I'm not missing, I'm right here!

After a long online hiatus, especially from this here blog, I am back! It's been a busy summer so far, moving to Chicago, looking for jobs, catching up with friends both old and new (it's good to be back), having my brother visit from Seattle with his new wife and baby (and dogs!), and having Sierra's eleventh birthday party. Whew!

So there it is. The short version. Stay tuned to future posts for adventures of a girl looking for a job in a city full of competition in a bad economy, where the shotgun approach keeps it interesting. That's right, I actually apply to EVERY job I find I qualify for, even a little bit. In one day, I applied for a Miller Girl, administrative assistant, bartender, server, window washer, personal assistant, and child care provider. On one hand, I stay busy and get plenty of interviews. I even land some of the jobs, albeit part time and often not starting immediately, leading my friends to admonish me with a Jamaican accent, "your brudder has fo-ty seven jobs, quit being lazy and git to work!". Another friend asked me why I needed three jobs, "wouldn't it be easier to just find one really good job?" Geez, why didn't I think of that?

Anyway, some highlights of the month:

Sierra turned 11

We all met Plato, my brother's baby, for the first time.

All in the Family

It occurred to me today what a talented family I have. It's no wonder I have been obsessed with the arts my entire life, disappearing outside with a sketchpad and pencil for hours, or locking myself in my room as a child making tiny food and furniture from clay for my doll house. I see my daughter doing the same kinds of things now, without ever having known that I used to do the same thing. She spent the second half of week on bedrest drawing and coloring, disappointed she couldn't get back to her fashion design and sewing her doll clothes. My own mom had an arts and crafts room stuffed to the gills with every imaginable supply, some of them passed down to her by her mother. It's memories like that that inspire me, and stay with me and my daughter.

I also have incredibly creative and talented people on my other side of my family, who have combined that with modern technology to share that with the world. My uncle Mark has an amazing website resource of flower pictures. His fresh flower scans are gorgeous, high resolution images he obtains from local flowers he finds in sunny southern Florida, where he lives (lucky guy!), and then scans and does his magic to with photoshop. It doesn't hurt that his first love and job are in biology/ botany something or other, so he knows his flowers and scientific names. Uncle Mark, if you're reading this, forgive my ignorance of your actual job title...

Check out his site here and see some of the most beautiful macro shots of exotic flowers on the web:

Then cruise on by my Uncle Bill and Aunt Nancy's website, Starfish and Dreams. From their large warehouse and office in sunny southern California (are you seeing a pattern here?), they, along with other family members and a small staff that is like family, they have created gorgeous stationary, scrapbook papers and stickers for years under the name NRN Designs. Now Starfish and Dreams, their focus is more on cards now that the scrapbook craze is slowing down, and they make the most fun and wonderful cards! One of the coolest things they have added is an option to personalize and print cards straight from the website. They come in many different style options that you see on the front page:

But my favorite cards aren't the print at home ones, but rather these holiday diva-ish cards:

Gotta love 'em! You can visit their website here.

Family and the Blog of the Week- Who Says 8 is Enough?

I have more to do than I have time most days. This week, my mom has paid us a visit all the way from Chicago, and I am adding host to my roster, which I of course, am happy to to do. My inner Martha loves to have company and play hostess, to entertain and provide. Sierra is upset only because she was hoping to have the week off homeschooling since Grandma is here, only to find that life as usual still goes on. "Stupid fractions" was her exact words, I think. Yes, I am learning fractions all over again, but luckily they are coming back to me easier than they did the first time around. In funnier news, this weekend, on the way to Carbondale to pick up my mom from the train station, Josh insisted we stop at the mall and buy Sierra the Heelys she has been wanting forever. So we stop and buy the ridiculously-overpriced-shoes-that-will-break-my-childs-arms-and-or-legs. Heelys, for non-parents of tweens, are shoes that have wheels in the heels. Shoes that coordinated children even have to learn how to walk in. Shoes that Sierra had to practice all weekend in just to walk across the room without looking like Bambi on ice. I'll be sure to post pictures of her road rash (with me and my told-you-so look on my face just for Josh, lol).

In the spirit of family, this week I found this inspiring blog about a much bigger and more hectic family than mine, written by a mom of 11 children. Heelys are nothing to this unfazed mom. Check out the blog of the week- Who Says 8 is Enough?