Since 2011...REALLY?

Like Ricky would say to Lucy....you got some "splainin" to do! I cannot believe it has been this long since I blogged!! So, I will briefly fill you in on where I have been! Back in 2011 I was wholesaling my crafts to supplement my income. My life consisted of getting up early, crafting for a while, getting ready for work, going to work, crafting on my lunch hour, coming home to cook dinner, laundry and crafting again until at least midnight. Slowly my life spiraled out of control! My house became a total mess because there were craft items EVERYWHERE! Not one room seemed to be free of craft supplies, finished items and packaging material! Cobwebs and dust became my decorations of choice! ;) I started feeling tired and my hands were puffy. My doctor checked me for a thyroid problem but didnt find one. I pushed through the exhaustion and continued crafting, taking on far too many orders than I should have, disappointing people in the process and learning a very valuable lesson about wholesaling! After the rush of the fall and winter season was over, I was too exhausted to do much else but take a breather and plan the next season.

2012: So 2012 begins and the orders start to roll in, but I realize I am really starting to slow down, feeling exceptionally tired...what is happening to me? My hands start to swell and hurt, my knees begin to ache and I know that something is horribly wrong. Being the internet doctor that I am, I begin to worry that my symptoms may be Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Long story short and some testing by the Rheumatologist later, I was diagnosed with RA. By the time I received the diagnosis and finally received medication, it was October 2012. At one point, probably in September 2012 while I was waiting for my official diagnosis and medicine, every joint in my body hurt. Going to work took every ounce of strength I had, and crafting was out of the question. I was forced to cancel all my wholesale orders. I hurt so badly that I couldn't even pull a needle through thread. I literally collapsed on the couch one evening when I got home from work and sobbed because I hurt so much! I told my husband that I wanted to die. But...every story has a silver lining and mine was my medicine. Although my RA is can be quite severe, the biologic medicine I am on has enabled me to begin crafting again, but better yet, living again.


  2013: It has taken over a year for things to get back to "normal" or at least as close to normal that I am capable of...lol and if you knew me well, you would know that I am a nut so life is never truly normal! But then, normal is a relative term right? I was able to decorate for fall this year and had a little bit of my Christmas decorations up! Small victories!! One of the hardest adjustments is that I get super tired A LOT!! And my immune system is suppressed so I am a walking illness magnet! Maybe I need to work on a new craft line...."prim" face masks! Can you just imagine, the possibilities are endless!
I made some ornaments at Christmas time with my cricut that had sat in the box for over two years!!

And at the end of 2013 I was blessed with a brand new grand daughter! Maci Lane made her debut December 12, 2013 and lives in Germany with her sister Haylin, my daughter and wonderful son-in-law! My daughter has kept me busy with sewing a pink ombre crib skirt for Maci, and it's the first large project I have taken on since I started feeling better! 

2014: Now that I am finished with the crib skirt, I can get back to crafting! I will share, I promise!! I have a few projects that I am working on! This thing called normal is a wonderful place to be! I am excited again, I feel like I can accomplish things now. I am ready to come back to the land of the living!