Spring is here and life is good....

Spring! Finally! For me, spring means craft shows. I am busily making journals and collages and cards for my first show of 2011, Craft Saturday. Seriously can't wait. It was good to have a bit of a break, but 4 months without a craft show is plenty long for me. I really like doing them. I also have some other opportunities on the horizon for spring which I'll mention a bit further down the road. The last two weeks have been 2 of the happiest ever for me. At the end of March, I was relieved of my day job due to a "reduction in workforce." The reasons, whatever they might be, don't matter to me. The result does: not having to force myself to go to a soul-stealing day job for a while is like a precious gift to me. I am loving my life so much now that I don't have to go to work. I truly feel like a new woman. Or maybe, my old self. Probably a combination. I feel super-lucky to get to have time with my son, who is fun and amazing and wonderful every day. We are having lots of fun playing outside. We are busy working in the art room. He colors while I make books. I love how he announces each color after he uses it: "I colored green!" I've been enjoying simple pleasures like hanging the towels out to dry on the clothesline. And somehow at the end of the day, I am tired from working and playing hard, rather than feeling exhausted by stress and anxiety like I had felt after a day at my old job. My ultimate dream, of course, would be to never have to go back to working at a day job. I know that's probably not realistic just yet. But it doesn't mean I've given up hope. For now, though, I am grateful for every day that I get to work at home and enjoy life the way life should be enjoyed. If anybody would like more info about Craft Saturday, you can find it here: http://www.craftsaturday.com/. You can find us in downtown Des Moines on April 30th from noon to 6 p.m. in the 4th Street Theatre, which is adjacent to Java Joe's. Would love to see you there and I know you will enjoy all the fabulous handmade items. Happy Spring!

My dream...

....is to work at home. All. By. Myself. Making Stuff. All. By. Myself. Well, okay, not completely. My cat Bob will be my studio assistant. But I think the husband and child will have to vacate the house so that I can work productively. This might be a little unrealistic, because there are not that many places where an energetic 2-year-old and his less-energetic father can hang out all day on a budget of zero. So we'll work on that.
In the meantime, I keep dreaming about that SOMEDAY when I the stuff I make will bring in enough income so that I can QUIT MY DAY JOB. That's the big dream. And I know it's a BIG one, but that little voice in the corner of my head (okay, one of the little voices in my head) tells me that if I work hard enough I can make it happen. And I have to keep believing the little voice!

If any of you would like to make a small contribution to my dream fund, come see me at Market Day's Black Friday Sale this Friday at the Pappajohn Center smack in the heart of downtown Des Moines. Buy local, buy handmade, buy to help people like me make our dreams come true! It makes a difference. And you get way cooler stuff for yourself or for those on your shopping list than you will EVER find at a mall, I guarantee it!

Happy Turkey Day, and see you on Friday!