Wooohoo!!! In less than a week I managed to come up with the idea, design and build the site and it tis done!
I woke up this morning and decided to go get out there with my camera and have some fun... and I set myself the challenge of 25 smiles from strangers! I was really nervous when I first started out ... I walked into town and let so many people walk past me until I plucked up the courage to ask the first person! From there it was really easy and people were SO nice to me.
I said to people "Excuse me, I'm doing a photography project called 25 Smiles and I wondered if you would like to be one of my smiles?" They were all so lovely to me - asked me about what I was doing and why I was doing it! People seemed surprised that I was just doing it for fun - for no real other reason, and most of them had a chat with me too!
There were only two people that said no - one was a woman who was in a rush somewhere, and the other was an older lady who thought she was too ugly to be photographed! She was such a lovely soul and stopped and chatted to me for quite some time and went off with a tear in her eye that somebody had actually wanted to take her picture!!
I really had a good time doing it! I am definitely going to have to set myself some more challenges! This is the finished montage of 25 smiles!!!
I went training again tonight and I put as much into it as I could, but I am worried about my fitness levels. Shihan said I am okay to grade as long as I can get the power into it and last through the stamina.
Gonna say me a mantra from now until the end of grading.... "I AM SHE-RA PRINCESS OF POWER AND I CAN DO THIS!"
This is actually the first time I've been worried about FAILING a grade ... but, in my defence (I'm defending myself TO myself here! LOL) Shihan would have said to wait until next time around if he didn't think I could do it. He won't ever set us up to fail ... it's just down to me on the day!
Today started off as a bit of a "non day" really ... work this morning was "okay" - got some orders boxed up and sent out, and poured what I could - I just wasn't in a "lets pour candles" mood and I know when I'm in that kind of mood I am best off OUT of the workshop! Those are the days I end up throwing wax over myself or having a silly accident!
Soooo I came home an hour earlier than I should have ... and have been working on the new website. All the changes are still offline, and I'm not uploading anything else now until the site is completely ready! BUT it's all going really well. I've got the photography page done and am working on my website design service page right now.
I NEED some more stuff in my portfolio though ... I have terrific photographs of MY kids ... but I need MORE! Same with the websites too - I've built sites for other people in the past and I have several of my own .... but I need a bigger portfolio!!!
Sooooooooo ......... if anyone reading this (c'mon I know there are a couple of you at LEAST who read this LOL) who would like a free single page website (hosted on my domain or a free site of your choice) to go into my portfolio then email me!! LOL Oh I should add that just incase there are like hundreds / thousands of you reading this then the offer is limited to the first three people! LOL
I really REALLY want to get out with my camera! I am filled with this URGE and DESIRE to just go take pictures of anything and everything right now! I feel so full of inspiration and motivation. It's a good place to be :-)
Ok I've checked in - back to the websites ... that's if the wine don't get me on the floor first!!
I've had such a fucking good day!! A seriously really good day!
Okay so my brand spanking new accountant turned up at 3pm today for a first initial consultation and I liked him the minute I saw him. He wasn't at all put off by how far behind I am and we talked through exactly what I need to do and get prepared so that he can then get started. I have a list of things to do and things to put together and he's coming back next week for an action plan!
It's far from over and far from sorted, but it's a big weight off my mind.
So anyway back to my bloody good day! As the meeting with the accountant wasn't until last thing in the afternoon, I had enough time to get lots done during the day ... and I had my laptop with me, so I've been doing some bits and pieces to the website etc. I showed Louise at work and she was ooohing and ahhhing over it! She has tons of people who she says would love a photo shoot, a website designed ..... networking really is my friend!!
I just feel really motivated at the moment. It all feels achievable and do-able. I just hope I can pull it all together!!!!!
AND after not going kickboxing since before Christmas ... I stopped procrastinating on that one too! Went training tonight and it was brilliant. My combos were spot on, I did okay in sparring and stamina ... AND talk about perfect timing - it's grading this weekend!!!! Shihan said that if I train on Thursday and my fitness is up to it then I can grade ... so I could be 2nd brown by Sunday ... OMG that means just 1st kyu to go before I reach black belt! AAAAHHHH!!!! Heheheeeeee I really timed that one perfectly!!
The only thing that potentially worries me is my level of fitness and getting through the stamina rounds. It's something like 10 rounds of stamina for 2nd brown. I haven't trained in a while, but I am still fairly active in my job and as long as I pace myself I should be okay!
So yeah ... a fucking good day, a tiring evening that my muscles will hate me for tomorrow ... and now to shower, THEN bath and sleep!
Okay well there is a VERY good reason why I've not blogged for a couple of days ... I've been working on yet ANOTHER project! Yeah, see I think I found some of that time that I lost last week, and when Dee finds herself with nothing to do ... oh well life gets really really awful for anyone in her path!
Hence ... even though I haven't even finished the updates on the candlemaking website, and I'm still playing around with the format of the forums and moderating that, plus working a LOT as orders are really coming in at the moment, plus the whole domestic goddess bit, plus (ah well you get the idea!) ... I found myself thinking "Hmmmm deestapleton.co.uk .... now THAT sounds like a GREAT idea!"
Within a few minutes the domain was registered, and by the time it had the 24 hours to propagate throughout the Internet, I'd designed the main page and got the format for the sub pages done! So uhuhuh I've been a very busy bunny!!
www.deestapleton.co.uk - it's there and it's live but very MUCH under construction so I haven't "officially" launched it yet ... I just wanted to share it with the 2 or 3 of you that may actually read my daily mutterings and rambles!! HAHA!
It's going to be a site to house information about ALL that I do and I'll have all my sites linking to each other anyway, so hopefully if someone gets in touch for a candle order, they'll see I do photography, handmade cards, scrapbooking --- plus all the other things I do ... and they might want to commission me for something else!
Dee is gonna make money this year! I am going to HAVE that shop this year even if I have to work all the hours under the sun to achieve it!!!!
Seeing as I took the day "off" yesterday with Nathan at home for "Insect Day", I spent most of the day in the workshop today. I'm pretty pleased with my progress too ...
A huge part of what I have been doing has been about sorting out and re-arranging the stock room so that I can easily see at a glance exactly what stock I have got. I keep my votive stock in these nifty baskets and there's around 18 in each basket so that when I get orders that are "1 of this, 2 of that" for votives, all I need to do is go into the stock room and they are all there laid out ready. It also means that when customers come to pick up orders, they can browse and buy more stuff while they are there!! I have been trying to work on getting every single fragrance that I have into votives and ready on display in the stock room. I have over 100 scents so it's not an easy task!!
