tumblers, by slightclutter

It feels as if this post is way overdue. On the other hand, it also feels to be entirely immature.

I’m going to cram a lot into this post, so for you ADD readers, here’s the short version:

• Update on Baby Kailey: she’s doing great!
• I moved in with my parents to help with the baby!
• I still have my place, so there will still be a Christmas Tree Viewing Party 3.0!

• I quit my job!

• I’m freelancing! (yes, read above: i quit my job!)
• I’m really, really happy, excited, and scared as all hell!
• Wedding Bells

Whew. That wasn’t so hard?  Now what took me so long to write this post? (Besides painstakingly searching for the exact right image. Which I will always obsess over.)

First things first. I’m doing GREAT.  In the last 4 months I’ve made some of the biggest decisions of my life, and I couldn’t be more excited about everything. The recession be damned! I know it’s a very real thing, but I’ve decided to not participate in it.

Secondly, there is entirely no way I would have been able to make any of those decisions without the wonderful friends and family who have surrounded me with support and encouragement. I’d be about 2% of a person without you all.

Update on Baby Kailey + Home Again

Before I get into too much detail with my new career direction, I wanted to give an update on Baby Kailey. Many of you have asked about how she is doing, or who that cute baby is popping up on my Flickrstream.  If you didn’t read my original post on Kailey, it’s here. Short version is…since November my parents have had custody of my cousin’s baby girl. She was 2 months old when she came to stay with us, she is now a healthy 7.5 month old.  Mom has since started back at work, and I have moved in to help out with the day to day awesomeness of having a baby around. I swear, everyday I wonder how single mothers do this. There are 3, sometimes 4, adults in this house, and we are all exhausted!

In February, after the awesomely successful Mom 2.0 Summit, I made the decision to move in with mom and dad to help out as mom started back at work. I was a little worried about leaving my place, but I found a friend who needed a place to stay for 6 months, and it just worked out perfect.  I only had to move my clothes, and he lets me visit whenever I want. Thanks, Trae!

I made the decision so quickly, that I really didn’t have time to think about what a big transition this would be.  Barring a few post-college months, I hadn’t lived with my parents since high school, nearly 12 years ago. In one day I went from being an independent, single, urban, museum district-highrise dweller, to a diaper changing, baby-talking, suburban daughter living in my parents house in Jersey Village.  Head spin!

But every moment’s been worth it.  I’ve been here nearly 6 weeks and I haven’t missed my apartment once. Due to an open invitation from Trae.   I’ll never forget what the wise Laura Mayes said to me when I was contemplating this decision: she said to me, “You’ll never regret spending this time with your family.”  And that really stuck with me.  And has continued to. What is 6 months in my life? A time to be there for my family, to spend time with my mom and dad, and most importantly to experience the first year of a child’s life. There really was no decision to make.

Independence Day

After a few weeks of being home, it started to occur to me what a financial benefit this was becoming. I had not intended on moving home for the sake of saving money, but it was certainly an ancillary benefit. I quickly came to the realization that the time was here and now for me to make another decision I had been struggling with for years.

Most of you know me in one capacity or another, and at one time most of you have asked the question, “So what is it you DO?” A question I’ve struggled with answering, usually with a chuckle.  It usualy starts like this, “Well, my day job is _____, but I also do _______.”  About 4 years ago I made a decision that my traditional (well-paid) Oil & Gas marketing career would never fulfill my career passions.  I tried many companies, much to the dismay of my resume and friends’ skepticism. Over the last few years, I’ve reached out for ways to explore my creative passions in the form of PR, event planning, design, and most recently, social media. As a result, I’ve built up a network of amazing people, dream clients, and many, many new friends. It’s always been a means to an end, as I knew that one day I would make the jump from corporate employee to self-employed. And last Wednesday, that day came.

Yep, in the midst of an economic depression turned recession, on tax day nonetheless, I finished my last day at Halliburton. For 3 days now, I’ve officially been self-employed. And I can honestly say, I haven’t been this happy in a long time. And of course everyone says I will eventually say, why didn’t I do this a long time ago.  But I disagree.  This was the right time.  I had to be ready.  All the elements had to be ready. And this was the time.

I’ve have the amazing opportunity to work on some dream projects over the last few months. Starting with the Mom 2.0 Summit, where I met so many amazing folks.  One in particular, author and wife of Houston’s Mayor,  Andrea White. Since then, I’ve been working with Andrea, and with the Bill White for Texas Senate Campaign on social media strategies, and it’s been a wonderful experience.

