oh, summer....gone, gone, gone. I should be at school today, teaching kids who, for the most part, don't give a great-big-goddamn about learning anything from me....but my spine is acting up. Maybe stress really IS bad for your back....Anyone out there need a really good reading teacher? For students who won't just call me a lot of bad words in Spanish the entire time? The above photo is of Olive and me, enjoying a lazy summer mid-morning visit....I used to teach because I loved seeing kids learn, seeing that lightbulb go off in the head, the excited talking about this or that idea or concept, just getting to know the kids themselves.....Now, I guess I am a teacher because I like summer. How lame.

Here is pretty baby Olive (almost one year old!!!) in what I call her "cupcake" dress! It looks so yummy on her;it is a delightful halter sundress and she looks so good in it! It is one of few dresses that I have used "modern" fabric sewing (but it was soooooooo cheap and on sale at the fabric store....) I have a vintage cloth version made for my other love baby in Dallas, Greta! Crazy Aunt Kerri is sewing away! Hooray!

Isn't this the cutest little cowgirl ever??? This is lovely Greta, daughter of one of my best friends in the universe, beautiful Ellen; I am so in love with Greta! Here she is wearing one of my baby smocks! Cool use of vintage tablecloth, no? I am so lucky to have such fabulous baby models to wear my designs! I still do not own a digital camera, so Ellen was sweet to email this photo; I like to blame my lack of digital camera for many things, one of which is my woeful laziness in updating this blog...Hmmm....let's see if I can upload yet another photo sent to me....Ummm. Okay, I can't. I am trying to flaunt a photo of my niece, Jane, who is such a cutie-pie and a character.....very driven to be neat at an early age...it is a photo of her daddy (my brother) with her in his lap and she is in some pajama pants I made from vintage baby sheets and pom-pom trim....well, maybe I will just try again and see where it will pop up...Despite my best efforts, it is just sitting there at the top of this post...good lord, why didn't I take a computer class in college?? I am feeling my technological limits here people....that, along with lack of digital camera and lack of ink for my printer and and and....I have a million excuses. I don't know if this baby dress business will really ever get off the ground. I am discouraged at the moment. I am just going to go sew. I know how to do that, at least. And the blueberry banana bread I am baking will soon need to come out of the oven....Goal #1: update blog more often (three times a week at least???). Goal #2: Go buy damn ink so I can at least make business cards ....but what website will I put on business cards?? UGH! Here I go again, getting discouraged.....

Okay, I am going to try to post something with more frequency than once a week....however, for the next week and a half, I do have to be here at work, trying to teach the students a last few bits of vocabulary and grammar before the lovely, long summer!! It is difficult to do all the end-of-the-year paperwork (label all furniture in classroom, box all books, send final grade for this student here and that student there, attend a graduation information meeting, and a baby shower for this person, and a memorial for that person....) UGH! I just want to give the end-of-year tests, grade them, and head off for the summer! I have much reading, sewing, swimming, and rockin-&-rollin' to do! And my quest to find new love---I mean, it is possible, right? I have housewife dreams, people! I am not strangely fat or ugly---I am fun---I am responsible----I love children and I make badass food when I have the time.....I read all these crafty-mama blogs with a slight bit of envy, really. How did they get to be where they are? With husbands and children and time to sew quilts and share recipes? Can't any of you tell me what actions I can take to land me in your position?