around here & maternity leave.

Such a good week. Progress all around. The little one grew. The to-do list shrunk. The robot vacuum cleaned. The sun shone brightly. The tomatoes turned red. Cannot complain.

This week, the stamp set I designed for Studio Calico became available. This was my first time making an unmounted stamp set and the only direction I was given was that it was for a June add-on. How fun! I love summer, I love June... it was a joy to put together. You can see a few of the stamps in action above and purchase here.

Tomorrow, June 1st, is the start of my approximately eight week maternity leave. During this time there will not be six posts a week appearing at 5 AM PST. There will still be posts this I know. After seven years of blogging, it would be impossible for me to undergo such a major life change without writing, but they will be less editorial calendar-ed and more on the fly. Some of you will love this and some will hate it. I'll lose some readers and I'll gain some readers. So basically, it will be a very average couple of months around here.

I will be taking down paid sidebar advertisers. (Some affliate ads will remain.) I will not be having guest posts, sponsored posts/giveaways or recycling old content. I know that all three can be done successfully, but not by me. Heads up that things might look wonky here today and tomorrow, as I make a few layout changes and freshen things up for summer.

I am embarking on a new & warm season. I don't know exactly where the shop, the blog or my job will be at the end of this break. I welcome that. Paul and I have talked a lot about what's to come and one thing we're thankful for is flexibility. The job that has kept him away for most of this pregnancy is the same reason why I have this time to figure things out. Such an incredible blessing.

As always, thank you for reading. And happy, happy end of May. I look forward to adding my take on motherhood to the wide array of subjects I have covered here since 2005.