the deep end.

Can you remember that morning?

The morning you woke up and there were little people waiting for you to get them breakfast and a glass of juice?  Or the morning the sick person you were caring for needed their medicine which meant there wasn't enough time to wash your hair before leaving the house? Or the morning your phone blew up with work related emails before your feet even hit the floor?  The morning when you looked around for the grown-up in charge only to realize you are the grown-up in charge.  That's the morning I am talking about.

The day you woke up and realized you were swimming in the deep end of life.  

The deep end has a way of sneaking up on us doesn't it?  It's a series of seemingly benign choices.  Little decisions that eventually grow into something bigger than we ever could have dreamed.   

We stack these little bricks on top of one another slowly, one at a time until we have built something we never thought possible...we have built a whole life.


The first brick reads "Meet someone special".
The second brick reads "Get to know them".
The third brick reads "Fall in love".

...then they start to read something like this (give or take):

• Dream about a future.  
• Create a home.  
• Invest in a proper kitchen table and some sofas that actually match.
• Buy a lawnmower that costs more than $200.00  
• Love that someone enough to create new little someones.
• Find a good pediatrician.
• Volunteer to be room mom and bring a veggie platter for the first grade holiday party.

Before you even know what happened you realize you have a close personal relationship with a tax person, a financial adviser, a pest control expert, a good electrician, a reliable plumber, an awesome realtor and a water filtration specialist.  You realize that the email to sign up for the preschool parent/teacher conferences isn't intended for everyone else on the distribution list.  It is intended for you.

The deep end can feel a bit overwhelming at times can't it?  I will admit that after two straight weeks at home with my kids over the holidays this not-used-to-being-a-stay-at-home-Mama was literally yearning for the sweet silence of my office.  All of the intense adulting I had done to create a special holiday for my family had me ready to take a long winters nap.  

And three shots of whiskey.

Then, toward the end of our holiday break I took the kids swimming at our local fitness club.  My daughter had just turned five and was literally begging for me to take her into the deep end of the pool so she could show off her under water swimming skills (I have to admit the girl swims under the water a whole lot better than she does on top of it).  When I told her she was better off staying in the shallow end where she can safely touch the bottom she pleaded "But Mom!  It's fine!  The deep end is fun!  I can jump...you'll see!"

As usual, the five year old was right.  She really can jump.  And who am I to tell her she should play it safe in the kiddie pool?

Sure, the deep end might be more challenging, but it is where all the good stuff happens.  It's where the excitement, the thrills, and the freedom of life reside.  While the deep end can be dangerous, it is also where we get to take all of life's chances.  The shallow end might be safer, but how much fun can we really have if we always stay in the 3FT area with our floaties on?

It was my daughters words, combined with facing the reality of losing someone dear to me that got me thinking.  I started to consider this New Year and the possibilities it holds.  I don't typically do resolutions, but this year I am promising myself to live life every day, all day, in the deep end.  

I am resolving to ignore the voices of my daily routine when they try to convince me I should mindlessly do the same things over and over, day in and day out without ever asking why.  

I am resolving to say yes as often as I possibly can.  

I am resolving to make my own sushi on a random Tuesday night just because.  

I am resolving to take more adventures.  

I am resolving to take more chances.

These are the gifts of being an adult.  Sure, we get to manage all the tactical responsibilities that come with home, work and family.  But we also get to experience the freedom and possibility that can only come from total independence and some life experience.  

Being an adult doesn't mean we don't have any choices.  It means we have more.  It doesn't mean our path has already been determined, it means we get to determine what our path will be.

We just have to swim as hard and as fast as we can toward somewhere, or something or someone that calls us.  Because we get this one chance, this one gift, this one life.  And every second is just too damn precious to spend our time standing on the shore.

All we have to do is take a really deep breath, and jump in.

Happy New Year Friends.  xo - juli

little whispers.

I heard once that life is constantly whispering to us...and if we ignore the whispers too long they will eventually turn into screams.  I actually think I heard it on Oprah which is strange because I've never really even watched Oprah...so I'm not sure how that's possible.  Either way I loved the sentiment.  We have all heard these little whispers in different ways in our lives haven't we?  

The whispers that say the fun little habit may have crossed over into addiction.  The whispers that tell us the trying relationship has turned downright unhealthy.  The ones that say it is time to look inward and focus on our personal growth and healing when we have given too much of ourselves away.  The whispers that tell us our passion could actually become the foundation for a whole new life if we wanted to work for it.  

