Sickness

Well, the Thanksgiving holiday was a lot of fun. We went to the mountains here in CO with two other families. Utter chaos with 8 kids running around - but no one was surprised by that! We got home in time to relax on Saturday & Sunday. I was all prepared to have a productive week making & posting jewelry & getting ready for Christmas. Then it hit!! The stomach flu is making the rounds at my house. It started with my little boy letting loose all over himself and me yesterday - - in a store. Yuck! Poor little guy is still sick. Not my big girl is getting it too. So, no good jewelry news today I'm afraid. Maybe I'll be able to sneak downstairs and have something for you tomorrow. Stay well!!

New Ideas

Finished 3 necklaces for my nice neighbor this weekend. Two of them are new designs that she and I came up with together. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Look for them on the website soon. I really like the "washer" style of charm. Not too chatty today. Much to do before the holiday Thursday. Later!

Stuff I Like

If Oprah can do it, why not me? I'm calling this post "Stuff I Like". Do you have little things in your everyday life that consistantly make you happy? Sometimes it's nice to have just one little thing in your day that you can count on to work. I'm trying to make an effort to recognize and appreciate these little pleasures.

Today, I'm writing about Amy's Organic frozen meals. I have a bad habit of not eating lunch, or just snacking on whatever junk is handy. Consequently, when the daily 4:00 onslaught of children, dinner, homework begins - I'm in a horrible, low blood sugar mood. I'm not a real fan of leftovers and I know from experience that I won't take the time to make a decent lunch for myself. Amy's have been a great solution. Let me say that in all honesty, I'm far from a health food nut. Like most of us, I'm trying to eat better. But if it doesn't taste good, I won't eat it for long. Amy's meals are EXCELLENT. I've tried most of them and have never been dissapointed. They're also filling and nutritious with lots of fiber - which helps keep you full longer and helps cure the 4:00 energy drop.

My current fav is the one pictured above, the Indian Mattar Paneer. I probably wouldn't have picked this out on my own - my DH bought it on one of his rare trips to the grocery store. Isn't it funny how other people sometimes know your tastes better than you do? It's fabulous! Very tasty and not too spicy. The indian cheese pieces in it are cool and calm down the other flavor. Give it a try! (The mexican bowls are great too!!)

1st Snow

Well we've finally gotten our 1st Snow of the season here in Denver. This is late for us. Late by about a month. This was the 1st year my kids went trick or treating without parkas on!! It's nice to see the white stuff, although I'm sure we'll be cursing it soon enough.

It's funny to me how differently we act about snow here than where I grew up in the south. When I was growing up, if there was even the threat of snow they postponed or cancelled school. My Mom calls me almost everytime it snows here to ask if my kids have the day off. We have a running joke that the crawl on the bottom of the TV screen here says "It's snowing kids. Get your butts out of bed and go to school!!!"

I've got more necklaces to do today & both of my little kids are home. Not sure how productive I'll be in terms of jewelry making. I have some really cool new ideas I'm just dying to get produced and posted. It's going to be a challenge with the holidays coming up.

Tonight is my book club. The selection was "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I never finished it, but I think I'll go to book club anyway. I did see the movie. . .

Necklaces

I am over run with necklaces! Stamped name necklace orders that is. I've done little else since my jewelry show last month. It's a wonderful problem to have, but I'm getting anxious to work on some more creative ideas. If only there were more hours in the day and fewer children unerfoot! Just kidding, I wouldn't want it any other way, but it's hard to strike a balance some days - OK most days. If you have any great tips on how to balance kids and working from home - please post a comment. I'd love to hear it and I'm sure lots of other parents would too.

Photos from show

Here are some photos from the craft show I was in last weekend. Wow, my stock was really low! The tables look bare now that I see them in photos. Hard to say if that hurt or helped me. I think sometimes if you over stock your displays it looks too cluttered.

The best seller was definitely the custom stamped name necklaces. I'm so glad I made an order form at the last minute to take with me. I had originally planned to just refer folks to the website. Now I have get down to work and all those orders!!

It's a bit of a strain on the family when I'm busy all weekend. Not to mention all the work leading up to the show. I couldn't have done it without the support of my husband. We'll have to work on how to juggle his busy career, the kids and my growing business. If anyone has any tips or advice let me know.

Great Show!

It is Sunday night and my show is over! I am so pleased with how it went. It was a long weekend, but well worth it. Quite of few friends dropped by to say hello or help in the booth. I saw friends I haven't seen in years. Maybe that's the way to keep up with my girlfriends - do more craft fairs!!

Most satisfying was the positive feedback I got from visitors to the show and other vendors. It's sometimes difficult to know if what I'm doing is really any good when I'm working alone day after day. People were very generous with their kind words. It inspires me to keep going.

Now I have to buckle down and make the custom orders I took, as well as tend to all the home chores I've ignored lately. In the words of Lewis Robinson (of Meet the Robinsons) "keep moving forward".