Craft Show/Flea Market - What a Day

Today was my first EVER craft show and I am so glad I did it because I experienced so many emotions during this day that I don't think it is possible to sum them all up in a nice little package.

I went into this show with the goal of it being a fact finding mission. I had absolutely NO expectations. In fact, if I sold one thing I was going to consider the day successful. Second, I did not know what to expect. Would the visitors like my jewelry? Would they hate it? Would they laugh at it? Would they ignore me? Would they buy it all in the first hour and then I would have nothing left to sell? Would I leave there with my tail between my legs at having been there all day with not one sale? Was it priced too high? Was it priced too low? Was my display good enough? Would I forget something? Would I be able to make change? Would I even have to worry about it if no one came to my table?

All of these questions swam around in my head all week. I had no answers because I had no experience at this. I got to the venue yesterday because they let you set up a day early. I got to my little 8x6 table. It was in a great location but looked so little sitting there all by itself while everyone around it was putting together these massive displays. I started with the material I bought at JoAnns...pink and white..that covered my little table. I bought some displays at an online wholesale display outlet so I put them out and on top of some boxes that I covered in white tissue paper. I put out my earring displays for all of my earrings. I put out my little card holders for the prices of my jewelry that I bought at Michaels for real cheap. I also put out a really nice fake bouquet of tulips that I bought on clearance at Michaels because it looked pretty and made my table a bit more attractive. Believe me when I say that this was a low budget set up.

This morning I got up real early and made my way to the show with my one basket with all my jewelry and other necessities in it. Other people had shopping carts full of merchandise. All of my jewelry fit into a shoe box. When I got there I put all my jewelry out and proudly displayed it. I wasn't really nervous...remember, I had no expectations. I went in there thinking that if I learn one thing and sell one thing I would have considered it a success.

I met the couple at the table next to me, in front of me, and diagonal to me. They were so helpful and nice and experienced. I think they saw this was my first show. I must have had that rookie look to me. The couple next to me were selling shirts..$5 each..."can you believe it's that low?" was what I heard for the next 8 hours. He was loud and talkative but very cool and funny. I didn't mind at all that he talked a lot because he got a lot of people to his table which was right next to mine so that meant people came by my table too.

The woman diagonal to me was especially sweet. She came to my table a few times and gave me some much needed advice. She said "your jewelry is way too good for this show." I was taken aback at that and asked her what she meant. She said that I should go for shows that are less "flea market" types and go for more crafty, upscale shows like bazaars. She quickly educated me to what people expect at "flea markets" and I really appreciated her advice. I will follow through on that.

About an hour into the show, the crowds started picking up and more and more people were coming through and stopping at my table. I was listening intently to the things people were saying about my jewelry. Was it too expensive? Was it too small? And then I made my first sale. A woman picked up some earrings and really loved them. My first sale and it was two pair of earrings. I was so excited. I already exceeded my expectations by one pair of earrings. I texted my dear husband and while I was texting him more people were stopping by my table. Several minutes later a woman bought three pieces. Oh My. I was really getting excited now and decided that I should start tracking my sales. I was so excited I forgot to write this stuff down. I started actually having fun. This is pretty cool. People are actually paying me for something I made. People were giving me really nice feedback. They LOVED my earrings. They thought some of the bracelets were so cool and neat. The next two hours were pretty hectic as the lunch crowd starting really coming in and it wasn't until about 1 pm that it started to die down. And as the show started winding down and people were packing up I counted up my sales...26 items sold and about $180 made. It was an awesome day and way exceeded my expectations. I was totally exhausted not really from standing on my feet all day mainly from the swing of emotions that I was feeling. And now I get to do it all again tomorrow.

I would be remiss if I didn't summarize what I learned today.

1. Being a vendor is TOTALLY different than being a customer. TOTALLY. When I am a customer at a flea market I feel bad when I walk by booths as if I am totally rejecting the vendor. I don't want to hurt their feelings. But as a vendor I totally didn't feel rejected by people walking by. I just figured that not everyone is there to buy jewelry. They may have something else in mind and that was perfectly fine with me.

2. Know what a flea market is and understand that people are there to buy junk for cheap and to get deals. Understand the customers that will come to your show.

3. Sell items that are related to the product you are selling in addition to the product. For example, one of the biggest hits at my table was my earring stands.