Lately, my life has been whispering to me so loudly it's getting hard to hear Pandora.  The past few months have been a whirlwind combination of a sick family member, more business travel than I am used to, personal obligations, and family scheduling exercises that could confuse Google Calendar.  Throw Christmas prep on top of that pile, and well, put it this way - my house is messy and I don't really care.  That's where I'm at right now.

Rather than doing what I would normally do, which is to make sure everyone in my life has what they need from me first, I am trying something completely different.  I am listening to the whispers and giving myself what I need instead.  Years ago I started hearing (and totally ignoring) messages from my body to start taking better care of myself.  Then, a couple of months ago, despite having little free time, I signed up for a circuit training-type exercise class two nights a week.  

Not only did I sign up, but I am actually going and loving it.  This is a real first for me.  On top of my new-found affinity for exercise I have also been singing more than usual, writing less than usual, dancing more than usual, socializing less than usual, worrying less than usual and generally giving less of myself away than I normally do.  I have been focusing a little bit on (gasp) myself and it has turned out to be a very cool and introspective time of self discovery.

The holidays are a good time to go inside ourselves a little bit aren't they?  This time of year is perfect for reflection, introspection and pause to listen for life's little messages.  

For example, when:

• Your kids have been out late three nights in a row, have been eating nothing but candy canes all day and are crumbling.  Cancel your plans and stay home.
• You have been "over enjoying" holiday parties and are feeling like the next stop may be Betty Ford?  Put the drink down.
• You're emotionally disconnected from someone you love?  Spend time with them.
• You're feeling like a first world slouch who pulls the trigger on a $653.00 Amazon shopping cart full of things your kids don't especially need?  Give to charity.

like this one

or this one

Whatever the whispers are trying to tell you this holiday, pause for a minute and hear them.  They are, after all, just our inner voice telling us where we should be investing ourselves, our time and our energy.  What could be more deserving of our attention?

Let that voice guide your decisions down the path that will ultimately lead you to your happiest holiday yet.  The path that shows us all the magic, beauty and excitement we have the opportunity to experience every single day from the minute we open our eyes.  If we open our hearts, stay very still, and listen for the little whispers. 

Wishing you and yours a very merry everything.  xo - juli

seasons change.

Mirror in the sky what is love? 

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?  

- “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

For me, there is no season with a pull stronger than the arrival of fall.  The crunching leaves, cold nights and shorter days seem to not-so-quietly whisper the need for change in our daily lives.  Lessons begin, school bedtimes resume, weekend sporting events replace beach days and suddenly everything in family life is dominated by the almighty schedule.

I can remember a time post-college when fall simply meant I got to decorate my apartment doorstep with mums and buy some cute new sweaters.  Today fall means I’d better get some rest and drink a Sugarfree Red Bull because my entire world is about to get turned on its head whether I have the energy for it or not.

So much change comes with the seasons of parenting small children.  As I watched my kids get ready for their first day of the school year (with varying levels of enthusiasm) I remembered back to what those firsts felt like for me when I was their age.  I can still remember the giant emotional smoothie that mixed anxiety, excitement, self-doubt and happy anticipation until you finally felt like the top was going to blow off the blender seconds before the school bell rang. 

My kids were no different.  I could feel their energy as they braced themselves for big change the same way I can feel the chilly night air on my skin. 

Being a mother has many upsides, but if after nine years in the game I had to pick a favorite parenting benefit, I would have to say it the way you suddenly remember.  For almost every life stage I have watched them experience I have remembered something about my own childhood that until that moment, had been long forgotten.  I have been reminded of people, places and situations that I may never have visited in my memory if it wasn’t for the gift of watching my own kids. 

Things just come back to you.  Things like. . .

• Showing my daughter where to place the silverware on the dining room table and hearing my mother say “Just remember, the spoon, the knife and the fork got in an argument.  The spoon and the knife were right, so the fork left”. 

• Building a snowman with my kids and picturing my father looking like a young Tony Danza (plus one huge late-80’s mustache) building the very same snowman in the front yard of the house I grew up in.

• Taking a long family road trip and remembering how I used to poke my head from the backseat into the front so I could hear what my parents were saying (wearing a seatbelt was pretty much optional in those days, so why not)?

• Reading bedtime stories to my kids and remembering my mother reading the very same books to me (Santa Mouse is a timeless classic, I don’t care what anyone says).

