AND SO IT BEGINS.....

WELCOME WELCOME!!

WELL, LADIES AND GENTS, HERE WE ARE!

I JUST HAVE TO START BY SAYING THIS; A BLOG!? WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!!!? LOL I READ//FOLLOW A LOT OF BLOGS BUT I NEVER PLANNED ON ACTUALLY HAVING A BLOG. AT LEAST NOT MY ORIGINAL PLAN. LIFE HAS A FUNNY WAY OF SWITCHING THINGS UP ON YOU WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT.

I'M GOING TO WARN YOU, THIS IS A LONG ONE, BUT I WANT TO GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO THIS MULTITASKING-CRAZY BRAIN OF MINE AND HOW I ENDED UP STARTING THIS BLOG. I PROMISE THAT GOING FORWARD, MY BLOGS WILL BE SHORT (MAYBE SOMETIMES MEDIUM-ISH) AND SWEET.

JUST A LITTLE BACK STORY, I WORKED IN THE MEDICAL FIELD IN DIFFERENT OFFICES AS AN ADMIN SINCE I WAS 18 YEARS OLD. IN 2012 I LEFT THE MEDICAL FIELD AND WENT INTO SALES. TALK ABOUT WHOA! IT WAS SUCH A SWITCH AND I HAD A TON TO LEARN. WITHIN 6 MONTHS, I HAD FOUND MY CALLING. IT WAS JUST SO COMPETITIVE AND EVERY DAY WAS SOMETHING NEW. GRANTED, I WAS IN A POSITION THAT SUPPORTED A GROUP OF SALES REPS SO I WASN'T ACTUALLY OUT THERE SELLING, I WAS STILL A PART OF AN AMAZING SALES TEAM. I FELT JUST AS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SALES AS THEY DID FOR THEIR OWN SALES. IT WAS A CRAZY & UNPREDICTABLE BUSINESS, BUT I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. 2 YEARS INTO MY JOURNEY WITH NUCOURSE, THE COMPANY STARTED HEADING INTO FINANCIAL TROUBLE. CONSUMER ELECTRONICS IS A ROLLER COASTER BUSINESS AND ALWAYS HAS IT'S UPS AND DOWNS. BUT THIS TIME, WE KNEW IT WAS DIFFERENT. FAST FORWARD TO THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH AND THERE WERE HUSH HUSH MANAGEMENT MEETINGS AND BAD MOODS. WE WERE ALL ON EDGE, SICK TO OUR STOMACHS AND KNEW WHAT WAS COMING. HUGE LAYOFF. 17 PEOPLE WERE PART OF THE FIRST LAYOFFS AND I WAS ONE OF THEM. THAT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A LARGE NUMBER BUT WE WERE A SMALL COMPANY OF ABOUT 80 EMPLOYEES. SO 17 WAS A LARGE CHUNK. I HONESTLY DID NOT THINK I WOULD GO. I WAS THE SENIOR SUPPORT REP AND THOUGHT; THEY WOULDN'T LAY ME OFF WHEN THE SALES ARE DOWN AND THE REPS NEED SOLID SUPPORT. BOY WAS I W R O N G!! AND DEVASTATED. I HAD 2 INTERVIEWS WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF THE LAYOFF. HELLO EYE OPENER! I REALIZED I HAD IT MADE AT MY LAST COMPANY AND IT WAS GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND SOMETHING SIMILAR.

I TOOK A BREAK FROM LOOKING ALMOST IMMEDIATELY SO CARL AND I COULD EVALUATE OUR PLAN. WE'VE HAD A PLAN TO MOVE TO GEORGIA FOR AWHILE, SO WE DECIDED TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY LOOKING FOR JOBS OUT THERE. IN THE MEAN TIME, I NEEDED SOMETHING TO DO DURING NAP TIME AND BEDTIME TO KEEP MY CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING.

BACK TRACK TO A YEAR AGO; MY BEST FRIEND AND I MADE GRAPEVINE WREATHS AFTER SEEING A TUTORIAL ON PINTEREST. I MEAN DUH, OF COURSE WE DID ;) AND LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. FOR ME, IT WAS RELAXING AND EFFORTLESS. I HAD SO MANY IDEAS AND COULDN'T WAIT TO MAKE MORE! UNFORTUNATELY, LIFE GETS BUSY AND I HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING ANOTHER ONE....UNTIL I WAS LAID OFF.


MY FRIENDS LOVED THE WREATHS I WAS MAKING AND FREQUENTLY URGED ME TO SELL THEM. INITIALLY, I WAS HESITANT AND THOUGHT THEY WERE CRAZY LOL BUT SLOWLY, I STARTED GETTING THE SAME FEEDBACK FROM NUMEROUS PEOPLE. SO I BIT THE BULLET AND VOILA!  BLISSFUL ADDICTION WAS BORN!! WOO HOO!!

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH BLISSFUL ADDICTION, WE ARE THE HOME TO CUSTOM MADE GRAPEVINE AND BURLAP WREATHS. I'VE DABBLED INTO SMALL DIY PROJECTS RECENTLY THAT I MAY SHARE WITH YOU BUT MY BUSINESS (BTW, I STILL FEEL ALMOST A LITTLE SILLY TYPING "MY BUSINESS") IS THE CUSTOM WREATHS.

HONESTLY, I'M NOT MAKING A TON OF MONEY AND MAYBE SOME DAY I WILL. PART OF THE PROBLEM  IS I HAVEN'T LISTED ON ETSY YET. MY LIFE IS A LITTLE CRAZY AND I HAVE TO GET THAT UNDER CONTROL BEFORE I COMMIT TO ETSY. BUT...A BIG BUT....ETSY IS IN THE FUTURE AND WILL HAPPEN. SO HANG TIGHT! FOR NOW, MY CUSTOMERS ARE FAMILY & FRIENDS AND I GET THE CHANCE TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE EVERYDAY "HOUSEWIFE" AND MOMMY DUTIES TO DO SOMETHING I TRULY ENOY. AND BECAUSE I LOVE TO OVERLOAD MYSELF ((LOL)) I DECIDED TO BLOG! AM I THE GREATEST WRITER? UH NO LOL BUT THAT DOESN'T BOTHER ME AND HOPEFULLY IT WON'T BOTHER YOU :) I STARTED MY BLOG BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE CURIOUS ABOUT ALL OF MY DIY PROJECTS AND WREATHS. I FIGURED I'D AT LEAST PUT ALL MY THOUGHTS OUT THERE IN ONE SPACE FOR INTERESTED READERS. I MEAN, ISN'T THAT WHY EVERYONE STARTS A BLOG?

WHO KNOWS WHERE THIS WILL GO OR WHERE IT WILL TAKE ME, BUT I'M EXCITED TO FIND OUT AND HOPE YOU WILL TAG ALONG WITH ME!

-MANDI