Sunday, April 29, 2012

Update on “Do I Just Jump In?”

Hey y’all! Been a busy week, ok, yeah, aren’t they all?

Thank you to all my new readers that have come because of my last post! I had more visitors to my blog in one day after posting that recipe than I have had in total the entire 11ish months since I started this blog! So glad I could help so many others who have a adopted a healthy low carb lifestyle with one of the things that we miss the most, probably much more for convenience of meals than taste….bread! Of course as I said, I can’t take all the credit, the recipe was amazing the way I found it, I only put together the instructions for making a larger batch Smile. We had grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches with them today along with some homemade tomato soup, and what a treat it was!

I’ve got a lot going on right now, so much that I have even given up Facebook for now! *gasp*! Ok, well Facebook has been both boring me and annoying me lately anyway, so maybe it wasn’t all that hard. Being a creature of habit though is what made it hard. When you’ve been going to a website multiple times a day for 5 or 6 years it’s a little hard to break the habit. I will still visit my Facebook page for this blog once in a while, but I’m really trying to stay away from my own personal page.

I mentioned a few weeks ago about wanting to start an online store but being a little afraid to jump in. I have decided that I definitely want to do it, not only want to, need to. The results of a local election means that the days are number before basically we start getting taxed up the, well ass for lack of a better term. Canadians are already very highly taxed, so this isn’t a good thing but we all know it’s coming. We’re already having a very hard time getting by on a single income, and everything keeps going up while hubby’s pay only goes up by a very small amount. So I really need to start bringing in some money as well, it just can’t interfere with being Mom or a Wife, those things are my life and come first no matter what. Which is why I need to start something on my own, going and working outside the home will affect too much on the household in a very negative way. Been there, done that, not going to do it again.

I can’t just jump in to starting my store though because there are some steps I need to take first and of course they require…..MONEY! Yeah, you gotta spend money to make money, right? I want to make sure I start off right. I need licenses, both at the local and federal level in order to start a business. And of course I need stock, I do not want to be one of those stores that advertises stuff for sale that I don’t have right here ready to send out.  I figure before I can start my store I need to save up at least $1,000 to cover everything I need.

So then I’m left with the question of how do I save up that kind of money when we barely have enough coming in to live off of in the first place. On my previous blog I did some of those pay per post type of things, it’s not big money but I made enough off it one year to pay for Christmas, so not complaints there. I really don’t want to get into that kind of posting on here though, I mean I’m ok doing reviews for product kind of a thing as long as I’m allowed to be 100% honest in my review. But I really don’t want to do the pay per post things on here because let’s be honest, most of the stuff you get to do a post on is not something you would even care about or have any interest in. Not once did I get to do a post on clothes, fashion or anything food that interested me. I don’t want this blog clogged up with every few posts being like that.

I’ve done a few other odd things here and there online in the past to earn money, most of them are more time consuming than they’re worth, basically you end up with pennies for hours worth of work. Besides the paid posting the only other thing I’ve ever done online that made money was designing t-shirts and stuff and selling them on Cafepress. I got lazy though and didn’t give it all the attention it deserved. I continue to get small cheques here and there from it even though I haven’t promoted my stuff at all. I’ve just been lucky enough that some of my designs still sell on their own through the Cafepress marketplace. Because of my laziness in promoting my stuff though it hasn’t been big money. I think I’ve made about $350 since doing my first design in the middle of 2008. I make very little per item sold if it sells from their marketplace, but I could make as much as double that or more per item if I promote it myself and sell via my own “store”.

I have one design especially that has done pretty well. So I started thinking that maybe I can make the money I need to start my own online store with plus size clothing if I just stopped being so lazy and started promoting my Cafepress designs and maybe even designing more stuff. It would also kind of help ease me into more of a “business mode” that I will need when I start my plus size store.

If anyone is interested in trading small adverts I’m open to it. I can make up a small advert for my Cafepress stuff, I’m going to try to link it all together through one site(each design has it’s own “store” unless you pay for an upgrade) and as soon as I do it will make it easier for me to do that. I can put up blog adverts or whatever else in exchange for you putting up one of mine. I’m thinking sidebar advert.