• Struggling to force an ill-fitting ski boot onto my daughter’s foot and suddenly being back at the very same ski hill as a little girl - hoping my Dad would be able to get my boot on before his fingers froze off (or my toes, whichever came first).

We remember all of it, don’t we?  Admittedly not every memory is perfect, but then, no family or childhood ever has been.  Not only do we recall these experiences, but we get to live them all over again, as teachers.  We build sandcastles, learn to swim, ride a bike, and get our hearts broken for the first time.

We watch the seasons change through the eyes of our kids and all the while our own childhood is playing on some dusty old VHS tape we recorded in our memory years ago.  It’s beautiful and emotional and sometimes painful - but it is a gift. 

In those precious moments of pure childhood bliss we get to be there with them, feeling that same freedom and lightness through the seasoned eyes of an adult.  Only this time, we know how much those moments matter, and what they’re worth. 

As the holidays approach I hope we are able to remember the experiences and feel the excitement that lit us up when we were young.  I hope the light that shines so bright in our kids reminds us grown-ups of the beauty that we can still discover in every first, in every change, in every year, and in every season.     

not for profit.

A couple weeks ago, on one of those perfect late summer afternoons,  I found myself walking down Main Street in our little town with three small children.  To occupy them (and to distract them from throwing handfuls of dirt at one another) I made up a game called "Who Can Find The Prettiest Leaf?"  What's that you say?  You've never heard of this game?  Well, neither had they.  

I conjured up this game as a lame and desperate attempt at keeping three rambunctious kids occupied...and wouldn't you know?  They totally fell for it.

They all set off running through every yard and open space in town happily and proudly shouting "LOOK AT THIS ONE!  THIS ONE IS THE BEST SO FAR!  THIS ONE IS JUST A BABY LEAF!  THIS ONE IS RED ON ONE SIDE AND ORANGE ON THE OTHER!"  

I was humbled, as I have been so many times before in my adult life, at just how much joy kids can experience without spending a penny.  Just being outdoors, enjoying a little healthy competition, some crunchy fall leaves and the company of one another was all it took.

Free of charge.

Around this same time we had been renovating the mudroom in our farmhouse.  The room was originally more part of the barn than it was the house and well, it needed some love.  The barn board walls are cracking, the knob and tube wiring is exposed and on particularly cold winter mornings you can see your breath in the mudroom.  For real.  

Rather than waiting for the money to gut the room and give it a proper Pinterest makeover (and since I'm perfectly capable of using a paintbrush) I got to work trying to make some sense of the space.  I "deleted" a bunch of clutter that had accumulated over time, hung some additional hooks for jackets, vacuumed up all the spider webs and bought a gallon of paint.  

I went shopping in the barn and found an old mirror hiding behind a bed frame that I didn't even know we owned (truthfully I didn't know we owned either item - the bed frame or the mirror).  After hosing it down with about a quarter bottle of Windex I hung it in the space above the kids' jackets.  It fits nicely, don't you think?

{Next up: painting the trim white}

I love the mudroom now.  And all for the cost of a single gallon of yellow paint.  I get a strange buzz from upcycling things I already have, doing something myself and not spending more than I need to.  

I always thought I was just a cheap Yankee but since reading "Better Than Before" by Gretchen Rubin I've learned it's actually more than that.  It's my personality type...and it turns out I'm not alone. 

This book is a great way to get to 'know thy self' better.  Gretchen defines what she considers the four major personality types by the tendencies they share.  She asks the reader to honestly evaluate how they "get a buzz" in life and explains how those behaviors, when repeated, ultimately turn into habits.  Our habits (how we establish them and how we can change them) make for a very interesting read...I promise.

As it turns out, I'm not just thrifty.  I genuinely enjoy using less, spending less, and having less.  Excess makes me uncomfortable and clutter makes me twitchy.  Only having as much as I need, and not more, gives me a buzz.  It took years for my husband to convince me I should be buying family value packs of consumables like soap.  One bar at a time is just part of my DNA.

it would take FOREVER to use this much soap.

Not everyone is built this way - which is of course, a good thing.  There is no shame in shopping and the economy needs retail spending.  Just ask Trump, he'll tell you all about it.  

Speaking of people who like to fuel the economy, Khloe Kardashian recently had her Range Rover wrapped in black velvet.  The very definition of practical spending.

