Developing Talents

All my life my talents have never been the kind that you would necessarily show off at a talent show.  I don't sing or dance, I don't play a musical instrument, I don't paint or draw or do anything artsy, I've never been sporty or athletic, I don't write poetry or journal, I am not crafty and I pretty much don't have a creative bone in my body.  My talents are the ones that aren't showy or flashy at all.  In fact, unless you know me pretty darn well, you probably wouldn't even know I possed these gifts.  I'm talking about things like, the talent of being a good friend, the talent of being a good listener, and the talent of remembering important dates, such as birthdays and anniversarys ( I can still remember the birthday of a girl I went to elementary school with and I haven't talked to her since Jr. High).  More recently (like since I've been married) I have realized that I also have a talent for baking.  It's not the best talent for my waist line, but I've not heard any complaints out of my husband.  I can cook pretty darn good too, and I enjoy cooking but I LOVE to bake. 
I'm not listing these talents just to toot my own horn here.  I do have a point and that is that I have watched a lot of women use their particular talents in order to help their families financially.  These are the violin players, piano players, and artists of the world.  The women that can use their talent to teach others and in turn financially benefit their families.  I would LOVE to be able to be able to offer piano lessons out of my home to bless my family, however I do not possess that talent and unfortunately I can't exactly market "come learn to be a good friend...only $20 bucks a lesson".  So I've been feeling really stuck lately.  Being a stay at home mom and living on one income is challenging.  You have to get really creative sometimes about how to stretch your pennies.  Having even just a little extra income would be such a blessing for us, but that would require me to leave the home and go out and get a job, which has crossed my mind more than once.  However, I always get a good kick in the butt and realize my time is best spent at home with Chelsea.  So then I'm back at square one again...Poor & no way to make my talents benefit my family...until NOW! 
This past summer I decided that I really wanted to start developing some of my talents, one in particular.  I wanted to become a better baker.  So in July I took a bread making class that changed my world.  It was amazing.  I learned how to make the most yummy bread from start to finish in ONE HOUR.  And even though that seemed to good to be true there was more.  I learned how to use that same recipe to make 50+ other things.  Everything from desserts and appetizers to full on meals.  And the best part was using this recipe would save me TONS of $$$ and be a HUGE help to my food storage efforts.  Taking that one 2 hour class was literally an answer to MULTIPLE prayers!  Since that class in July I have been baking bread, pizzas, calzones, dessert braids, cinnamon rolls, soup bowls, and rolls galore like a crazy person and had a blast doing it ( Brad hasn't complained much either...he LOVES my bread!).  It wasn't long after I took the class that I realized the company that I took the class from was hiring instructors to teach their bread making classes out of their homes in order to reach people in other areas.  Again, a answer to my prayers.  Being able to teach people about this amazing bread and what it can do for their family, out of my own home, on my own time, and be able to financially help my family at the same time...WOW!  So I sent in my resume and a few months later I can officially say that I have a talent that can financially bless us.  I am an independent contractor working for Pantry Secrets (http://www.pantrysecrets.net/).  I will be teaching a variety of classes out of my home (or in someone else's home should they chose to be a host) a few times each month.  Teaching how to make homemade bread is the main class and it's the one I will be starting with but eventually (after the first of the year) I will be teaching classes such as: Cooking with wheat and specialy breads, Pizzas & Calzones, Rolls & Buns, Dinner and Dessert braids, Menu Planning, Cooking without electricity, and Cooking with Rice and Beans.  I am so so so excited to be a part of this and to be able to teach people about this wonderful recipe that has changed my world.  If you are interested in attending one of my 2 hour classes (or if you are interested in hosting a class at your house) please let me know!
And as if the bread thing wasn't big enough, I also recently started taking cake decorating classes.  Again, I just wanted to continue developing my talent.  I just finished my first class and will be starting the second class in 2 weeks.  I have had so much fun with decorating cakes.  I have made different types for different occasions and although they aren't perfect I'm proud of my work.  I created a blog for my cakes, just so that I could show them to my family and friends and also so that I can document what I've done and track my progress as my decorating skills improve.  If you are interested in seeing the cakes I've done so far you can go to http://www.eeniemeenieminymocakes.blogspot.com/
So although I still probably couldn't participate in a talent show, I am so grateful for the talents I've been given, for the recent opportunities I've been given to further develop some of those talents, and for the love and support of my husband allowing me to explore and experiment with different options.