I need to make this work. I still have to focus on helping the kids finish up our school year and then I will have a month or two before I need to start getting ready for the next school year. I also have holidays to plan, we’re going to camp for the first time in 20 years!(yeah, only holiday we can afford LOL) I have to go through the entire house and get stuff ready for a yard sale, we have too much stuff and we could use the extra money to get it out of our way. So much to do, but I know I need to work extra hard on getting enough money to make this work. Designing t-shirts is fun, I do enjoy it. But to get to set up my plus size store will not only help with a much needed second income, it’s something I love and am passionate about. Which is why I know I can’t be scared to jump in and do it, I have to do it.

Jolene

Monday, April 23, 2012

Recipe: Buns I Can Eat

The hardest part of cutting out sugar and carbs is not having bread for sandwiches or burgers. I came across a couple of recipes for low carb breads but didn’t really care for them. I know there’s low carb breads and tortillas and such that you can buy, but here in Canada they are pretty much impossible to find(and super expensive if you do).

Finally a couple of weeks ago I came across a recipe for a “One Minute Bread” on Pinterest. Any of you here from my Pinterest link have probably seen this recipe floating around from anyone who pins low carb recipes. I made one for the kids and I to try with some tuna we had made. It was not only good, it was great! I made another bun for each of us and we each had a tuna sandwich, seriously the best tuna sandwich I had ever had! The buns have so much flavor! I made one for hubby later and used it for a fried egg sandwich for him when he got home from work. He loved it!

My only problem with the recipe was that it was for making one bun at a time. It’s definitely nice to have a recipe to make just one quick bun if you need it, but with 4 of us of course we need more if we are going to use it for a meal. I asked the blogger who posted the recipe if she had tried making them in the oven, she had not. So, that just meant that I was going to have to!

It was such a gorgeous weekend that we wanted to barbecue hamburgers yesterday. Of course we wanted some sort of bun with them. Perfect chance for me to try out making these in the oven so I could make more at one time. I tried making just one at first to see if it would turn out. Turn out it did! I quickly mixed up more to make enough for dinner. They were so incredibly good as hamburger buns! I mean so much better than a traditional bun, and this is coming from someone who’s favorite food is hamburgers.

To get the original recipe for just one bun that I used go to Ginny's Low Carb Kitchen. The only ingredients I changed from hers was I used butter instead of coconut oil because I’m almost out of it and it’s pretty expensive, but so good for you so use it if you have it. And I used just regular flax meal instead of golden as hers calls for. If you want to make more than one bun, here is how I made 6 buns at a time(picture is of bun before being toasted):

P4220158

Low Carb Buns

Inspired by One Minute Bread, The Next Minute Toast by Ginny

Makes 6 buns.

1/4 cup Butter

6 Large Eggs

1/3 cup Water

3 tbsp Parmesan

1/2 cup Almond Flour

1/3 cup Flax Meal

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tsp Splenda

Melt butter in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients and whisk together really well.

Take 6 oven safe bowls, ramekins or tins, basically anything that will give you the shape and size you want. See pictures below for what I used, I got them at the Dollar store and plan to just wash and re-use them until they wear out or I find something else to use. They are the perfect size and shape and I couldn’t find anything else similar. Spray with some cooking spray and line them up on a baking sheet.

Divide batter up evenly among the 6 tins, you’ll end up with approximately 1/3 cup of batter in each tin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Let them cool for a few minutes, then carefully slice each bun. Toast them to desired crispness and enjoy!

I haven’t tried them not toasted so I have no idea what they taste like that way, but toasted they are great and you can use them for any kind of sandwich or burger.

 

With batter divided among tins:

P4220154

Buns fresh out of the oven:

P4220156

Jolene

Thursday, April 19, 2012

What I Wore

Yikes, how does a week go by without a post? It feels like I just posted yesterday!

I am so excited for some amazing weather we are supposed to be getting this weekend. Last weekend we got almost all our flowers and veggies started, until I ran out of soil anyway. My house is now filled with pots of bulbs and seeds that I’m praying my black thumb won’t ruin! I can do many things, some I’m even pretty darn good at, but gardening is not one of them LOL. I have had no luck with anything gardening related. But, I’m going to give it another go this year. I’ve planted flowers from both seeds and bulbs and I’m trying a few different veggies and herbs. If nothing works out this year then I’m going to officially give up on gardening, I’ve wasted enough money trying to grow things that just don’t grow. I sort of blame my hubby too LOL, he means well but he always ends up trying to take over when we grow anything, so I have never been able to plant something and take care of it myself. So maybe it’s his black thumb that is to blame lol. We have 2 to 3 weeks before we can put it all outside, I’m sure it would be ok now since it has been fairly mild, but I don’t want to risk it, we can get snow and frost up until the first week or so of June.

