I didn't die...

I did lose nearly everything material.

First it was internet.
Then it was other stuff.
Then it was my house.

The last month of 2013 was a downward spiral of loss. We started 2014 by moving in with my parents, and contemplating our next move. There was no internet at my parents, so I lost touch.

The year of 2014 has been one of rebuilding.  My husband and I now both found 5- 4:30 jobs (supposed to be 7-3, but overtime pay is nice) ... at the same place. A new home, which is not much bigger than our last one, but it is a better home. We have 2 working vehicles, and a son that is old enough to watch the daughter, so there is no childcare expenses. The last 4 months have entailed settling into the new home, replacing the items we had to sell off, reestablishing services, the last of which would be internet and phones.

All-in-all it has been a pretty successful year.

I don't have the time I used to have for creativity, but that doesn't mean I don't have the drive. I am trying to figure out how to balance my creative drive with my daily responsibilities.

So, today, I am stuck at home with an injury. The doc said I can go back to work tomorrow. I actually have an opportunity to sit at my computer for a few hours and go through those things that I don't have time to go through when I work 10-12 hours a day for 6 days a week. I have been wanting to organize my sites and social networks again. After losing real internet for 9 months, it isn't easy remembering old passwords and even what social sites I have accounts at.

As it stands, I never successfully sold anything on Etsy, although I had several inquiries, favorites, and shares (many of which was sent after I lost internet). I had a lot of feedback from other sellers, which most consistently consisted of raising my prices *shock*. I am quite confident that I could have made a sale if I had been able to stick with it.

I did manage to keep a few of my projects while suffering the loss of so many others. I kept the items I had initially listed on Etsy, since I had hoped that I might find a way to keep up with the store. I also managed to keep my craft tools.

I sold off my collection of beaver wood and drift wood though, with the exception of 2 very small pieces. I might still do something with them. I had to get rid of my rough hewn wood and various outdoor projects as well.

I have many other opportunities to pick up where I left off, though. A smaller opportunity pool might just be what I need to help me stay focused. I named my Blog and Shop Assorted Diversions, because quite frankly, I have a tendency to get distracted, or diverted. LOL... I still have the opportunity to do so, but finished projects might actually seem a bit more frequent with less diversions to choose from.

SO...

I have a small collection of glass liquor and soda bottles, I hope to make some interesting things out of them.

I also have a large collection of used CDs. Apparently people saw what I was doing and decided I was just the right person to take theirs off of their hands. No complaining here. So far, that is what I have had the most feedback on... But then again, it is what I showed off the most in such a short time.

I still want to pick up where I left off with PET bottles. I actually was inspired to an awesome idea a few days ago to cross over what I have done with CDs onto plastic jars. It need a bit of tweaking, but it shows promise.

I also want to try and return to making my own very small articulated doll (not baby doll)... That was one of my diversions that was aside from here, but it is crafty, and someone might just be interested in seeing what I do. So, on occasion, I might just show some of that of here.

Of course, there is always the likelihood that I will find more diversions to choose from, but for now, I am going to try and steadily get some presence back, work on what I already have, learn what has changed in a year, and relearn the things I never knew long enough to retain. I don't have the luxury of time or desperation to dive in head first this time around. I am going to try to be better about planning, and taking one step at a time, and finishing one thing before I start another.

I am going to commit on weekly Blog updates until the end of 2014, and with the beginning of 2015, I hope to reopen my Etsy shop and have weekly finished projects, which I can list in my shop. By the middle of next year, I hope to have tutorials on how I make stuff, and maybe even by the end of the year, I can have video tutorials for you.

We shall see how this goes. :)

See ya later.