Hi all. I know I promised an update on the "organizational challenge" to myself. Whoops. Guess what? As a lot of you know from Plurk, I was sick all week. NOT a good time to start a project.
However, it is Friday, and I do have a lot to celebrate, so I will be celebrating today!!
I am celebrating that I am almost over my cold. Still a little snuffly. Still a little cough. But a LOT more energy than I had before. Which is a great thing. Because that means I can still accomplish a lot today. (If I can get this monkey off my back, namely Nick! LOL)
I am celebrating my wonderful friends! Mostly, my WONDERFUL friend Andrea Baker. She pretty much emptied out her Etsy store so that I can try to sell some of her wonderful products at two of my upcoming craft shows, Old Farm Day at Pleasant Grove, in Fluvanna County, VA and the Halloween Festival at Lake Monticello in Palmyra, VA. Who knows, this might be the start of something big!! I have a whole box full of goodies from her shop, business card cozies, pins, totes, bags, checkbook cozies, you name it. And each one is more beautiful than the last one. Plus, she included my custom made consultant tote. And matching pin. And matching business card cozy. I was so surprised when I opened the box and saw those, I cried.
I am celebrating my wonderful, loving family. I just feel an overwhelming amount of love for my family today. Some days are like that for me. I always love them, but sometimes, especially when I've been sick, I'm even more grateful to them for putting up with my crankiness and exhaustion.
Next week, I will be back on track. I will have a huge amount of organization done, and will be rockin' and rollin' and ready for my show next Saturday.
Until next time, keep your sand blue!!!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
I've Been Tagged!!
I've Been Tagged!!! I was tagged by Gail of The Blue Daisy Designs. Now I need to come up with 10 interesting facts about myself, and tag 10 other people.
Here are some interesting facts:
1. One of my early jobs was making mircofilm and microfiche.
2. I have been married for 5 wonderful years to my hubby Tim.
3. My hubby and I actually met 20+ years ago, when we were both hanging out at The Rocky Horror Picture Show in northern Virginia. We reconnected and started dating 10 years ago.
4. I collect souvenir spoons. (Or at least I used to.)
5. My two favorite colors are sage green and rose pink.
6. I am a recovering agoraphobic, drug addict, and alcoholic.
7. I have been a theater geek since I was in elementary school, and only gave it up after I had the twins.
8. I a degree in History, with a minor in English (so I can give you a well organized, well written speech on the history of the potato when asking you if you want fries with that! LOL)
9. My favorite meal is homemade root beer, macaroni and cheese, and fried fish. (The only things my mom could eat when she was pregnant with me!! LOL)
10. I have more hobbies than should be legally allowed, and am still trying to find where all of my talents lie.
And now, for those that I am tagging!
1. This Mom's Life by Andrea Baker
2. Deb's Gift Boutique by Debbi Andersen
3. Dawn Correspondence by Amanda Day
4. Alexmani Events by Kattia Gordon
5. Satisfy Your Senses by Mary Reid
6. Bold and Beautiful Party Girl by Christina Strickland
7. A Day in my Life! by Jennifer Flory
8. Fabulous Food and More by Melanie Ellyson
9. Coffee Talk with Ferf by Jennifer Stoll
10. Candles Galore and More! by Rose Stolarz
To all of those who have been tagged, simply copy and paste the "Tag your It" badge to your blog, tell us 10 interesting facts about yourself and then tag 10 others.
Remember to keep your sand blue!!!!!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Cranberry Tea and the Common Cold
Okay, now you've done it. You've gone and caught a cold. Just like I have. Right now. Two weeks before one of my major craft shows. Oh BLEH!!! Now what do I do?
Increase my vitamin C and zinc intake. Check.
Drink lemon and ginger tea. Check.
Call my mom and have her bring over some regular old cranberry juice to make one of the best helps for a cold possible. CRANBERRY TEA!
Mom and I swear by it. It's warming, it's comforting, and it's chock full of all those groovy things like Vitamin C and anti oxidents and all that other good stuff that cranberries have. Plus, it is YUMMY, if you like cranberries.
