I've finally done it. Sat down at the computer... stared at my screen for a bit... and started to blog. It's a daunting task. If you have your own blog you know what I mean. Of course this is the first paragraph of the first post. So I have to keep heart that this process will get easier as time goes on. But for the moment... It's a daunting task.
It's not that I don't have anything to share. I have tons of things in my brain that I would love to chat about. It's that feeling of... is this worthy? Is this something that people will like to read about? Or am I just selfishly putting out all these thoughts that are just taking up space in the recesses of the internet? And is that maybe ok?
I'm going to try to convince myself that it is ok. And that maybe, possibly, my ramblings will be of interest to someone. Hopefully you, since you seem to be reading this! And I'm going to assume that the best place to start blogging is to introduce myself. Which let's be honest is really the hardest thing to do. Deep breath.... here we go...
Why does it always feel so awkward to give your personal resume - so to speak? I feel like I'm 8 standing in front of the class on the first day of school introducing myself. "I'm Diana, I just moved here from blah blah, this summer I went swimming a lot, I like to read and play with my friends." I guess it was a little easier then than now, huh?
So who am I? My name is Diana. I have a pretty traditional story on the surface. I'm a mother of two - a boy and a girl! I got lucky with one of each. Although I was completely nuts-o and their age spread is 6 years! Gads! I never knew how difficult that would be. Trying to find a family activity that everyone likes and can participate in can be something of a logistical nightmare! And don't even get me started on picking a movie! They are super awesome kids (what? I'm going to say anything else??) And we have a blast. My husband is hilarious and sometimes really amps up the atmosphere in the house. But that keeps us all entertained and basically on our toes! Who knows when the next practical joke will happen!?? He's also very ambitious and creative and motivated and brilliant. He's my sounding board. Well more than that, he's the one that pushes me to get off my tush and do things that are scary to me. Like blog.
My entire growing up life I was a musician. Classical musician, not a cool drummer or anything! I played clarinet and loved it. I went to university on a music scholarship and was majoring in music education. Because let's face it, a degree in music performance doesn't give you much to fall back on! Halfway through my first semester I realized I could NOT teach other people how to play music. Especially children. So I had to rethink my entire plan of the previous 5 years... in about a month. I ended up switching over to Graphic Design. With the thought that I really wanted to do Interior Design. But of course my school didn't have a program of study for that. Since I was on a full paid scholarship... I was not about to change schools! And so that is how I ended up with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design.
In my life I have had a slew of really interesting (and some terrible) jobs. They range from working at a zoo (yes, really), a coffee shop, an interior design house, graphic design for several different companies, and even worked with a historic preservation league! Every job has taught me something. Sometimes just actual knowledge. But sometimes something about myself. What I personally like, enjoy, or hate. I have learned about my ideal working environment. My ideal co-workers. My ideal job.
Which leads us to now.
What's my ideal working environment? MY HOUSE!
Who are my ideal co-workers? My family, my friends, my dog (she likes to hide my supplies to liven up my day a bit).
What's my ideal job? Designing. Working with my hands to make something. Creating something from nothing is amazing. Awe inspiring. Frustrating at times. Downright impossible at other times. But always interesting. Always exciting. Every morning I wake up excited about what I will be doing today. This day. I no longer work for the weekend! What an exhilarating feeling!
Now with all this love fest for my 'job', I do have to be realistic. It's barely a job - hence the quotes. I make tiny amounts of money in return for all the work. I would say I typically work around 60 hours a week. WAYYYYY more than any other job ever. AND I don't even make minimum wage - far from it. This is a labor of love. And hope. Hope that one day all of this work with culminate in a self sustaining business that is (gasp) profitable!?
Dare I hope? Yes, yes I do. And in the meantime, I get to have flexibility with my young children. Sick a school... no problem Mom is there. Gotta do extra practice after school? NO problem I can pick you up anytime! Special program at lunchtime? I'll be there! I honestly never thought that I would be so lucky to have such an amazing life. To be able to do exactly what I am doing at this exact moment. I spent years 22-30 waiting for greatness. I wanted every day to hurry up so I could get to the weekend, get to the special summer vacay, get to the winter break at Christmas. Just hurry up time! My favorite part of my work day was marking off the previous day on my calendar. SIGH. What a sad, sad way to live. I wasn't happy. And I knew it. But what to do about it? You have to make money to live. You have to get up and go to a job. You have to. You have to.
Now I realize some things. About myself. This definitely isn't the truth for everyone. I don't need a lot of money. I don't need a fancy car. I don't need a gazillion square foot house. Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE nice things. Aesthetically speaking, I want my 'stuff' to be just right. It just doesn't have to be THE MOST EXPENSIVE. I don't need a fancy Audi. I like my Explorer just fine. I don't need thousands of dollars in jewelry. I like my handmade items the best. My house is brand new and I love it. I love the granite countertops and the beautiful moldings. But it's 1700 sq ft. Big enough for our little family and just right not to get lost in! My husband and I no longer strive to keep up with the Jones'. We strive to live simple and live happy. Spend our time not on the pursuit of wealth but on the pursuit of happy. It works for us.
