First I must say a huge Thank You to everyone who stopped by yesterday to have a look at the necklace I made for the Fusion Beads challenge. Your compliments were so nice and I really appreciate each and every one of you!
The Girl is okay especially after having an ice pop at 10AM! Anyone that knows me knows that is SO not normal for me but I thought it would help the swelling go down and give me a chance to have my coffee and calm down myself.
It is week 3 in my 52 weeks of blogging and I cannot believe we are already into week 3 of 2011.
I have been doing nails for 10 years in April of this year and in July I will celebrate my 10th Wedding Anniversary! It is also the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and of my husband's near fatal car accident.
So where am I going with this?
This weeks topic is on overcoming obstacles. I would like to talk to you about a big one I encountered in my jewelry making career. Morning sickness. I became pregnant with my daughter in October of 2008 and withing a few days (we knew the day we thought we had conceived) I became ill. I thought it may have been a bug when I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. Okay who am I kidding I took like 4 tests. Anyway, I waited and waited and waited. A couple of weeks later on October 25th (the 10th anniversary of the day I met my husband-insert awww here) I took another test and it was indeed positive. So were the next 3.
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| Leaving for my sister's b-day party a week before The Girl was born |
Then the morning sickness started and the afternoon sickness and the evening sickness. I was sick all the time. I woke up, got sick, went to work, got sick at work, came home, got sick and went to bed. I was exhausted. I could barely function because of how sick I was. Even reading a book became difficult. I tried to make jewelry, I had custom orders to finish and repairs to do but the smaller beads made my head spin. I finished up the must dos and put everything in boxes not to be seen again until after The Girl was born.
How was this an obstacle you may be asking yourself. It was for me because I never stick with anything. I was a serial dater in high school, I have held more jobs than some people go through in a lifetime. I jump from hobby to hobby. But jewelry making was different. While I was sick I collected books and magazines. I drew and imagined and dreamed of making jewelry again someday. When The Girl was born I dreamt of the days I would have the time and energy (she was colic) to bead again.
That day came in early August when I asked my husband to help me start bringing boxes back in from the garage. The biggest problem? I had nowhere to work. We had redone the living room and got rid of my beading table. Okay it was an old card table but still it was mine. I also knew that once The Girl started crawling/pulling up a folding table wouldn't work. We brought in the beads and I started out by beading on an old lap desk on the couch. Then my husband brought in our old dining room table from the garage and I was able to put my bead boxes out on that. Then he, finally, built my kitchen island and I spread myself out on that too.
I had beads and beady things all over my tiny house before long. My husband didn't care and we never have company because my house has been under construction for 11 years so it wasn't an issue. I hated it. I could never find anything and before long my dining room table organization station also became a dumping ground for anything and everything. I would have to clear off the table to get to the beads and I could never find anything.
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| Look above her head and you can see my beads on the dining room table |
How are we overcoming this obstacle? I now house the majority of my beads in the spare bedroom that doubles as the sanctuary for the dogs and cat. My husband built a 6 foot desk for me and I spread my beads out on to of that. They never get anything put on top of them and that makes me very happy. I am still beading at the kitchen island for now but in the near future we are hoping to convert a portion of my basement or garage into a studio for me to house my beads, kiln and metalworking supplies.
I have overcome obstacles that to some may seem small and trivial but to me could have been major deterrents to continuing my jewelry making career. It took writing this post to make me realize how much I actually love making jewelry and how much it has become a part of our lives.
What obstacles have you overcome in your life or career?
Leave me a comment below I would love to hear about it.
~Shannon
3 comments:
Shannon, You're adorable! and so is your daughter! It seems as though we make do until we can't any longer ... we reach a threshold where it dangerous to be around us. LOL It sounds like your husband is a keeper and understands your needs and tries to accommodate them. That's saying a lot! Thanks for sharing your story ... we all have one. :-)
Thank you for sharing your story! I always find inspiration from other people's stories. In my marital/family therapy program I've been learning how to reframe obstacles into opportunities... it's hard sometimes, especially when we first bang up against the obstacle, but it does help us get through hard times. I had the same pregnancy experience with my first (my son, now 8); from week 6 to the day he was born I was sick morning, noon, and night. I lost 15 pounds my first trimester. Then I got laid off from my job when I was 5 months pregnant, which made it basically impossible to get a new job but was also kind of a blessing because it allowed me to rest like I needed to. Anyhoo, it sounds like you are sticking with your priorities, and it's awesome that your husband is so supportive! Keep beading -- you do beautiful work.
I feel for you I was sick for all of my pregnancies as well. I had to take Zofran through all of them, I.V.s and bedrest ( worked really well when I had 3 and got pregnant with the last one!) I think you just found something you really enjoy!
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