{I had to read this headline twice before I understood it.}

She was quoted as saying it is like her car is "rocking a Sean John sweat suit".  That's good I guess?  Like, in case your SUV gets chilly?  Still, I can't help but wonder how many goats could have been purchased for families in developing countries for the same price as her velvet SUV "wrap job".  Probably a lot. 

Just for giggles, let's all try out one new not-for-profit activity this fall and see how we like it.  Maybe something like...

• Pack a picnic and take a hike.  
• Go for a bike ride to a lake or river and skip rocks. 
• Build a teepee.  
• Put on a hoodie and make a fire in the backyard on a school night.  
• Throw a party where nothing is for sale.
• Ride to the top of a hill and watch the sun set over an orchard.
• Spread out a blanket in the yard after the kids are asleep and look at the stars. 

Play a game of who can find the prettiest leaf.

Forget your wallet at home and get outside to enjoy this season of change and wonder friends.  Then please share your adventures with me here.

I would love to listen...free of charge.  xo

who we aren't.

Where does August go?  This last stretch of late summer almost has a frantic feel to it at times, don't you think?  We try to squeeze all the things we hoped to accomplish into the last few precious weeks of kid freedom before the new school year begins.  See the people we hoped to see, visit the familiar places that summer traditions are made of, and of course, take some new adventures along the way.

Our most recent adventure involved my clan visiting a farm in central Maine for three days of what I will describe as "summer camp for the whole family".  We slept in a tent, ate all our meals outdoors and got our hands (and feet, and faces, and ears and just about every other body part one can imagine) dirty.  We were 100% off the grid with no running water, no Wifi, no cell service, no land line telephone and no electricity.

There could have been a zombie apocalypse last weekend and we would have been none the wiser. 

When we first arrived and headed to our tent to unpack our things my husband looked at me nervously and said "are you going to be okay here?"  The honest answer would have been "NO!  Of course I'm not going to be okay here!  Did we just meet?"  But in the name of being a happy camper (and since the whole thing was my idea in the first place) I simply replied with a cool "Of course I am.  Are YOU going to be okay here?"  

Mind you, this is the same man who completed a half year wilderness leadership training program and does 24 hour mountain bike races through rain and mud.  For me to ask him if he was going to be okay with two nights of glamping was 100% ridiculous and we both knew it...but he played along and told me he'd be just fine.

photo I took of our tent before my phone battery died.

So in we dove.  

The kids set out with chipper attitudes and dirty feet to fulfill my Mama dream of a family summer vacation that doesn't involve a water slide or amusement park.  Despite our glass-is-half-full outlook those first few hours on the farm were a little hairy, I'm not going to lie.  

Then, somewhere between wondering if I had made a terrible mistake and wishing we had packed some wine after all...a funny thing happened.  We pulled it together!

Patrick and I stopped giving each other dirty looks and started putting a hand on a knee or giving a tap on the back when we needed it.  We all started checking in on one another to make sure we were "doing okay".  We realized we have family inside jokes!  Who knew?  We belly laughed about the giant toad that hopped on Patrick's foot while taking a solar shower, and our daughter asking me for a high five as we peed side by side on the "2-holer".

We appreciated our hosts for all that they are while being gentle on ourselves for all that we aren't.  I stopped feeling silly and ashamed for being the kind of girl who enjoys coffee, sparkly things, warm showers and the occasional US Weekly magazine.

I just loved these two together.  Also, Ben Affleck and Jen Garner???  Ugh - such a bummer.

  

We opened our minds and started to learn.  And learn we did.  

Things We Learned From the Program:

• Get serious about recycling.  For real this time.
• Serve the kids smaller portions at meals so they can eat what they have and ask for more if they want it.
• I want to grow more food.
• How to make whipped cream from scratch.
• My hands are capable of using tools other than a keyboard and mouse.
• Read more books with no pictures to the kids.
• Our basement can be used as a root cellar to keep apples and such through the winter.  It has a dirt floor - why not?
• Think more about the planet, the things that live on it, and the impact we have while we're here.

I also learned how to make this basket.

Things We Learned About Us:

• We enjoy cleanliness. 
• If given three hours of free "family time" we will use it to have hot wings, cheese fries and beer at a local pub.
• It turns out we're all pretty crafty in our own way.
• We're loud (especially me).  We talk loud, we sing loud, we laugh loud we like our music loud.  And mostly we're okay with that.
• We need to cut back on sugar.  
• Laughter and not taking ourselves too seriously are a big part of who we are.
• Reggae is the only music we all agree on.
• We are a team.

