I'm Back!

My last blog post was in December of 2009. My things have changed!

I have officially graduated and received my BA in Sociology. It was a five year journey and to have completed it feels amazing!

My business has also grown. Ridiculously. I have branched out into the wholesale distributor field, supplying high quality yet affordable craft supplies (geared mainly towards hair accessories and handmade boutique items). This has kept me extremely busy while also splitting my time with my handmade venture. My pacifier clips are still my best sellers. I have had to shut my shop down a few times because I simply did not have time to keep up with orders along with running the other parts of my business. Each time I shut down for a prolonged amount of time I get nervous that once I reopen, the influx of orders will be no more. But each time that fear is unfounded, I start getting orders right away! It's a blessing, to have something that started as a hobby turn prosperous. I am able to stay at home, make my own hours, take days off, and not worry about how my absence is going to affect my work. If my daughter become sick, or my husband has the day off, I am able to take a break. It's refreshing. But, it's still stressful. Some days I have a slow trickle of orders, other days I get bombarded. To say that I have had to learn time management is an understatement. Being organized has been the most important thing I have had to learn. And when I say organized, I don't mean my craft room. THAT looks like the craft tornado went through. Or, as I call it, organized chaos. I simply do not have enough room for all of my inventory!

The bright side, we're in the process of purchasing our first house! My husband has been in the Army for the past 12 years. We have lived in three different states, moved four times, and survived a year long deployment. Sadly, and excitingly, my husband has decided to close his chapter of being in the Army. He is close to receiving his BA and we decided that we would like some stability in our lives. Our daughter is young and resilient, but we want what is best for her. The idea of moving every few years is exciting and stressful. Yes, we get to move around the US to different bases, but along with that comes with the possibility of Eric being gone for who knows how long, leaving friends behind, making new friends, and learning new terrain. So, we have decided that we would like Brooke to stay in one place and keep the friends she makes. She is excited as well. I don't think she'll remember all of the moving when she gets older, but it was a fun adventure.

Our new house is a new construction. We're building in an outer suburb of the Twin Cities here in MN. It's the perfect house for us, one we can raise our family in and make a home of it. We have settled with every house we have lived in since we got married, so now we get to be picky and have everything we want. The greatest part? I get the whole basement as my workspace studio! It's large, over 800 sq. ft. and has everything I need. I am contemplating bringing in a professional organizer to help me set it up. I want it functional. I want a space that I love and can keep organized (or so I tell myself). There will be plenty of room, I just need creative ways of organizing my inventory with enough room to sort orders. I will be sure to post pictures when we're all moved in! Right now it looks like our closing date will be in September. All of the developers are extremely busy, hence the 5 month wait (we signed our PA in the beginning of February). Now that we have a "home", we are impatient to move in.

So that's a small summary of what has been going on. I will try my best to update this regularly. :) Have a happy Friday!