Well... it's New Year's Day... the first Day of 2013... Welcome 2013! Since 2012 was a very trying and difficult Year for us and many of our Friends we are looking forward to a Fresh Start with Hopefully less Crisis, Sorrow and Personal Dramas playing out? But at least if some do, we all had a LOT of Practice in 2012 so we should be better at it with all that recent Experience?!?
But we remained Up by Faith and it Held... we kept the devourer at bay most of the time and what was lost, we grieved over... and then picked ourselves up and pressed onwards towards the Future... certain that the Best was yet to come!!!
And so on New Year's Eve I will have certainly Eaten too much, since I'm not much of a Drinker... Favorite Food from the New Year's Buffet will be my downfall rather than too much to drink... even though one of my 2013 Resolutions will certainly be to harness the beast that is obesity and conquer it... once again... with more self-discipline and better choices!
And yes... I am certainly one of those Goal Setters that makes a Personal List. Particularly at the onset of a brand New Year I will find myself charting out New Goals and Personal Promises that we call Resolutions. Reviewing where I'm at and where I want to go... and if I'm on track with previous Goals and Resolutions that were set?
I find that writing down Goals and making them Clear breathes Life into them and gives them Substance. And to attempt to Resolve problematic areas of Life is an ongoing Process to strive towards so that Life gets better and better... so I take Resolutions seriously. If I make Promises to others I always keep them... so why not to Self as well? We should at least be as good to ourselves as we are to others we Care about.
And isn't it always nice to have that Check List you can cross off of Goals Attained and a Vision or Dream Accomplished from the previous Year!? Reviewing Resolutions you might have made progress on... or even backslid on and so realize you need to continue working upon. In spite of the obstacles that were faced during 2012 I must say that I did have some significant Goals I was able to check off as Attained! And that feels so good!
After Years of timidity, fear and procrastination I finally stepped out in Faith and Attained a Secret Dream to begin Selling Found Treasures in a Retail Space. Therefore making a Lifelong Passion and something I've always felt Purposed to do, turn a Profit! And the Success I have Enjoyed was quite the Rush and a Relief since I had never done anything like this before and was Earning while I was Learning! *Winks*
The Timing just felt right and everything was lining up so favorably that I felt that if not Now, then When? I was deliriously Happy when THE BRASS ARMADILLO WEST decided to open a Huge location right here on the Far West Side just minutes from our Home! The Man and I were one of the first ones through the door to rent and choose our Booth.
And I confess I had a mixture of Excitement and Nerves about starting a Business Venture since I knew absolutely zilch about Selling in an Antique Mall. I was relying upon the Passion I have for seeking out and Rescuing Found Treasures and pieces of the Past. With the confidence that I do have knowledge of, have been Exposed to and have Collected "The Good Stuff" all of my Life. I remained open to Mentorship from the Gracious Seasoned Veterans of the Biz who so Generously Share their vast knowledge and experience, and I was determined to Learn all I could about what I was getting myself into. But as it turned out, it was one of the best decisions of 2012. We will continue to move forward to what I know in my Spirit is the right choice for me, will Bless my Family and give even more Purpose to a Passion and deep Urge I've always had.
And I was able to Dream Big and Enlarge The Vision quite rapidly as the Opportunity came up within the first Year the Antique Mall was open to rent more and bigger Space... getting a Showroom and Loft Spaces with Art Walls when the 2nd Floor opened recently!!! And by now there was no hesitation, no timidity, no procrastination... the Clarity the Vision was Manifesting had built enough Momentum that it was a Natural Progression of things that I felt Excited to Rise to the Challenge of!
It now had a Life of it's own where Purpose met with Destiny and you have a Knowing that the Timing to go to the next Level will be Revealed Clearly. So you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and gain Momentum. "The Steps of a Good Man are Ordered by the Lord and He Delights in his way. (Psalm 37:23)" kept ringing in my ears. Okay, so I'm not a Man, but you know what I mean! *Winks* When you get to do something you absolutely Love and you can also make a Living at or will Supplement a Fixed Income... then it's not really like 'Work' at all. This has not been like 'Work' to me, I look forward to every aspect of it and am having Fun! Especially Expanding The Thrill Of The Hunt to now include Inventory for my Retail Spaces!
