Babbling about beads and stuff

It's been one of those weeks. GREAT sales at the beginning of the week, and then screeeeeech.
Halt. There's been nary a soul for 2 days. I suppose I could blame the economy if I wanted to buy into that. For the most part I've been doing quite well - economy be hanged. Even the schoolhouse has been a bit slower than usual - and all the customers we do get have been here all at once - enough that we have both registers running, and someone walking the floor checking on customers. IF we have the people. I swear everyone that sells antiques in this place had the good sense to hightail it to Florida for the month. So we're a bit worker short. And a few tempers short too. There a few personality clashes, with people that don't usually work together often working together ALL THE TIME. I'm glad I can just sit back here and either ignore, or take it in quietly. I get up and walk or wait as I'm needed. Otherwise - call me beaded.
I am also a bit frustrated with my brain at the moment. I seem to have lost or misplaced (or possibly had stolen) a couple HUNDRED dollars worth of jewelry pieces. Can't find them anywhere. One was to be for the Exhibition. I was bringing them both here from home - and can't for the life of me find them. They may possibly have gotten stolen, thrown away, or fallen out of my bag. Any scenario means the same thing. A HUGE loss of some of my favorite pieces.
I just wish I could REMEMBER if I actually put them somewhere. Urgh.
Think I may scoot out early.....
TTFN.

Great Day!

Didn't think it would start out that way - but what a great day! I submitted my finalized competition piece to Scarlett - and although she has to be hush hush about finalists - she was "very glad I participated". She may say that to everyone - but I get the feeling that mine was quite different than many of the others-in a GOOD way.
My biggest surprise was the email from About.com when I got home. About.com is a very, VERY popular website - where you can learn how to go ABOUT doing almost, well, ok, everything! They are looking for a new web bead article & project publisher, and they extended the invitation for me to apply! You bettya! Where do I sign? And the pay is quite good, too.
Not getting my hopes up - but what a great day for boosting my beading ego. I won't hear from Scarlett about the contest for at least six weeks - and not for 6 to 8 weeks for the About job. But I'm crossing everything I've got that can be crossed!
My poor hubby is beginning to think he got rooked on the Liberty sale. The HORN, a horn of all things - seems to be unfixable because of the placement of the airbag. So off to yet another dealership tomorrow, who hopefully will know how to get to the wiring harness. Why do they have to build these things so difficult to FIX? I know, I know, so you have to pay more for the maintenance. yayaya. At least we won't have to pay. The original dealership where we bought it has agreed to pay for the fix. WhooHOOO!
TTFN - and cross all you got too that I get that Gig!

Tax time is yuck time

I am just NOT a numbers person. Never have been - never will be. But it's that dreaded time of year again - tax season. My sales tax forms are a piece of cake compared to trying to do business taxes. My hubby has been doing them along with our personal ones - but I think next year, I'm going to have to get someone. And find a good and EASY program to use on the computer. I refuse to spend hours everyday working on numbers. So I need something that's simple that will do the adding for me - unfortunately - if it exists - it's probably way out of my price range. Ugh.
Said goodbye to the old GMC truck today. We donated it to Volunteers of America - it was just in too bad a shape to sell to anyone. No brakes. Bad engine. Rust everywhere. Just like his last vehicle - he drove it til it died - and donated that one too. Coincidentally - if you believe in those - the minute the old truck was towed away, the dealership for the new one called about scheduling the last of the repairs. Talk about out with the old, and in with the new!
TTFN.

Blog a Day?

I've been reading other people's blogs here and there - and found that many of them go for a month or two before updating their blogs. Whew. Now I don't feel so bad, I guess - but I am still going to try to keep it updated. Especially since it's now linked through my website. So at least I know I'm not the only.....
Happy Valentine's Day to me! Just when I think 'the thrill is gone' with my hubby - he goes and brings roses to the shop - not just for me - but for ALL of the girls there, too. Now he's really got them. And it will make it even harder for me to vent about him. Hmmm. Maybe that's his plan.
No, honestly - I think I've got it pretty good. He has always treated me well, for the most part, and let's me get away with pretty much anything. Almost. :) Besides - he needed an excuse to drive his new vehicle. Everything was finalized on Friday the 13th (bad omen? we'll see...) So he is still getting used to all the bells and whistles - and compared to his rattle trap truck - it has TONS. Power everything. CD player. Air. HEAT. hehe
So off I go, to prepare the post Valentine breakfast feast for my rose bringing prince.
TTFN.

