"It'll never be a business"

Today, I discussed with my husband the concept of doing the show. He just gave me this look. I asked what's wrong, he said"you keep putting money into this hobby and then what?". Mind you I do not really spend a whole lot of what I call "his" money on it. He always corrects me and says "our" but you know what?...it's not ours. It is his and my children's, not really mine. And until I can actually make Jeans and a Sweater work...it won't be mine too. Then late in the conversation he says "it'll never be a business". Then of course I get teary eyed...you know...you kind of hope that your own husband would believe you can do it...but I guess he doesn't. In the end he says..."do whatever you want, I won't stop you, I do hope you are a success, really, I hope you can make me a millionaire".

Thanks for the encouragement...It does a real lot for my self confidence. No wonder why I worry about each piece I sell.

I guess I'll just have to work my butt off and prove to him that I can do it.

An actual show?

I was invited (via etsy conversation) to a show at a local college. I was kind of surprised. I have never done a show and I certainly have never been invited to do one. I felt great when I first heard about it, but then I heard it was $105. I said , there is no way I could justify doing this. When I went to the online flyer, I saw that it was $75. Huh? So I emailed the person who had invited me and asked which it was. She came back with..."It's $50 for "emerging etsy artists". Now, that is a price I can deal with!

So do I do it? I'd love to. My fellow etsian and neighbor, from washmycloth, told me she would help me figure out how to do things. This makes it even more tempting. However, my Husband just kind of snickered when I told him. He seems to think this is ridiculous. I don't remember if I told him how much I thought it was $105. I'm going to have to talk to him again about it. I really think that i want to do this, and he makes all of the money and pays all of the bills. I'm just thinking that if I do this, I just might be a little closer to helping me, help pay the bills as well.

The deadline for applying is November 2nd, so I only have afew days left to decide.

I need to figure this out...Anyone want to help me make my decision?

Too late for the vaccine...

Well...It appears to be too late for deciding whether or not to get a flu shot. Alex has had the flu since last tuesday. And now they are saying he has pneumonia as well. He has had a fever of between 102 and 103 since the whole thing started. He is now on the z-pack and prednisone for 5 days (the doctor figures that there must be some inflammation) he says it sounds like asthma, only he's never had a history of it before, so he decided to cover all bases.

My biggest question is...Is it h1n1?do we get a regular flu shot? or an h1n1 shot when they become available? or do we assume (I know assuming is dangerous) that since we managed to not get it from Alex...we're safe?

I've been stuck at home since...forever...I think I have cabin fever. Alex actually started showing signs of illness on last monday so he stayed home. I had a Remicade appointment on tuesday, so that really wasn't a day to do as I wished, since it takes 3 hours and is a 1/2 hour drive away. Danny was home, sick, thursday and friday of the week before.

However...My wonderful hubby has decided that he was going to take the day off from work on wednesday (he gave me a choice of days) so that I can go and do whatever I want to do. First I'll be going to my son's middle school to help serve a "Fall Breakfast", and then I'll be going out to breakfast with my friend Dawn at Panera's. I love Panera's. Then I'll go food (and supply) shopping, since I have only been getting immediate necessities for the last 2 weeks.

Bad nail polish?

I have to say...there are not many things I like about my body, but I have fantastic finger nails. They are thick and strong so I do not usually do not put polish on them. I am also constantly getting compliments on them, they are long and pretty. However, I went to a wedding this weekend and felt like putting polish on to match my dress, it just completes my outfit for me.

Well...I have to tell you something very funny...

Danny hates it. At times when he notices it he will not let me near him. Who knew that he would have such an issue with me wearing finger nail polish? I wear it on my toes all summer long and he has never had any problems with it. Danny says "it just plain, creeps me out!" It is not like I have some bizarre color on, it's just a frosty dark pink.

It's been really funny, but at times, now it has been inconvenient. Danny still likes for us to read him a story before bed, hey we will still do it as long as he will let us. But with Peter sick, it is hard for him to read aloud so I was going to. But Danny is not letting me because of the polish on my nails. Too funny! And too annoying too. Whatever...his choice.

Danny is also very big into hugs. He asks for at least 10 a day just from me. But with the polish on my nails he double takes and rethinks it, each time. But he decides that the hug is more important than the polish. He had asked me to take it off. I told him that "I will take it off when it starts to chip, and not before." It was not a manicure that I paid for, just an old bottle that I already owned. Should I let him control this? I personally don't think so...he is 10, now if he was 3 and it scared him that would be a whole other story, but he's not.

Flu shots?

