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I Am Not Throwing Away My Shot

It's been a few weeks since I've last checked in, and I've been pretty busy with non-job-related things. It's been a welcome distraction, and I've definitely tried to make the most out of it and enjoy the free time while I have it. I drove down to Chicago with my mom and sister to see Hamilton, near the end of August. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Everything I'd hoped for, and more, and it very much exceeded my expectations. I've been a huge fan of the soundtrack for the majority of this year (I jumped on the bandwagon late, but man am I glad I joined), and I was hoping to see the musical when they tour in Minneapolis in 2018/2019. With the layoff happening, it seemed a lot more unlikely that I would get to see the performance, but my mom surprised my sister and I with tickets, when she came into some unexpected money. It was a great experience, and if you're a fan of Hamilton, GOGOGOGO see it. Worth every penny. A few weeks after our Chicago trip, I headed back to Wisconsin to celebrate my friend's son's 3rd birthday, and I also picked my mom up and took her back out to the Twin Cities. She had only visited once before, since it's about a five-hour drive from my hometown. It's not a drive that I expect anyone to make often, so it was nice to have her out here for a few days. We went to a local restaurant for fish and went to see Minnehaha Falls (which are super cool), and we saw U2 at the US Bank Stadium for their Joshua Tree tour. I remember my parents bumping that cassette tape while I was a kid, so I was happy to be able to take my mom to the tour, and to check off another fun thing on our bucket lists. Check out a few photos in the slideshow below, and meet my little frog and toad friends that I found in Wisconsin, too! :D

With all of these things happening, and LOTS of driving back and forth, I haven't had much time to focus on the job hunt. Now that everything's slowed down and my schedule is once again wide open, I can get back to work (hopefully literally!) and focus on improving my skill set and landing a new, awesome job. I feel a lot more refreshed after taking those few weeks to not worry and be in my head so much, and I think I am in a much better mindset than I was a month ago. I'm definitely ready to be getting back to work and getting out of the house again! I did work on some of the behind-the-scenes things for Ruby July, and still have to figure out the kinks for setting up listings on Etsy, or finding another efficient way of selling my stationery designs. Definitely need to do more research on that, but I'm excited about the prospect of it. I've also been stockpiling tons of calligraphy supplies, and am really excited about that as well. I have one script style down pretty good so far, so my goal is to get a few more under my belt and then being offering calligraphed envelopes and designs as well. Calligraphy and hand lettering is such a natural fit for me, and with a bit of practice and confidence, I would love to make it more than just a side hustle. Combining this with custom stationery designs makes my skills kind of a one-stop shop for brides-to-be and anyone who might need those services. I'm super grateful that my experience at my last job has ignited this passion in me, as I feel like it's been there all along but just lurking under the surface. If you haven't yet, go check out my Instagram, and follow me for updates! I currently have a few card designs up that I designed for a design challenge at work, and as I get deeper into my calligraphy and lettering studies, I may make a separate Instagram account for those. I'm not sure yet if I want to have it all in one account yet or not, so we'll see. Either way, keep checking in and I'll get back to you all soon with updates!

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