Donut Disaster!

I'll get to the donuts in a minute…

First of all, I realize it's been a while since I've last written. I've been insanely busy trying to get my craft business off the ground. My plan was to get a booth at the Honey Festival (one of the approximately 1,000,000 festivals/fairs in West Virginia. These people love to celebrate anything and everything!) Alas, I didn't have enough product in time. If I were to be truly honest, I knew that was going to happen. The real reason I signed up was to motivate myself to take action. I tend to leave ideas on the back burner. I was determined that starting my own business was not going to be one of them. I didn't get enough product done to do a craft fair, but I did have enough to start up my Etsy shop! Take a look.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReroutedHandmade

Right now, the shop consists of just earrings and a few brooches, but I have grand plans for home decor, children's stuff, and a possible bridal collection, as well. The biggest challenge in starting my shop has been accepting that my shop identity (or lack thereof) doesn't look professional. Let's be real--I have no graphic design tools or know-how. Eventually, I plan to pay someone to do my branding. In the meantime, I'm doing the best I can. And I'm ok with that. Really.

My shop announcement is the perfect way to kick off a weekly blog post idea inspired by last Sunday's sermon. The message was built around the familiar passage:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" Philippians 4:8

The pastor addressed meditating on things that are true, noble, etc., instead of letting our minds be enslaved with worry. I am a chronic worrier. I just view every choice and action as having serious and lasting consequences, which sends me into a panic attack. But, that is definitely not what God wants for me or any of His children. He died to give me freedom, not bondage. I am a daughter of the King, and as such, I have been promised that I will be okay. So, I am actively trying to focus on "Philippians 4:8 things", and I'm sharing them with my readers. I'm starting "Whatever Is…Wednesdays" because positivity and alliteration are two of my favorite things. (Yes, I realize today is Thursday. I was busy being awesome and opening my shop, yesterday:) )

So, back to the donuts for another "Philippians 4:8 thing." For the past 3 weeks, I've been working at a bakery in Ohio. I thought I was going to be icing donuts, learning to decorate cakes, and making cookies. Wrong. I make about 2,000 pieces of bread 4 out of 5 working days. Sound boring? It is. However, I have met some really great people in the process. The bakery supplies 6 other stores, but only employs 4 people to do the baking. As with most small operations, it always has the feel that it is one disaster away from oblivion. Well, today when I walked in, people were shouting and running--obviously, not a good sign. I asked one of my co-workers what was going on, he simply said, "Donut Disaster" and then chuckled. I later learned that this disaster was the result of several events. Last night, one member of the donut crew was unexpectedly unavailable to work his shift. The other two members got in a fight and left the bakery. One guy returned to finish the donuts, but the conveyor belts broke. All of this resulted in the bakery being 600 donuts in the hole (little donut humor for ya). So, between baking the day's bread, cookies, and muffins, we were also making, frying, and filling donuts. Everyone was seriously stressed, but my co-worker managed to laugh about it. If that's not "praiseworthy," I don't know what is.

I'm going to be so much better about this regular blogging thing, I promise. Be sure to check out my shop before you go!

An Introductory Post

The word “re-rerouted” means to make something go in a new direction. I chose this name for my blog because my life and expectations of my life have recently been drastically re-rerouted. In the past 5 months, my life has gone in several new directions. These are some of the major ones:

1. Marriage: On February 25, 2012, I married the most loving and patient man I have ever met. As a girl who never dated prior to the age of 22 (and nearly 23), I had my doubts about whether I’d ever marry. But in February of 2011, I met the love of my life on an online dating website. Given my father’s views about technology, how my husband and I met is very ironic. When I was growing up, my father would share articles with me about the dangers of Internet predators—stories of young girls whose lives were cut short because they believed the lies of evil men. I soon began to realize that when my father read these articles, he saw me in the place of the victim. And by sharing them with me, he was saying, “I love you, and I don’t want to read an article like this about you.” I only dated one guy that I met online—my soon-to-be husband. Before our first date, I wrote down every bit of information I knew about him. If he had malicious plans, he was not going to get away with them. Obviously, he was non-threatening.  But I digress… The point of this message is this: In February 2011, I had never dated. By February 2012, I was married.

2. Debt: On March 5, 2012 (4 days after my honeymoon), I started a new teaching job, and my car was stolen. I was eventually able to laugh at the latter event because my car was in ridiculously awful condition. I enjoyed the idea that my Jeep was so inconvenient a steal that it probably redeemed this man/woman from a life of crime. My Jeep was twenty years old and guzzled gas like crazy. It had an overheating engine that could not handle idling at all in the summer time. The transmission stuck so bad that it felt like you were in a car accident every time it jolted back into gear. The fuse that controlled the interior lights, power locks, and radio continuously burned through replacements. The odometer was stuck, so it constantly clicked, which, of course, was audible due to the lack of radio. There was a leak somewhere in the Jeep that allowed rainwater to flood the floor of the driver’s side. The oil leaked, and a headlight had gone out. I think that’s all. But what really gets me is that not only was the Jeep not worth stealing, it also had absolutely no gas in its tank at the time. So the thief had to hotwire the car, drive to a gas station, purchase gas from his pocket, and re-hotwire the car before he could get anywhere. I love it! But despite the humor in the situation, my husband and I needed a second car. So, for the first time in my life, I had a car payment.

3. Financial crisis: I’m not exactly sure of the date that marked the beginning of this next event. The only record of it is a text message from my husband, and I think I deleted it. I only know that it was within a month of purchasing our first car that my husband lost his job. He was out of work for two months, but it felt so much longer than that. This time in my life was one of extreme stress, and I only want to summarize it by saying that God is faithful and good.

“For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"

1 Kings 17:14

4. Relocation: My husband first started looking for jobs in Memphis, TN, the city in which we lived. Then he looked in surrounding cities, surrounding states, and finally just anywhere. He eventually found a job in West Virginia, and we moved there the week after I finished the school year. We now live in a tiny apartment and are hundreds of miles away from the nearest person we know. I’m starting this blog as a way to record and enjoy this huge life change. I love the saying “Bloom where you’re planted.” As instruments of a sovereign God, that is what we are instructed to do—to do the will of the Father where He puts us. So in this blog, you will find posts about my adventures in West Virginia, in addition to blurbs about living small and budget-friendly, decorating a rental, and…

5. Career change: …my new career change. Since I was nine years old, I have wanted to be a teacher. Sadly, after fifteen years, I have decided that teaching is not for me. It made me a very negative person and became something that I despised. I’m still considering substitute teaching, but I do not intend to full-time teach ever again. Instead, I’ve decided to start my own craft business by the name of “Re-routed.” I thought the name fit such a drastic career switch, and I will be blogging about the endeavor on this site, as well. I’m so excited and blessed to be able to do something that I truly love! Updates coming soon!