It was the most requested item. In fact I am going to sell them all off tomorrow for a profit. I never guessed that this would be the thing that everyone would be talking about but when I asked people why they liked it so much they told me that cute earring displays are hard to find. Also, I got more requests to buy the fake flowers from Michaels that I bought as a table decoration. I finally sold them to a lady for a few bucks more than I paid for them. Who knew?

4. Offer many price points (which is what I did) but this show just reinforced with me that I need to offer cheaper items as well as the occasional high priced item.

5. Many adult women were buying my earrings which tells me that my earrings are probably too "adult" for little girls. Since I am trying to create a line for little girls/preteens I am not sure what it is saying to have mostly adults fall all over my earrings.

I know there are other lessons learned and I will probably sort it all out in the next few weeks especially as I try to find my next show. But this time I will be searching for the shows in various parenting magazines so I can get optimum coverage with kids.

My First Craft Show

This coming weekend I am going to my first craft show but not as a shopper this time but as a vendor. I have a pretty good start to my sample jewelry line and to be honest I am not sure what will sell so I just made a little of everything and when I see how it sells I will focus on the hits and try not to dwell on the misses. Here is a preview of just some of the stuff I will have on the table.

Where Have I Been?

I cannot get over the fact that I really have not blogged anything of real quality for the past month. It's been crazily busy around here and all of any spare time that I once had is now gone.

Admittedly I have been feeling a post-holiday down period. My mood has shifted and my "happy" level is really down too. I was talking to a good friend the other day about this and I was explaining that I just feel plain tired and worn out. I also have been feeling like a slave in my own house. My husband helps out and there is a balance there but definitely there is trouble looming with the balance of work that my kids have been doing. She recommended a wonderful book to me that I have really comsumed. It's called "The Blessings of a Skinned Knee" and it is written by Wendy Mogel. I am halfway finished reading it and already I feel like it has totally changed my outlook on parenting and what I am doing wrong when it comes to raising my children to become self-reliant people.

I highly recommend that ANY parent go out and read this book.

Since reading this book, I have enacted a better balance of responsibilities around my house even for the 5 year old and 3 year old. They also have to share in the household chores.

For my 3 year old he is responsible to make his bed, dress himself in the morning, brush his teeth without being told, put his toys back in his toy chest. I also have him help set the table. He is in charge of the placemats, napkins and silverware. He is to be in bed and lights out by 8:30 no questions asked and no crying allowed.

My 5 year old is in charge of making her bed, dressing herself, making breakfast for herself and her little brother, brushing her teeth and hair without being told, setting the table, and helping me with dinner preparation. She is to be in bed and lights out by 8:30. No crying, no talking, and no questions asked.

The older teens are taking on much more responsibilities such as laundry - cleaning, folding, and putting away, making dinner, cleaning the dishes, setting the table, cleaning their rooms, and helping with some outside chores too.

All of them get incentives but only when everything is done. For the little ones the incentives are up to them. They can choose extra play time on the Wii, a rented movie, a trip to the ice cream store for an ice cream cone, etc. The older kids get beefier incentives because they are doing more work but I let them pick them incentive among a list of options.

So far the results have been really great. The kids are doing more work around the house which helps them to learn how to be more self-sufficient and it also helps me balance the workload which in turn boosts my "happy" levels. I have also raised the bar on my expectations of respect inside the house. For example, there is now a zero tolerance for interrupting anyone in the house. If someone is speaking everyone must wait their turn to speak. This also includes interrupting when someone is on the telephone. It seems like common sense but a lot of times these common sense items tend to get unaddressed and eventually the house becomes tense and chaotic.

But greater than that is the sense that everyone is participating in the family effort and that everyone understands that in order to keep this family and house moving in a positive directions we need participation by everyone because we are all in this together. There is always more work to be done but I am enjoying taking these first steps.

Easiest Chicken Soup recipe ever

If you have a crockpot you won't want to pass up this quick and easy chicken soup recipe. And if you don't have a crockpot, you need to go out and get one. It is the best investment any busy mom who wants home cooked meals can make. And this is coming from a person who doesn't have a lot of kitchen gadgets.

I made this soup last night for myself and my better half because both of us are fighting terrible colds and I thought chicken soup would be just what we needed after a long day of coughing and working.

Ingredients

Whole or cut up chicken
Cut up pieces of carrot
Cut up pieces of potato
One or two medium onions peeled and cut up into sections
Salt and Pepper to taste
Macaroni or noodles

Instructions
Throw all of the ingredients into the crockpot
Turn on the crockpot to slow for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours
Pour water into the crockpot until the ingredients are covered or semi covered
When soup is ready to eat, cook up macaroni or noodles for the soup.

