local craftshows

Craftshow ---been there, done that, would go again.
There was a local craftshow here this weekend, I went and sold Ma's crafts and a few of my own ideas. We had a BAD location, and we didn't do well. We were set up to fail.

I have about 2 more coming up in the future that will do better, I'm hoping. The nice thing is I can sell what I want to sell and not be limited to crafts.

Why don't I plan ahead and make crafts to sell for this annual craftshow? I want to be in it, but always seem craftless at the last minutes.

Goal for next year (not to self---start a list) MAKE A CRAFTSHOW BOX so that you are ready for this craftshow. I know how to make ooodles of things so why not make some up to sell, if all else, I'd have some neat gifts to give away.

**s**

Convention is done -lines

I wore my red hat and was found by my online friends. The convention was okay if you can avoid the lines. I am the Queen of avoiding lines. Why stand in line if you don't have to or need to?
I think some people are trained to stand in lines. "Excuse me, is there a line to stand in around here?"

Did I learn anything new? Was it worth it? Would I go again? I'd go again, but learning things can be harder to pinpoint at times. I am aware of what I sell, I know how to sell it, and I can sell it---so where are my customers?

Didn't really see what I thought we would. I miss the big conventions usually held in Chicago with all the new exciting Christmas stuff out on display. I don't really know what's new or coming out to prepare myself or my customers. I can't preplan because I just don't know what's coming out.

I went, I looked, I came home.
**s**

Avon Convention in WI Dells

Saturday was interesting for this night owl. I was up at 630 a.m. and I was actually dressed and in the car at 7:15 a.m. The convention started at 8ish and we got there early to pick out good seats.

I wore my redhat so my online friends could find me. I guess I look good in red because people kept asking me for directions or advice. Strange?

The product expo was kind of junky. I don't think they even got 1% of the items available for Christmas to display at this event. It seems that Avon wants to compete with Walmart and they are pushing back their sales a month of so. Instead of doing big product bundles they are doing smaller bundles and only for PC or above. There's suppose to be a BIG Christmas book and it looks like we'll be selling right up to Christmas. I pray that backorders aren't a common practice or this whole idea will fall on their faces!

Also the VIP card was a big topic, if you buy alternative, a lipstick gloss, or extraordinary perfume you get this card which will give you discounts again later off other Christmas products.
Will it work? I'm not sure---we'll have to see. Doubt it will, but I'll be optimistic.

Overall I'd give the convention a C. It was okay, nothing extraordinary....just the same as other conventions. I wish we could have gotten a Christmas preview book, but we didn't.

I'll sell it---regardless when it comes out. I would love to make Honor Society this year.

Glad I'm home--there's no place like home!

**s**

taking Friday off

We took Friday off to head to the other side of the state for my convention. It was a great day. We made stops along the way at garage sales and my favorite Goodwill in Wausau. They must have known I was coming as I found some great brass swan things there.

I rebooked our hotel as the staff at the convention's hotel were very rude. I found a cheaper hotel a few miles away, so we stayed at the Best Western instead. They had wireless dsl, breakfast, pool, and hottub. We got a room on the 3rd floor that was really nice. It's better to stay somewhere that's going to make me happy than to stay somewhere that doesn't have some of the basics we require in a hotel. I'm glad we switched locations.

We ate at a KFC/A&W combo. That's a cool combo. Too bad they don't have any in my town.
I could get use to eating chicken and a&W rootbeer regularly. :)

To to the avon convention...
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notary stuff is back

Great news from the mailbox----our notary paperwork is BACK already. WOW! It got there and left on Tuesday. Does that mean that God wants us to shake our tail and get the paperwork into our agency? I'm hoping to go to China in November. China in winter, oh boy!

John's gone today. Although we talk a bunch on the phones when he's not here. We've decided to hire an employee --more of a sandra's assistant. She would be a "Jill of all trades." as someone said on one of my lists. I think we'll do group interviews like the airlines always had so that we can test and talk to everyone at one time instead of dragging the whole process out for weeks. If we find 2 people, then we'll try 2. If we find none, then I guess we hire no one. It sounds like a good plan, now to make up an application that fits our needs. Most were too generic.

Alexander was wearing a 24 months outfit today. Wow----that seems so big. I remember the newborn outfits he once had in his dresser. Mama's little weed!

