Too Much "To Do"

Wow, my "To Do" list is growing and growing and growing. I've said before that I don't get rattled when I have a lot on my plate. I just prioritize and get to work. There are things right now that I absolutely have to do for my health and things I have to do for my business, and there are only so many hours in a day.

Osteoporosis is taking up a whole lot of my time right now. I am constantly on osteo websites and in osteo forums trying to find out what other people are doing....and let me tell you...no two people are doing the same thing. It's really confusing. I have my diet pretty much under control....even the walking and exercise is fairly simple to understand. Where I really get lost is with the supplements, therefore tomorrow I will be calling an MD in the next town that takes a more holistic approach to medicine. I want to take all of my test results and have a consultation with him to see if he can get me started on the right plan. I think with the proper guidance, I'll be on my way to healthier bones.

My etsy shop FourDogDay is being redone. I am allowing things I am not making anymore to expire. Eventually, I will end up with a smaller shop with a whole new look. I am signing my contract with the consignment shop this evening and once they sign it and return my copy, I will be able to start sending them things. They open in May. Besides that, I am looking into some small craft shows and Farmer's Markets for this spring and summer.

I really feel like I have things under control....there is just a lot to control right now. I don't know how it happens, but it all seems to work itself out in the end. I started making lists yesterday and that always seems to help. What's on your plate this spring?

Urgency, Planning and Success

Two people this week commented on how skinny I'm getting. When you are working hard at something and people recognize your effort...it's always a good feeling. I sat for a moment and wondered why I'm having success this time when I haven't in the past? How is it that I've been walking and working out since the first of the year...when normally I would have quit long ago? It didn't take long before the answer came to me. It was two parts....urgency and a plan.

For me to have success with anything, I need that sense of urgency. If I don't have that, I don't take what I am doing seriously. Previously, I just wanted to work out and get healthy because I should. This time I am in a race with my weakening bones and I want to win.

For me to have success with anything, I also need some kind of a plan. Previously, I would just work out a day here, maybe walk a day now and then...if I missed a day...oh well. I didn't have a plan. Now I have a plan. It's on paper...and I'm stickin' to it!

What I need to do now is bring that same sense of urgency to my etsy business, FourDogDay. That doesn't mean to be running around like a lunatic everyday...it means that I need to know when I want to retire. I need to know how much extra money FourDogDay would need to be bringing in each month in order for that to happen. Then I will "see" the urgency and I will get serious.

I also need a plan to get me where I need to be at that time. I need it on paper...so I have something to follow...a plan I can stick to. I have had plans before but I lacked the urgency. If I don't have both parts, it just doesn't work for me.

For me...this doesn't only apply to my health and FourDogDay...it applies to anything I really want to accomplish. No urgency, no plan, no do. Take my basement for example. I swore I would get it dejunked before summer. There was no reason I had to have it done by then, I just wanted to. So, no real true urgency, no plan....it isn't getting done. Now if I wanted to put my house on the market this spring....THERE would be the urgency. You can be sure it would be getting done!

How are you with major things you want to accomplish? Do you need urgency? Do you need a written plan or are you disciplined enough to do it without? I would love to hear how you accomplish things either in your business or in your life....

Taking the Plunge

I did it! I ordered my new HP Laptop. I have such mixed emotions right now. On one hand, I am excited beyond belief! My computer was so old. It was so slow and so often it would just stop working. It was so aggravating. Now I will have a nice new computer....and it's a laptop! It should be fast and it's going to be so awesome!

On the flip side...it is the second huge thing I've had to charge in the past couple of weeks and neither was planned. If you read my blog regularly, you know that we are on a "Pay down your debt budget". Charge cards are taboo! My plan never had TREADMILL written anywhere in it. I always looked at a treadmill as a luxury I could not afford and I was okay with that. Being diagnosed with Osteopenia three weeks ago changed my plan. In an effort to save my bones and keep my off medication....we charged a treadmill.

The second part of my plan was to work hard and pay off the treadmill, while starting to save for a new computer. I wanted to pay cash for the computer. That was before my old Dell died last week. So now we charged a computer. Yes, I could have gone out and bought an inexpensive desktop for now, but I just couldn't see spending hundreds of dollars on something that didn't meet my needs. I spend a lot of time on my computer.

I had already spent a lot of time researching, reading and talking to people about their computers and I learned a lot. Eventually I figured out what I needed and what I wanted. My new HP will have a 17 inch screen, a great processor and plenty of memory. It will also have Microsoft Word.

