Almost Friday....I should be in bed!

I thought I might try out a new look again, but I think I might have to go back to my old one. This is just not growing on me. Here are a few things I was working on today. First a shell and kyanite bead earrings and pendant (not pictured) and some amethyst/crystal quartz pieces. I wasn't nearly as productive today as I would have like but we all have those days. Yesterday I debated about using the quicken trial and decided I don't need another program. I revamped my entire book keeping system in excel instead. I started a new way for filing my expenses and income and made a brand new workbook that is easy to use and has everything I need right now.

One thing to check off my giant list: Next is get website done, new business cards, and make jewelry care cards to put with each order. That is not to ambitious unless you see how many items I need to photograph and put on my website as well as make Paypal buttons. That's ok though, I love this! But I really love that I am finally getting my goals accomplished instead of drowning in them.

Tomorrow is my free day according to my calender so I will be finishing up my laptop bag :) and then maybe coming downstairs to work. Sorry the pictures are fuzzy, I cant find my roller to clean the black velvet. :(

No Juice Flowing

So I came to "work" today and have no inspiration :( I got all my work related e-mails out of the way and a call to my supplier about some back ordered items I have been waiting on for a wedding. Other than that nothing is coming! And my PMC clay is still not dry! I think we have had too much moisture this week, sorry Krissy!

It's crummy and cold outside and I just keep thinking I need a huge calendar. One to keep track of when I ship orders out and to cross them off when they get there. I also need a new system for keeping track of $ from orders. I am using so many different programs I need a central log. I should create a new spreadsheet in Excel but I am not quite sure how I want it set up. I spent hours doing that when I worked at Chase, but wasting time to get it right for my boss is different than wasting my own time when I have so many other things that need done. My computer came with a free trial of Quicken which I have never used but may try later today just to see if it will work. I normally just use Excel since I can tweak it however I want. :( No easy answers.

Happy Update: I also spoke with my sister about my new website template and logo. She has her last final next Thursday and we are working on it right after that! HUGE sigh of Relief! I need to get this up and running, it not being done is stressing me out. Today I may just work on taking pictures for the website so they are ready once she has created my web makeover. That doesn't take much creativity since I already made a list of whats needed. Hopefully I will be inspired tomorrow.

Pajama Green Day

Today has been a busy day. Normally I get up in the morning get ready for "work" and head downstairs. Today I went to work in my pajamas :) I must look a sight though as I also have a head light on. Sounds stupid huh! But I have to tell you it is AWESOME! Colin has one that he uses when we go camping, working on the cars etc. he never puts it away since he is always using it. I figured why not and bought one last week at a sporting store going out of business. I figured it was handy for camping and better than a flashlight as it requires no hands. Even better it provides great light for beading. Its my new best friend!

Anyways I thought I would share some new items I have been making today. First is the button bracelet I talked about yesterday. Today I started working with Rose Quartz and ended up solely with Olive Jade (I just realized my head lamp is the same color). I may need to use Colin's tomorrow for another color inspiration. My PMC clay is almost ready as well :) (PMC clay is precious metal clay, when fired it turns into fine silver). Be prepared for lots of pics.

Custom Button Bracelet with Pearls

Olive Jade Chain Set

Olive Jade Earrings

Olive Jade Dangle Set

Serpentine Bracelet

Serpentine Earrings

Rose Quartz

I was good today and added a few of these to Etsy since my website is waiting on Cheryl.

Oh forgot to add this, I finished it this morning in my new space! It is a custom button bracelet made as a mothers day gift. The gift giver sent me this great mustard yellow button that I really wanted to use but mustard colored buttons are hard to come by so I used the only one I had in my stash and added some yellow toned leopardskin jasper to pull it all together. I love custom orders since they always make me think outside the box. I should have 1 more done for her later today that I am using pearls in. This bracelet looks so much better not squashed and on my wrist!

I can Finally get some work done!

My mission yesterday to clean the house was a success. I am going to allot 30 minutes each day from now on to work on misc. cleaning so I don't get behind again. But today I can relax and get something done in my newly organized basement studio.