I’m sort of lacking much to post for outfits lately. I don’t know how some bloggers manage to post a new outfit so often. I don’t have enough clothes to make that many new outfits and can’t afford to add to my wardrobe very often. I do have probably the best selection of clothing though that I’ve ever had in my life! It’s still pathetic compared to most women though lol. So a lot of what I wear is just re-wearing outfits that I already posted or making changes that are too minor to bother with posting.

I ordered some adorable cardi’s from City Chic and am totally in love with them! They are the most comfortable cardi’s I’ve ever had. And the best thing about them? They only cost $5!!! They come in 3 colors, I first ordered the purple and the black and as soon as I got them this week and tried them on I immediately went back on their website and ordered the blue and another black. I know I will be wearing these a ton this summer and the price is soooo my kind of deal!

Here is one of many ways I will be wearing these cardi’s, I chose not to tie it, but it looks good whether you tie it or not.

P4180153P4180157

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P4180154

 

P4180158P4180155

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeans: Forever 21+, $15(2011)

Tank: Warehouse One, $10(2011)

Cardi: City Chic, $5(2012)

Boots: Payless, $40(2011)

Necklace: souvenir shop @ Royal Tyrrell Museum, $5ish??(2011)

Earrings: Avon, gift from my Mom

Ring: $10, Addition-Elle(2011)

Jolene

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

What I’m Wearing

I got to have a much needed break from the boys today. It was just to run around the city and do some shopping, but with the week I’ve had with the boys it was so nice to get out of the house without them, regardless of what it was for. We got another day of amazing weather too, allowing me to dress light and summery. It feels so good to be wearing some of my summer clothes! Even though I try to wear them all year round, a nice flowy dress just doesn’t feel as nice with heavy tights and boots as it does with bare legs, light shoes and a cardigan.

Notice the braid? Look closely. You can see just how insanely fine my hair is by the skinny braid, that is ALL my hair in the braid. I’m so jealous of those with long thick hair! I love my length but hate how crazy fine my hair is. It is so hard to do anything with.

P4110157P4110155

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dress: 121Avenue, $17(2011)

Cardigan: Joe Clothing from Real Canadian Superstore, $12ish(2011)

Belt: City Chic, $12(2011)

Shoes: Walmart, $15(2010)

Necklace: gift from MIL years ago

Earrings: Avon, gift from my Mom

Jolene

Monday, April 09, 2012

Broccoli Salad

I always find the need to follow a “deep” post with something more fun and uplifting. What could be more fun and uplifting than good food?!? Besides, it has been too long since my last recipe post.

This is one of my favorite salads, I don’t make it often though because broccoli can be a little pricey. I knew I had to have it for our turkey dinner this weekend though, and since broccoli was on sale it made it onto the table and into my belly! Yum! Hubby is the only one who won’t eat this, he said he might try it one day but one thing at a time since he agreed to try the cauliflower “faux” mashed potatoes that was enough for now LOL. Thank goodness my kids are not picky like my husband!

This amount makes a big bowl of the salad, great if you have company or are taking it to a pot luck, or if like my kids and I you just love it so much a small bowl of it is not enough. This is how I make it, but there are SO many variations that you can just use a recipe as a guideline and make it your own. Some people use regular white vinegar, I MUCH prefer the flavor red wine vinegar gives it. Some people add other nuts or raisins. Some use cubed cheese instead of shredded, or leave the cheese out. There are just so many ways of making it, this is how I like to make it.

P2230142

Broccoli Salad

4 Broccoli Crowns(or equivalent of florets in a bag)

1/2 small Purple Onion, cut into thin slices(you can use any, I like purple)

4 to 6 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled in bite size pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese(make it how cheesy you want)

1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds

1 cup Mayonnaise(I use Miracle Whip)

3 tablespoons Splenda

2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

Cut florets off the broccoli crowns, wash and dump into a large bowl. Add onion, bacon, cheese and sunflower seeds. Mix well.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, Splenda and red wine vinegar. Add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture and either stir or put a lid on the bowl and shake well until the broccoli is evenly coated in mayonnaise mixture.

