I did it.

I've finally done it. After years of spending my free time painting and creating things, after many holidays of giving homemade gifts rather than store bought ones, after endless debates with myself about selling my paintings, I've finally done it. I've opened my own virtual "store" on the marketplace website etsy.com. For those of you that are not familiar with etsy, it's only the greatest little find for people looking for unique and individual items and gifts. I discovered this website while planning my wedding. I somehow stumbled across this website, featuring everything from handmade purses, to cake toppers, to furniture. I was amazed. How did I not discover this before?? I quickly got to work, ordering our monogrammed cake topper, 5 unique purses to fit each of my bridesmaid's personalities, my ringbearer pillows, our unity candle....the possibilities on this website were absolutely endless. After the craziness of our wedding was over, I had time to think about my own crafting hopes of selling my items. Could I do what all these sellers were doing? Could I open my own shop, manage orders, get them shipped, all while working a full-time job and trying to maintain a happy marriage? If all these people could, why can't I? I finally took action a few days ago. I started brainstorming possible store names. I started designing my store banner with my logo. Then I went home and took pictures of my items for sale. Granted, at this point, I only have two items for sale....but everyone has to start somewhere, right? I just hope people like my work. I never realized how vulnerable you would feel in putting your work out and waiting for someone to like it. But that's what I'm doing. So here's to celebrating the "grand opening" of Rustic Elegance crafts. Hope to see some of you as potential buyers soon :)

http://www.rusticelegancecrafts.etsy.com/

I never thought the day would come. Never.

I think everyone has that moment when they feel old. It doesn't matter if you're turning 21 or 81. Maybe it was the day you graduated high school or college. Or the day you got your first "big kid" job. Maybe it was the birth of your first child or grandchild. My moment of feeling downright old has come today. My baby sister is 16. I know growing older is inevitable. I knew this day was coming, but now that it's here, I'm SO not ready for it. This is a horrible cliche but it honestly doesn't seem like that long ago when she was born. Standing up against the nursery window, I remember thinking about how this little thing in the incubator was about to join our happy family of four. I didn't know if I was going to be okay inviting this new kid into my house. After all, I was 9 years older than her and I was happy having one little sister to bully around. Now I had another tossed into the mix and I just wasn't sure how that was going to work out. But then we brought her home. And she was the cutest baby with the most adorable giggle. I used to do completely silly things just to hear her laughing. She was (and still is) the most affectionate kid I'd ever met. It was impossible to be mad at her when 10 seconds later she was giggling and trying to give you a hug. This is how I think of Kristen:

Cute as a button, downy soft hair, large birthmark, cutest little baby teeth and the happiest child you will ever meet. Sixteen years later, she's still cute as a button (so I'm a little partial). Her downy hair has been replaced with unruly, absolutely OUT OF CONTROL curly hair that even the best straightener can't completely iron out. Her birthmark has completely faded to the point that, if you hadn't known her as a baby, you wouldn't know it ever existed. The baby teeth have fallen out and have been replaced with teeth that needed braces (which were removed yesterday). And that happy baby has been replaced with a moody teenager. Here's what my baby "Kittan" looks like today:

The changes in my sweet little sister are enough to send me into a fit of hyperventilating. And as if the age thing doesn't bother me enough, she is now the owner of a cell phone. She's not old enough for a cell phone! Never mind the fact that I had one whenever I was her age. Never mind the fact that her schoolmates have probably had one for going on five years now. She's still my baby sister. I should be picking out her clothes every morning and talking about the fact that boys have cooties and watching Cinderella with her. Instead, she can wear MY clothes, she tells me about all the boys that she thinks are hot (I never thought I'd hear the day...) and Cinderella is a obsession of the past. Now she likes Wizards of Waverly Place and High School Musical. What happened to my baby sister? Did those sixteen years really just fly by as fast as I think? If I'm this bad whenever my little sister turns 16, how am I going to be when I have kids of my own?? Whether I'm ready for it or not, it's here. So, Kris, Kit-Kat, K-sten, Kristenopher Robin, Kittan, Krissy, Kris Kross, K-man......happy (inhale) 16th birthday. You'll always be my baby sister, no matter how old you are. :)

Get on with it....

I came in with the full intention of being a whiner today. It's been one of those weeks. Where I wake up in a horrible mood first thing Tuesday morning, and that mindset continues for the rest of the week. Nothing seems to go right, I hate my job, people make me mad, I don't feel good, I'm listening to a child screaming at the top of it's lungs as I currently write this....it's been that kind of week. Sitting down to my computer, I planned to unleash my full wrath of emotions, disappointment and frustration. I want to write about how financing is NOT at all what I want to do with my life. How I hate sitting at a desk 8 hours a day, talking about auto equity loans and ATM deposit holds. How I feel my creativity and brain cells slowly dying away while I tell people their credit score and how it got to be that high/low. I wanted to write about applying for job after job, only to be told that I don't have the experience necessary for that position. How I am at a total loss on how to gain said experience if no one is willing to take the chance and hire me in the first place. I wanted to write how I have been experiencing intense stomach pain for the past 7+ months, only to find I have a bacteria in my stomach, go on an intense round of antibiotics to supposedly kill it and then have the pain return. How I have a "consultation" with a surgical specialist next week and I am scared to death of having a colonscopy or an endoscopy or whatever other "scopy" that involves sticking a camera where a camera isn't supposed to go. I wanted to write about how I've seen at least 15 things that I want to buy for the spring season, only to be restricted by my stupid self-imposed shopping ban. This was my plan this morning....I thought the writing would be cathartic and make me feel better about my all-around crappy week. And then we opened our doors for business this morning. And a lady walks into my office and is practically in tears over the loss of her credit card and the charges that were made to her account by some hoodlum. And I realize that I am whining over a job when there's a lot of people that don't have one. I'm whining about not being able to buy things I want, but thank God I have the money available to do so. So many people have it worse...what gives me the right to complain about not being able to shop or being forced to discuss interest rates? I wish I could have this attitude more often. Unfortunately, I get caught up in the "not me's" and the "it's so unfair" attitude and complain more often than I should. But today I've been enlightened. It's ridiculous for me to complain whenever I have so many things to be thankful about. If you know me at all, you know that I have a teensy obsession with quotes. I shouldn't have looked any further than the wonderful Ms. Hepburn: "It's that wonderful, old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so 'don't fuss, dear; get on with it.'" Thanks Audrey.