March was definitely a transition month for me. I am still busy making things happen for my new business venture. For me personally and professionally, March definitely “came in like a lion and is going out like a lamb.” Like the old folklore, the month began with a lion’s roar, but is going out like a gentle lamb.

The month started with me revising my resignation letter where I was working from eight weeks with exit strategy to the standard two weeks’ notice. The last time I posted on this blog was after I had put in my revised two week notice at my prior job. As of this writing I am officially no longer employed with that company. My last day was March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, which was appropriate since I’m part Irish. I will not discuss how the two weeks went, except to say that everything happens for a reason and it was time for me to move on with my life. As I have written in the past, I try not to have regrets. I do not regret taking the job a year and a half ago, it was a good job with good people and I am appreciative for the time there. However, I got burnt out and needed to reevaluate my career.

During the weekends this month, I kept going down to York, SC to look at retail space available. I had gone down to just browse the one area, but fell in love with the small town southern atmosphere. So, I spent the rest of the time figuring out the right spot to open my storefront that will be connected with this website. It will also be the place where I make the candy I sell. After negotiating, I got a really good deal on the retail space that I wanted. It is a great historical building and the inside is in immaculate condition. The only renovation I need to do is paint it. We are looking at doing yellow and pink. I also have an apartment nearby that I will move to in July.

The online ordering will be up and running in April. However, if you see lollipops that you want to purchase for an event or just for yourself, you can IM me through my Facebook page, Life After Lemons. I will send you pricing and we can figure out everything through there temporarily. Right now, I have about 60 different variety of molds with about 25 more on their way to me. I want to be the go to person for events (weddings, showers, birthdays, graduations, reunions, anniversary’s, etc.), holiday’s, or every day occasions. If there is a design you don’t see when the online ordering comes up, ask about it, I could have a mold that you are looking for on order. After I get everything settled in my store, I want to have candy making classes for adults and kids. I was 12 when I learned how to use candy molds and do the “painting” I’m doing. It was and still is a great escape for me and I want to pass that down to others.

The essential oil part of the business is picking up this month too. I signed up my first person under me and have a couple prospects. I taught an essential oil 101 class when I was in Pennsylvania visiting family and friends. I am planning on having a couple classes a month at my new store once I get it up and running. I will have tables and chairs in the store, so it will be a perfect place to teach those who want to know more about essential oils. I love them, I use them every day in various capacities to help support my wellness and health. I use them to support every system in my body, mind and soul. I will record the classes for those who want to know more but cannot make it to York, SC. You can also visit my essential oil page on Facebook, it’s called Every Day with EO.

This month I got great news on my health. As you may remember from reading past posts, I was having health issues which started the beginning of last year when I stupidly did not find a doctor quick enough to get my thyroid medicine renewed and went six weeks without. Then the stress from my job was causing me health issues. My naturopathic doctor has made great strides with me on changing my lifestyle with eating and handling stress. I got the full panel of blood work processed this month. The results were, well fantastic. The highlights are that my cholesterol is normal including the good and bad. My triglycerides are normal. One of the best results is that I am no longer pre-diabetic. I have been in the pre-diabetic category for almost ten years. Thanks to my naturopathic doctor, all my blood work is normal. I also had the best blood pressure readings my last three visits to her (I see her every two weeks). As of the 23rd of March, I am down 56 pounds and will continue to lose as I incorporate a solid exercise routine into my life.

This past weekend I made a trip to Pennsylvania to visit family and friends. I also wanted to go through my storage unit to see what I wanted to bring down to York for my store and new apartment. The visit was good. But with all visits back there, I managed to disappoint a couple people. A friend told me I was not a good friend and a family member was upset because I did not invite them to the family dinner. This family member was not an immediate family member.

I value my friendships and this one hurt me. She was absolutely right, I have not been a good friend to her and I could not dispute what she said. I did not see her over this past weekend at her request. I’m not perfect and I was going through a lot of anxiety and stress at work and in my personal life. I was trying to find a work life balance because I was putting in on average 80-hour work weeks. The only work break I got was when I would go visit a friend over the holidays. But that is no excuse, I should have been there for her when she needed me and I was not.

The family member who was not invited to dinner was a conscious choice I made because I did not want to hear lectures from someone who thinks they know my life when they never took the time to get to know me over the years. They only know me from what they have heard or assume. They believe I am on a bad path and that they can “save” me. Because of this one family member, I did not see other family members outside my immediate family when I was in Pennsylvania. I feel bad about it because there were a couple family members I would have liked to have seen. I did not want to invite certain ones and not the other ones because that would have caused problems within the family. I did let the other family members know why I did not invite them to the family dinner and they understood.

Relationships are hard, it doesn’t matter if it’s family, friends or a significant other. In order to have a successful relationship in your life, both parties have to want to have the other in their life. There will be times when you feel the other has abandoned you or that things are not working out, but if you want it, you have to fight for it. There is a quote I have seen posted several times around Facebook, “Some people come into your life as blessings, others come into your life as lessons.” You cannot regret anyone who’s been in your life. They were sent to you for a reason. Sometimes it is short-term and sometimes it is life-long. Learn what you need to from those who are the lessons and enjoy the memories and happiness from those who are meant to be in your life longer.

We are coming up to the three-year anniversary of my father passing away. Losing him was very crushing to me. Then my aunt who I was close with passed away four weeks after my dad. That was like a final blow to my heart. Those events remind me to cherish my loved ones (family, friends and significant others) every day because you never know when they will be taken away from you.

As I mentioned, March going out like a lamb. I have so much support in my life right now from various friends and family. I am overwhelmed with the love I am being shown. They think this business plan is going to be successful and I am going to work my butt off to make it. There are the couple people who think I am totally nuts and I have been told by some people, I am not associated with any more, that I will fail. I won’t lie, I am a little scared, but at the same time very excited. I’m someone who has extra savings to cover my expenses (for six months to a year) in case I am ever without work. But with this venture, I am dipping into my savings and financing it all myself which means my safety net is going to have a hole in it for a while. However, what’s the point of living if you don’t live. I am a cancer survivor and when I was going through the treatments I wanted nothing more than to live. Then after I recovered, I slowly reverted back into my workaholic ways. While I will work long hours in the beginning getting the shop/online store ready, I will have a life outside of work.

Words of wisdom from two quotes I seen this week.
“A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it is built for,” Albert Einstein.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them,” Walt Disney.

Who says you can’t have it all? I plan on having it all and sharing with those I love.