Undercover... and Uncovered

Most of my life has been a secret for the last 2 months. You'll understand why when I tell you, but the pressure of the holiday season plus taking planned time away from the computer made me more reclusive than ever before.

During the Thanksgiving season, I ended up spending an extended time with my folks after an unexpected (and unwelcomed) visitor showed up at my door from 5,800 miles away. I was annoyed as all get out, but I had reasons for taking extreme measures. Yet, the time with my family proved to be really special and Thanksgiving was as great as ever, mostly because Aunt Debbie made stuffing AND cheesy potatoes. Come to think of it, I don't think I even had any turkey...

When I (finally) got home, I began my work on "A Very Pinterest Christmas" which meant that I really couldn't document anything I was working on. Keeping the gifts a secret was hard, but when I completed them, I looked around and realized that I had inadvertently created a new business venture. There was avid interest in the clocks, so I've since opened a shop on etsy under "FullCircleDecor" (or click on the photo below) to sell my oversized wood clocks with customizable features. I'm currently finishing a Tiffany Blue clock with white accents. My first inquiry was for a 72" clock and so I have been busy researching possible ways to complete it and learning a ton about movements and mechanisms. I found a way to fulfill her request, but I am quite sure the client isn't going to want to pay for the project. Still, I am thrilled about creating more and seeing what is possible. Who knew that I would end up working with time instead of against it?

The weekend before Christmas, I received a text from a friend who was at her husband's Christmas party. She said, "There is a raffle prize that has your name written all over it and if I win it, it's yours." I wrote back, "If that means drawing names, you will never win because I never win those." 30 minutes later when she wrote me that she had won and that my "cold days were over," I assumed it was a USB blanket because I kept a running joke with her that I needed one for my office. When she asked, "Does cherry wood work for your place?" I was more than confused. When I got the photo of the box, I burst into tears. She was giving me a portable fireplace mantle heater thingy! I made sure she was sure. Funny thing was I was in the bath trying to warm up at the time because my front room gets so cold. 

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Dean (and Madison) delivered it the next day and we laughed and visited about the whole crazy thing. When they left, I hurried to put it together. I feel like it can almost adorn the cover of a Dickens novel. Almost. Thank you for my Christmas miracle, Shawna and Rick!! I finally had a place to hang my stockings.

 

Christmas was cherishable. I know, I just made up a word, but I'm writer so I get to. Spending all day with my family in my new PJs was better than I could have envisioned. 

 Just look at these faces:

And, well-- I met someone at my family reunion this year. I realize the odds of that happening are highest in Kansas, but in this case it's true. Ok, if you want to get technical, I met him during the reunion. The story is that a man who lives in Oregon wrote me on the dating site I had a brief account on. I'd  received it while I was in Redmond for the reunion in November, an hour before my account was set to expire. Strangely enough, I had seen his profile the week prior and had actually told my coworker to go and find him because he "seemed like her type" and heaven knows I wasn't going to do the long distance thing again.

When I saw that he wrote me, I quickly sent a one sentence message back that included my e-mail so I could connect him with the girl I work with when I returned. By the time I got home, he had e-mailed me again and... let's just say I wasn't going to let him go that easily anymore. 

Ever since I've met him, there's a verse that's been running through my mind: But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19), so I have decided to take my cue from the example that she's set. I've taken the whispers of this verse to mean that there are a ton of stories that I could tell you about him-- about us-- but instead I've chosen to live in a season of observing, pondering, and treasuring. 

Happy New Year to all of you and may you be richly blessed in 2013!