This is so easy. It takes 5 minutes to get it all together and tastes delicious and you don't have to slave over a hot stove making dinner which is so helpful when you are feeling sick.

Enjoy.

Dinner Plans from a 5 Year Old

This morning this is how it went

Her: Mommy, what are we having for dinner tonight?
Me: I am not sure. I have not thought of it yet.
Her: Can I pick what we eat tonight?
Me: (reluctantly) Ok. What did you have in mind?
Her: Crackers, peanuts and brownies.

First Craft Show Coming

I am so excited. I just signed up for my first real arts and crafts show. And I don't know a thing about what I am doing. But that's the real fun part of it...not knowing a thing and learning along the way.

I scoped out this show last November and it frightened me a bit. There were so many jewelry vendors and I noticed a lot of things they were not doing that I would do. I also noticed that none of them sold youth jewelry. Everyone was selling adult jewelry. Another good point for me.

I need to get organized though. I need to make sure I have enough jewelry (but not too much) for the show. Since this is my first, I don't really have any idea of what will sell and what won't so I don't want to make too much of something that doesn't sell. Since this is my first show I won't go into it with really high expectations. This is mostly a learning venture.

I will try to make the most of the show though without spending a lot. I plan to get some cheap styrofoam and fabric to cover it for my displays. I also need to make sure I have enough of a variety of jewelry to see what customers like and don't like.

I have also been learning a lot from the internet. I downloaded an e-book from an experienced artist who is very successful at art shows and home shows. What I have learned is in the first few shows that I should put stuff out there and see what sells. So I will not just put out necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Some other things I will put out will be keychains, cell phone dangles, and webkinz jewelry.

The show is at the end of February so if I can get everything together by then I will be a happy camper.

Easy Pot Roast Stew

I was flipping through my crockpot cookbook to find the easiest crock pot recipe for over the holidays that would cook enough food for my big family but be so easy so that I would not be slaving all day over the stove. I found the easiest pot roast recipe EVER. The best part is that it takes no measuring. Here is how it goes:

Ingredients:

White potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
Carrots peeled and cut up into small pieces
Large pork roast or beef roast (doesn't matter what cut or size, whatever you like and the size you want it)
Jar of mango salsa
Frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the roast and put in the crock pot.
Add potatoes and carrots to the crock pot.
Pour the salsa on top of the meat and veggies.
If the salsa is a bit too thick add a little bit of water to it and stir to thin out the salsa.
Turn the crock pot on to MEDIUM for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Before you are ready to serve, add the frozen peas.
Serve over rice or noodles.

So Delicious!

Back Into Routines

It was pleasantly hectic over these past few weeks with family down and all of the holiday festivities. Our normal routines and schedules were definitely out of whack and I had too much take-out/restaurant food. Don't get me wrong. I love restaurants but I love eating at home and cooking a lot better. Last year I tried to limit our family restaurant eating to a couple of times a month. This year my goal is to do as good or even better. I find that as I grow older the crowds, noise, heavy food, and expensive bills bother me much more. It's hard to carry on family conversations and that sometimes irritates me as well. Am I getting too old?

Probably not. I just think that my personality is moving towards that of a much simpler person. I love 30-minute meals and crock pot cooking and have learned how to be good at both. I love to save tons of money at the grocery store. This year I will learn how to do more creative things with ice cream. (It's the family favorite).

I also have learned how to buy really nice wardrobe staples and how to change them up with accessories. It's amazing what you can do with a plain white shirt, a few tanks, a pair of jeans, and assorted pieces of jewelry.

This year one of my resolutions is to play more family games at home. I may even subscribe to Netflix. I plan to read more and spend more time with my kids. I plan to take more photos and videos. I plan to blog more about all of the things I do to simplify my hectic life. I love to share my successes.

This past Christmas I sent a Christmas card to all of my co-workers. One guy came to me and thanked me for the card. He said to me, "I don't know how you find time, with a full time job and 4 kids, to send Christmas cards." His comment gave me pause. I don't have the luxury of a lot of free time so I have learned how to run my life in the most efficient manner so that I do have free time to do the things I love the most. I plan to write about all of what I do. Maybe it will be enough to fill a book. I would love that.

