There is always another hill to climb... and a give-away

Good morning... and it is, really, a good morning. I woke, at 4:00 am, as I always do, though today I will work an overnight to try to get my store back in shape... to catch up and get a little ahead of the game and feel a bit more under control again. work has been both my saving grace and the bane of my existence for awhile now. I'm treading water in a position that challenges my skills and ways of doing things, and like anything "new" it forces me to change the way I've been doing things and to learn a new routine. I'm fine with that, but the learning curve, which includes a steep incline of failing before success, is difficult. I am looking forward to breathing room again, to the place where I feel that I am in control agaion. I know that that is an illusion-- that there is rarely any control of outside forces, but at least I'll have the illusion, and as you whoread me regularly know, I believe in the strength of illusions. On the home front, we've managed to hang on to the house, for at least the next year anyway-- we'll be dirt poor, but that is certainly not the worst thing that could come of all this. We are having to learn new ways of pulling together and tightening the belts, but we are doing it. And that, alone, is something amazing. All of the change and stress has made me crave silence and solitude which is hard to find as a mom, partner and manager... It is hard to find when the deepest parts of me also always want to reach out, be a part of something, matter. And it's an interesting journey to watch from outside of myself as I patch the cracks, find the things that work for me and become a little louder about my needs... I am used to not allowing anyone else to help or take care of me. I'm used to always being strong and in control (see above comments on illusions). I am stepping back a bit, letting things fall apart a little and seeing what in the wreckage are actually things I want to save... Interestingly enough, each of those things begins with me, and ends with me giving back... Planet You, finding my groove with work, being a better mom, having more peace at home, making more art. So there are plans in the works to take a week of vacation time and turn one room in the house into studio space for me, where I can create in an environment that is just for that. I am shedding the guilt of having taken over the diningroom, the breakfast nook and every other available square inch of space to create... I'll have my one place (though I still may need extra room to store supplies). I'm standing up for time to myself and the right to say No More... to work and at home. I'm talking more and more to my quiet self about what she really needs to thrive, because the thing about being Planet Kaere, just like being Planet You, is that it is still easy to simply do what we do instead of do what we desire. So, also on my list of actions to take is to stop keeping things I might need one day, and stop adding to the yardsale pile and have that yardsale instead. As I've been going through the house, trying to even make enough space to accomodate the Great Spare Bedroom takeover, I've come across quite a bit of "stuff" that is just-- MORE. So, for anyone who wants a little "more" in their world, I'm having a little giveaway...
A priority mail medium sized box (or the equivalent if you are elsewhere in the world because priority mail to y'all is too expensive for me) filled with art/scrapbooking/mixed media/ journaling supplies.
A five by eight journal
an assortment of patterend paper and cardstock
punchinella
paper flowers
assorted bling
glass beads
a box of coloured chalks (crayola)
Maya Road chipboard book (I use mine as masks and stencils)
an assortment of fibers (floss and ribbons)
stickers and other adhesive embellishments.

So here's how to enter (each action counts as an entry)
1. Leave a comment on this blog post
2. "like" Planet You on facebook
(and remember to leave me a comment saying that you liked it.)

3. Subscribe to the newsletter (little button over on your right)
4. Become a registered user at the Planet You shop (no purchase required) (and make sure you leave a comment here telling me that you registered)

I'll be collecting comments etc. until midnight, March 9, and I'll announce a winner sometime on Saturday. Your package will post on Monday the twelfth.