Monday, March 12, 2012

I am NOT in control

You probably think that I have some type of personality disorder.  But this is the way that life works for me.  Once I feel comfortable in my gifts and that I have some type of direction, God shows me how much that I am not in control and He pulls the rug out from underneath of me.

In my last few posts I have been excited to tell you about my new line of crochet items and I have been planning and organizing to get ready to launch a spring line.  This past Saturday I packed up all my yarn and put it in storage.  How quickly life changes for me.  I have to admit I shed a few tears as I felt that soft yarn full of color and possibilities pass through my fingers as I packed it away.  But I know that for a time, this is how it must be.  I still have a few crochet orders to fill so I will finish those and then see where life has me at that time.

Our house renovation has taken a huge toll on our family.  I am so thankful that my husband is a contractor and that he has been able to provide the labour for our home, otherwise we would not be in a safe and warm home.  But you either have time or money when it comes to times like these and we are currently out of both.  It is time for me to get a job.


In my early 20’s all I wanted was a career, I didn’t even think that I would get married.  I was selfish, everything was about me.  Thankfully, I have changed and found a wonderful man that accepted me unconditionally.  In our first years of marriage I worked as an Educational Associate at a local school.  I am an analytical person so during that time I made a lot of realizations about the students and how they learned.  One major thing that I noticed while working in the school was that the students whose parents were involved in the school and what their children were doing did incredibly better in school, than the student whose parents never showed their face inside the school.  It was during those years that I decided that I wanted to stay home and be there for our children.  I wanted to volunteer in the school, I want to attend Parent/Teacher interviews, I want to pick up our children from school “just because”.  My children matter and I desire what is best for them, I want them to know that they have support at home whenever they need me. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a parent that is overprotective of my children.  If our daughters get in trouble at school, they are in for twice as much trouble when they get home.  Bad behaviour is not tolerated.  I dealt with many situations where students would get in trouble at school and the parents would come in and demand that their child receive an apology and that the teacher would summer 2011be reprimanded for their actions.  And this would be the case even if the student was clearly in the wrong.  It was just scary how some parents would act.

Anyway, that’s a topic for another post.  I chose then that I wanted to be home for my children.  Getting a full-time job where I am choosing to give that time to another person is just killing me.  But I am the bookkeeper of the family and I know that it is necessary at this time.  I sent out a prayer request to my friends on Instagram and the support that I received just made me weep.  What wonderful people there are in this world.

As I wait for responses from my job applications I am still doing what I can in order to stay at home with our girls.  Look at how cute they are; why would I want to be anywhere else than to be able to be home and be the Mom that they need.

As I have been dealing with all this crazy financial stuff, I have been trying to work through what I can do to make money and still be able to stay at home and make money and be flexible enough that either my husband or myself can be here for the girls.  I love to crochet and I think I am pretty good at it, but with the amount of time that it takes to crochet things you really can’t charge enough to make any money.  My husband is very glad that I finally made that realization.  I will still do it for fun, but I think my aspirations have changed in that area.

So what else am I good at?  I thought that I am good at organizing my husbands business and I can do accounting.  So I placed and ad on Kijiji to offer my services as a Small Business Personal Assistant.  CLICK HERE if you would like to view the ad.

Then I thought about how I like to organize events.  I have organized camps, conferences and fundraising events.  I love the planning and putting it all together, I even love the relief of knowing that it is over and that it was a success!  So I made a few phone calls, I have a few friends that I thought could help me see if there is a need in the community.  How encouraging to find out that there is a need.  I can now introduce myself as a wedding and event planner!

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I posted another kijiji ad.  And I set up a little website for people to find me with a little information.  I have already had a call, so this is exciting! 

I would like to ask my friends that live locally that if you know of someone who could use a wedding or event planner to please pass on my name.  Also if you know of anyone who works in this industry to please pass on my name, website and recommendation.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting as my life could lead in any direction.  We have had difficult discussions with the girls over the weekend so that they understand and can prepare themselves for what the future may hold.  But I have to remain strong in that God will provide and have faith that He will give us the wisdom that we have asked for in making these decisions.  If you think about us could you say a short prayer on our behalf, it would mean so much.  Thank you.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Creative Writing Class and the WINNER!!!!

