Two months !!!!

OH NO !!!! Do you realize CHRISTMAS is only TWO months away ????

I'M NOT READY !!!!!!!

I mean, I'm REALLY not ready - not for the holiday itself or for the prep necessary to have my shop ready. I'm waaaay behind. I swore this wouldn't happen this year but here I am, two months to go with all these holiday plans swimming around my head and not in the shop. Doesn't matter what excuses I can come up with, I have simply dropped the ball once again. It's time to scramble.

O.K., I need to take a few minutes (only a few minutes) to formulate a crisis plan with regard to preparation.

**Tops on the list must be finishing the orders I need to get out of here tomorrow. Whew, those are ready to go in the box and head for the Post Office!

**Second, I need to clean up the shop. You know, get my existing listings in order. Tweak the descriptions, photos, etc. and rearrange the order they appear in. (Halloween merchandise can drop to the bottom if I choose to even leave them in the shop.)

**I need to check the "inactive" section of my shop to be sure all holiday merchandise that is ready to move has been relisted. Something I recently learned was that by redoing the whole listing on these items and making it a "new" listing, Google bots like it more than simply "relisting." Apparently, getting a new URL pops it right up there for their attention. (When you simply relist, the item keeps it's old URL.)

Next, I need to paint, paint, paint and produce, produce, produce so that there will be plenty for that mob of customers to pick through.

I'm off to get those paint brushes moving!!!

Talk at you tomorrow!

So, what's new??

Earlier this week I saw the train a'comin, the Christmas train that is, and it's heading this way an enormous rate of speed!!! I panicked and began listing some holiday merchandise in my shop.

Okay, I did have to ease myself into the holiday mood, so I started with a Fall item.

This darling little angel featuring brightly colored silk leaves on her skirt and wings, has that cozy "down-home" style and looks adorable anywhere you hang her. I originally designed her with my Mother-in-Law and my elderly aunts in mind. They all live in apartments in senior housing complexes and she hangs beautifully on their hallway doors. (Also, gives me a fair amount of free publicity as they all love to brag!!)

With that little push, I began moving on into the Christmas season with the addition of these listings. I have lots more to get listed and hope to add some each week now. So, please check in on the shop often. Who knows? You just might find the perfect gift there for someone you love.

I've also added some new general merchandise, too. Maybe I'll show them here in a few days.

Want to see any of these in detail? Simply click on the picture.

Overwhelmed - but tomorrow's another day!

I’m feeling overwhelmed today. So, like an ostrich, I’ve buried my head in the sand and hoped no one notices.

I always refer to this as “our busy season.” We judge several BBQ contests in August and September which pretty much wipes out a full Saturday on those weekends. If you are a regular reader here, you also know there are several annual events and festivals that we try to attend every year. We always vacation at the beach in September and make a Midwest run to visit with The Big Guy’s family in the September-October period. Right there, in those two trips, we’ve lost three full weeks. Add to these things a number of family birthdays for which I need to make gifts and attend parties and we’re running desperately low on time.

Oh, and then there’s the BIGGIE - Christmas is looming!!! As of today, we have 121 days until the Fat Man slides down the chimney. For those trying to put that in practical terms - that comes down to less than 17 weeks. I don’t know about you, but I stop taking Christmas orders by the 5th of December which brings me to only about 100 days left. Take away those three weeks of vacation and some of those family commitments, I’m down to only 50 some days for holiday selling.

That oncoming train is rolling and it’s picking up speed fast!!! I need to sit down and put a plan together and then get moving on making it work. This dawned on me this morning so I got right up and finished reading the novel I’ve been working on. Then, I sat down and reviewed my emails for the day which, of course, triggered me to wander over to a forum or two and then… Well, you get the idea. Like the ostrich, I’ve buried my head under a bunch of mundane time wasters. Scarlett O’Hara has surfaced once again, with the thought that “Tomorrow’s another day.” It is - and it’s one day closer to Christmas!!

I fully intend to get off of this computer within the next ten minutes and make a list of all those birthday gifts I need to finish (particularly the one for Saturday) and a list of those Christmas gifts I want to make. I also plan to add at least three holiday items to my shop TODAY. Then, I need to get back to the Christmas production that I began last month but have allowed to slip quite a bit. It’s time. NOW !

So, if you don’t see or hear form me here and there along the way, you’ll know I’m working my fingers to the bone in holiday production, or hiding under some sand reading a good book. You know what they say about good intentions.