Joy.

I am seriously bubbling with happiness and hope today. Fiercely optimistic, in fact.

A few things that top my Happy List today:

. Our President.

I know this has been blogged-to-death, but in many, many ways I am excited about this. On Tuesday, as I was leaving work, a television blared loudly in the hallway to no one but me. “If Barack Obama can become president, there’s no reason we can’t achieve any goal we set for ourselves,” the reporter mused.

Corny, but it made me wonder: What if I worked hard? Really, really hard? What if I gave everything my all? Where would I end up?

I think America is capable of hard work, of sacrificing, and even of getting along – if we can set aside our cynicism for a second.

Also on my Happy List is Michelle and Barack’s obvious mutual love and respect for each other. In my life, I’ve never seen a president and First Lady who seem to be so in love after all these years. I never would have expected to look at the President of the United States as a role model for marriage.

. Hosting Dinner.

Last night, we hosted our first dinner for a family that wasn’t our own. We’ve had my family over to dinner and we’ve had friends our age over to dinner – but last night I cooked dinner for my coworker, his wife, and their two children (in 2nd and 5th grade). Despite having to sit on a few lawn chairs and burning the garlic bread (“Hey! Just cut of the burnt part,” our guest said. And so we did. Classy.), it went well. And was incredibly fun. Mike hosted a little ping pong playing in the basement, we ate some delicious Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and my beloved Candy Cane Joe Joes proved they are actually life saving. At least to someone who is low on carbohydrates and is diabetic. But still: LIFE SAVING. Mmm.

I’d like to continue inviting people over for dinner – I love to cook and show people that a vegetarian dinner is still awesome. Plus, it’s a great way to make more friends, right? Right.

. Etsy & Freelancing.

It has been about two months since I first opened my humble little piece of Etsy. I expected to slowly sell a few things here and there, but I’m happy to say I’ve exceeded my expectations! I’ve had twenty sales so far – including several custom orders. By no means am I about to quit my day job (oh, please Lord!), but it has been an amazing little journey. Through Etsy and a few freelance graphic design jobs I’ve scored, I really feel blessed that I’m slowly on my way to my dreams. I’ve learned so much and have been blown away by the positive responses I’ve gotten. (I may or may not squeal with delight every time I get one more person who “hearts” me or leaves me some feedback. It is always the highlight of my day and a good reason to make myself a hot chocolate.)

I’m so excited about what the future holds for me and I have high hopes. Although articulating those to others isn’t always met with the most encouragement:

Well-meaning, curious person: “So! What are you doing in July after this position ends?”
Me: “Well, I’d sort of like to eventually do some freelance graphic design and…I have this little craft…thing.”
WMCP: “Crafts, huh? Oh.”
Me: …
WMCP: …
Me: “Well, yeah. You know. I like to create things like felt pouches…and I…embroider stuff sometimes….Oh! And I make note cards!”
WMCP: totally judging me for throwing away my intelligence, talent with children, and college education.

Thank you to any of you lovely people who have taken the time and money to shop on Etsy or local, small artists. What a blessing you are to people like me who love to create!