ABOUT ME
Hi there! I'm Krista and I want to tell you a little more about myself so you can get an idea of who I am! I'm a wife and mom of three beautiful children, ages 21, 19 and 11. I live with my family in central/upstate New York.
So why should you hang out with me? Well, I'm a little crazy, but in a good way (I think). I'm a bit of an introvert, so I'm shy around people I'm not familiar with. At home, though, I'm a huge goofball! Just ask my husband and kids, who give each other "the OMG she's crazy" look more often than not. I'm also real and genuine, so what you see is what you get! I am NOT a good liar, so I suck at pulling pranks, according to my kids!
I really want you to feel comfortable here! No intimidation, no judgement! Only kindness and acceptance. If there is ever anything I can help you with, just reach out and let me know and I'll do whatever I can to be there for you! I know what it's like to be a new crocheter and feel like you don't know as much as you'd like. I'll always try to create patterns that are easy, cute, and beginner friendly.
Now, on a more serious note, here's some background stuff just to explain why I created "Crochet and Positivity".
When I was little, I knew that I somehow wanted to help people when I grew up. I have a psychology degree, but ended up working at a job that didn't really use it. My true passions are now crocheting and learning how to change my life through positive thinking. It wasn't always like that. I went to college, then got married. I thought I was doing things the right way, in the right order. I found myself in two very abusive relationships, which almost broke me. By the Grace of God, my children and I survived them both.
I suffer from a rare autoimmune disease called Vasculitis. It causes deep ulcers on my feet and lower legs. The ulcers are extremely painful, making it very difficult to walk sometimes. The other risk with them is they can become infected, which had landed me in the hospital a couple of times with a systemic infection throughout my bloodstream. The treatment for this disease was almost worse than the symptoms. I took chemotherapy drugs once a week for 9 long years, which made me exhausted and nauseous for half of the week. I'd have a couple of good days, then it was time to take the chemo again...Thank God I no longer take the chemo! The doctors have switched to full strength aspirin to try and manage my symptoms. Needless to say, I have to be off of my feet a lot! I'm not gonna lie, I felt like a loser! Going from a vibrant, active young woman to someone at the mercy of their disease took a huge toll on my body and my self esteem.
With all of the trauma and pain of my whole family, I ended up with severe anxiety and depression. I didn't see very much to be happy about...I mean come on, my body didn't even work right! Trying to be positive for myself and an entire family that was full of emotional pain felt like an almost impossible task. I attended weekly counseling for 10 years trying to move past my pain so that I could move forward. The counselor had to repeatedly tell me that I had to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was almost terrified to want or expect anything good to happen...first of all, deep down I wasn't sure I deserved it, and second of all, I was always afraid something bad was going to happen. I was so wrong!
My children started seeing a counselor who introduced my family to a different way of looking at life. Her teaching went beyond moving past your pain to explain how whatever we speak into our lives is what our lives become. At first I thought it sounded impossible, to believe that what we say and think is what becomes our reality! It sounded new agey and too good to be true, but to my surprise, everything she said has been backed by SCIENCE. I get so excited and happy when I think about this! Now, I'm not going to tell you that I'm perfectly positive all the time! I have to work at it really hard sometimes, but I'm much more at peace with myself now.
So how does a person who has spent her whole life hoping for the best but truly expecting the worst try to change her way of thinking? I'll tell you! The answers are crochet and positivity! These two things have pretty much saved my life. Crochet taught me to find the pure joy in creating something beautiful from a skein of yarn, with your energy, and with your love. To then gift that creation to someone else and see their joy, is truly magical for me. For me, crochet and positivity go hand in hand! I went from just surviving to truly feeling inside my soul that not only do I deserve good things, but they will happen to me. Now I have a purpose in life and that is helping beginning crocheters and sharing tools that I use to live a happier, more positive life!
I'm sorry this was so long, but I really want you to get where I came from, why I'm so passionate about crochet, and why I want to help you!
Always sending you positive energy,
Krista ☮
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