Transitions

Summer is ending. Yesterday we moved our oldest back into his university. Since he started a semester early he's already halfway through his sophomore year and this was his third move-in. It's almost unbelievable to me, my little boy could be starting his third semester of college. It seems as though I started my third semester of college fairly recently!

The third move-in doesn't warrant nearly the amount of shopping and planning and decorating and commemoration and tears of the first. In fact, I tried to snap a photo but got him looking at his phone and then it started pouring rain so I didn't even get my usual photo off all three kids in front of the campus fountain. We already have all the WCU shirts and hats and chairs and stuff so we didn't go to the university bookstore. Instead we went out for lunch, swung by Walmart to pick up some last-minute essentials, and then we hit the thrift store. I always love checking fresh out-of-town thrift stores when I'm traveling and this one didn't disappoint. My eagle-eyed kids spotted Funko Pops and then found this Tyco My Pretty Ballerina doll from 1990 still in her box. She works and was in such good shape I already got her restored and listed in my shops. You can link to my shops from the Home page.

This is a transitional time in my life, as well as the year. My oldest persuaded me to enroll in entrepreneurship and microeconomics classes to help me run my business better. And finally, after nearly eight months of effort I finally found a trustworthy (I hope!) manufacturer and paid a deposit on my first order of custom-designed doll eyes. The order costs more than I've ever spent on inventory and this is the first time I've ever taken out a loan to purchase goods for my stores. I lay awake for hours after sending the payment! As you know, I've had  few of these deals fall through, so please send me all the good vibes you can muster in hopes this works! To begin I ordered eyes to fit American Girl and similar dolls with a wider, shallower eye pocket than most dolls. I designed four colors. If these turn out and sell well I hope to eventually expand my color and size selections. 

I took a business trip earlier this month and picked up two huge consignment lots, mostly fashion for girls and women, but also some cameras and electronics and men's shoes. I'm working on getting these listed. All my stores are getting more fall and winter pieces. I'm now a Top Seller Stylist on Poshmark, which means you can request I style you for a season or a specific event, like a wedding or vacation. Just ask for styling and make sure your style card is filled out with your size and preferred brands and styles and I'll create one or more outfits for you and send you a discounted offer. 

I really feel like I'm on the cusp of expanding my business in a big way, and it's frightening and exhilarating at once. The entrepreneur classes are helping me feel like I have more of a grasp of what I'm doing, although fitting in yet another thing isn't easy.

I've been working on my personal transition, as most of you know, for almost a year, ever since our son's Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis. I've been going slowly and deliberately. First I researched the disease and changed our diet to ketogenic. After a few months I added intermittent fasting. For the past month or so I've been adding new activities, like mountain biking. I would love to see a faster transformation, but I don't want to burn myself out and quit like I have in the past. August has not been kind to me. I strained a muscle in my shoulder or neck three weeks ago. It seemed like it was better so I went biking and swimming last week and inflamed it all over again. Sitting on the couch with a hot compress on my neck combined with eating out during my business trip (even though I only ate one meal a day) and a couple cheat meals with wheat or potatoes requested by my son before he left combined to pack on four pounds. I know it's not the end of the world, and it doesn't erase all my progress. When my son was diagnosed I was wearing a tight 2X in clothes, but yesterday, even with some weight gain, I wore a size M shirt and I tried on a size L shirt I was planning to sell and found it fits so I'm keeping it. Even so, I don't want things to get out of hand so I am planning at least a few days of meat-heavy zero carb. Several doctors in my Instagram feed have switched to the carnivore diet and transitioned their patients to it and they report great improvement in health from joint pain to diabetes, so I think it won't hurt to try it for a while and I know from experience how well it beats bloating and whisks off weight!