From Scrapper to Farmer!!! A whole new ME!!!!

Hello Bleeps (blog peeps)!

I have been missing you all, and since I’ve gotten a few emails lately wondering where in the world I went to….I figured I might as well tell my little story here!!! I’ve gone from being a stay at home mommy for twelve years, to getting a part time job, then quitting after a year and a half…..to moving back to Texas, to starting a farm, to homeschooling and not being a SU! Demo anymore……all this within the past two years!!! ;)

Where did I go? Nowhere, I was here all along….just hiding I guess in a matter of speaking. Life gets in the way, and well…..my passions changed. As with anything in life, you put your priorities first, and that’s precisely what I did!

Oh, I guess it was about two- three years ago that I was up late one night and I was either on FaceBook or bloggin’….when I came across something that got my attention and opened my eyes to a new reality. I won’t go into it all, but let’s just say…..it wasn’t a pretty site, LOL!!

Just a little research into America’s food industry and you can be enlightened as well. When I found out the horrors of Factory Farming, GMO/Monsanto….I was a bit skeptical at first. The more I found out, the more I wanted to learn. Anyways, I was disgusted to say the least and wanted to make a change….but how? We have a big family, incase you didn’t know….I have five children and a step daughter, plus a husband and a dog. So, how on earth could we as a family start eating healthy without breaking the bank? Organic ain’t cheap ya’ know, plus not all ‘organic is truly ‘organic’.Starting our own small farm, became our answer! But how, we know nothing about farmlife or where to get started…..

What started out as a slow change in our life of about 2-3 years, has now become a way of life for us! We went from living in a neighborhood in GA….to moving back to where we both were born and raised five states away, Texas! We haven’t been farming too long now, about four and a half months now….but so far, lovin’ it! Like I said, it took me a few years to absorb and comprehend what I learned, plus I never saw myself as a farm girl, LOL!! I have never been one to love animals THAT much…..just enough to be a ‘dog mom’ and a few house pets here and there from time to time throughout my upbringing.

So, now we have 12 acres back in a little Texas town….complete with a four-horse stall barn for farm animals, and a built in chicken coop. We have so far in our farming collection two horses, a miniature donkey, 9 goats, a turkey, 3 chickens, 6 guineas, 2 kittens, 2 pot bellied pigs and 4 ducks! We are having so much fun learning about farming that we can’t wait to get more animals and we are even thinking that we might need more land in the future, LOL!!!! I’ve opened my mind to accept so many new things that I thought where gross just a few years ago!!! Like goats milk…..who would’ve thought I could actually milk a goat, let alone drink the raw milk, LOL!! AND it’s good and so much better for you too!!!!

I’ve tried a goat hamburger and had some farm fresh eggs from free range chickens from other farmers (can’t wait til’ our girls are laying)!!! LOVE it!!!!!! I’m in heaven and totally found a new me along with a new passion in life…..small, local , organic,  free-range, pastured, raw, clean……food!! Now, our animals aren’t providing our food yet…...except for the goat’s milk!!!!

All this brings me to my reason for not being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator anymore! While I love, love, love SU! And the company….let’s face it, I’m not a good sales person!!!! While SU! Products will sell themselves….you have to have the right clientele….not EVERYONE papercrafts you know, LOL!!!! Gasp, the horror!!!! When I was knee deep in my new passion of papercrafting 10 years ago, I knew that….but, somewhere along the way….I had forgotten!!!

You won’t find me bashing SU! at all…..or any drama to go along with my decision to leave SU!....I simply changed my priorities and passions in my life!!!!! With being a mama to my five kids and a housewife, stampin’ was my outlet….which BTW I still dearly love….I just don’t have as much time for it anymore. I decided that I would have one last Stampin’ Up! party at our new house after the move, if I couldn’t generate any interest that would be my sign to give up trying to be a demo. Well, as you can see from this post, I bet you can guess what happened, LOL!! I was just a ‘hobby demo’ anyways, never anything bigtime…..although I often would dream about it…..I never even went to any SU! Events (convention etc.)…..but I always wanted to…..

Anyhow, I do love papercrafting, and well….just crafting in general…so, I won’t give that part of my life up!!!! I love making cards for the troops, which I had kinda stopped just because I was getting overwhelmed with life during these past 3-4 years of trying to be a demo. I would have my workshops or classes from time to time and had stamp clubs that would start up, to just fade away….then I would start up another one. I’ve made a lot of friends over the past 6 years of being a demo, and some I’ve never met in real life, LOL!!!

All in all I can truly say that SU! was the best thing that I ever did for me….and for that I will always be grateful…..now, I just need to find a local Stampin’ Up! demonstrator….I do love the fellowshipping part of having stampin’ get togethers!!!! ;)

I feel a sense of renewed life again after letting that part of my life settle down a bit….after actually having some of my work featured and made into directions in the past for a design team….and being on another design team as well…..I look back at the whole papercrafting experience very fondly!!! I will never stop making cards/scrapbooking or in any way give up papercrafting…..I just won’t be tied down to SU! or being a demo anymore!!!

Anyways, just thought I’d share what I’ve been up to and explaining to my sweet crafting friends just what the heck I’ve been doing with my life!!! I plan on me blogging more, and sharing all my hobbies with you….including farming, papercrafting and homeschooling…..yelp, you read that right….gonna give it another try as well, LOL!!!! Wish me luck!!!!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!!! ;)