4th of July is July 4th. Always.

Another working mom mind-blip. Our dear friends Scott & Evelyn throw their annual 4th of July barbecue where I get to catch up with some of my favorite people every year. In mommy-mode, I say of course we'll go! Meanwhile, in shop-owner mode, I'm asked, are we open on 4th of July? Of course we're open!

Whoops. Did you know that there's only one 4th of July 2008? And I can only be in one place at a time? Luckily my business partner Mary graciously allowed me to abandon her at the shop while I stole a couple of hours with my friends and family. And it turns out the neighborhood was pretty much a ghost town and we closed as soon as I got back. So did I run back to my barbecue? Nope. I stayed at work and enjoyed the quiet of getting to work uninterrupted. Lucious.

Me and Kat Von D

So it's Tuesday night which means I've got a date with Kat Von D. She and I have a lot in common. So what if she's a goth-metal-skull-tattoo-covered ghostly-pale white girl and I'm, well, not. Really not. But Kat is the star of LAInk, which chronicles a young passionate tattoo artist opening her own shop in Hollywood. She's so green but she makes decisions with her gut, and it's clear that she loves her work and she loves the crew she's working with.

That's just like me and Mary! (Only we sell clothes and cute things that aren't permanent parts of your body!)

Her shop is also woman-powered by Kim, Hannah, and Pixie (plus Corey, who's a married guy and has three kids, so he's practically a woman). Every artist in the shop is absolutely awesome, as in I never knew tattoos could be actual works of art. Can you tell that I am considering getting one for the first time? I could even get one on the show, if I could be so brave.

And I love how their work is so crazy-personal with the clients. People get tattoos because of some heavy-duty issues: death in the family, near-death car crash, love lost, love found, love my child and/or pet, beat cancer, beat bulimia, new career, ...the list goes on. What a privilege to (permanently) mark these major turning points in peoples' lives!

Our dream for Ruby's Garden is to be a safe place to land in the neighborhood, even if you're at the end of your rope because your colicky baby kept you up all night, even if only for a little while. I'll say it again, getting to know you awesome people has been one of the absolute best reasons to stay in this job. What a privilege indeed.

By the way, we're still waiting for final word on our move. Stay tuned.

Still waiting...

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and Ruby was angelically working alone on an art project. I was just about to fall asleep on the couch when Ruby decided she needed an envelope for mailing her art to a friend. I foolishly tried to stay in the sleepy zone, and mumbled to her she needed to wait. She proceeded to melt into a puddle wailing, "I HATE WAITING!"

I know how she feels. This summer has been a difficult time of waiting. Since we were robbed on June 14th, Mary and I have decided and undecided all possibilities:

• First: Shut down, this work is too dangerous, we're not making any money anyway, especially if someone keeps breaking in or robbing us every few months. But still....I think I like this work.


• Then: Move the shop, we must be on the wrong street. But...the crime is ridiculous all over the city.


• Then: Move to the burbs. Ick, what are we thinking? We love living in Temescal and this is where our people are.


• Now: Keep the shop open, get onto Telegraph, hope for more money to come in to cover more costs.

So we waited to know how we really feel about this work, and since re-opening I can only think of tasks that have to wait until we know where we'll be located next month. Until we hear from the property owner on whether we'll get the space on Telegraph, I'm in limbo. I'm ready to go big or don't go at all.

But I can't. I have to wait. I have to do more planning, I have to entertain worst-case-scenarios (which I'm finding difficult!) and then raise more money to cover startup and initial operating losses. In my head I know this is good for me like medicine. It would be nice if in some future blog I can say, "Ah, now I see what all the waiting was for." But is that how it really works? I hope so.