Getting organized

Slowly but surely, we are getting things situated. Remember these photos of my sewing/computer room that Mark likes to call his music room?




(Here's the post)

As a reminder, all those boxes along the wall are record albums. Thousands of them. Now, we are getting shelves built! So all those records will at least be on shelves and look better than a bunch of boxes. To avoid just having my sewing table blocking the shelves, I got a smaller table and moved things around a bit. Here's stage 2 of the project:



And now the cubes are in the closet instead of on the table. The only thing that will now be blocking the records is my giganto ironing board, but that's lightweight and can be moved easily.


I suppose it may be hard to see through photos, but there is so much more room! I'll post phase 3 as the shelves are built.

Tooting my horn

Yay! I was chosen to be featured on Soho Beads' blog. She's a fellow etsy.com seller and I am very honored that she wrote up a very sweet posting about me!

You can visit her shop here.

Two Mucho!

There's a bulletin board in the cafeteria at work. On it, people post items for sale.

I noticed that someone continually comments on the cost of these items by writing things like "too mucho," "too much!" and "two mucho!".

In this one, the $90 XBox does not satisfy this buyer. But it has TWO games!!


Of course, $192,000 is way too mucho for a house! So this person crossed off the "1" in front and made it $92,000. Much more reasonable! I'll take it.


My favorite is this one. It's "two" mucho. The best part of it is there's not even a price on here.


I am going to post a dishwasher on here, and I am not sure if I can satisfy Sr. Mucho.

Update on Roady Jane

Roady's ear stopped bleeding, and therefore she stopped shaking her head and spattering blood all over everything.

Her head looks much better. It was so weird how big this bump was, then they took her to the back and three minutes later it was all deflated. It's gross to think about how much stuff was in there.

Now she thinks she's lucky because she gets "magic tuna" twice a day. That would be tuna with her liquid antibiotics mixed in. This worked like a charm with my other cat when she had surgery. At first, I tried to squirt it down her throat. But by the third dose, she'd gag when she'd see the syringe. So then I tried "magic tuna" and she thought she was just really lucky getting tuna all the time.

So I tried that from the get-go with Roady, except when I put the first magic tuna down, she immediately backed up. I think she could smell the medicine even through the very pungent tuna smell. I started to panic, but then she started eating it and there hasn't been a problem.

Remember, everyone, "magic tuna" when your cat needs meds.

My day at the market

Saturday, I participated in The Neighborhood Market in Downtown Albuquerque. I worked nonstop for a more than a month to make sure I had enough items. I guess I worked harder than necessary because I didn't sell a single thing. OK, I did sell something to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, but we all know those were pity sales, and while I sincerely appreciate them, I didn't get ANY other sales.

It was a real bummer, but I'm trying not to take it personally. I am confident that I make cute things. I also have a good variety of fabrics that could suit many tastes. So I don't think it's cuz I have horrible, crappy stuff. And other vendors, including my boothmate, didn't sell either.

At first, there was a steady stream -- not a crowd -- of people wandering through, but after midday, it just died to nearly nothing. It was sooooo hot. I guess that's why. Other vendors said it seemed it was a $20 and under crowd, and my stuff is mostly more than that.

One guy stopped by and gave me a card. He's a professional tailor and said my stuff is really well-made but that it would probably sell better in Santa Fe where people at markets spend more money. So that was a nice compliment to get from someone who sews professionally. I don't consider myself an amazing sewer because I've only sewn for three and a half years and I taught myself, but I am pretty good considering that, I suppose.

I am doing the market again in August because you have to do a minimum of two days. I guess I won't have as high of hopes for selling this time, and I will probably take fewer items. As you'll see below, my area was a bit crowded, and perhaps that's overwhelming. But I guess the hard part is that I have to take time off of work, so it really costs me when I don't sell something.

Now, I know that Susana, who has read my blog before and may read this, and her husband work really hard to promote this, so I am not knocking it. It's just young and getting started. They are doing a great job of trying to get things going, and the entertainment was great!

OK, so here are a few pics:


As a late nighter and late riser, sometimes when I get up early I am surprised at how lovely the world is. I got up at 6:45 thinking it would be cold and dark and snowy and evil out. But it was bright and warm and full of balloons!


Me and my booth:


Tamara and the booth:


Close up of table:


Close up of rack:


See, in hindsight I can see how that rack kind of hid the table, and there was just way too much stuff. Too many colors and fabrics and items everywhere, and that can be overwhelming to buyers. I didn't see it that way until I looked at the photos.

Fallen little angel sent from heaven above

Roady is hurt. A few days ago, I noticed a large bump by her ear that was raw and purple. I thought it was fresh from a fight and that hopefully it was just swollen and would go away in a day or two. Two days later, it was looking nastier, so today I took her to the animal hospital.

Backtracking, a year and a half ago, Suggs suddenly had an abscess in the same place explode and there was a big bloody, pussy mess. then she clawed at it and pulled a big chunk of skin and bloody hair loose. I nearly passed out at the sight and had to take her in on a Saturday night for surgery. She had a lot of stitches and had to wear a cone thing for two weeks. She really hated this and was obviously miserable.

