Pretzel chunks in my water

It's a hot (90+), sunny, summer sunday. 3 families. 6 adults. 7 children. 1 Thomas the Tank Engine "happening" for a 2 year old birthday party. We stop for a much needed lunch refueling and recharging. I pull a cold, beaded bottle of water from the cooler. Oooooh sweet relief. The anticipation is intoxicating. Hungry kids? What kids? I take 3 or 4 deeply refreshing gulps of my water. I don't even try to hide the loud, "aaaahhh" that escapes. My mind clears and I begin to focus again. Okay, so feed the little ones. I move on to my motherly duties. About five minutes later, I happily return to my water bottle. ...GAG! What are those mushy, questionable chunks? All the other adults around the table look at me, and we all look at my water bottle. Hundreds of tiny floating chunks of partially eaten, water logged pretzel chunks are floating in my water. I look down at my almost 2yr old son, and I'm pretty sure he's the lead suspect. Bright blue eyes look up at me, as he happily shoves 2 or 3 pretzels and part of his hand in his mouth. I think, oh well. I laugh. We laugh. I kiss my son.

When I thought back on this, it seemed like a pretty accurate parallel to how I've felt during this venture adventure.

The anticipation of making reality out of a dream is a feeling like nothing else. But, there are pretzels in your water. There are bumps and hiccups, highs and lows, fears and courage you never thought you had inside you. Are you going to have a laugh, and drink it anyhow? YES. B/c you know the pretzel chunks are there b/c of the big picture you're devoted to. That you have to accept them as part of the process if you're going to BE a part of the process.

Some of MY belle&beanzer highs and lows...
I have an idea!! What do I do with my idea?
I found people to work with me!! They're not the right people.
I found new people to work with me!! I'm doing a lot myself.
I'm so productive!! I feel like I got nothing done.
I found a factory!! The factory's minimums are too high.
I found a new factory!! They're more expensive.
I found the perfect fabric!! It's more than I wanted to spend.
I officially formed my business!! It's a lot of paperwork and questions.
My idea is awesomely unique!! I just found a competitor.

AND because I like to end on a high note...
I secured my domain name!! www.belleandbeanzer.com

By now you know the basic info about belle&beanzer.
We are planning a soft launch with the first garment Spring 2012.
Fall 2012 will introduce additional pieces and be widely available in boutiques.

Now, moving onto the fun stuff. I can't wait to get you involved in process!!
My baby line is for moms, dads and babies. Seriously. Can't we all just get along? YES!
See my next post...