And The Good Goes Bad...

Just to update those of you that have asked today... our offer didn't get accepted on the house. The owners decided they don't want to counter offer either. Who does that? House hunting shouldn't be so depressing. If owners aren't selling houses out from under us, they are refusing to sell their house that's been on the market over a year. I don't understand it. I'm just so done. I don't want to look at anymore houses. I was so excited to finally be done after seeing every single house we could afford that we'd even consider living in that's on the market right now. Here in Michigan, that's a lot of houses. I apologize for my premature excitement. :-/

I'm convinced this is a sign that we shouldn't commit to living here forever. We should go somewhere warm and beautiful that doesn't get snow.

Where the sun always shines, money grows on trees, work is a place you never want to leave, and kids always behave and smother you with love....

I need a reality check.

On With the Show!

I have been a blog slacker. The weather is so beautiful, I've been outside enjoying every second of it that I can. Even got a touch of sunburn the other day! Never been so excited about that! It's been such a dull, dreary winter, it's just so nice to see the sun again!

I've been dragging the kids outside for early morning workouts as well. I feel goooooood. I've discovered Michael Franti this week too, and his music just makes me move! The kids seem to like it too so that's a plus! Usually they are asking me for Rhianna's Disturbia over and over (they call it Bumbaneeya (goofy kids!)). And other equally horrible songs that make me want to rip my ears off. It's nice when we find one we all like! So, Michael Franti, I love you. My ears thank you.

On the Etsy front- I made my 200th sale last week! It's such a great feeling knowing that beautiful things I've made with my own 2 hands are all over the world being appreciated by others. I haven't recounted in a while, but I think I've now sold to 41 states and 9 countries!! I wanted to add some treasury screenshots on here, but Blogger really truly hates me right now and keeps freezing when I try to add an image. Booo at you Blogger. Jerk. I refuse to try to do it again and retype this entire thing for a third time.

As Seen on TV update- I once lived in a teeny tiny apartment. Quite possibly world's smallest. It had no oven! I didn't know this when I moved in and managed to 'make it work' using a toaster oven. The only thing I couldn't make was a decent pizza. I had to cut them in half and cook half at a time. My stepdad got me a Pizza Pizazz for Christmas and at first, I thought it was a joke since I'm always wanting something I've seen on a late night infomercial. It was the real deal! I could cook pizza again! I've had the thing for 6 yrs and it took an unfortunate turn a couple months ago. I am stubborn. I refused to throw it out. The other day, due to my lack of cupboard space, I thought I should give it one final chance and see if it .... I don't know... fixed itself? I'm a dreamer, I know. Would believe that it really did? It's back and working perfectly! Over the past few years, this is by far my most used kistchen appliance other than my toaster oven. I'd suggest it to anyone! MMMmmm crispy pizza crust *drool*.

To my loyal blog follower Erika... My hubby is a Marine. And a dang good one at that. :) I'm very proud of him and all his accomplishments, doing things I know I could never do! Also, I think you should really get to work on that locker hooking, I know it takes an eternity, but you'll have such a great, long lasting rug when you're all done! I love getting that "you MADE that?!?!" look from people when they see mine, it's part of what drives me. That being said, there's no way in hell I'm making another one! LOL!

Sunshine! Beautiful Sunshine!

That's right. Michigan has finally thawed! We even had 2 days in a row of 70+ weather and SUNSHINE! I almost forgot what that was. Of course this sunshine didn't come out much when I was on Spring Break the past 2 weeks! I hear the U.P. still has around 30" of snow!!

I was going to participate in another Strutt show today, but it was far too nice outside to commit myself to a day of sitting inside. I got to visit a friend and see her new place. Her new place is amazing! Like a smaller version of exactly what I'm looking for in a house right now. It's got a great creative vibe, lots of beautiful wood, and COLOR! I cannot wait till Dave and I finally find a house and can end this existence of tan carpet and beige walls. We've both whole-heartedly agreed that no walls in our new house will be anywhere near beige, ever. He did shoot down my kiwi green living room idea... but we'll see. I may win that war yet.

I finally got to try Chicago Subs today. Not that I've ever found myself saying "Hey! That little dumpy building looks like a great place for a tasty meal!" but nonetheless, I ended up there for lunch. My gyro was ginormous and excellent. It also made me feel slightly better after the comment this 'friend' made about some new items I've made, that I brought to show her. Basically, she scoffed at my prices even though I was offering her a very generous discount. She followed that up with a request for Ninja Pants at half price, using a fabric that costs more than twice the cost of the fabric I normally use. Oh how I'd love to go into more detail about this insulting conversation - I'm laughing really - but I'm not one to talk smack about someone I do care about, whether or not she understands what it means to make something with your own 2 hands. My mom would be so proud of me today. I just kept repeating "if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" over and over and over in my brain. Now that I'm back home I kinda wish I'd have told her off, especially since this isn't the first time she and I have had this conversation. I've had far too much success to let one person's uneducated opinion of handmade affect me too much.

The item I had in the Etsy Gift Guide sold! I was a little sad to lose that exposure, and then found out that I'm back in it! Yay! I'm right underneath an Etsy artist named hine. I bought a camera case from her a while back that is so freaking cool! It looks just like a camera! Except of course it's handstitched felt and buttons! Check out her shop, look at the pictures of the backs of the camera cases too! Such a neat idea!