It's almost that time again...

During the spring and summer months, something magical happens.

Yard sale season.

So today (on the first day of spring), I am not thinking of daffodils or Easter eggs.  I am thinking of waking up early on a Saturday morning with my sister-in-law and our friend, getting Dunkin' Donuts, and driving around looking out for signs.  I'm thinking of the fabric, books, DVDs, arts and crafts supplies, and used furniture waiting to be put back out into the world down little neighborhood streets... and I'm thinking of the good deals that will be had by all.

I know a lot of people who think I am nuts for being such an avid yard-saler.  These people claim that yard sales are full of junk or that no matter how hard you wash yard-sale finds, they are never quite clean.  These are also people, and I must be very clear about this, who have never actually stopped at a yard sale.  Because it only takes one yard sale to be convinced that, for the most part, yard salers are normal people.

Don't believe me?  Look around your apartment (house).  Are you hoarding worthless crap that is covered in dust/mud/feces?  You're not?  Neither are 99.9% of the people selling things at yard sales.

Now look around your apartment (house) again.  Do you have something that you have never, once, used (hello, striped plaid plates that we got for our wedding from a distant relative)?  Or do you have something that you used to love, but now you don't really need anymore (hello, mug from the college my brother transferred from)?  Other, normal people do, too.  And they sell those things at yard sales.  Maybe your son just got in to the college my brother transferred from.  Or maybe the plaid plates that I really hate match your kitchen perfectly.  And both the plates and the mug are only fifty cents!

The friends I have that claim (with a fair amount of 'tude, I'll admit) that they could "never" yard sale are the same people that love my red and black vintage oriental rug in the dining nook ($25 at a yard sale, plus $10 to professionally clean it), or my black and white floral shower curtain ($3 at a yard sale, still in its original packaging), or my refinished dresser ($10 at a yard sale, plus sand paper, wood stain, and paint that I had in my basement).  When I tell them the shocking truth-- that my items are genuine-vintage and not Pottery Barn-- they shake their heads and say something like, "You must be more creative than me."  But I swear, I'm not.  It's just that when you only pay $10 for a dresser, you think, "I'm only out $10 if I mess this renovation up," and then it seems more manageable.  And when it comes out really great, it gives you more confidence to try something new in the future.

These same friends are the same people that have a Kindle or Nook, something (and I should be clear about this) I will never buy for myself.  Every Saturday throughout the summer, I spend twenty-five cents for the same books that they are paying $10 for on their eBooks.  If I love a book that I read, I can lend it to a friend... and if I hate it... I'm out twenty-five cents.

So this summer, I encourage you to stop by when a neighborhood is having a yard sale.  Pay the twenty-five cents and buy lemonade or brownies from a cute seven-year old who is saving up for a new bike one quarter at a time.  Look through the used Christmas decorations and collection of unfinished needlepoint for the $1 treasure that you didn't know you needed.  You'll be hooked.

Life is good, God is good.  Little lingonberries are everywhere.

Little lingonberries can add up to great things...

So, I work in the gift industry, but have a degree in social work and have been actively pursuing a social work position.  Unfortunately for the social work field right now, beginning social workers do not have many options.  Social service agencies have adopted a largely "fee-for-service" model, in which therapists take on clients on an hourly basis (no salary, no benefits, large amounts of travel...) and do not get paid for sick time, a client not showing up, a client prematurely ending therapy, etc.  Some agencies do this better than others.  I have a friend, for example, who works FFS with a diverse 26-client caseload and weekly supervision (paid!).  She is also paid for paperwork (treatment planning), allowed to bill for phone calls and cooperative care with other agencies, and given a gas stipend.  I like this agency... I wish I lived in the same state that she does!

