I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Hello, lovely people in blog-land. It's been a while, I know. I'm just like that--when things get stressful for me, or when I'm processing new info, I clock out for a while. I shave off all the extraneous activities and calendar items, and I conserve my time and energy to focus on the higher prioity things.

So, here's an update:

• I became an independent consultant for Thirty-One Gifts, and I absolutely LOVE IT. I'm spending my days talking to old (and new) friends, and I'm spending my evenings partying with them and showing off awesome products to their friends. I feel like I have a social life again! Not to mention the company is incredible. It's based on Christian values, and the support and training is unbelievable. I have made such a perfect decision in signing up with Thirty-One!!!! I have goals to work towards again. I have a purpose! And the best part? I'm exceeding all my goals. I am so excited for the professional fulfillment I'm getting. I guess I was really in need of something that was 100% mine and could give me the confidence boost I so needed in my year-long journey of a terrible job market and financial hardship. If I could make a full-time career of this (and I think that's becoming a goal), I would be forever happy with my line of "work"!
• My Kimmy Jarae is 18 months old! She has been a fountain of new vocabulary lately--talking all the time. I adore her. She is so bright, and she is growing beautifully. She had her 18-month check-up a few days ago, and she's proportionally the average height (34.5 inches) and weight (28 lbs.) of a 25-month-old!!!!! She is going to be one TALL girl!
• My Papaw Jim passed away. It was pretty rough on our family, and there are still some things to work out with the estate. I was so glad to get to go home for the funeral. I saw Kevin and my brother and sister Cody and Rachel, whom I hadn't seen in a very long time. Miss Kimmy also got to see her Aunt Kim's grave. It was a very emotionally fulfilling trip, although it was physically exhausting to drive 8 hours with a toddler 2 days in a row. My girl handled it like a champ! She is SUCH a good baby. I always tell her to "be patient, be patient," but, really, she IS patient--MUCH more patient than most 18-month-olds--it's just me who isn't.

All is well. We're getting there financially. It's going to be a process digging ourselves out and getting in the black, but it will happen. I just know it!

Weird-i-versaries are coming up (I say that because it's always been interesting to me that these 2 major life events happened on consecutive days, although different years): the 10-year anniversary of Kim's death is on Monday, March 3, and Jarrell's and my 6-year dating anniversary is coming up on Tuesday, March 4. Hard to believe how fast time flies!

I'm going to try to incorporate blogging back into my life. I do miss writing and having a place to organize my brain. Hold me to it, people!

Fun links: http://mythirtyone.com/kelseypierce; http://facebook.com/thirtyfunwithkelsey.

More later (I hope!),

-Kels