This is what WILL eventually be my new office and what USED to be the "rubbish room!" It has turned out a bit more complicated than planned to get my old antiquated office PC wireless so I need to either buy some really long cables or buy a new PC! LOL Both can wait - it's not essential for now, and in the meantime this is my chill-out room where I can actually sit down and take a proper break!!! This room is opposite the stock room so it will be perfect to take customers into the stock room, then sit down in my office while I prepare their invoices!! It's been a while since I answered the friday five! If anyone is interested they come from http://www.friday5.org This week it's all about lateness!
What was the last important thing you were late for? I am actually VERY rarely late. Lateness is a big pet peeve of mine and it irritates me when other people are late ... hence I always try to be early!
What was the last important thing you were late with? Ah, see this is a different question. I am sometimes late with customer orders and have to admit that! I work as quickly as I can, but am only one person and can only do so much! LOL
What (or who!) is the most frequent cause of your lateness? There just isn't enough hours in the day ... seriously! I often settle down in the evening for bed and know that I haven't ticked everything off of my to do list for that day! I swear somebody sneaks up behind me and steals hours out of my day!
Which of your close friends or relatives can you expect almost always to be inconveniently late? My mother! I love her dearly I really do but she is KNOWN for being late! It's to a point that if I need her somewhere at 2.30pm I'd tell her to be there by 2.15 because she'd have a hope of being there by then!!
What’s most likely to cause you to stay up too late before bed? Simply not having got everything done! I'm always working on something whether it's website, catalogue, promotions .... there's always something on the go, and when I take a break from that I've got the new forums that are taking up a fair bit of my time, plus I spend waaay too much time on Facebook and eBay! I'm either in bed ridiculously early like 9pm because I'm shattered from the day ... or I'm up till stupid o'clock in the morning!!
LOL well it's true! It's been pretty much a "non week" really. I was a bit unwell at the start of this week .... not "ill" - just wasn't feeling right and had a few cold type symptoms that had me feeling under the weather. I guess it made me just kinda un-motivated and a bit crappy really! LOL
Orders at work have been slow but still coming in at the moment, and considering a recent stock market crash in the USA and talk of recession very much over the news ... I'm still fairly confident that things are going okay!
I have organised a new accountant as well. They are coming in on Tuesday next week to look things over and hopefully I can just hand over my boxes of paperwork and they will get me all nicely up to date!! That will actually then be the LAST thing off of my worry list when the tax man is off my back!
Talking of my worry list -- I have noticed that some of my stress symptoms are coming back again ... the "bubbling" in the pit of my stomach and the way it starts to rush all the way throughout my body. I CAN control it though, and I'm sure that's down to my happy pills! As soon as I feel it start, I am aware of it and I can control it until it reduces and fades away. This is a very good thing!
Today (Friday) is an inset day at school - Nathan made me laugh hysterically when he called it "insect day!" LOL .... visions of creepy crawlies and bugs! We did agree that it should forever more be called insect day though! LOL
I've taken the day off work as hub is in London and the kids are off school with "insect day" .... soooo I am in the middle of a mass house clean - Dee always feels better when she lives in a shiny sparkly world! :-)
Not that it affects ME as I'm highly unlikely to have any more babies LOL ... but it was on the news this morning that a new study has shown drinking more than 2 cups of coffee while pregnant gives expectant mothers a much bigger risk of miscarriage.
I think it's utter madness! I should add that it was only a relatively small sample, but I still think it's crazy. They didn't even mention that there is caffeine in tea as well!
Talk about instilling fear into people - especially first time mums. I've lost two pregnancies to miscarriage but at the end of the day you CANNOT cover yourself in bubble wrap for 9 months (although I'd actually like to try wrapping myself in bubble wrap for a laugh! Anyway I digress....) If you try to avoid everything that you "shouldn't have" and take all the vitamins in the world, you can still have a miscarriage.
It isn't only that ... it's .... well picture a pregnant woman who has had her 2 cup limit of coffee. She's had a really bad day and needs a drink of something! The vodka is calling her but she opts for a cup of coffee instead. What if a few days later that woman miscarries due to something completely unrelated? She'd blame herself and that cup of coffee for the rest of her life.
Ok got that off my chest now!!
I was going to go into the workshop for a bit today but instead I spent the day working on the wholesale website. It's soooooooo almost finished! I have literally just one more page to attack with the revamped look and then I can upload it.... trouble is I left the worst one till last! It's the custom option page so it involves writing code for every product and every fragrance grrrr it'll take me some time, but I should get it done tonight if I crack on with it!!
So technically I've been sat on my ass all day ... but I've been beavering away and working!!!!
Oh it's been a bloody good Saturday! In fact, it's been a damn good week all round!!! Quick run down on the last few days I didn't blog ....
Thursday evening I went over to my mate Lisa's for a girlie chit chat over a couple bottles of wine... Lisa and I have known each other years and we know most of each other's deep dark secrets! We had a great night picking to pieces the men in our lives and generally plotting to take over the world *grin* like ya do .... LOL Got home pretty late - damned good night though!
Friday morning I did another dump run at work to get rid of the rubbish I cleared out of what will be my new office - it's looking soooo much better, but I reckon I've still got around 3 more trips to the dump to go yet :-( Ah well - at least I'm getting there!!! Then all I need is the wi-fi sorted and I can move my PC into there too - wooohooo!!
Nathan proudly showed me a HEAD TEACHER'S AWARD when he got out of school on Friday!!! Not just a merit from the teacher - but a headteacher's award. A handful of these are given every week to students but they are hard to get! Nathan said it was for work that he did, but until I speak to the head to confirm it, I will assume it's also for a general improvement in his overall behaviour recently too. He really has come on in leaps and bounds recently - and the head had commented on that when we spoke a week or so ago. Whatever it was for - I'm very proud of him! Of both of them :-) Megan is just generally well behaved anyway! LOL
Anyway after school on Friday Megan went off to play at Zara's house, and Nathan had his friend Oliver over here. It was only the 2nd or 3rd time that he's had someone over to play because of his behaviour problems, but he'd been really excited about this and apparently Oliver had too. They played really nicely together and it's always really good for me to spend time with other boys Nathan's age because it reassures me that some things are just "small boy" things and not just Nathan! LOL
Oliver was picked up at 6.30... and at 7.30, Adele brought Megan back home ... Megan and Zara disappeared into her room and I basically handed Adele a wine glass! LOL She and I ended up sitting chatting and smoking while the girls played ... and was around 11pm she went home!!!
