New Venture

This is for all of you out there that are not my friend on Facebook. Mostly cuz I've already posted this all over Facebook and they're probably sick of hearing about it.

I've started a new venture. A new path that I'm hoping will not only be lucrative (or at least will be able to float me enough to pay some bills and buy some groceries) but also satisfying.

It's called Maple Leaf Confections. I love to cook and bake (and eat) and finding new ways to make sweets that don't have any processed sugars. In my tweeking of recipes and such I found that I absolutely love pure maple syrup and have started really getting into making things with it. I started with granola and have come up with a few original recipes of my own and have sold some and given away alot. Then I came up with these maple pralines that are dangerously addictive and absolutely to die for (not to blow my own horn or anything :)). And then there's the nuts. Candied nuts with no added sugar...are you kidding me?!

So I got this crazy idea that I might try to make some money off of it and have started a shop on Etsy. Which hasn't made me a penny...yet. That's where you all come in. Please please please check out my shop and if you can't buy anything tell a friend. Tell a co-worker. Tell anybody & everybody. So far I have only posted the granola and the pralines but will hopefully post the nuts this week. Anyway, I could really use your help blog friends.

Thanks so much!!!

Job Hunting

On the docket today:

Job hunt
Meeting about upcoming Spain trip
Root Canal
Job hunt some more

Fun day!!!!

Europe bound

Have I told you I'm going to Europe this summer? NO?? I am, it's true. This will be my first trip there. I'm actually going on a mission trip to Xativa, Spain with my church and will be staying an extra week and visiting Lisbon and Barcelona. I don't really know much about Spain but have heard many good things from my friends that have been there. I don't think I know anyone who has been to Portugal so I know even less about Lisbon. I am soooo excited I can barely contain it. People keep talking to me about silly things like current events and I just want to shake them and say "Don't you know I'm going on a trip on the other side of the planet???!! Let's talk about that instead!!!!" But I know not everything is about me (for the most part) so I suck it up and talk about other things...sigh.

Anywhoo, if any of you in blog town have been to Lisbon and have any suggestions on where to go, please share! I'm really open to any ideas. So far we (the three others and myself that are going to be traipsing about) have found these GoCar Tours that look like they could be a lot of fun. And we know we need to visit St. George's Castle and have coffee at the Cafe de Brasileira but other than that we're clueless. So, really, if you have any suggestions please let me know, don't be shy!

The Art of Listening

I must warn you, the following is a bit of a rant, my soapbox, if you will.

Have you ever had a friend who expects your full attention when they have something to say but does not reciprocate? I used to say this was one of my biggest pet peeves but I've recently come to the conclusion that it's an epidemic and happens way more often then not. Sadly, I expect it now from people and will be shocked if ever I come across someone who doesn't act this way.

I truly believe that listening has become an art. People are always in a hurry these days so slowing down their own thoughts long enough to listen to what someone else has to say just doesn't happen.

There's a look that comes over one's face...eyes glaze over, they break eye contact then bang you can almost see the moment they go from hearing what you have to say to hearing whatever is happening in their head. You know that moment, when you could say absolutely anything and they'd just say "Uh huh" thinking they're contributing to the conversation. Then, if you're lucky, they continue on in their oblivion and the conversation ends.

However, if you happen to know the other kind of convo offender you know that that look on their face will immediately give way to an interruption. You might as well just stop talking when you see that look cuz you know that they're about to spout out some nonsense that has nothing to do with the conversation. Usually something completely inconsequential but they feel they have to blurt it out anyway. For example: You're telling them about your day and how you got a big promotion at work when in the middle of your sentence you see the look and they blurt out how their coffee isn't hot enough and they're gonna go back and have the barrista redo it. FAIL

If you've got two people who are like that in your lives, I'm so sorry and I feel your pain. When they get together forget about it. You might as well just sit back and shut up.

Now really folks, how hard is it to listen to one another? I pay attention to my friends not because what they have to say in and of itself is of huge import but what they're saying is important because they're the ones saying it. If you call yourself someone's friend, let alone a best friend, don't be constantly thinking of what you're going to say next or what the score of the big game might be or whatever. Instead, open your mind to what they're saying, listen to them ask them questions to show you're listening and don't interrupt them. Your friendships will deepen, your friends will thank you and you might just learn a thing or two about the person on the other end of the conversation.

Hi

Hello blog world! How have you been? I hope all is well with all of you. My back is almost 100% better, just a twinge every now and then. I just got over the flu and am determined to stay healthy!

Speaking of healthy, I belong to this Saturday morning Bible study/ weight loss group and a bunch of us decided to do the Daniel fast for the duration of lent. What, you ask is the Daniel fast. Well basically it's eating only things that are grown from a seed and no sweeteners or processed foods. So no meat, dairy, sweets, or white flour products.