Password Woe

Boy, you would think it was Mercury Retrograde (Astrologese for wacky planetary movement) the way things are going for me today. None of the sites that I have logged onto today seem to want to remember or acknowledge my password. It doesn't help that half of them insist on some funky combination of letters and numbers that I will NEVER remember. Just let me use my normal one, please. I'm old - my brain is nearing 50.....
THEN - one of my regular, wholesale bead sites glitched on me today. Took an entire hour of adding items to the cart, and checking the cart in the middle to prepare to place an order. Everything looked fine. Finished the order - went to the cart - GONE! Not in the wish list, not in the saved carts, nowhere. So I tried again. Logged out. Logged in, and did the first 3rd again. Checked the cart - still nothing. Talk about aggravating. So I emailed them and told them the issue. Hopefully I'll hear back from them - but probably not until tonight. I guess that was a sign that I'm not supposed to order anything else this month, anyway.....thank you, Spirit.
Getting closer to being a Jeep co-owner. The paperwork is done. The loan is secured. The license and registration and insurance are all done. Just waiting on those few repairs by the dealership. Can't wait to have my car back - although now it has problems of it's own. Bad clutch, bad shocks, and now, since mid-last week, a badly cracked windshield. Lovely.
Dang semi's throwin' rocks, anyways.
3 times in one week! I'm getting better at this blog thing....
TTFN.
Sheryl aka The Babbling Beader

One Day Closer

We are getting closer to that new vehicle - finally. I'm actually taking today off so that I can chauffeur HIM and serve as taxi service between dealership, mechanic, and wherever else he has to go to get this thing DONE. I'm glad this chauffeur stuff will be over soon - for both of us. What a pain. It may not be the perfect vehicle - my leg and arm muscles will get a workout from pulling up to get in and jumping down to get out - but hey - maybe that's a good thing!
Yesterday was a day of contests - working on a piece FOR one, and then coming home and entering two more of them. This is something I used to consider silly - and I'd rarely win anything (only one or two minor things) whenever I did. But I figured, what the heck - the contest for BeadStyle magazine has HUGE prizes - and several winners to be chosen. There are probably 1,000's if not 1,000,000's of entrants - but what the heck. Sorta like the lottery - you can't win if you don't play. The other one is one that I have a better chance at - the software & publishing company that I used to write my book asked me to fill out a survey about their software - ironically, something I had planned to email them suggestions about, anyway. So in return for answering their questions, which took all of 10 minutes TOPS, I get entered to win an IPOD Nano. KWL.
And since I can think of nothing else to blog about except the weather - Rain is better than snow but still BORING - TTFN.

Resolution-NOT

See. I told you I wasn't very good at resolutions. But now that this is linked to the website that DOES get a few hits every now and then - let's try it again. Hopefully at least a couple times a week - news or no news. NO PROMISES.

Since this is the first time I've written anything in 2009 (sad), HAPPY NEW YEAR! So far, it has been a pretty good one. Despite the nasty, wet, white, and freezing weather - we're doing well. Terry still has both his jobs, and my shop is doing better than ever. We're currently in truck search mode - the 1997 Sonoma done bit the dust and is literally un-driveable. This one car household thing is getting a little old - so cross your digits that an affordable replacement is found soon.
The book is done and available at the shop and through my website. So fun that I'm working on number 2. Sweet.

The Exhibition focal necklace is also complete. Took awhile -and a "version 2", but I like it better now. I'm surprised I didn't vent in the blog about THAT whole situation. But I'd rather have it fall apart on ME than on a paying ($250 paying) customer.
I have also entered a really cool contest that I've sort of completed the piece for. I MAY take the focal Rivoli (that's large round, pointed crystal to all of you non-beaders) and re-surround it. The top turned out funky, and since I want to WIN - "Scarlett in Chains" must be perfect. Can't provide a photo until after the contest - I'll probably post it on my website.
So now that I've blogged and updated my website, it's finally time to DO MY SALES TAX. Yuck.

There are only a pitiful few people that actually enjoy doing that sort of thing. But I can't put it off any longer. I need to be sure I've got the cash, and we've got some bills coming up.

TTFN
The Babbler