going on, it's nice to have that insurance. We are such hermits, and we so treasure our time together, so having just one day is tough.

But... while we're working and away from each other, we're both dreaming of this...

And this...

and a little bit of this too...

Washington State. 

That's right... this is the grand dream. Moving to Washington, having some land, {which is apparently very affordable up there and easier to get than down south here} and just being free. 

Free to be ourselves, not entangled in a community of strangers in a suburb. Not bound by the ridiculous rules and busybodies of the HOA... ANY HOA. Watching our little girl run and play and truly have the chance to enjoy nature. 

Quiet. Peace. Seclusion.

No bumping bass pulling up across the street at 2am, no inconsiderate neighbors who let their cats run wild and pee all over our porch, kill my flowers, and eat our cat's food {who does not run wild consequently}. Nobody parking in front of our house. No registered sex offenders living too close for comfort. No unpredictable and unregulated renters junking up the neighborhood. No traffic. No one else's barking dogs. No neighbors smoking in the back yard, smoke wafting over the fence while the baby plays. 

Just us. Doing our thing. Being a family. And truly living.

The not-so-off, day off...

I've been neglecting my personal blog. Again. But dang it if I can't find a spare minute to pop in and write about something. Anything. Let alone something though provoking, interesting, or captivating. {sigh}

I've been working like a dog. Seriously. Which sounds weird, I know, because I'm technically a "stay-at-home mom" and whatnot. But my business is booming, and I'm admittedly struggling to keep up. I fear I'm going to have to change my store policies yet again because my standard 3-5 day turnaround promise is just not working out any more! Plus, I'm working on some new lines to debut, and exploring some new projects as well. All of this while also working on my "Little Birdie Blog" networking, turtorials, and upcoming guest blogs and feature pieces. I'm pooped. And I'm a full-time stay at home mom. So there's that.

So today I decided to take the day off. No looking at my shop stats, no renewing listings every 4 hours, no working on orders, no working on the new lines, no catching up on future blog posts, nothing. Day off.

Except that the moment I stop working, I see boxes of Christmas decor that still need to go in the attic, I see the dishwasher that needs to be emptied, I see dust collecting on the shelves, I see that I'm about out of baby food and I need to make some more, I see that I need to go grocery shopping, and I see about 10 loads of laundry that needs to be done.

So...

"Day off"

It's kind of exhausting to have to be "on" 24/7... like for real. I've had jobs in the past where I worked 60-80 hours a week but I always had at least one day. One day to rest and rejuvenate, one day to sleep in, one day to myself.

I imagine that now, but even in my imaginary day off I miss my little girl. I'm so attached to her... If I even take off to go shopping while hubby watches her, I still think about her. It's always been that way with my hubby too. I guess I'm just an attached person when it comes to the ones I love.

Of course I'm sure hubby is feeling much the same way. He's already worked every single day this week. I know all of this is helping us get to the place we want to be, but the "getting there" is tough. It's hard to remind ourselves that the sacrifices we make today result in our "happier" ending later. When we don't have to rent anymore. When we don't have to be surrounded by people you don't know living just feet away across the fence. When the baby will have all the room in the world to run and play and do whatever tickles her little girl fancy. Someday...

However, my super sweet hubby did get me a massage for my birthday on Friday, so I do have to say that I'm super pumped for that. :) And my momma is coming to visit in two weeks, and she's offered to watch the little booger so hubby and I can go out for a night. I'm looking forward to that, too. :)

Okay... well off to my day off: no work, just... um... other work. LOL


XOXO

a new look!

I updated my blog appearance today! I've been tinkering with blog design and it's pretty fun! So far I've only done my own blogs, but I'm pretty proud of the results. Here's what I've done so far:

www.rachaelscarrma.blogspot.com
www.aubreyjune.blogspot.com
www.littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com

Yay!! I love making things look "just so", I think it helps me write better because I'm not so focused on the asthetics, etc.

another big change...

Well, as some of you know a few months ago I changed the URL to my blog. Long story short, I felt like I HAD to, but I never WANTED to.

I'm not sure how the Blogger reader works but I'm sort of thinking maybe the URL change changed the settings for my followers. Either that or everyone decided they were sick of my blog on the exact same day because I haven't heard from anyone since!

So... I changed it back today.

The reasons I changed it in the first place no longer apply. I've put it all behind me and anyone from that incident who wants to resurface is welcome to do so, but should be prepared to handle what they're going to get from me if they do.

This is probably a good time to reiterate the fact that my blog (check that- ALL of my blogs)  and all the content past, present and future has now been legally copyrighted. Any use of my material is subject to my approval, and any attempt to alter such material is now legally punishable by law. Sucks that I had to do that, but some really nefarious, dishonest, amoral, selfish, unprincipled (and probably also jealous) people forced me into a corner.

