So long, farewell. Auf Wiedersehen, adieu.
Hello Friends, As many of you know the last 2 years have been a difficult journey for me. My husband's PTSD from 8 years at war finally reared its ugly head and changed our lives forever. We went from living a safe, secure life in Germany to being civilians trying to navigate the transition...
Hello Friends,
As many of you know the last 2 years have been a difficult journey for me. My husband's PTSD from 8 years at war finally reared its ugly head and changed our lives forever. We went from living a safe, secure life in Germany to being civilians trying to navigate the transition while still putting food on the table. It's been a rough odyssey for all of us.
Being back in the USA and being able to take part in the Dog Tag, Inc Fellowship Program has opened my mind to the possibilities of my life. I don't know if I would have discovered so many things about myself if I did not have the safe place of Dog Tag to do so.
Here's what I've discovered.
- Mourning the loss of being an active duty Army Wife is harder than I ever imagined. Being a proud Army Wife was a label I was so proud to wear and did everything I could to fill the role with duty and honor. It became not only what I did, but who I was and I truly loved every minute.
- Since 2009, blogging has been a big part of my life. It filled my spare time, it gave me a community of wonderful other bloggers to connect with, and it helped me travel around the world. Most importantly, it gave me 7 years of experience building my own brand and social media & online marketing expertise which I am now cultivating as an option for the next step of my life.
- Today, I have the label of Caregiver and although I take the role just as seriously, this role isn't as fulfilling as I thought it could be. I find myself wanting to do more and be more. Caring for my husband is an important job, but it can't be everything I am.
- I want more. I need more. I no longer want the labels of my past to be who I am today or in my future. The passions I had as an Army Spouse and Food Blogger are no longer as strong and I'm feeling called to do bigger and better things. What those things are... I'm figuring out now.
What does all this mean? It means that I'm turning the page on one chapter of my life and opening it to the next exciting adventure.
The Dog Tag, Inc Fellowship Program has allowed me to explore who I am in a deep way. I have began to realize my true potential and hone in on my strengths. And to be honest, I've been shown my weaknesses and have been allowed to go through the process of figuring out how to change those behaviors. I've done more growing and learning over the last 2 months than I have in the last 10 years. I have never felt more alive!
I am Motivated.
I am Strong.
I am Capable.
I am Determined.
I am Passionate.
I am Worthy.
That last one is the biggest motivator for me. I am worthy of success. I am worthy of greatness. I am worthy of chasing after my dreams. I am worthy of being amazing!
Going forward, I will no longer actively be adding new content to The JavaCupcake Blog. It's been an amazing 7 ½ years creating and sharing on TJCB. I've created so many things, met so many incredible people, and I can honestly say I've been so fulfilled by the entire process. However, it's time for me to move on. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but when they did I felt a sense of relief and I knew it was the right decision. I have 4-5 recipes and DIYs I've already created that I'll be adding to the blog this week, but after that I'll be done.
I don't know if I'll ever come back to TJCB, but I know if I do... all my wonderful readers will be right there waiting for me. You guys have been so loving, supportive, and loyal and I can't thank you enough for all your love and support of me over these years.
Being able to be a part of your lives, your families lives and the special moments you have has been heart warming and I loved every photo and comment you shared about how my recipe made your party or event special. I will never forget that and how your love made me feel.
My future is still unknown at this time, but I am working fiercely on turning my passions into a paycheck!
Here's what I'm working on now...
- On September 1st, joined the team at the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a non-profit veteran service organization, to be their Family Caregiver Program Coordinator. I'll be planning and hosting events for caregivers & families of wounded service members & veterans in the Fort Belvoir, VA area! Community organizing has always been a part of my life and a passion and I'm so excited to be working in the military community doing this!
- I will be completing the Dog Tag, Inc Fellowship Program and in turn receiving a Certificate of Business Administration from Georgetown University in November. Two great additions to not only my resume, but my life as a whole!
- I began consulting with two local non-profit veteran service organizations to help them strengthen their social media & online presence. With the encouragement of the staff at Dog Tag, I realized that I could turn this passion into a paycheck! There is a need within this NPS VSO community for my services and I'm going to do everything I can to fulfill that need!
- Which means... I started my own consulting firm! Be Creative Consulting, LLC was born in July but wasn't officially named or licensed until September. I am in the process of setting up my online presence for this new venture and am excited to grow my client list in hopes to either get a full-time position doing this for a NPO or to consult full-time for many organizations.
Now all of this doesn't mean I'll be gone away completely. I'll still be sharing my life on Instagram and Facebook so you can keep up with my adventures there!
