Tuesday, December 27, 2011

2011 a Review in Pictures

Some scenes from over the past year. These moments make me feel immense gratitude for the life The Boyfriend™, Trolls and I are building together.

I have one more day left of my mini vacation and will do my level best to catch up before midnight on 12/31. In the mean time, I am going to relish the moments we're enjoying - right now - as a family... Rekindling our Massachusetts vibe.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The best laid intentions...

So, here it is a week before Christmas (almost to the day) and I'm still nowhere near complete with the making and the shopping.I'm having exactly zero luck talking myself into being productive, either. I know I should get on with the elving -- I'll feel better, if I do -- but I just can't quite get there.

It's because Christmas is evil. I kind of wish I was a Jehovah's Witness, so I could just skip over the whole Christmas thing. OK... not really.

The fact that Christmas is a week away -- and 2012 just a couple of weeks away -- makes me feel old. Time is just going by too quickly and I desperately want it to slow down. I want to cherish the precious time I have left with The Trolls and ingrain all the seconds and minutes into my memory so, when they're off living their own lives, I'll have them close still.

It's a mom thing.

Speaking of parenting -- the State of Florida (which, the longer I live here, the more I believe is just America's trashcan) -- has been interfering. Not in hugely grave ways, but enough that my desire to home school The Trolls on a farm somewhere in the wilds of New England is reinforced. I literally have to sign a note that declares that I don't want The Nugget to be seen by state doctors to bring his weight down.


I ask you -- do either of these boys look like they're obese? According to Florida, The Nugget is. Because his BMI was something ridiculously high. Because the kid is solid muscle. No, seriously. He's been able to do chin-ups since he was two. He can pick his brother up. He's got a right hook that should be classified us a lethal weapon. So, because of his age, weight and height, I'm supposed to make him lose muscle weight so he can be classified as "healthy." This is coming from the same county and state that thinks it's completely reasonable to make young children start learning at 7:45 in the morning -- and wonders why their tests grades keep dipping. Here's a clue: they're TIRED. But I'm not allowed to let my kids get a few extra minutes of sleep (or myself, for that matter) without a truant officer showing up at the door. Yeah, that happened. The Monkey was five minutes late to school one too many times, it appears.

No, I'm not winning the mother of the year award any time soon.

OK -- now that  I'm done ranting, I'm going to get some elving done before I have to get ready for the Christmas party at work. Crazy, busy time of year.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Inch by Inch

The Etsy shop is growing! I've added more items -- earrings, for now -- and will be adding more very, very soon! The Boyfriend™ fixed my loaner sewing machine, so after I'm done being a little one-man Christmas sweatshop, I'll return to making my fun and whimsical fabric jewelry.

I plan on making the investment -- time and money-wise -- to get more traffic to my page. However, I definitely want a bigger selection up there before I start directing a ton of traffic to my Etsy shop. In the mean time, I'll promote it here and on my web page -- www.samandsady.com.

I have some other updates that I'll get up here in the next couple of days -- including: how I lost the Mother of the Year Award; why I'm considering a career change (to waitressing, actually); how The Best Friend® abandoned me to make herself happy; and the great Christmas Tree Debacle... OK. It was neither a debacle or much of a story, but I'm wicked excited to have the first real Christmas tree I've had since I moved to this godforsaken state (and it's officially The Boyfriend™'s first real tree, period).

Until I can get back to the computer, I leave you with this outtake from this year's Christmas card:



Sunday, December 4, 2011

Backhanded Productivity

The elving has been kinda sorta paused and I've posted new items up on Etsy! (samandsady.etsy.com)

Oh yeah! You can have this!
Next on deck: completely confounding The Boyfriend™ by rearranging the house. The Trolls are with The Ex at a Bucs game, so I have some down time. What else to do with down time but completely rearrange the house! OK... so not completely rearrange, just move some tables around (I have to put up my Christmas Village, yo!)

This is gonna be a busy post day, too. Pictures from hanging the lights will be coming. The Christmas goodness that is our house right now, will be coming. And I'll be making a fan page for the Sam and Sady shop.

I may get back to the elving thing tonight -- if I don't completely blow my load doing all the other stuff. LOL!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

It's growing!

The Sam & Sady shop is expanding!

Feeling a little inspired (and bored... let's not forget bored), and home with a sick Nugget, I decided to put together some more products for the shop. But what to put together when the ole sewing machine is on the fritz (and I can't make some kick ass fabric bracelets)? Why earrings, of course!

These are available at the shop: samandsady.etsy.com
The photography is definitely lacking on the product pics. I know this, but would rather put up over exposed and shadowy pics than wait until I can get my white box back in order (and the proper lighting for it).

I'll be getting more products up in the coming days -- especially some fun, funky rings and, perhaps, more earrings. More resin pendants will be produced, too, because I am totally vibing on the resin these days (I even repurposed a ring, whose stone had fallen out with some resin and glitter paper).

More advertising will be coming shortly -- once the shop is expanded enough to warrant it. Right now, with only nine items on there, it hardly seems worth the effort of overcoming my stage fright and abnormally high fear of rejection.

And on the Other Artistic Endeavors front, the mojo is still there. I've got a good creative vibe going and the muse has been incredibly kind (what to get her for Christmas, I wonder). I have a couple of more things I want to tie up -- original art-wise -- and then it's on to crafty stuff.