Improvements:
-New folding 6' table
-2 tv stands until I can afford another table (these are going on the garage sale!)
-New Computer
From the Front: Straight ahead workspace and tools. Right side is my laptop and lap table for button bracelets and crossweave. Left side is gemstone and sterling storage as well as finished trays.
Back Left side is another chair and my new light box. (I love this!)
Left Side closeup of most of my gemstones, sterling, and pearls.

These 3 small things are going to save me SO much time. Currently all of my beading materials are down here except 3 shelves in my office upstairs that are full of containers of seed beads, misc. supplies and shipping items. I can actually see most of my supplies so I can know what I have and get some work done. Yeah!

It feels like Christmas! I can't wait to get some rolling containers so I can move the beads upstairs down here. Now my sewing supplies and other crafts are organized upstairs because they also have more room. I have finally created my work environment so I wont get distracted. :)

Happy start to a great hopefully very productive week!!!

New Sparkly Button Bracelet

Yesterday I made this! I am not posting it on my website since my sister is supposed to be designing a new template. It is $30 and all buttons were found in CO. I have not found this color in any other states. :( Yesterday Colin and I got our eyes checked since we never use our insurance and our flex savings is overflowing. I also went and looked at some more ideas for my laptop bag. I am now going to pipe it in black and add black leather to the bottom as well as it is getting an extra layer of plastic/foam inside for protection. I can work on it once I have crossed off my cleaning chores.

Today I haven't allowed myself to create anything. I am deep cleaning the house so I don't get distracted at all this week. Only one more load of laundry. The bathroom has been scrubbed (I think it is cleaner than it has been since we moved in). Sweeping, mopping, and throwing junk out. My pile in the basement for my garage sale is huge. I need to allot a few hours this week to price the junk so I am ready when we get back from Kansas. Most of May I need to be making new items for another show here in WA and June is getting booked up as well. :)

I am not sure if this is a good thing or not. Colin has been working on the pickup all weekend and apparently there are some issues. I may not have a car tomorrow. At least when he has issues we aren't paying someone else to fix it. I am really glad he is handy with cars. I guess problems keeps me from leaving the house and doing anything else.

Hope You had a good weekend!

? Too much for a Title Today

I tried to get on an hour ago but our Internet was not working. After a quick call to Comcast we are back up and running. :)

I really need to get some cleaning done today, so far I got the fridge done and vacuumed. That's a pretty good start since its not even 8:10am. But the best part of today is I am getting my hair done (which it still looks good) but it can look so much better! I am going to cry when we have to move again and I have to find someone new to do my hair. I have gotten so many bad cuts moving that I think I gave up until Carly cut my hair. She fixed all the mess and its amazing how much that just your hair can change how you feel. :)

On a totally different note: I miss working with other people, I don't miss working for someone else but I miss the friends you make working somewhere else. Other than that I LOVE my current job, I just need to figure out the key to managing my time and not getting sidetracked by other things going on in the house. Working at home is hard because of that. I think it will help that my computer is now with all my beads in the basement. I get more done in the basement since it is my space. I can make a huge mess and then when I am done close the door and go upstairs and relax. The sad thing is I NEVER let my workspace get messy when I worked for other people.

This weekend I am getting a new long table (like ones at churches, garage sales) so I don't have to set things on the floor. My new light box kicked some stuff off my small table. I have a couple of magazine pictures of how I want my space organized when we get a house and this table doesn't fit into that but it will move with me everywhere we go. I also can use it for my garage sale, and I will have less of a mess. I might get some rolling carts to slide under it and keep supplies. Hummm....I better save up for that idea, I have spent way to much this month. Well not really if I hadn't bought my laptop, which I am so glad I got.

I did buy some great fabric yesterday and some supplies to make a laptop bag. I really haven't been thrilled with any bags I have seen and the ones I have liked were $75-$100. Way to much when I can make one with the pockets where I want. I know another project, what was I thinking! But I just spent all that money on a new computer, and it needs to be protected when we go home next month. I cant just carry it around by itself. Plus it gives me a reason to sew, I never sew anymore which is sad since I have a degree in apparel design and textiles. I did buy a pattern since I have never made a bag like this but it is more a template since I am increasing the size and changing the pockets. I am giving myself 1 hour today to work on it, and then I have to go back to beading. I have 4 weddings that I am doing some form of jewelry for on top of my custom orders. I think I need to invest in a huge planner like they have at salons so I can segment my day out to certain projects. That or I need to steal my sister Molly and make her yell at me to get to work.