We just finished week two and I am grumpy! Hungry? Yes, of course. But not being ablle to eat cheese and chicken is making me really grumpy. The problem today was we hadn't gone grocery shopping for dinners yet this week so we decided we were going to go out to eat. And of course we start off with the "Where do you wanna eat?" Conversation. You know, the one where neither person knows what or where they want to go so there's a whole lot of I dunno you decides thrown around. FRUSTRATING!!! So we decide on Pick Up Stix. Only all their sauces have some form of sugar in them. GRRR!! I walked out on the verge of tears. Really, I'm not kidding. We ended up at a salad bar...totally unsatisfying.

The point behind a fast is spiritual and sometimes I forget that. Depriving myself is not easy for me. I'm your typical western minded American. I want what I want when I want it. You would think that after doing this fast last year and giving up sugar in August I'd be over it by now but I'm obviously not. It's a tough lesson to learn but I'm working on it.

I will tell you that I am very much looking forward to Easter when I can have some animal protein!

This Must Be What Labor Feels Like!

Have any of you ever thrown your back out? I mean really thrown it out? Well, let me tell you, it ain't no picnic, sister! Let me paint a picture for those of you who've never felt this particular pain. Think of the pointiest metal thing you can imagine...spear, javelin, fireplace poker, whatever. Now imagine live jumper cables attached to said pointy metal object. Finally, imagine jabbing it into your left (or right) butt cheek with all the force you can muster. Now you're starting to get it.

It happened Sunday at a friend's house. I was minding my own business and went to go sit on her couch (yes, I threw my back out by sitting. You can stop sniggering now) and BAM! Or rather it was more like a 'poof'. I didn't realize her couch was as low as it was and kinda fell onto it. Didn't think anything of it at the time but about a half hour later I felt the first twinge, more discomfort than pain really. Still didn't think anything of it. The next morning I was sore, eh...no big deal. Then by Monday evening I was in real pain. Tuesday...forget about it! I couldn't even get out of bed. So I languished. At least until 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon when I just got plain tired of being laid up in bed. I thought to myself, "Self, suck it up! It can't be that bad." In the history of me being wrong, this was the wrongest! I got out of bed (it took at least 5 minutes to just get my bum off the darn bed) gathered my phone, robe and book, figured out a way to get Bubby off the bed without bending over or dropping him (he's too scared to jump down by himself, of course) and headed into the living room.

I have this awesome, comfy wingback chair and a little ottoman that I like to sit in so I headed to it. I gingerly eased my (ahem) bulk onto the chair and instantly felt the electric spear from hell. I must tell you at this point that I normally like to think of myself as having a high threshold for pain but, really, I shamed myself and totally screamed (and cried a little - ok, a lot). I tried to lean onto my right but it didn't help. So I ended up rolling off the chair onto the floor on my hands and knees with my little ottoman under my torso.

That's when I thought it, "This must be what labor feels like" if you were to give birth out of your left butt cheek. My next and most embarrassing thought was, "Dear God, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Which, of course made me laugh (more pain) then finally I flashed onto the episode of Sex and the City where Miranda, fresh out of the shower throws her back (or neck, I can't remember) out and is laying face down butt naked on the floor. She, of course, calls Carrie who sends over her beau, Aiden to help, not knowing that Miranda is naked. And hilarity ensues.

Well, there I was pulling a Miranda on my living room floor. Only two things were different 1) I, thank God, was fully clothed and b) I have about 1000 pounds on her. There was no way I was calling anybody to help me up off my own floor. So, I set my jaw, pulled my feet up under me and got up with, miracle of all miracles, barely any pain. At least until I got fully upright and tried to walk away.

Now, I've been in bed the last two days and am on the mend. Ibuprofen has helped immensely!

So, the moral? If/when you throw your back out you'll get all kinds of people telling you that bed rest is the best thing for it. Listen to them cuz THEY AIN'T LYING!!!

P.S. Before you ask, yes, everything, every situation in life reminds me of a movie or tv show I've seen. It's an annoying but usually amusing habit that I usually try and keep to myself.

A New Year, New Directions?

Notice the "?" after the title of this post. It basically sums up my state of mind so far this year (all four days of it). I'm facing a financial dilemma. After being laid off last May, no employers have shown much interest in me (not so good for my ego!) and my savings is completely gone. Yesterday, I got my last check from unemployment for the 2010 year with a letter stating basically that's that. They're gonna let me know by snail mail if I qualify for an extension which, I must say, is proving to be a test of my patience and sanity. I don't like the not knowing. I also don't like that I don't have a single job prospect lined up. I'm diligently sending out the resume and applying but so far, nada.