Today ... well I didn't stir until 10am!! 10am?!?!?!! Crikey it's been a long time since I slept in that late! The kids were quiet in their rooms and Dee slept in!! When I got up - sorted breakfast for the minions, had a leisurely shower and I've pretty much had my backside planted on the sofa with my laptop for the rest of the day!!
I've almost completed the updates to the face lift on the wholesale site. I'm going to leave it for the evening now and finish off tomorrow with a view to having it uploaded by tomorrow night!
I've spent a fair amount of time on my new candlemaking forums too - it all seems to be going really well! 263 members currently and I only launched it a few days ago!! As soon as I finish the trade site I need to work on the candlemaking site!
It's never ending LOL but I love it!!
I’ve been working on a new forum for candlemakers – a web based forum to almost replace the email group that I have run since oooh around 2000-2001!
I’ve been working on it for a few days sorting out all the admin, creating the categories and sub forums etc, then I launched it last night on my candlemaking email group. By the time I’d sent the email, made a coffee and refreshed the forum main page, people had already started joining!! When I woke up this morning and checked, there were 165 members … that is just in twelve hours!!! I anticipate this is going to be huge!!
http://candlemaking.hyperboards.com/
Gawd what a damned fine idea this one was!! I was just idly tapping away on my laptop between working on the website and “facebooking” and I just happened to be in the “groups” section doing a search for ‘candles’ just to see what was about, and I noticed quite a few corporate candle companies had their own groups … so I created my own group too! LOL
Basically I’ll treat it just like I do with my customer email newsletter and offer extra discounts to members of the facebook group and keep it updated with new products and info about what is going on!
Okay it sounds silly I know, but I REALLY got excited over this kettle!!!!!
It was a complete catastrophe when I got into work the other day!! As soon as I walk in to the workshop I switch the kettle on, hang my coat up, dump my bags and then go switch the wax on and fire things up. By the time I’ve done all that, the kettle has usually boiled.
Errrr water still cold – kettle still switched on!!!! Kettle deader than a big dead thing! I’d bought it years ago from Wizard (discount shop) for a fiver and it had lasted years … but then it sadly died a death!! Dee without a ton of coffee in the morning is like Britney Spears acting her age rather than her shoe size … it just never happens!
Sooooo I had no choice – HAD to go into town! Co-op was closest and I knew they would have something … but the only one they had was £17.99. I hadn’t wanted to pay that much considering how cheap my last one was … but I figured it was either that or go trudging around town looking and probably only save a few quid but waste time!
So I bought it … and it wasn’t until I plugged it in and switched it on that I realised ….
THIS IS THE BEST KETTLE IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Making a kettle sound exciting is a pretty tall order –or so you’d think! I mean, it’s just a kettle …. A means to an end to get a cuppa, right? Wrong! The Breville Lightning Kettle is like a fairground ride! It is not only a very cool stainless steel colour, but it has cool LED lights and eerie glowing colours through the spout! When it’s just sat on its base in standby, it glows LED blue … then when you switch it on, it glows LED red! Seriously it’s so exciting!! Ohhh and it boils water too!!!! It has a big window either side so you can see the glow and watch the water boil (it looks so cool in the dark!)
It didn’t say any of this on the box!! If the box had pictures of a shiny kettle with changing LED lights I would have bought it without any hesitation!!!! It boils MEGA fast too!!!
People laugh at me for getting excited over a kettle … then they SEE it and want one too!!!
You know those times when you look at the clock and think "ahhh fabulous, I have five minutes to myself ...." Then, before you know it, an hour has passed! WHAT HAPPENED to those other fifty five minutes? Where did they go? It only felt like five!!
I've had two full on days like that so far this week and ooops it's only Tuesday!
When I got into work on Monday, I looked through the door at what has affectionately been termed (by me!) as "the rubbish room" and decided that enough is enough ... time to actually get off my arse and get rid of it all!! It's my fault - I haven't stayed on top of it and instead of doing a dump run once every couple of weeks and clearing out ALL the rubbish ... nooo, Dee decided to stash it all in an unused room and worry about it "eventually."
Well - yesterday was eventually!! I wish I'd taken a "before" pic because it's not a huge room - but easily a single bedroom size and it was FULL and I mean FULL of rubbish to the point you couldn't even get in the door, and it was piled up too.
I did three dump runs yesterday and another two today - I am absolutely knucking fackered but I feel really smug and chuffed with myself for it! I cleared the room out completely and I've sorted the rest of the bags/boxes of crap outside the door into what I think should be another 3-4 dump runs. There is some stuff that's simply too heavy for me to move so I need to plead girl on that and get a couple strong men up there to help with those bits!! Any offers? LOL
I'm going to turn the room into my office!!! My desk is currently just in the main packing area and it's a nightmare where it is. If I move into that room I'll be closer to the stock room and it means that when customers come in to the workshop, the office and stock room are almost opposite each other and no need for them to go up the other end where it's messy!!
I moved the sofa in there today and have got a desk ready to move the PC over, but before I can do that I need more help! Gawd I hate being a girl sometimes! I am definitely computer savvy, but when it comes to moving my PC away from the phone line ... I know I'm going to need help with sorting out turning it wireless before I can officially move in there! Thankfully DH has said he'll help me with that! Phew!
I want my office to be more of a comfy and warm place to be when I have paperwork to do! The other downside of where my desk currently is ... is that there are absolutely no radiators up that end because of false walls ... so it's Brrrrrrr cold when the temperature outside drops!!! I want to be able to take proper breaks and have somewhere comfortable to sit and also somewhere for my choccie biccies to live that isn't too far from the kettle! Hehehe
So yeah today and yesterday I have been doing hard manual graft! Up and down those sodding stairs with heavy bags, lifting & shifting furniture and now I is knackered! By the time I've looked at the clock both days ... it's been pretty much time to run and go pick the kids up!
All work and no play makes Dee a very dull girl!!!
I'm going to have me a nice bath and hit the sack early!
Well after being all depressed and melancholy I have had a blinding couple of days!! It's been a weird week really and I put it all down to New Years Day being on a Tuesday!!! The week is all ass about face!
It's been a good week though and the last couple of days in particular have been really great. Yesterday was a motivating day at work, and then today everything just fell into place without any planning!!
Put it this way - I have a very big grin on my face!! It's been a really good day!
