10 days, and yeah, I’m counting

10 days until Nov 30, and yeah, I’m counting.  

Nov 30 has a big circle on all of my calendars — that will be my final day at Blackbaud.  And December 1 will mark the beginning of something new for me and for Badass Backpacks.  Last December I was just preparing to participate in the altMBA.  Part of that program includes a hefty reading list of books, and I spent most of December diving in deep to read as much as I could in all of the recommended books.  The big thing that surprised me was that I was actually able to complete more of the reading list than I imagined I could.  I had before stared at a stack of books in a power reading list, and I get so intimidated, that I just shy away from starting, but with the immediacy of the altMBA, I just dove right in.  It was cool to see how much I was able to work my way through that stack of books.  So I’m going to try it again this December.  Seems like a perfect time.   [First on my list for this Dec is this highly recommended book:  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up]

Have you ever felt like you had a layer of something weighing you down?  Something that was there, but you weren’t sure what it is?  Or why it’s feeling so heavy?

Blue Herons Oil Spill - by Eli Halpin

Sometimes it’s good to remember that immediately under that layer — is you.  Beautiful and powerful, pure and true.  And you’re there, even when that unexplainable layer of something is weighing you down.  You can always come back to who you really are.

Blue Herons Flight - by Eli Halpin

The above paintings are two of the magnificent paintings that Eli Halpin created as part of our newest project, Oil Spill.  There are 5 paintings total that she created for this project and I’ll continue to slowly roll out more snippets of her other paintings here on the blog (as well as some sneak-peek shots of how these paintings are making their way onto some bags).  I had the chance to swing through Eli’s stop on the East Austin Studio Tour during these last 2 weekends and it was a reminder that seeing Eli’s artwork in person is something special.  We continue to be inspired and very excited that we’re getting this chance to work with her (and with her chief partner in crime, Michael)!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *