Hi! Sorry for the silence -- nothing awful has happened, thank God, in fact quite the opposite. I'm busier than ever with work opportunities and the learning curve has been steeper than expected. I'm not quite ready to tell you all that's going on, but I promise you it's good.

Of course, all this work coincided with the end of the school year, and <a href="http://www.everydaytreats.com/2012/06/why-wait.html">you all know how I felt about that</a>. (Sorry for the rant, but I was tired y'all.) Now that the kids are home I feel more relaxed because I don't have to physically be in as many places at once, but the pull of my many responsibilities is more obvious. My life is very fragmented, and I've been thinking about balance more and more.

(Incidentally, there have been two pieces about balancing it all and how technology impacts this brave new world of work. One is in <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-can-8217-t-have-it-all/9020/#.T-K6MKl1naw.twitter"><em>The Atlantic</em> and is raw and powerful in its honesty</a> and the second is by my <a href="http://pivotboston.com/">Pivot partner Morra</a> and she's discussing <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/06/19/are-social-networks-just-a-fad-6/social-media-are-here-to-stay-and-thats-good-for-women">social media and women and work in the NYT</a>. Take both of these excellent pieces together and you get a feel for where my brain has been.)

So you could say balance has been on my mind.

But I won't get into that discussion here and now. Instead I'll just give you a quick bulleted update on what I've been up to. I know you need to know.
<ul>
	<li>I'm still buying flowers for myself (see the picture above) because they make me happy. It's the little things.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li><a href="http://frogandsnail.com/2012/06/boys-home-for-the-summer-babbabox-to-the-rescue/">I'm giving away a BabbaBox over at the Frog &amp; Snail</a>. What's a BabbaBox you say? It's a box full of activities for the little ones -- crafty, educational activities and all you have to do is open the box. Everything you need is inside. It's pretty awesome, and the boys had a lot of fun playing spies. See?</li>
</ul>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Brothers.jpg"><img title="Brothers" src="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Brothers.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="335" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Kids, man. They're hilarious! (<a href="http://frogandsnail.com/2012/06/boys-home-for-the-summer-babbabox-to-the-rescue/">Now go sign up so you can win a box of your very own!</a>)</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://blogs.babble.com/babble-voices/the-frog-and-snail-society-page-roxanna-et/2012/06/18/the-advantages-of-aspergers-adhd-dislexia/">I discussed why the world needs misfits</a> over at my column on Babble Voices. (Have you visited yet? You should!).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>I found the perfect pair of shorts -- at Ann Taylor of all places! As a Miami native I have a natural aversion to shorts (they tend to look...touristy) but now that I'm a Bostonian and it's 100 degrees (not really) I really wanted a pair. And you know how the ones in the J Crew catalog look so cute, but then you try them on and eh? I mean, I love J Crew with a passion, but I do not have the body of their models. If you are not a teenager but want shorts that are cute and not slutty or matronly, go try on the City Shorts -- <a href="http://www.anntaylor.com/ann/product/AT-Apparel/AT-MHL-RIVERA-CHIC/Cotton-Side-Zip-Shorts/272226?colorExplode=false&amp;skuId=11251842&amp;catid=cata000014&amp;productPageType=fullPriceProducts&amp;defaultColor=5648">I'm not the only person who thinks they're magical</a>.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Ann-Taylor-AT-Pants-Cotton-Side-Zip-Shorts.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3881" title="Ann Taylor   AT Pants   Cotton Side Zip Shorts" src="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Ann-Taylor-AT-Pants-Cotton-Side-Zip-Shorts.png" alt="" width="377" height="594" /></a>

&nbsp;

So you see, I've been busy, even if I've neglected you guys over here. Sorry. You can always keep up with my internet shenanigans on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/EverydayTreats">Facebook</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/miguelina">Twitter</a>, if you'd like.