A Look Back....

A new year is upon us and with that comes a great deal of new things. For some people its the same old same old. But i think it's nice to really give the past year a good hard look and see that it's not all been the same day in and day out. For some of us, it's easier to see all the wonderful things that we experienced, new friends that were made, and good times had. For others, it's a struggle.

Myself, i can look back over this last year and know each day brought something to the table.

I was almost homeless last Christmas. I had no car to live in, so i would have been on the literal street if i hadn't gotten help from a local organization to keep my apartment. I was so terribly thankful to the man in that office who looked at me and said "It's not right! No one should loose their home at Christmas!" and handed me a check to cover the rent for December. I was in tears!!

Last January, i returned to school. I worked my butt off and got pretty decent grades. Returning to school brought a new adventure to my life and one of self reflection as well. Trying to figure out what i wanted to be when i "grow up". I didn't think i'd ever go back to school, but i was glad to have the opportunity, and i worked hard to get into UNCG. It wasn't easy and they made me jump through a lot of hoops. But i did it!

As the winter months dragged on, i continued my studies and worked hard to get good grades. It'd been a while since i was in school, and as an adult student, it wasn't as easy as it was the first time i was in college. But i just kept at it. One day at a time.

In the spring i returned to Shakori and was there with friends for several days over a long weekend. I worked hard in my classes so i could be there and miss a couple days without missing important things. My professors were all great about it as it'd been planned for 6 months, so they let me take exams early so i wouldn't be graded down for them. It was a fun time, but the rain was definitely a pain in the ass! The rain also brought spiders into the tent and i lost my shit a couple times due to the massive spiders that were everywhere and who seemed to be following me around in the woods! Lol!!

At the beginning of May i was able to go up to Virginia for my nephew's college graduation! My friend Ginny lent me her car for the drive so i wouldn't have to rent one, and off i went. My sister and her family were able to fly out for it as well and it was so great to see them!! Kim was definitely missing from the celebration, but we kept saying she was there in spirit.

My nephew the graduate!

Me, my nephew and my sister Raylea

 
At the end of May i went on a 8 day camping trip with a bunch of my friends and had the best time!! That trip truly changed my life! I thought Shakori was awesome, but that trip was way better!! I met some amazing people who have become my second family!!

A couple weeks later i went to Brooks' birthday party. I had met him on the camping trip a couple weeks prior, and truth be told i had a little crush on him. That story will be told at a later date as it's kind of extensive, but it's a good one!!

Ahh...this was the beginning of something amazing! Two bad dancers having a great time and our dear friend Lulu!

A few weeks after his party i went to Wilmington to see him, and we've been dating ever since!

Over the summer there were a few more trips to the beach, went to see some shows, a couple cook outs, birthday parties and time spent with my east coast adopted family.

In September Brooks asked me to move in with him, and he moved back to the Piedmont area. So we started looking for a house together and moved in with his parents until we could find one. We're still currently looking...

In October we went on our first camping trip as a couple! We went to Fall Shakori. It was a difficult trip. We had a great time outside our campsite, but inside that site, was not so much fun. Even some of our friends who came by our campsite noticed some tension. We decided that we would not be back in the spring, and if we went to the fall one next year, we'd pay to come and not volunteer.  In addition, we would change sites.

On one of our shifts at Shakori

In November I realized that i needed to change majors. I had a long talk with my friend Ginny and Brooks' mom Sherrie about it. Brooks is super supportive of whatever i want to do! The talk with his mom made me realize that i miss being in the arts and that's where my true passion lies. I then went to talk with my advisor and she encouraged me to change majors so that i'm happy doing what i love, not just doing what i need to for the money. I started an Etsy shop just before thanksgiving and it really took off! I had handmade ornaments ranging from my top seller of the Holiday Bacon to Santa, reindeer and stockings. I even got an order for the holiday bacon from Russia!!

Brooks was able to have Thanksgiving with his family for the first time in two years! His family on both his mom, and his dad's sides have welcomed me in with open arms!! His family is awesome and his parents are two of the greatest people I've ever met!! His mom and i are pretty close and have a lot in common. It's so nice to feel so loved by them! They've definitely been a wonderful addition to my life!!

December consisted of a lot!! A fantastic birthday party for one of our dear friends, the annual NYP Ball, a benefit for another dear friend who was the victim of a hit and run in Boone, a Christmas party with two other close friends, Christmas with both sides of Brooks' family, a trip to the Biltmore in Asheville just after Christmas day, and a trip up to the Smokey mountains to see another good friend! It's been a busy month, but we've had so much fun!!

This is probably one of my favorite picture from our 6 months together!! I sure do love this man!! This was at the annual NYP Christmas Ball. Man, the hippies sure do clean up well!!

Breakfast at my friends restaurant, Tomato Jam Cafe.
I was so excited to take the fam there!! If you've never been,
do yourself a favor in 2013 and GO!!! M-F 8-2:30 in Asheville.

