A visit to the surgeon

Weight loss has started again! The doctor was pleased with my weight loss and how I looked! When I lose 6 more pounds I will no longer be obese, just overweight. Yes, it is a big deal.

I have been busy working to fill orders as a result of my Open House. I've finished 7 pieces and have one more to go (as of now). I hope to get another order or two or sell some things on etsy.

I started back at the deli on Saturday. My 10 year anniversary occurred while I was off. There was a small pin for me commemorating the anniversary. Because I am taking off this coming weekend I'm working tomorrow night and possibly Wednesday night.

In school, the students are in only two days this week. There is an inservice day on Wednesday. We've been told to dress to be outside all day and to lock cell phones and other valuables in our cars, but to have ID with us. A bit of a mystery, don't you think?

Back to the daily grind...

I really do like my full-time job except for the paperwork part of it and right now it is "crunch time" for paperwork. Hopefully I will be finished soon.

Keeping with my 'cat' theme for featuring shops, today I will be featuring kalicat. In her profile she writes, "Kalicat has trained in jewellery at Central St Martins and Hatton Gardens, in London. Mom of 2, she says: "I keep sane by painting and illustrating Fashion, jewelry-making and dreaming about all the things I will create in the near future". Each item may be made in gold, sterling silver or base metal, with the stones of your choice when available."

She has some fantastic rings in her shop. I really like this one http://tinyurl.com/2nrd3f , but I like this one too http://tinyurl.com/2w3v3c

Here is even more information about her from her profile.
"About me:I am an artist and illustrator http://www.catherinemarche.com, I am also a member of the Art Jewelry Collective http://artjewelrycollective.wordpress.com/I am a Self Representing Artist Jewelry Designer - SRAJD #0551"

You can find out more by visiting her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5051258or reading her blog http://kalicatdesigns.blogspot.com/

Hard to Believe

I did not realize how long I been neglecting my blog. It seems like an eternity since I last posted. so much has happened. Thanksgiving has come and gone; the first one without Mom so that was hard. For the past 10 years the gathering was at her house. This year we went to my cousin's in Philadelphia. My one aunt, who usually came, was visiting family members in Boston so that was different. One of my cousins noted that this was the first time we were together without any of our parents present, so that was a bit emotional.

My sister and I had our annual "sister time" shopping for Black Friday bargains. It is not like that is the only time we do things together since we see each other 3 or 4 times a month and talk 2 or 3 times a week. We each got some great bargains.

I had been toying with the idea of an open house for my jewelry since etsy is not going well for me, and my sister scheduled one at her house. It went very well and when I have all orders filled I will have sold about 50 pieces. I had a smaller open house here and sold about 12 pieces so I am very happy. I am relisting etsy items that had expired, but I hadn't renewed in case they sold at one of the open houses. I'm also listing pieces that were made for the open house but had not sold.

My husband got his cast off this week and he does not have to go to physical therapy. His doctor said to ride the exercise bike to see if that would rehabilitate the foot.

My knee has been giving me problems again. I got a cortisone shot in it and was prescribed a knee brace. I'm waiting to see if I will be approved for Synvisc.

One of my uncles had brain surgery in October and passed away in November. One of my aunts (not the one whose husband just died) had gall bladder surgery this week.

I am still trying to get ready for Christmas. Our small tree is up and my cards are done. Still need to finish shopping and wrap gifts. I don't think I will be baking cookies this year. I just won't have time.

Busy Days!

It seems hard to believe that October is almost over. It seems like so much has happened in a very short time. I've been a bit negligent in posting, but things in my life are moving right along. DH and I celebrated our birthdays in the past 2 weeks as did my sister. I went on my first, second, and third scooter ride, however, on the third ride, we laid the bike down. I have a few bruises to show for it. DH, on the other hand, has a broken foot. The boot that he wore on his other foot most of the summer is now on the other foot. The first few days he was in considerable pain, but that has eased quite a bit and he gets around quite well with the boot and/or crutches. Tonight at Wal-Mart he rode one of the motorized carts which surprised me, but I'm glad he did. He goes back to the doctor on Wednesday. I'm not sure what they will be looking for, since it took a CT scan to see the extent of the break.

Last week was not the best at school. It was full moon and it seemed to be adversely affecting many of the students. I was really glad when Friday was over. Hopefully everyone will have had a restful weekend and be refreshed and ready for a new week.

I'm thinking seriously about having an open house for my jewelry to pick up some business that way. I guess I need to get busy creating so I have ample inventory to make a nice show. My sister spent last weekend with members of a message board that she is on. I had made a bracelet for her to use as a contest prize and she got orders for 12 more so I really do need to get busy. I not sure what I want to do about etsy. Do I want to relist items as they expire or just wait until after the open house so I have a lot of items to list, which will keep the shop coming up in the time machine?

Pictures are my biggest problem. Taking clear ones, selecting a background to show of the pieces to their best advantage, good lighting, editing, and organizing them--all of these cause me great difficulty. I have pieces I could list, but I'm not up to dealing with the photography aspects of it, so they are not listed. There is so much more to selling jewelry than making it and saying look what I made.

The first week of school is over, and it was a good week!

The first week of school this year was so much better than the first week last year. The deli was a problem this week, but I went to the store manager before I began work (the best defense is a good offense) and things went OK.

My crafting, and therefore Etsy, has stagnated since I went on vacation. I'm now trying to create a backlog of inventory so that I can list something regularly, even if I don't have time to create new items. Since I'm off tomorrow I plan on taking pictures of what I have finished. I'm also going to write the descriptions and save them in Word, so listing will be a pretty quick process. On the bright side, I've sold another piece locally. At least I now have the desire to make jewelry, which is more than I had going 2 weeks ago.