Farewell, 2011

2011 was an interesting year for me. And at the end, it left me between a rock and a hard place. I'm still trying to recover and get through it but it's one of those "take it one step at a time" things... and more often than not, it's also "one step forward, two steps back."

I lost a job I loved. Working for Borders was such a stressful time but I adored it. I love books and loved the people I worked with. So when it happened in September, I was crushed.

I also was sort of asked to move out of the house I lived in for 5 years. At the time, it was a mixed blessing as the house was crowded and I needed a fresh start. But moving during that tough time was unbelievable. I worked myself to exhaustion.

There is no doubt that I am in a better place emotionally now. I live with my cousin's family who is loving and supportive and who lets me work off some of my rent but I really am growing sick of eating hot dogs and sandwiches everyday. And "should I get gas or food?" is such a depressing debate.

But I am creating things everyday. I am thinking of my business every second of every day. I made sales in December. More sales than I ever have and it was such an encouraging few weeks. I was able to buy Christmas presents because of those sales and I will forever be thankful to those people who found my shop and purchased the pretties. And while the sales stopped the week of Christmas and I was once again broke and stressed out, I was able to celebrate Christmas with my family which is all I really wanted this year.

I want to try and make creating my life. I want to live off of my art and creations. And I want to be happy.

2011 had too many tears. Too many arguments. Too much negativity. My rose colored glasses fell from my eyes and I saw a world I almost was tempted to leave.

2012, I have high hopes for you. I am going to work hard. And I hope that it will pay off.

Thank you for sticking with me, readers. I hope we all have a wonderful new year.