Have you ever had one of "those" weeks?
This week hasn't been one. This has been one of those "other" weeks. You know the kind. You're cruising along at top speed, everything is falling into place, running smoothly, going great!
But what you don't see is that HUGE patch of black ice in the middle of the road. In fact,you don't even expect it, because it's sunny and 80F.
Okay. Enough with the imagery already. It's only Wednesday of this week, and up until yesterday, I was cruising at top speed, business wise.
For the past year, I have been consolidating all of my business records into one piece of database software, and I was FINALLY starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. For all intents and purposes, I was going to be able to finish it this week. After a year of data consolidation from three (yes, THREE) databases in to one, seeing an end in sight was nothing short of a miracle. But, I digress.
Yesterday morning, I got up, turned on my desktop (an old behemoth of a machine), and turned on my laptop (only slightly less old, but it has seen me through many papers in college). I opened the software that I was transferring data from on my desktop, and slowly but surely, it opened. I clicked on the icon to open the software on my laptop, where I've been transferring data to. And I waited. And I waited. It finally decided to open. Sort of. Basically, it was a blank screen where once (just Monday night, in fact) hundreds of pieces of data danced. (Gasp!)
Okay, trying to keep the panic down, I closed out the program and reopened it. Same thing. Rebooted the computer. Opened the program. Same thing. (Panic is now coming on full blown, and sweat is breaking out on my forehead) I try some other programs. Pretty much the same thing is going on. I try a system restore. Okay, that took care of some of the problems, but not, of course, the database problems. One last option. I go back onto the website for the software, download the latest update and and reinstall it. I restart my computer, and bingo. It's all there, back again, safe and sound.
I wiped the sweat from my brow, but realized that yes, while a new desktop would be nice, I'm going to need a new portable computer much sooner. My laptop just isn't longed for this world. I guess the white cheddar flavored rice cake crumbs that one of Da Boys dropped into the keyboard kind of ticked the computer off and was the last straw.
What is the point of this long-winded blog? After weighing all the options I have (the most extreme included closing my business altogether, and totally giving up) I finally decided that the least extreme is to have a sale in my ArtFire shop.
So, here's the deal: I'm having a sale in my ArtFire shop This sale is 20% off everything in the shop, with free shipping, domestic and international. ;-) And I'm going to keep the sale going until I raise enough to buy myself a new netbook.
Since US Mother's Day is right around the corner, here's an opportunity to get a great deal on a present for your favorite mom. Shop soon. Shop often. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

Until my next update, remember
Sand Is Always Blue!!!!

If I Could Be....

If I could be a month I’d be May
If I could be a day I’d be Monday
If I could be a time of day I’d be sunrise.
If I could be a planet I’d be Venus

If I could be a sea animal I’d be a sea otter
If I could be a direction I’d be north east
If I could be a piece of furniture I’d be a big comfy bed
If I could be a liquid I’d be hot cocoa

If I could be a gem stone I’d be Emerald
If I could be a tree I’d be an oak

If I could be a tool I’d be a hammer
If I could be a flower I’d be a rose

If I could be an element of weather I’d be sunshine
If I could be a musical instrument I’d be a dulcimer
If I could be a color I'd be forest green

If I could be an emotion I’d be comfort

If I could be a fruit I’d be an apple
If I could be a sound I’d be waves crashing on the shore
If I could be an element I'd be earth

If I could be a car I’d be a station wagon

If I could be a food I’d be clam cakes
If I could be a place I’d be the beach
If I could be a material I'd be cotton

If I could be a taste I’d be sweet

If I could be a scent I’d be rose

If I could be a body part I’d be hands
If I could be a facial expression I'd be contented
If I could be a song I’d be a great 1980's dance tune

If I could be a bird I'd be a seagull.

If I could be a gift I'd be handcrafted by a child
If I could be a street I'd be a street along the shore

If I could be a city I'd be Boston.
If I could be a door I'd be unlocked, ready to open.

If I could be a pair of shoes I’d be a kickin' pair of bright red patent leather stilettos.


And what would you be? How do you see your inner self? Thank you Ruth for the inspiration. You can read Ruth's blog here.