So here is a shameless plug for my Creative Writing class that starts this Saturday at the Prince Albert Arts Centre!  We need 3 more registrations to run the class so please share this information with your friends.

Creative Writing Fun (Ages 10-18)
Instructor(s): Carolyn Carleton
Course Dates: Mar 03 - Mar 31 ~ 5 Class(es) over 5 Week(s)
Schedule: Sat, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Boardroom
Description: This course is designed to foster creativity and self-expression in a supportive environment. With just creative writing the young writers are encouraged to develop thinking and writing skills that will help them discover their unique voices.
Details: Please bring a notebook and pens.
Fee(s): $65.00 Registration Fee

To register please visit the Prince Albert Arts Centre on Central Ave.

I really hope that this class will start on Saturday!!!!!


And the winner of the crochet ring chosen by the random generator is:

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#8 Natalie!

Congratulations!!!!!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Thankful Thursday~ Crochet Giveaway!!!

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Recently I have been waking up in the morning being thankful.  It is an awesome feeling!  It isn’t something that I have told myself I need to do.  It is just something that is naturally happening each morning.  I love it, I lay in bed thinking about all the things that I have to be thankful for.

A friend posted this on Facebook and I love what she says:

“So once in awhile God gives us a reality check. I was steaming mad this morning by some comments I read on here and then I come across a families journey to saying goodbye and I realized that life is too short to complain about what other people see as their reality, it's only fitting to thank God for my loved ones and hold them close and dear and never forget to tell them that I love them. In the end, do I really need to worry about how each of you live your life? At the end of today, I am only looking up to the heavens and hoping to hear "well done, good and faithful servant, well done."

I know a lot of families who are going through “stuff” right now and I spend a few moments praying for those families.  Life really is too short.  Our girls have had the last week off of school and I can’t believe how fast it has gone.  We have been busy, my oldest had a soccer tournament in Saskatoon and they won silver!!!  I am so proud of how hard the girls played.  They are an under 10 team and they were playing in the under 12 division.  So they were playing against girls that are bigger, can kick harder and have been playing longer.  My daughter has hardly taken the medal off from around her neck.  I am thankful that I signed her up for soccer, it has been such a self-esteem builder for her.

Yes, I did mention something about a crochet giveaway didn’t I.  In case you are new here, I love to crochet, it is so therapeutic.  My new passion is crocheting jewellery.  I never thought that I would be able to create such beautiful things. 

My crochet rings have become my best seller and I would love to give one away!

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Aren’t they gorgeous!  The orange one can be yours!  Sorry that the pictures are still labelled with my previous name.  I am in the process of doing new photo shoots for Living Skies Crochet. 

To win just leave me a short comment below telling me something that you are thankful for and I will use the random generator to pick a number from the comments below.  The winner will be chosen on Monday, February 27th!

Can’t wait to read your comments!!

**Feel free to join me for Thankful Thursday!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

So much to share

Where to begin?

I am finding that life is too short to be this busy and stressed out so I knew that changes needed to be made.  The first thing that I did was temporarily shut down my Etsy shop.  I am moving in a new direction with my crochet items and I need time to revamp and organize.  I also need time to finish up the orders that I currently have and just so everyone knows—I am no longer taking personal orders.

Secondly I quit my job as the crochet instructor at Michaels.  It was just becoming too much, with having to drum up new students and photocopy zillions of handouts and having to reschedule classes.  I have to admit that when I finally made the decision to quit a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.  And I was able to cross off about 15 things off my to do list.  That felt really good!  And then I took white out and erased all the classes off my calendar and that felt good too!  I thought that I would be really upset but it is totally okay!

Now I am focusing on my husband's business.  I am the “office manager” and to be honest I wasn’t doing a very good job.  Since it is his income that keeps are family warm, clothed, fed and a roof over our heads, I knew I needed to give that “job” more attention than I normally do.

As with my crocheting, I am not going to give much away because I want to wait until I open my shop for the big announcement but I thought I would show you a few of things I have made in the last little while.

One thing I can tell you is that I have changed the name of my crochet shop to Living Skies Crochet!


This is a design that I did myself!

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A huge slouchy hat!

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Another slouchy hat

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I have totally loved making rings!

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I made a few cowls as Christmas time.

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My new earrings have been a hit as well!

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