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Tuesday --We went to see Brother's Grimm tonight at the movies. It was bring your own bucket for popcorn night. We usually go on Tuesdays to the movies if we go at all. There were only the 3 of us in the movie. That was cool! That means we can talk if we wanna talk.

I had Will show me which digital camera he has so I could get one too. John's isn't working as good anymore since disks are hard to find and their quality is poor. I hope he likes this new one. Another item badly needed before we head off to China in the future.

Plus it will be nice to have a better working camera to take pictures with and it holds like 500 pictures in the memory. That's really high tech to what we have now.

We watched a beautiful lightening storm on the way to the movies. I guess it might not have been as pretty to those that were at the bottom of those bolts. Lightening danced across the dark sky as we drove to and from the movies.

**s**

Monday again

I found this picture on someone's ebay site...it was too cute not to take for my own. Gotta love bears in hats.

Monday again...John went to the chiropractor and the dr. Not sure what's wrong but he has a pain in his back. They sent him for bloodwork and put him on some silly diet. It was basically a high carb diet--totally opposite of months ago. He lost 10 pounds since April...did I find them?

Mailed our notary paperwork today.

Will came home really late tonight. I guess he was bored on the Island. He brought home my birthday presents--Minnie and Mickey Mouse plush toys and 2 margarita glasses. He's going to take us to the movies on Tuesday.

**s**

Sunday nursery

Sunday--we went to church. Alexander couldn't stay quiet so it was my turn to go to the nursery. I might a well stay home instead of going to the nursery, you don't hear anything going on outside of it. He needs to have someone go with him as there are too many kids and not enough workers. Also it seems some kids play too rough and he doesn't know how to fight back yet. It'll come in time I'm sure.

John's learning how to grill out on his flame-thrower, I mean gas grill. We actually had chicken today that didn't taste like a piece of coal. He'll get the hang of it someday. :)

Today's a short one---Happy Grandparent's Day.

**s**

Hello all. Today was a fun day, we went to the parade. I should say we were IN the parade. I dragged my nephew Shawn along to hand out flyers and a few books. He was grouchy the whole while we were there. John handed out books on one side and Shawn did the other side. John handed out about 3 times more than Shawn did. I guess you can't make someone work if they never learned how.

Alex watched the people as we went by in the parade and I drove our suburban. I put all kinds of banners on it and I even wore my big red hat. It was a lot of fun. I don't know if it will drum up any new business but I guess we'll have to leave that in God's hands.

The rest of the day was a lazy one. It was really hot and humid so I took a nap.

Onward to a new week!

**s**

fridaytime

Friday--time to party! Weekends usually involve more work than weekdays do because I cram so many activities into 1-2 days.

There's a parade tomorrow, one of the lasts for the season. We're going to go be IN the parade. Promote my business :)
Then there is a flea market. Sunday is church. Plus we have lots of other odd jobs to finish around the house.

Agency called us back and said paperwork should be good to go the way we did it. Hurray!

I slept in today so I am running behind again. Hard to catch up when you pass yourself in the hallway each morning. Am I getting up, or just going to bed? I forget.

I was voted 2nd Vice Chair for the Legion Aux. for the next 2 years. Seems a pointless position, beyond the fact that I'm responsible for putting stuff in the papers. Seems the secretary should be doing that. Anyways I'm an officer....oh goodie.

HAVE a GREAT weekend!
**s**

adoption notorizing is like pulling teeth

This is an older picture, but I haven't shared one of "us" yet. Introducing Sandra and John...together 7 years and going strong.

Notorizing is 1/2 done. Locally it was like pulling teeth. Amazing our agency tells us how easy it is, however it was a giant speedbump like I thought it would be. I'm glad we brought the State's phone number so that we could call and the bank notory could call and find out what needed to be done.

Now we send in a request form to the State of WI to get our paperwork approved. This should be the final step before our paperwork is sent off to our intl agency and it goes off for approval in China.

We figure it's 99 days or less until we go to China.

We are off to our monthly American Legion meeting. John's an officer, but I am not :( OR should I say "not yet."

**s**

Experiencing God study & adoption update

Wednesday --middle of the week time!

Tonight we are planning on doing a Bible Study at the church called Experiencing God. I bought the book on half.com and started reading it. It seems okay, the book does believe that if you don't move quickly you will loose the will of God...like it's a train. Isn't it easier to try to stay in the will of God, instead of trying to weave in and out of it?

