I'M CRAFTY!!!

So, what's with the new blog and and the silly name? At the urging of a few good friends, I decided I'd try to post some of my handiwork and didn't think it would mix well with my stream of consciousness blog. It's been a bit of a journey to get to the point where I'd post this stuff, so I thought I'd tell you the story. Here’s the short version:

I got my bachelor's in Environment Science in 2000 and got a cool in-house-consultant type job in Michigan right out of school. In 2002 I got accepted to a master's program with my company in conjunction with EMU and started working on my MBA. In the middle of my MBA I changed from the environmental department to the compensation department. It was a crazy change, but my boss was an amazing teacher and I love how different it was. But still, it was all very left brained. So, after a long day of Excel and Access I found I really enjoyed some brightly colored paper and a pair of good scissors, or even a nice piece of fabric and a sewing machine. But I was not a crafty person (I'd say to myself).

After I graduated my husband got a job transfer and we moved to Yuma, Arizona in 2006. I telecommuted but soon grew tired of sitting at home alone all day. I had been dreaming of doing something entrepreneurial for 4 years and I had been doing research for about a year trying to determine what the best venture would be. I ended up choosing to become a Real Estate Agent because I wanted to work with people, I didn't want to have to buy a franchise, and I really enjoyed the experience when we bought our own home. Real Estate is great! You have the softer sides of working with someone through a highly emotional experience, but there's also a lot of contracts and financial calculations to keep my left brain happy.

Then, I had a baby and just like they all said, he changed everything! I feel called to stay home with my son and I enjoy the growing relationship we share. However, I find it difficult now to do much with my real estate work. I try to keep a listing or two, but mostly I just help out friends when they need to buy or sell their home. I miss my real estate work, but I regularly remind myself that I've got the rest of my life to work- he's only small for a few years and then the schools steal him away. So, as a stay-at-home mom, I find my strange schedule is actually very conducive to all those crafts I've been secretly doing for all these years.

Why secret? I didn't like to talk about them too much because I thought that most people would view me as less credible in the business world, it they knew I was "crafty." Is that true? Tell me, when you think about your friends, do you generally consider your crafty friends to be less business minded? Would you want your crafty friend to be the one handling your finances? Would you expect that a CPA could make a beautiful scrapbook?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I’ve recently decided that I’m being very silly. I’ve decided that the traits that made me excel in Corporate America are the same traits that make me “crafty:” I like to try new things. I focus on continuous learning. When I fail, I try, try again. I truly believe that anything you set your mind to, you can do (not perfectly, of course, but then, what’s the cost/benefit justification for perfection?). So, I will now, from this day forward, admit to being crafty. There, I’ve said it, “I’M CRAFTY!”