For now stick with me on my blog because I plan to spend a better part of this year's blog posting on the many things I do to keep this wel-oiled machine going.

Merry Christmas To Everyone!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blue Topaz Birthstone Bracelet

Check out my newest creation. It's going up in the etsy store tomorrow.

Teenage Lessons

One of the thoughts going on in my head today is of a 17 year old kid who was killed in a car accident this past weekend. The kid lives near my neighborhood and goes to the local high school. Many parents I know knew of this kid or has their own kids who knew him. The newspaper didn't do a very good job of explaining the nature of the accident but I got some inside info.

The accident happened around midnight. The kid was speeding through a gated community racing to get to his friend's house. He and his friends were notorious for speeding and driving recklessly. He was also drinking prior to getting into the car. He also was not wearing his seat belt. He wrapped himself around a tree. He was not killed instantly. He lived for another 3 days but if he had lived he would have been severely brain damaged.

I used this example quite poignantly with my own two teenage boys, one who is learning right now how to drive. Fortunately I didn't have to get far with my explanation before it was THEM who asked me "was he drinking?", "was he speeding?", "was his seat belt off?" I told them yes on all counts.

Raising teenagers is a tough business. In my opinion it's the hardest phase of parenting that I have been through. You are battling many things going on at one time such as hormones, know-it-all-itis, and still undeveloped brains. When you combine that with the dangers of driving, it's difficult.

I decided that I would always be as direct with my teens as possible with a lot of the risky behaviors that they will face. Everything from sex to drugs to drinking to driving. I present all of the facts as best as I can and we have LOTS of discussions. I am as open and honest as I possibly can be. And it appears to be paying off. My sons have come to me to discuss their most private inner thoughts that they tell no one else. They ask me to keep their feelings private and I respect that. They know I won't lie to them or make fun of them. And sometimes it's difficult to see the rewards but when they come I feel so much better that what I am saying and doing is getting through in many different ways.

Nativity Bracelet up on Etsy

I have a new Nativity Story bracelet up in the etsy store for $8 + $2 shipping for a total of $10. If you know anyone who would be interested, send them a link to the store. This is the perfect gift for anyone including a religious teacher or friend. I can make it in adult size or child size.

What Do You Think?

I got the oddest email today. About a year ago I wrote an article on hubpages.com. At the time I was trying to develop my writing skills and this site is great for that. You can write articles about anything and everything. I decided to write about how I overcame clinical depression.

Since writing the article, several people emailed me thanking me for sharing my powerful story. I never really imagined that anyone would read it but I am glad if it helped anyone. I have often thought about writing a book on the subject but always turned that idea away. There seems to be enough depression books out already on the market.

But today a comment on my article came to me via email, almost a year after I first wrote it. The girl introduced herself as a staffer who works on the Montel Williams show. It seems he is writing a new book where he talks about overcoming depression and is lining up guests to be on the show who have experienced similar feelings. She would like to send me details.

I don't know what to make of this email. I am always skeptical of a scam. So I wrote her back and asked her to give me more details. It does seem strange that she would be emailing me on Dec 3 to come and tape a show on Dec 16. The timing seems too close. I am a terrible skeptic. Still I will see what comes of this and post an update as soon as possible.

Oh and if you would like to read my article, I have posted a copy of it here.

Over ten years ago, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I knew something was wrong but didn't know what it was. I was going through two very traumatic experiences in my life and thought I was just momentarily sad. It wasn't until the sadness turned really dark and gray and I felt that I was growing out of control. But years later I have recovered and I would like to share how I accomplished this.

I am not a licensed anything so from a medical standpoint I am not qualified to diagnose anything. But I do have experience with my own depression and I feel it is important to reach out to those who are depressed and may not know it. On the other hand perhaps you do know you are depressed and don't know what to do about it.

The first step in recovery is recognizing that you have clinical depression. I have learned that there is a big difference between temporary sadness and clincal depression. For me, I felt depressed even when happy events were occuring around me. I recognized I was depressed when I cried through my niece's baptism. This was a huge, happy event for my family and all I could do was think about myself and cry in the back of the church. I believe this was my wake up moment and when I decided I needed help. The signs of my depression were constant crying and not knowing the reasons for the crying, not being able to sleep, not eating properly, not being able to concentrate and having trouble functioning in life. All of these symptoms occured for me on a regular basis over a long period of time. Some people experience more dire signs such as attempted suicide. If you feel suicidal please call 911 and get more immediate help.