Even though it was a tough decision....I know it was the right one and I can't wait for it to get here. A friend on Facebook said, "Now you can be as unproductive as the rest of us with laptops." I can easily see how that happens, but for me, it's going to do just the opposite. Right now when I get home from work...where I sit at a computer for eight hours a day....I check e-mails, check my shop FourDogDay, write my blog for the next day, respond to comments on my blog and try to read all of my favorite blogs. Somewhere in there I have dinner and try to make awesome things for my shop. I get so tired sitting up right that most evenings I'm curled up in bed by 8:00 with a book. I'm not sleepy, but I need some time to relax.

When I get my laptop, I will do just the opposite. When I get home I will check my e-mails and my shop, but then I will start creating things for FourDogDay. I will have dinner, work a little more and then head to bed WITH my laptop. There I will be able to respond to blog comments, write my blog for the next day, read my favorite blogs and maybe even multi-task and play on Facebook a bit.

I think this is going to be just perfect! Chee Hoo! Now if you will excuse me, I need to go make some things to sell in my shop so I can pay for my fantastic new computer! :)

Ready, Set......No Go?

Before my trip to the doctor two weeks ago when all of this osteo stuff started my creative juices were flowing. I was having so much fun making clocks and tote bags for my etsy shop, FourDogDay. I got accepted into a juried craft show for March 20th and 21st. I was on a roll.

SCREEEECCCCHHHH!!!!! Man did things come to a halt! I know that my health is more important than anything I can make or any craft show I want to be in, but goodness was I having a difficult time getting back on track. Has that ever happened to you?

I just seemed to have lost my drive and my interest in what I love to do. I took the first week off while I digested what was going on and researched my condition and my treatment options. The next week, when I was ready to get going again....my get up and go had got up and went....and I didn't know where it went. I didn't really care if I was working and creating or not.

I kept looking at the BIG picture and kept telling myself that I really needed to get going. I had a show coming up, my shop FourDogDay was just sitting there. What the heck was wrong with me?

Well, there was nothing wrong with me. I just wasn't emotionally ready to get going. My mind was telling me to take a break....and so I did. Yesterday I had the day off and really felt "ready". So I got my walking and working out done first and then it was etsy time. I finished a darling Itsy Bitsy tote bag......if you look closely, you will see some funky beads hanging below the purple button.....those are from an old earring...I couldn't resist. I also alternated the sun and moon fabric and the lining fabric for the straps. I had so much fun with this one....all out of stuff I already had on hand.

Then I found this fabric to make another tote and drew up a design really cute design! I'll show it to you when it's done!

I also made a decision on what computer I am going to purchase....and I feel good about it. I know I found the right fit for me. I hope to order it today.

So, when you seem to have come to a stand still and you know you have a lot to do....when it seems that you just can't get your engines going....think baby steps. Don't look at the whole big picture....take one little piece at a time....finish one little part...and before you know it, you will be back in the swing and making tremendous progress!

Roller Coaster....

Wow! I feel like I'm on a roller coaster and they won't let me off!

First...I am busy at work making those 6 Halloween costumes, plus keeping up with my regular work. I made good progress today on the Hand Sanitizers. Story and photos here. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow so I can show you.

Second...I am busy at home listing, and listing, and listing in etsy, all of the things I made during the spring and summer that are sitting here and never made it into MyOtherShop. I am having trouble getting good pictures of the tote bags and that is always so frustrating. I'll try again when I get some good light. I've probably listed over 50 new things in the past few days. It's good because I have even sold a few of them too. Remember....you can't sell what you don't have listed!

Third...we plan to start painting this weekend. Irv has to patch a recurring crack in the ceiling and then we will be ready to go. I think I am going to go with the Sassafrass Green. It's a bit on the mossy side and I like that. Then I can accent with brown, yellow and of course a touch of blue.

Fourth...we are looking for another dog. (See yesterday's post) We aren't in any hurry. We're just perusing Petfinder.com and seeing if any little face pops up that says, "Here I am!" Actually, they all say that, but we are looking for a particular mix, size, sex and age...so it might take us a while. Still, I think about it daily...not with worry, just thinking.

One nice thing is that I don't get too worked up, even when I have a lot on my plate. I'm working to stay centered and only focus on whatever it is I am working on at that moment, and not get distracted by what's waiting in the wings. That usually works well for me.

The only thing with a true deadline is the costumes and they will get done....somehow.

So, how does your fall look? Anything fun and exciting going on or anything that causes you to burst into tears when you think about it? Feel free to share!

Slow Down...You're Moving Too Fast

Irv came into my workshop last night and asked, "Are you okay? You don't seem to be very into all of this anymore."

"I'm fine. I just have a nasty headache," was my answer.

"All of this" meant my crafting and our upcoming craft shows, and my answer was an honest one. I did have a headache, but his question did make me realize that it's time to slow down a bit.

I have been working at warp speed since April when I was accepted into my first show. About that time I started working with fabric and my entire focus changed. That has meant working every evening and every weekend to get enough items to have a nice variety at my shows. It probably wasn't good timing on my part, but it is what it is.