No matter!! All bases are now covered, and I still may see some VERY lucrative outcomes as a result very bad behavior. < insert the wicked laugh of my lawyer >

So here we are! Back to Rachael's Carrma! I hope that I see some of my old blog friends back again and have a chance to make new ones. Of course, I am also still running my little blog for my daughter, as well as the blog for my company, and contributing to other blogs all about the web, so there will be no shortage of writing on my end!! I wish you all a glorious day!!

Inspiration!

It's certainly no secret that since I became pregnant, just the thought of this wonderful little girl has given me a huge wave of inspiration. Starting with the nursery, it has just been flowing from me like rain! The fact that she's renewed my creative streak after somewhat of a dry spell has really made me feel like myself again. :) The magic of this little girl never ceases to amaze me!

My latest wave has led me to really exciting venture... opening my own Etsy store! For those of you who may not be familiar with Etsy, it's a great website for people to buy and sell artisan goods. You can find all kinds of awesome stuff there!

Anyway, I am always on the quest for something cute for her to wear, and one day it suddenly dawned on me that I should just make it! I started experimenting with fabric dyes and the rest is history... 

Here's one of my favorites with my little sweetie being kind enough to model it for us!

There's a box in my task bar to the right on this page that is showcasing some samples, as well as a link to the store. Otherwise, you can go here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlebirdiebabyshop

oil.

I'm thinking about the oil spill this morning. I remember being a kid and learning all about them, their devastating effects on the land and the wildlife touched by the poison spilling into the sea. In those days, the early 90's, they were almost common. You can find the lists of historically devastating spills here if you're interested. I was much too young then to know which was which, but I remember learning about them in school, and reading about them in Highlights Magazines. haha!

We would visit the Gulf coast, as my grandma lived there, and play on the beaches. Tar was always a problem in those years. We never were allowed to wear our "good" bathing suits, and in every beach bag was a bottle of tar solvent to get the inevitable streaks off of our feet before getting back in the car. It wasn't a big gross thing, but it happened, and we learned to deal with it.

Anyway, I was young, but I knew it was a problem. Also, I've always been an animal lover, and could just not understand how anyone could put so many animals in danger with such carelessness. Even as a child I wanted to help. Since then, the incidents have been much less frequent and apparently under better regulation... until now.

The BP oil spill is happening right in my backyard. I know people who work for them, I know people involved with that particular rig, my husband in fact was an x-ray tech for the construction of the rig years ago even. It's hitting close to home. And as selfish as it may seem, I really wish the timing was different, because I want to be there to help.

They're releasing photos of the devastation... the animals, the wetlands, the beaches, everything. If I wasn't like 8.75 months pregnant and about to pop, I'd be there. For sure.

My heart bleeds for the birds covered in oil, unable to fly, and unable to help themselves.

A nest of Pelican eggs, covered in oil. :(

There have been at least 6 dolphins wash up dead on the coast... see them here trying to swim beneath the surface of the tainted water.

Even insects suffer in this tragic eco-event.

Someone needs to get this situation together before it destroys thousands of miles of coastline. I only wish I could personally do more than I can right now.

her diamonds.

I heard Rob Thomas play this song acoustically today, after explaining why he wrote it and what it means to him. It really touched me, so I wanted to share the lyrics here. Sometimes in radio play, or just regular listening, the lyrics get lost in the music. Thus, the reason I love acoustic music so much.

Enjoy. :)



"Her Diamonds"
Rob Thomas


"Oh what the hell," she says,
"I just can't win for losing."
And she lays back down.
"Man there's so many times
I don't know what I'm doin',
Like I don't know now."

By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Says, "It's funny how the night
Can make you blind."
I can just imagine,
And I don't know what I'm supposed to do-
But if she feels bad, then I do too.
So I let her be.

And she says, "Oooh,
I can't take no more."
Her tears like diamonds on the floor.
And her diamonds bring me down,
Cuz I can't help her now.
She's down in it,
She tried her best and now she can't win it.
Hard to see them on the ground,
Her diamonds falling down.

She sits down and stares into the distance,
And it takes all night.
And I know I could break her concentration
But it don't feel right.

By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes.
Sits down on the bed and starts to cry,
And there's something less about her.
And I don't know what I'm supposed to do,
So I sit down and I cry too-
But don't let her see.

And she says, "Oooh,
I can't take no more."
Her tears like diamonds on the floor.
And her diamonds bring me down,
Cuz I can't help her now.
She's down in it,
She tried her best and now she can't win it.
Hard to see them on the ground,
Her diamonds falling down.

She shuts out the night,
Tries to close her eyes.
If she can find daylight,
She'll be alright.
She'll be alright.
Just not tonight...

And she says, "Oooh,
I can't take no more."
Her tears like diamonds on the floor.
And her diamonds bring me down,
Cuz I can't help her now.
She's down in it,
She tried her best and now she can't win it.
Hard to see them on the ground,
Her diamonds falling down.

And she says, "Oooh,
I can't take no more,"
Her tears like diamonds on the floor.
And her diamonds bring me down,
Cuz I can't help her now.
She's down in it,
She tried her best and now she can't win it.
Hard to see them on the ground,
Her diamonds falling down.