Problem is, of course, money. Now, I could afford a new Windows laptop running up to about $700 thereabouts without much problem. I've been really good with the financials lately, so I actually still have money in my account and I'm not freaking out at the end of the month. I have to say though, it really helps getting paid every week! Makes it much easier to figure out how much I can spend each week as opposed to trying to make one paycheque last for 2.

But even though I have enough for a new Windows laptop, that's unfortunately not what I need. With all my work with photos and photoshop and the like, I desperately need a Mac. Although, having a Mac does put a damper in some of the Windows programs I love to use for business type dealies. But my plan is to keep this one around and once I move all my photos and programs for photos to the Mac, strip this one down to the bare minimums and just use it for the "office" side to my workings. It'll make me feel all professional like! Kinda like when I carry around a clip board!

But buying a Mac of course, adds atleast another $1000 on the price.

Any suggestions?

But I'm not up to doing anything illegally here! So no suggestions of robbing banks please. I'm quite clumsy and I'd probably fall on my big bag of money whilst trying to escape the police and "Chris Farley" it. There's be money everywhere. And of course I wouldn't think of putting my hands down to break my fall, but I'd use my face as per usual. Bad habit of mine. Poor face. I'm getting pretty hideous over here from all my falling.

So for now, I'll struggle along. If you're not seeing many new photos, this is why! Not like I have much time or energy right now to do any crafting or picture taking or editing mind you, so that's okay right now.

But I do have exciting news! A couple of weeks ago I started following Jann Arden on Instagram (the photo program I use on my iPhone) and she FOLLOWED ME BACK!!! She's even LIKING MY PHOTOS!! I get so excited everytime I see that she liked a photo of Kermit or Puck. I've had quite a few hilarious ones lately. Like when I stayed out really late with a friend of mine Saturday night and they were both giving me the "So young lady, mind telling us why you were out so late?!" glares...

Okay so, a small rant on Facebook, because I just discovered this. I post a lot of photos to facebook from Instagram because I like to share the "so cute my head is going to explode" pics of my furrbabies. I hadn't gotten ONE comment on any of them and I was all sad face. Well, I just went to facebook to get a photo and noticed on my stupid timeline that all my Instagram photos had a lock with an "Only Me" written to the side. Right on. Because I just love filling up my facebook timeline with things for only me to see. Hmph.

Alright, don't want to get too long winded. My computer might crash any second since it sounds like a 90 year old man trying to get up out of his chair. Have a great week everyone! Hopefully it won't be so long until I'm back again :)

Basically, it went down like this... I've always had automatic renewal which comes off my credit card April 10th, and the domain is renewed. Never done it manually. So, time for renewal and get a notice of it from said domain host. Then I get another email from said domain host saying they couldn't renew. I logged into my account and notice that all my information including credit card number was completely blank. Apparently when they upgraded their own website, it deleted everything. Way to let peeps know said domain hosting bastards!

So, I diligently enter my account info, credit card number, it says "Thank you! Your next automatic renewal will be scheduled for April 10th, 2013!" So, I figured everything was good, yes? Wouldn't you think so as well??

Well slap me silly and call me Sally, no it wasn't! I went to log into my website and the site was not available. Right on! I log into my account again, and couldn't for the life of me navigate ANYTHING on their site. Before it was stupid people simple, know what I mean? You log in, and all the info is right there. The domain, when it was paid, anything I wanted to know. Now? French-Seal that! I can find more information on making Facebook ads, than I can about my own domain. Now that's helpful!

I notice a little live chat doohickey and decide to give it a go. The guy (We'll call him "Ronald"... well, his name actually was Ronald...) was really nice at first with all his "Hello! How are you! How can I help you today!" then he became a downright ass when I used the wrong "terminology" and gave me a lecture between "website hosting" and "domain hosting". Well, stick a finger up my ass Ronald! Excuse me for using the wrong word! Yeesh. I'm not a computer wizz like you, obviously!

Anyhoo, even though it was set up for "automatic" there was absolutely nothing "automatic" about the 8 step process I had to take in order to "automatically renew" my website domain. But then it was going to take 24-48 hours to actually work again. Lucky for Ronald, it's working.

But, in other exciting news that I don't think I've shared on here yet, I was at a Flea Market a few weeks ago and found a 1930's camera that STILL WORKS and I brought it to my trusty camera place, Burlington Camera, to check it out and guess what?! They had compatible film!! So when I stop dancing long enough to take some photos, I'll take a roll, bring it back to them, they'll process it, see if there's any light leakage, and we'll go from there!

