My Life. Past, Present and Future

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Hilliard, oh., United States

Friday, March 1, 2013

New Year a New Life

bellsHere I am once again in a New Year. Two months into a new year. Where did 2012 go? Looking at my postings I find not one post sharing my trials and tribulations of 2012. I seem to have lost a year catching up on 2011. One post dedicated to 2011 in 2012. How can one post sum up a whole year? I guess you can sum up a year in this manner when work over rules life. Time to put 2012 behind me and move forward into 2013 to see what my new life has in store for me.

A little synopsis of 2012. Humor me for I will try to sum up 2012 in two post, like the posting of year 2011. I will touch on the highlights of the year and the all important decision made with the support of the Man for my new venture and reinventing of me for my new life.

What fun it was ringing in 2012. A party with loved ones far and near. My Sister, Nephew along with Teacher daughter, Soldier Son and their friends were present for the ringing in of a New Year. The Young with a few old folks. We rang up those afar thru video chat hours ahead of their New Year to bring them into 2012 with us. Cali girl is who I speak of. Oh technology, an Xbox with kinect was shipped as a gift in time for us to have this hook up. This would prove to be helpful for future hookups.

January would bring my Cali girl home for a visit. We brain stormed on a business she was trying to start up. I finally learned how to screen print with the help of the Yudu screen printing system purchased the year before..http://www.cricut.com/shopping/products-Yudu-218.aspx With Cali girls know how of Photoshop she was able to tweak her logo to get a perfect image for screen printing product bags I would make for her.product bag 

The best treat during her visit was a day spent with the Grandbabies. Let’s play dress up. Fun, fun, fun.

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The enjoyment of the New Year subsides and once again I must throw myself back into the job. Workloads become so overwhelming, February passes by in a flash. My Birthday nor Valentines Day found it’s way into my life with Celebration.

March rushes in with a Birthday celebration for Olivia turning 3. I must find the time to host her party, clean and bake a Minnie Mouse themed cake along with creating a banner to boot. olivias 3 bday cakeMy first cake pops. The cake went together smoothly, a purple Minnie for this is her all time favorite color. I went to my shop for a few hours and the Man was helpful with the cleaning of the house. The day did not go so well. A day to be forgotten (except for the smiles of a child on her birthday) and lessons learned when it comes to having others across the country joining in via video chat. Something so harmless in my eye became a potential wedge in my relationship with the Oldest Daughter. Sorry Olivia for you are precious to me and those who can’t celebrate with you due to distance. I also have never felt like more of an outsider in my own home. The Man and I were the only Family members present for this celebration in our home with the In-laws. I made the best of a bad situation by focusing my attention on the Grandbabies for they were the happiest people to be found in the bunch.  My eyes on this day had been forced opened wide to the relationship my adult children have formed. Like I said, a Day to be Forgotten with a heavy heart. Wow I just shared that. This is life and it isn’t always rosy. Family is family and my Daughter and I worked it out in the end with the passing of time, communicating our feelings about the day when they weren’t so raw and skewed.

 

Spring, Easter and Prom season approaches. Work, work, work. Trees are blooming and oh what beauty.baby bed photo shoot 053

Easter in April and a trip to Indy for a visit with my Sister and Mom for the Holiday. Before we left for the weekend our annual Easter egg dying with the girls took place. This is always a treat. Here they are donning their personal aprons patiently waiting for the fun to begin.DSC00787

 

 

 

 

Our lovely (teacher daughter) Katie tags along to Indy. My Mother cracks me up when I spy her in the kitchen wearing an apron I made in the 7th grade upon our arrival. Too funny,DSC00797 Isn’t she cute? How weird to still have this around after all these years. I had found the time to make cake pops to share with everyone. The day was very enjoyable and a little disappointing when my youngest sister was unable to come for the day. Maybe next time. I know all to well how impossible it can be at times to always be able to be with your Family for the Holidays.

