Saturday, February 26, 2011

What a rough week! Checking in.

I started getting sick last Thursday. By Wednesday, I wasn't getting any better. My tonsils were swollen something awful. I had a hacking cough. I was exhausted. Nyquil did not whip me into shape like it usually does. Sleep is all I need. Until this time.

I went to the doctor on Thursday. He gave me two prescriptions. One for a medicine called Tussionex. The other, an antibiotic called z-pac.. something like that. Also, the nurse so kindly gave me a powerful antibiotic shot in the butt. She says hip.. but.. it really was more like the butt cheek.

Too much information? Maybe. But, I am getting better now.. slowly but surely. And just in time too, cause this house still needs a whole lot of packing.

Moving day is in 8 days.

Holy WOW!

Wish me luck, Friends, I am gonna need it.



Sunday, February 20, 2011

Renters


We will be renters again. And we are actually excited about it. Excited because we know that we have nothing to do for the next 12 months. No rooms will need painting, nothing will need fixing (by us anyway), no property taxes will be paid..ah.. it will be kinda nice.

And we get to live in a pretty awesome house.. one that we would not be able to afford if we were to buy it. No way, no how.

The picture above shows part of the front yard, a stream runs through it. It sits on almost 5 acres. It feels country, yet it is located mere miles from Austin.

We move in exactly 2 weeks.

I have a ton left to do. My Etsy shop sits quite neglected. I haven't had any time to make anything new. Well, I have a few things left to list, but I haven't even got around to doing that.

And we have an open house today, so this morning will be spent straightening and cleaning. Not to mention I have a bit of a cold, so not feeling my best and most productive. It might be a bit of a struggle to get through today.

I hope you all are having a Happy Sunday in your part of the world!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Moving!!! We ARE Moving!!!

To Austin! Yay!!! Our goal was to be moved by summer.. so we could get a feel for the area, get Allison enrolled in Kindergarten.. etc, etc... BUT, the time came a bit sooner..

Hubby landed an awesome new job and we move in a few weeks!

Our house here is still for sale, no surprise there, the housing market is pretty much dead this time of year, but hopefully with spring around the corner, there will be good news in the future.

The next few weeks will be filled to the brim with packing and planning sprinkled with a bit of freaking out! I am so thrilled, I can just BURST!

The above picture is of Emily, taken at a cute little tourist trap town... we were driving for a couple of hours when we decided to stop and stretch our legs, have lunch.. and Emily, who was so sweet and sleepy, perked right up when I asked her if I could take her picture. It even looks like she tried to strike a pose!

She looks like I feel - Happy and excited -

Happy Tuesday!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Love.

Let Love Rule. This is my heart tree painting. I have a thing for trees. I think it is because I used to play in them a lot as a kid. In them, under them, near them. And I love them as an adult. I love walking though forests. Watching them change with the seasons.
I really, really loves trees.

I might have missed the mark with not listing this until now. With this painting seemingly related to Valentines Day and all... But, in all honesty, I do not have my head wrapped around my Etsy Shop. I am not promoting it at all. Well, no, I mean, Hey, this blog is something. A little something, but something nonetheless. I just have too many things on the burner that I am solely focused on creating and listing. And I have little time to prepare myself for the wide world of marketing my shop. It is too much for me to handle at the moment.

In other news, I might have some very very exciting things to announce next week regarding my home situation. You better come back, now, ya hear?

Happy Wednesday!
:)

Talking about Cars.

Has your television been inundated with car dealerships wanting your tax return even before you get it? There are some commercials that really make me want to run in the other direction. They made me start thinking about our car. Am I happy with it?

We have a chevrolet. We have a trailblazer to be exact. It is roomy and dependable. We bought it in September 2009. It is a 2008 year model. To answer my question, yes, I am happy with our car. I would say that I want to drive our car until the engine falls off. Hopefully that does not happen anytime soon, or especially while we are driving it. Yikes.

I think our car is the perfect size for us. It is not too big and not too small. The Ford Expedition is a big car. I was beside one at a red light the other day. I wonder if the expedition is still a gas guzzler. I know people used to refer to it as being a big waster of gas, but I wonder if they have somehow made it to be more gas efficient with the newer models. It seems that the smaller the car, the more gas efficient. And while yes, that makes sense; it is not so practical for everyone to drive small cars, like the Chevrolet Aveo Lt, for example. I know, we as a family of 4 with a good sized dog, could not practically fit into a car that small.

Speaking of cars and living where I live, in Texas. It seems that everyone here has a pick-up truck. My husband's first vehicle was a pick-up truck. All of my neighbors have one. I actually think every person on my street has one, seriously. My father-in-law, who is a contract pumper (oil well), drives a Gmc Sierra-3500-Hd. He drives it for 5 hours every single day. He drives to the pumps he is in charge of and makes sure they are producing oil and he performs the required maintenance. It is also not practical for him to have a smaller car, or else he wouldn't be able to fit all of his tools in there.

Alright folks, Have a good day and happy driving.






Promotional Items.

If you are the owner of a small business, have you ever thought of doing custom promotional pens? In the future, maybe I would want to consider doing that with my Etsy Shop. I would have to sell way more than I do now to offset the cost. But, some of my favorite pens are promo pens from my husband's work. I get excited when he comes home with a new pen for me! Hey, it is the little things that I get excited about!

Perhaps you can go one step above and go for the engraved pens. They come in such a large variety. Or if you are anything like me; you will have to order a bunch of them for your own personal use and keep them in every room, drawer, and bag in the house. I am always losing pens and I have a million of them. I don't know where they all go. It is a mystery. Much like socks in the dryer.. where do they go?

If pens are not for you and your business; then there are a ton of other GOpromos items to choose from. You can put your name on mugs, stickers, or calendars. I think this is a good marketing technique, a good way to keep your name out there.

Maybe some of these ideas would work for you.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

New Listing and Shipping and Shopping.


This is my new listing. Like the styling of the picture? It was actually Allison's idea!

We went to the town of Fredericksburg, here in Texas, yesterday. It has a heavy German Influence and has a beautiful downtown with lots of shopping and great restaurants. It is actually the sister city of Montabaur, Germany. Just a little FYI for ya... and while we were walking, Allison found this branch on the ground, and she insisted that I bring it home and put it in a vase. And, I actually think it looks kinda cool. So, I went with it.

In US shipping news... I sold a few vases this week - hip hip HOORAY - and I found that I was very wrong in my shipping prices. Something that I thought would cost 6 dollars, cost 9 and change... Something that I thought would cost 4 dollars, was actually 7 and change. So, I had no choice but to raise my shipping.

If anyone has a shipping secret that they can let me in on, please, please, do tell.

Happy Sunday!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Kids at Play

The snowstorm gripping much of the country,
visited my house too, although on a much less severe level.
We got about an inch or so of ice and snow.
The kids like it for about 10 minutes, as per usual.
They don't do cold very well.

This one either. But that is to be expected.

He's not even wearing shoes.