Been thinking more and more about a shop again. I need to really pull it out of my arse this year and get it sorted - and SOON! I need a good amount of cash to buy some wax in bulk and get started on serious stock preparation and try to build up some reserve cash in the account... as well as promoting and trying to gain new business and staying on top of the website!!
Well it's 11.30pm, I'm more than a little drunk and melancholy so I am looking for silver linings in all of the big black clouds that are my life!!!
Yeah ummm that's about it.
2008 HAS to be a good year ... it HAS to.
it won't actually make me feel any better! Doesn't stop me looking though! It's 10.24pm and I am not drunk enough yet.
I never make New Years Resolutions. EVER.
I am a firm believer that if there is something you need to change about yourself then you need to just DO IT instead of waiting for a date on the calendar. What's the point of overeating at Christmas and promising yourself you will diet/join a gym in the new year?
Sooo many people use today - 1st January as an excuse to give up things like smoking and drinking .... but as the bumper sticker on the back of my car says "I gave up smoking, drinking and sex - it was the worst 15 mins of my life!" Nope, I don't actually have ANYTHING that I want to give up for the new year!
There are changes I want to make in my life for sure, but these have been on-going changes that I have been working on for a while - things like trying to be less stressed (not working when I've fallen out with someone I am close to) and eating better (again not working when I have no appetite due to stress!) but I didn't suddenly wait until new year to make the changes! Funnily enough I did feel nauseous today and it was when I was getting myself wound up about the person I'd fallen out with. More proof that the throwing up was due to stress!!
2008 HAS to be a better year. It has to - or I quit!!!
I can't believe my first post of 2008 is such a depressing one!
I can't go into detail as it would create more hassle than it's worth ... but I have been extremely upset by somebody I am close to. It happened on Boxing Day and I am still waiting for this person to apologise to me. It's New Years Day today and I had really hoped that I would get a call or text message to apologise and clear the air - but nothing.
As I said, I can't go into detail with the who or what, but what I can say is that I have been really upset by this person.
Thing is, it's not the first time that this person and I have fallen out, and in the past where I have been half responsible for the fallout, I am usually the one to get in touch and say "hey, you know what, let's not spoil our friendship and lets just move past this - agree to disagree" ...
Not this time. The last text I sent a few days ago said that I was ready to listen when they were ready to apologise and I have still heard nothing. I'd been hoping that the new year could be a fresh start.
More fool me. Saddens me really.
I got up today with a mission in mind! A mission to sort out my wardrobe, throw out all of the old crap I don't wear anymore and to make space for my new stuff! I'll also admit that I planned my entire outfit today (black trousers & plain black top) around wearing my new sparkly boots!!! I should have asked one of the kids to take a photo LOL!
I walked Megan round to drop her off at her friend's house for a few hours, and got some great comments from her friend's mum! LOL I think the general concensus is that they are utterly fabulous and I am probably one of the only people out there that could get away with wearing them and actually pulling it off! I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing! LOL
Ohhh so today was a MUCH MUCH better day!! I'd decided last night to get up early and go into Brighton first thing this morning to try my shopping trip again!! I was out of the house just after 9am and the roads were completely empty ... no trouble parking up and within minutes of being in Churchill Square I was queing to pay for my first purchases!! I bought ....
I am really pleased with what I got today! I didn't waste money on things I'll never wear JUST because they were in the sale. I bought things I really really liked ... and of course a girl needs a working rabbit!!
And these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG OMG After looking for weeks and weeks and WEEKS for the "perfect pair of brown boots", I found them this afternoon in Brantano after I'd been to Brighton!!!
I had been desperately looking for flat brown boots - something I can wear all day long and be comfortable yet still look good!!
These boots aren't technically FLAT - they have a small 2" heel, but when I tried them on I knew that they were the ones!! My other specification for the "perfect pair of brown boots" was no fuss and no frills. I don't want any patterns or fussy bits and again, although these aren't technically plain, they just fitted the bill so well - plus I loved them! There are brass studs around the top and a fake strap with a small buckle just above the ankle ... but they are just perfect!!! Best bit? They are a £65 pair of boots that cost me (drum roll!) £30 in the sale!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!
And then .... THEN I saw these again!!!!!!
I say "again" because ... well, see, these boots have been haunting me for quite some time! The photo really doesn't show them well, but they are a very pale silvery lilac colour - NOT lilac, but not silver either ... just utterly sparkly, totally gorgeous and very me! Today was the third time I'd looked at them in Brantano and they were calling my name! Seriously! They were calling "Dee, DEE, BUY US!" What could a girl do!? They are absolutely fucking gorgeous!! I'd stroked them the last couple of times I'd been in Brantano but not actually picked them up!! I had been reasoning with myself that I shouldn't buy them as I don't really have anywhere to wear sparkly boots... which is why I hadn't ever tried them on before, but this afternoon I broke down and took them off the shelf. That was it really! By that point I'd totally fallen in love with them before I'd got them anywhere near my feet!!! I swooned and admired them in the mirror, but even then I decided to be "sensible" and put them back on the shelf... but they were there for less than a microsecond before I saw someone else look at them, so I grabbed my two boxes of boots and marched myself to the checkout!!!I decided to hit the sales yesterday as this is the first time in years that I've had some cash to spare! I don't have a LOT, but have SOME and damned well wanted to spend it on myself! Mum also gave me some shopping money for my Christmas present, so off to Worthing I did go with Mum and Megan in tow (ooh that rhymes - unintentional! LOL)
What did I buy yesterday? A complete fat ZILCH!!!! Came home totally empty handed and totally deflated!
I've been after a pair of flat brown knee high boots for weeks now and not found anything remotely like what I was looking for, and I refused to buy something that wasn't quite right as that would just have been a waste of my money! After tramping around Worthing for a couple of hours we kinda gave up and went home!!! I didn't even find any clothes either - the "look" at the moment is kinda punky / emo / gothic and it just doesn't suit me. The other side of what seems to be popular right now is a sexy/chic office style but I have nowhere to wear clothes like that and again - it's not me! I've never really been into high fashion and tend to wear what I know looks good on me and that I feel good in - hence why I came home with naff all yesterday!!!
Christmas in the Stapleton house this year was a really fantastic one!! DH's sister Leanne and her two boys came to stay with us over the festive period and considering there was 3 adults and 4 children living in the house for 5 days ... it was a really chilled out Christmas!!!
Ooooh this weeks friday five is all about cars and driving. Gonna answer the first two questions together ....
