okay.. so I have been promising you all the "Big News" and so here it is..
we are MOVING!! I know that doesn't sound like big news to some of you, or maybe even most of you, but for me.. holy cow this is big. My husband has decided to start his own business, in Eastern Idaho and so we are selling our house, or land and leaving both of our jobs here, to do something he has always wanted to do. Be his OWN boss. ( I had to wait to tell you all until he had told his boss)
On good days.. I am seriously so excited about it. I know my husband has so much talent and so much potential and to be doing something that he loves.. is what I want for him. We work so well as a team and this new adventure will allow us to do that.. it's a challenge we are so excited about! So part of me, most of me is just so excited, that I have a hard time sleeping at night! LOL
So.. why the bitter sweet? .. well many of you know that I have spent the last 3 years working for Chatterbox. I have done everything from designing product, to managing idea books and their design team... to Marketing.. to education.. to advertising. I have even become their "official" travel agent, as well as the teams fashion manager! LOL ( I book all the flights, hotels and cars for our trade shows like CHA and Memory Trends and I get the clothes we all wear as well). I have spent many countless hours working late, traveling and loving every second of my job. I consider each and everyone of my co-workers... family. That's not a stretch either. Chatterbox is just a different kind of company. We live and breath each other and our own personal families become part of Chatterbox as well. In fact this weekend they are having an all family week long camping trip.. that Mel and Mar are putting on and invited everyone in our office to go to.. with families of course. That's just the type of company they are. And even though, I had realized the need to spend more time with my family, and so had planned to go part time this summer , its different.. I am actually LEAVING Chatterbox and this has been a hard thing for me to deal with! LOL. Since I will be moving 5 hours away, I will no longer be able to make the weekly "commute" to work.. and thus my three year job with Chatterbox will come to an end when we move in August.
You know at first I was like.. okay! This is great! This new adventure is awesome and things are going to be so good.. but realizing over the past 3 weeks what this actually means for me.. and all those i love at Chatterbox.. it's so hard. I not only work with fabulous people in the office, but I work with 8 very talented designers on the Chatterbox Design Team. These women are some of my best friends! This week has been especially hard for me. I cry just about every hour.. and don't get me started with CHA. Cha for chatterbox means fun fun fun. It's when we bond the most, and when we laugh the most and just get pumped the most. It's when we see months of hard work pay off, in beautiful product and knowing we all had a hand in it in one way or another.
With CHA just around the corner.. and knowing this is the last time for so many things that i look forward too.. it's hard..
It will the last time I do PR letters and media kits for all the magazines and all those fabulous people I have met over the years through my job, with Creating Keepsakes, and Simple Scrapbooks, Papercrafts, Scrapbooks Etc, Memory Makers, Scrapbook Retailers.. you name it.. all of them.. it makes me so sad!.....Because these are people I talk with and communicate with on a daily basis and so it's so fun to see them and show them our new product and just reconnect with them in person at these shows. They have all become friends.. and it's hard knowing it's the last time I will see most of these women and communicating with them.
For my designers.. the CBX design team, It's the last time I will be making layout assignments and overnighting product to them, and doing books with them.. and all those things.. holy cow.. I am going to cry! LOL.. These girls. are seriously some of my closest friends.. wow.. this makes me so sad!
It's the last time I will be riding on the plane.. with the entire Chatterbox team in our sweats and sweatshirts that say "Chatterbox" on them.. and having people always ask us if we are a chearleading team or basketball team! LOL..
It's the last time setting up the booth, and taking down the booth and wrapping each other up in cellophane.. man.. so good memories..
There are so many lasts.. it just makes me cry.. and it's hard.. it's something I feel like right now, I can't deal with! LOL..
So it's bitter sweet for sure. Of course there are so many other things I will miss.. Ben's family, my best friend Liz (oh don't get me started on that.. she has dis-owned me right now.. hopefully she will forgive me in time so I am "re-invited" to watch her at Mrs. America! LOL.. (she says she can't talk to me anymore because I am moving and she has to find new friends to hang out with).. gonna miss her.. just love her more than she knows..
oh.. life is so hard sometimes.. but you know.. I know it's the right thing to do! I will still be doing some things in the industry.. which probably makes it even harder, but just dealing with the huge loss I feeling.. at moving.. is a hard thing. What makes it even harder is that we are the ones making this decision. Ben and I, knowing we could just stay here and go on with our lives as they are.. which we can't complain, we both have great jobs.. and work with great people. But I think we both want more. We want to own our own business so that we BOTH have the freedom of spending more time with our kids. Building a business that our kids can be apart of when they get older. Something that will give us more "time". I think that makes it harder.. because we could make all this pain go away.. if we just stayed.. but it's not the right thing to do.. and we know what the right thing is.
okay.. so now going to cry a little more..