Guess who is going ot be in the newspaper??!!???

Yes! ME!!!! Sunday edition, June 14th. Article should be linked from the newspaper website at: http://www.newsleader.com/



Not sure if it will be a link from the homepage, but it should be.



Ok, so WHY am I going to be in the paper?? Well, the News Leader has a column called "CheepSkates" and on the website, there is a blog that goes along with the column. I have offered some tips, hints, advice on the blog, and the author emailed to see if I was interested in being interviewed for an upcoming article. Well, I wasn't sure until hubby dear came home and told me that he already bragged on me at his office, so there really was no choice for me.



The interview was done over the phone on the 26th - author is supposed to be anonymous, hence the phone interview instead of face-to-face (I know who it is, but promised not to tell...caller ID is a wonderful thing...lol). We spoke for about an hour or so about how I cut my groceries in half (from $1000 a month to roughly $500 a month!), and other ways we save money (one of the big ones is sewing clothing, but I also cut the guys' hair, make meal plans, we've started a garden....etc.). While we were talking about the sewing, I happened to mention my business (hey, it's free promotion as far as I'm concerned) and she was really interested in it and asked what sort of things I make. Well, OF COURSE I told her, starting with the SNuggleBags and working right through the jewelry and bath products, giving her my Etsy site and mentioning the local craft fairs that I am at. It was a fun, sometimes hysterical (try being serious when a 35lb child is tugging a 117lb lab around because he wants his toy but doesn't want to hurt her!), and may even be the start of a cool friendship. At the end of the interview, she asked if I would be available the next day for a photo shoot....um....sure....I guess....



Now, the reason for my hesitation is because I really don't like having my picture taken, despite the yearly family themed pictures and such. But hey, if it helps get my name/face/business out there, then I'll do it. So the next day I was hoping for an email saying if I was to go to the office or if the photographer was coming to the house....no email, until FINALLY, she sent one saying that she had to go into her children's school and would call me when she got back, sometime around 11am (photo shoot was scheduled for 130pm). No problem! On the off chance that they would be coming to the house, I became a cleaning whirlwind....living room free of papers? CHECK, kitchen cabinets and counter scrubbed down?? CHECK.....kids' socks and miscellaneous clothing bits tossed into their rooms?? CHECK!!! Then she calls and says she hasn't heard back from the photographer, so she was going to leave it up to me as to where the pictures were done....um....lol...STUDIO!!!! We chuckled over my response (hey, even if it was clean for me, I was afraid that "something" might have gotten missed), and then she told me what she had in mind for pictures and what she thought I should bring.



4 bags later, and I'm on the road. I took: Elizabethan court gown, DDs Civil War costume, DDs dressy coat, dress and pinafore, DSs 2 favorite shirts that i made for him (Asian print and Star Wars), the very first shirt I made for DH - yes, it's still holding up nicely, 2 blouses for myself and one of my skirts....PLUS....one of the bath gift sets, 2 padded bags, a reusable tote bag, some fabric, patterns, shears, pins, a pin cushion that I made, oh, and of course, I wore some of the jewelry that I've made. I think I covered all the bases, what do you think?? LOL It was pretty funny trying ot get everything organized and choosing my favorites from all the things that I've made...every bedroom was almost torn apart and my workroom was a disaster area, but I got everything together and made it to the studio 30 minutes early.



The only problem was that the photographer got there and really didn't know what the shoot was for - he hadn't checked his email or phone messages and had been gone the previous few days....ARGH!! SO I explained what it was for and what the article was about, and off we went. Suprisingly, it was fun and I was fairly relaxed - in fact the only complaint he seemed to have was that I wasn't smiling enough...which is fairly typical in photos of me. He took some candids while I was setting up the fabric and various little bits, and I was so into it that I didn't even notice until the flash had gone off a couple of times.



So........get the word out.....read all about my oddball lifestyle at: http://www.newsleader.com/ on or after 6/14/2009!!!

