Relief and Answers

Fortunately, I never called that woman back about the rental. I say this because I held off long enough to receive answers from up above. I was unsure of what to do so I prayed about it. Many times and hesitated to sign the lease even though I could. As things started to unfold for one of our children who are in need of surgery I decided that it was best to wait on following my dream until everyone is back at home and everything has gone successfully. This is what mothers do. The plan is resume dream chasing in July so long as there aren't any large medical co-pays pending. 

In the mean-time, I've decided to start up a workshop in a local cottage to be rented by the hour. This workshop will consist of a couple of ladies chatting and laughing and learning a new skill that will be easy enough for a child. The idea of the workshop will be application of the skill and technique but it will be so subtle that the ladies won't even notice. I don't want the workshop to be overwhelming with titles and new concepts so much that women will be intimidated. I want them to be comfortable and relaxed. Meet new friends and fellowship.

Even though I was against renting a facility by the hour, I found the cottage by attending a "Team Building" workshop with my co-workers. I really liked the place because it was small and tidy. It is quaint and lovely. It is old and polished and I kept wondering how I would use it in the future since the rate was so reasonable. I thought about the end of season soccer party, a family reunion, mother's day. All of these events would be appropriate in this small building and then it hit me just as I dropped my tithing check into the USPS mailbox last Friday. It's as if the concept was on hold until I faithfully listened for answers. I did turn to Him with questions but I'd forgotten to listen for answers. 

Wish me luck!

Scared to Make a Move

The landlord of the store finally called me back after a week of at least 1 call a day and a voice mail to follow. Once she returned my call I was shocked that I didn't know what to say. She said she was out of the country and now she's back. I was like, "Okay, cool." I asked her what she needed from me if I were to rent the store and she gave me the run-down and then went on to making suggestions.

"Now, you'll need to get tables and chairs to make your customers comfortable. Have you thought about that? You'll need to put in some nice flooring and paint the store a color that makes your customers want to be there."

I'm like, why is she telling me this? I told her that I would work out a plan with my husband when he returned home that day and we would call her later that evening. That was a week and a half ago. I definitely have cold feet at this point. I really do not know what to do. My colleagues say just to do it because it's my dream and theirs...lol. My heart says their right but lets not be stupid about this, we have some pretty heavy events coming up in June that we are unsure of how much they will cost and I have some pretty strict software delivery deadlines in June and July that I may have to work a lot of overtime if I get behind. It's just easier to not do it. But when have you known me to take the Easy route.

Buisness Owner Without a Shop

It's official. I've registered The Craft Room Cafe LLC with the state of FL so... yay! However, I still cannot get a hold of the owner of the shop that we picked out so... sucks. It's OK though, because everyday that I don't have a shop is one more day that I think about what I will need. Example, I purchased a couple of yards of fabric this week for a cosplay costume from a local fabric shop and the merchandise was put neatly into a pink plastic bag. I DON'T HAVE ANY PINK PLASTIC BAGS. Where will I purchase these? 

I'm on a mission to find plastic bags for purchases in my shop this week and I'm waiting patiently for the building owner to call me back. 

Trying to Sign a Lease

I'm trying to sign a lease for the shop but the lessor won't return my calls! This is the second time this has happened. Except the last time I was ready to sign, the lessor said she already rented the space. What's the deal.

Down & Out - Bounce Back

After last week's super adventure, I'm beginning to recover. Except for the fact that I didn't document a check that went out on Thursday and I can't figure out which facility I sent it to, I am really starting to get back to normal. Things usually happen in 3's but I'm not sure which events of the chaotic events qualify  for a slot in the 3's because for every stroke of bad luck I had last week there was a strike of good luck and I just couldn't keep up. 

Don't worry, I won't bore you with the details of my adventures but I will tell you that it involved, 1 tow truck driver, 1 co-worker, 3 mechanics, and 1 dog with an upset stomach for 3 days. The same 3 days that W happened to be out of town. Many of the events were directly related to incompetence from a service I received and paid a pretty penny for. I'm convinced that there isn't a business out there that will satisfy the customer whether big or small. Something is bound to go wrong or just plain flake out. I cannot count the numerous times we've tried to get an estimate or had service completed regarding the trees in our yard or the roof on our house or work on our vehicles that botched everything else up. I feel like I can't trust anyone. I'm finding myself filling out more and more feedback survey's for downright incompetence. Is it that my expectations are too high. Should I not expect a return call from a business when I leave an inquiry on their voice mail?

