It's been almost two years. It has gone REALLY fast.
I've spent my time getting our fledgling hot sauce business off the ground and creating recipes that are healthy, delicious, and/or use our sauces as an ingredient.
I had to say goodbye to our much loved senior Boxer dog, Buster, and have welcomed two young goofball Boxers (Bento and Rousey) into our home.
I have become involved with a group of business women that promote small business, the local economy, and give back to worthy community charities.
I bought a sewing machine for $50 at a friends' estate sale and have been remembering all of the things my Grandma taught me as a youngster. I have a huge stack of fabric in my craft cupboard and took advantage of a sale at Joann's that netted me 15 patterns for $1 EACH. I've been sewing wrap dresses inspired by Diane Von Furstenburg, and recently started a fundraising project turning donated people sweaters into doggie sweaters. The "upcycled" (this is a popular term with the hipsters and on Etsy, which, let's face it, is mostly hipsters anyway) sweaters are sold in my Etsy shop and then 50% of the profits is donated to a different animal rescue every month. (November is STARS, December will be Boxer Butts and Other Mutts, which is where Bento came from).
I've been hand-embroidering sneakers like crazy, mostly for weddings, but some for softball teams, family pictures, etc.I've also been traveling a lot, taking trips to Oregon two to three times a year and also to Arizona, California, New York, Virginia, Washington DC, and very nearly Chicago. I'm hoping to take a month and do a big cross-country road trip next year... we'll see if I end up with the time.
Mostly, I get up every day and try to be a good animal mommy and housewife, try to ignore my fibromyalgia instead of whine about it, and try to clean at least one thing.
Sometimes it's even me.
