(She always folds her hands while sleeping. Love it.)
There’s something so splendid about a warm baby snuggled into your neck on a snowy day.
Oh what a morning we had!
It was 9:45 a.m. Fifteen minutes before showtime. The three of us had been up for 26 1/2 hours at that point. All through the night we had been sewing, cutting fabric/paper/ribbon, painting, and cleaning with Elf, then The Holiday, then While You Were Sleeping on in the background. There had been no time to think. Just sew.
But at that moment, at 9:45a.m., as I was madly attaching price tags to everything (so beautifully displayed if I do say so myself), as mom and Frit were making 5 gallons of hot chocolate and setting out the doughnuts on the crisp white table cloth, it hit me.
This is it. The thing I’ve been working towards for two months now. The thing I’ve invested all my time and money in…What if no one comes?
Internally I started to freak out. (I mean really freak out.) Externally I kept my focus. But Frit took one look at me and could see the fear in my eyes.
I went outside to hang a banner on the porch. She followed me out, and there on the porch, on a cold, snowy, morning we huddled together and said a prayer. A prayer that God would bless my efforts. That people would come. That it would all work out.
At 9:58 she arrived. My first customer. A complete stranger. A nod from heaven that this “thing” would work, or at the very least be ok. She left having ordered two custom aprons. (Huzzah!)
The next eight hours were a flurry of people and snow. And at the end of the day, when it was dark and I was plum tuckered, what had begun as a fully stocked boutique had become quiet, leftover remnants of hard work, hopes, prayers, and the support of friends new and old.
Thank you for coming. Thank you.
From the bottom of my heart.
***
This week’s task: to get everything up online for you out-of-state shoppers. Just in time for Christmas! :)
And an extra special thank you goes out to my mom. You worked your fingers to the bone. I’m ever grateful and I love you mucho. So glad you could be here.
… it’s a little bit chilly. But I’m cozy under a blanket and have just finished my morning routine: Prayer, Conference talk (I read this one today), scriptures, emails, Google reader. It used to be: Google reader, blog hop, emails, scriptures, prayer. But I changed it up to, you know, put first things first. It’s definitely a better this way.
So my days are filled with sewing and painting and sketching and sewing and painting and sewing…getting ready for the big day and all. I’ll be honest, I’m a little overwhelmed and sometimes wonder, “what in the heck was I thinking?”, but it’s fun. So I’m happy. Lucky for me my mom’s in town this week and is a great worker bee. She saved my bacon.
So yesterday I did another recording session. I almost said no because of all the things I need to get done. But it’s good money and I want them to call again, so I said yes. I recorded vocals for a film score library. I don’t know what films the pieces will be used for, but if you’re watching a movie someday and you hear the oo’s and ah’s in the music, it might just be me. Crazy!
So Frit‘s gone on a few dates with some eHarmony matches. Nothing worth writing home about yet, but it’s good. But it’s also making me think. I need to figure this dating thing out. I’ve gotta get on the ball with it too. Blah. I don’t know what else to say about that really.
So I’m headed downstairs to eat some breakfast and then get back to the sewing machine. The sun’s coming through the blinds and it’s a yummy golden yellow. I love sunny days.
Today’s going to be a great day.
See you Saturday!
xo
Well we’re t-minus 4 days now until the Grand Opening of Island Belle Boutique! And quite honestly, I’m going crazy. I’m excited, nervous, worried, and confident all rolled into one. I can’t thank you enough for the support, encouragement, and cheerleading you’ve offered along the way and for sharing the announcement and poster on your blogs & Facebook pages. You are amazing friends to have (even if we’ve never met). It’s going to be a fun, fun day and I hope you all can come. Oh and speaking of Facebook…if you’d like to become a fan of KQM Creative, here’s the link. Through that page I’ll be able to offer more “real time” info about the Boutique, Photography, and Consulting services we’re offering.
So onto other business. Last week I my friend, Jacey hired me to take her family pictures. She’s a funny funny writer and has the dang cutest kids. Here are some of my favorites from their family portrait session.
…and one final picture of my favorite little guy. He was such a trooper. It was so cold and the last 30 minutes were rough due to a minor meltdown by his younger brother (bless his heart), but Ben just kept smiling and looking straight at the camera. What a doll.
Speaking of meltdowns…doesn’t every family picture either end or begin with one? I still remember one particular photo session with my own family where we were all fighting the entire morning of. Mom didn’t like Karly’s hair, I took somebody’s brush, so-and-so needed to get in the bathroom and so-and-so was taking too long in the mirror (I don’t remember who so-and-so was), Dad wanted everyone to be quiet, and on and on and on. Even in the car on the way to the location, we were all in a huff.
When we got to the beach, mom turned to the three of us and glared, “You will smile. And you will be happy. You will look like you like each other.”
Ha! I love family pictures. So if you need yours taken (Christmas card season is upon us!), let me know. You can get $25 dollars off your session if booked by Saturday. It’ll be a blast. I promise!