Anyway, things went OK this weekend as part of the Bounce Back. B had her first soccer game which was unfairly matched. Again, I might be expecting too much but B's team has 5 kids under the age of 10 and the other team had children all 13 years old and older. I am thankful that the 17 y/o from Brazil on the opposing team was careful not to harm any one of our team members when he kicked the ball over everyone's head down into the goal area for the score. We lost 10 to 0 but our guys (and girls) tried really hard. 

The dog is feeling better, miraculously, but not until we went in to an emergency visit to the animal hospital Saturday morning and all of our vehicles are fully operational. I didn't sew anything but I spent some time in the yard with the hubby and kids cleaning and raking. It was productive and uplifting. I also want to casually mention that I received the GREEN LIGHT on the studio so I will be strategically planning this over the next couple of weeks. I've already started the lifestyle change with the kids by telling them NO on a few purchases this weekend and they understood.

I'm hopeful that today will be great and look forward to planning our small business. YAY!

Peering

This verb will represent my state of mind today. Peering over the canyon is what I'm doing. It's a long way down but there are so many adventures there and I'd like to consider myself resourceful so survival is possible...

I'm considering pulling the trigger on the studio even though I am no way near ready. I believe that worry and fear will prevent me from ever being entirely ready anyway. The voices in my head are conflicting and confusing but if I don't try then I will never know if I could or worse, someone else will try and that WILL KILL ME. 

PROS

I am confident that the idea will work.

Good clean fun.

Work that matters.

Opportunity to teach/involve my kids in business concepts, marketing, budgeting, earning.

Community involvement.

Income

CONS

I am not sure how long it will take to work.

I might sabotage my career trying.

The lease aka commitment.

More bills.  (this is the one I fear the most)

Dedicated time.

At least my list of pros is slightly longer. I think with G helps this summer she and I can divvy up responsibilities so the last con could eventually move to the pros. There are so many variables here and this would be the most risk I've ever taken on in my whole life. It didn't start out that way though. It started out as a way for me to craft when ever I wanted with friends and family and it turned into a second job. How do I get back to that simple concept? How do I hold tight to reality (second job) and shed fear by staying naive long enough to take the leap? 

Meet the Packsmans

Our oldest daughter is in a marketing class this year as a freshmen and we are already seeing her power of persuasiveness increase. She delivered a Power Point presentation to us (the parental units) in January that was very compelling. Her objective was a family pet. There were delicately placed daisies an a soft yellow background symbolizing the warmth of the summer sun. Although, the presentation was more focused on a guinea pig, we gave in to a family dog instead. 

Max

A 1 year old rescued mixed Airedale terrier of sorts. He stands about knee high and has been reeking havoc for the last couple of weeks. He's a wild animal but as soft and gentle as a lamb. His beard is always wet but it is a baby beard and is short. He isn't quite house broken but is well on his way. We started training last Saturday and we want everyone in the house to be on the same page when it comes to discipline and praise so 6 of us went. Chaos happened as usual. W kept leaving the training area to answer the mechanics call since we dropped our van off earlier in the day to get the A/C repaired (the Florida heat is on its way and I was getting desperate). Max wanted to sniff everything. My mom took E to do some shopping but not until we were all settled. See, my mom had to give us a ride since we couldn't all fit in the truck. The instructor spoke quickly and there were 7 dogs total which was apparently a large class. Bringing everyone backfired because I think we caused too many distractions and gave him too many treats. He didn't make it out of PetSmart before he vomited a little.

Puppy training isn't the only thing I'm going to complain about this morning... the chewing, the biting, the growling, the sand, sand, SAND in the house. Things are getting better though. He does settle down to cuddle and he is pretty good at playing fetch. I think we are nipping the biting in the butt finally by putting him in the laundry room for a timeout and separating him from his pack. He is the 7th member of our family and we are officially out of seats in the mini van. We are the Packsmans.

