...and now FIVE YEARS later...

December 2, 2011
http://vintagedandelion.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-time-for-everything.html

Five years ago I sat at the same place at my kitchen table and thought, "Why not write a blog?" And so I did. I took a screen shot on my new MacBook and vintage Dandelion was born. When I was a high school senior, in one of my classes, they had us write down where we thought we'd be in one year, five years, ten years and so on. I thought since it has been nearly five years to the day that I started blogging, I'd see where I am from where I thought I'd be.


5 years ago....

• Working night shift as an RN in the NICU was what I did for a living. I was starting to feel like I'd be here permanently.
• My hair was curly.
• I liked coffee; on this day it was Pumpkin Spice. 
• Credit card debt hung heavily over my head, on my back...
• I still had five children at home.
• I didn't need to wear glasses all that much.
• I wanted to lose weight, about 10-15 lbs. 

• I wanted to write more, sew more, read more, cook healthier, garden more, and the list could go on...

Today...

• As of today, I'm taking a break from my career, for about a month or so. You know me, I can't not work, but I am ready for part-time or per diem instead of full-time, full-on RN work. 
• I am refocusing on my family, my home, my friends, and my God (not necessarily in that order).
• The curls? I miss them, but I am enjoying some highlights and low-lights and a few more gray hairs.
• I still like love coffee. Today it was flavored "sugar cookie". I've learned how to make my own creme brulee coffee. 
• Credit card debt? As of November 30th, 2016 the credit cards are paid, my school loan is paid. I have learned a lot about budgeting this past year and how to really get those darn things paid off. It's one huge reason I can now take a month off to refocus and then work less hours. Credit card debt can own you if you let it get away from you. I know.
• My baby girl and baby boy are still at home. The others have fully spread their wings and have flown. Adrienne is in Pittsburgh, Amy is in Columbus, and Aaron and Lisa-Anna are in Frostburg. Heather just told me today that she filled out more forms for Rosedale Bible College for next year. Ryan is a teenager. I really shouldn't think of them as babies anymore, but it's a mom thing and they indulge me. 
• Glasses. Spectacles. Bifocals. Pretty much all the time. I've gotten used to them and seriously can't read at all without them. 
• I still want to lose weight. Except now it's more like 20-25 lbs. Losing weight in the past five years has been non-existent. Not that the creme brulee coffee creamer has anything to do with it.
• I still want to do more, like reading, sewing, gardening, cooking, scrapbooking, and writing; being without a hobby has never been my problem, it is figuring out that balance in my life of work and play. I hope this next month, going into the holidays is a chance to breathe more, pause more, enjoy simple things more.