cuteness & automobiles

One of the children I work with now attends an all asian daycare and the class occasionally goes out for a walk around town. Imagine a group of 10 tiny asian children under 5 years old all in a row, holding onto a ribbon with cute baby animals attached to it. Yeah. Basically every single person we pass turns around and smiles.

Also today an elderly woman who did not speak English gave me tons of asian candy that she pulled out of a giant plastic Halloween pumpkin.

I am taking a little roadtrip by myself tomorrow. Hard to believe that a few years ago I drove all by myself on an extended trip to Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Bloomington, Omaha, and even Tulsa and Oklahoma City. It was autumn and it was one of the best things I've ever done. Tomorrow's trip is not nearly as whimsical - I'm heading to Chatham University in Pittsburgh for school. I am studying infant mental health (which really is about fostering healthy relationships between children under 3 and their caregivers) through online classes and 3 weekend residencies in Pittsburgh. I'm excited about what I've been learning and I'm pretty certain I'm going to move on to a master's in clinical social work and put what I've been learning into practice. It will nice to see Pittsburgh at last, and I am lucky enough to get to stay with my friend Veronica.

Here's a bag I sewed up quick last night, all packed and ready to go. The fabric is ugly but ugly in the sort of way that I had to buy it and use it immediately.