Coolest part is the guy that was helping me showed me an app on my iPhone that is a lightmeter, so it'll tell me what settings I need to put the camera at based on how light it is where I'm taking a photo! Right on!

Alright, off I go again. But before I do, I can't help but share this:

Could they be any cuter? I mean, really?

I plan on crafting soon, I swear! Have a great week everyone!

As for now, I have a kitten in the garbage can, the puppy doing a poo-dance and the oven is waiting for it's sausages. And we must not disappoint the oven! I've already made the washing machine angry and now it doesn't want to spin! I'm very stinky.

I kid! I kid! I'm still using it despite it's lackluster attempts at a "spin" cycle. A "Flop" cycle will suffice until we can find a suitable replacement. That or I find where the crap a Laundromat is around here.

And just so we can keep you all entertained, here's my hubs pretending to be a biker. Or the Great Gazoo, whichever you prefer :)

Oh, right, this is a crafting blog... I got nuthin'. Hopefully soon! Been very exhausted lately, and frankly I think I may be eating a tad too many sausages...

Unfortunately working so much really took a toll on me. Not used to having a full time job anymore - haven't had one of those since 2008! So keeping up with my business sort of wasn't happening (that was probably a bit more than obvious!) BUT I have the week off! WootWoot!

And what are my plans for this week??? Why, that would be cleaning up my whirlwind of a craft room that quickly became a dumping yard so I can get back to crafting on a regular basis. Plus, I'll be working hard on my shop and my website so I can get it to where I've always wanted it!

I have to admit, when you're home all day with all the time in the world, never knowing what day it is, (okay, that's kinda blissful! And I miss it at times!) but I kinda lost my motivation and wasn't working as hard on my business as I should have been. More and more time was spent playing with the dog and napping. Well, maybe not actually "napping"... more like... aw hell, ya it was napping. Anyhoo...

I'm hoping to get into a groove again and do some sort of crafting-like-mode where I do something with my business each day after work. I don't even know what my Etsy shop looks like right now! Although that would be a teeny bit of a lie since I finally logged in a week or so ago and noticed I still had my "Merry Christmas get your cards quick!" message along the top, and more than half of my listings had expired. Though that could have been a good thing, because I quickly re-listed a whack of photos and guess what? I sold one!

Alright well, I'm already procrastinating from the whirlwind of my room. Although I'll leave you with a picture of the cutest animals in the world... Kermit and Puck.. How much in love are they?!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Since November, I've been working like crazy which I'm totally not used to so I was exhausted. When I wasn't working I was trying to tame a crazy kitten and a crazy dog. And when I wasn't doing that, I was worrying and driving to a hospital when my FIL went in for a bypass. Then Christmas happened and New Years happened and dinners and presents and shopping and working and visiting and talking and barely sleeping. I definitely wasn't crafting, so there was no words to put on this blog.

But since I'm cleaning my craft room so I can actually start crafting again instead of sitting amongst a pile of disorder, I thought, hey! I'll check on my blog! And then came the "Hey! People are still visiting my blog!" And then it was all "Oh my, lookit all those comments!" Ya. Spam. All of them. Spam after spam after spam. After spam. And then more spam. I've successfully deleted about 30 spam comments so far, but there's still 6 pages of spam comments. I'm slowly going crazy. 1,2,3,4,5,6 switch.

Luckily they all came from the same IP so I was able to block it from future Hugo Boss, Tony Butch and Peter something or other spam comments. Of course, that'll last a day. Maybe half a day. Not sure. But on ONE day, 8 pages of comments were strewn all over my blog. What a pisser.

Hope everyone else is having a better Monday night!

But, since I just signed up with Google Adwords (which may be stupid because I don't have much time to blog?? hmmm) I figured I'd pop in and let peeps know I exist :)

As a super quick update, I've sold a few sets of my Christmas cards:

And we got a new kitteh, Puck!

He and Kermy just a-love eachother!!

That's all for now kids, it's off to bed I go!

Basically, I don't have time to concentrate on more than one shop. Well, if anyone happened to check out my iCraft shop, you'd see I have one photo sitting in it. I was planning on listing things, but damn, it kept giving me error messages so I just gave up. It wasn't very user friendly, but maybe because they were having site issues the one day I decided to fill it up? Who knows.

Plus, Google will drop any duplicate listings, and having the same items in so many places would just put me out in left field in google shopping searches. (y'know, the left field that no one visits because it's so overgrown with weeds and there's strange noises and it smells funny).