Enjoy!

Jolene

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a great Easter, however you celebrate it!

We’re not religious, so we don’t really necessarily celebrate Easter. We used to do the whole “Bunny” part of Easter, we hid eggs around the house and always had a bunch of stuff on the table that the Easter Bunny left. Our boys are much too old for that now, we did buy them a Sugar Free chocolate bunny but they’ve such little youknowwhats lately that I haven’t given it to them yet LOL.

For us Easter is just another excuse to have a nice big family dinner together. I spent all day cooking and made my first low carb turkey dinner. It was fantastic and we didn’t miss a thing from our usual turkey dinner that I used to make. I came up with a low carb substitution for almost everything I usually include in our big dinners. Hubby even thoroughly enjoyed the faux “mashed potatoes” that I made with cauliflower….and he HATES cauliflower! My youngest pigged out on the “fauxtatoes” he loved them so much. So while I was incredibly exhausted, it was so worth it because we had a great healthy dinner and there were leftovers so I didn’t have to cook today.

I spend all my time with my husband and boys, but any sort of holiday still makes me want to be even closer with them and has me reflecting on the 3 people in my life that mean and are the world to me. My family for the most part chooses not to want to be much of a part of our lives, and there are some things that make that ok with me at this point(I guess you can say I’ve given up and don’t care anymore since it seems they stopped caring about us and our boys long ago). But it makes me think more about my own little family even more.

My boys piss me off a LOT, I feel sometimes like I’m the only one with boys who can be like they can, but whenever hubby talks at work about the latest thing our boys have done he is told by all who have boys that it’s completely normal and their boys did all this crap too(in most cases worse) and eventually they will start to mature and act their age and grow out of it. I’m soooo looking forward to that day and I guess I feel it more than some parents because I am literally with my boys 24/7. I don’t get a break while I’m at work, because my work is my boys. I don’t get a break while they’re at school, because their school is right here at home. But regardless of them being typical brat boys I love my boys more than anything. I feel so totally and completely unappreciated by my own family and I want to make sure that even though I’m a pretty strict parent that I raise my boys to have a different relationship with us and with each other than what I have with my family. It’s not that my family fights or anything like that, it’s just that there seems to be absolutely no respect and a lot of selfishness I guess is how I look at it, and everyone seems so fake(talk one way but act the complete opposite). I don’t even feel like my family is family, they feel more like casual acquaintances than family. I don’t want my boys relationship with each other or their relationship with us to be like that, we are close now and I want it to stay that way, that is probably one of the most important things to me in raising my kids.

Even after so many years together with my husband I feel like we have a closer relationship with each other than a lot of couples, of course we started dating when I was 16 and he 17 so grew into adulthood together, that I’m sure helped. And while like any marriage we have had some difficult times too(hard times as often and as deep as we have had will cause strain on any relationship, no matter how perfect) and some big obstacles to overcome, we are strong as ever in our relationship and respectful to each other even after all these years.

On Friday while we were out grocery shopping I ended up struggling to hold back tears while we were checking out. One short conversation with a cashier was an amazing reminder to hold those you love tight and be grateful for those closest to you.

Here is how our conversation went:

Cashier(to me): “ Well don’t you look nice, are you guys off to dinner?”

Me: “Thank you, no, just how I like to dress.”

Hubby(not quite letting me get out my comment Smile ): “ No, she always looks this good.”

Cashier: “Aww, now that’s sweet for him to say that, he deserves some brownie points for that.”

Hubby inserts some comment about us being together 20 years and something about me always looking good even after all these years(can’t remember exactly what it was).

Cashier: “Oh that’s so nice, it was 32 years for me…..it would have been 35 now”

…..her husband passed away after 32 years together. The rest of the conversation was mostly a blur, all I could do was struggle to hold back the tears because my heart was breaking for her and for anyone who has to go through such a loss of a loved one. I remember she did say that at least he got to meet his grandchildren first and he was no longer in pain. This woman did not look that old so likely got married and had kids young like we did….meaning her husband was FAR too young to be taken away.