Soooo, until I get something (and I mean anything really), I'm working on an assembly line of sorts for stuff for the shop. There are a few things that really only take me a few minutes to make, if I have all the supplies. So I'm churning them out, or trying to anyway, as fast as I can. There are other things (like baby blankets and such) that take a bit longer to make and I don't usually have all the supplies on hand so those will have to wait. What I'd really love, and I mean LOVE, is for the crafting to become at least a semi-full time gig. I've had some requests for things from friends and lots of "ooh, you made that, I'd buy it!" from others, so that's encouraging.


My worry is inconsistency. Not mine (though that can be an issue at times, to tell you the truth) but with people buying my stuff. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to try out some local street fairs and farmer's/craft markets to see what's selling and what isn't. And it seems like a good way to get some instant feedback. (If any of you regular market sellers out there have any advice, I'm all ears!)


So that's my new direction for 2011. Do what I love, love what I do. And probably get a part-time job to supplement the income. I think life is too short to be stuck in a job that just sucks the life and energy out of you. I learned this the hard way. I wish someone had pulled me aside when I was 25 and told me the type of work I'm ideally suited to. Which I do know now, at 37, and am very grateful that it didn't take me til 47 or 57 to learn.

Projects...

Being unemployed is great for getting the creative juices flowing, bet ya didn't know that.


A. You have tons of time on your hands to indulge in any creative pursuit you want.
2. Since there's no cash flow you're basically forced to make any and all Christmas gifts.


So, I've been working on a few Christmas gifts lately and just a few projects in general. I won't bore you with the details of the gifts (cuz you never know who just might read this). But I've been working on items for the shop. I'm at an impasse. My interests are diverse, to say the least, and I don't want the shop to look like it has A.D.D. so I'm thinking of opening a second shop or maybe dividing the existing shop into different sections. If any of you out there have any suggestions please do not hesitate to comment!


Basically, it boils down to sewn items, knitted/crocheted items, painted items, and ceramic items. Is it possible on Etsy to divide your shop into 4 sections?? Help!

What no photos?

If you've been blogging and following other people's blogs then you, no doubt, have what I call "blog friends". You know, those bloggers that you follow and make comments to and they, in turn, make comments on your blog and so you sort of have this cyber repartee going. For instance, I try to read this blog and this blog as faithfully as possible and I comment now and then and they comment every now and then on this blog. They are my blog friends.

Then there are friends with blogs. When I first started blogging I started on Yahoo and only one person ever read anything I wrote and that was only because I told him, "Hey I started a blog, read it." And he had a blog that he told me to read. He and I were the only people I personally knew that even knew what blogging was and I felt alone in my little blog bubble. Then I moved over here to blogger and discovered a whole different world going on that I could identify with. However, I still didn't know if any of my personal friends/family had their own blogs. And really I was content to think I had one up on my circle of friends (however untrue that really was).

Well, I am no longer content. I find I am coming to the realization that I want to know what my friends and family are putting out there or even if they are putting anything out there into cyber space.

So having said that (and that's not at all what I had planned to write!) here are a few friends' blogs that I want to tell you about...

Laura's Speech Therapy Blog - Laura and I often talk about how she thinks she is not a creative type but I insist it's in there begging to be let out. So judging by the name of her new blog she scores a point but if you read her posts (all of three that's how new it is) you'll see glimpses of a creative mind in between all the intellectual brilliance.
Lovely Lemondrops - This is Esther's blog. She's an old hand at blogging even though she's only 20 or so. At the moment she's having a fabulous time studying abroad in Merry Old England and her photos show it.
James Laing's Blog - James is an associate pastor at my church and an awesome worship leader. He writes about life in general like most of us do but from a really strong Christian POV.

So there are three. I posted on Facebook that I was curious if any of my friends had blogs so we'll se if any of them trust me or like me enough to let me read what they're writing.

Update

I just wanted to give you a quick update that I am adding things to the shop everyday. Tomorrow I think there will be a bunch. I just have to do some photo taking and that should do it. So go browse, go buy.

I feel I've been productive. Ten placemats are finished and I've finally started taking pictures of some things for my shop...you know, the one that hasn't had anything listed for more than 2 years. Ahhhh, yes, now you remember. I figured that since no one seems to want to hire me and my savings is almost completely gone, it's about timeI got serious with the shop. I'm going to be feverishly sewing for the next couple weeks so's I can have stuff ready for the gift giving season. And really, I'm not too proud to say that pity purchases are welcome, even encouraged. ;)

Avoidance

Instead of starting any of the projects I named before, I decided to decorate a little. I am the queen of avoidance and procrastination! However, I am starting on the placemats today and I think I'm scrapping the costumes...I'm just not feeling it. This Halloween is going to be store bought I think.