I am excited about the two indoor shows and my new display...which Irv almost has done...and the prospect of seeing how my aprons and tote bags are received, BUT I have to admit that I am definitely looking forward to the shows being done....because I want my life back! HAHA!

I have a really hard time enjoying what I am doing when I have to work every minute of every day on it, and when I have a deadline. It will be so nice to be able to exhale.

I have also not touched my etsy shops in ages. I'm finding it difficult to prepare for the shows and keep up with listing new items. I am renewing as needed, but haven't listed anything new.

So, my plan is to make what I can without causing myself to have a mini meltdown, and just go with the flow until after the shows. My shops are doing okay, I have made some awesome aprons and totes and all will be well. The pictures are some of my new things.

What do you do when you have too much to do and not enough time to get it done....I'm thinking chocolate just might help!

When Your Head Is Spinning

Time to take a very deep breath....

We took coffee and bagels to Michael and Bernadette's new house this morning. Do you remember your first house? I sure do, because I still live in mine! They are so excited. They closed and moved in Friday and they already have everything unpacked and were hanging things on the walls when we were there. They removed a bar from the family room, tore out some built in stuff they didn't like and have a mental list a mile long of things they want to do.

I am going to go there next weekend to dig out a bunch of perennials that they do not want. Irv is going there tomorrow to cut down a bunch of awful looking bushes and an evergreen that was very poorly placed. Irv will be spending a bit of time there helping them to replace all of the interior doors! Irv loves helping the kids with stuff, so it should be a lot of fun!

The neighbor's dog already jumped their backyard fence to come and welcome them and Teagan! Michael looked out their back window the other day to see the neighbor chasing his dog around their back yard!

In addition to helping them with all of their new home owner fun things, I want to do some painting in my house this fall. I plan to redo my bedroom, the bathroom and the living room. Mostly just painting, except the bathroom needs a new sink and floor. I have no idea what colors I want, so today when we were at Menards, I came home with every little booklet they had with color ideas in it! I have a stack about two inches high, no kidding. I think I am going to buy fabric and make a shower curtain. Irv was also saying that we need to start thinking about siding our very old garage that is aging very ungracefully.

On top of all of that, I have two indoor craft shows coming up. One is in September and one is in October. One is an 8 x 10 space, one is a 10 x 10 space. Irv and I are trying to figure out what kind of booth we want that will be easy to transport, set up and take down...but can be used for both size booths and also be utilized for outdoor shows next spring. We would like to use slatwall, but we aren't sure how easy that will be to do. Irv is very handy, so I'm sure he'll figure it out. Plus I need to make more aprons and I am going to start making those tote bags, and reusable lunch and snack bags.

I plan to start walking Wrigley a mile each morning before work and then get back to my yoga and pilates after work.

Can you tell me how on earth I am going to manage all of this?

This is one of those times when most people would get really rattled and crumble. Not me...I see times like this as a challenge and I love challenges. It is going to be very interesting to figure out a way to fit it all in, but somehow, some way I will.

Tonight when I sit in bed with the news on, I will have my little clipboard in hand and I will be jotting down notes and ideas and schedules and I will be prioritizing for sure. I will have color charts all over my bed and sketches of my indoor booth.

What do you do when there are a dozen things you want to do and not enough time to do it all?

I yell, "Chee Hoo" and dig in!!

17 Days and Counting

Yesterday I talked about living without a clock, and even though I think I would love that, right now I am obsessed with clock and calendar watching. My very first craft show is now 17 days away and I still have a lot to get done. I don't waste a minute either! I'm not laying in bed in the morning for that extra five or ten minutes because I can use that time to put labels or prices tags on completed items or I can band coasters into sets, or glue the backs on light switch covers. No amount of time...no matter how small...goes to waste!

Crazy? Yep, but it's necessary. It is such a good thing that I love this stuff and that I am so excited about the craft show or I would be a mess. My workshop is a disaster and that does bother me a bit, but I am working on so many different things. Some of the things I make require drying time and some don't, so I'm constantly jumping back and forth between things. I have boxes of finished things and stacks of things that still need to do be done! It's really pretty funny to be honest with you.

The next time I do a show, I will be better prepared. I just heard about this one late, ended up on the waiting list, had no idea if I would be accepted and didn't start working on things until I was. If I'm going to continually do shows, I will always be working on increasing my inventory. I now have cute labels designed, nice business cards, a canopy and display pieces. That will save a tremendous amount of time...next time!

So, yep...I am busy. Am I stressed? Nope. I'm as calm as can be, and I mean that. Will I get everything done? I really have no idea, but I will have plenty of awesome things to fill my little 10 by 10 space. If I don't get it all done is it the end of the world? Nope. It will all work out just fine...it always does.