Hello! Remember me? I know, I know, I’ve been the world’s worst blogger as of late. It’s not that I do not love sharing with you; it’s just that I have been so insanely busy in my little corner of the planet.

Now, time to get personal. Okay, the entire vision/purpose of Lefty Lex Creations shifted a few months ago from something that I enjoyed doing/a goal that I had set for myself to its current mission: Operation Adoption Fundraiser! I share this because yesterday was my 29 ½ birthday. (Yah, happy halfie to me!). Now normally people over the age of 9 do not give a hoot and holler over half birthdays, right? And it is certainly every woman’s lifelong goal to never reveal her age; especially if she’s hitting a milestone year. However, I am broadcasting my 29 1/2th because it means that I have exactly six months until Husband and I can officially submit our application to adopt from China! Hoorray!!!

Now, there is still MUCH to be done in between now and January 10^th. One of the largest being fundraising. Husband and I are very smart with our money and are not lavish people; so we have saved a healthy amount towards our adoption over the past year or so. However you would be amazed at how much an adoption costs!

The “average” Chinese adoption costs between $27,000-$35,000. Um, yikes? Why so much? (This is the question that usually follows when I astonish people with those numbers). Well, a bunch of little adoption fees add up to one giant expense overall. Application fee: $500. Homestudy: $4,000. Dossier fee: $800. Orphanage donation: $7,000. Child’s Visa: $380. Closing an adoption and brining your child home: priceless. (Sorry, I couldn’t refuse; the list was beginning to sound like a bad credit card commercial!). Obviously, the fees I listed are not the only one associated with adoption, but you get the gist.

I share this all to explain why I’ve been blog MIA. I have been working my little butt off on custom orders and preparing for craft fair after craft fair after craft fair. All of this because I want to be a mom and we need funds in order to make that a reality. If that means that I have to continue waking up at 5AM and put 3 hours of Lefty Lex work in before going to the office and then picking up the stitching again as soon as I’m home and put in a few more hours, then so be it. I’m not looking for pity here, I’m just sharing. And if you have a rich uncle who wants to donate to our adoption, by all means, send him our way!

In the meanwhile, I encourage you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and (best of all) Instagram and if you see something that you like, I’d be more than happy to sell it to you. I also do custom orders (which I absolutely love) so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, then just ask. I will be starting bi-weekly Insta-sales, so I’d encourage those of you on Instagram to follow @leftylex.

Geez, I can be wordy! Well, hopefully I didn’t bore you all to death, and if you’ve made it this far I applaud you. And I’ll reward you with this tidbit. When shopping at my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/LeftyLexCreations), use coupon code: ADOPT to receive 15% off all purchase of $18+. And please, pass the word along! Thanks for listening to me ramble, I’ll see you all soon.