Should we all get flu shots? Pete already took his (at work). I've got Crohn's and on Remicade (going today, btw), and the last time I got a shot it made me sick...do I take it again? Danny's always picking up some virus or cold. Alex...well, if everyone else in the house gets one, shouldn't he? This seem more of a necessity than normal. The boys haven't had shots before, but I think we need to do it this year. Or are we just being paranoid? There has only been the flu in this house once in the last 10 yrs...is there any real wood for me to knock on? I really don't want to jinx our family. I'm normally not superstitious but with this...I always try to "knock wood".

The kid's decision

Wow! Danny has been contemplating this one for a while...but I did not think he would really do it. He has finally decided to not do competitive gymnastics anymore. It has been such a big part of his life for sooooo long. He started doing gymnastics in kindergarten and he is now in 5th grade. It seems to have taken over his (and our) whole lives.

Last year, as a level 5 he was going to the gym 7 hours a week. This year, as a level 6 he is now going 12 hours a week. It is an enormous amount of time for a 10 yr old to dedicate to anything. He has missed so much over the past 3 1/2 years, since he has been on the junior Olympic team. He is tired of life passing him by, even though he loves gymnastics.

Danny has finally decided to take a break and maybe try something else. Maybe even a few other things. and it will still take up less time, and probably the same about of money. Swimming, soccer, fencing...who knows? We will have to find something to keep him in the great shape he is currently in, and also find something to help him use up some of his extra energy that he will not be using at the gym.

Last night after the decision was made to not go to class, he seemed like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders that had maybe been there for waaaay too long. I'm sorry that we did not notice that it was that bad sooner. Hopefully his mood swings will not be as frequent or as bad as they have been lately. I'm hoping for a new kid to be coming home from school today.

I'm proud of Danny for making such an important decision.

Old stomping grounds...

It was a very strange day yesterday...My husband went with one son to a football game at our old university where we met. I brought the other son to the libraries there (his idea). Then when it started to rain, and the football watchers decided to leave the game, we met somewhere in the middle of the academic buildings. For 5 years (yes it took me 5 years for a 4 year degree), I walked the halls of this place. I still remember where I was going. It's funny, when we went there all of those years ago, they were always promising to build this and that...and it is all there now. Of course, it is 20 years later. You would hope that they (the university) would eventually get around to it.

When we were done there we went to Fuddruckers for dinner. A place Pete and I used to go a lot, "back in the day", after a day on campus. They do now have healthy choices. They now have the choice of different types of "burgers": veggie (which they always had), buffalo, ostrich, elk, salmon and of course chicken (the typical restaurant substitute). I have to say, I was brave enough to try the buffalo one. I've heard it tastes the same, and it did, especially once you put all of the toppings (cheese, lettuce, onions, ketchup) on it. It was funny, it was a 1/3 lb burger, just like the ones that Pete and Alex were eating only it was tons larger. It almost looked like a 1/2 pounder. The reason why it was so large is because it has less fat to start off with, so it shrinks less than the beef. Would you know...I actually finished all of it and I still had room for fries (I love their fries!). And believe it or not...I felt just fine after all of that. I had no problems at all. I do usually eat low fat, because excess fat makes me sick (thanks to the Crohn's). I guess that will be my solution next time I'm in the mood for a burger. Maybe next time, I'll try the ostrich or elk. Maybe. But then again those might be too exotic for me. Maybe not...

Helping my Mom

The past few weeks I have been helping my Mom get her on line shop looking good. She is on Ruby Lane and they do not have forums to help her (with critiques) like Etsy does. It has been very frustrating. For some reason, she seems to be incapable of writing a description. (Mind you...she always helped my with my homework, including English, as a kid)I have told her before that she needs to let the buyer really see it, as if it were in their hands, by use of pictures and words. She has been very minimalist. I don't really get a picture of what she has posted with the way she makes her listings. I'm not asking her to be wordy. I'm just asking her to be complete. Finally, I decided to tell her that she should describe it as if the buyer were blind. I also added a few questions that she should be thinking about while writing the descriptions. Let's see what kind of listings come out of this advise.

It's funny...I feel almost like the roles are reversed. My Mom has been so critical of me my whole life and now she is asking me to be critical of her. It feels both good and bad. Kind of like I get to get back at her but yet I don't really like the feeling of being sooo critical. I think it is because she is not really listening, even though she has asked for my advice. Is she trying to let me know what it felt like to be my mom all these years? Or does she really not understand it?

Anyone want to help me help my mom with a critique? If so...here's a link to her shop.

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/musibows

Tell me what you think? Please leave me a note in my comments.