My people.  Eating wings like they had been locked in a closet for a week when we should have been on a hike or something.

So, while my idyllic vision of our family wilderness weekend didn't exactly pan out the way I thought it would - it ended up being an entirely different kind of gift.  We did, of course, get an education about homesteading and sustainable living during our time on the farm, and that was great.  But the really important learning we did was about one another.  

Because in the process of finding out who we aren't, we came together.  

And got a better idea of who we are.

first aid.

My four year old is an injury waiting to happen.  She is the only person I have ever met who manages to hurt herself while watching television.  One minute she'll be happily and comfortably watching PBS Kids, and the next she will become a gymnast, roll off the sofa and injure her ankle on the coffee table (cue the tears).  She can be standing still (not walking/not running/not moving) trip over absolutely nothing and smack her head on the ground (cue the tears).  

She has also been known to fall out of bed on occasion.  When I hear the dreaded 'thud' of her little body hitting the bedroom floor I fly out of bed and sprint into her room (with my heart beating way faster than anyone's should at three in the morning).  At which point I typically find her already curled up on the carpet next to her bed snoozing away soundly (cue my tears).  She's a pretty solid sleeper, that one.

Needless to say the girl is no stranger to some Neosporin and the all-important Mommy medical must have.  

The Hello Kitty Band-Aid.  

{Duh}

During the summer months when lakes, oceans and playgrounds are the norm the poor girl looks like someone put her in a burlap sack and whacked her legs with a baseball bat.  She is all scrapes and bruises to the extent that I sometimes get a little sweaty about bringing her to the pediatrician for something routine.  I always wonder if the doctor is looking at her thinking "How could any normal child have this many scrapes and bruises?  What did these parents do?  Put her in a burlap sack and hit her legs with a bat?"  

But...they always seem to let us leave the office with her.  So I guess that means they assume the truth - that she is a normal, active albeit seriously accident prone tot. 

At this point I have pretty much made worrying into a hobby/art form, so you might be surprised to hear that I don't spend too much time stressing about these minor childhood injuries.  As far as parenting goes, dealing with the physical bumps and bruises is easy-peasy-mac-and-cheesy (*Note: you know you spend lots of time with people under the age of ten when you can't say "easy" without adding the "peasy-mac-and-cheesy".*) 

Anyone with kids or anyone who was ever a kid themselves knows it isn't the scrapes and bruises on their body we really need to worry about.  The injuries we parents can't see are the problem... the little bumps and bruises that no amount of Neosporin can heal.  Those little emotional cuts can be real buggers. 

We adults know these unseen cuts are real, and sometimes lasting.  We know this because we have a past.  Some injuries are a series of little cuts that build up over time, like the name you were called as kid because you were "too" something (fat/smart/skinny/sporty/ sensitive/poor/different - whatever).

Some cuts are deeper.  The ones you assume you'll just have to live with because they're too deep to ever fully heal.

  Hateful words.  Traumatic experiences.  Separation.  Disappointment.  Shame.

Eventually, we all grow up until finally one day adulthood arrives and life does what life does best.  It surprises you.  And slowly, over the years, the Hello Kitty Band-Aids are applied one by one. 

Relationships are repaired.

Communication is restored.

Apologies are given.  

In the last month alone I have visited my past (or my past has visited me) in a surprising number of ways.  Here's some highlights from my own little 'A Christmas Carol':

BAND-AID #1

I attended my twenty year high school reunion.  Soooo, yeah. 

BAND-AID #2

I bumped into a college friend I had lost touch with entirely (after a falling out in our senior year) while playing with our kids at the ocean.  It felt good to see her and say hello after all those years.

BAND-AID #3

My family and I stayed in the same little lakeside cottage where I spent many summers in my 20's.  This special place holds a decade of memories for me and now I have made some new ones there with my kids.

{view from "the cottage"}

BAND-AID #4 {Also known as the best weekend ever}

My husband's first cousins from out of town came to stay with us.  Families are complicated, and for various reasons this was our first real opportunity to get to know them.  Perhaps this mama has applied one too many doses of antibiotic ointment this summer but all I could think to myself was that their time with us was like Neosporin for the soul.  We acted like family, we laughed like family, they loved our kids like family.  

Because we are family.