Blog Abandonment

Once again I've completely lost my interest in waking up early to blog. What is it that spikes my motivation to do something so consistently and then a short time later it becomes the least important thing in my life. Maybe I'm a little too dramatic over blogging but it does depress me that I cannot remain passionate about ANYTHING for long periods of time. 

I'm looking back over the blog to see that things may have been coming to a head in December based on the amount of stress I revealed several times in posts. I probably shouldn't beat myself up too badly because I let one ball drop. I'm considering the cafe again so that's a good sign of recovery. I also sewed a beautiful dress this week which happens to have been the most difficult project I've completed to date and that makes me more motivated than ever. This burst of motivation may be due to the fact that I utilized the last week as a much needed vacation time away from work. This time was spent with family and slumming around the house. Things are starting to turn around I hope so that I can become passionate about the things that are important for my future and not my "right-now".

Pictured: unfinished garment. I only pinned the pieces together on the dress form at this point to get an idea of what the finished product would look like.
Pattern: New Look 6023 size 6
 Alterations: I brought the neck down about 1 inch and took the shoulders in about 1 inch to accommodate my petite frame. I took the back seams in about 1/4 inch to cinch the diameter of the torso down as well.
Fabric: 100% Navy blue suit wool.
Style: Fabulous. 

Just to set the records, blogging is not my passion. Creating is. Blogging was an avenue I took in order to build a web presence when the time came to deploy my dream of The Craft Room Cafe. Actually, I'm not doing anything right now. Maybe I'll start that website!

Bank Breakup

Most will say, "That will never happen to me." But it can and I'm here to say that I have been in a terrible relationship with my bank for many years and I'm not even sure when it all started. All I know is that I stayed because I needed it. I stayed because it was convenient. I put up with their controlling ways because I didn't think I had any where else to go.

After buying the house and finally building up the courage, we opened a couple of accounts with different bank. Transitioning has been tricky though. Waiting for debit cards, direct deposits, auto drafts, and checks has proven to be the reason we just didn't want to let go but there is hope I tell you. We are about half way through the transition and it feels good to say good bye. 

BOFA, this is good bye. You knew it was coming and you didn't make this easy for either of us. I cannot say that I will miss you nor can I say that I won't. I can say that it was what it was and this is a new chapter for me and you will find someone else to control. Good luck.

Disney World Weekend

I think it took all of the last three days to recover from Disney World. Since it is only a 35 minute drive to the park we didn't rush. We did not arrive at rope drop or anything on Sunday but we parked, bought tickets, mono railed and made it into the park by 11:00 am which by that time the temperatures went from the 40's to the 60's so we all started peeling back our layers. 

That place is really so magical. E busted out on the packed, quiet mono rail, "Where does the magic start?!"

I don't even know what that means but I looked around at everyone looking at her and turned to her to say, "right here Honey."

We spent about 11 hours there and if our bodies would have let keep going then we would have stayed until 1:00 am when the park closed. Instead, we made it home by 11:30 pm. 

I took my camera and maneuvered it pretty well for an amateur, I think, except that I lost the lens cap on Big Thunder Mountain. It must have banged around in the coaster car that it popped off. I had just ordered it from Amazon so I'll be making a repeat purchase soon. The other thing is that the storage door or card-cover, has a small springy feel to it that allows the door to open a tiny bit. This happens if I squeeze the right side of the camera because I'm trying to take a quick pick. If the door opens during the exposure then the image is lost. That happened a couple of times. Once during a meet and greet with Rapunzel that we waited over an hour for. It was very disappointing. I'll look into getting it serviced.

Anyway, I did get a few good snaps though...

Looking Forward to Vacation

We are not planning to go anywhere but Nana and Grandpa will be here at the end of the month. I took that week off so that I could spend optimal time with them and shuttle the kids to and from school so that they can spend optimal time with them too. We haven't been out to SLC to see them in a year and a half but come out here at least once a year to see us. This will be the first time they see our new house. I'm excited. 