COLABorate

So that brings me to my plans. The number one question I get these days is no longer “what do you do?” but rather, “so what ARE you gonna do?” And it seems like an easy one to answer. But it’s been difficult.

I’m not a graphic designer, a web developer, or a traditional public relations person.  Both my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in Psychology. Go figure. And most of what I do relies on the collaboration of those within my network.  I can take a decent picture, but I know a helluva lot of incredible photographers. I can open Photoshop and tell you what color looks good next to pink, but I am friends with some incredibly talented designers who can design circles around me. I can Google CSS lines of code, but call some of the best programmers around friends. Where I’ve found my strength lies is in the communication of an idea with a client.  The development of a strategy.  The execution of that strategy with a team of creatives. This is where I excel.  Bringing my network of talented people together. And it’s taken me 10 years to figure that out. So here I am.

I’ll have much more details in the coming months of my newly formed company, COLAB, and about the projects I’ll be working on. For the sake of cohesion I’ve dubbed it “interactive creative services,” which includes PR, event coordination, graphic design, web design, and social media strategy.  Website launched soon, and planning a networking event to officially announce the start of COLAB. I’ll post all the details here on my blog.

So here I am.  Back in my parents house.  In the suburbs. Eating my words. Remember “Midtown Monica”? I haven’t forgotten her. My new found independence, undoubtedly dependent on dependence of my family, who has never once wavered to help me get to where I want to be.

Wedding Bells

Hahahaha, GOTCHA! Knew THAT would get your attention. No, no, I’m not headed for the alter!  Leading a double life for the past 4 years or so can really take it out of ya. So I’m also looking forward to getting back to some of the things that I so love, but haven’t had the time for. Like writing.  I have a few projects I will be working on, that you will hearing more about soon, including more blogging and a few books I am working on.  One book that is super imminent, A Single Girl’s Guide to Weddings. Why so?  Well, as of today, I have 15 this year. Yep. FIFTEEN weddings. I’m in 4 of them. And 3 are out of the state.  Not only do I have 15 weddings. I have 15 bridal showers. and 15 bachelorette parties. Couple’s showers. trips to Crate & Barrel. In all honesty, I LOVE weddings.  No pun intended. I thought this would be a fun way to share my experiences and observations on love, dating, marriage, and (to borrow a phrase from MagsMac) the ultra important debate between taupe and off-white. I’ve attended 3 already this year, and have 3 chapters so far.  Very excited to see where this goes.

I’m still blogging over at Houstonist, and on my design blog, Design Junky, which recently got a facelift, and of course here on Cosmopolitician. Will be blogging for a new fun blog, deets on that soon!

There’s More?!!  Dang.

Thanks for lasting to the end of this post.  I know it was a bit of a marathon, and I promise to be more brief in the future.

I can’t tell you how much all of your support, encouragement and confidence has meant to me. This community is my world and my backbone. I hope this doesn’t sound to Grammy acceptance speech, but there are a few people I REALLY must thank for helping me get to this point.

Maggie McDonald for your huge smile and constant determination, you inspire me;

Laura Mayes who’s infinite wisdom and grace pushed me to quit my job (so that she wouldn’t be alone in her self-employment!);

Ed Schipul for pretty much everything: every token of crazed wisdom, every vote of confidence, and every “what the eff are you waiting for” speech;

And last but the very UNleast, Mom and Dad, who never let me believe for a second that I could fail at anything.  Even when I have. I love you, I love you, I love you (now what day does the maid come?)

So, yeah. It’s been awhile since I’ve cranked up the old Wordpress. Looks like she’s still working fine. Whew!  I could come up with tons of excuses for not posting for awhile, but I think when you are done with reading the next few posts (yes, shooting for a marathon session today), you’ll form your own opinion.  And hopefully, it’s of the opinion that you’re glad I’m blogging again. Because, well, I am glad to be blogging again. And we should get along just fine.

There’s so much to share and I’m really not sure where to start. The majority of this year has been consumed by the amazing, wonderful, successful the 2009 Mom 2.0 Summit, who will get her own post, as she deserves. Sprinkled in will be weddings (yes, 13 this year; 3 down, 10 to go!); new projects, all of which I’m extremely excited about!; and lots of new, big changes (and one little one).

