Go Figure….Pun Intended

I don’t get it.  I was really frustrated with the lack of downward movement on the scale so I decided to take a break.  I decided to not track my eating this week and relax a little bit.  I didn’t really over-eat, I just didn’t “do” the program.  I needed to not think about it for a week to just cut myself some slack.  We didn’t do anything outrageous:  made lasagna for my favorite kid, went out for Chinese Smorg before a really great jazz concert, had a couple Apple Ciders.  And after all that…….

Weekly loss:  1.8 lbs    Total loss:  12.8 lbs

Go figure.

JUMP!!!

Ever feel like the fog has finally lifted from your brain?  That’s me right now.

For the last 2 years I’ve had my jewelry in a local business on consignment.  When I started putting things there, there were the remnants of my old stock from my storefront that consisted of a lot of imported jewelry.  It was affordable and sold well, but it wasn’t a lot of my own designs.  Things have changed markedly since then.  I don’t want to sell a lot of imported stuff.  You can buy jewelry from Nepal and Mexico everywhere and unless you know a lot about your supplier, you’re likely buying jewelry made at virtual slave wages in abysmal working conditions.  I was lucky enough to have great suppliers but I want to sell my own jewelry now.  I no longer NEED to keep large amounts of stock to fill store-shelves, so I can concentrate my energy and finances on building my own line.

It was a really tough decision to let the storefront deal go but it was a necessary one.  They offered me a place to sell when I really had no clue what to do about storefront space and I am very grateful for that, but I want to access the global marketplace.  I do a lot of shopping online for items I cannot purchase locally so I am well aware of the power of the internet.  I’m  a Facebooker and if you’re reading this you already know I’m a blogger.  In order to sell online I need constant access to my stock.  It would be a bad, bad thing to have an online customer purchase something and then to discover it had just sold at the storefront.  It’s a simple case of “either-or” and the decision had to be made.

So I’ve done a ton of research and have made the leap.  I’m setting up an Etsy store, have signed up for PayPal, have registered my domain name and now I’m telling YOU.   As we work far less in the summer at our music studio, we’re also going to look at selling at Fairs and Farmer’s Markets.

I’m so excited I almost can’t stand myself.  I feel inspired again.  Maybe it’s because it’s spring.  Maybe it’s because I know you guys are going to support and encourage me as you always do and I love you SO MUCH for that.  Maybe it’s the sense of anticipation.  You know….the kind where you’re on the high rocks at the river….you’re looking over the edge….you’re thinking the water looks sooooo cool and inviting…..

………you’re thinking “OMG that’s a long way down”………..

……………………….”I don’t think I can do this”………………..

…..”but I really WANT to do this”…………………………

…………………………………………………………………..so you take a reeeeeally deep

breath, close your eyes……..and

……..

…….

…….

JUMP!!!!!!!

Going Dark

The blog’s been quiet for a few days.  That’s because I’m struggling to make some major decisions about which direction to take my business.

Running a storefront is a pain in the neck.  Because we already work evenings it makes for really, really long days.  There’s also the very real question of whether a  storefront will fly in a really small community like the one I live in, where big-box stores are only an hour or so away.  Add to that the lure of cross-border shopping and you have a really dicey situation in terms of retail.

So, for the next little bit, the blog is going dark.  Well, more like unreliably intermittent.  I’ll post things as I do them but I plan on spending a lot of time researching different forms of marketing and how to access a more global clientele.   I shouldn’t be gone long, maybe a week or two at the most, and I’ll fill you in on which way the wind is blowing as soon as I’ve made the tough decisions.  Back in a bit….take care of yourselves.

Cruisin’

Here’s your Weekly Weight Watchers Report:

Things appear to be cruising along nicely.  There were periods of temptation over Spring Break due to visiting children, however scattered salads mitigated any major damage.  The forecast is for light meals with periods of moderate exercise, hopefully precipitating continued success.

Loss of 0.8 lbs – total loss 11.4 lbs

I now return you to your normal internet programming.

Kid Art with The Keaster

I spent yesterday with one of the coolest kids on the planet.  Keaton’s mom is a good friend of mine and suggested that he and I should do an art afternoon.  I see Keaton fairly regularly and know he’s a very artistic child and he and I have developed a bit of a connection.  Besides, when Mom emails you in the morning to tell you he’s sitting at the window watching and saying  “When is she going to come? Huh Mom?? When is she coming??”, you just know it’s going to be a good day.

This is Keaton with the Leprechaun Trap he built.  I was informed, however, that the sneaky little Leprechaun escaped.  He moved the ladder to the inside and crawled in and out that way instead of jumping down the trap-tube.  At least he left some chocolate behind.  It must have fell out of his pockets in his haste to get away once he realized it was a trap.  He also left the recipe for Stardust.  Keaton had told me about it and when I arrived I was gifted with a fresh batch he had whipped up just for me.

Mom printed the instructions as were dictated to her by Keaton.  Apparently I can grow plants in it as well and then they will be magical.

So I asked Keaton what kind of art he wanted to do and was informed that he wanted to learn how to use chalk pastels.  He’d had some in his supply stash for a while and hadn’t used them yet.  We had a blast smooshing and blending and getting pastel powder everywhere.  He really liked rolling the black ones all over his hands and putting 4 colours together to draw with all at the same time.  I just realized now, writing this, that I don’t have pics of the pastel work.  I’ll have to rectify that soon.

The other thing we did was a little thing called Spin Art.  Do you remember Spin Art?  They used to have these things at carnivals and fairs where you could pay a couple bucks and make your own masterpiece.  There are now kid-versions of this.

OMG….you wanna talk fun??  There’s a little spinner-handle on the side you flick to make it spin.  You just drop runny paint on this and give it a whirl; the centrifugal force pulls the paint outwards.

You can mix colours, blend colours, swirl colours together with a stick or a brush.

You can drip water on it to make things more runny.  Ohhh the possibilities.

This photo amazes me.  When it was taken, that piece of paper was spinning so fast it was a blur.  The camera actually caught the paint as it pulled to the outside.

These were some of the finished pieces.  And this next one….the MASTERPIECE!

Isn’t that just totally cool???  This is why I love Kid Art so much.  There’s a freeness and spontaneity that we as adults often try to work hard at because we’ve forgotten it’s ok to just let things happen.  We get all bound up in “Is this good, is this right?” and don’t allow ourselves to just let art BE.   Thank you for the lesson Keaton.  I learn more from kids than I have ever taught them.

I know I’ve got to do this again.  It was the most fun I’ve had in ages.  Besides, when you have a partner in crime like Keaton, who at 6 years old did art with me for over 2 hours…… 2 HOURS (much longer than most kids would stay focused on any one thing), you just know you’ve got to do more.

I have to go.  I need to find that old box fan I know is hiding around here somewhere.  Did you know you can make a Spin Art from an old box fan?  Yup.  The internet rocks for that kind of stuff.  Now….where’s that hubby of mine…….