An Update

I think it's time to give a little update on what's been going on the past month.  Some of my friends & customers have noticed the lack of posts, cancellation of classes, and delays in responding to emails.  This will be long.  Nothing is wrong.....in fact, everything is really good and I'm feeling very blessed in many ways.  However, my stamping business has had to take a backseat while I work through an extemely busy time.

First, my husband has decided to take a continuing education course to earn a certificate in whole food nutrition.  This means that we must travel once a month to St. Louis (a five-hour trip) for 8 months.  I'm actually very happy about going "home" every month.  I've gotten the opportunity to reconnect with friends & family that I don't get to see often.  But the trips our hard on us....we leave as soon as the kids finish school on Friday, usually arriving late on Friday and we often don't get home until 10pm on Sunday. 

On our last visit to the St. Louis area, I got to hang out with some of my high school buddies. The guys started a band in school and reunited after 20 years for a special concert.

I usually have Mondays off from work so I'm able to catch up on all of the normal weekend chores.  The last 3 Mondays have been a different story....field trips, volunteer work, and a very busy season in the chiropractic office has meant that my free time has been completely eaten up.  I feel fortunate that I am able to go on field trips with my daughter and I truly value that time together.  She is growing up so fast!

Bella on her first day of school

In the Spring, I was asked to serve on the board of the Hospital Cheer Guild.  The mission of Hospital Cheer Guild is to promote "Comfort, Charity, and
Cheer" in Howard County through volunteering and fundraising
activities. These activities benefit Howard Regional Health System and
St. Joseph Hospital in Kokomo, Indiana.  Our first fundraiser is a soup & bread mix sale and guess who was put in charge of the packaging?  Yep! I had no idea what I was getting into, but I figured out quickly that I was going to need to devote a significant amount of time this month to this project.  Last week, we spent HOURS creating the decorations for the bags and today was assembly day.  I'm so excited that this is over, yet so very proud of the work we have done.

These ladies were such good sports. Many of them had never stamped before and we made 350 of these bags!

So, in between all of the things I've already mentioned, I also did the Fort Wayne Rubber Stamp & Scrapbook show plus 2 workshops.  Honestly, I don't know how I've done it all.  Oh, that's right.....I let my stamping business slide. 

If you are on my mailing list, you've certainly noticed an absence of emails.  The wonderful lady that has helped me with my newsletters for years, decided to "retire" last month.  It caught me completely off guard and I just have not had a chance to address it.  You'll definitely see a few more emails within the next 2 weeks.  There are some great specials coming soon and I will be adding to my class schedule.

At this moment, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted.  We don't have to travel again for several weeks.  My work with the Cheer Guild is mostly done.  And I should be getting my Mondays back!  With any luck, I'll be stamping again by this weekend.

Thanks for hanging with me!