I have never been more excited for my future and I feel so incredibly thankful for the opportunities in front of me! Love to you all!
So long, farewell. Auf Wiedersehen, adieu.
Betsy
Betsy - I don't really know you, but I feel that I have come to know you after following your blog since the beginning. I will certainly miss hearing about your adventures and real life events (both exciting and trying). You have always kept it real, never sugar coated (no pun intended) the realities of life and blogging, and for that I thank you. My heart hurts for you each time I heared about your husbands struggles with PTSD and your struggles right along with him. Much too often the families of these veterans are forgotten or not thought of. You, lady, have never been forgotten and will continue to be in many people's prayers and thoughts. This message needs to be shared as this is a reality for our veterans and their families.
Thank you for putting yourself out there for the whole world to see - it's gutsy, courageous, and shows a strength that you have always had and are now able to see yourself. It's just the beginning.
Congratulations on your new adventures. It won't always be easy or fun, but I can tell through your excitement that it will be 110% worth it. Enjoy and you will be missed. Thank you for sharing your sugary self with all of us. Much love!
Laura,
Your kind words really warm my heart. Thank you for being here with me through it all and for seeing who for who I really am. Your words mean more to me than you can imagine.
xoxo
Betsy
I adore you Betsy and as always I'm blown away by your strength and poise! I'm so happy for all the awesome potential you have going forward and all the good things I know that will be coming to you <3
Kayle,
You are my #1 commenter!!! I love your kind and positive words and I am so thankful to have you in my "online life". I heart you!! <3
best of luck to you in all of your new adventure! You can never go wrong when you are following your passion
There may be bumps along the way, but I'm so excited to get there!!! Thanks Heather!
I'm so proud of you and happy for you. You've been through so much in the past couple of years and I love how you are turning your hurts, struggles, and passions into something good where you can help others.
I've struggled so much with this. I love love love my volunteer work and helping feed the hungry, which makes blogging about food really difficult for me. I'm anxious to figure out how I can make the two work together, but still having a hard time finding the connection. It may be that I need to say bye to one to be all in on the other. We shall see.
I'm so proud of you!
Kristen,
Thank you for the comment. It really means so much that you read my blog and shared with me your struggles. I've been admiring how you have flipped the script on what a traditional food blog should look like and are writing more about what you love... being happy.
For me and my blog, I feel as though the past 8 years of growing it have really brought me to a place where I can take the skills I learned and move it into something more. I'm really good at the social media & online marketing aspect of it and there is a need for that here in the non profit org community in DC. Even though I'm not a military wife anymore, I still feel called to be a part of the community and give back to it. It's not that I was a food blogger... it's that I had this place online where I was able to form a community of like minded people. I want to keep doing that outside of the blog. I want to have those in person connections. It sounds like you want that too. It's one of the most amazing feelings being able to touch peoples lives in person. Online is great too, but I have a feeling you understand that connection you get from your volunteer work.
I am confident you will find a way to use your platform at Dine & Dish to do even more amazing things to help feed your community. Listen to that voice inside of you... listen when others tell you that you can do it... and believe. Truly believe you can. As soon as I believed I could truly go after my dreams, I decided figuring out what they are, making lists, and just doing it!!!
Love you to my dear friend. I am proud of you too!
Betsy
Nothing but well wishes for your new life. You can accomplish great things. Your fellow Washingtonian wishes you Peace & Love in all that you do!
Peace & Love right back to you, Judy!!! xoxo
Best of luck to you! And thanks for all the years you've put into such a wonderful and yummy endeavor!
xoxo Thank you!!
Aw, best of luck to you Betsy!! I know i'll still be seeing you around the interwebssss! 🙂
Betsy,
I thank you for all you have done for our community and beyond. As you move forward, I wish you and your family all the best. You probably don't realize I had looked up and thought how much I wanted to have your talent for baking (from the first cookie you sent to school to Margot's shower to Cupcake competition). Please know you continue to inspire chasing after such a change while helping so many deserving individuals and families. Hugs and love from Graf!
Jamie
Betsy,
Thank you for all the great recipes and fun crafts that you have created over the years. My family has enjoyed many of them. I will miss reading your blog, although I know we all have phases of our lives and your is entering a new era. May God bless you on your new endeavor and your new life back in the State. I hope your family grows in wisdom as you come through the trials of the ex-Army life and that God will use you and your family to be blessings to others.
Rhonda a.k.a. Grandma Cookie
Good with all your exciting new endeavors. You - and they - are going to be great!