Small light at the end of the tunnel

This staying focused things is not easy. It takes a lot of effort to stay focused, but I'm sticking with it. My walks are going well. I even added a jog, well more like a trot, to the mix. It takes me about an hour to do 4 miles. It keeps my mind clear and I do a lot of thinking. It's my "me" time. I have noticed that a lot of people don't like to spend time with themselves. They fill up every hour, minute, second with something, work, friends, family, etc. I used to do the same thing. Then I realized that if I didn't take time for myself, I couldn't be the best mother, daughter, wife, employee, girlfriend, Joycelyn I could be. If I keep giving and giving and never take time to replenish, revive and refresh myself, I would eventually burn out, which would not be good for anyone. I also noticed that may don't spend time with themselves because they may be running from something. In the therapy world, they are called escape artist. They will do anything to avoid dealing with a problem or problems. They don't want to see the elephant in the room. From personal experience, the elephant gets bigger and eventually the problem, whatever it is, will catch up with you. So I try to spend time with myself so I can see clearly how to deal with problems or ways to keep myself moving in the right direction or whatever. I have come to enjoy it, even setting some walking/running goals that I really see myself accomplishing. What do you do to spend time with yourself? Thanks for sharing.

Cloudy but getting clearer

Ok. The knee is better. I really need to get back on my exercise routine. Those morning walks are so refreshing and clears my mind. I often think of solutions to problems or more creative things I want to do or try. I want to lose at least 15 pounds and I'm giving myself until September to do so. I think that is a reasonable amount of time. I have all these dresses that I made but can't wear. Very frustrating. It's something about a dress, that fits well and shows your shape that is soo sexy. I think so anyway. So I have the running shoes and workout wear set out by the bed. It's amazing that once I get into my routine, I really enjoy exercising. It's getting in the routine that's the HUGE problem. Since I have had some light bulb moments and personal revelations, maybe I can stick to this lifestyle change. I'm calling out Margaret. I hear she is joining Curves so she can wear a fairy costume for the Cowtown Indie Bazaar. Maybe we can be each others cheerleader. I know it helps me when I put it out there for all to see and have to be accountable to someone.  But no fairy is complete without the wings and something on the head. We gotta work on those wings for sure. Sorry Margaret but I can't wait.

Who/what do you turn to if you need to stay on track and keep going? Thanks for sharing.

Still Trying to Focus

I'm getting discouraged. I was all set to start exercising and my knee is giving me the blues. I don't know if it's the weather, or the fact that years ago my doctor told me I needed to stop kickboxing, step aerobics and running and do more swimming, aqua aerobics and cycling. Well since I hate cycling and don't know how to swim, I totally ignored his professional advice. Now I think I'm paying the price. So I'm trying to stay focused on my Etsy shop, coming up with new designs, blogging and doing some home improvements. Yesterday I met with some team member at a local coffee shop. I was so inspired. We were brainstorming about some creating some small craft shows and venting about being a crafter/small business owner/self-employed or whatever you want to call it. I need more of those meeting to keep me fresh and going. On the drive home, I had so many ideals. Here is where a digital recorder would have come in handy. I'll put that on my long list of "supplies" I need to buy. What gets you inspired? What do you do to stay focused or get re-focused? Thanks for sharing.

Wicked Wednesday Week 5 "Happy Father's Day"

Wicked Wednesday is back. I'm a daddy's girl and since Father's Day will be here soon, I'm gonna feature some great items dads will love. Let's not wait till the day before or day of the get dad a great gift. We start and plan early for mom, lets do the dame for day. I will be doing a feature once a week until Father's Day. Today feature is bracelets.

Topography (reticulated link bracelet w/ 6mm faceted rhodolite garnet) by Twisted Metal1

Funky Measure Tape Bracelet - Upcycled - Metal/Plastic (Black /White) by Home Made Karma

BARBWIRE - Sterling Silver bangle by Sophiapip

Brown leather cord/brown braided leather hemp bracelet by Martin1206

Steampunk Cuff Bracelet - Vintage Brass INCREDIBLE AIRPLANE by Edmdesigns

Deep Burgandy Leather Cuff with Stitch Detail by Birdhouse Designs

There is a bracelet for every price point and every type of dad. One of my favorite memories of my dad is the bike rides would take on a sunday afternoon after church. We didn't say much, but the fact that he took time out for me was special. I love you dad. Thanks for everything. What is your favorite memory with you dad, or father figure?

Re-Focus

I haven't been blogging in a loonngg time. I lost my focus for a moment. What I have noticed about myself is that I get bored very easily. Not sure if that's the creative part of me, or the lazy part of me. I haven't seemed to master the art of juggling, many task, that is. Either I'm all in with one thing and other things lack. I'd be focused on my Etsy shop, but my exercise/eating healthy routine would suffer. I'd be all focused on exercising and eating healthy and blogging would suffer. Can I only concentrate on one thing at a time? I hope not. A lot of changes have occured in my life in the past few months, some good and some not. I ran into a creativity wall. So I took a suggestion and did something else, totally unrelated. I let out some frustation on my bathroom and ripped up the tile floor. Don't worry, it needed it. The tile was coming up anyway and I got tired of looking at it. That may have re-focued my view. Now that I have a lot on my plate, I really need to focus. People are counting on me to pull my weight. What do you do when you need to re-focus?

I GOT MY FIRST SALE!!!!!

After finishing up for the day and about to turn off my computer, I decided to check my email one last time. Little did I know that a surprise was waiting there for me. It read "Notification of payment received". I have been getting a lot of spam, so my first instinct was to delete it. But since it was in my inbox, I opened it. The first thing I saw was, "You've got Cash!" Still confused, I wondered who this person was and WHY were they sending me money. As I read further, I discovered to my surprise, I made my first sale. After 8 months of being on Etsy, I finally got my first sale. I have two shops, MaKayla Creations and MaKayla Bags. The sale was in MaKayla Bags. I'm was so excited; I couldn't sleep. I had been doing so much research, reading, trial and error, trying to see what would work. I edited my descriptions. Nothing. I changed my photos. Nothing. I credit the talented members of my Etsy team for their expertise and wisdom. My team started a thread on our site called Renewing/Relisting/Showcasing. It was very helpful. They talked about the importance of relisting and renewing. I didn't even know I should relist/renew nor that there were certain days/times that are best to renew/relist. Showcasing, I still not quite sure about this, but from the ones that tried it, it wasn't as profitable as renewing/relisting. So I took those tips and started renewing/relisting in both of my shops. Then at one of our team meetings, someone mentioned the benefits of Google Analytics. WHAT? So I did my research and used Google Analytics to see which day/time my views are the highest, in which shop and where they are coming from. So far, so good. Then, someone mentioned a website that would allow you to edit your photos. I have seen quite a few sites and software, but picnik.com is the BOMB!!! I was so excited about how user friendly and FREE it was. My excitement kept me up half the night adjusting my pictures. Hopefully, all of this hard work will reap more sales.

We had a blast at Funky Finds

Funky Finds was this weekend. My girls and I had a great time. I didn't have a booth. Our team was a sponsor and we had a booth where we sold donated goods from our team members benefiting the Tarrant County Food Bank. I volunteered to work that booth. Maybe for the next show, I'll get up the nerve to do my FIRST show. Some of the booths looked really good and I got a lot of ideals. Just need to decide which direction I want to go. Here are some pictures of the Etsy Fort Worth team in actions.

I hope you enjoyed. Share your favorite moments from a craft fair. Thanks.