Merry Holiday Break Y’all

I don’t know about you guys, but I always find the holidays as, not only a warm and fuzzy time with family and feasts, but also a time of reflection and re-centering.   Yes, that’s mostly affiliated with New Year’s but for me it comes around Christmas.  As I sign off  until the 31st, I wanted to share a little bit of what’s been going on around here lately, and what’s to come in 2016.

First, Friday was my last day at my job.  I love being a biologist, but for a while now I have been feeling like that position is not where I needed to be, and an opportunity arose at the research facility I did my master’s research at that made me excited, relieved, and giddy all at once.  I will be working in their marketing/communications department with people I’ve known for years, helping with their website, social media, and marketing in what will be a perfect mix of the blogging world and the biology world.  The new job is also super flexible which will allow me time to focus on projects when I need to and allow me to bring you guys much more fun stuff!  I start on the 4th and cannot wait.  Sometimes you’ve just got to take a leap of faith and try something new :)

Today was the first day in my two-week break between positions and for the holidays.  We are hosting Christmas at our house so I’m getting everything ready for family and feasting (as well as a ton of back-end blog work that’s long overdue).  We’re doing our traditional fried oysters on Christmas Eve, then stuffed flounder for our Christmas Day meal.  I’m having to make a conscious effort to stop adding dishes to the menu, reminding myself that we’re hosting about 7 people, not 57!

2016 will also be the start of something I’ve wanted to do for years now, open an Etsy shop!  There will be many more details to come as they all get ironed out, but my shop will be a mix of biology and art, making something I’ve loved to do since graduate school.  Even though it’s got a way to go before I can share more details with you, it feels absolutely amaaaazing to have a dream, have a plan, and have another creative outlet to do what I really love to do.  It’s like the clouds are finally clearing and I can see creativity again.

This past year has been full of ups and downs in many different ways, and I hope someday in the future I’ll be able to share more about some of the struggles here, but for now, I am just focusing on surrounding myself with positive environments, creativity, and more time with loved ones.  I’ve only had three days of it so far and I already feel like so much weight is off my shoulders.

I cannot thank you all enough for being here and making this space such a special place to me!  I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and will see y’all back here in a week or so!! 

*also, this site has the most beautiful and meaningful quote art!