Bright Spots in a Couple of Dreary Days

It probably goes without saying that the last few days have been tough for me. I'm a worrier, and I worry most about money. So the thought of being without a job soon... worrisome! I've been working on my portfolio the last couple of days, getting it up-to-date, and posting my resume. I got very, very down last night, but felt better after some uplifting words from some email buddies and a good night's sleep.

After several hugs, John told me that I'd actually gotten some mail. What a wonderful treat from such a talented person. Jennifer, aka The Felt Mouse, sends out little New Years suprises to a small group of people, and this is the second year I've counted myself among that lucky few! I totally want to steal the idea... not what she sends, but the fact that she has this fun mailing every year. Maybe I could start small and manage holiday cards of some sort?

This is such a fun calendar! It's totally sassy and really just adorable. (I think August is my favorite: "Look Dewy and Avoid Stinking.") Check out her blog post about the calendars -- she links to where she had them printed, and there is a link to some other ideas.

This morning, I got a nice surprise in my email. I did an ad for one of my freelance clients and it appeared in a magazine (Interweave Knits) this winter. My subscription ran out after the fall issue (which included another ad).

First of all, in the middle of all that's going on, I completely forgot about the ad. Second, if I had remembered, I wasn't up to paying for the magazine just to get a copy of an advertisement! Last night, when I started working on an electronic portfolio, I remembered the ad and posted a begging email to the group I referred to up at the top there. Koren corrected the issue (I thought it was Winter 09 for some reason) and provided the page number, and Andrea scanned the whole page for me and loaded it to our group album! I scanned the ad (shown in miniature here - click to see it bigger) and popped it straight into my portfolio.

But wait, it's not over yet! Getting Jennifer's calendar in the mail reminded me that I'm a terrible correspondent. I owe letters to so many people! I haven't sent out Christmas cards since my mom died eleven years ago (maybe once?). I was feeling kind of headache-y, and thought some time on the couch with a Miss Marple DVD and a glass of cherry Kool-Aid would do the trick, and figured I'd get all of my address books combined and updated. (They are in a scary state, believe me!)

Somewhere around the letter T, I thought, "you know, I really need to do something about new address announcements. I really do." (We sent out emails to many folks, but have to have missed many, plus we don't have addys for everyone.) One of the reasons for the delay has been a kind of designer's block: I want them to be kind of cool. But, considering all that's going on, they can't cost too much either.

This afternoon, I knew exactly how I would do them (mostly): Moo Mini Cards, with a cool image on the front and our new address on the back, attached somehow to a regular folded note. A flash of inspiration: Google Earth. I put a little pin at the old house, and a pin in the new house, and took a screen shot. When I went to Moo to order the cards,* I was shocked to see one of my own pictures on the Moo home page, and again when that link was clicked. It's like a chain. That last link leads to this page, which, down at the bottom of the page, leads to my button tie tutorial. This is the kind of little thing that can just add some extra sparkle to the day. I'm thinking about including it somehow in my portfolio. The question is... it will eventually lead back to my blog, if someone tries hard enough. So, I'm still considering it.

Speaking of mailing: If you think I should have your mailing address, feel free to send it to the email account linked to this profile. SIL C: if you're reading this, I need to compare notes on family addresses.

Finally - Should we be connected on LinkedIn? Drop me a note!

*I got half of the cards with the Google Earth image, and half with this picture of Neo that John took over Christmas.