I, on the other hand, interviewed for (and was offered positions at) not one, but 2 agencies where I would only be allowed 5 clients for my first three months, would not be paid for paperwork, mandatory trainings, gas mileage (FFS is largely meeting with clients in their homes), and supervision would be mandatory... but I would have to pay for it.  I was getting discouraged... when I turned the jobs down, I had to wonder; would I be offered something better?  Or was I doomed to make four hundred dollars a month minus the cost of supervision?

Just when I was getting really discouraged... sending out resumes to anyone who would potentially have a position I was qualified for (even if I thought I would hate the job), NOT hearing back from anyone, thinking that maybe quitting my gift-industry job and volunteering for a year would be my way in to the field... maybe you know the desperation?, I got a job interview at a truly amazing organization.

On Tuesday, they offered me a full-time job.

So I got to go into work on Wednesday... and quit!  And to say that it felt incredible... like my adult life was about to start, like I hadn't wasted a year and a half somewhere where I was unhappy... would be the understatement of the century.

So here's what I've learned from this:

Sometimes when you are only focused on the lemons, you miss the little lingonberries.  

And you should really be looking for the little lingonberries, because, let's face it.  God is good.  Life is good. And little lingonberries are everywhere.

Unfortunately, it would appear that I cannot sew on this blog...

... so my living room continues to be full of fabric.  Also, Joann's had a really good sale this weekend, so a little more fabric came into my life.  This weekend, I cut fabric to make pillowcases, so I will post a picture when they are done.  I am doing a craft fair next weekend in hopes of selling said pillowcases, but if I don't I will donate them to Conkerr Cancer, a non-profit here in Philly that donates pillowcases to children fighting cancer.  The pillowcases dress up their hospital beds during their stay.  It sounds simple, but some of the best things are!

Other than that, not much happened this weekend.  I watched some wonderfully sappy Hallmark movies (Christmas has started on the Hallmark channel), and got in touch with some people who I have been neglecting.  It's amazing to me that I constantly put off calling, e-mailing, or good-old-fashioned writing the people I don't see everyday, and yet it makes me so happy to hear about their lives.  I also made plans to see the upcoming Twilight movie with some friends.  I love those ridiculous movies and I cannot wait to see them with the two friends that will appreciate the silliness with me.

My husband surprised me yesterday morning by wanting to come out to do some errands with me.  I was shocked, because the errands were boring and really didn't involve him.  We had a blast together, though.  We went out to lunch and even got some Christmas shopping done.  It felt good to be with him.  It was like a date, even though we were only going to do some silly errands.

As stressed as I might get sometimes, life is good.  God is good.  Little lingonberries are everywhere.

A Creative Spot (That doesn't take over my living room...)

Hello world!  This is my very first entry on "Life's Little Lingonberries," a space I designed to be fun and creative place for me to write about my life, both the fun-and-creative part of it and not.  I promise (and for all I know, no one is reading this, so this is a promise to myself) to use this space as creative space only (and not as an angst-y, complain-y space).

What should I write about in my first entry?  Well, maybe I should say why I am calling this blog "Life's Little Lingonberries."  First of all, I was raised in a household that celebrates our Swedish heritage and one of the fabulous things about being Swedish is lingonberries.  For all of you non-Swedes, lingonberries are little red berries that taste a little like cranberries and, among other great uses, are candied to make lingonberry jam.  Lingonberry jam tastes fantastic with things like Swedish pancakes, Swedish meatballs, Luda... you know... yummy things.

Before Ikea (where you can buy lingonberry jam at the food market), lingonberries were hard to come by.  Even though I can now have lingonberry jam whenever I want (we live within 15 minutes of an Ikea), I still save it for special occasions.  It tastes like special Christmas Eves, and sleepy Saturday mornings when my cousins had slept over the night before, and the occasional Swedish meatball slow cooker dinner on a cold winter night.  In short, lingonberries are special.

I have decided to make an earnest attempt in my life to start looking for the simple, special things in my life, both the ones that I stumble upon and those that I create for myself and I am going to be thankful for them.  Wish me luck as I find Life's Little Lingonberries... I encourage you to find your own.