Two plus weeks and Handmade Obsessions is going to get a face lift. Cheryl (my other sister) works on websites as a job. She does great work but with going back to school and working for people that pay with money instead of jewelry she hasn't had much time for even sleeping. School is over for her is 2 weeks so she said she can help then. Yeah! She is transferring my logo into a vector program (like Adobe Illustrator) which I can do but I am not sure how to put it into my website, and she is creating a custom template for my pages for me to list items for sale. I have one but it doesn't quite fit what I want and I have no clue how to change it. Instead of getting frustrated and wasting my precious time trying to learn, she can do it :) I think I may pay her in real $ though since she will be starting grad school in the fall and will need the dough. She also doesn't really wear jewelry (How is she my sibling?) so I really should give her money.

Now that I have wasted an hour online I should really get to work. Have a good weekend!

Flowers for Everyone

Thought I would share some of the blooming in my yard. :) I have to get back to work as I have a TON!

Stay on Track....Stay on track.....I need to take my own advice :)

I shouldn't even be on here but I have began to realize I normally get a schedule in my head of what I need to be working on everyday when I hop on here. I need to be on here because it seems to be the one constant of my scatterbrained "creating" schedule.

Today:
NO Yard work (its not as nice today as yesterday was anyways)
Drop Gunther off to get a haircut (he has an appointment that I scheduled over a week ago)
Make 2 new button bracelets (I have the buttons all laid out, new colors!)
Make 2 new necklaces
Open supply order and put away :) (This may mess up the rest of the list, I get sidetracked)
Laundry (this never ends)
Refill my earring stands
Make up or find a new pattern for Mother's day gifts (I have no clue this year)
Pick up the mess in the craft closet that I made getting the box of paper out to organize
Vacuum
Unload the dishwasher
Prep PMC clay for cross
Take 5 pictures and put on website

And yes I have to throw in the cleaning items or I will forget them! We have such a little house it gets dirty fast but is also fast to clean :) Look forward to some new pictures of jewelry! I am pretty sure that was why I started this blog.

New Typing Dig

I know I was going to save my loot from selling my doll but I got fed up with my computer kicking me out of my programs and locking up. Colin doubled the memory in it only a few weeks ago hoping that would help me but I think its just outdated and old. Silly computer, it wasn't a real nice model when I bought it, my old laptop crashed 5-6? years ago and I needed a computer on a college student budget. My monitor was a hand-me-down from a friend of Colin's until he bought me a flat screen a few years ago. I don't think he liked moving a 17" old HUGE monitor.

Anyways I researched laptops since that was what I have been wanting. I took the plunge and got a new 4G HP with a 6 hour battery life. Colin even got a deal on them taking all the extra junk software off (Best Buy charges $150, we did not pay that!) So I am adding this to my list of priority's, now I can work on my website without getting kicked off and I can install Photoshop and Illustrator again and actually use them. My old computer couldn't handle Photoshop anymore. :( Once I save up a little I am going to take the old computer in and have it cleaned up, I can still use it and save photos so they don't take up space on my new gadget.

I better get to work on new items for sale since I blew all but $250 of the money I made. I need to put some money in our house fund like I promised myself. I also need to find a pattern to make a 17" laptop bag since the cool ones on Etsy cost too much. I have to be cheap somewhere!

The day is too short...or I have to many ambitions?

I just finished raking up piles of yard waste, we still have 3 huge piles of limbs from trimming all the neglected hedges and trees. It has been beautiful today! I haven't gotten any new work done on my website :( well yet. This morning I got 1 jewelry order done and shipped and all of my buttons sorted again and reorganized so I can find each color easily. That took a good chunk of time but will save me so much in the long run.

