Real Life Seeps Back In

I'm feeling a little better day by day.  Each week brings a new milestone, something else I can eat, a little more energy.

I hope to have the feeding tube out at the end of the month. After that, I don't have to see a doctor for three months.

It is sinking in that I'm really, truly on the other side of this tough stretch.  I'm not a cancer patient anymore, although I'm still recovering from the after effects of the treatment.  I still get really tired at the end of the day, and I still have a fair amount of pain in my throat. I tend to be asleep by 8pm every night.  But I don't have cancer.

I don't have cancer.

I don't know why it's scary typing those words, but it is.  Having cancer has defined every breath I have taken for the past seven months.

Now regular life is starting to seep back in the cracks.  Shuffling the kids from activity to activity, helping with homework projects, watching sports games:  all the things I missed for so long.  It's such a gift to be able to do these things again.  I was humming as I folded laundry yesterday.  Humming.

Also seeping back in, though?  Worrying about money, my job, career.  There wasn't any room for this while I was sick.  But now we find ourselves on the other side of cancer with a pile of really scary bills.  Cancer, it turns out, is incredibly expensive.

One of my primary frustrations being sick was that I couldn't tend to my jewelry business the way I wanted. I kept up with orders - slowly - but I didn't have the energy to make new pieces, market the business, send out the monthly newsletter - in short, I didn't grow the business at all for more than half a year.

This makes me nervous, because I REALLY want Shining Stones to be what I do when Finn is finally in school full time next year.  Originally, this was to be the year of gang buster growth - of really spreading the words, participating in giveaways, blanketing the internet with cool new pieces, using Constant Contact and Pinterest and the blog to promote Shining Stones.

It didn't happen, because I was sick.

Now I'm worried, because if I can't get Shining Stones off the ground to be a meaningful financial contributor to our household income, I'm going to have to give up on that dream and go get a 'real' job.  One with hours and a boss and less time with my children.

Especially now, with the exorbitant cost of getting sick staring us in the face.

So I'm asking for your help.  When you can, can you help me promote my little business?  If you need a gift for someone, or if you know someone who does, can you spread the word about Shining Stones?

I'm making new stuff again, including these cool shamballa bracelets - they are one size fits all and make a GREAT gift:

Sparkling Shamballa Bracelet with Pave Beads (click on link to view in my shop)

Frost Glass Shamballa Bracelet (click on link or picture to see in my shop)

In fact, I have a whole section in my shop dedicated to these Shamballa bracelets, because I love them (and they are so trendy right now).

I also have a cool selection of customized teacher's gifts.

Here are a couple of the more popular styles (these can be customized with any message or word):

Customizable hand-stamped teacher's necklace

Customizable Teacher Necklace with two sterling silver discs and crystal adornment

I also have dozens more very affordable rings, earrings, necklaces , hand-stamped pieces, bracelets and recovery jewelry.

It makes me itchy to promote my business like this, but if I'm ever going to make it in this world, I'm going to have to get over that.  I don't write this blog to make money.  But I do write this blog, in part, to help spread the word about Shining Stones.

Plus, I was at a meeting last night, and the topic was asking for help.  I'm terrible at asking for help, whether it has to do with recovery, being ill (having cancer) or promoting my business.  But as someone said at the meeting - and it's so simple and obvious it's embarrassing - if you don't ask, people don't even have the opportunity to help you.  Some of you are already regular customers, and to you I give a hearty THANK YOU!

So here's me asking for help: if you could help me spread the word about Shining Stones, I'd be so very grateful.  I think there is a "share" bar at the bottom of each post?  By the comment section?  You can click on the icon for Twitter or Facebook and share that way, I think?  (I'm such a neophyte.  But I'm learning).

Thank you so much.