Can't wait to see you guys!

Feeling Like Painting

I found a business card in the bottom of a purse yesterday that I picked up from a booth at an art show.

www.BRenee.com

You will be directed to a Facebook page but there you can delve into the soul of the artist rather than view her gallery.

I love her use of color in such a drab atmosphere. The feel of the abstract art is very dark or even goth but she uses red and teal and lots of white to bring the composition to life. I am very inspired to paint my own since I've been searching for a suitable piece for my tiny master bath to give it character but have been unsuccessful for two reasons. 1) budget 2) size. Hanging up my own piece will solve both of these issues.

Is it inspiration or copy-cat to want paint something that you see? Either way, I'm off to work and then the supply store for the right canvas.

Offspring Creations

I am so proud to see my my girls doing things that I love to do. They do not even think twice about it. Creating is in their blood. Their souls carry the torch for "seeing" then "making". I'm just here for advice.

G called her B-friend and asked him to come over to help her paint an old dresser to put in her room. The mess around the beautiful antique is irrelevant and all the kids rooms still lack base boards but we are working on it! However, this piece turned out to be stunning. It looks great with the Boom Art decoupage. 

This child took a short ride to the mall with her auntie and raced home to find fabric for a design she found at one of the trendy stores. Below is constructed of a 4-way stretch knit I had left over. I advised her to use a zig-zag stitch when she asked if she had to stretch-and-sew. Inside the skirt, pictured top right is a small pocket for the iphone. LOL.

The second one was constructed an hour or so later when the girls called up Grammy to bring over a few more knit selections. B chose a sea shell print but was disappointed when the "fringe" didn't "roll up" like the prototype. I explained to her the difference in knit fabrics. Not pictured is the finished skirt where the second skirt needed a little cinching at the waist. I hand-stitched two scraps on the hip for her to tie together like a wrap around. She was excited that it turned out more "bo-ho" than the first one. 

Lastly, below was my weekend craft. I'm not sure that I love it yet. I plan to give it until the end of the week to grow on me or I'm heading to the home improvement store for another bucket of paint. The base boards look amazing on the other hand. I am open for suggestions...

Backlog of Blogging Images

Last Monday was the day I had an epiphany. I kept saying that I would take the camera I bought through Craigslist to a hobby store or Best Buy in order to find a USB cable for file transfers. I haven't been to a Best Buy in years so I have not made any plans to go. Taking pictures are great but if they are stuck on the camera then what good are they. Monday's blog http://beggobservations.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-year-resolutions.html stirred up the camera issue because I've been wanting to upload some images. It dawned on me that I could shop for the cable on Amazon.com and I would get it before the end of the week. DUH.

The cable showed up last night along with a new Olympus lens cap since my E-Volt didn't come with one courtesy of Craigslist. I plugged in the camera and started the upload and realized I still do not have a personal computer to work with images because I never solved that problem. For now, all my images reside on my work laptop were there isn't any photo editing software. Maybe I'll just finally bite the bullet and browse NewEgg.com for a desktop today. 

Meanwhile, please enjoy a few pics.

 This one is just for fun.

Dress Form Surprise

I received a dress form from W for Christmas. We were unsure of the quality while purchasing online and  only found a few reviews to draw a decision from so we finally settled on a petite sized Artistic Dress Form from Amazon.com. This form was to provide a good range for me and my two teenagers. When it showed up, it was surprisingly light. We set is up and wondered if all the dress forms were this flimsy. It wobbles really bad but I'm sure I can fix that with a little hardware.

The biggest disappointment for me wasn't the quality. It was the measurements. The only instructions that came with the dress form were on one sheet of paper and it consisted of pictures only so when I went to set the dials to build out my measurements, I did it the way I thought it would work. The dials have numbers like a measuring tape, inches on one side and centimeters on the other. I cranked them up to my measurements and tried to slide one of my dresses on and realized it was NEVER going to fit. I measured the form and found that it was nearly 4 inches larger than my measurements. Here's where I do the math: 4 dials = 4 inches. I lowered each one by 1/4 inch at a time and measured until I achieved the same measurements on the form as I did when I measured my self. I did the same for the waist and the hips, slid the dress back on a viola, it fit!