And I really look forward to the Fun Events and Promotions our Antique Mall regularly Hosts... it's such a great place to make Friends with those who Share similar Interests and Passions, to Work and to Shop! Today we're having a Cookie Toss Promotion to kick off the New Year, where your Prize can be 5%, 10%, 15% or even 20% off your Purchase!!! So come on down and get in on the Fun and some Great Deals, I'll be Working the Morning Shift so I Hope to see you there!!!
And since we finally got the G-Kid Force's Nooks up and running and loaded with Aps there has been more Peace in the Valley as Princess T has been adequately Amused and glued to her Nook! She even took up Residence inside an oversized Feather Pillow lined Laundry Basket as her cozy 'Nook' Nook! *LOL*
Clearly she's been hanging out with our Fur Babies so much that she's even developing Feline Qualities such as being able to curl up and be comfortable ANYWHERE!
And fall asleep in ANY POSITION!!! This is her sound asleep sitting up. One minute she was Animated, sitting in the chair talking to me... then suddenly Silence... I glance over and Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... she'd just fallen over just a little bit to the Left, but otherwise, this was the EXACT Position she'd been awake in and Crashed mid-Sentence!!! Hilarious!!!
In fact I'm certain there's a half uttered word still in her little Mouth?!? This is what is meant when they say, "Sleeping like a Baby!" I should be so Lucky with Blessed Slumber!
But then there's the Other One... lets call him "The One That Never Sleeps and gets into Everything"! The One requiring Optimum Supervision twenty-four seven and Super Human Vigilance! Also The One who had to have his Nook taken away and remain Nook-Less only Hours after getting it up and running and Generously loaded with Aps by Grandpa!!! *Huge Sigh*
The Young Prince's Attention Span is a mere nanosecond but we Imagined enough Aps had been loaded to keep him Entertained for some time! Silly us!!!
But, only Hours from the time he was given the now functional Gift... the Gift had to be taken away... because he'd quickly gotten past whatever obviously inadequate Safeguards were in place and snuck off to the Rebellious Wild Side that Pre-Teen Boys can be apt to go... into the Forbidden Territory of the Internet... to some unsavory places he shouldn't be!
Okay, so he's not the first Young Man we've Raised and therefore we've been down a similar Pre-Teen Testosterone laden road before. So after my initial Fit, Mandatory Lecture about Internet Perils and Nook Confiscation... I swap out the Tool he's using to go to the 'Wild Side' with some harmless Vintage Models Grandpa had Gifted him with. Assuming it might buy me Hours of Peace and keep him out of Trouble awhile!?! Silly me, he made this complex Muscle Car Model in about 20 Minutes... and the Apache Helicopter Model in even less time than that! *Darn!*
He cheerfully chirps, "Okay I'm done Gramma... now what can I do? I'm BORED..." (Insert me cringing at the reference to Boredom and seeing how fast he'd whipped together something that would have taken me days... maybe weeks... to Create or figure out! Boredom with this Kid = Mischief and Trouble!)
Child Geniuses annoy me, they can be utterly Exhausting as their sharp inquiring Mind zips from curiosity to curiosity... making me feel totally Inadequate... and are so darn difficult to keep Entertained and one step ahead of! Throw in some Special Needs and you've got a Wild Ride in Parenting such a Child as this! *Whew... wiping sweat from brow!* At least his Lil Sis is only a First Grader so I can still manage to keep a step ahead of her for now! I'm still Smarter than a First Grader! *Winks*
Yeah, they were even Messin' with Dead Santa on New Year's Eve... this is how I found him New Year's Day... The Man told me he'd had them place the Velvet Rosebud somewhere else before I woke up... just Guess where it was placed when he woke up? *LOL* Yeah, there... they thought it was Hilarious.
Yeah, Happy New Year... obviously there are some things that will still be Challenging us in 2013 and beyond... maybe I should start drinking???!!! *LOL* Pass the Coronitas... and the Pina Coladas...
I knew I shouldda split for the North Pole with Santa while I still had the chance...
Though "The One that Never Sleeps" surprised me by conking out before the Stroke of Midnight New Year's Eve! That almost never happens...
And Princess T had preceded him hours earlier... sometimes stuffing them with Buffet food works wonders to help them Fade earlier! *LOL* Happy New Year!
Dawn... The Bohemian