JoaS

I'm popping in to give a little update on my progress, focusing better in 2020. Some changes I've made so far: JacobJewelry - I closed up shop and took a few weeks off at the end of February. I used the time to do a bit of rebranding, restructuring, and housecleaning, going through all of my designs with a strict eye for detail and a high set of standards. This greatly restricted the number of listings I offer, but I am so very pleased with their quality and style. I purchased many new, upgraded materials, and even found a great bead seller that abides by international fair trade regulations and has the most beautiful handmade beads from artisans in Ghana, Nepal, and elsewhere around the world. This is not something I had considered important for my business before, but now I can't believe I overlooked such an easy way to "give far"--see this post for more on that. The pricing has changed a bit for some pieces because of this, but overall prices...

I shared in this post last year that my "resolution" for each new year looks more like just one word, sort of like picking an area of my life that could use improvement or identifying something I find lacking and attempting to better incorporate that in my daily life throughout the year. For 2020, I have landed on the word "focus." Ironically, it wasn't very clear to me this year what my word was supposed to be, so it's taken me a while to organize my thoughts and write this post. Since Maggie has entered our lives, I have felt more scattered than ever before. It's been wonderful and my artsy brain secretly loves the lack of structure, but I find myself constantly wasting precious time, overly relying on my phone, unable to tackle the seemingly endless to do list that exists solely in my head. I have found myself going through periods of pretty intense anxiety and wariness and then returning to a sort of calm, with no real idea of what caused or e...

Hello! It's been a minute. Maggie has officially been with us for two months now and it is a new year, new decade, new life. My sleep deprived brain stays in a fog much of these days, but I've been knocking around a few ideas for my first postpartum blog post (try saying that three times fast). I hate birth stories. Or I did. They are a tad more palatable with a point of reference, but a strong stomach I have not. Needless to say, I won't be sharing that here. Or anywhere. If you ask for details I can give them, but I'll start gagging a little when I get to the part about the second (yes, second) epidural, so consider yourself forewarned. In short, it was twelve and a half hours full of many surprises and firsts, ending with the most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen and a room full of new besties. I will share what I wish I had taken to the hospital with me. It's not a huge list, and I won't be sharing one of those fun ...

Gratitude is a pretty powerful tool. Lately, the heat has made being pregnant increasingly more uncomfortable and, to be honest, the medical bills and little extra costs add up and eclipse most of our disposable income. It's been a pretty rough and hot July. A little pregnancy update: I'm well into the second trimester and was feeling so much better and so happy to have escaped the nausea of the first trimester, until a few weeks ago. The heat (or something) seemed to come out of nowhere and now I find it very difficult to catch my breath, often getting lightheaded and/or having dizzy spells. I've also been getting sick for the first time. First trimester nausea stuck with me pretty much all day and kept me on my toes, wondering and half expecting an episode. This nausea comes out of nowhere like a ton of bricks and strikes without warning. Hard. I was not prepared for this and it has made life a little more unpredictable. (That being said, it has in no way diminish...

Feelings are so finicky. Have you ever felt yourself wearing down and you begin to neglect your quiet time or your evening walk or your morning prayer time because there's just so much to do and you've run out of energy? Next thing you know you're losing your cool in traffic or exploding on a friend or loved one because they can't read minds and didn't know to watch their step in the mine field that has become you? Have you ever let that happen? Because I have. And it stinks. I can recall with perfect clarity the first time I let it happen and was consciously aware I was doing it. I was treating someone I loved with contempt and gruffness that they certainly did not deserve. I could feel myself doing it, I watched myself do it, and I thought the whole time "Emily, what are you doing?" I knew immediately that it was misdirected and I felt terrible. Emotions can be so strong. Mine often overwhelm me. This is something we diligently attempt to guide in th...

I have been receiving lessons in humility lately. I guess to be a "sanctuary"--pure and holy, tried and true--it stands to reason you'd have to be humble, too. When we first found out we were having a baby girl, my reaction was soft, gushy, heart melting--followed immediately by the realization that I am so flawed and so young and so unwise and inexperienced--how in the world can I do this well?? A girl is going to have to overcome so many of the trials and hardships with which I was faced, and I didn't handle them all well! I had to fight the fear. I started praying. I had to immerse myself in truth to shut out the (horribly loud) lies. I reached out to a mom I follow on social media (the one millennial activity I do well) and I asked for any tips she could give a first time mom. Her response, delivered with such tenderness and sincerity, was that God has hand chosen me to mother this little one here on earth. He seems to think I'm the best suited for this pa...

One of my favorite songs on the radio today is God Only Knows by For King and Country. God only knows what you've been through God only knows what they say about you God only knows how it's killing you But there's a kind of love that God only knows God only knows what you've been through God only knows what they say about you God only knows the real you There's a kind of love that God only knows They have a way of writing that just speaks straight to my soul. Their word choice could not more accurately represent those feelings I can't quite put into words if they had interviewed me, personally, before sitting down to compose. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I can be a little more authentic about my experience these past 12 weeks. First, a little background on Michael and I: we're both recovering people pleasers. We're both pretty laid back and don't like to let things bother us. We don't like to confront others, we don...