holiday hoopla....

It was a quiet day at our house --  quick visit by our 20 and 18 yr olds (long enough to eat and run).   Our 3 yr old. Sam very much enjoyed his basket and the egg hunt!!!!  He found them all and ate more candy than he's had in the entirety of his life thus far....  I purchased the candy with coupons and special deals....

We had a fabulous dinner or leg of lamb, roast potatoes, peas and flaky biscuits....I was able to provide our entire dinner for less than $15 thanks to sales and coupons!!  It never bothered me before that lamb is so expensive.   It may have taken me a whole lot of years to shop effectively for our family, but i think i'm getting the hang of it.

Easter eggs we coulored Saturday - most are shades of brown, as we used brown organic farm eggs.  oops!   Sam repeatedly asked what colour would taste best for breakfast...



Apparently green tastes best!!!!

Masked duo celebrates the day in true super nerd style!!!!!
 

A new direction

I started this blog several years ago to showcase my handmade jewelry (which can be found at http://simplywillow.etsy.com) but i was never able to decide who my audience was - fellow jewelry artists or potential customers.    As it became harder to find the time to write and without a clear direction, I lost interest (hence the lack of posts since 2010).

About seven weeks ago, I left the position I'd had for 11 years as a foodservice equipment estimator specializing in major league sports stadiums to work part time as a Mfg's Rep in the same industry.  I can already hear you --  "You went part time?....in this economy...?"   Over the last several years, my schedule had become hectic and as responsibilities increased, so did my work week. I had been working 50-70 hours a week with little time left over for my very large family, our home, my jewelry business, my hobbies and the love of my life. Stress was destroying my health and my marriage

With my new position has come the ability and the need to take a closer look at how we spend our time and our money and the opportunity to live a more fulfilling life.  

Our lives have changed dramatically in a short period of time...and I hope to share with you every day a bit of our journey in this new direction.

I'll be changing up the look and feel of these pages over the next couples weeks, adding recipes and photos, craft ideas, thrify tips, thoughts and feelings.   I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy living it!

willow