Out With The Old....In With The New

Well, it's that time of year again.....time to say good-bye to 2008 and welcome in 2009. I always look at the new year as a new beginning. Kind of like an early spring. As I prepare to give 2008 a royal send off, I am thinking about what kind of year it has been. I know for many people it has been the worst ever. I think about those people a lot. We are fortunate to have our home, our health and our jobs. We can still put food on the table and pay the bills, so for us, compared to many, it has been a good year.

As far as accomplishments, I started my etsy business this year. That was huge for me. I can honestly say that getting back to making things has filled a tremendous void that I felt. It came at a wonderful time in my life.

Looking at the year ahead I can't help but be excited. I have big plans for my business. I already know that I will be making some major changes and branching out to other selling venues. I have learned so much from the experienced etsy sellers that I can't wait to get started. I really think this is close to the most excited I've ever been about a new year coming.

During this week I will be sharing a bit about goals and dreams......do you have goals and dreams for the new year? If so, please share.

Quack! Quack!

I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow. I have had such a nice time being off this past week. I did get some stuff done today though. This morning we went grocery shopping.....and man I hate the way the prices have gone up. We use to be able to get by spending $125 or less a week. Today was $140....again! I guess that is the "new" $125, because we can't seem to get back down to $125. There are only two of us....how can we possibly spend that much?

Anyway, after shopping I took a ride over to one of the resale shops in search of treasures, and I found some. I was mainly looking for things to decoupage and things to use to decoupage the items I'm making. I hit the jackpot!

I found some old sheet music, a couple of books that have pictures and text I plan to use, an old wooden spoon, a horrible looking purple shelf and a bunch of wooden ducks!! I could hardly wait to get home to show everyone my great finds!

The purple shelf got some strange looks for sure. It's a mess. Not sure who painted it, but they missed spots in some areas and had paint running everywhere in other areas. I love stuff like that though. It will be really cool when I get it done.

The ducks are amazing! Just great little wooden guys that I will sand, paint and decoupage. They are just so darn cute!

I worked on some of the trays I started the other day. I am trying to give them a well worn look. I love this brown striped one. It's received rave reviews from the men in my house. I just have to seal it and it will be ready to go!

I also asked Irv if he could make some minor repairs on the shelf and the ducks. His reply was, "Not today". I said that was fine, but tomorrow would be great!! So, things are going well in the preparation for the reopening of MyOtherShop.

Oh, I also pulled out that file folder...the one with all of the receipts in it from FourDogDay....ugh....I figured out what I've made and what I've spent and I am still deeply in debt, but 2009 is definitely my year. I have a great business plan and some great products coming out and a great attitude. 2008 was a year of learning and trying to figure out what I could do for my business and what it could do for me. I think I have it kind of figured out.