Hello to any of you who still bother to stop by this here blog. I know, i have been very quiet, and it’s time to fess up.
I’ve not been terribly satisfied at work for a while now, for a variety of reasons. One of the big ones is that my job has turned into something i did not sign up for. I was supposed to be designing jewelry, but these days all i do is process customer CAD/CAM orders, by either milling out the files, or Rapid Prototyping them on the 3D printer. All cool, and skilled labor, but not challenging, just frustrating most of the time. There are other reasons too, everything changes, and the business i work for has been changing and growing. It’s been good for some, but not for others, and I just feel it is time for me to move on. I’ve officially given notice, and leave in a month. We’ve parted on very good terms, for which i am very glad.
Before giving notice at the end of last week i had been pretty consumed with this decision, and i was pretty stressed out over some of the stuff going on at work, hence my silence. This is after all a very public forum, and i did not want to put anything out there that i might regret, or somehow want to take back. I haven’t exactly given a ton of information here now, but at least now you know why i have been reluctant to post. Have i been doing anything other than worry about this? Of course, and i could have written about all of that stuff, but all i could think about was quitting, and what came next.
What does come next? Glad you asked. Evil Eye Emporium and some other fiber related goodness is what comes next. I will be my own boss, and work from home. I can finally go back to designing jewelry, and even fulfilling the custom orders i have (what a concept!) which are in the works. I will be offering more custom work, and more of the goodies that spring from my head.
I will also be able to dedicate more time to my domestic life. I can hone those sewing skills and start altering and making my own clothing; continue learning to spin yarn with my spinning wheel (which i did finally make time for and love using!); more time to work on the micro-farm, and make more food from scratch. More time to work on the house, and tackle those projects that have to put off because we are tired after full days at work. More time. I get giddy just saying it.
What has made this change possible? For one, Scott has by having a job he likes, so we are not working on rescuing him. And we are very lucky that we are both covered by his excellent health insurance. Without his support i would be no where near considering quitting my job. The other thing that has made this change possible now is lifestyle choices we have made slowly over time. We don’t spend a lot of money, we don’t carry any credit card debt anymore, so we never spend more than we can afford that month. Seems simple enough, but so many people are drowning in their debt. I was once too. Never again if i can help it. We are conservative with energy at home. Every time we change a bulb we switch to compact fluorescents, i make most of our home cleaning products with vinegar, baking soda, and borax. We cook most of our meals. We usually buy our clothing at resale shops. I am reupholstering the furniture we were given for free when we moved into the house. I make my own yogurt (for a quarter of the cost of store bought, and it’s tastier!), and i roast my own coffee, and use a hand-crank grinder (that was a romantic choice, but it works out well). The great thing about being thrifty is that you not only save money, but more importantly you lessen your impact on the environment. Win-win. And even more of a win that we can afford to take the plunge and see if my working at home will work for us. I think it will.
I will be sharing my progress with you here, and continue to look for inspiration from the many wonderful blogs i read. Check out the pages under the Craftivism heading to the right for inspiration. I hope that the lessons i learn i head down this new road will be useful to you as well.
And here i am wearing Clapotis, at last!
We have tulips blooming in our yard, and even the bleeding heart is blooming. The apple tree is getting ready to flower as well. I wish i could bottle the feeling i get on a sunny Spring day.
Those colors are pretty accurate, spiffy. I love the way the colors pool up. Happy camera.
