A quiet moment

I just finished a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Baking them, not eating them.  That will come later.  The boys are playing in their room (and they are making noise so I know they aren't dead).  So I have a minute or two to myself, which is a luxury when you're a work-at-home-mom.  Or a working mom.  Or a stay-at-home mom.  A minute of peace is luxurious. 

And in quiet times I start thinking about how lucky I am.  Looking at the tree (we have a tree!), baking cookies (without breaking the mixer) with my boys (I love my boys) and being able to write a blog (I have a wireless laptop-- whoo hoo!).  I am so lucky and thankful for all the things that make me so happy in my life.

Over the past year I've learned so much about my business. Who my customer is and why they buy from me.  What will make them come back.  Where I want my business to go/grow.  I've also developed some really strong wholesale accounts that are taking care of me during slow times with my Etsy shop and my website.  Again, it has been a lot of hard work and research and soul-searching but I'm at a place that makes me ecstatically happy.  Yes, I've got a long way to go but I'm on a path that I've chosen where I make my own choices and that makes me content.

I'm looking forward to continuing to recuperate from back surgery and childbirth and all the physical stuff I've gone through this past year and a half.  I'm also looking forward to re-designing my website to be super awesome and jam-packed with bejeweled goodness.  New designs need a new platform to show them off!  And continuing to develop my business in a way where I can be a metalsmith and a mom and a wife and a daughter and it all makes me, well, happy.

Happy holidays, thank you for a wonderful and fulfilling year!  And whatever you celebrate this year, and I wish you all the joy in the world.