really....really, so you mean "big breaks" do happen to people?!

WoW....  I had not seen this one coming!  So about a month ago i was down. deep.  Well lets go back a bit further. About two months ago i was moving through big changes, well mentally preparing my self for some. 

Here is some history...I have been running a small hobby farm for about three years now.  One that only till this year has brought any money back in.  This has slowly become just work i have to do every day.  So one could think that this is how my mornings go.... stroll out to feed the chickens, enjoying the flutter and chatter between them.  Breathing in the fresh morning dew while wondering amongst the lambs. Or wondering down to the pond to enjoy the reflections of the geese and ducks. NO!! this is how it has been for me the last 6months or so. 

I wake up.. realizing i have to go trudge through the dirt/mud path to tend to the animals.  I lay there pondering, "hhmmm, could i possibly get the feeding chore done before Aedon wakes? or should i just sleep some more".  Either way i end up getting out of bed and not doing the chores.  So then Aedon  wakes a few minutes later.  He is hungry and wanting to eat, play, run, everything, all at once and then i realize... oh crap, Aedon has School today. (at least i havent had that part for about two months!) And we have to leave in 20 minutes or we will be late, again.  so i quickly get aedon a bowl of cereal and go to dress myself. 

I then rush out the slider door for Gunner to give me a good morning rub up my leg(clean pants are now ode d'dog) or even better, a big jump on my front.  Then i arrive at the gate. oh i don't like that gate!  Get through that obstacle and on to the next gate.  At this point the chickens, ducks and possibly the geese are squawking, quacking, honking, oh and the rooster sixtet' ques in.  I try and walk carefully through the flock, and hopefully today i didnt step on someone.  Say, good morning bunnies, as i make it into the chicken house.  I bend over to open the bin of feed, to have a still roosting chicken above, fly down and scare the shit out of me and almost land on my head.  I then realize i do not have a scooper in the feed bin this morning.... so back out to the herd of birds to find a can or something to scoop the feed.  .... I accomplish getting the feed and i then begin my daily trying to put enough feed out side so the ducks will have their attention there and then go to put the chickens feed inside their coop with out ducks coming in with them.( cause if you do not know, Ducks engorge themselves and more. so the chickens get none and also get taught to franticly eat)  by now you can see i dont have everything down right with how these things are done. 

So as i was feeding the flock of birds I have now made interest with the flock of sheep.  So then i have all 15 baa'ing at me.  I then am rushing back and grabbing other scoopers from the ground to put with the chicken feed.  I then decide i will refresh the water and feed for the rabbits after Aedon goes to school.  At this point i always have gotten something on my hands and with out thinking i wipe them on my pants. hhmmm yes. i will need to change my clothes. 

I make it back to the house to Aedon running and screaming in circles with the dogs chasing him and barking in the living room.  Also he decided he needed more milk in his cereal.. and all over the table.  Is there a deal if you spill milk on your bills you don't have to pay them?  Anyways, it is now the time to leave, Aedon is not listening and the dogs are so crazy they can't hear me saying "GO OUT, GO OUT".   Finally i get everyone settled.  find Aedon clothes and shoes(if you don't have a three yr old or dont have time crunches in the morning, well now you get a little taste of it!)  So im ready to leave.. oh yea, Aedon needs snack... and I smell like Dog, Chicken, and manure.  I run and change, throw some food in a bag for his snack..... 

So that has been a version of my mornings this year so far, 2010.  So on with the preparing of the changes.  When i commit to something, i commit like I am going to do it for the rest of my life...hhhmmm im 25 and i really want to have my life ruled by animals for possibly the next 50yrs?! um, no.  So God has been preparing my heart for change, this last year has been all myself, making things seem to be fine, when in reality, I dont want to be a slave to animals!  So about two months ago, i decide i was going to down size the farm.  Hand full of chickens, a couple sheep. maybe a duck.(they eat soooo much)   Oh i almost forgot to add that besides God preparing my heart, physically all my favorite chickens and ducks and rabbits had been getting killed.  Either by dog, eagle, or neighbor. 

It came to putting the word out, one person bought 15 and someone bought 20 chickens... YEAH! Someone is sure to buy our cute ducklings we just incubated, right?! well as of now I have 20 ducks. so no, and I dont want 20 ducks.  I then had some people interested in Sheep... but then they fell through too.  So I am here with about 15 chickens, 20 ducks, 3 rabbits, and 15 sheep.  Oh and i almost forgot this part...just before i sold the 20 chickens I started haveing withdrawls and thinking "oh no. im selling all my chickens" so i put a bunch of eggs in the incubator! IDIOT! Add about 20 chicks to this list.

So back to my daily feeding and everything, just luckily Aedon doesn't have school.  We then arrive to about a month ago.  I was down, and out.  Bills stacking, house payments late, again, and i havent gotten rid of the animals.  I then spent a couple days talking to all the different community help places for money issues, and DSHS, hoping to get on food or at least medical again for Aedon.  Then all the different Job searching places locally.  That evening i spent three hours, nonstop, searching the internet for jobs.  I hit up craigslist, jobmonster, christian job networks, local newspapers archives, other job websites.  blah blah blah. nothing.  I then found a listing that seemed kind of interesting... Had to do with selling shirts, but could lead into owning your own business and graphic designing options. 