Not sure if everyone in the class is even going to get a copy of the book or if the leader is going to just read from the book and everyone else will listen. I plan on reading it along to make sure I know what the book is really about for myself.

Too bad they don't have any kids 1-3 yrs coming on Wednesdays so Alexander could play along with them in the nursery. Once he turns 2, I guess they said they could put him in a class...but at 19 months old...no class? Strange what 5 months difference can make. Oh well, either we will leave him home with my sister or we'll forget about the class all together.

We talked to our international adoption agency today and in less than 100 days we should be going to China. I just counted it out --a 100 days from today is December 15th. I'm hoping it's sooner than that. Soon Rachel Qin will be here--hurray!

**s**

ponderings

Do you ever just sit back and wonder? Pondering things can be a great pasttime. I think it helps relieve stress.
This is one of my favorite angels pictures to ponder.

This week is starting out pretty good, lots going on and I actually am making some dents in some of the BIG projects I have to get done.

I spent Labor Day----working in my shop. I was gathering things together to sell at my craft show in October and then getting other things together for selling on ebay. I need to get a few things listed on there and keep listing them. I was doing so good, then I somehow got derailed again.

We're putting up curtains in our upstairs...but forgot to buy the rings that go on the rods. We'll have to pick them up tomorrow when we head to Walmart.

ttfn
(ta ta for now)
**s**

Go to sleep --please

We went to visit Ma and Pa (my inlaws) upnorth this weekend. We didn't get the hotel room we normally get and Alex didn't sleep well. Actually he screamed most of Friday night. It was a rough night as none of did much sleeping.

Saturday we went to the parade. This was my 3rd year of going to the Progress Days and I really like it. It's not really all that fancy -a nice little parade, then we head over to the school to eat a chicken dinner and look at the craftshow. The craftshow was a bit on the small side this year.

Oh before I forget to mention it...I got sunburned. I'm red -my arms, my face, even a part of my neck is red. I was only outside for about an hour watching the parade. It wasn't even too sunny. Frustrating!

We went up to see Pa who was in the hospital. He seemed to be okay. He's sick (I'm not sure with what.) and he had carpal tunnel surgery last week. He's 88 and very with it, I hope I am so lucky at that age. Alex wanted to run the halls at the hospital but the nurses really weren't very friendly. At our hospital they would have even let Dolly (our poodle) come in and see Pa as pets are suppose to help nurture the sick. Dolly waited in the car while we went inside.

We stopped at a couple of Walmarts and did some shopping. You can't beat the prices for clothes that they have. $2-$3 for a new kid's outfit and $5 for men's shorts, and even $40 for a new HP Printer. WOW! We finally bought our drape rods so we can put drapes in our new upstairs. Hurray! Soon maybe we can start using the new second floor.

Garage sales were everywhere. I found some really great treasures while out looking. My favorite find was a brass sailboat. We got it for $2. It was a total steal. I was expecting to pay so much higher for it since I am putting it in my porch bathroom that I am giving an ocean/lighthouse/nautical theme. Wow, it is awesome!

We were going to go to the fair, but decided to come home and take it easy instead. Alex and Mama (meaning me) needed naps. Maybe Monday we will go to the fair.

**s**

September is here

Can you imagine that it's September already? It doesn't seem possible that soon there will be changing leaves and then snow.

I am in Wisconsin. I've traveled all over the USA and still find that I love it best here. I really liked downtown Chicago, but I missed the apple blossoms and seeing green grass. It just wasn't the same going to the park to see those things.

Wisconsin has beautiful Springtimes --the leaves awaiting the perfect day to burst from their trees, and lilacs and apple blossoms fill the air. The grass comes back to life and turns a bright green over time. Summers here are hot and filled with rain at times. My summertimes are filled with grilling out, flea markets, and rummage sales. I also enjoy parades and fireworks. Autumn is a time when the leaves turn many shades of colors and slowly drift to the ground. I enjoy Autumn best. Then comes Wintertime and it can hit badly or be really mild. There can be tons of snow and ice or it could be cold with very little snow. It depends on the winter. Winter lasts the longest.

I picked this picture, I think sunflowers are really a pretty flower. They grow from a tiny seed and grow to be really tall. Then they are full of seeds that can be dried and saved for the next year to plant again.

Do the seasons changing make you feel older?
Do you live in the present --enjoying each day or do you tend to be a planner who longs for future events?

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