I was already having issues because all of my listings on Artfire were logged into Google Shopping, and NONE of my listings on Etsy were. So I changed all the names. It didn't seem to matter. And even though none of my Etsy listings were showing up in Google Shopping, my views on Etsy could run laps around my views at Artfire. (and give them black eyes and kick sand in their faces). So I've currently deactivated all of my listings in Artfire.

So why am I having issues with wanting to keep it? Well, because you don't have to be a member of Artfire to purchase from me. In fact, I've installed a "RapidCart" right here on my website so you can purchase directly from Ze Blog without having to leave. (and I really like keeping you all here! Maybe I should install some couches and serve coffee..)

But if no one is even looking at the listings on Artfire, what are the chances they're gonna BUY anything, right?!

Plus I'm working on trying to sell things directly on this website - Squarespace doesn't "support" any "carts" but I could technically have a page with all my product, and put in a paypal button, but I could send an invoice and yadda yadda yadda.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions/input/guidance/humourous anecdote?

With me starting a job soon, I'll have less time with my shop and such (and apparently it's already too difficult to post a 5 minute blog once in a while! yeesh!) So I'm thinking I should just downsize and stop paying the monthly fee on Artfire.

Alright, off I run... But first! A pic...

I know I complain a lot about my cat, but I do love him. And he's very sick. :( I'm gonna miss this guy!

Anyhoo, have a great day everyone! It's FRIDAY! WootWoot!

It was thanks to Arts in the Square that I was introduced to Boffo's. Noel was outside bbqing some delish sausages and that first day between hubs and I, we went back in about 8 times. And that's how it was every Saturday. First visit for coffee, second for coffee again, third for lunch (Peameal bacon sandwiches! Insert Homer's drooling *here*) fourth to pick out what we'd want for dinner, fifth to purchase said dinner and they'd hold it there for us until after our craft show, sixth to pick out MORE things to buy for friends or fam ('cause we're nice like that) seventh for more coffee and possibly a pastry or two, and finally eigth to pick up our purchase(s) and possibly even add a few more items.

And since hubs got a job down the street from Boffo's at Comic Connection, well then! More opportunity to go there! Of course, more than once. Like, for example, the day I dropped Rob off at work, went to Boffo's, picked up some sausages and red quinoa salad for dinner, went home, *tried* the red quinoa salad and ended up eating the entire container (it was a small one! I'm not that much of a pig) then going to pick up hubs and he asks "What's for dinner?" and I say "oh, I picked up Boffos sausages! Turkey and cranberry ones, it'll be a thanksgiving dinner rolled up in a meat log! woohoo!" and he replies "did you get a salad too!?" all excited like, and I purse my lips and say "umm.. noooooooooo" so then he hands me moneys and I go back for more :D

We were a tad obsessed. Ahem, sorry, correction - ARE a tad obsessed. Rob kept bugging me to get a job there, because that would be the greatest job ever in the world. I kept telling him they don't seem to be hiring, so whaddya want me to do about it? Well, HE got the job at Comic Connection because he just kept showing up and working, so he told me to do the same thing. Ya, kinda doesn't work that way in a normal situation! That very same day, I dropped him off at work, walked down to Boffo's and was talking to the owner Ugo about craft shows, whether I have anymore lined up after Arts in the Square was finished. I told him I had 2, both Christmas shows that I had to sign up for and pay for last year, but now that I needed a job, I most likely won't be able to do them. Then he asked, "what are you looking to do?" and I says "anything at this point!" and then *he* says "You want to work here?!"

To make a possibly long story short, I worked there for 2 days last week to see how I blended with the staff and the job, they called me today saying they were all impressed with my work, and I start next week!! WOOHOO! Rob will be super excited if they paid me in meat, but I don't think that'll happen. :) Although I wouldn't mind, but I kinda want that good ol' paycheque. Or else everyone will be getting meat for Christmas.

In other news, I sold another print on Etsy:

And I got a load of supplies in for my 2 craft shows that I'm not doing! Right on! lol. Ah well, more for the online shops, and possibly a couple of stores - more news on that when I have some :)

Oh crap in a hat my mind went blank. There was more, I swear.

Alright, that's enough for today... Have a great Thursday everyone!

Yeah me! :) Let's hope this starts the ball rolling perhaps?

So it was a sad face day and I couldn't seem to get out of the funk. But lately, when that happens, I pop over to my favourite (okay, obsessourite) blog... Marc and Angel Hack Life. I'm going to copy and paste their recent post in here, but seriously - go there, stay there, keep going back there.

This is todays post... Enjoy.

27 Healthy Habits of Happiness

How do we heighten our happiness?  There are many ways and one size does not fit all.  Below I discuss what has worked for me and those closest to me – how a small group of us went from downbeat and drained to a happy and hopeful in a few short years.