I took Roady in early in hopes of avoiding this. She did have a big abscess but it hadn't exploded yet, so they could just drain and clean it out without surgery. But I brought her home and it's still bleeding. She keeps shaking her head and blood spatters everywhere. So I put her in the garage because I don't know what else to do. I hope I don't have to get her a collar and I hope that it stops bleeding because I have to go to work soon and Mark won't be home until very late tonight.

Am I human?

You know what I'm tired of? Those little funny-text code boxes you have to decipher on Web sites all the time. I understand the purpose -- to make sure a human is filling out the form and not some spambot thing. I get that. But I am a human who is young and bright and has great eyesight, and half the time I am not sure what they say.

Take this one, for example, that I just got. It said I needed to prove that I am a human and then gave me this:



What is the third item from the left? I guessed at an "i" but got an angry error message to try again. Maybe it's just part of the background. I can't tell. I was unable to prove that I was a human and that makes me feel bad about myself.

Is it just me, or should I send these bags to cuteoverload.com?

I've been sewing like crazy, getting ready for The Neighborhood Market on Saturday. I'm not going to bore you with everything I've made recently, but here are three things I especially love:

Chinese lucky cats


Brown and turquoise brocade with PERFECTLY MATCHING LITTLE FLOWER THINGIES! Imagine when I pulled those from the drawer and that little lightbulb came out on top of my head.


More of the calaveras fabric. I love this stuff. I sold the other one, and a friend ordered one, too.

Oompa Loompa

Remember that girl from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" who blew up into a giant blueberry and rolled away or popped or something? Violet, I think.



Well, I feel like her right now, except less blue. For dinner I had guacamole, chips and strawberry margaritas. Blech. I'm regretting it about now.

And I go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on

Remember this post about my sewing room? And how I'm a beautiful princess? Oh, but that's not the point right now.

Anyway, remember all those boxes of record albums that constantly inhibit my ability to creatively whip up my baggage masterpieces?
The ones Mark refuses to move out of here even though he never accesses them (not that he could if he wanted to, considering all my stuff blocking them)?

Well, he had a carpenter come out and give us an estimate, and we're going to get shelves built for his albums. So, yes, they'll still be here, but it will look SO MUCH BETTER!

And the beautiful princess's husband, who is just a duke and not a prince, can listen to his beloved albums.

By the way, one thing I hate is when I hear an old song I like and I say, "do you have this song?" -- meaning, "on one of your 2,000 CDs" -- and he says, "yes. on a record." And I keep saying that I don't care if it's on a record, just say "no" if you don't have it on CD. Am I going to play the record in my car? Am I going to hold a tape player up to the record player and record it in all of its crackling glory? Am I then going to take my old Walkman in the car with me and listen to my tape? Hello! I've moved on to mp3 players! I now snicker at people who have portable CD players on their desk or at the gym because that's so 1998. I know, I know. I'm the one who until I got my mp3 player still used a tape Walkman at the gym. But I kept it hidden in a small bag with only the earphones coming out. But I digress.

Oh, and I just thought of something else that ruined that whole rant. Mark just ordered from Skymall a record player that allows you to record straight to CD. I forgot about that. And then I could put that on my iPod. But it would still sound crappy, right? All analogy. I like my music digital. ((see, I tried to use "analog" descriptively, but then I noticed it just turned into the word "analogy," so let me do it this way "analog-y"))

You may think I ramble, but I call it typing after drinking margaritas. This segues into my next post...

Freed from the chains of e-mail

I recently was persuaded by my husband to switch to faster Internet service through Qwest. This would require me to give up my dear ISP of several years. This, of course, meant changing email addresses after all this time. At first, I fought. But I swear sometimes I felt like we were using DIAL-UP! I finally relented and agreed to switch, but not without acting very dramatic.

I had a lot of email addresses. A work one, three home ones, two yahoos, two gmails ...
I never use the yahoos or gmails. They are mostly for signups -- like when you join a group that uses a board that requires a yahoo email. I had one that had my name and one that had a silly name in case I didn't want people to know my real name, for example on Freecycle. Who knows what kind of crazies are out there.

What I discovered was how freeing it could be to consolidate the email addresses. Now I have one work, one personal. I do have the yahoos for Freecycle and my Etsy street team boards. I am going to get rid of the gmail ones that I've never used. I also found it to be a nice time for housecleaning. All those annoying places that send you ads every week because you bought something once upon a time -- gone! They don't know where to find me.

I used to obsessively check my email from work. All four of the regularly used ones. All the time. I knew I wouldn't have a message because I'd just checked 3 minutes ago, but I'd still just keep checking it. Now, my firewall blocks my Web mail, so I can't check my personal email at all. (Mostly all I get at work is spam, anyway.) I freaked at first, of course, but to be honest, it's so very liberating. People can wait a few hours for a reply. Maybe they can wait until tomorrow even! Imagine.

