show & tell
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN ... RIGHT?
by Emily Jane
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN ... RIGHT?
by Emily Jane
Well, I do have a good excuse, I certainly haven’t been sitting around twiddling my thumbs. Things have been crazy busy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, not only with Dorothy Jane Custom Stationery but also with other non-stationery related projects too. I have also done a bit of traveling.
As far as non-stationery related projects, I have had the
opportunity to work on a few projects both small and big. Last year, I
freelanced at a local private school, which led to an opportunity to work with a
few other non-profits in the area. A very good friend of mine is Creative
Director at Illume in Minneapolis and has hired me to work on a few beauty
packaging projects for her team. My cousin hired me to rebrand his candle
company. I hope to get photographs taken of some of these projects to share
each project in more detail. I am also going to be updating my very out of date
portfolio website ... hopefully within the year.
Dorothy Jane Design has almost most matched in 6 months the
workload of all of last year. Not bad if I say so myself. I have doubled the inquiries
about potential work. With the increase in workload, several other things have
taken a back seat, like the actual business of “doing business.” So I am trying
to catch up on those details whenever I get downtime. I have also been thinking
about how to restructure my business, how I want to handle sales and custom
orders, new product development, etc. Especially because things are going to
get a little crazy come Thanksgiving this year.
If that isn’t enough to keep one busy, I have experienced a
few life changing moments too. Some small, some big.
For the past 4 years or so, I had been growing my hair out
to donate for cancer patients. I wish I had styled my hair a bit better for the
before picture, however, I think it makes the after look that much better.
Recently, we sold my Ford Escape because we purchased a new
car for me. It was very difficult to say goodbye to my car of 13 years. I loved
my Ford and took very good care of her and she took care of me. She was the car
that got me back on the road after a very bad car accident, where I totaled my
previous car. However, we were paying too much money to fix problems that kept
reoccurring, so financially it made sense to sell her. I upgraded to a very
nice Toyota RAV4 with all of the bells and whistles.
Which brings me to the biggest of the biggest life change
for anyone … we are expecting a baby come this Thanksgiving! We are very
excited, overwhelmed and nervous at the same time. I made it through the first
trimester. It wasn’t easy, but it could have been worse. I mostly felt blah and
exhausted which put non-essential Dorothy Jane Design work on the backburner.
Now that I am in my second trimester, I have more energy, and am ready to get
our house in order. Finish projects that have been started and furnish a few
rooms … like the nursery. This is a new adventure for all of us and we can’t
wait to see what God brings us come Thanksgiving.
So happy to hear about all the great progress in all aspects of your life, Emily! <3
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Parenthood is the best roller coaster you'll ever ride!
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