• Family Matters,  place holder posts,  Slow Living,  Slow News Day,  spilling my guts,  The Flower Business

    Is It Spring Yet?

    stillwinter

    This winter has been incredibly hard for just about everyone I know. There have been more challenges than usual, more mental illness than we are used to, and more bad news than usual. Is that even possible? Or am I looking at the world as a half-empty glass?

    After what seems like forever, I feel it in my bones that things are changing. I feel it every day when the sun comes out a little more and the gloom and cold gradually drift away. I haven’t been this excited about spring since I had a massive garden with baby pea pods popping up from the ground when I lived in the sticks. Remember that joy? It was great.

    winter-doldrums

    When Cody and I walk every morning, I feel more hopeful. I’m sorry I haven’t shown up here much. I’ve been working a lot, but mostly, I spend my free time self-soothing on a stream of social media content. It’s such a bad habit. I used to show up here to self-soothe, but I’ve gotten addicted to spacing out on lively content just as badly as everyone else.

    valentines-capsule

    So here’s a quick recap for the books (and by books, I mean my book, which is this online journal). February came and went. I felt all thirty days of it. Valentine’s was excellent because I have a convenient long-distance boyfriend who shows up when I need a man fix. Long-distance relationships have their perks. I made one bouquet of red flowers, which I love. I should have made more; my phone rang off the hook, but I wasn’t prepared because overhead capital has been scarce. It takes money to make money, etc.

    bugs-winter-formal

    Bug invited her boyfriend to their winter formal with this cute puzzle she ordered online. Isn’t it cool how social media has changed how people ask each other out to dances these days? It’s a crazy, creative show-off contest. I feel bad for people who don’t have the time or energy to think up new ways of asking each other out. But I like what they do come up with. Of course, I made the flowers.

    farmers-market-in-spring

    The Farmer’s Market has been a joy. Bug is in charge of groceries these days, and she has bougie tastes. I am not complaining, especially since she’s buying. I’m so proud of this kid.

    RastaRitaFlowers-at-the-cantina

    I’m doing flowers for a couple of weddings next month, so we made a quick trip to the Cantina to take photos and do inventory. I’m very excited about these weddings. I’m sure I’ll be sharing pictures here soon.

    apartment-hunt

    The biggest spring news is that Bug and I are finally moving out of our expensive apartment that I can’t afford. My mom and I went apartment-hunting and found several more apartments just out of my budget. I’m trying to get approved for one of them, and I have high hopes that I’ll pull it off with more hustling, but the risk is still very frightening. The hardest part is that Bug will have to go live with her dad if I don’t find an apartment to move to. Of course, he’s happy about that, but I’m crying every day at the thought. She’s not ready to be a full-grown adult yet. The world is too scary and expensive!! I can’t say more about that, but you know this over-protective mama’s heart.

    caterpillar-flowers

    I do have a safety net with my parents. If I didn’t have so many responsibilities in Orange County, I’d move home in a minute.

    safety-net

    I mean, look at these guys. Who wouldn’t want to live with them? They are adorable. And, no, Bug can’t move home with my parents with me. There are HOA politics there, and Bug has a job and a life here.

    all-the-pets-all-the-time

    So I comfort myself while I wait with pets and early morning walks. Things will be better soon.

    winter-sunrise

    Keep us in your prayers.

     

    p.s. This month’s banner was created with AI. I know! It’s cheating and not the usual SAJ style, but it took forever to get something similar done. Clicking out petal by petal takes so much time! Messing around with AI generation got me the same result in a fraction of the time!! It’s a little wonky—too many gradients, inconsistent light source—but you know what? If I didn’t knock it out, I probably wouldn’t even be writing this post.

  • BIG news,  Shop Talk,  The Flower Business

    A Wee Update

    flower-game-strong

    Yes! I have news! Sorry to leave you hanging in my last post.

    First of all, the flower business is going strong. I’m averaging 2 to 3 bouquets a week, which is really all I can handle because my business is based in San Clemente, and I still live in Irvine, which is a 30-minute drive. I do plan to move to San Clemente but I’m locked into my lease here in Irvine until April. I’ve been trying to find someone to take over my lease but that is not really going anywhere. So it’s good that I can learn the ropes, establish my reputation as a florist and keep things kinda slow until I can make the big move, AND OPEN UP A REAL FLOWER SHOP!!  I’m so excited. Baby steps though.

    back-to-school

    The Big NEWS is I’m going back to school for another completely new career. It was early days last time I blogged, so I was afraid to mention it too soon. I’m studying to be a behavioral therapist for autistic children. Plot twist, I know! But it’s something that has interested me for a long time, and when I put the word “creative” on a job board, it came up! Who knew? It turns out that being creative is a highly sought-after trait when it comes to being an effective behavioral therapist. It’s a really new field for me, with lots of *science* and data collection and a whole new dictionary of jargon, BUT I am loving it so far. I love learning, and this job is paying to train me. I’m going to school (online) and getting paid, and I love it. The classes are long, though, and if I don’t watch my schedule, I can get stuck watching videos and taking tests long after my bedtime, so it’s lots of coffee for me and drawing while taking notes to keep me alert and paying attention.

    Florita-Fundraiser-Tshirt

    In other news, I’ve set up a fundraiser to get Florita some brakes. As you know, this is the little Cushman one-wheeled truck I’m hopefully converting into a little flower shop truck. Unfortunately, she’s just sitting in the Rasta Rita parking lot, rotting right now because she has no brakes, and no one knows how to get her to a mechanic to get her fixed. Mario has put it in my court. He’s done paying for things.  I’ve got no funds for tow trucks or mechanics. I’m barely paying my rent. So I thought I’d make some t-shirts and sell them here, and maybe you guys would like a cool pink t-shirt with my logo on it and help the cause! A few of you have already helped me behind the scenes. (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!) I am continually amazed at how my friends (the readers of this blog) send love and funds for coffee and even money to get this flower shop up and going! Hopefully, I can return all the love with more regular writing, cool t-shirts, stickers, and who knows what else. I want to create more t-shirt designs, maybe some fun mermaids with flowers…but I thought I should make a classic one first. I’ve also bought one myself that I’m going to model and switch out for that Dad Bod picture ASAP. If you buy one and take a cute photo of yourself, send it to me!!!

    I need all the good hype I can get.  Please pass it on to your friend. Let’s make Rasta Rita Flowers a really cool place that people will want to visit when they are in town! You know it’s going to be that bookshop/antique store/thrift shop/art gallery/flower shop/coffee shop/sticker store/cat hangout/plant-lover vibe. I’m so excited.

     

    xo!