Front Page

I'm happy to say that Daniel's vintage shop (8 point design) made it to the front page of Etsy today!  We were out running errands and he had just gone to check his email.  He comes back to tell me that he received an email from Statsy saying his shop was just featured on the FP.  I got so excited I could barely help myself.  Here's a screen shot from today.  And, we're pleased to say that the featured item sold too!

Its a ...!

Well haven't I just been absolutely horrible at blogging lately?  Between the Oh!Carousel project, ReddingHandmade, and the fact that I'm now about 12 weeks preggo... I've not had much time for this little guilty pleasure. 

Yes, you heard me right. I'm preggo!  Yes, I'm terribly excited and yes, I'm hugely nauseated.  Thankfully, as I round the final corner of my first trimester, I think the hormones are starting to level out a tad.  I'm less inclined to take 3 hour naps twice a day.  I'm starting to eat a little more than fresh berries on Grape Nuts twice a day.  I might even be starting to show a little. 

As for the traditional questions that are always posed when a new baby is the topic at hand, here are the details:

• No, we will not be finding out if its a boy or a girl.
• No, I haven't started taking weekly belly bump progress reports yet.
• Yes, we have names picked out.  Daniel is picking if its a boy and I'm picking if its a girl.  And we're not telling each other in advance.

AHHHHHHHHHH!  We're having a baby!

Birthday Week

My mom and I used to have a very special tradition.  Because my birthday was the 10th of December and her's was the 14th, we always tried to celebrate together.  And because the 4 day difference is the better part of a week, we traded in birth days and got back birth weeks. 

So, each year, we celebrated all around us for an entire week.  We gave ourselves permission to have all the dessert we wanted.  We allowed ourselves more time to just enjoy life without all the obligations around us.  It was like a mini vacation except that we hadn't actually gone anywhere.  It was a vacation in the mind.

This year, my husband traded his birth day in for a birth week.  We started his week off this past Sunday as his birthday was yesterday.  Every day, I made a point to bring him a treat or surprise or do something special that he knew was out of my way. 

I know he had a great time but I was really surprised about how much fun I had too.  Apart from the obvious perks of his joy from receiving things that made him feel special, there were unforeseen bonuses for me as well.  I found it a great creative exercise in stretching my brain a bit.  I had the challenge of thinking in the non standard birthday format and consider small things that didn't cost much but that packed a big punch.  And that energized my mind much like a mini vacation.

Next birthday, you or someone you love should trade in your day for a week.  Just know, once you cross over, you will never go back!