summertime giveaway! i want your ideas!

i'm feeling a little creatively stumped. so i've decided to do a giveaway related to creativity! up for grabs is a pair of my fabulous argentium silver hammered wishbone earrings!

all you have to do is one (or all) of the following:

- follow my blog (1 entry)

- follow me on twitter (1 entry)

- heart my etsy shop (1 entry)

- take a look at my shop and give me a new design idea! (2 entries)

if you twitter or blog about this giveaway, you'll get an extra entry! so start typing away... don't forget to post a separate comment for each entry and make sure i can find you later if you win! (email address, url, etc.) i'll be using the totally random random.org to choose someone on june 26th, so enter! NOW!

(fyi - this giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents!)

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the little farm in the city....

last sunday, the husband had a fabulous idea - why not go to the riverdale farm? it's located right downtown, and a mere 10 minute drive from us! since the mini LOVES animals, we thought it would be a great intro to REAL livestock for her! so we packed some snacks and the baby bjorn, and got ready for a late morning jaunt! (and check out those super-cool, elton john-ish sunglasses! she's stylin'!!!)

seriously, it was kind of cool - both for the historical aspect and the fact that there is this little tiny farm in the midst of downtown. we saw sheep, goats, horses, cows, a donkey and the hugest turkey ever! the mini yelled at all the animals and didn't seem one bit scared of them, despite the fact that most of them were 100 times her size! it really is amazing to see things through her eyes - even the flowers, the pond, and the chickens seem magical!!!!

next up... the ZOO!!!!!

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it's been a month...

.. since i went back to work. i can't believe it. and we're all still standing! we seem to have settled into a loose routine where the mini and i get up early to head off to grandma and grandpa's house, then i drive to the office. i have to admit, i think about her all day, wondering what she's doing, if she's eating enough, and if she misses me. but the day goes by quickly, and then the husband goes to get her and we're all home again.

funnily enough, the first days weren't as bad as i anticipated. i've settled back in to work - it feels as if i never left! - and it is kind of nice to be able to sit down and not have someone hanging off my leg, trying to bite me or pull down my top. and the mini has been working on learning new things too - she has been using her sippy cup like a pro, LOVES ice cold water, and sometimes stands by herself. go figure!

lately though, things have been busy - we're waiting to move, we refinanced our mortgage, and the mini got baptized. i've barely enough time to think about new jewelry designs, but i'm hoping that once we move, i'll be able to have some good crafting time with my torch!

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life is crazy. and so am i.

needless to say, the last two weeks and three days have been absolutely insane. we staged our house and put it up for sale. we went back to work. the mini went to grandma and grandpa's. and we are still in one piece!

first, i've been transitioning back to work. and it's been relatively seamless on the office side of things. but i miss the mini terribly. she seems to have settled in quite nicely with my parents, but today i think it really clicked with her that i leave her there for a period of time. my mom said that she kept looking out the window, and got excited everytime their front door opened. work is busy, but i am so anxious to pick her up (or get home if the husband picks her up) at the end of the day. sigh.

second, after 30+ showings in 5 days, our house SOLD! so now, all of our stuff is out of storage and back in the house ready for the move. it was good to know that someone wanted our little crooked city house - i so hope they love it as much as we do!

we've had a few meltdowns adjusting to this schedule, but i think we're getting there. seriously, kudos to all you working moms out there - i salute you! and all you stay-at-home-moms - oh, how i envy you!!!!!

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