I never experienced feelings of suicide but I did imagine how wonderful life would be if I were not living. The world looked totally gray to me. I didn't appreciate or enjoy living things or life around me. These are additional symptoms that you may be experiencing.

After you identify the symptoms and might suspect you have a clinical depression, the best thing you can do for yourself is to find a good therapist. If you work and have an EAP program, you can find a therapist through the program or your insurance company. You can also look online or get a referral from a friend. You can also enlist the help of a local church or community group that might be able to offer referrals or advice.

When you have picked out a therapist you will need to determine if he/she will be a good fit for you. The first visit with the therapist is key to establishing a lasting relationship. You will need to feel comfortable in order to be able to speak candidly about all that you are feeling. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the therapist. You want to feel hopeful that the therapist is on the same page as you and sharing the same goals as you for your recovery. If you are not comfortable with the therapist do not be afraid to admit it. It's important to remember that a good therapist does not want you to be there unless you really want to be. You won't hurt the therapist's feelings if you decide to go elsewhere. In my own experience, there were a couple of therapists that I felt did not help me move toward recovery so I moved on from them as well and kept trying.

Some therapists might recommend medication. This is strictly up to you and your therapist as to the best treatment. If you don't want to be medicated it is ok to say so to your therapist. You do not have to take medication in order to recover from depression. I did not take medication during my treatment but that was strictly a personal decision.

Talk therapy is a very important part of your treatment. Talk therapy is being able to talk through your feelings to your therapist and allowing the therapist to give you feedback, ask questions and perform techniques to help you work through the pain and depression. Talk therapy is a long process and does take time and patience. In my own experience I did talk therapy for approximately 8 months and eventually transitioned to a point where I started feeling better. Every individual responds differently and may take longer or shorter depending on the intensity of the depression.

Lastly, it helps tremendously to have the help and support of family and friends. Personally, I did not have many friends and I distanced myself from my family during my depression. This prolonged my treatment and if I had to do it all over again, I would have brought my family in closer. It is very easy to push everyone out of your life during this troubling time but it really does help to have them around to comfort you during this difficult time.

You really can recover from clinical depression. It is not easy and does take work but it is manageable and one can recover and lead a happy life.

New Items In My Etsy Store

I added several items to my new store and I am working on developing some pre-teen crystal earrings. I have the 4-9 age group developing nicely but I think I will venture past 9 and do something for 9-13 and call it "preteens". Look for more to come on this development. I hope to have some items put together this week.

NF- Making it through another year

Today was the yearly appointment for our princess and her genetist who diagnosed her a few years ago with NF-1 which stands for neurofibromatosis type 1. Initially my thoughts were filled with fear and I didn't know much about this condition. Princess checked out in great condition. There are no new cafe au lait spots except for one that started last year on her buttocks that grew quite large and dark. It has not gotten any worse or raised at all for the past 6 months so that makes me feel a lot better.

You would never know she has NF-1. Her teacher was quite surprised when we told her about it but she was very interested to hear the information. She is reaching all of her milestones in school and thensome. We just got a great mid-term report today on that end. She loves her dance and soccer and reading and is a totally normal playful child.

Our truly wonderful doctor who is one of the finest in the country told us today that there are remarkable breakthroughs in the area of medicine and NF-1 and we might want to attend a local conference in January to learn more about it. All I know is that there are some clinical medicinal trials taking place today that give hope to a slowing or stopping of the progression of fibromas and that possibly this would be available within the next 3 years.

I am so excited to hear of this and can't wait to go to this conference in January.

Black Friday

I will never understand Black Friday. It's the most insane day of the year. But that's just my opinion. I do everything I can to avoid going out on Black Friday, even to go to the grocery store. I guess I am in a period of my life where "stuff" just isn't that important to me. The sales are ok but the "stuff" would have to be practically free to get me in those crowds. Here in my house, I am collecting a lot of our "stuff" to give away. We are going back to bare necessities because in my house it leads to happier children and happier parents especially me who loves to declutter.

So when I read this I get equally frustrated with days like this.

Decluttering Fool

It's that time of year again where I do my pre-New Year cleaning. You see, most people do "Spring Cleaning" but I don't because if I wait for Spring to come it is already too hot to be crawling around in my attic and garage. So I do mine during the cooler South Florida months and the best time is usually around Christmas. I figure I am crawling around in the attic anyway bringing down my Christmas decorations so I kill two birds with one stone.