I won’t spend my life wishing what could be with those who choose not to have a close relationship with me, I can’t change those things for the most part, usually a relationship is like that for a reason. But I will damn well make sure that with those I already do have a close relationship with I make sure they know how much I love them and I will do everything in my power to make sure our relationship stays that way. It’s so hard with kids though because you still have to be the parent while at the same time wishing you really could just give them anything they want or do anything for them so they don’t have to just because you love them so much. But you also know that you can’t do that, because you love them so much.

Don’t waste time stressing over those who don’t deserve it, put all your energy into loving those who do so if they are ever taken away from you too soon you have no regrets.

There’s my deep thoughts for the day LOL.

Jolene

Friday, April 06, 2012

What I’m Wearing

What I’m wearing today is….my new leopard print skirt from SexyPlus Clothing!

I got my order from SexyPlus this week and did get a reminder of why I hate that there is so little to shop at locally for Plus Size clothing so I can actually try stuff on first. I ordered 3 things, 2 of them bottoms(a skirt and a pair of capris). I ordered them both in a 1X, which is supposed to be a 14/16. Sometimes that size can be a little on the small side for me if they lean more to the 14 side, but the next size up(18/20) is always too big. Unfortunately for me the capris leaned to the 14 side(they are actually labeled as a 14) and while I can get them on and done up, they are really tight Sad smile. My weight has been going down slowly, so I’m hoping I can lose a few lbs in the next couple of months and then they will fit good for the summer. The skirt is labeled as a 16, but is pretty big, it fits more like an 18.

I wore the skirt today anyway, I have to wear it down on my hips because around the waist I swim in it. I’m going to hang on to it though and then in the Fall I’ll maybe go get it altered so it fits right, the cost of altering it probably isn’t much different than the cost of mailing it back so I might as well just get it altered so it fits me perfectly. The fabric is definitely too heavy for summer, so I will probably only get a month or two to wear it right now. I’ll deal with it being a little big for now and then base alterations on whatever my weight is come Fall so I can love it next Fall/Winter!

I don’t blame SexyPlus at all for the difference in sizing(I wish they had a store here, I’ve said it before, the owner is fantastic), I know they get their clothes from a variety of suppliers and unfortunately not all clothing manufacturers use the same sizing structure. The other item I got was a little shrug(which I’m wearing too) and it fits great! I love shrugs and cardigans because I love my sleeveless and strappy tops all year round and shrugs and cardigans make them wearable through the year.

So now I don’t know if it’s possible, but I want to find a leopard print skirt in lighter fabric for summer! I have a leopard print strapless dress that I wear as a long skirt a lot, but I want a short one too, and in a lighter colored print like this one.

I actually paid less than what I’m listing for the items from SexyPlus Clothing because I got a deal that gave me $100 worth of clothing for $40…..I’m not about to figure out what it works out to for each thing though LOL.

P4060154P4060156

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P4060155

Skirt: SexyPlus Clothing, $48(2012)

Top: Addition-Elle, $15(2008??)

Shrug: SexyPlus Clothing, $16(2012)

Boots: Payless, $40(2011, leftover style from 2010)

Belt: Dollarama, $2(2012)

Necklace/Earrings Set: Avon, gift from my Mom(2010)

Ring: Penningtons, $3(2012)

P4060160 

Jolene

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Do I Just Jump In?

First of all I would like to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, technically yesterday now I guess. We hardly saw him though because of his work schedule for the day, but he’s off tomorrow so I think he and I will sneak out for some lunch and then I’ll make him one of his favorite dinners and a Low Carb Birthday cake tomorrow night.

He turned 38 and I have been teasing him about being an “old man”, hehe, he’s only a year and a couple of months older than me. We have done a lot of talking lately about how crazy it is how fast the years have gone, and how it’s just such a weird feeling wondering how we could possibly be approaching 40 already. Our aching bodies feel that old, but otherwise I certainly don’t feel any older than I did when I was in my 20’s. We learned several years ago just to slow down and still the years keep flashing by, I wish those people who insist on just gogogo all the time would slow down and appreciate life more, you don’t have to do it all, just enjoy it all.

