Holiday Hangover (and SALE!!!)

 

The holidays this year were HARD.  I’m not going to lie.  I had so many reflections I wanted to share on my blog and honestly, I’ve forgotten all of them.  In the midst of the normal holiday madness, I took a week away from both kids, and my husband, and went to Chicago for the One of a Kind Show.  It was great.  I’ll go back next year.

Being there, by myself, made me realize how seldom I am actually alone. I haven’t traveled by myself in the last eleven years and my literal stance has changed.  I no longer carry myself with a “don’t f*** with me” attitude.  I’m somehow softer. I smile, I talk to strangers.  I make friends with the person next to me on the airplane, the cab driver, or the electrician who adjusts my lights at the show.

Leaving my family for a week on a “business” trip was new.  I was totally alone in Chicago, staying in a condo and cooking myself simple, paleo, meals.  All I honestly did was eat, sleep, work, and exercise.  For five days.  It made me wonder a little bit if that was what my life was before I had a husband and kids.  Before I had a family.

Needless to say, I was glad to return to the love and commotion of my home and family. I missed my people, and my pets, while I was gone.  And when I got back it seemed everyone was in full-fledged holiday mode.   There was a decorated tree, the kids were making ornaments, Christmas music was playing and within hours of my return, we were doing Christmas shopping. 

We were busy fulfilling custom orders right up until the end of the day on the 19th – we shipped everything a day early this year per the USPS guidelines, but somehow they still managed to deliver about 10% of my packages after Christmas. I don’t understand what was going on, but it was frustrating.  I planned ahead, I didn’t overload myself, I gave everything an extra day in transit.  Apparently, it wasn’t me.

Now that the holidays are over I’m ready to say GOODBYE to all this stock – see all this stuff?  I made it for you.  We need to clear the shelves to start our 2015 line, so for some incentive – 45% off moxieandoliver.etsy.com through midnight on December 31, 2014 with code “MOREMOXIE45”  

And this is me.  The holidays made me tired.  Family drama. Travel. Post Office drama. Employee drama.  Kid drama.  I’m pooped, but enjoying a few days “off” of work – still answering emails and working on computer related Moxie & Oliver things, but in my PJs, all day. 

xo

c

Learning a New Skill

I have to admit that as I sit here and write this, I'm not entirely sure what day it is. I believe it is Tuesday, but these last few days have been somewhat of a fog. You know that feeling when you're sick, where you can't tell the difference between being awake and being asleep, and everything blends together? That's the feeling that I've had since Sunday. Except I'm not sick. Just broken.

In the last 20 years I haven't broken a bone. I've always thought how awful it would be when I see people with a broken foot - I would hate to have that be me. I love running, and even walking is pretty great if you properly appreciate it. Then on Sunday, walking with my husband in the park going to get pregnancy pictures taken (yep, that's right, 34 weeks tomorrow) I rolled my foot like I've done a thousand times before, but this time, it didn't just roll, it fractured. At first walking hurt, then standing, then any pressure whatsoever. Between poses I told my husband the first thing that we're going to do when we get into the car is type "HOSPITAL" into the navigation and we're going to the emergency room. I knew I'd broken or fractured something.

After a day (okay, maybe a little more) of feeling sorry for myself and thinking of all the things I would no longer be able to do, I'm starting to realize all the things that I can still do - and appreciate them. They may not be my normal activities. I can't run, I can't swim, I can't really garden (though that one has yet to be tested), and I certainly can't paint the nursery. But I can read, I can draw, I can sit and enjoy the garden, and springtime, and my friends and family. A bit of a rude awakening in a way, but one I'm learning to accept. Part of this acceptance is knowing that the condition of my foot is temporary - it will heal, I will get better, I will return to "normal", but for now, I'm taking the time to enjoy the quieter, more peacful side of life.

Don't worry - I'm still in the studio daily. I've learned if enough things have wheels on the bottom, you don't really need two feet to get around the studio.

I'll write more soon... and probably more than I have been, now that there are fewer distractions. And yes, items are still going up on and for sale daily in my Etsy shop. I would have included the sale item of the day in this post, but it sold before I was able to finish writing. Guess I'm moving a little slower than usual....

Off to enjoy life in a new way.

Moxie

Spring Cleaning Sale Continues...

Amidst the wanderings of two very tired dogs, and one very tired me, I just posted the sale item of the day to my Etsy shop. Hubby took the dogs running last night, and guaranteed they'd be tired today. He's right, though our soon to be one year old puppy, Jax, still can't sit still, even though he's too tired to play.

Me, I'm spending the day in the studio working on some new pieces. The sale item today is one of my very, very favorites. I'm hoping it finds a good home!

More soon...
Moxie

Spring Cleaning SALE & New Growth

Over the last few weeks I've been working on new pieces - in batches. Two weeks ago I made 16 new lace style cuffs. Of all of them, I tend to think the Nelly Lace is my favorite, with the flower centered on the wrist and the skulls off to either side, but it's a really tough choice. I posted all of them to my Flickr page, and will slowly be adding them to my Etsy shop as time permits.



This weekend I'm hoping to get some work done on a new line of wrap watches. I think I have some really good ideas for them, though it's always tough to say how good the ideas are until I'm able to test one or two out, and see how they fit and function. I'm really excited to see how they turn out, though. This is, of course, assuming I don't get too distracted by painting the nursery, or planting the garden... *sigh* it's supposed to be beautiful here tomorrow.

Of course, in order to make all these pieces, I'm going to have to do a little spring cleaning, so starting tomorrow, I'll be putting pieces on SALE. Each one will be on sale for 24 hours only - they're all one of a kind, and the sale on each will end either 24 hours after it started (9am PST the following day) or when it sells. I know it's a little unconventional, but check back daily starting April 25th for the sale item of the day. I know I have at least two weeks worth of pieces to put on sale, so if you see on you like don't hesitate. It's the only one, and the sale won't last!

Happy weekend!

Moxie