1. Look for happiness in the right places. – When we’re young we look for happiness in drugs, sex, alcohol, parties, fast cars, extreme sports, etc.  Then when we get a little older, we look for happiness in more ‘mature’ ways – a stable partner, romantic getaways, walks along the beach, jazz music, a night at the bar with some friends.  Do they work?  Do these things make us happy?  Sure they do.  They raise our happiness temporarily.  But people have a baseline of inner happiness.  Certain events and possessions, like an unexpected windfall, might raise or lower our happiness momentarily, but soon we return to our inner baseline.  The key is to gradually raise this baseline.  Enjoy the moment, but don’t completely ignore long-term goals.  What will you be proud to have accomplished, or disappointed that you didn’t do, five years from now?  Read The Happiness Project.
2. Acknowledge the lesson is every situation. – Everything is a life lesson.  Everyone you meet, everything you encounter, etc.  They’re all part of the learning experience we call ‘life.’  Never forget to acknowledge the lesson, especially when things don’t go your way.  If you don’t get a job that you wanted or a relationship doesn’t work, it only means something better is out there waiting.  And the lesson you just learned is the first step towards it.
3. Be authentic.  Be true to yourself. – Judy Garland once said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of somebody else.”  Live by this statement.  There is no such thing as living in someone else’s shoes.  The only shoes you can occupy are your own.  If you aren’t being yourself, you aren’t truly living – you’re merely existing.
4. Move your thoughts beyond obstacles. – Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To different minds, the same world is a hell and a heaven.”  Put in an effort to both seek out happiness-boosting experiences and learn to appreciate what you find.  There will always be negative obstacles.  This will never change.  If you focus on them, your world will become Emerson’s hell.  The real trick is to learn how to keep moving amidst these obstacles – acknowledging that they’re simply a part of life – and continually seek out or construct experiences that make you happy.
5. Focus on what’s right. – How you view yourself and your world are conscious choices.  The lens you choose to view everything through determines how you feel about yourself and the world around you.  Everything that happens in life is neither good nor bad.  It just depends on your perspective.  And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should.  Either you succeed or you learn something.  So stay positive, appreciate the pleasant outcomes, and learn from the rest.
6. Be a part of something you believe in. – This could be anything.  Some people take an active role in their local city council, some find refuge in religious faith, some join social clubs supporting causes they believe in, and others find passion in their careers.  In each case the psychological outcome is the same.  They engage themselves in something they strongly believe in.  This engagement brings happiness and meaning into their lives.
7. Use personal strengths to get things done. – Everyone possesses unique personal strengths.  We all have different talents and skill sets.  Emotional happiness comes naturally to those who use their strengths to get things done.  The state of completion always creates a sense of achievement.  If this achievement is based exclusively on your personal ability to get the job done, the psychological rewards are priceless.
8. Focus on quality over quantity. – An excess of things may seem wonderful when you imagine them, but when you actually get them they lose the magic you imagined.  Quality and moderation often bring more joy than an excess.  The first five pieces of candy always taste better than the rest.  And if you eat the whole bag of candy you wind up feeling a bit nauseous.  One awesome gadget or tool is often better than five mediocre ones.  One great looking shirt often brings more joy than ten from the clearance rack.
9. Avoid negativity and negative people. – Don’t belittle yourself and don’t put up with people who try to belittle you.
10. Appreciate the things you already have. – The road to happiness isn’t difficult.  Happiness is not dependent on amassing a certain amount of wealth or notoriety.  If you’re always striving for something bigger and better, without stopping to appreciate what you currently have, happiness will remain slightly out of reach.  Your current situation may be far from perfect, but if you can detach from your own negative views and appreciate the simple aspects of each moment, happiness becomes easier to cultivate.
11. Instead of searching for passion, live passionately now. – Sometimes we get so wrapped up in ‘finding ourselves’ or ‘finding our passion’ that we forget how this discovery is actually made:  By living passionately now.  In other words, if you want to find out where your true passions lies, stop looking and simply start living each day with passion and zeal.  If you do, self-discovery will come naturally.
12. Savor the joy of simple pleasures. – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best things in life are free.  They come in the form of simple pleasures and they appear right in front of you at various locations and arbitrary times.  They are governed by Mother Nature and situational circumstance and captured by mindful awareness.  It’s all about taking a moment to notice the orange and pink sunset reflecting off the pond water as you hold hands with someone you love.  Noticing these moments and taking part in them regularly will bring unpredictable bursts of happiness into your life.
