Surprise!

I have been quietly tinkering away on a dedicated web store for a couple of months now.  Today it went live (twenty seconds ago actually) and to celebrate I'm having a surprise Valentines Day sale.  With a whopping 25% off all hand woven garments.  Be quick or miss out folks.  Happy Valentines Day! <3

www.soulcraftingbyshevi.com

Valentines Day Downer

Today is Valentines Day.  This 'special' day means a lot to so many people.  There's the undeniable commercial promise for retailers of course (and don't get me started on that one - lol).  But the really big draw card for the day is the supposed romantic element.  Some couples even look forward to the day with a fervor that approaches fanaticism which seems a little unhealthy and unrealistic to me but at least they can look forward to a few moments of excitement.  For me it is an unfortunate reminder of one of the worst mistakes I ever made.

Twelve years ago today I got married.  A week before I'd realised I didn't actually want to get married but we'd spent so much money and had so many people counting on the day that I couldn't back out of it like I wanted to.  Getting married on Valentines Day was my nod to the romance that is supposed to be involved in getting married.  A bit of a joke really considering romance is something I'm not terribly familiar with.  And sadly, every year on this day, I experience the same regret.  I try to not think about the 'event' but you cant just forget your wedding day (no matter how much of a farce it was).   Especially when Valentines day is such a big deal to most people.  Its a handy reminder :o/

Consequently Valentines Day is a bit of a non event for me every year.  My current partner and I try to make at least a minimal effort with by doing the card thing.   We keep telling ourselves that we're keeping the real effort for our anniversary which is in March but we both know its because the day just reminds me of the most colossal stupidity I've ever experienced. Its all a bit of a downer really.

While I'd like to wish everyone a happy V Day, I'm afraid my heart wouldn't be in it.  Sadly as I'm technically still married its my wedding anniversary.  Ugh.  

Maybe I should try to organise my divorce so it comes through on the same day...that might take some of the sting out. ;o)

Breathe...

I have been invited to participate at the Sydney Royal Easter Show by the lovely Charly from Ixchel in April this year.  There will be a team of people participating in some pretty special events (more info here) and I'm so excited to be a part of it.  

Of course, the SRES is a hugely prestigious affair with people coming from all over the world to participate and spectate.  Obviously I want to make the most of this once in a lifetime (for me) event.  It's a great opportunity to get my name and product out there so I have been rushing about madly trying to put together appropriate items to take with me. Sadly, I've been putting too much pressure on myself to get  things done 'liek nao' and consequently I'm not really getting anywhere.  On top of that, I've been so caught up in getting my business to start producing an income that things have become a bit panicked which of course means I'm achieving exactly nothing.

So I've decided that it would be better if I just relax.  Today I'm sitting back and breathing. There's no rush.  I have an income that I can survive on for now so there is plenty of time for the business to evolve naturally.  I definitely have lots of plans for the business but there is no reason they all have to come to fruition this instant. 

Of course now that I've given myself permission to stop stressing over things, I'm sure that the creative process (and progress) will begin to flow smoothly once again.  

As for the Easter show, I already have plenty of things to take with me so there's no need to panic about getting a heap of stuff made in the next few weeks. If I manage to come up with a few more things to showcase my creativity that would be awesome but if I don't, I'm not going to fret about it.

It feels SO good to stop stressing. :o)