My sweetie and I at Biltmore.

Another amazing place...Burgermeister's. A total luck of the GPS! Brooks found it and looked up the menu. Such a fun place, the waitress was awesome and the food, incredible!! This is the Guinness burger!

On the way down the mountain...

This year has been a wonderful one!! The good things totally outweighed the bad! I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2013 has in store for us!

The Story of a lil Shop

The last month has been pretty awesome I must say! After deciding to change my major to Fine Art it's like someone flipped a switch! I've managed to find all kinds of inspiration and creativity! Something that i haven't had in quite some time.

The creativity has done wonders for my soul as well as my battered self confidence. Battered due to this last semester of chemistry and stats. Two classes that i failed. BUT...the important thing is the things i learned about myself in failing those two classes. Or figured out about myself really. For one...I was meant to be an artist. It's something I've always been good at. Something I've always enjoyed. And something that has helped create the person i am today.

My fear when i was younger with getting a BFA was that artists don't make any money. Money has been a push for my career ever since i was young. Who wants to be a poor starving artist anyway? So i tried to go for a career that i wasn't 100% on because it would mean a better income. But here's the thing that i found along the way...money doesn't mean you'll love what you do. Period. Simple right? My advisor, who is one of my professors this semester, and i had a long talk about changing my major. She told me that she has 3 jobs and makes decent money. But if she only had the one job, she'd only be making 35K a year. If she was lucky maybe 38K. She said that she does enjoy her job most of the time because she's good at it, but it's not something she loves doing. Along with her advice, and several other people's advice, i decided i would change my major to do what i loved doing. So here i am. Working towards my bachelors in fine art.

At one point around that time i told Brooks i was thinking of starting up an Etsy (Here's my shop... www.etsy.com/shop/ladybugblvd) shop with handmade ornaments. I used to make stuff all the time! But i honestly wasn't sure where to start with my ideas, or if anyone would actually buy them. But i thought...what the hell! I'd give it a go and see what happened. I picked a name...(Ladybug Blvd is actually due to the ladybugs that have decided to nest in the house and they were everywhere that week. There's still a few and I've become a bit obsessed with them. I just love them!! The second thing i made after the first ornament was a ladybug pin cushion!) and away i went! Well 3 weeks later, I've shipped out dozens of orders across the US and even one in Canada!

The ornament that is going great guns is my Holiday Bacon. I do love that one! I mean come on...Bacon is a BIG thing right now!!

My other fav is Santa. I think he's adorable!! 

More importantly with this shop that I've gotten going, is how much fun I'm having with it!! Even when i stick my thumb with the needle 10 times a day, I'm still having a blast! And when the thread knots together a dozen times per ornament...i get flustered, but when it's finished, I'm happy. I may not be making a ton of money at it, and i don't think i've broken even quite yet with the supplies, but I'm having the best time!

Brooks is SO unbelievably supportive of this venture!! He set up a workshop space for me in the garage and drove with me up to Martinsville VA the other day to go to the JoAnn's store that i thought had my bacon colored felt. It's a different color than just regular red, and my customers would totally notice if i tried to pull off a red and cream colored bacon. Not to mention, I would know i tried to pull one over and i am just not ok with that!! So we drove a half hour and got to the store, only to find...that's not where i bought it. Sigh...but i refused to leave empty handed. So i bought my bacon thread. The bacon uses very particular colors of felt and embroidery floss, and because we live in a small town right now, it's hard to find all the stuff i need. The next day we went to Greensboro and found the rest of what i needed. Turns out i can get most of my materials at Michaels Craft Store and Hobby Lobby.

The amount of felt that i have is ridiculous!! I have a stack of colors about a foot high! On top of all the ribbon, beads, threads, and other items i use...it's surprising that i have space to sit when i work!


Along with my shop of handmade ornaments and gifts, I'm part of a Dare to DIY group. (Check out what others are doing here...http://www.twotwentyone.net/ ) Which has been very fun! This weeks theme is "Give Handmade". This one was easy for me. I wish i had all the items i plan to give this year, but since I've been processing all these orders, i haven't had time to work on them. And this week i had a nasty cold and got nothing done the day before yesterday. But they're in my head, just waiting to be made.

Here is a crazy ornament that i made for a friend of mine for her birthday. A flamingo (that is an inside joke with us) with a tutu, a few necklaces, a funny hippy hat and ribbons around it's ankles to fill in for shoes that she wears with awesome shoe laces. She loved it!! It was so much fun making this for her!! I just kept adding things until i had no more room! A very fancy flamingo!!

Giving handmade is going to be very fun this year! I'm really looking forward to getting all my other items finished!

I may not be a big business yet, but you have to start somewhere!! My ultimate dream with this is to be able to make a living doing what i love, and love what i do! ♥