I didn't realize that it had been so long. Goodness! I was just glancing at my last update post and oh my how life has changed since that day.
Did I drop of the face of the earth, no, but I did evolve more than I would have ever imagined possible. Since we last talked I have watched people in my life come and go, and I have learned that plans for my own life and rarely ever how things turn out. But, usually... in the end, the way thing happen are exactly how I would have wished them to.
So, what's all the buzz about? Well, first, we have a new 4 legged addition to our family. Miss. Trixie came to us shortly after my last post. She was a rescue that was abandoned on our street. She looked so much like our Georgia dog, that one of the neighbors mistook her for Georgia and put her in our fenced in yard. After locating Trixie's owner and learning that she was unwanted and was going to the pound, we adopted her. She's been a blessing to our family and a great companion for our Georgia.
In addition to our new 4 legged baby, the hubby and I also have a new house! We spent the better part of our fall 2012 searching for and closing on the perfect home. In Jan 2013 we purchased our first home. It's wonderful! Even a year later, we are still happy with our choice. There have been only a few minor things we have decided to alter/ improve, but lets face it... we have the next 30 years to work on that. *Sigh*
New puppy, new house, a few vacations... our realitor gifted us a trip to the smookies when we purchased our home. We also took what I call the epic redneck road trip to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We made the trip down the Georgia coastline and into Florida and the gulf and returned home via Alabama. We visited 12 beaches in 8 days, as well has many historic places. It was a wonderful trip and we enjoyed it so much. Oh.. and I forgot to mention that we took the trip in my brand new SUV. We finally put my old car to rest. It was a good one, and from what I hear is still a daily driver to the family who I donated it to. I can't believe that car was on the road 15 years and I had so little trouble from it. I was just tired to driving a 98 model car, so... enter my 2013 Captiva. I love her, shes small and easy for me to drive, great on gas, and has took us many miles already!
Do you feel filled in yet? Well... I've saved the biggest things for last.
First, in 2013 Paper Pixie Crafts became "Daisy Doodles Boutique" in a last ditch effort to rename my business to include my children's clothing and accessories that weren't "Paper." Shorty after the launch of this shop transformation, a new friend came in to my life and over late night coffee, an instant business plan came to us... everyone is making boutique items for kids now... we should make items for the other members of the family... pets! and.. with a few excited squeels and exchanged ideas... Fur Babies Puppy Boutique was born. We shopped for supplies, developed proto types, and created an Etsy shop: Furbabiespupboutique.etsy.com. It was a slow start... and a big investment, and my new business partner quickly decided that the world of Etsy just wasnt for her. I continued to press on and eventually with the help of many features and promotions along the way, I began to get sales. Customer had rave reviews and things seemed to look up. Just when I developed a routine and began to understand and plan to gown my new business... I received as important phone call, one that I had lost hope on receiving over a year before.
It was a call from our local county offices offering me a position that I had applied for and been turned down almost two years prior. I was surprised to get the call, but because it was an awesome youth program that I had worked with in college and now they were offering me a permanent job doing something I love, I knew I had to take it. It was just part time... I should be fine, right?
Negative. I quickly learned that when working with youth, no job is part time. Can other UGA 4H county PA's can confirm this for me. I may only work the hours of a part time job, but it's often split up into odd after school and weekend allotments, that keep you constantly busy. Daisy Doodles Boutique (formerly Paper Pixie Crafts) has since closed completely, as I just didn't have the time to sew outfits while working a day job and running a household. I made the decision to X Paper Pixie and keep Fur Babies because pet leash and collar sets are much quicker to make than children's outfits. I have a wonderful system where I can work Fur Baby order in during any free 15 minute time slots I can find. I spend Sunday evenings packing up the weeks orders for monday shipments. It works nicely, and honestly I've seen a huge growth in furbabiespupboutique.etsy.com since I've started this system.
During the first week of this year... I was skiing with a group of youth from my day job when I fell. I tore my meniscus. It was awful! I refused to be out of work at the office... no rest for that knee injury set me up nicely to develop achilles tendinitis. Not fun! The pain from that put me on the couch- for the better part of a week. Which left me with little possibilities to fill my time, so....Then... because you all know I can't settle for well enough...and i had plenty of couch time to think about it.. I started ANOTHER Etsy shop before I returned to my day job. Why? Well, as business picked up in furbabiespupboutique.etsy.com, more people began messaging me wanting to know where I bought my supplies, if I would offer DIY collar kits, and eventually just plain out asking to buy yardage of the printed ribbon I used in my sets. When I started seeing just as much revenue from supply sales as I had on collar sale, I knew it was time to separate the two before my pet shop turned in to a craft store. On a whim, I opened supplyonadime.etsy.com and threw up a few listings... the response was huge, but because it takes me so long to recieve bulk orders to resale... I had to step back with the realization that this shop would be a success and invest the cash and a month of waiting on stock to arrive, so I could stock my shop. I am excited to say that even though it's a work in progress and i'll slowly be stocking the show to it's full potential... I stocked the store with my first ever products last month, and I currently already have 70+ sales. To many that may seem small, but for me... that's the best start I've had with any of my shops. While I'm excited to see supplyonadime.etsy.com grow, I am still nurturing Furbabiespupboutique.etsy.com, where things are going great considering the store was only active for 4 months last year and we have nearly 200 sales and proudly sport a perfect 5 star customer rating.
Just when I thought things were in the clear and I had it all figured out... I got another call. This time, It wasn't a pleasant surprise, but a call from my doctor. After a routine yearly visit I was told that I needed to come in to discuss some abnormalities. This came as an alarm to me, as while I had for years been dealing with unexplained and under-diagnosed stomach and anxiety attacks paired with uncontrollable weight gain and irritability, I was otherwise completely healthy with no problems or even any signs of blood pressure or diabetes on the rise. To learn that I had cyst on my ovaries was alarming, especially since the hubby and I have yet to add a little one to our family yet. After learning of the problem, I was referred to endocrinologist. I have since became a human test subject. Dr visits, hospital testing, Rxs by the bag full, and test results of bad news have all been daily struggles for me. Last week my specialist finally reached a dianosis for me. I have non classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NCAH) *I still swallow a huge lump each time I say it*. While this condition is not currently life threatening to me, I've been advised that it could cause me problems in the future as my body ages. It's also an explanation for all of the undiagnosed symptoms I've dealt with other the years. While this may seem like not so life altering news, it was. My biggest concern with this diagnosis is that the Dr said it is probably the reason we haven't had any children yet, and he expects us to have a hard time trying to conceive in the future, as well as high risks for a complicated pregnancy and child with birth defects. This is crushing news! While having a baby was never on my list of "Things TO-DO this year", it surely wasn't crossed out of my life plans all together. Just when I thought things were going well.. We celebrated out 5th wedding anniversary, bought a new home and car, finally found a creative Etsy outlet that works for me, and even began a new career in an honorable position... I get bad health news. It's been a shock, that's for sure! My family doesn't seem to understand the severity of the diagnosis, but my husband has been very supportive. Bless his hear, he deal with my mood swings and all. SO what's next? I have began treatment for my condition and we are seeing a fertility doctor. While little can be done to control my condition (other than treat symptoms), there is plenty we can do to try our best to conceive and have a healthy baby. With that being said, I started treatment today. My goal is to start a new blog as an outlet for my journey with NCCAH and fertility. If/ when I do so, i'll let to it here.
I want to thank all of you who are still reading and invite you all to keep in touch. I've you run across something from past post here on my blog and have questions, or if you just want to check in and say hello, please do. I'd love to hear from you. I wish you all a blessed & Beautiful life.
-Emily Anne.