And that, my new friends, is my life and me in a nutshell. I hope that you will stick around to journey down this exciting path with me. I'd love to chat with you, I'd love to design for you.
It's not that I don't have anything to share. I have tons of things in my brain that I would love to chat about. It's that feeling of... is this worthy? Is this something that people will like to read about? Or am I just selfishly putting out all these thoughts that are just taking up space in the recesses of the internet? And is that maybe ok?
I'm going to try to convince myself that it is ok. And that maybe, possibly, my ramblings will be of interest to someone. Hopefully you, since you seem to be reading this! And I'm going to assume that the best place to start blogging is to introduce myself. Which let's be honest is really the hardest thing to do. Deep breath.... here we go...
Why does it always feel so awkward to give your personal resume - so to speak? I feel like I'm 8 standing in front of the class on the first day of school introducing myself. "I'm Diana, I just moved here from blah blah, this summer I went swimming a lot, I like to read and play with my friends." I guess it was a little easier then than now, huh?
So who am I? My name is Diana. I have a pretty traditional story on the surface. I'm a mother of two - a boy and a girl! I got lucky with one of each. Although I was completely nuts-o and their age spread is 6 years! Gads! I never knew how difficult that would be. Trying to find a family activity that everyone likes and can participate in can be something of a logistical nightmare! And don't even get me started on picking a movie! They are super awesome kids (what? I'm going to say anything else??) And we have a blast. My husband is hilarious and sometimes really amps up the atmosphere in the house. But that keeps us all entertained and basically on our toes! Who knows when the next practical joke will happen!?? He's also very ambitious and creative and motivated and brilliant. He's my sounding board. Well more than that, he's the one that pushes me to get off my tush and do things that are scary to me. Like blog.
My entire growing up life I was a musician. Classical musician, not a cool drummer or anything! I played clarinet and loved it. I went to university on a music scholarship and was majoring in music education. Because let's face it, a degree in music performance doesn't give you much to fall back on! Halfway through my first semester I realized I could NOT teach other people how to play music. Especially children. So I had to rethink my entire plan of the previous 5 years... in about a month. I ended up switching over to Graphic Design. With the thought that I really wanted to do Interior Design. But of course my school didn't have a program of study for that. Since I was on a full paid scholarship... I was not about to change schools! And so that is how I ended up with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design.
In my life I have had a slew of really interesting (and some terrible) jobs. They range from working at a zoo (yes, really), a coffee shop, an interior design house, graphic design for several different companies, and even worked with a historic preservation league! Every job has taught me something. Sometimes just actual knowledge. But sometimes something about myself. What I personally like, enjoy, or hate. I have learned about my ideal working environment. My ideal co-workers. My ideal job.
Which leads us to now.
What's my ideal working environment? MY HOUSE!
Who are my ideal co-workers? My family, my friends, my dog (she likes to hide my supplies to liven up my day a bit).
What's my ideal job? Designing. Working with my hands to make something. Creating something from nothing is amazing. Awe inspiring. Frustrating at times. Downright impossible at other times. But always interesting. Always exciting. Every morning I wake up excited about what I will be doing today. This day. I no longer work for the weekend! What an exhilarating feeling!
Now with all this love fest for my 'job', I do have to be realistic. It's barely a job - hence the quotes. I make tiny amounts of money in return for all the work. I would say I typically work around 60 hours a week. WAYYYYY more than any other job ever. AND I don't even make minimum wage - far from it. This is a labor of love. And hope. Hope that one day all of this work with culminate in a self sustaining business that is (gasp) profitable!?
Dare I hope? Yes, yes I do. And in the meantime, I get to have flexibility with my young children. Sick a school... no problem Mom is there. Gotta do extra practice after school? NO problem I can pick you up anytime! Special program at lunchtime? I'll be there! I honestly never thought that I would be so lucky to have such an amazing life. To be able to do exactly what I am doing at this exact moment. I spent years 22-30 waiting for greatness. I wanted every day to hurry up so I could get to the weekend, get to the special summer vacay, get to the winter break at Christmas. Just hurry up time! My favorite part of my work day was marking off the previous day on my calendar. SIGH. What a sad, sad way to live. I wasn't happy. And I knew it. But what to do about it? You have to make money to live. You have to get up and go to a job. You have to. You have to.
Now I realize some things. About myself. This definitely isn't the truth for everyone. I don't need a lot of money. I don't need a fancy car. I don't need a gazillion square foot house. Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE nice things. Aesthetically speaking, I want my 'stuff' to be just right. It just doesn't have to be THE MOST EXPENSIVE. I don't need a fancy Audi. I like my Explorer just fine. I don't need thousands of dollars in jewelry. I like my handmade items the best. My house is brand new and I love it. I love the granite countertops and the beautiful moldings. But it's 1700 sq ft. Big enough for our little family and just right not to get lost in! My husband and I no longer strive to keep up with the Jones'. We strive to live simple and live happy. Spend our time not on the pursuit of wealth but on the pursuit of happy. It works for us.
And that, my new friends, is my life and me in a nutshell. I hope that you will stick around to journey down this exciting path with me. I'd love to chat with you, I'd love to design for you.
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