A Little Productivity

I'm happy that I finally got inspired enough to make some pendants last week. Sea glass! I've got tons of it, the finished pendants are quite affordable (average about $20), and it's always a great seller because each one is a unique work of art.

The good news is that it only took one afternoon to make all 10 of these pendants. The bad news is that it's taken me 4 days to shoot and edit the photos for them, so they're not all posted yet. My goal is to have them all up in my Etsy shop and/or my Artfire studio by the end of the day. (Feel free to click over and check on my progress!)

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Hooray For The Good Guy!

It's pretty cool when you get to witness a random act of kindness firsthand. This morning as I was driving to work, I saw an oncoming car in the distance pull over off the road. As I got closer I could see a small dark lump in the middle of the road. Turns out it was a gopher tortoise--a threatened species in Florida. It was trying to cross four lanes of a moderately well traveled road. The guy who pulled his car over got out and picked the tortoise up just before two cars would have come up on it in that lane and as I was passing by in the opposite lane. In my rearview mirror I saw the guy carrying the tortoise safely to the grass and woods on the other side.

An interesting side note about the "threatened" status of gopher tortoises: When we bought our current house three years ago, the sellers were required by law to disclose that there are two gopher tortoises living on the property! We still catch glimpses of them once in awhile--usually one or the other, but not both at once--wandering around the yard in the middle of the day, eating grass. They'll probably be around long after we're gone--gopher tortoises live upwards of 100 years!
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Still Nothing

I've waited a few days to post again. I've had this page up on my computer all afternoon, hoping some kind of inspiration would hit. Nothing. I've had a grand total of 5 people walk into my store today. I just can't get motivated with that kind of inaction surrounding me! I've spent an hour or so poking around on other people's blogs. Maybe someone said something where I could take an idea and run with it. Nope. But I just couldn't bring myself to close the page without writing something.

Happy Thursday, anyone...?

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On The Upswing

September is traditionally the slowest month of the year for me. So you'd think I would get a lot of extra work done, right? Like making more inventory, taking pictures, writing blog posts, updating my Etsy shop and my Artfire studio...

Well, not really. The slower my business is, the slower I seem to move. It's so hard to get motivated. I've spent far too much time the last couple of weeks "playing" rather than getting any productive work done. Oh, I have made some inventory (check out the fire agate pendant picture!) But I've been playing computer games and revising my MP3 playlists, too. Fun, yes, but not particularly helpful for making money!

So I'm glad September is over. It's not that business jumps up by a large amount on the first of October, but the anticipation is there. I'm looking forward to more business, and to being busy. Somehow the more I have to squeeze into my day, the more I do squeeze into my day.

And the cooler weather doesn't hurt, either!
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My 4th Grade Boy

Since I had forgotten about my blog for awhile, I neglected to post "first day of school" pictures. My son is in 4th grade this year, and doing very well academically so far--all A's. (Behaviorally, he's a nine-year-old boy. 'Nuff said!) Isn't he a cutie?

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I'm Back!

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I got busy with other stuff over the last couple of months, and I kind of forgot I had a blog! How embarrassing! Maybe I'll stick a Post-It note to my computer to remind me to update more often.

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Happy 4th of July!

When I get home from work today, there will be 150 people in my back yard, eating mountains of food and waiting for the big fireworks display. My husband loves the 4th of July and has a party every year. He has spent the last 3 days cooking and setting up. There is 50 pounds of barbequed pulled pork, 30 pounds of smoked chicken quarters, 20 slabs of beef ribs, 500 boiled shrimp, and about 10 pounds of fresh-made coleslaw. Then there's the huge fireworks display that he's spent weeks putting together "just so". He's a crazy man, I tell you.

It is SO not "my thing". All those people, most of whom I don't even know. They're friends of his from high school, customers of his lawn service, hunting buddies, fellow airboaters, pool league teammates...my husband is a very social animal. (I do get to catch up with relatives that we don't see other than at this party, and I really look forward to Aunt Peggy's orzo pasta salad!) Rick knows it's not "my thing", and provides special accommodations to ease my discomfort. No one is allowed to park in my spot in the driveway. He puts a "Reserved for Wife" sign on the table and chairs with the best view. And best of all, he rents a Port-O-Let. You might think "eww", but seriously, do the math: 150 people, with an average bathroom requirement of maybe 3 or 4 times each in the 6 or 7 hours they're there (depending on how much they're drinking), that's roughly 500 times people would be traipsing through my house, flushing the toilet and (theoretically) washing their hands. And maybe rummaging through the medicine cabinets and critiquing the way I make my bed! No, thank you!

I asked Rick last night if he knew what my favorite part about the 4th of July was. He said, "The 5th of July?" Made me laugh. I said, "No, although that's probably a close second." My favorite thing about the 4th of July is how much HE enjoys it. He loves to cook for a lot of people. He loves to socialize. He loves to blow things up. So he loves the 4th of July. And I love him. So there.
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A Once-In-A-Lifetime Event

I am done with all my special orders. I can't believe it! I've been making this handcrafted jewelry for 25 years now, and I can't remember EVER having all my special orders done! Somebody always wants something in a different size or a different color. Or they've got a stone that's been laying in a drawer for years and they want me to set it. Or they have a necklace to be restrung (not my favorite thing to do, but it always makes the customer happy!) or a vintage piece they want remade into something new. (The earrings pictured are a pair I made for a customer to match a tanzanite necklace and ring she had.)

I do have a couple of "orders" on my To Do clipboard. One is a "if you find a turquoise stone in the same color as the bracelet you made me, I want a pendant". Easier said than done with turquoise--there are so many shades and tones and hues that it's hard to match. And I have 3 cameos to set for another customer, but she wants them for Christmas, so I'm not counting them. Should I do the work 5 months before I know I'm going to get paid? Maybe, but I've decided it's cooler to be able to say I've got all my special orders done!

I don't really know what to do with myself...

Okay, THAT was a joke! Those of you who might have read some of the posts in my series about all the online venues I try to keep up with will know that I've got PLENTY on my plate to keep me busy.

But still...I am done with all my special orders!

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