Thursday, December 18, 2008

Latest Treasury West

I think these rainy days are getting to me. I have a nasty case of the blahs.
Check out this treasury on etsy.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Last minute toy shopping?

Here is an awesome bargain for you:
Go through ebates (you can use me as a referral if you are not a member richandmels@verizon.net) and link to the Scholastic store. That will get you 10% cash back through ebates. Then when you check out through scholastic, enter the code FNFAM, that code gives you another 25% off! They have a fabulous selection of toys, everything from eeboo to Leap Frog and of course tons of fabulous books.
I bought a ton of last minute gifts and the shipping was only $8.27 and my savings will be about $56 for a $173 order. Yay! I love to save!!

Friday, December 12, 2008

My exciting thing...


Here it is! This is what I was so excited about. I was OK'd to do an article for Etsy about shopping local in Virginia. Please check it out and check out the awesome etsy shops I featured.


AND... tomorrow is another thing I am sooooo excited about: Tomorrow I am going to a craft show in Richmond, VA.


A lot of the crafters scheduled to be there are etsy crafters, some are featured in my article. I can not wait to shop!!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Hanging in here

I am still waiting on my possible good thing...
But, on another note, I have been so busy with work, I have hardly had time to think about it.
Work has been crazy and life has been crazy.
I am organizing our Christmas pageant at church. Our kids are so fabulous. They really make me laugh. But, boy, do they wear me out.

So, have you heard about this crazy act that was passed by our government? They are requiring that all items manufactured that could be marketed to children 12 and younger must go through Government approved testing in order to be sold?
I absolutely adore buying handmade, especially for my children. Knowing where my children's toys are made and in what conditions is such a fabulous benefit to buying handmade. It is nice not to have to wonder if the item I am buying was made by a machine run by a child or an overworked, underpaid factory worker. It is nice to know that it is made with a joy of the art of making. But the government is making it nearly impossible for small business toy makers to continue. Check it out and alert your congressman or senator to how you feel about this.

As a consumer, this act infuriates me. I buy handmade, I love that handmade items are available to me, that I as a consumer, can judge a toy by it's original maker, is a right I believe I should have and the fact that the government is trying to block me from buying from those I wish to buy from by shutting them down with absurd laws absolutely infuriates me. Our government is OK with having toys made in sweatshops by impoverished people who are being taken advantage of by their governments, but it is finding a way to block positive, small businesses from being available to consumers.... I just don't get it!!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

A flashback to my childhood

These videos bring back memories of my youth. My dad was a huge Ray Stevens and Jerry Clower fan. He used to laugh and laugh. He had a ton of Jerry Clower tapes and we would sometimes sit around and listen and laugh. Have you ever heard these?



Friday, December 5, 2008

I am so excited!

I am so excited about something, it is not that big of a deal but still exciting. But... do you ever feel like when you are excited about something, especially when it is something that seems like it may be a little too good to be true, you are afraid to talk about it because it may not come true. Even though I try not to be supersticious, I have this real difficult time with feeling like a lot of things in my life get jinxed. So, this thing, I think it is going to happen on Wednesday... and if it happens, I will tell you about it. And then you will be like...
"jeez, was that what it was... why in the world would you not talk about that?"
And I will feel silly.
But right now, I just can't talk about it, LOL!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Thinking Ahead is for Losers!

Umm... not really, I am just spiteful in my envy of those who actually pay attention to the calendar and realize that October means December is coming. Instead, I see October as just the beginning of fall and surely there is plenty of time before winter and I am sure if I started thinking of winter/Christmas things I would be totally crazy.... WRONG... LOL!!!
I will always be a last minute person. Planning just does not work for me. Which in some ways can be a positive, I tend to enjoy the minute and not worry about planning this and that only to have it interrupted by the unexpected. But, of course there are the cons, like running out to WalMart at 10pm on Thanksgiving eve to buy supplies for making that appetizer for Thanksgiving Day. Or realizing all my great plans for ordering fabulous presents for friends and family needed to be done weeks ago as opposed to right up to the last day to ship deadlines.
Well, I hope I can still find some items to purchase that are ready to ship. Shame on me for putting things off again.