Hooray for the weekend!!!! Actually I work all weekend, today through Sunday as Sweet Clover is open this weekend, but thankfully I love my job and I have so much fun when I am there. We’ve had some rough moments over the last year, but we’ve gotten Sweet Clover to a place we once again love going to, and I love spending time with my team there. I am going to talk about it a little more as well as other life “stuff” in this post, which going to be one of those that meanders all over the place and then some. So grab your coffee, or maybe your blankie as you might need a nap somewhere in between paragraphs. I’ll try to toss in some pretty photos to keep you interested though.
Sweet Clover Vintage Barn Sale in Frederick
And before I begin to talk your ear off I want to say how very fortunate I feel for all of the opportunities I have had. I am filled with gratitude for every chance that’s come my way and I don’t want to come across as ungrateful for anything, but I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment… there are too many good things and I need to figure out what I can let go of.
Emmy & Sawyer are currently 9 and 10 and while they are old enough to do so many things on their own, and they’re old enough to be in school from 9-3:30 each day, they still need me. They need me to be here for them when they get off the bus, drive them to soccer practice, take care of basic needs, and also go above and beyond that when I can. I ran the school talent show, and currently am helping out with the school play as the “munchkin mom” meaning I am at all play practices involving munchkins (it’s the Wizard of Oz, not a donut play although donuts….) and I have learned their songs and dances and am helping the kids practice them. We’ve got a concert and STEAM night next week, followed by Spring Fling the week after and soon to follow Field Day. And sometimes it can be a struggle to squeeze these extras in, but I know the days are flying by and I don’t want to miss this time. So I say yes to everything I can even if it might stress me out a little.
Finding time to spend with Chris lately has been a challenge, too. He gets home from work late and to top it off is a night owl, and I am up at 4:50 every 5-6 mornings of the week. But my early morning runs are time I spend with a good friend. I told her today that even though our Saturday runs may take two hours sometimes, I always look forward to it because it’s two hours away from any of pressing things on my to do list, two hours away from any noise (literally and figuratively). It’s just us and the hills! And to top it off, those hills challenge me each time, but they also show me what I am made of- and that’s some pretty tough stuff.
From the American Odyssey Relay last year
We’ve taken much more time on the weekends to spend as a family lately whereas I used to try to use that time to accomplish projects for work or the blog. But because Chris works late often and I crash shortly after he gets home, we take much needed time to reconnect on the weekends, going to movies, out to dinner, and to church together. Sometimes I feel guilty about all of the things I should be doing, and I hate when that feeling creeps in ruining the pure enjoyment of the moment, of just being with my people. And sometimes there are projects we can all work on together, but those are a little rare… however we do plan to build a chicken coop in a few weeks!
We also have these 3 furry beasts who need our love and attention and are very much a part of our family.
This photo was taken just a couple weeks ago when Jake wouldn’t move for a few days. This particular day was really awful and I just sat down next to him and cried and told him I wasn’t ready for this yet. When I came downstairs from a shower, this was the scene I walked in on…. Jake not feeling well and laying on a bed while the other two just sat near him, supporting him. (Pardon the terrible quality of the iphone photo, but it really conveys the situation. He had just started taking supplements for arthritis and they hadn’t kicked in yet; he also had non-cancerous tumors on his derriere that needed to be removed (they were just a few days after this photo). I had taken him for a walk Friday and it hadn’t gone well at all and I could see he was in pain. In one hour we walked just 2 miles (compared to the 4.5 he was doing just a couple weeks before). After that walk he just seemed so depressed and laid on his bed all weekend, barely moving to go outside, and eating when I brought the bowl to him and held it for him. I was heartbreaking, but he’s rallied and seems to be doing much better. Each afternoon I carve out an hour for the dogs now, walking Catcher and Snowball a couple miles, and then coming back and walking Jake by himself just up and down our street. So although it’s only one hour a day, it takes a little bit of extra time now because I have to take Jake on his own short walk. But if you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that dog is my heart and there’s not much I wouldn’t do for him.
At Sweet Clover, I am lucky to have the best and most supportive partner in Sarah. She’s become my family and such a vital part of my life. When something happens to me she’s one of the first people I need to run and tell about it. We’re at a point with Sweet Clover where we love our team and we feel their support. So now that we have gotten through the hard times, it’s time to really focus on the growth of our business. We have so many exciting plans, events and collaborations coming up that we hope will prove fruitful.
This weekend, we’ve invited Candlelight Floral to set up a bouquet bar for our customers and they’ll be there today and tomorrow! Candlelight is owned by a local couple and they’re just adorable and from England so they have the best accents ever. We’re excited to bring them in and offer something creative to our customers.
Then next month on May 21 we will have blogger and author Amy Renea at Sweet Clover signing books! She’s written Crafting with Nature, which is awesome, by the way! Emmy and I are excited to dive into some natural crafts this summer. And I am thrilled to see Amy who will be staying with me when she’s here! Did you know she was Better Homes & Garden’s garden blogger of the year a couple years ago? She’s pretty amazing, and also so down to earth and humble.
Sarah and I had been talking for a while about starting a creative workshop, so with Amy coming, we felt May was the perfect time to launch. We’ll be hosting our first “makes*it” on May 21 and we even have Sarah Dorsey coming to teach with us! This weekend kicks off our marketing of the event, but here’s the flyer we created to give you an idea of what we’re doing!
It’s sure to be a great time! We’re hoping that it’s in high demand and we have to add a second class, but we’ll see!
So where does all of this busy-ness leave me? Well I’ve had less time and motivation to find furniture to paint or redesign. When I have time on the weekends to go to auctions I’d rather be with my family. And house projects are all feeling very stagnant at the moment, too, or at least just very slowly moving. I need Chris’ help with so many things, but they don’t get ticked off the list because that project is now how we are choosing to spend our time together. I am feeling very much at a crossroads… I LOVE sharing here on this blog, and I truly love instagram where it’s quicker and easier to share, even if it’s less detailed. I don’t really want to give up the blog, but I’m certainly feeling like I don’t have as much to share lately without the furniture makeovers or house projects happening like they used to. And I don’t have time to focus on the business side of blogging. I’ve registered for the Haven conference and I am having second thoughts about going, because I don’t even know if this blog is going to remain a business (it barely keeps afloat money wise, so it’s not like it’s an income!). And I would feel guilty going just to see friends even though I know that these particular creative friends will inspire me. I just know that my time is currently needed being a mom and wife, loving my dogs, and working on the business side of Sweet Clover.
Pssst… are you still there? Did you squeeze that nap in during all of this meandering rambling? And truthfully, I don’t have any answers of what the future holds. All I am saying is that I can’t do it all, and I am OK with that. In the end I just want to live a life I am proud of, that brings me joy and fulfillment; and I think I knew that when I chose my tagline…. life, paint, and the pursuit of happiness. Sometimes finding what feeds your soul that means taking life by the horns and going for each opportunity, and sometimes it comes in knowing when to walk away. I am not walking away…. rather I am moving and I don’t know in what direction.
