Putting the "Happy" into "Happy New Year"

Although there hasn't been much activity in the blog there has been lots activity on the other side of my computer. Not only did I have plenty of custom knitting orders in December (which I loved!!!) but once things died down, I decided it was time to rearrange my work room.

I am an employee that works from home and have a desk dedicated for my job. Although I'm constantly on the lookout for new and improved ways to work and process the jobs and to become more paperless, I still have lots of files and papers on my desk -this is not a place that I do any other work. In the same room I had a nice little desk with a hutch that I considered my personal desk, but I had buried it behind craft supplies and couldn't access the drawers or doors. I decided that it would be good to have one desk for work and one desk for personal use. The personal desk could have pretty things like candles and flowers on it. I also thought it would be good if they could be across from each other as this would put them both near the window and both near the baseboard heater plus all I would have to do is turn the chair around from one spot to another which would save some space.

This simple idea, however, took three days to do. It involved unloading two 7' tall Bonde (Ikea)  bookcases and moving a filing cabinet. It also involved getting rid of as many things as I could. The task is now complete and I am happy with the results. The room is still fuller than it should be but I am happy with it and will continue to work on it. And I still have 3 knitting orders for January, which also makes me very happy.

As well over the past two weeks I was able to sit down with several wonderful ladies who've not only supported me in my knitting business but also in my dance. It is a wonderful feeling to connect with such amazing people. I also had a long meeting with my dance instructor discussing where I'm at and how I'm feeling and this has also renewed my excitement for dance and the future.  I know it sounds cliche but it's definitely been a journey in so many ways.

For me, and many others I talked to, 2014 was a tough year. It's not the worst year of my life, and tragic things didn't necessarily happen, but it was hard - not much came easy that's for sure. And interestingly, it was the same for many others. But I do believe that those tough things won't exist this year and I really think the tough past was a prelude to good 2015. I already put all  the hard work into building the foundation and feel I will reap the benefits this year.

I've suffered from depression and low moods throughout my life but I'm feeling really good about things right now. I'm feeling happy and I feel hopeful. I don't write resolutions but I do 'set intentions' (so to speak) for my future and I feel confident about the upcoming months. Dance class starts on Monday. Next weekend four of us are going to Seattle for a three day dance intensive training. Jp and I are both working and money's not as tight as it had been. I am hopeful my brother and I can mend our relationship this year. My mom and I are planning a trip to Europe this spring. I don't want for anything but look forward to peace and happiness and contentment. And this is the song floating around my head:

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Done!

7:30 Sunday night and I am finished all the gifts I wanted to make that needed to be mailed. Now anything I start making is either for someone locally, something for my shop or something for me.

And speaking of my shop - two good things happened to me last week. One, a friend of mine with 5500 friends promo'd me on her facebook page. That's nice exposure. I am very grateful. And second, I received an invitation to join EtsyBABY which is an exclusive group that promotes shops specializing in baby items. Being part of EtsyBaby gives me more exposure to my shop and they profile items and promote their members, as well, it's not so easy to get in so getting an invitation is a good thing. I am very grateful and very excited. As soon as I wrap and mail my out-of-town gifts tomorrow, I will start working on my MustHaveThat Etsy store (see right side bar for the link) and figure out a game plan. I have some very good advice to follow from my Number 1 fan - my brother and from Leonie Dawson who offers several how-to business course and planners etc  - so  definitely have my work cut out for me.

 I am very pleased to have completely my hand-made Christmas gifts "on schedule" and look forward to some 'free' time. I say free in quotes, because it's really stuff that I should put first but always struggle with as I always let the minutia of daily life get in the way. If ever I had a resolution that would be it. To make time for creative time NO MATTER WHAT. Which is kinda what I did to finish this last project, I neglected some housework and cut back on the baking/cooking as I had to get that last gift done.

I have also finished shopping  - unless I have forgotten someone - so I am feeling positive about the next 2 weeks.

How about you? Do you celebrate Christmas? 

Are you on schedule for gifts and preparations? 

I had no idea...

... that my innocent desire to paint our bedroom would end up being a month long task (okay it's only been two weeks - but we're not done yet!) I would have liked to show you some photos, but it's still not ready, my side of the room anyway. After painting we decided to reconfigure the room and bought some new dressers  and bookshelves - and with that came the task of dealing with years of items (ok, clutter) that must be either placed in a good spot, or discarded. For me, it's exhausting as some items were made by my late father, a skilled carpenter and woodworker and have memories attached to them.

As well, as I'm going through this task myself I'm thinking about my mother who's downsizing to 1/2 of what she has as she prepares to move to a house a few doors away from my brother. The house is better suited for her financially and locationally since she'll be so close to family. It's very hard for her to think of her mortality and all the memories linked to items as she has to decide to discard of them as well and to do this task on her own. I have the support of my husband who either talks me into getting rid of something, or talks me into keeping something or talks me into taking a break when it gets to me. I try to be there for my mom, but she's a strong willed lady and seems to be very focused on her new task - I am proud of her bravely accepting this task. In some ways I think it bothers me more than it bothers her!

It makes it a little easier to be indoors working on these chores when the weather has been so bad - and EVERYONE is talking about the weather these days - sometimes it's even the top story on the 6 o'clock news!

Well, computer break is over, I'd better get back to the task!

This is a thing of beauty

Even if you don't consider yourself a handyman, or handyperson, I'm sure you can appreciate the beauty in this tool chest. The organizational skills are amazing and the craftsmanship is stunning. I am absolutely in awe of the creator's ability to produce such a stunning piece of functional, practical, art. It really is very creative.