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!!! ;)