There are two versions of the recipe here. One is the original, and one is the updated, easier version. Here they are:
ORIGINAL CRANBERRY TEA
4 C water
12 whole cloves
2 short cinnamon sticks
4 Tbls honey or sugar
4 regular teabags (black tea works best)
2 C cranberry juice
Heat water, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar to boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover pan and allow to steep. When steeped for as long as you like, add cranberry juice, and reheat.
and now,
UPDATED CRANBERRY TEA
Follow recipe as above except OMIT the cloves and cinnamon sticks. Exchange the regular black tea bags for Chai tea bags. Make sure you use honey, not sugar.
That's pretty much it. It makes so darn much that while I am drinking my first cup, I will put the rest in the refrigerator. It tastes just as good in the microwave. It's a yummy treat on a cold day, or when you have a nasty cold.
(cough, hack, wheeze.... aaaahhhhh chooooo!!!!) Excuse me, I think I'm going to go start brewing the chai so that it will be ready when mom shows up with the cranberry juice!!!
Increase my vitamin C and zinc intake. Check.
Drink lemon and ginger tea. Check.
Call my mom and have her bring over some regular old cranberry juice to make one of the best helps for a cold possible. CRANBERRY TEA!
Mom and I swear by it. It's warming, it's comforting, and it's chock full of all those groovy things like Vitamin C and anti oxidents and all that other good stuff that cranberries have. Plus, it is YUMMY, if you like cranberries.
There are two versions of the recipe here. One is the original, and one is the updated, easier version. Here they are:
ORIGINAL CRANBERRY TEA
4 C water
12 whole cloves
2 short cinnamon sticks
4 Tbls honey or sugar
4 regular teabags (black tea works best)
2 C cranberry juice
Heat water, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar to boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover pan and allow to steep. When steeped for as long as you like, add cranberry juice, and reheat.
and now,
UPDATED CRANBERRY TEA
Follow recipe as above except OMIT the cloves and cinnamon sticks. Exchange the regular black tea bags for Chai tea bags. Make sure you use honey, not sugar.
That's pretty much it. It makes so darn much that while I am drinking my first cup, I will put the rest in the refrigerator. It tastes just as good in the microwave. It's a yummy treat on a cold day, or when you have a nasty cold.
(cough, hack, wheeze.... aaaahhhhh chooooo!!!!) Excuse me, I think I'm going to go start brewing the chai so that it will be ready when mom shows up with the cranberry juice!!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Who's up for the challenge?????
Greetings all! Yes, it has been awhile since I've posted, but life does get in the way something! ;-)
Because of this, I have decided to issue myself a challenge. This is multilevel challenge, and here is how it is going to work, and the reasons behind it.
The first part of the challenge encompasses my house and life in general. Quite awhile back, I posted that I wanted to organize my office/craft space. Since that time, it has NOT gotten better. In fact, it has gotten worse. My entire house seems ready to implode with mess and disorganization. It has gotten to a point where even my mom has made some comments on it. And, bless her heart, has decided to help me out. She purchased this WONDERFUL little book for me, "Organize NOW!" by Jennifer Ford Berry. (It can be purchased here through Amazon)
This fabulous book is broken up by weeks. 52 chapter, 52 weeks. One week to organize one room or section of my life. Okay, I'll admit, some sections might take longer than one week. But for some sections, it will take less, so it will all even out in the end. I hope. :-)
Because I know what my bigger problem areas are (coughs, sounding just like "craft room"), I will be skipping around in the book, somewhat. I kind of have the feeling that once I get those areas organized, and everything dealt with, the rest won't seem so daunting.
I did say that this is a multi-level challenge to myself right? Well, here is the second part of my challenge. Each week, I will give an update on this journey of organization, and I will take you, my readers, on this trip with me. I will share with you my successes, joys, heart aches, and pitfalls of this journey. (This will guarantee that I will blog at least once a week. At least for a year.) I will include before and after pics of the rooms. I will even try to keep a running list of supplies that I used. And stuff that I'm getting rid of. (Who knows, I might even offer some of it up for sale....) I'll try to include places where some of the things can be bought. Be forewarned however, that I might not always do that. I have TONS of organizing stuff around my house that is NOT being utilized right now. Most of it, I'm not even sure where I got it. Or if it's available anymore. However, I will try to do my best. ;-)
Each Friday, I will try to post, let you know what I have accomplished, and what my next challenge will be. If you decide to join me on this year long challenge, you can get the book, and join in, creating a challenge of your own.
