Who Am I, Anyway?

"Hi, I'm Val! I used to be shy!"

At least that is how I introduced myself (post self labeled "shy-girl" phase) to my Grandmother's friend in the grocery store when I was about 3. I've since fine-tuned my introductory skills, thankfully. Not to say that I've lost my spunk...I most definitely have not! Having realized that I sort of jump started this blog with a post about the last 50 things I had made (and was so excited about!) without mentioning much about who I was, I felt it was about damn time that I stopped to say "hello" to all  you fine people out there.

I popped into the world on a summer day in 1982 as the first child (which I like to remind my brothers of when I am trying to get them to do something for me) of Mike and Jane. Brian and John followed in 1984 and 1987, respectively. If there is one thing I can say about my life that has stayed consistant from day 1, it's my love of animals. We had 4 cats when I was born, and I've only gone about 3 weeks of my life not living with cats and/or dogs, though it's usually cats. Right now I have a dog I adopted, Footloose, and a cat I adopted named Mr. Bo Jangles. They keep me sane, and Footloose loves to sample some of the baked goodies I make. (No chocolate or raisins or course!)

I got my BBA, but just to have it on my resume. One day I'd love to get my Masters in something that interests me. No time soon though! I work full-time as a Accounting Anaylst in Chicago at a technology company, M-F.

I grew up around a lot of homemade, homebaked and homegrown food, along with some great chefs. My Grandmother, Mom and Dad are all fantastic in the kitchen, and after years or figuring it had finally skipped a generation, I'm hoping I can join their ranks soon. I sure am getting a hell of a lot of practice in! My Dad hunts, so I grew up around a lot of meat, eating pretty much any that came my way. Despite that, my love of animals made me realize that I couldn't bring myself to keep eating them. So, one day 11 years ago I stopped cold turkey and haven't looked back since!

I've always been into creating, whether it be painting, drawing, creating mixed-media collages, sewing, writing, making jewelry or playing piano. I was never great at piano, but it's still something I enjoy to mess around with. I've started selling my jewelry, and hope to one day get that business on its feet and maybe even open a bead store. I have yet to sell an item through my site, but I've sold to several people now, and vended for the first time ever this past summer.

www.beadeclectic.com

So, why did I start this blog anyways? There were a few reasons. As mentioned in my first post, Leslie (http://brownbutterpopcorn.blogspot.com) really inspired me to actually get off my butt and finally do it. I had planned for this to be more of a jewelry related blog, but I'm letting it evolve and am going to include pretty much everything I feel inspired to write about. Events, cooking, creating, rants, etc. I'm finding that writing (which had taken a backburner) again has been very thereputic to me. It's a wonderful way for me to document and share my triumphs, failures, defeats, wins and anecdotes that I collect along the way. Anytime I get a new follower, a comment, or even just a view, I jump for joy a little bit inside. (Ok, sometimes a lot!) 

I often describe myself as a slightly sexist feminist, as I love my independence and am all for equal rights (specifially for women, for this blog's purposes), but there are certain stereotypes that I find myself embracing from time to time. (I like when I can ask a man to change my oil, open jars,fix broken things, or do other "masculine" things. So sue me!) I've noticed many women my age who are starting to embrace things that I feel we have lost touch with over the years like baking/cooking, reading, knitting, etc. DIY is absolutely booming right now and I love it! In a way, I feel like we are regaining control. We are such a specialized society now and all too often come to rely on others to do the most basic of tasks for us. It's very hard to feel like a well-rounded person when you can't buy your own groceries or darn  your socks. (Ok.. so I don't personally darn socks. You get the picture though.) We're a deadly combination of busy and lazy that gets us reliant upon dinner deilvered, dry-cleaners, cleaning people, landscapers, bakeries... there is someone to do EVERYTHING for us. The trouble with that is, we start to forget how to do it for ourselves. That's pretty scary. 

Let's say that this blog is a celebration of getting back to the basics, loving life and keeping it simple. 

Love, 

Val

*Molasses cookies blog to follow, tomorrow. Tonight didn't go as planned (I didn't factor in shovelingtime!). Now it's late and I need sleep!