Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Schedule for Remainder of 2006

Holiday season is upon us and we like to visit with our families as much as you do. Therefore, we are publishing the following schedule for the rest of the year. Happy Holidays!

Thursday, 11/23, through Sunday, 11/26: Closed for Thanksgiving
Monday, 11/27, through Friday, 12/1: Open, but in meetings all day; please leave a message
Saturday, 12/2, and Sunday, 12/3: Closed
Monday, 12/4, through Friday, 12/8: Open, available most of the week
Saturday, 12/9, and Sunday, 12/10: Closed
Monday, 12/11, through Friday, 12/15: Open, available most of the week; turning in final designs for the year
Saturday, 12/16, through Monday, 1/1: Closed for winter holidays

Expressing Gratitude

This holiday season started early for me. Finally, after four years, I was able to visit my mom out-of-state. Fortunately we have remained in almost-constant contact via phone and email, so we didn't have a lot of catching up to do. However, technology can't compete with face-time, and I'm immensely grateful we had five days to talk and just enjoy. In that brief visit I was reminded what unconditional love truly means -- I might be biased but I promise I have the Best Mom In the World.

David kept the office and everything else in running order while I was away. He took care of my responsibilities as well as his, and I thank him for taking over so I could visit my mom. Folsom is not very happy with me for going away -- especially since he smells Mom's dogs, Rocky and Sushi, all over my clothes and luggage. David said he moped around while I was away; he really must have missed me. Today he seems to be pouting but is quick to forgive me for 'abandoning' him. Thankfully!

Tomorrow we have the pleasure of spending time with my family in the early afternoon, David's family in the later afternoon. All our siblings and parents (except my mom) will be present; I'm looking forward to giving thanks for each and every member of our families. We are a large but tight-knit group.

This is my favorite time of year because I have a smidge of time to reflect on the year's accomplishments. I'm able to close up projects and tie up loose ends, and next month we'll spend most of our time planning for 2007. Many great things have happened this year, and for all of them and all of you -- our readers and clients -- we are humbly grateful. 2007 will be terrific; we look forward to sharing our great news and happenings with you as they occur.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. All our best...Christy, David & Folsom

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

What Matters

Friday we turned in a design for an elementary school in Dallas ISD. The goal of the project was to create an outdoor learning environment that would be low-maintenance, low-water consuming. What evolved is truly a restoration project: plants native to our area will be the backbone of the garden, and adaptable vegetable/fruit/herb specimens will be incorporated to represent our economic and agricultural history here on the Blackland Prairie. There will be plentiful opportunities for learning about organic gardening, natural history, even sitting areas for contemplation and reflection. We invested our souls in this project. But instead of feeling spent when it was done, we felt rejuvenated. A few days have passed and still we are floating on fulfillment.

Yesterday I spoke to Collin College's advertising class about branding a green business. Starting a green business would be another great topic to explore, but given the timeframe (50 minutes) I focused on advertising outlets, logos and marketing techniques specific to green businesses. I don't think I inspired an entire class to take a leap into green entrepreneurialship. But I think I presented them with other ideas about business, and I hope intrigued them enough to seek more information about this topic. Whatever the result, it felt terrific to talk about the business side of Nativedave. I've never done that before; until now all our presentations have been about native plants, sustainability, or environmental issues. Talking shop with advertising students was good, though. The experience challenged me, and encouraged me to accept speaking engagements on a variety of topics.

My point is, closing a huge landscaping deal isn't what motivates us. Sure, we have to eat and keep bringing in revenue so we can continue to get out our message. But these opportunities to share our knowledge and expertise -- and many years of experience -- remind us what truly matters to us.