I am just about to organize my paper, stamping, and scrap booking items since I got a brand new huge rolling tote for $4 at a garage sale. I cant find anything in my craft closet since it is such a mess. I don't work well with my tools being messy or not put away (Colin!) He always borrows things such as sandpaper, nail punch, pliers, glue, or my leather punch which is still gone, and he doesn't put them back or he puts them in his boxes. He has bought me several nice tool boxes though and hasn't stolen them for himself so I guess he is entitled. He also built a workbench in the garage this weekend, I think it was for him(that's what it looks like already) but I am stealing half of it for my planting items. So I guess I can live with him taking my tools, as he shares his.

I need to get so much done with my website and making some new items for another jewelry party that I spaced on my mini greenhouse. The peas are all tangled and a mess, I should be out in the yard tilling up a spot for them. I think I need to put that off until Wednesday though, it is not my first priority.

I made myself a priority list and that didn't even make the cut.

Buttons done, moving on...

I finally got a few things added to my website! Sigh! After much argument with my computer (it kept kicking me out of 2 different programs) I got all of the button bracelets added with paypal links. YEAH! This process is going to take forever! Colin thinks that I need to get it done for mother's day and he is completely right. Any custom orders that I need to get posted right away though are going on etsy, as it saves time.

Tomorrow I am devoting half my day to custom orders, and the other half to putting items on my website. I wish I was more fluent in creating websites since when I am editing it looks fine and then things move around when its published for others to see. I may have to have my genius sisters that know how to do this help me out. Molly already fixed the contact info. page last week for me. Thanks Molly! I think she might need a surprise thank you. Ideas?

Either way it is a slow process! I am glad that I have other projects to work on as well so I dont burn out.

Beautiful Plants, not so Beautiful Yard

I totally forgot about posting this morning as I was finishing up packaging the last few items for the post office. I am so glad this is over with. Only one more item to mail, hopefully Monday!

Today after saying hello to the post office crew (they know me by name now) I went for a visit to the nursery. I love plants and the nursery close to our house has pretty reasonable prices. Our landlord had mentioned when we were looking at the house that he would pay for landscaping if we were interested, we never discussed price though. So we have to pay rent tomorrow and I have drawn out a plan and priced all the plants. I did not price out trimming and dirt though as I need to see what he would like. Either way for all perennials that are low maintenance and will cover up this ugly mess the city put right in the yard it is under $80! I think that is very reasonable as it will help a lot! I also did plants that will work all seasons as well as some spring plants, and summer plants so there will be color year round. I wish we had our own house!

I would also like to do the side of the house, it has lots of tulips but the beds are full of grass and weeds. If he doesnt want to do those I can just clean them up and they should look fine. I love spring!

I think tomorrow I need to plant my seedlings outside and just cover them up at night. The peas are getting tangled and need something to climb on already. Alas, still no bell peppers!

At the nursery I bought some new pots for inside the house, a fun yellow one (it has crackled paint sanded a little so it looks old) and a blue turquoise one. My car is going to look like a greenhouse when we move. Its a good thing Gunther is small and will still fit. Hopefully when we get another dog it will be smaller as well. We are talking about getting a puppy in June. I can't decide if I want to search for another dog of Gunther's breed (Silky Terrier) or something else. I really like the fact that Gunther doesn't shed, the bad thing is his breed is not common at all. He was very hard to find. He is from Dublin, Virginia and now has been to 16 states and Canada as well as has lived in 5 states. Who knows, we aren't looking until at least June so I have plenty of time. Man that was wordy today! Have a great Weekend!

Last Day for Kerrie's Junk! :)

Today is the LAST day for my ebay items :) I might sell 1 or 2 things here and there again but not 35 all at once. I woke up at about 6:30 this morning and thought I am going to sleep in. I tried, but my phone has been dinging all morning from e-mails. I might have to rethink the whole blackberry thing. That silly woman I mentioned yesterday that wants magic shipping sent me 4 emails just this morning wanting to know where her package was at (I mailed it Tuesday) then she did a 180 and said it arrived and thanks etc. I am SO glad the post office is speedy.

Yesterday I went and took Colin out to lunch, he was kind of down in spirits and needed a smile. Then I went and got a few new pretty plant pots (I had to give some away in Phoenix since only a few plants fit in my car, moving companies wont move plants). I also started a few more seeds, more bell peppers and more zinnias. They are residing in some egg cartons that MrBrownThumb had suggested on his blog.

Since ebay is not consuming me I got 7 items done yesterday for custom orders. 2 need soldering but I am getting there. I wish they had all been done last week, since they should have been! But they will all most likely be done by Saturday. Huge sigh of relief, I hate being behind but I haven't felt super creative in that area and one thing I know about myself is that nothing turns out right if I force it.

Next week then I am going to try and get some snazzy pictures on my website, its neglected! And I hopefully can take AWESOME photos with my light box to help. Oh I guess I need to figure out that dilemma with my dressers. Its not bothering me as much since I took all the socks off the top and put them in a box in the closet. Now its only half as messy. :0 Happy Thursday! And Linda I think I might just have that ice cream on my waffles today!

P.S.-Sorry the last paragraph blends in with the previous one, I keep fixing it and it keeps moving back up. Yesterday it did the same thing :(

Waffles Waffles Waffles

I am not in the best of moods this morning. Now I have ebayers that think I have magic shipping abilities. I wish! I have one that paid Monday night at 9:26pm (that's what time paypal says) and she has emailed me 4 times asking when its shipping even though I sent her an email at 4:00pm yesterday that it was mailed. And I am not talking super nice requests about shipping. I only charged $3.50 to ship it, give me a break. Sigh, sorry! I am not sure how people do that full time, it explains the feedback I have gotten when I pay right away and don't ask questions. They must be thrilled.

Waffles! (Those are happy thoughts for those that don't know) I am off to ship 4 more items and then Friday will be the last day of shipping (the last 3 items end tomorrow). I may be throwing myself a party. :} I am so glad that after this I am going back to making things I love all day.

It just occured to me that my Waffle thought for today was that I got 3 huge bags of wheat free dog treats at Petco on sale for under $3 each! Normally those are over $6 each. That sounds like overload for such a small guy, but I keep some in each car and I am taking some over to my friends house so he can have treats with his dog friends when we go for walks. That is a good deal for those, they are NEVER on sale.

The picture is of just the Jalapenos, still no bell peppers. I think we may be eating really spicy grill food this summer.

Christmas in Spring

I woke up this morning to SNOW on the ground. Isn't it supposed to be spring? The tulips I have sprouting up all over including in the middle of my yard think so.

I also got the good fortune of the mailman coming really early and dropping off a box for me. A present from my mom. She bought me a photo/light box for taking pictures of my jewelry. :) What a great present! Thanks Mom! I am not great with taking photos in the right light especially when some gemstones have invisible veins that only show up with flash. This makes the stone/jewelry look terrible. A new step to better pictures! YEAH!

I also have several peppers, well jalapenos. There still are no bell peppers :( I really want those because they are great for grilling in the summer. Yum!

I also bought a new dress yesterday for Lexi's wedding. I splurged and went to Black House/White Market since I am doing so well with my ebay sales. Here is a picture that is not very good since I am holding it at the same time, but you get the idea. I love their clothes but they are super pricey (also exceptional quality and workmanship).

Since I have a dress now I just need to make sure Gunther has the right paperwork and shots and we are ready for our trip. Gunther is flying home with us because it was going to be over $400 to leave him here and its only $200 to take him with us. That and he wont eat when we are gone. I'm not sure if it because he gets depressed or that he is afraid to eat from someone else (he wont take treats etc. from other people unless Colin and I are around) If anyone reading doesn't know, our dog is a celiac which means he cant eat wheat. He used to be able to tolerate some treats with wheat (before we figured out why he kept getting sick) but now he cant have anything. I spend more time reading labels for our dogs food/treats than I do on our food. Luckily his food isn't much more than other dog foods but unless I buy treats on sale they are not cheap. Who would have thought that would happen when you get a dog.

P.S.-Ebay has gone over $1100 :) :) :) Now I need to stop dancing around with excitement and get back to work.

High Hopes....Reality is Higher :)

So even with all the continuing stupid questions I keep getting about my items on ebay I am THRILLED. Remember when I was excited that I could recover my chair and then even more excited when I hit $540? We have exceeded that, and I am just astounded! I am $7 away from $1000 (yes your eyes read that right). YEAH! I do not think that this is teaching me a lesson for keeping things though.

Now I am confused at what to do with my new fortune. There are so many places it can go, too many in fact. So I have decided that I am saving $300 to recover my chair. This is more than it needs, but since I know Colin will make me keep my new furniture until I die I am going for exactly for what I want. It may be pricey $$$, and the rest is going towards our house fund. Colin told me to save it for something I wanted since it was my stuff but I want to stop moving around the U.S. most and get a house right? I do, I would just like my chair not looking so sad when we get there :)

Well I am off to mail a few boxes and then I will be back to finish my custom orders and start packaging those up. Happy Monday!

P.S.-There is ONE pepper in sight! Last night I realized that I used some leftover soil on the pepper container (not the same as in all the others) it must not have as much good stuff in it. I may need to start the peppers over :( I'll give them a few days though.

Happy Easter!

We miss everyone, love you!

Junk Junk Junk

I am super stoked today about how well the bids are going on my doll's accessories etc. I am above $500 right now! YEAH! Ok I will be calm now :) When I checked my ebay account this morning it just made my day. Now I am torn, I wanted to put it in savings for my new furniture but in October we are going to Vegas for my friend Joyce's wedding. And no we can't cut out that cost as I am a bridesmaid and I know she needs all the support I can throw at her for numerous reasons.

1)Even on her tough days she is one of the strongest people I know.
2)She is always there to listen, she is one of those people you meet and just click with.
3)None of the guys she has dated have been worthy, but I like Scott a lot. He is really good for her in so many ways.
4)She keeps beating this cancer and I know how much pain in many areas of her life it has caused and she is still smiling.
5)She is my family and I will always be there like a family is supposed to be. I hope hers realizes that some day.

Sorry that was slightly depressing but that's what been on my mind after I talked to her last night. I am super excited to see her when we are in Kansas for a week before Lexi's wedding.

Here is a photo of my mini greenhouse this morning, the plants pushed off the lid this morning. Still no peppers though :( I am going to plant some more using some cheap helpful hints from MrBrownThumbs blog. He has great information, and next time I need seeds I am using his recommendations.

I know I am supposed to be working on those custom orders and I have been but today I think I am going to try this. 320 Sycamores blog had used this idea for her gorgeous wall art with plates. I am going to decorate some hard boiled eggs for our neighbor lady next door (her grandson is coming tomorrow). This looks so much neater than just dying them. By the way I learned Modpodge is not toxic so it wont hurt to eat them if the egg was cracked when I made it, I don't think that would taste good though.

Gunther needs a haircut BAD, he looks like a real Silky Terrier which he is but Colin and I think he looks like he is wearing a dress when his hair gets too long. This is not a very good picture of that effect though. He also doesn't look quite so sad with short hair. Hopefully I can get that accomplished with my other items, I am on hold right now. Wait they cant get him in until April 20th, we have to call another place :(

My dresser drawers are on hold for the week, I am not going to mess with them at all until everything else is done. I am not happy with the 5th coat and I am going to strip it and try other options. I have to set some kind of goals/guidelines and that is the one thing I can cut out :( that means my clothes stay in piles. I better get off here and start working.

Super Cucumbers

The lack of sun didn't seem to phase those cucumbers but alas I still have no peppers. I hope I don't have to buy any garden plants.....I was trying to stray away from that so I would have more $ for flowers.

I can't wait until this ebay junk is gone! People cannot read and are still sending stupid questions. I wish it was socially acceptable/ebay ok to just send that they need to "learn how to read" back in the message etc. Since I got everything posted though I can focus upon other areas I need to work on. I spent over 4 hours checking that I got my entire order and putting it away. Today after I pick the house up I have to start on all those custom/special orders. Colin is going golfing tomorrow so I have that time as well, I have to be speedy since Monday the shipping conundrum begins.

Oh I need to get going on my website as well, my sister called and yelled at me to get moving. I still don't have any pictures or links yet. :( I definitely bit off more than I can chew this week. Next week is going to be worse due to this weeks side effects. I give up, I am not a focused person. At least not at sticking to just one thing going on, lets face it I would be bored with my life. This mess is just who I am! :)

Have a great Weekend!

P.S.-I think I may strip that drawer again! I am up to 5 coats and still not happy with it. I may try some Mahogany Minwax Gel stain that I have from an old project. I normally don't like using it because it works more like paint, but it may be the right way to go. 5 coats is too much, especially if I don't like it. That and I need my drawers back! To continue using the stain I am currently testing on this project would take much to long once I actually get to the dresser. (I have 12 drawers, 1 dresser, 1 chest, and a mirror) Any suggestions?

Slow Moving

Well I didn't get moving as early as I wanted this morning but when you stay up until almost 2 am that's what you should expect. That and I haven't been drinking tons of coffee today. I really wanted to share my Easter tree, the eggs are all hand painted from my trip to Germany about 8-9 years ago. This is one of the few items of my large mass of junk I am keeping.

I finally got everything listed on ebay, its no wonder some people do that as a job. It's really time consuming and no one reads the info. They just send stupid questions.

But I haven't yet ventured to check on my dresser drawer, I think today is the last day of testing how many coats of stain I need. That means as soon as I get special orders done and all this silly doll junk shipped I am digging into refinishing mode because all these piles of doll clothes and my own clothes are driving me nuts. I think that may not be until Thursday of next week :( At least the doll clothes will be gone before that.

Here is that photo I promised from my mini greenhouse. The cucumbers are in first place for growth, they grew over an inch from yesterday. I still have ZERO peppers. Maybe they are late bloomers?

The sun is missing in the sky here today so I doubt that my plants will grow quite as much today. Happy Thursday!

Rambling.....I can't sleep

I can't seem to sleep yet I am exhausted. I started the whole ebay thing this morning, wait yesterday morning and have been working at it off and on all day. I drank over half a pot of coffee by myself. It juiced me up so I managed to get the dresser drawer stained again, 3 is still not enough coats. I also managed to get almost all of my items on ebay, I will finish up with posting about 3 more and then I should be done until I have to ship. That is going to be a nightmare since I have over 30 listings right now.

Good news is that right now I have enough in bids to recover my side chair to coordinate with the new couches I am saving for. I really don't like the black leather one we have but nothing is wrong with it :( I still am getting bombarded with questions and today one was interesting. The bidder wanted to know if I would sell her the item for $60.00 plus shipping! (She didn't want to bid) I had not set it up for a Buy It Now and once someone bids you can't change the listing. Oh well she is out of luck, too bad because I would have done it since right now the bid is only $5.00 but it has 19 people watching. I really hope it sells for that much. By the way it is only a single outfit with a hat, slipper shoes, and a doll size life preserver. CRAZY!

Once I am not supposed to be sleeping I will post a new picture of my mini greenhouse, it grew so much during the day! The only thing not sprouting yet is my jalapenos and mini bell peppers. Maybe they will be peeking out when I get out of bed, that is if I go.

I accomplished something even greater today, my friend Mandy showed me how to skateboard on a long board! I didn't fall once! That is amazing for me so I have to gloat a little as I am not skilled in riding a bike, rollerblading, or things like skateboarding etc. I never really fully learned how to do any of those things since we lived on a dirt road and I had a horse. Next week we are going to break out the Rollerblades Colin bought me almost 2 years ago that I have never tried (he also bought me knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads, etc.) I think I scare him! I know I did last time I went flying over my handlebars on my bike. Maybe I just need a helmet :) Either way that excites me to be trying new things and not killing myself!

P.S.-FedEx claims my supplies will be here tomorrow (wait today) sometime so I better get to bed so I can get up super early and get things done so I can start making those special orders. Goodnight/Good morning since it is almost 1am pacific time.

To being Focused....Good Luck!

Well I thought I might add a quick note before the day gets going and I don't have time to get on here. I finally got another coat on one dresser drawer last night and a few more things added on ebay.

If I have not added the combined shipping option on ebay it is really not an option for buyers is it? Well unless I as the seller decide that it is possible. (I had too many strange shaped items and then dresses to sell, offering combined shipping would make me lose a ton of money.) I have one goofy lady that keeps e-mailing me about checking on cheaper shipping and combining items. I can not combine a book that is 30"x 30"x 4" it wont fit with other items! What I put for shipping is what I want paid, I do have to find a box to fit that in. My time is not free, Right! Anyways I might combine some smaller items for her but not all of them. I went off the shipping costs on the same items sold by others, mine are usually lower by the way. I may not want to do this again after it is all over. Oh, right now she has outbid everyone on everything I am selling, I'm not sure if that is good or not.

Sorry for the rant. Happy News/thoughts, or waffles as my sister would say. When I got up this morning I saw I have a few more sprouts :) Several Zinnia's, Snow Peas, and one lone Cucumber has peeked up. Yum!

P.S.-The drawer most likely needs at least one more coat probably 2 more to be the color I would like. My furniture is all really dark wood, and this is the darkest Minwax stain they sell but Walnut doesn't draw it in very well since it is such a hard wood. Either way the color is turning out nicer than the old stain which I am not a fan. Of course I have been to cheap and short on time to change it in the last 5 years. Once I get the drawer done I will post before and after photos.

I am so NOT focused!!!!!

So that whole staying focused thing I mentioned in January, today I blew it big time. So far this week I have taken 2 drawers out of my dresser to refinish them. My socks and similar items are on top of my dresser and all of my undergarments are living in a chair in my office. So today instead of putting another coat of stain on the drawer I am testing I decided to research selling my American Girl items. Bad, Bad, Bad, idea!

I now have piles of items all over my office and hallway on top of the clothes that have no drawers to live in. Colin is way too patient with me as all he asked was what I was doing when he saw the HUGE new mess I have created. (The one with the trunk on the right is a pile of things that have bids on them) Last week he asked me where my tidy side went. (? beats me) While I was researching/looking at what items I have, I discovered that my doll, Samantha was retired. Some items are going for a lot and some not so much. I so far have only listed 8 items/groups and have bids on all of them. Who knew that doll items were such a high commodity. I guess it was good I never really had normal toys like barbies and have been saving them.

Anyways while I have been typing this my phone keeps dinging that I have messages (from ebay) with questions. I hope all of this sells before my bead supplies come, it has taken me over! I have been trying to type this post for over 2 hours now. I meant to share that I have a few sprouts in my mini greenhouse for my garden. :) 3 Zinnias and 3 snow pea plants!

I think I may have bit off way more than I can chew! At least I can put all of this money from my doll junk towards my new couches when we move. I am doing much better than I would selling them on my garage sale (right now just the trunk is at over $110). Yeah, for me hauling around so much junk for so long!!!! Does anyone need a dollhouse as big as me?

Spring is here....it has to be!

Well I haven't been posting much as I still am not back up to full speed. I figured that once I got out of my parents house my allergies would dissipate but now I just have an awful cold. :(

That hasn't kept me from working though, I have my supply order all out so hopefully it will come in the next few days so I can make and send out all of the special items several people are waiting on.

When the plane was landing Tuesday I was not so thrilled to see snow coming down, and of course it continued the rest of the week. This weekend has been gorgeous though! I got one new flower bed in my back yard all ready and the front beds cleaned out. I am still wondering about several others that are in sad shape but might need some $ (materials) since they have been neglected for so long. Since we will be on our way moving again once this job is over I hate to put much into them other than plants. It adds up so fast and I am already close to my total budget since I had to buy a new hose head, shovels, rake, etc. since all of my gardening and yard items were stolen. Hopefully my garage sale will help me out with this issue since I still need a fair amount of things. Luckily the old tenant left me some large pots to add to the few I have left. :)

Thought I would share a picture of my planted garden seeds. I have Jalapenos, Sweet Bell Peppers, Sweet Peas, Cucumbers, Acorn Squash, Pumpkins and some Zinnias. My unplanted seeds include: several types of lettuce, carrots, green onions, and I am buying a tomato plant. They need to wait to be planted since they are root plants and some just grow too quickly. I am so excited to have a garden, last year I tried to grow gypsy peppers (small bell peppers) on my patio in Phoenix. Don't try it! It was not one of my better ideas.

P.S.-I ended up buying Colin that air compressor for his birthday. I only bought a 4 gallon and he went back and bought this!It's a 17 gallon! And he is super excited about it, he was "testing" it the entire time I was outside cleaning.