Some tibits before I jump in:

• I’m kicking back up Design Junky, my “design admiration blog” as I like to call it.  I’m not a designer. But I can’t get enough of it. Check soon for a new redesign of that site, too.  Follow DeJu (i totally just made that up. right now.) on Twitter @designjunky

• Dang, y’all.  Twitter done blew up, for realz!  Over the last few months,  it seems everyone from E! Online to Christopher Walken has jumped aboard the Twitter Train. Major news stations, Politicians, and Real Estate agents. It’s a free for all, and I, for one, am intrigued about how the landscape of social media will change over the next 6 months. I’ll be blogging about that often this year.

• My mom’s on Facebook. Awesome.  True life convo between me and Mama Danna:

Me: “Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell you and Dad that Andrew’s band, Runaway Sun, is playing at the House of Blues next week.”

Mom: (totally unphased) “Yeah, I know I saw it on his Facebook wall. The Battle of the Bar Bands.”

Me: (surprised she even knew what a wall was) “Oh, um, yeah. Cool.”

Mom: “Yeah, and his mom and sister are coming in from Lubbock for the show.”

Me: (nodding like I knew that, but really didn’t) “Um, yeah. So I guess you’re in the loop on that. Great.”

• I’m going to start blogging again over at Houstonist. It’s been one of the things I’ve missed the most in the last 8 months or so. There is an incredible group of contributors there these days, and I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things in the Gothamist world. I’m grateful they’ll have me back after a hiatus.  Read It. Feed It. Love it.

With that, I’ll jump into a few more dedicated posts to some awesome events that deserve their own space.

1. I once was a bus driver.

Yep, drove a bus for 1.5 years in College Station, TX when I attended Texas A&M. Not sure why people are always so shocked when they hear this. It’s actually a pretty common job on campus. And the best paying. Had to take a CDL test, and parallel park a 50 foot bus. That’s why I gots mad skillz with parallel parking.

2. My dad is one of 10 kids.

Pretty much grew up amongst a horde of Italians: kids, adults, any woman who is older than me is called “aunt”, and spaghetti at Thanksgiving. My great-grandma Danna shocked me with her facial hair each time we had to kiss her on both cheeks. My dad has 8 sisters, and a brother, and I was the first grandchild. I was a bit spoiled, to say the least.

3. I’m writing a book.

Yep, and you’re all in it. There are just too many stories from my 20’s I can’t let get away.  Don’t worry, I’ll change the names. (If you’re lucky).

4. I have a design blog.

Sure do.  It’s Design Junky, and it’s pretty much just an homage to things that inspire me. I’m not a designer, but I do appreciate good, smart design. You can visit it at www.iHeartSmartDesign.com

5. My job has taken me to 5 continents.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you probably already know this. Over the last 8 years, I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to work in London, Newcastle, Amsterdam and Perth.  This year alone I traveled to 5 continents in 8 weeks. Followed by an appendectomy 1 week after returning from Manama, Bahrain. Whew! Wonder what surgery would have been like in the Middle East? Glad I didn’t have to find out.  Most asked Q: What was your favorite place? A: Malaysia.

6. Dancing is pretty much my ONLY form of exercise.

Thankfully, I have a hobby that allows me to publicly show affection for pop icons such as Britney and JT. It’s all about the dancing, yo. And people don’t get that. And I’m cool with that.  We’ll settle it on on the dance floor. There WAS a reason I moved into my current place, and that DID have much to do with the wall of mirrors. It’s me against the music.

7. I don’t own an iron.

Nor an ironing board. Yes, it even baffles ME. I haven’t owned an iron, or ironing board since college. Work clothes go to the cleaners, everything else is on their own. Besides, when would I iron? I’d rather be dancing.

Now, the fun part. To tag random, unsuspecting victims.

1. Michelle “Dr. Miggy”
Calabretta – because 2008 would not have been the same without her. Nor will the rest of my life be WITH her.
2. Sew Crafty Sarah – because her creativity and talents inspire me.
3. Mellowynk - because ONE DAY we ARE gonna have that cooking lesson! (and im jealous of her craft)
4. Brentabousko – cuz I know he’ll do it.
5. Chris Everson – because he should blog more often.
6. Mandy Graessle – beause she’s one of my favorite new people to meet this year. and houston is lucky to have her.
7. Ashley Slania – because I’m so proud of her venture into the blogosphere this year, and  she some how manages to have it all. and do it all so well.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it?

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

If you were in attendance at last year’s bash, you’ll remember more than I do, we hope to see you back again. If not, don’t miss out this year.  Oh, and fellas, Vinyl Ranch was just voted “Best Place to Meet Single Women” by the Houston Press.  So paint on those Wrangler’s and get your Stetson steamed. See y’all there!