Anyway, back to my intended topic. I’ve said before that I need to get a plan in place to earn some money. Every month it becomes more apparent with the fact that we cannot possibly live off hubby’s income alone without having to continue to use the credit card. He makes pretty good money but the cost of living here is really high, so it’s just not enough for a family of 4 to live off of, especially when 2 of those are teenage boys who have an appetite that never shuts off. We are eating so much healthier now too and of course with that the cost of food has gone way up(I don’t care what anyone says, eating healthy costs WAY more than not, produce, dairy and meat is EXPENSIVE!). Our rent goes up next month, utilities keep going up, and so does gas for the car….yes my wonderful American friends, we pay more for gas up here than you all do LOL…we luckily have a car that is VERY good on gas though and hubby’s commute to work is less than 15 minutes.

I have to work from home is a big thing in this endeavor to bring in more money, for many reasons. First is I homeschool, I try to make the boys as independent as possible but they aren’t nearly as responsible as I wish they would be and if left alone I know they will not do their work, they slack big time even with me right here on their case all day….have definitely learned it’s a BOY thing!(after years of stressing I have finally decided that as long as they end up with their High School diplomas in the end I’ll be happy) Second reason, while I’m much better than I have been in a long time(diet change helps SO many things!), I get/have social anxiety….which means going out and working in public is very hard for me. Third reason, unless I got totally lucky I’m not qualified to work anything but retail and it doesn’t pay all that well(unless things have changed a lot in 8 years), I haven’t worked outside of the home in almost 8 years and when I did work I worked retail and even as a store manager the pay sucked. When I quit working and figured out the extra costs for me to work both financial(gas to and from, eating out a lot because I was too tired to cook after a long day) and not(hubby and I never seeing each other because of working opposite shifts so someone was home with kids, lack of family time period), in the end we ended up with very little for the hours I worked. It was NOT worth it. People on welfare got more than I made working full time.

I thought for a long time that what I would do from home is make and sell things. I’ve had some designs on CafĂ© Press for a few years and I wanted to instead of having them on there make and sell shirts with my designs myself, I could sell them online and here locally at craft shows etc. I can’t seem to make the inexpensive way of doing my designs work to my satisfaction though and I cannot possibly afford a machine to do it the best way. So while I would still like to do this one day, it’s not the solution for right now.

One day while I was complaining about the selection of plus sized clothing out there for a good price my husband suggested that I design plus sized clothing. He obviously thinks more highly of my capabilities than I do because I don’t think I could do that. I am learning to sew, but I’m incredibly new at actually making things, and I don’t think I could actually make my own designs from scratch. It’s just way above my level of talent.

It got me thinking though that I wish I could have my own online plus size store. For several months now I’ve spent a lot of time looking at plus size wholesalers. While I’m not incredibly impressed with any one particular wholesaler I’ve found, there are plenty that have a few decent things for a decent price. I wish I could find more than what I have, I know they’re out there, but I’m really looking for ones that have a low enough price that I could re-sell at affordable prices for people like me. I know there are lots of “me” people out there….plus size women who take pride in their appearance, want to look great but don’t have the money to spend $50 to $100 on each piece of clothing.

I’ve found some pretty great wholesale prices on jewelry too, so I have considered maybe starting out slowly with just jewelry since it’s a lower cost to order stock in to get started. I can’t for the life of me come up with what I would use as a store name, we come up with lots but nothing that is just “clicking” for me. I think though in a way I’m using that as an excuse because I’m a little scared of taking this all on(even though I plan to start small), maybe partially because I’m a little scared of completely failing too. I can’t find a website I like yet either to run a store on, I probably haven’t looked hard enough yet.

I have seen a few plus size bloggers start their own stores recently, so I’m also kind of cursing myself for taking so long to just jump in and get started. I don’t want to look like a copy cat(even though I’ve been considering this since long before I saw any of these new stores pop up). So far from the ones I have seen I think my store would be quite different anyway, and I guess there’s never too many options for us considering there’s currently so few(though it has come a LONG way from a handful of years ago). One day I think I can do it and have so much optimism, the next I think I’ll go to all the work to get it going and then nobody will buy from me because that is the luck I’ve always had with stuff in the past.

So, I need someone to give me a kick in the ass and find the confidence I need to just DO IT!

I’m hoping getting it out there will be enough to get me going! Oh, and I know I’ve slacked on posting this past week, had a little of everything going on. Will try to post either an outfit or a recipe, or at least something better than my rambling tomorrow!

Jolene