Moving....again
It's been a year since I decided to learn how to buy my own website domain and built it myself. At the time, I was taking paint party workshop orders through a google docs form. While it worked, it didn't allow for prepaying and it seemed limited for relaying information. At that time, I also was busy with my baking business. I had (and still have) a licensed kitchen and enjoy baking. I also was a rep for a direct sales company that kept me busy with orders. But all of that paled to my long-love of teaching violin, and especially piano. I desired a one-stop shop. It's a mouthful to describe to strangers what I do as a job. It's unique in that I don't work the same amount of hours on each endeavor, or each day or week. There are weeks I work too many hours and there are weeks I get to lay low. One year ago, Sept 2016, I was encouraged that things were (finally) falling into place. That maybe I'd FINALLY be able to save money for my dream piano that I've been wanting for years. We had moved to Humboldt, Iowa in 2014 (which drained the funds I had saved for my piano) and I was feeling like I was making progress with establishing my businesses and finding my way with friends. (That is another post for another day.) Our youngest was entering preschool so I had a few morning hours to learn how to use the tools available to build my website.
And I'm still learning. For example, this picture of cookies, I don't want it at the bottom of this entry. But I can't figure out how to move it! :) I'm a determined soul, and I hope to figure this quirk out within the next few entries. Learning that will have to be postponed though as I need to send out some anniversary cookie design ideas yet before the day is over.
Just a few months after I figured out how to publish my website, we decided to move to Algona, Iowa. My piano funds were depleted yet once more as we moved during the Christmas/New Years holidays. There is a shortage of friends and help during such a busy season. So I hired help, and I have zero regrets on that. It was crazy enough with the kids activities and our own holiday family gatherings. And my baking, piano, direct sales, and workshops went on freeze-mode. Everything stopped.
These are cookies that I made for our banker. I know she and her team worked extra during the holidays so that we could move during the holidays. It was a stressful time, making sure the details fell into place. I've always wondered why there isn't a Moving Coordinator Career. It really becomes a PT job to place calls to disconnect/connect services and updating various records & payments as necessary.
We moved in on new years eve. I knew from even before that day that I wanted to give our banker appreciation cookies. But these cookies didn't get made and delivered until almost 5 months later. Sometimes I feel that is the story of my life. Where God is teaching me patience, and that his timeline won't be lining up with my picture-perfect schedule. Instead of making cookies in the new house, I was sidetracked with remodeling my new workshop space, helping the kids get settled, traveling for paint parties, and hosting weekend guests (that I so appreciate) that wanted to check out our new digs. But I want it to be known, it DID get done. :)