I also am making 10 Fimo red and white whirly lollipops. Sorta like this...

Fun!!

Upcoming projects

Here's the short list of some upcoming projects (some sooner than I'd like)...
4 costumes for Halloween - 2 human, 2 canine
a giant floor sized Candyland game board
6 giant styrofoam lollipops
10 placemats
2 cardboard banners
2 beaded bookmarkers
1 glam baby blanket
approximately 10 Christmas presents
And I want to throw in some stuff to put in my poor neglected etsy shop as well...guess I bettr get started!

Autumn!!!

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year! I love the colors, the change in weather, the potential for wearing sweaters, my birthday! For me the holiday season starts on my birthday (Sept 20) so of course I love this season!! Anywho, I just wanted to say happy Autumn to everybody!

Who gets the punishment?

I came home yesterday and put my purse in its normal place (dining chair). When I picked it up again and put it on (it's an across the body type of thing) I reach down and there's a stickiness, with which I'm unfamiliar. I look at the dining table where the chair is stationed and there's this trail of honey leading from an overturned, open and empty container. Said container had previously been full (approximately 16 fluid ounces). The honey was all over the table, the chair, the floor, my purse and me. Not coincidentally it is also on my cat. GRRRR! I have a feeling I'm going to be finding sticky spots for quite a while.

Now my dilemma is do I blame it on the cat who is just being her normal cat self or do I blame it on the adult sister who left the honey out on the table in the first place?

Gratuitous Sasha pic

Cactus Flowers

I knew, in the far reaches of my mind that cacti flower...a cactus can flower...there are such things as cactus flowers...whatever. But I've never actually seen one. And truth be told, I hate cactus! And I especially hate our cactus...

See there, right where the fence gets taller.

Well, about a week and a half ago we noticed these little thingies on it....

They were sorta fuzzy and wierd looking like the cactus coughed up a hairball or something. then they started growing these sorta pod looking things out of them....

Then they opened and turned into this...

The day I took the above picture, right afterwards I went to dinner. I was gone maybe 2 hours and when I came back, the flowers had gone from that to this...

They really are beautiful...coming from this awful, prickly, ugly plant. Amazing!

Free Time

One week ago today the owner of my company called me into his office and told me to clear out...sayonara...don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya...etc. Ok, he said it in a much nicer way but, really, when you get the boot, no matter how nicely they say it, it still feels like they just told you to shove off. So, after being there for 12 years and being constantly working for the last 20 years (with the exception of about 3 months when I moved back home from Seattle) I don't know what to do with myself. I really hate job hunting...never really had to do it before. Most of the jobs I've had I got because someone said, hey, we're hiring, want a job? So, starting from scratch is new to me. And really, I just don't feel like doing it...I know, I know, as a responsible adult I need to, but I'm just not into it right now. Once the money really thins out I'm sure this will change, right?

Fundraiser tonight

For any of you out there in SoCal, my team (those of us going to Thailand in July) and I are having a fundraiser at Chili's in Glendora (the one by Best Buy and Barnes and Noble). In order for us to get our 15% you need to print out this flyer and take it in with you. Thanks so much!!!!

click image to enlarge

Update on things

It's been a ruff few months. My dad past away last month and I am, as I type this, at my aunt's house in Kingman, AZ because we came out to bury my dad's ashes with my grandparents in this little ghost town called Chloride. I was fine with it until it was time to actually put him in the little hole that was dug for him. I couldn't do it even though I had been unofficially elected as the family member to do the deed. The nice guy at the little cemetary saw my distress as everybody else was talking and offered to do it for me. I didn't think it would have been that big of a deal but for some reason it was.
Anyway, now we're getting ready to go back home and I thought I'd take advantage of my aunt's wifi. :) I haven't had much of a chance to do anything crafty lately, I've been busy with, well, just life. However, I've been reacquainting myself with some favorite blogs and I'm inspired, to say the least. So don't be surprised if you see some stuff posted in the near future.

I give up!

I've given up on the internet because the internet has given up on me. Not having a connection at home has reminded me how things were pre-world wide web. Simpler, more stuff got done around the house, more crafting got done, etc (read more tv was watched). So until we can afford to get a proper connection at the house I'm taking time off from my little blog, facebook, ebay, and all my other online activities.
However, as soon as that reconnection is made expect a full update on everything from our tea in my last post to my precious Jasper to any crafting that might be taking place.
By for now,
CrissyGirl