My Once and Someday Former Life

I've been having a lot of trouble balancing things lately. My life is really full. I have a full time "day" job, two kids, a husband, friends, family, and then...I have my dream. My dream of turning my love of fabric and creating things, into a career. My latest big step forward is taking a class in Illustrator and Photoshop so I can feel confident in getting my design ideas into reality. But that adds to the "really full life" thing. It's a lot of work. And going back to homework every week is ROUGH. But it is oh-so-worthwhile. I love the class, and it's only until mid-May.

My bigger news, is that I have...ready??? Bought a plane ticket. I am GOING to Quilt Market. That's right. I AM GOING. I have roommate to stay with (I KNOW...how cool is THAT?) And it's not just any roommate. It's Bari, as in Bari J. Fabric and now pattern designer Bari. I KNOW. I also already have my pass to get in. Is your heart pounding like mine yet???

So I thought I would give you a glimpse into my day to day life as it is now. Because as I see it, it's only a matter of time, and it will be different. Here goes...

I drive to work every day, after waiting with the kids at the bus stop. I live outside of Hartford, CT. Small as cities go. I park my car, and this is what I see.



I try to park on the roof of the garage every day I can. Just so that when I come out of work, I can breathe real (non-re-circulated) air. And look around. It's spring time, so for now...it's pretty nice.



I work for Prudential. The Rock. Mother Pru. You know who that is. Enough said. I live in the insurance capital of the world. Pretty much everyone works for an insurance company in some capacity. Overall, as much as I beef, it's a great company to work for, and I love my co-workers. (Especially the crafty ones!) So, I go into my building, and head up to the cube farm.

I'm the Treasurer for Pru's Bank. So it's a geek fest every day. Accountants, actuaries, and finance types everywhere. Part of me loves it. The challenge, the number-ness of it. But I've done it what feels like forever. And in my heart of hearts, I know I will be fulfilled in a whole new way when I'm creating for a living. When I sit down to work (or dream) this is what I see. The edge of my cube, my sweet little owl from WBR (with it's italian translation, because I want to learn to speak Italian, but that's a whole different post!), and the wide, blue yonder.



This is my CFA charter. It took four years of misery, self study, discipline and many, many brain cells to get this. It basically says I'm about as finance-geeky as they come. I am very proud of this. BUT...it has served it's purpose. I'm ready to get a CFA in fabric design.



So...to help myself along, I write things on my white board to look at every day and inspire me. What's there right now is this...



When I shared that on Twitter, Whipstitch had this to say "Burn the boats, Baby". THAT is the kind of awesome inspiration, comraderie and community I thrive on.

So, without further ado...onto my Once and FUTURE life.