I decided that this one seemed like a possibility.  It also hadnt been too old of a posting.  I non-shalontly emailed, with some younger sounding lingo... just cause at this point i was so done with all this blah, searching with no outcome.  Next day he emails me.  Wanted to know some details of interest and such. He wanted me to call him and chat.  Well of course i call that afternoon and Boom we hit it off.  So at first we just talked about what the job was about, tshirt sales, commision without any constraints, my own hours... then i gave him some of my skills.  He stated that he actually had just been deleting all the emails he had been getting from that listing and for some reason he looked at mine!  At this point i was going to do what ever i could to get in!  Oh i and of course when he emailed me i did my research to see the exact location and the business. The office is located in Mount vernon.. can it get anymore perfect?  so then i am just going as far as i can go... i would love the sales job, but ..."Well actually I live in Skagit Valley".  That was the end break for Him that he wanted me in.  Every other thing I said he would reverberate with "That is so interesting(his mind gears cranking!)"  So i go for it..."so, do you guys need any help in house?".. him, "It's funny that you would ask, we are just slammed right now!  Alright im going to have you meet up with my business partner, and who works at the office, ill email her to set up a time to meet with you."  and that is now set in the history of my, yes people to get these, "BIG BREAK", but I wasnt too sure of that until about two weeks ago. 

So it actually took about a week of agony not knowing if I was going to hear back from them.. I did the polite email after three days and a call in a week. Then finally, they just had so much going on... That next Monday we meet up.  I felt horribly vocabulary inept at the interview/meeting... being around a child nonstop for years in a row really takes a tole on the brain recalling.  I think i used the word "thing" in every other sentence. EEK.  By the end of the meeting I got set up with their tshirt selling side and that hopefully i'll be helping with some of their projects down the road.

 At this point i am just totally enthused... this company is eco-friendly, using material/textiles that otherwise would be dumped.  Awesome people to work with, down to earth, laid back... so Then the next week of feeling the pressure.. I understand that they need the sales(income) and that is the basis of what they hired me at this point, but seriously... I dont do high speed selling. I have been in the mommy world speed for almost 4yrs.  Not high paced business world.  So every otherday i would get a call or an email about "sealing the deal", "lets make a deal"... emails with no body.. just in the subject line"lets close a deal".  I am not trying to make him sound bad... it just was alot of pressure.  So i new what i needed.  My own business partner! Jamie to the rescue!!!! (yeah! im so excited for us... this is big!)

So now i am to about a week ago in my story.  The company had their first local showing of their apparel.  Was a fun little boutique like showing in at the main office.  It was fun and nerve racking, I just got on with these guys, but i have not been able to show them any credibility on my side yet.  So i find myself and Jamie, spending most our time in the main room, where all the different "significant" people behind the company were!  So interesting..  in the end that short evening was a roller coaster of emotions, excitement, intimidation, exuberance of "oh my goodness, this company is just starting, but they have everything they need to go big, and we get to start at the beginning with them!" and then back down to, "what the hell, i can't do this, what Can i even really do?!".  We then got to speak with the sales development guy, that was awesome... yes i know he is a salesman(pro in fact) but he made me feel good.  We even got to talk, the talk of meaningless stupid people stories.  End of event number two.

During that week i had been working on my own marketing plan and brochures/flyers.  Oh yea. so i get the job and also get to create alll mmmyyy ooown sales plan and stuff.  Geeze. no pressure. ha.  But i got past that! so this last week i printed out my selling sheets and business cards, that ill have to get redone(DONT GO TO OFFICE MAX!)PERIOD.  I am a nice and easily pleased person, but when someone treats me like they did... no way am i going to give them anymore business!  So anywho, I then arranged my first meeting. 

The meeting went great, and we have a possible venue for our own local(Skagit Valley) fashion/music show come September! WOO WOO... God you are amazing, you do love us enough to care about our silly jobs!  Yes. I have a legitimate job! Oh and it is something that is heading into CAREER!!!!  With my most favorite friend/business partner, Jamie :). 

Almost there.. hang on... so here is the last few days...i get a call from (and yes i am not using their names on purpose... not sure why) from... oh i guess it doesnt matter... From Katie.. She has some ideas for some graphics she would like for casual pieces in her Fall Fashion Line.  WHAT!?!??!  So as of now, I accomplished my first designs as a Graphic Designer.  They are being produced tomorrow and in their photoshoot on Friday! (also a good chance in the Fashion show they are having in Las Vegas on Aug. 17th.)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The website...TULEES-updates are needed and the fall line is not online yet

This is unbelievable.  Amazing.  Exciting.... EXTRA ORDINARY for little ole' me.  And God don't you worry... you are going to be my center.. and I will get to Shout your name, on every shirt i produce eventually!!! watch out, here i come!  stay tuned..........:Dana