But the decluttering that usually occurs in every room in my house is going to be spilling over to my home computer. It is in desperate need of decluttering. I am going to tackle a variety of categories on the computer.

First mission is email. While I keep a pretty clean inbox (no larger than a half page is my motto) I tend to build notes up in folders. So the folders are going through a massive cleanout.

Second mission is the favorites. I have accumulated a lot of favorites that are no longer valid bookmarks so out they all go. After they are all gone I will then organize them into folders, nice and neat.

Third mission is photos. I have a ton of photos on my hard drive. I have two systems for this. First, I upload all of my photos to ofoto.com. I love that server because if I need to order a picture it couldn't be easier and affordable too. Because I don't like to put all of my photos in only one spot, I am also going to utilize a flash drive and use that to backup my photos. A flashdrive case holds the drive and it gets put into my safe. The photos then get deleted off my hard drive. It frees up quite a bit of disk space.

Fourth mission is other files. Again, I utilize two flash drives for this so that one can backup the other and they get put away for safe keeping. This year I am toying with online servers such as gmail where you can upload documents but I am still concerned about hacking and safety so there will be more research into this. Once everything is uploaded and backed up, it all gets deleted off my hard drive.

Fifth mission is the desktop. My desktop tends to get cluttered because when I am actively working on a file, I tend to save it to my desktop so I can get right back to it easily. Sometimes I forget to take it off the desktop so this is what I have to clean up.

Once I am finished with decluttering my PC I go through a disk cleanup which cleans out all the old programs that I never or rarely use and then go through defragmenting.

When I am finished my computer feels like it just went through a spa treatment and is happy and working efficiently once again.

Make A Rue With Me

Last year I posted this and it has to do with making a rue. I think at the time I was doing some cooking posts and thought that learning how to make a rue was one of the better pieces of knowledge I had as a cook.

What I didn't know at the time was that this post would be BY FAR my most googled and hit on post. When I look at my page summaries this one comes up over any of the others combined. And all week I have been looking at my stats and it is off the charts this week. Of course, it is Thanksgiving week and probably a lot of people are looking for gravy recipes.

So I do a little experiment and I go to google and I type in "how to make a rue" and lo and behold, my post is the first hit to come up! No wonder so many people are hitting my blog.

Now if I could only figure out a way to get my jewelry blog to come up as much. Still figuring that one out.

In the meantime if you want to know how to make a rue, just come here.

Where Did My Boy Go?

I remember the day that I gave birth to my first child as if it was yesterday...every little detail and memory of that day. At the time I swore it was the happiest day of my life and it was. I have had 3 more happiest days since then and each one not happier than the other. I knew that time would fly the minute he was born because everyone told me it would. And it has. He has gone from being the quietest baby to the noisiest teenager. As a child he was never big on demands but as a teenager that's a whole different story. Way back then he was a real guy's guy. Now he is showing an interest in girls. When he was little he would go on the computer to learn how to read. Now he goes on the computer to send off emails or research a school project. I remember how cute he was in that car seat and now I am teaching him how to drive. He used to call me "mommy" and lately he has cut that short to just "mom".

It's such a shock. Each passing day is one day closer to him turning 18 and another day closer to college and I am about 99% certain that college will be a pretty long distance from home. There are days when I wonder if I am doing the best job I can do. I am sure I fail at times but then there are times when he does or says something and I know I am doing something good and right. A big part of me wants him to be independent and able to cope in life and another part of me wants to just hug him closer and stop time. I knew this would happen and I knew I would always feel this way wanting to make time stop and keep him small and young and always looking for more kisses from me.

I got a newsletter from his high school regarding graduation photos for the seniors. He is not there yet...just a sophomore. But when I saw the letter I fast-forwarded to 2 years from now where it will be ME who will be doing the graduation photos. It will be ME who will buy graduation announcements. It will be ME to help mail off those college applications. It will be ME who will have to figure out how I am going to get through his 18th birthday.

I am not sure how I will prepare for this but there is one thing I have learned and that is that no matter how hard I pray, time just isn't going to stop for me.

Jewelry Update

I ran across a snag in my latest necklace creation but I should have it fixed and into my etsy store by end of weekend. Check here to view the story.

Also, I will be doing all of my jewelry blogging here from now on so please please add me to your reader and join the fun. I could use the support and feedback. There will be lots of information there on new items in the store, craft fairs, and other fun and games.

See you there!