I am hoping that on this trip, I will learn more about myself, and learn how to let go of things. I am sure that I will scream, cry, and cuss a lot. But I am equally sure that by the end of the year, life will be a little easier, and my house will be a little easier to take care of.
Since I have cheated a little (you folkes that I talk to on Plurk already know this!!) next week will be a two for one special deal. I will be covering TWO sections:
Week 1--Organize Your Mind AND Week 14-- Organize Your Crafts
A lot of you know that the company that makes my jewelry pricing software went belly up, and can't be found anywhere. Instead of trying to struggle through with software that has many glitches in it, I am now utilizing two pieces of software: one for the actual jewelry I make, and the other for pricing out jewelry PARTS that I make (pendants, beads, chain maille rings, etc.). It will cut down on the confusion in my mind. But since I have already started transferring data, I'm also having a perfect opportunity to update, consolidate, and organize a lot of my supplies. So, yes, the journey has begun. And like I said, I will be keeping you up to date on everything.
Until next week, keep dreaming of blue sand!
Because of this, I have decided to issue myself a challenge. This is multilevel challenge, and here is how it is going to work, and the reasons behind it.
The first part of the challenge encompasses my house and life in general. Quite awhile back, I posted that I wanted to organize my office/craft space. Since that time, it has NOT gotten better. In fact, it has gotten worse. My entire house seems ready to implode with mess and disorganization. It has gotten to a point where even my mom has made some comments on it. And, bless her heart, has decided to help me out. She purchased this WONDERFUL little book for me, "Organize NOW!" by Jennifer Ford Berry. (It can be purchased here through Amazon)
This fabulous book is broken up by weeks. 52 chapter, 52 weeks. One week to organize one room or section of my life. Okay, I'll admit, some sections might take longer than one week. But for some sections, it will take less, so it will all even out in the end. I hope. :-)
Because I know what my bigger problem areas are (coughs, sounding just like "craft room"), I will be skipping around in the book, somewhat. I kind of have the feeling that once I get those areas organized, and everything dealt with, the rest won't seem so daunting.
I did say that this is a multi-level challenge to myself right? Well, here is the second part of my challenge. Each week, I will give an update on this journey of organization, and I will take you, my readers, on this trip with me. I will share with you my successes, joys, heart aches, and pitfalls of this journey. (This will guarantee that I will blog at least once a week. At least for a year.) I will include before and after pics of the rooms. I will even try to keep a running list of supplies that I used. And stuff that I'm getting rid of. (Who knows, I might even offer some of it up for sale....) I'll try to include places where some of the things can be bought. Be forewarned however, that I might not always do that. I have TONS of organizing stuff around my house that is NOT being utilized right now. Most of it, I'm not even sure where I got it. Or if it's available anymore. However, I will try to do my best. ;-)
Each Friday, I will try to post, let you know what I have accomplished, and what my next challenge will be. If you decide to join me on this year long challenge, you can get the book, and join in, creating a challenge of your own.
I am hoping that on this trip, I will learn more about myself, and learn how to let go of things. I am sure that I will scream, cry, and cuss a lot. But I am equally sure that by the end of the year, life will be a little easier, and my house will be a little easier to take care of.
Since I have cheated a little (you folkes that I talk to on Plurk already know this!!) next week will be a two for one special deal. I will be covering TWO sections:
Week 1--Organize Your Mind AND Week 14-- Organize Your Crafts
A lot of you know that the company that makes my jewelry pricing software went belly up, and can't be found anywhere. Instead of trying to struggle through with software that has many glitches in it, I am now utilizing two pieces of software: one for the actual jewelry I make, and the other for pricing out jewelry PARTS that I make (pendants, beads, chain maille rings, etc.). It will cut down on the confusion in my mind. But since I have already started transferring data, I'm also having a perfect opportunity to update, consolidate, and organize a lot of my supplies. So, yes, the journey has begun. And like I said, I will be keeping you up to date on everything.
Until next week, keep dreaming of blue sand!
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