1. If money were no concern and LOOKS the only consideration, what car would get yourself?
2. If money were no concern and YOUR LIFESTYLE the only consideration, what car would you get yourself? 
Ooooh I'd get an Audi convertible no matter whether it was for lifestyle or looks! They are smart sexy cars that would satisfy my slightly snobby requirements and damn they look nice!! It would HAVE to be either red, black or silver though :-)
3. What is the best thing about your current car? I actually really love my car. I have a Citroen C3 (ok not technically MINE as it's leased but hey!) It's big enough to be able to cart all of my candle stock around to parties ... yet small enough to be able to park in tight spots without too much panic! Ohh and it's red :-)
4. If cars could be skinned the way cell phones and ipods etc can, what would be a really cool skin for your car? I'm always associated with being a bit glittery and sparkly from the candles, so I guess something with a bit of bling ... but not so much that it was tacky! I have seen a really funky yellow Beatle driving around with hot pink and orange flowers on it. That was pretty cool!!
5. If you were going to decorate a friend’s car with a custom-made skin as a practical joke, whose car would you skin and what would it be? Ooooh I don't know!! That's a tricky one actually! Ummmm I'd probably choose my friend L ... who doesn't actually OWN a car at the moment but I'd skin it in a 1940s burlesque style. Very her!!!
Crikey this week has gone FAST!!!! With the help of B and L in the workshop we had 99.9% of orders packed and dispatched by Wednesday and then we spent Thursday morning cleaning up and boxed up the last few orders!!
I honestly couldn't have got through it without L! She is a friend who just comes in to help out and wants payment in candles - she has turned out to be a real speedy packing gem too!!
THANKFULLY the problems seem to have been few and far between with deliveries. I did have one major problem where I couldn't access the Parcelforce website so I had to book the collections over the phone and the stupid bint booked them all to be collected from the customers and delivered to me!!! I did manage to discover this error and stick a rocket under Parcelforce to get it fixed in time! I haven't had any panicked phone calls from customers in the last few days and my mobile has been pretty quiet today so that is a really good sign!!!
This Christmas season has been .... well, I'm not sure. I've been BUSY definitely but I seem to have stayed on top of it and part of me can't help wondering whether it's thanks to the happy pills! God I love those pills!! I haven't been stressed or strung out in a long time, and although I still have the odd day where I am sick in the mornings, it's a very rare occurance these days. I just generally feel happier and able to tackle things head on rather than running away.
Still dreaming of a shop too - *sigh* I have spent a lot of the day thinking about all of the walk by trade that I have missed out on this Christmas and the number of people milling around town shopping. Some of those pennies could have been mine!!!
The new website is almost finished too - I have been working on that most evenings! I just need pour the Monochromatics and new message candles to to take some photos - then the new site can go live! Very excited about that!
Well the pouring is anyway!! All of the pre-deadline orders have now been poured and I had Lisa helping me out today as well as B back at work, so there was also huge pile of boxes that got sent out today!! I have both of my little elves back in again tomorrow and by then we should pretty much have got it ALL done!!
I'd set my deadline for final dispatch as Wednesday but as far as I can tell from what we did today, it SHOULD all go out tomorrow now!! Phew! I'd also anticipated having to go into work again tonight ... but I don't need to do that either!
Blimey, Dee may even actually get a Christmas break!!!!
Ooooh this week's Friday Five are interesting!! All about music.
What’s your favorite song about growing up? Oh there are so many that I love along this topic, but I think it's got to be "I'll be there for you" by the Rembrandts (and the theme tune to Friends on tv) because that's the kind of parent I want to be for my kids. The biggest lesson I want them to learn from me is love... ohh and I love the tune too :-)
What is your favourite song about cars or driving? Now see this is where I couldn't pick just one! As soon as I saw this question I started thinking and they just came at me ... can't pick one so here's my top 4 and I'm missing out a LOT!!! Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett, American Pie - Don McLean, No Particular Place to Go - Chuck Berry and Pink Cadillac - Bruce Springsteen. All oldies but fanbloodytastic songs!
What is your favourite song where the title is a person's name? OMG again so many! One straight off has to be Roxanne by The Police, Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly, Hey Jude by the Beatles, Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac ... and, although I really don't like Amy Winehouse, I really do like her "Valerie" song at the moment!!I had a "faffy" day today at work where I was constantly busy but didn't feel like I actually accomplished very much at all! I also found out that Parcelforce aren't doing same day collections - whatever I book one day doesn't even get picked up until the next day! Basically the upshot of this means that I have to be finished by Wednesday next week!!
Orders have slowed up a little bit - thankfully!! It had got to the stage where I had literally run out of space to pin up the new ones! I still have a couple of days left until the Christmas deadline though.... so as long as I am motivated and keep it going, I'll do it!!!
Still beavering away on the website too :-) It's looking good!
Well the last party of the season is done! The drive wasn't too bad and it was a nice crowd - quite a lot of them and I've made enough money to see me through christmas and get the kids some pressies!! Goodness knows exactly WHEN I'll be able to get to actually DO my shopping though considering it's two weeks today until Christmas and I'm flat out at work! LOL I'm confident I can get everything done at work - currently - I'll have to see what comes in over the next few days before the deadline!!!
Had some sad news - B's mum passed away over the weekend so understandably she's not coming into work for a while. I don't think it has really hit her yet. I'm totally single handed in there and I've been literally nonstop ALL day! Hub worked from home so I was able to stay at the workshop till late and I've been a lean mean pouring MACHINE! LOL
I got home around 4.30pm and I have to be back out just after 6pm for my last candle party!! I have a fairly long drive (hour & 15 mins or so) to Fareham tonight, but it's the last party of the season and then my website deadline is this Friday for dispatch before Christmas .... so it's just going to be madness over this next week and a half to get it all done!!!!!
Right, time for a coffee then gotta get ready to go back out again!!!!
Ok well technically not a "day off" as I spent it in front of my laptop working on the website, but I decided NOT to go into the workshop today. I have a hell of a week ahead of me with orders and I may have to bring my Christmas deadline forward ... but I needed a day where I wasn't faced with that place and today was that day!! I have really made a good dent into the website re-haul ... and although I need to take a TON of new photos, I'm going to go ahead with the exisiting photos for now and try to get the new ones taken over Christmas.
I have a party tomorrow, so the plan is to go into work in my overalls (damn I love them overalls!!) as soon as I am up and ready but take a change of clothes, make-up and hairbrush with me so that I can do some work, pack some boxes etc, and then change ready for the party when I get there. Talk about a multi tasking day tomorrow!!
Went to Asda with mum this evening after dinner and we were soooo disappointed with the lack of kids toys there! I charged in there armed with the kids wish lists and nada, nothing, zilch!! Rather disappointingly I just did a weeks worth of shopping!! I did pick up a few odds and ends for the kids at Christmas and something for one of my friends, but the main bulk of the Christmas shopping is still to be done! My sister in law and her two boys (slightly younger than Megan and Nathan)
I have a party tomorrow and a party on Monday night so I am hoping that the money I make from those will cover enough to buy pressies! It's been kind of the budget month from hell really this month ... hub got paid on the 21st November and by the time all the bills had been paid and we'd caught up on what we were behind on ... he ran out of money at the start of this week! Thankfully it being "Silly Season" I've had pennies available to buy the food and bits & pieces!!
Which leads me back to I NEED A FRIGGING SHOP!!! Talked to mum about it tonight actually while we were bimbling around Asda .... retail shops in the centre of the lanes in Brighton are around £20k a year and all I need is enough cash behind me to cover the shop rent and overheads for 6 months, staff costs for the shop and workshop for a few months and enough supplies to actually make the dang stuff to sell! I worked out I need - ball park - in the region of about £25-30K to set up the shop and cover everything including a shop refit and all of the overheads in advance for the first few months and give me enough left over for "breathing space" and enough supplies to then create "rolling stock" to re-stock the shop for the first few months.
Once I get through the first 3-4 months in the shop, I should have generated enough income to start making a real profit.
*sigh* that's what dreams are for!
I think I have possibly just about recovered from my two mega late nights - or is that early mornings!!! (I didn't go right to bed last night either - I couldn't help doing a bit more to the website!!!) but I have still been a "fart in a trance" as B affectionately called me today at work!!
I showed a friend my website this afternoon and lets just say the reaction I got to it was EXACTLY why I have stayed up late over the last couple of days and been working pretty much solidly on it!!! I still have a phenomenal amount of work to do on it ... after all, it's only the front page that I've done so far and even that still needs tweaking with the final photos, but it LOOKS exactly how I had pictured it ... no, it's BETTER than I had pictured it!!
I've known this complete re-design has been needed for a while but I've just not had the motivation to do it!! It was a friend who turned around to me recently and said "you know Dee, considering you call yourself an amateur photographer and have a fucking good camera ... the pictures on your website are complete shit!"
I like to consider myself a straight talking kinda gal and if something needs saying then you can always rely on me to say it! I don't beat around the bush and I call a spade a spade ... but when my friend said that to me about my photos on the existing website, being so crappy, I realised that people very rarely talk back to me so straight!!! I've had so many compliments on the website from so many customers ... saying it's a great design, easy to navigate, easy on the eye etc, but nobody has really pointed out the fact that the photography really could be better ... and I was too "involved" to see it myself.
I just feel so incredibly motivated at the moment. I feel it in my bones that the revamped website will make a huge difference to business, and I'm all hyped up about working towards a shop!! I have been in a really good place emotionally and mentally for the last month or so. It's been a long time since I felt that way!!
I am also eternally grateful to a good friend who speaks the blatant truth!!!
Okay yes so I am a genius! I KNEW I would pay for my late night by being overtired today, but it doesn't matter... it was SO worth it! I had been a little worried that looking at it all in the cold light of day would reveal several errors and mistakes, but the truth is ... it looked good!!! The start that I made on the re-vamped website in the wee small hours really did pay off,so my tiredness today has been a happy balance!
B was in at work for a couple of hours, so I took the opportunity to leave when she did! I spent most of the afternoon drifting between working on the website, watching crap daytime TV and quietly drifting off to sleep! I set my phone alarm to beep at 2.50pm to get the kids just incase I fell deeply asleep instead of merely inspecting the insides of my eyelids!
I also had what would have previously been a "Major Stress Event" this afternoon when my laptop lead finally packed up! I knew it wasn't going to last forever but seriously ... when I was bang slap in the middle of a "flow of inspiration" this afternoon was a REALLY bad time! Thankfully I managed to stay calm, be resourceful and phone around local computer shops until I tracked one down!!!
A few months ago that could have been another meltdown!!! Praise be to the god of happy pills for keeping me sane!!!!
It's nearly midnight and I have forced myself to stay up to a "normal" bedtime for me ... I've got the website to the point where the main index page is totally done aside from replacing photos with new ones (a whole other new project!!) and minor tweaking!!!!
Feeling tired, worn out, baggy eyed .... but very chuffed with myself!!!
OMG well after staring at a blank page for a few days, I've FINALLY come up with a basic design for the website and it's looking GOOD! We'll say nothing of the fact that it's nearly 3am in the morning though!
Ack well when a girl has inspiration, a girl has inspiration!!!
I also did a candle party at my mum's this evening (err technically yesterday but at 3am I'm not being picky!!!) and I got there early to set up for a photo shoot. I basically did a rekkie of her house yesterday and made a list of things to bring with me and OH MY GOD am I good!!!! They turned out superbly!!! I'm not going to post them here though .... gonna save them for the re-launch! Of course I need to re-photo EVERYTHING now!!!
The new version of the website is in a very very VERY rough draft state and although I've uploaded a test page, it's all staying offline for now until I am ready for the re-launch, but the best bit is that I now have a layout design and a "concept" for the site .... I've done the groundwork on the layout, made a start on the new photography and OHHHHH it's looking good!!
Well I think I'll grab another juice, have one more smoke then hit the sack!!!I've been working hard at the workshop during the day both Saturday & today over the weekend and there were a lot of new orders that came through too - always good! HAH!
And, wanna hear about my new project? I gotta revamp the website!!! Yep, bang slap in the middle of "Silly Season" - my busiest time of year for pouring, I have to start working on the re-launch for January!! I need to have my January Sale pretty much ready to go, as well as the launch of my brand new design!! All of this involves a COMPLETE re-vamp of the website. It needs a face lift and a new look. I do love how it is now, but I spent a couple of hours this afternoon brainstorming with a friend about ideas for it (and funnily enough had started working on it last night!!!) and have come away full of ideas.
So yeah, my website is great as it is, but I need a better online presence. I need a professionally designed website rather than one I build myself in notepad, but finances simply don't permit that right now! Soooo in the meantime I need a fresh and funky new look for 2008 and I have about 4 weeks to complete it in!!! Best get cracking eh!!!!!
Okay, so my new line of candles! I haven't come up with a final name for them yet, but for now they are called "Just Say it" and feature original (ie written by yours truly!) funny poems in 8 different designs (with candles poured in complimentary colours/scents) and I will be launching them in January!! I've already made up a prototype label and figured out the packaging ... just gotta finalise the label, but PLENTY of time to do that!!
I also need much better photography on the website to suggest the impression of "lifestyle" with my products. I asked my mum this evening if I could use her house (as it's recently all redecorated and usually immaculate!!!) for a photo shoot in return for the candles used and she jumped at it!!! I did a "rekkie" of the rooms I want to use this evening while I was over there for dinner (yummy!) and made a list of the things I need to make. I'll be aiming to do a photo shoot within 2 weeks so I can have proper photos to work with for the new website!!!
So yes ... lots to do! Busy, busy, busy!!!!!!!
Okay after answering this week's Friday Five and Evel Knievel being mentioned ... I found out he DIED TODAY. How spooky and bizarre is that!!
http://www.evelknievel.com/
I've been chatting to a few people today about how I know I am busier than last year because the figures show it... yet this time last year I had two permanent part time staff members and this year I am on my own (other than friends helping out for odd hours!) and I don't feel like I am doing as much! It doesn't make sense! It's crazy!
The only answer I have is that I am highly motivated right now and very much on top of things in the workshop. Most orders are being poured and dispatched within a couple of days (some even next day) which is terrific ... I just don't feel as overwhelmed with it all. I just seen to be in a really good place emotionally and mentally right now.
I also can't stop thinking about a shop! It is definitely where I need to be within a couple of years minimum. I've spent this last year pulling myself out of the crap and next year has to be about balancing that out and ticking over okay! I know what I am like though, and when I get a bee in my bonnet about something then I don't tend to hang around! I NEED CASH ... about £20K will do it! LOL
Today has been a good day too - I can't remember the last time I had this many good days all in a row and I am almost scared to mention it incase it all stops! LOL! Maybe karma is finally paying me back! I had a good day at work today, got eleventy hundred boxes packed for dispatch (ok that's an exaggeration but it felt like that!), plus more orders completed to pack up over the weekend. The kids behaved themselves this afternoon after school, and then this evening I've drafted the December e-newsletter ready to send out over the weekend, worked on the website for a bit and finished off what I needed to do for my new fabby range of candles!!!
Feels bizarre to be in such a good place for so many days in a row! Let's see what the weekend brings!!
This week's Friday five are a little on the weird side but I'm always one for a challenge, so here goes!!!!
Are you a mentalist or an illusionist? I am definitely a mentalist... this is how Wikepedia defines it ....
The term mentalist refers to entertainers whose performance appears to be based on "psychic" abilities, featuring the ability to read minds, project the mind to alter the state of matter, foretell the future, and see distant and hidden objects. This branch of magic is referred to as "mentalism".
You see, an illusionist creates things that aren't really there, and although I have my demons and personal secrets ... what you see is what you get with me! I can also read tarot and have a firm belief in the spiritual world and free will.
You're on a roll - do you feel the roll you are on? Hell yes!!! This question is perfectly timed because I really do feel like I am on a roll at the moment. Business has picked up and life - for the first time in a long time - is good!!
How many performances a week? Every day!!!! Life isn't a rehearsal and you have to get out there and grab every single opportunity that comes along for you. Don't rehearse - perform!!!!
Is there a little bit of Evel Knievel in you? A daredevil? Ohhhh yes!! See previous answer! People who don't dare, don't live and it's that simple!! What is the point in going through life just accepting and plodding? You sometimes have to go looking for opportunities because they sure as heck won't always land in your lap. Sometimes that involves being a bit of a daredevil. I love rollercoasters though and my life has certainly been one!!!
How much of what you do is physical? My work is very physical! Wax is delivered in 25kg sacks which have to be taken upstairs to the workshop (43 steps and yes I counted them!) I am constantly on my feet on the go during the day pouring candles, and packing boxes is very physically demanding!! My evenings tend to be less physical (unless I'm at the workshop) - I'm usually found on the sofa with my laptop balanced with a glass of wine working on my website ... picture big comfy dressing gown & slippers with my feet up on the table!
Crikey where has this week gone?! I can't believe it's Thursday evening already. It's been a crazy week for business and the good news is that since I last blogged I am now over £300 up on last November instead of £600 down!! **doing the happy candlemaker dance** (Oh it's a serious dance but nobody else ever sees it! LOL) Anyway, the figures put a huge smile on my face because it proved my hard work has paid off!!!
I've worked like a madwoman most of this week (or should that be an elf - hey maybe I should get a hat! LOL) and I even got nick-named "Little Miss Glitter-bottom" because of the trail of glitter I leave behind me! LOL I can't help it! I am a candlemaker and it's Christmas .... glitter comes with the territory! Heck I love it! Share a little glitter lurve!!!
Orders have definitely picked up but I'm still getting the odd day with absolutely no orders through the website and that isn't good! If I had a shop ..... it just wouldn't happen that there was a whole day without a single sale!!! On the other hand though it is balanced with days where every time I check email there's another order, so a fair swap is no robbery eh!!!
So here I am - on what is my tenth wedding anniversary with a glass of wine (it's 9pm and only my 3rd glass - am doing well!) and a smoke, writing this and working on the website! LOL
Soooo anyway LOL I have designed (only on paper so far) a new range of candles that I am really excited about. I probably won't have a chance to make it, design the labels and get it launched in time for Christmas, but I will try! If not, it will be my NBT (new big thing LOL) to launch for the new year. Ooooh I may hold back on it actually ... ohhhh I don't know (that'll be the wine then! HAH) I'll make a decision on that in the morning!!! All I will say here is that it features original and very very funny (in my humble opinion!!!) poems written by yours truly!! I'm sh*t hot! LOL
So okay the fact that I am now up on last year and have a new product to launch .... plus I've been mega busy this week ... yep ... I do believe I am still smiling!!!!
(ok 4th glass of wine now!)
I've spent pretty much the entire weekend in the workshop! I poured all day Saturday and all day today to the point where I literally had to stop late this afternoon because I ran out of wax! LOL
I like being on top of things (no filthy comments please!!!) because it gives me a huge ego boost to look at the order board and know that I am up to date on things. I did discover from looking back on the records that I am £600 down for November on where I was last year and that isn't good... but it explains why I feel on top of things ... it's because I should be busier!! I've updated the website recently and sent out a newsletter to my email subscribers ... but beyond that there isn't much I can do.
I need a shop. I NEED a shop. I NEED A SHOP!!!
If I had a retail shop right in the middle of Brighton I would be guaranteed passing daily trade on top of whatever the website brings in. It's a student town, so every year I would have a fresh batch of blood - I mean new customers. The smell wafting out of the door would drive people inside in their droves!!!
I've actually thought of little else over the last few days. My dream has always been to have a retail shop and it's coming to the point where I think I am going to need it to stay afloat.
I have a terrific product - everybody who tries my candles tells me so! I am really good at what I do and I'm not just saying that to blow my own trumpet! I put time, effort and experience into what I do and I make damned good candles!! I have so many ideas to take the business forward and to do that I need to get my accounts up to date and then I need a serious cash injection.
With enough money I can ...
* Get the essential business tax debts paid off.
* Secure premises and pay rent for at least the first 6 months in advance so I don't need to worry for the first couple of months of trading.
* Buy enough supplies to make enough to stock the shop!
* Buy fixtures and fittings for the shop.
* Employ enough people to train up and help make / pack the stock.
* Still keep the website running.
* Pay my normal ongoing business bills (phone, water, rates, etc)
I have so many ideas! While I was pouring away today, I even thought about the decor of the shop, how I would lay it all out, what scents I would have burning at which times of year etc to draw people in! Heck I even started a spreadsheet on the things I would want to have on the shelves as a minimum by opening day! We'd have a twice weekly run from the workshop down to the shop to re-stock anything that their stock room is running low on. I'd do this as it would give me the opportunity to go down and keep an eye on things!
I'd employ three people initially at the shop. One full time manager to oversee the general running of the shop, then one full time and one part time to work behind the counter and help customers with choosing appropriate things (full training would be given! LOL I know how to sell my stuff). I could potentially also work at the shop on the manager's days off to make sure it's all running okay and sort out any problems there.
In the workshop I would initially want two people permanently packaging and wrapping. This would include packaging stock for the shop and dispatching orders out to website customers. In the pouring room I would want two other people alongside me - one making purely votives, hurricane candles, tealights and wax chunks, then another doing the pillars and larger stuff. There would also need to be one main person as a manager who would need to be trained in everything to oversee the general running of the workshop and float between the pouring room and packing area depending on where they were needed.... basically a mini-me!
The cash injection to fuel this project would also need to be enough to pay these 6 staff members for the first few months in business plus the on-going costs and overheads (heat, electric etc). I'd also want a weekly book-keeper and a monthly accountant!
BUT on top of this I could also employ party plan agents to do all of the parties for me and run all the training from the shop back room too.
The thing is, I KNOW that once this baby is up and running, I would be flying without wings! This time of year the shop would be FULL of glitter, Christmassy warm and welcoming scents and colours. Decoration would be subtle and be along the lines of greenery and berries. Not overly in your face tinsel with flashing lights ... but understated elegance instead!! I'd have the Christmas three wicks (which look stunning!) on a round table, shown off on their holders with twigs and berries all around them, foil glitters and tealights scattered across the table and just MAKE people want to re-create that in their homes! Of course the Christmas tree candles would have their own fabulously glittery display! LOL After Christmas I'd get ready for a mass January sale before launching the hearts for Valentines day! I've even planned the valentines decoration that I won't bore you with ... then there is usually a lull between March - August where I'd need to boost summer sales and garden candles plus you have father's day and mother's day where I could promote beer candles and gift sets respectively LOL .... then August - September is always hell for website sales until Christmas sales pick up, but in BRIGHTON in a SHOP I'd have all that wonderful touristy passing trade to lap up!!!
I would have large photographs all over the walls of the shop showing the candles in different rooms / scenarios. Show the romantic bedroom setting, the candles around the tub, floating candles in a garden etc. SHOW people how to use them in their homes!
I NEED A SHOP!
Where do I get a metric fuckload of money from though? I guess I had better start playing the lottery!!!!
Oooooh what a really good set of questions this week!!! I love photography so this will be a good set to answer!!
If a really, really good photographer — the kind who always makes you look good and still look like you — were to take your photo right now, what would be a good title for it? - It would be called something like "Just Being Dee" because right now I am sat on my sofa with my laptop having just finished website updates... I am wearing "comfy" clothes and my fluffy slippers (ie definitely not looking fabulous!!) have a glass of wine on one side and a smoke on the other ... this is typical me when I am working on the website or computer stuff in the evenings!! So yes, it would be called "Just Being Dee"
If that photo were so good it belonged on the cover of a magazine, what would be a good choice, based on where you are and what you’re doing? LOL probably something like "Struggling Business Owner's Weekly" HAH I'm here on a Friday night working on the website instead of out on the town!!
If you took an interesting or aesthetically pleasing photo of something in your view right now, what might it be, and what would its title be? Ummmm, errrr (desperately looking around the front room for inspiration!!!) It couldn't be done with one photograph, but a series of pictures representing the family way of life and the fact that every one of us in the house has our nose in a computer at this exact moment!!!
Among people you know, who seems to have a knack for taking great shots of people? My sister & brother in law. They are both excellent photographers and if I ever need to hand my own camera over to someone to take a shot of me ... I'd choose either of them in an instant!!
Are you usually happier with candid photos of you, or photos you’ve posed for? Definitely candid without a doubt. I do like posed shots when it's representing something ie a trip somewhere, or posing with a friend ... but to me the whole point of taking a photograph is to capture a snapshot of time .... to pause life for that split second and capture it absolutely. The ONLY way to do that is with candid shots.
The phone carried on being non stop yesterday and I found myself so engrossed in work and getting on with things that I managed to just about get home in time to pick the children up from school! I had call after call - party bookings, order enquiries and people just telling me how great I was!!! LOL
Today has been a really good day too. I haven't had any staff in this week so I have had to work harder, but somehow I just seem more energised and more motivated than I have felt in a long time.
I think part of it is because this time last year when it was ALL **** I promised myself that I would give it until Christmas before making a decision on whether it's all actually worth it, or whether I am better off just selling up and being done with it. I could have worked MUCH harder this year, it's true and I could have put more into it, but to be perfectly honest it hasn't been the best year in my personal life which has made concentrating on the business that much harder. It hasn't really been a fair deal that I made myself.
Next year will be different. I am NOT going to sell up. I am NOT going to fail. Things have already picked up and as long as I carry on being pro-active in my marketing and making sure people know that I exist - then I WILL succeed!!!
A good day all round ... again! I shall have to be careful or this will become a habit!!