13. Exploit the resources you DO have access to. – The average person is usually astonished when they see a physically handicap person show intense signs of emotional happiness.  How could someone in such a restricted physical state be so happy?  The answer rests in how they use the resources they do have.  Stevie Wonder couldn’t see, so he exploited his sense of hearing into a passion for music, and he now has 25 Grammy Awards to prove it.  Get it?
14. Help others when you’re able. – In life, you get what you put in.  When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life.  Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less.
15. Live debt-free. – Financial debt causes stress and heart ache.  Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one.  Do not spend to impress others.  Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.  Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you.  Always live well below your means.  Read The Millionaire Next Door.
16. Share time with people you love and experience life together. – The quality of our personal relationships correlates directly with our overall sense of worth and happiness.  Sometimes in the midst of life’s chaos we forget to do the little things that remind us we’re part of something greater than ourselves.  We need a certain amount of meaningful contact with other people to feel fully alive.  There are few things more satisfying than recounting the greatest moments of your life with your family and closest friends who lived these moments alongside you.  And remember, you don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends you can be certain of.
17. Be faithful to your significant other. – Sustained fidelity in a long-term intimate relationship creates a healthy foundation for everything else you do.
18. Resolve conflicts with others. – Always forgive people and move on, even if they never ask for your forgiveness.  Don’t do it for them – do it for yourself.  Get that unnecessary stress out of your life.
19. Perform random acts of kindness on a regular basis. – Pay for a stranger’s coffee in line at Starbucks.  Buy the office receptionist flowers just to say, “Thank you.”  Help an elderly lady with her groceries.  There’s nothing more rewarding than putting smiles on the faces around you.  Check out Makes Me Think.
20. Smile more often. – A genuine smile makes you and everyone around you feel better.  The simple act of smiling sends a message to your brain that you’re happy.  And when you’re happy, your body pumps out all kinds of feel-good endorphins.  This reaction has been studied since the 1980’s and has been proven a number of times.  Bottom line:  Smiling actually makes you happier.
21. Be self-sufficient. – Freedom is the greatest gift.  Self-sufficiency is the greatest freedom.  It’s nice to have close friends and family you can count on, but it lifts a huge weight off your shoulders when you know that you could survive on your own if you had to.
22. Invest time, energy and money in yourself every day. – Happiness comes as a side-effect of learning new skills and challenging yourself.  Read, listen, adapt and stretch to accommodate new ideas and new information.  When you invest in yourself, you can never lose, and over time you will change the trajectory of your life.  You are simply the product of what you know.  The more time, energy and money you spend acquiring pertinent knowledge, the more control you have over your life.
23. Use your body as it was designed to be used. – Walk, jog, run, stretch, throw things, and lift things.  Jump around!  Dance!  Exercise in the gym is good, but so is making love, exchanging back rubs, or cutting firewood.  Your body is an incredible machine and it can be either a source of joy, or a source of aches and pains.  It just depends on what you do and how you treat it.
24. Compete only with yourself to be the best you can be. – When you catch yourself comparing yourself to a colleague, neighbor, friend, or someone famous, stop!  Realize that you are different, with different strengths – strengths these other people don’t possess.  Take a moment to reflect on all the awesome abilities you have and to be grateful for all the good things in your life.
25. Accept things when they are less than perfect. – If you find yourself at a point of intense decision making where you’re caught in a spiral of over-analysis and you’re making no progress, take a deep breath, break the spiral, make an educated guess on the next logical step, and take it.  Even if you get it wrong you’ve learned something, which is better than doing nothing.  Your failures along the road to your goals are simply opportunities to learn and grow.  Remember, the real world doesn’t reward perfectionists; it rewards people who get things done.
26. Make time for fun. – Fun is way underrated.  With all of our responsibilities, fun seems like an indulgence.  It shouldn’t be.  It should be a requirement.  Ponder what you did to have fun when you were younger and go do it again.  Leave the yard un-mowed for a weekend and get out on the town.  When you’re older, you will remember the fun, not the freshly mowed yard.
27. Take full responsibility for your life. – Either you take responsibility for your life or someone else will.  And when they do, you’ll become a slave to their ideas and dreams instead of a pioneer of your own.  You are the only one who can directly control the outcome of your life.  And no, it won’t always be easy.  Every person has a stack of obstacles in front of them.  You must take accountability for your situation and overcome these obstacles.  Choosing not to is choosing a lifetime of mere existence.

And remember, life always takes place in the present.  You never know what the future holds – whether or not you and your loved ones will still have good health or even be alive.  The opportunity to enjoy life is now.  Make time to do so.