Kids, gardens, and water balloons

So....we now have 4 kids here...at least until tomorrow night. Yep, I went from 1 9yo boy and a 5yo girl up to 2 9yo boys, a 7yo boy, and a 5yo girl....either my heart is too big or I've completely lost my mind. Actually, the boys aren't that bad, but it's obvious that they have had a different up bringing than my children have had - how they speak to my husband, their table manners (or lack of), etc. In the course of the 5 hours that they have been with us, they have managed to understand that children do NOT call either me or my husband by our first names. They call me Mrs Vann and my husband Mr. Ken...which is fine and definitely a LOT better than calling him Krn as if he were one of their buddies.

They were impressed with the garden and everything that is growing, though the carrots leave a lot to be desired. The corn is going crazy as are the radishes and tomato plants....we had to actually purchase pepper plants because the ones we started didn't make it.

Now...water balloons....we had the sprinkler going for a while and they were playing with the water bombs that we had for the pool (which we set up and forgot to turn the hose off before quiet time, so it's a little on the full side) but they couldn't seem to avoid hitting me or hubby....those got taken away. Then I remembered that we had a stash of water balloons from last year!! BINGO!! I loaded up one bucket-full and took it out, but not before some ground rules were laid down. NO throwing at the person at the bucket, no head shots, no throwing when you are right next to the target person. Three buckets later and we are completely out of water balloons and all 4 children had a blast. The only real injury was to my daughter who got hit in the face when the "no throwing at the person at the bucket" rule was forgotten....Mom got revenge for the munchkin, but not in the face....just enough to remind the boys that she is younger than they are and Mom will ALWAYS stick up for the children.

No sewing going on as usual, but.....I may be interviewed for a local paper about frugality and cost cutting measures that I practice at home...how cool is that??

Off to get ready for grill night.........

Entire shop on sale

So...I'm an only child, and have been trying to deal with my mother potentially losing her house, and most likely moving in with my family. Now, it's not like we don't have enough room, but still...this is MY house, and I don't know how things would work having another "mom" in the house with me, at least not for an extended time. So what does this have to do with the topic??

Well....to try and help her out, I've put the entire shop on sale (25% discount) for the month of May, with the possibility of more discounts in June. Any sales that I make will go towards helping pay this month's mortgage so that she has another month in the house. Of course, that doesn't include shipping costs, but you get the idea.

Hubby and I are trying to get our children to understand about respecting your elders and honoring your mother and father....this is how I'm trying to illustrate those ideals.

I know there has been some interest because Google Analytics shows some activity, but still....activity doesn't always equal sales....so I'm asking my followers to mention my sale to whoever they think might be interested...there is jewelry, crib sheets, SnuggleBags, etc. and I'd really like to move some of them to help my Mother out.

rain, church, dust and critters

So...it's yet another rainy weekend here, which is great for the garden and flowers, not so great for my sanity or emotional stability (yes, actually diagnosed with S.A.D. and supposed to take antidepressants). It also drives me bonkers that the children can't find something to do that doesn't involve yelling at each other or hitting each other....sheesh...it's not like they don't have any toys to play with......of course, that sort of leads into the next topic...church...which is where we are supposed to be heading in the next 6 minutes. But, again, it's raining...and hubby is trying to finish his college course on time or before the deadline (his exam proctor is going on vacation and he needs to get the test done before then because the proctor will be gone until after the deadline)...so once again it seems as if we will be looking for another church because it is apparent that nobody is actually enthused about the one we started going to.....argh.......

Now, again, tying back to the rainy weekend, the critters in the household are being miserable and moany....dog because, even though he's a lab, he hates rain, and the cats because the rain keeps the birds away which means no "cat TV" for them. Sheesh....

I'm still working on new ideas for the shop, and debating about completely clearing some items out, working on new things for my MOPS group, and trying to refocus on where I want this whole business thing to go...or if I even want it to go anywhere.....would be nice to have some feedback from others......