 

 

It is difficult for me to get away when I am always made to feel guilty and not treated like a business owner when I decide not to be available 6 days a week at the DCS. I am growing more exhausted by the minute. Mentally, physically. I am working 18 hours a day. Tempers of the Manager are beginning to fly and he often takes it out on me. What to do? May, still no work for the Man. He try's daily to find work. Prom season is growing stronger along with the onset of wedding and graduation season. May will find me slumped over a sewing machine at times ready for a nervous break down. I Really would love to hire help but the percentage break does not allow me to. A 60-40% cut, not really a fair deal, 60% to me. I run the counter at times, have very little time to sew in the shop, which is small, I supply everything needed to complete repairs and alterations plus fittings during this time eats in to the production time. I still have clients I see in my home base shop trying to fit their alterations into the work load I bring home. The unhappiness subsides occasionally with my Sister visiting at least once a month for 4 days to a week. I hate leaving her at home daily while I head off to a place I have begun to hate. All that said, I find her visits to be a happy distraction and very helpful with my work loads. She comes to my shop and brings me coffee and food. My poor Sister however is witness to my distress and often says that I am a better person than she could be. She would never put up with the crap dished out to me by the help or the customers. I too am growing very weary of the customer service industry. Befuddled by how much I hate what I know and do best. Quality alterations and custom sewing. Looking forward to the day I can choose “to sew or not to sew.”  Enough moaning. Can you feel my stress?

May brings a long weekend holiday, Memorial Day and the celebration of my Oldest Daughters 30th birthday. Must party big. The Man is so generous and agrees a big party is in order. Happy news from Soldier Son. He has fulfilled his contract with the Army and will be home soon, unfortunately not in time for our big party. Where shall we celebrate? My search led me to a fun restaurant/club which offers private rooms for a party reasonably priced. They offer food and drink with servers designated only to us.fm logo Oldest Daughter helped with the invites. We broke out the Cricut and cut fun invitations.560289_432351433442886_342218896_n

She has invited coworkers and Family. Not all Family members could be present which we have grown accustomed to for this is life. Now the planning of a spectacular cake. This cake will be my first stacked cake. Three tiers with a jewel on the top. Sad to say, my oldest daughter does not like cake but “What is an event without cake, it is just a meeting.” (Julia Childs) I tried to plan the construction of this cake well in advance. With the help of my Sister and Nephew in the making of the small details for the cake things went smoothly and was a hole heck of fun, alleviating stress and a much later night for me. A cake can only be constructed a few days in advance to preserve freshness. I have learned the correct time frame and what to do first now. Fondant decorations first, cakes no more than two days in advance, the day before construct.DSC00848 So, what do you think? My first 3 layer stacked multi flavored cake. An Emerald adorns the top cut from sparkly paper for her birthstone. The making of this cake will bring on my obsession for caking. The night was long creating this masterpiece, sleep did not occur until 4:00 am. Stacking and attaching decorations happened the day of the party. Thank goodness we were having the party somewhere else for there would be no time to host a home party. Off to the club we head, 25 minutes across town and the cake on a very hot day made it in one piece. Let the fun begin. We held the party late enough in the evening on a Saturday to ensure the DJ started spinning music for dancing.

 

 

The Casino room was set up for a party with plenty of seating for our guest.l

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My Oldest Daughter relaxing with a drink before the guest arrive. The servers knew who to keep an eye on for the night and it would be the Birthday Girl, she was not once without a drink and never had to ask for one.  My favorite part of the evening was seeing the Birthday Girl ride the bull. You see, because it was her birthday she could ride as many times as she desired without payment. What a night, what a party. Most of our guest including her husband got in on the ride. Me, no, to old and I feared being injured. Just what I needed to fall off break a hand or what not and not be able to sew.166025_440631195948243_218558567_n

You rock http://www.fmohio.com/ I hope to have a party again at your establishment.

 

Back to life with May at our backs, the heat and the anticipation of Soldier Son’s arrival home. June will now begin. July and August will hold three more celebrations. My caking immerges to a degree I didn’t know I possessed with excitement and before a double celebration in August I may find myself calling it quits in the Alteration business for good. Stay tuned to find out what the next 6 months of 2012 held in it’s hands.

 

 

 

Thank you for looking back with me. I am also grateful the camera exist for if it wasn’t for looking through my pictures I would have forgotten the year past. It is true how pictures can tell the story of your life and what you lived even when you are the one behind the camera. Thank goodness someone is.

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