Bridget, me, Patrick, Frances, Vera and Austin

I watched in awe as three decades of separation were overcome with three days of togetherness.  And after "the girls" pulled out of our driveway everyone still left in the house agreed that something important had happened.  Some of those minor injuries that everyone had just learned to live with got a good dose of Neosporin and a rockin' Hello Kitty Band-Aid during our time together. 

It's beautiful really, what patience, a little time, an open mind, a loving heart can heal.  

It's summertime friends...get out and experience life (past or present) while the sun is still strong.  Just don't forget to bring along a first aid kit.  

ship it.

SHIP IT.

Ah, June.  The flowers are blooming, the sun is strong, my garden is planted and I think it is safe to say I have recovered from last month's the-world-is-going-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket funk.  I'm not saying my last post was heavily influenced by hormones, but, anyway.......

Speaking of my garden, I'm happy to say that after, oh, thirty seven years or so I finally got around to planting one!  

not bad for a first try right?

I have been talking (to myself) about making a raised bed garden for so long, but it just seemed daunting.  Getting the lumber, having the soil delivered, buying and planting seeds, watering, weeding, etc.

I'm not proud, but every year FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, I have gone to our local farm supply store to buy something (bird seed, pine shavings for the chicken coop, soap made from hay, etc. -  you know, typical New Hampshire stuff) and have walked away with ten or so seed packets.  I would then bring said seed packets home, put them in a pretty basket on the kitchen counter (for display purposes) and stare at them all summer thinking to myself:

"Shit.  If I had just planted those seeds I'd actually have cucumbers and tomatoes right now instead of just admiring their (now dusty) pictures on the front of the packet."

How can you plant them when there are charming home decor items like this to be made?

The delayed garden tells the story of my young adult life in so many ways.  

Idea rich.  

Execution poor.  

EXAMPLE:  Years ago I came up with an idea for wall mounted jewelry displays using old picture frames and chicken wire...before you saw them all over Etsy.  

I called them "Jewelry Coops" and made one as a gift for pretty much everyone I know.  I created a pricing strategy, established different styles of "coops", took pictures of some finished product, purchased the rights to the URL, the whole shebang.  

As of June 3, 2015 I have sold exactly none.

they really are awesome for keeping hook earrings organized.

The woman who watches my daughter while I am at work has many talents (not the least of which is taking fabulous care of my kids), but her passion is costume design and generally anything that involves a needle and thread.  A few years ago she started making dog vests for her own dogs.  The vests turned out so well she decided to open her own Etsy shop - with great success.

One day we were talking about her business and turning an idea into a finished product when she said "You know what?  At some point you just have to ship it."

She said ideas are great and important and fun but if you really want to turn an idea into reality you have to put it in a box, put a label on it and ship the f'n thing (I'm actually the one who swears, not her).

Yes.  This was the message I needed to hear.  You have to ship it.

"Shipping it" applies to so much more than just small business ideas.  It applies to any dream or ambition.

If you've always wanted to take a road trip cross-country start planning.  (Like my girlfriend whose cross-country adventure blog can be found here):

go get 'em Tori. xo

If you have always dreamed of moving out of the city and buying a farm, then move.

If running a full marathon is on your bucket list then for the love of god start training (proud of you Jill).

If you always wanted a vegetable garden then plant it.

This summer I am shipping it.  

I'm not putting off until the kids are in high school what I can experience today.  And if that means my laundry piles up and  my kitchen floor has food on it then, well, that's just how it's going to be.  I feel an urgent need to live life fully and with purpose.  Now.  Not later.

I hope you ship something meaningful this summer.  I hope you finally take that idea, adventure or personal goal and wrap it up, stick it in a box, and slap a label on it.  Feel free to share your experience with "shipping it" in the comments section - I'd love to hear!

Lastly, my heart is so happy to let you know that I'll be shipping one more thing in the next month or two.   My first (and likely only) children's book "A Brighter Life for Edison" is in the final stages of editing (insert excited squeal here)!  

I have so enjoyed the process of creating this book and can't begin to explain how much I've learned from it all.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Emil Schroettnig, the young artist who offered his time and talent to bring my story to life.  I am convinced the universe had a plan for the two of us.

His artwork helped me see this project all the way from idea to reality and every stage in between.  His illustrations not only surpassed my expectations and reflected my dreams for the book, but they truly completed it.  

So thank you Emil, for everything... 

(but mostly for being the one who helped me ship it.)

xo - juli