More Creepshow

This is kind of hard to write while I'm eating my gourmet dinner, but after having the house sprayed for bugs, I went on the patio today and counted roach bodies. There were about 40 downstairs and 5 on our bedroom balcony. What do I do with them? I don't want to sweep up a huge pile of roach bodies. I also can't very well leave them. Hmmmm... I'll think about it as I finish my crispy fries.

Robyn "Classy" Smith

Micky-D's and a glass of wine. Perfect midnight snack.
(Oh, stop fretting. It's Two-Buck Chuck)

Going to the market

Next Saturday, June 23, I'll be doing my first in-person sale at Albuquerque's new Neighborhood Market. It's Downtown, 7th and Silver, behind The Flying Star. Click on the link above for more, but it features a slew of artisans. Everything is handmade. It's great for unique gifts or just if you like things that aren't mass-produced.

I'm a bit nervous. I've really been stocking up, and I have so much stuff, but I don't know how much I will sell. I wanted to have plenty of variety, so I certainly don't expect to sell it all, but I hope I don't sell just one thing, or something!

Stop by and visit if you live in town!

Amy, this one's for you.

Roaches, roaches everywhere. I can't go on like this. There have been two roaches in my bedroom in two days. I can't get up to pee in the middle of the night because I'm scared I'll step on one. I'm sure they are crawling all over my face at night. I have two mysterious bites, and although I have never heard of roaches biting, I bet they are roach bites. Which means they are in the bed with me. I may end up like that guy in that episode of "Creepshow."



I dedicate this post to Amy, who was always there for me when I lived in a bug infested apartment in Bakersfield. Any time of night or day, I could call her for sympathy and shrieking about my bug woes. Like when a roach and I danced barefoot in the kitchen, me wondering with every hop whether we'd land in the same place at the same time with a giant squish. When I felt it's squiggly little legs running across my foot, Amy screamed with me over the phone as I recounted the horror.
Or the time when I found a bag of birdseed in my kitchen that was filled with googleplex insects. I saw a few and put it in a garbage bag and tied it up while I cleaned the cabinet. When I looked at the bag a little later, the inside was swarming with thousands of insects that were trapped inside.
Amy, you were always there for me.

Mmmmmm ... "Taste"

I noticed my loaf of bread now comes with guaranteed taste!

LOL

The two most annoying things in the world:
1. Roller-skate shoes
2. Chat/text phrases such as LOL, LMAO, ROFLMAO

My complaint: You aren't really.

You aren't really laughing out loud, I bet. You aren't really rolling on the floor laughing. You're really sitting at your computer only slightly amused when you write that.

LOL is the worst because people are in the habit of typing it after each sentence even when it's not funny.

i.e.: I went to the store the other day, LOL, and asked where the carrots are LOL and then I saw my favorite cookies LOL ...

LOL never, ever follows anything even remotely funny. And most certainly not something funny enough to actually make you LOL. Maybe funny enough to bust a mediocre smile, but that's about it.

ROFLMAO is stupid, but at least it usually follows something that is truly funny, though rarely is something ROF funny.

As much as I hate this acronymatic (made that up!) usage, this actually almost had me roflmao:

Remember Freecycle?

Remember Freecycle?

Here are some good posts:

Wanted: Really big or strange stuffed animals
I decorate my truck with stuffed animals. Don't need to be clean or
even complete. The weirder, larger and stranger, the better. I don't
suppose anybody has a goat toy, do they?

Offer: Frozen Foods
Unopened 2 banquet pot pies
Unopened small box szechuan vegetables

Opened - large bag pizza rolls. my kids did not care for them
Opened - large bag about 1/3 full of mixed peas, carrots, corn
Opened - box of hash browns from Trader Joes, again my kids didn't
like them

Maybe some other stuff as I am cleaning out the freezer.

Juan Tabo/Comanche area.

Business opportunity

A woman contacted me a few days ago saying she had come across my online shop (I think it was my etsy.com shop. She liked this bag, but with fabric handles:



She said, "I am a graphic designer working with a local nonprofit garden
sanctuary to develop a cloth bag they can sell in their gift shop."

She wanted to know if I could do 100 of them, possibly more. She wanted price info.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I could get more of that fabric. The place I got it says it's seasonal and each store just got a few yards. She's also looking at other options, and I told her that I realize that she can get a cheaper deal through a manufacturer. I am just one person who would be working round the clock to put out that many bags, and I can only do that for so cheap. I already make a cruddy hourly wage on my bags, when you break everything down. I quoted her at $7 an hour just to be able to reduce the price at all after supplies were taken into consideration (I told her I have a day job, and thank goodness!).

I don't have high hopes for it working out because I'm sure they'll find a cheaper place, but it was an exciting experience to be approached about it. I am sure that my mom, who is very supportive of my business, would help out with the cutting or maybe a little sewing in exchange for a share of meager wages. Heck, she'd probably volunteer her time, but I wouldn't want her to.

I'll keep you posted.

What did the little monkey say to the chicken? Buy a Burst of Happiness bag!

Recent items, click pictures to visit my Web site: