Brown...

I haven’t always been a fan of brown. It’s probably my least favorite color. However, here recently, I’ve really been loving browns and beiges. I don’t really like to wear it unless there is a pattern or picture that accompanies it. I do really like brown shoes, though. I think one thing I really like about browns and beiges is the naturalness of them. Things that come from nature are often brown. Some of my favorite brown things are: seashells, chocolate, wood, trees, sand, and coffee.

Since I continue to be extremely tired when I get home from work, yes work!, you will continue to get blog posts that are easy for me to write with little thinking involved. Maybe in the future I can get back to the witty and fun posts. Or maybe, I’ll trade off five mediocre weekday posts for three outstanding weekend posts. We’ll see which way the wind blows. For now, enjoy some of my favorite brown things.

“If I stand here, I can see the little red-haired girl when she comes out of her house…Of course, if she sees me peeking around this tree, she’ll think I’m the dumbest person in the world…But if I don’t peek around the tree, I’ll never see her…Which means I probably AM the dumbest person in the world…Which explains why I’m standing in a batch of poison oak.” –Charlie Brown

My favorite brown thing is…definitely…chocolate…

Gray...

After briefly looking through some fabric books at work today, I was inspired by gray. I hear it’s the new neutral. Funny thing is…before I ever heard that I had already purchased a short-sleeve gray cardigan that I wear with everything and a pair of faux silk flats in the color gray. I think trend predictions may be in my future! Good thing I got this creative job in fabrics.

It’s always been said that life is not all black and white; there are definitely gray areas. This really just means that your life is a bucket of dirty mop water, which just happens to be kind of gray. I feel like I just got a clean bucket of water. It won’t be long before it’ll dirty again, but for now, I’m enjoying the fresh stuff.

The included images are some fabrics from the collection of tens of thousands that we carry at work. Can we say employee discount? I can! These are not necessarily my favorites, but the best ones I could find before passing out before bed.

I think it is possible that this blog may end up being all about fabric in the future. I think it may become my life…

Orange...

Orange you glad I didn’t say banana? Haha! I got nothing. I’m so tired from trying to learn how to juggle home and work again. I had another great day at work. I’ve started learning and retaining things at this point, which is nice. Also, I’m able to find answers to my own questions. It does get annoying, even for me, to keep asking the girls questions. They are super patient though. I love how nice everyone I work with is. Even when I switch departments, which I’m really, really looking forward to, I’ll still see and work with the girls. I’m really looking forward to having lunch tomorrow with the creative department (which consists of my super nice boss, one other really sweet lady, and in a couple of months, me).

Colors are fun…

Black...

What I’m about to tell you is a true story. Be warned; some people have all the luck. I’m not one of them. If I weren’t so tired, I would laugh about it though. It all started with a buzzing cell phone alarm clock. That was this morning at five o’clock. I drug my butt outta bed and got myself ready to work out. My body was still sore from the work out the day before and my arm was still tender from the hot olive oil splatters the night before. In addition to these ailments, my finger was throbbing from the teeny tiniest splinter. I made it through what felt like the longest work out ever, only to go pry the splinter from my aching finger.

I got myself showered, dressed, and ready to go to work. Aware that I was about to venture into a monsoon outside, I pulled out the trusty rain boots. Nobody likes those pesky wet pants legs. I gathered up my stuff and ventured outside into the pouring rain at about 7:15am. That’s when I noticed my almost flat tire. I backed my car up a smidge to double check that it wasn’t just stuck in the mud. Justin came out and confirmed; I had a flat. (Yes, this is only my second day of work.) My super wonderful husband put air in my tire with our compressor. He was soaked by the rain, while I sat just a little wet in the car. I have such a great husband!

Next, the low gas light came on. Yes, I did have to stop for gas in this torrential downpour. The wind decided to shift suddenly as I exited the car. There is nothing like cold rain in the face early in the morning. Finally, I was on the road. The drive seemed to take longer than usual. I couldn’t see anything out of my back glass and traffic was moving at about 5 mph a good portion of the way there. I happily made it to work on time. Unhappily, the wind shift blew the rain sideways. I attempted to keep myself semi-dry by holding my umbrella against the side of my body. Unfortunately, I just watched it flip inside out. I made it in the building alive but looking like a wet duck. The rain boots proved to be pointless. Again, everyone else was late.

The day went along just fine. The rain subsided on my way out; however came back to visit again sooner than I’d hoped. I was making my way to the tire shop when the slowest traffic ever known was my next obstacle. I was stuck along with a jillion other cars being forced to treat a very prominent intersection as a four-way stop in 5 o’clock traffic. Apparently, there was some sort of problem with the traffic lights. At the tire shop, I was told it would be an hour-and-a-half to get my tire fixed. Whoop-pee! As I was standing outside talking to Justin on the phone, the rain came back and down harder than ever.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, all of us in the tire shop were warned that a tornado was quickly approaching our location. This thing had actually touched down and was seen only a couple of miles away. Oh, great! The sirens went off, the guys told us the safest place to go, and several folks went outside to see the action. (Yes, really…) The good news is: the tornado missed us, my car was done in an hour, the dude that helped me with my car looked a lot like Jude Law, and I was able to meet Justin close to the house for dinner. You’re out of your mind if you think I was gonna cook after a day like that!

Here’s to God for continuing to bless me with good writing material…

Yellow...

It may have been raining today, but the day couldn’t have been brighter for me! My first day at work was kind of like the first day of school, except I got there in a yellow car instead of a yellow school bus. I got up super early to exercise. It’s part of my lifestyle; I gotta do it. And, I definitely know better than to try and do it after work. It won’t happen because I will always be too tired. The traffic was a nightmare, as I knew it would be, but it didn’t faze me one bit.

I actually got there early when everyone else was late…Gold star for me! I learned a few things about reports, purchase orders, and reconciling shipments today. I will be working with a great group of girls for a couple of months or so to learn the ins and outs about the purchasing department. Then, when I’ve got a good foundation, I’ll move into the creative department. From what I’m told, the departments work closely, so this training will give me a great understanding of the relationship. There are currently only two folks in the creative department right now. I look forward to being a key player in the group.

The super nice head of the purchasing department treated me to lunch today. She’s a great lady that’s been employed by the company for over 30 years. She only has great things to say about it. I hear the company provides us with breakfast every Wednesday…(I know, right?) I’ve always heard good things come to those who wait. Of course, I’m super tired now, but I really enjoyed the day. I look forward to everything else I will learn.

I only see good things ahead in my future. As long as everything goes right, this job means the pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow for Justin and me. We will finally be able to do everything we’ve worked so hard for, starting with the purchase of a new car and supplemented with buying a house and starting a family. I’m excited to see all of the possibilities unfold. We won’t jump the gun just yet. I plan to proceed with caution; but at the same time, I can’t help but get excited. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, the next day, and the day after that.

It’s a new beginning, and I just can’t put the book down…

White...

I guess since it’s Labor Day, we’re not supposed to wear white anymore. Isn’t it funny that many Americans think this day is only about the ending of summer? Actually summer doesn’t end for several more weeks, and this is really a very important day that I wanted to investigate further. In a nutshell, this day celebrates the American worker.

Labor Day is meant to be a yearly acknowledgment of the contributions that workers have made to further the prosperity of America. Planned by the Central Labor Union, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. By the year 1894, everyone in America was celebrating Labor Day on the first Monday of the month of September. They celebrated the day with parades and high ranking speakers.

Labor unions have dwindled in popularity over the years, but they are so important. It is known that there is strength in numbers and organized labor does just that. It’s harder to tell a group ‘no’ than it is a single person. Unions are responsible for the 40 hour workweek and minimum wage. So many things that we take for granted as workers in America are all made possible due to organized labor. Organized labor unions were behind the starting of the holiday, as well as the main focus. Labor unions fight for fair treatment, wages, and benefits. Somewhere along the line, they’ve gotten a bad rap. I am quite proud to be the wife of a union member. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for the union, we wouldn’t be where we are now.


I fully respect this holiday, and at least take a moment to think about the history of the American worker in this nation, since even this nation wouldn’t be where it is today without the union…

Pink...

I am tickled pink today! I was able to get a taste of my new work environment, and it tasted very sweet! The people I met were super friendly; I even got a hug! I can’t imagine how much working with nice, kind people (and lots of them) will change my life.

For the last year, I’ve pretty much been a recluse. I’ve gone out to buy groceries, to run errands, and for the occasional miscellaneous outing. I have depended greatly on my two pets to keep me company. I think I might have lost my mind without them. It does get awful lonely when you have no human interaction all day until the hubby gets home. He was usually the only person I talked to all day.

Things are different now; I see everything through rose-colored glasses. My future looks bright; it makes me want to wear shades! Those endless possibilities I’ve talked about before are now within reach because this opportunity has been opened for me. I’m very excited to get started learning something new.

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Did I mention I get to wear jeans to work every day if I want to?...