Ultimately, I don't understand the sizing increments but never-the-less it is practically perfect. I'm excited to start pinning a real project on it and stick it in the cafe. It's going to be great!

Cafe Kindle

I have a small burning desire to unleash the cafe dream planner again. I have been suppressing this because of what others were saying and how it could jeopardize my job. I'm beginning to think that maybe Jon Acuff, in his book Start, describes these kind of comments in the chapter "Mastering". He says that we need to, "...draw a clear distinction between hate and constructive criticism."

He also says that "Hate is an anchor. Constructive criticism is a gift."

I trust my source of the rumor and believe that her relay of information to me was constructive but I also believe that the rumor started from another source that may have been driven by hate. I cannot let this slow me down. Hate is unfair and nasty. It also makes things up that are untrue. 

Jon goes as far as creating an equation that I can relate to:

1 insult + 1,000 compliments = 1 insult

As a logical problem solver I can clearly see the issue here and I have learned two lessons. I'm taking the criticism into account and disregarding the nasty part.

Thanks Jon and thanks Source.

I'm up. I'm up!

The alarm pinging ever so softly did not get me out of bed this morning. B's phone charger broke yesterday so I sacrificed mine since I also have one at work. That means that my phone was not in the dining room charging all night. It was bed side for easy access. I realize this is not going to work long-term. All you have to do is shut it off within an arms reach and its over. Getting up to shut off the alarm is far more effective. But I want to get back to the part of my story of before I finally got out bed.

For a FL Girl, I would like to think that I'm not a cry baby when comes to cool weather. Although, the few times I've been to UT, I found it tricky to get acclimated. Discovering the combination of a light sweater and flip flops is key to comfort in the cool desert nights but here in FL, it seems like the cold is "different".

The warmth of the central heat set at 71 degrees F. and the plethora of comforters, sheets and Grandma afghans made it extra tricky to obey the alarm even if the alarm weren't within arms length. I understand that 36 degrees is not that cold. Okay who are we kidding, it is cold, but it is bearable right? I am trying very hard not to complain or even wince at our weather because I know that the North East and even Central would kill for 36. Chicago was at -11 yesterday while we were in the 60's. 

If you have to go out today, and most of us will, then bundle up, eat a piping hot bowl of oatmeal, stay hydrated and make it a great day.

New Year Resolutions

How many blogs have posted tips and comments on resolutions for the New Year?

That's rhetorical. I know this is bit late to jump on that band wagon but I don't think it's TOO late. I wanted to learn to knit this year but I had that one in the bag on New Year's Day. The craft store had skeins of yarn on sale so I picked out a great asparagus color and a book for $3.99 about the basics. I'm well on my way to completing a shawl for my office. I probably won't need it there since I share an office with 3 others and it's usually warm but I see it as a novelty.

No, that resolution was childish and too easy so I needed a new one. Pay down principle balance on the mortgage is one that we planned to do this year. But again, this one is easy because we've been planning this for 6 months already and it is open ended. I didn't pinpoint a dollar amount or anything. So what should my REAL resolution be?

Last August I made a decision to blog in order to build a web presence and to practice writing. I did very well for several months. However, I dropped the ball in December. I am reminded of this every weekday when my alarm goes off at 5:30 am. My excuses of being over stressed and sick are not relevant any longer so what was my excuse this morning as my phone beeped from the dining room table (I still have the same 'ol phone that I can not charge in a wall outlet)?  That's also rhetorical. Don't answer that. I peeled myself out of my sheets and ran into the door frame trying to get to the ringing. I flipped on the light in the dining room, woke up the laptop, put on a pot of coffee and... heard E calling my from her room. AHHHHHHH! I woke her up. New plan. I then proceeded to make oatmeal for her and pay some bills.

7:00 AM: I'm now finished taking care of business and ready to get to my New Year's Resolution. Which is continuing to blog daily about random stuff and build up my craft cafe dream again by rambling on and on about it. I will suppress the ease of avoiding the blog by creating excuses and plow through any obstacles. It's January 2014! It's a good to be here.