Josephus & Peggy | Photo Shoot

I can't tell you how excited I am to share my first real clients with y'all! Josephus and Peggy have a special place on my heart. I had so much fun posing and toting them around while I searched for a good spot from the harsh sun. They're a photographer's dream, y'all. Perfectly still, glamorous smiles, all the charm, and good looking too. But I digress...

 Here she is! Planted early May, complete with her own handcrafted-recycled pineapple can and a handmade trellis from chopsticks!

 She's a good sport for all this Wisconsin weather, and I hope she enjoys the window sill just as much as a huge garden plot. But isn't she just gorgeous? 

 This is Josephus, the cutest, prickliest cactus that ever existed. Being super practical, the only thing he asks for is a whole lotta love and tender care, because behind those prickles is a heart of gold. I do dote on him.

 Oh yes, he has his own personalized pot, too. I think it gives him confidence, compared to other poor potted creatures who suffer from plain plastic pots with no sparkle.

 My handsome little cactus.

Alright - I'm not bonkers, I promise. Once my dearest, darlingest, sweetest doggy ever had to leave the premises, I began to search for my new fur less pets. Since the whole coyote thing didn't work out, and neither did plan B (the rats) I've found the peas and cacti do just fine. And pots are really fun to decorate //

(P.s. You really didn't think this was a photo shoot, riiiigghtt? After all, what's the odd of a couple with the names Peggy and Josephus?)

thankful for:

V I A

1. Cramming on one bed with sisters, choking from laughter 

2. Bottle full of lemon water to drink

3. Morning hugs and smiles

4. School notebooks jammed tight with finished schoolwork

5. Neatly folded clothes waiting to be worn

6. The wail of a mourning dove

7. Freckles on little faces

8. the scrape of the main door swinging open

9. Cherrios stuck to the counter

10. Sunshine bleeding through windowpanes

11. Little girls who don't know how to comb their hair

flower power, cherry shouter

p.s. never mind the title - credit it to my lame poetry skills...annnd...this proves that there is hope in the world: spring finally came to Wisconsin!

once upon a job interview //

VIA DEB SHWEDHELM

Remember that failed attempt of mine to apply as a library page? Well, the position opened again, and I felt like Steve from Captain America as I sent in my application again. After all, I figured, two tries does say something about your character. You know.

Morning dawned, and I minded my own unimportant business as I worked on my cause and effect essay. Phone rings, mom talks, and wait - the phone is shoved in my hands! Me + phones = misunderstandings. Trying to smother my frazzled response of "gah-I'm-talking-on-the-phone!!!" I calmly greeted the mysterious caller: some sweet lady who informed me that the library wanted me to come in for an interview. REALLY?!? Oh, joy, how exciting! Somehow I made an appointment with the lady and scribbled it on the family calendar, and then raced to go tell my mother and anyone else who would bother to listen.

Fast forward to Monday, limp curls and crumpled skirt later, and me worrying if I locked the car. My stomach began to gnaw from nervousness as I walked past the two sets of double doors. I was getting more nervous as I realized I would be meeting with the director of the library, and that scared me because I thought she was the librarian that always scared the bejeepers out of me. Walking up to the desk, I realized with horror - it's the librarian!! - and somehow squeaked that I had a job interview. Turns out she wasn't the director, and she also a very sweet librarian. In fact, she and the other librarian seemed amused as they watched me try to be composed as I sat in a waiting chair. Those cute little teenage girls on their first job interviews!!

For reals, the first thing I did was knock over a display sign. Bethany!!

Suddenly, there she came. The library director. All misgivings gone, here came a smiling lady nicely dressed who came up and shook my hand (I forgot to stand up!!) and introduced herself to me. She walked me to her office, and there were two more ladies who would also interview me as well.

Gulp. Sit down. Put down purse. Smile, Bethany, smile! Look like you actually are remembering names. Say hello. Smile again. Sit down more comfortably. Goodness sakes, quit fidgeting!!

Needless to say, my three "interrogators" were joking and smiling and made me feel perfectly at ease, and I even was so comfortable as to make a lame joke about our family shopping carts (we were talking about carts...). It lasted about five minutes, and then came THE TEST. 

Yes, folks, a test. It took all my will-power to listen to the instructions of the "test" instead of going through a mental train of thought about how I was totally not expecting this. The ladies left the room, and it was just me and a cart full of unorganized books - and 10 minutes.

Kneel down. Start with fiction. Stop reading the titles! Sing the alphabet quietly to self. S definitely comes before T. Two Perry's? Oh, dear. Yes. Ugh, the books keep falling down! Wait a minute, I forgot about this one. Why are there two authors with the same first and last name but a different middle name? Crazy. Crazy. BETHANY - stop thinking! Finished. Start with non-fiction. 133.5 is waaaay less that 641.7. Wait. Right? Right!?! The number is two lines long! WHAT?!?! Um...totally should've asked more questions...bethany... Did I do it right? Gah, the time!!

Ten minutes later, I walk out composed and calmly report that I'm done. The lady smiles, wishes me a good day and I scramble outta there at the quickest walk possible to still look refined. Library carts are definitely not like shopping carts