You've GOT to be kidding me!

I woke up this morning to find 6+" of new snow on the ground! UGGH! Lately, my spirits have been on high..well..at the very least, close to high...This is a direct effect of the pending spring...The backyard, although still snow covered in many areas, was beginning to show life with random patches of what I think is grass. Even the dog had an extra spring in her step as she waddled around the yard in hopes of getting off to a full-fledged run. Although the yard has looked a bit war-torn with potholes of deep snow dispersed among softer slushier areas mixed in with many dead and falling twigs left over from a pretty wild wind storm last week. We all here were more than willing to take part in any clean-up necessary to get our yard back..our space..our sense of freedom..but not as of today. No...today's blanket, or should I say quilt of snow has quickly dashed all of our dreams of lazy days lounging on the deck while the dog ran around senselessly chasing away any available squirrells. Gone are the hopes of the sun beating down upon our faces, eyes squinting, thirst-quenched from the heat it gives off... Back are the harsh realities of pulling out the snowblower..again..dealing with the sharp back pains from shoveling the heavy wet snow...Dashed away is any resemblance of healthy foliage green of any sort... The idea of snow in late March really douses the emotions in depression.. For it is difficult to even motivate one's mind and body or gravitate our thoughts towardany fresh and blooming thoughts..How does one now create the hope that yes..Spring is just around the corner! Well who's corner are we talking about and where is it? It certainly isn't here in New Hampshire...I guess I'll just have to suck it up, dust myself off and learn to accept the bad with the good as this is all a part of choosing to live in the Northeast....it does have it good points too..but it is just hard to find or remember them while I stare out the window at a white..cold..wet..covered life!

The Day After...

Well Easter is now behind us. For those of you with little ones, I am certain yesterday was both exciting and exhausting. Now that my kids are way beyond the idea of the Easter bunny..these holidays get a bit lost..It is sad yet somehow refreshing at the same time. No worries of having to find that Easter basket with this years most popular characters..no more major candy shopping and no more of having to get up at the crack of anything to see where the Easter bunny left the baskets.. While this all sounds too good to be true..at the same time it's all very sad. There are less than a handful of great parent moments each year and the big holidays used to be those times..No matter how bad the rest of the year went it was always a great feeling knowing that the kids were grateful and excited about the Easter Bunny, Santa..the Tooth Fairy etc. Now...nothing..This novelty has been quickly replaced with the whining and nagging of the kids about having to go anywhere there might be relatives at. My 'holidays' are now spent figuring out what the kids may or may not complain about when it comes to the meal associated with each holiday. 'Do we HAVE to have that?'...'lets just get Chinese food'..etc., etc. Most of my holidays are now spent carting the kids to their friends or girlfriends house..or having to pick them up and bring them here...The whole concept of a holiday..a time for family, good food and a welcome rest from the usual day to day grind has been lost forever! Easter Sunday has been replaced with just a Sunday..Christmas is now a day for the kids to get all the grub they know they are getting and the whole prep for it is over in less than 5 minutes! The kids could care less about the Tooth Fairy..but the idea of getting money for teeth is still high on their priority list of belief!! I could go on and on about all of this but I guess..in a nut shell is to slow down and enjoy those special moments with the kids because when you blink your eyes..it will all be gone! Here's hoping that many of you parents were able to enjoy the stained hands from coloring those eggs..were able to enjoy running to the market at the last possible moment to get carrots to insure that the 'Bunny" wouldn't pass your house by...enjoy for the next few weeks..finding those jelly beans that have rolled under the couch..and for the most fortunate...I hope you will remember to enjoy the fact that your little one imprinted a chocolate handprint on your Easter best right before you were leaving for church..and that hopefully you were the envy of the town as you proudly wore those macaroni earrings your little one made for you to wear on Easter!!! Peace to all.

Eddie & Sammie on Halloween

Eddie & Sammie on Halloween, originally uploaded by rachel.grande.

The other half of my heart is here! My beautiful kids!

laundry day!

laundry day!, originally uploaded by rachel.grande.

Life is so very hard..

Life is so very hard.., originally uploaded by rachel.grande.

Me & my mommy in the car..

Me & my mommy in the car.., originally uploaded by rachel.grande.

Me and my side kick!

peter shadow

peter shadow, originally uploaded by Thinkoutsidethebox2008.

Making decisions

Hi all, Well I am convinced that I am only writing here for myself...which I guess is allright as I guess I am my best audience. I think if I devote a little more time to this whole blogging thing that maybe my blog might be of some interest to other people. But what to write about? The only thing I can really pull from is my day to day thoughts and decision making. I have slowly entered into the world of crafting for profit. It's a lot of fun...in fact, more fun than I thought but...with that comes major decision making. While I fancy myself a crafter of many areas I do not possess that one signature item or thing that separates me from the masses. Not a bad thing but it has its problems too. With so much talent out there and honestly, more than I would have imagined...what is your defining factor for selling? I don't have a method so to speak...I craft whatever is in my mind for that day unless someone has taken an interest in something specific from something I have already created...like a different size, color, pattern etc. I love to paint and create eye pleasing items that also function as other things. If I am creating an Easter basket then I also want that basket to have other uses for the buyer. I think that this is appealing to a buyer..like a double bang for the buck. I think it makes us feel less guilty spending money...yes, an Easter basket is a useful item but what about when that 24 hours has passed? What then...well, for me it's..lets make that bsket purposeful for other uses..something that can be used all year long. Makes sense to me. My biggest daily arguement with myself is what should I create today? But the honest truth here is that a crafter will never know what may appeal to a buyer on any given day. I have had items that I thought were sure winners for that sale and..nothing! Other items that I was sketchy about have sold immediately..so it's all a crap shoot. But isn't that what makes it fun? Well selling makes it fun but you might as well enjoy the entire ride. Everyday can bring a sparkle of excitement as you look in your shops and realize that there is one less item in your inventory because someone purchased something from you while you were sleeping!!! Small..small..small bits of excitement but I'll take it! As some know..I have recently begun needle felting...now that's a challenge! I never quite know what I am making until I am a few hours into it..and good needle felting can command some high priced sales. But many many many hours go into just one item. Is this worth putting on the back burner all those items you know you can create that will sell? Bottom line is to do what you love no matter what the outcome is. Because...if you put your love into your work..inevitably someone else..a buyer..will recognize that and then you get your sale! Building a good strong fan base is just as important as making loads of sales..because one goes with the other...

Springing forward.....

Hi all...as I sit here I am thinking how great it is to know that today and every day there after for at least 6 months....the available daylight hours will be getting longer and longer!! For some reason, this makes me extremely happy...I think it's the old sunlight in the pupils for more dialation addage that many refer to when it comes to Seasonal Affective Disorder and depression. The more light in the pupils, the more dilation...the more endorphins etc. Not sure of all the science involved in this but I do know that there must be some truth to it all because I am feeling the winter crusty blues beginning to disappate. But the flip side, and this is the depression side of me talking here is that if you are having a 'bad' day all around then the longer sunlit days will seem as if they'll never end! But all in all a bad sunny day far outweighs a good cold, snowy and rainy one! It would also seem that due to the 'longer' days we all have a better chance at redeeming ourselves and turning around that bad day. If it feels to us that we have a longer day because it's not getting dark until 7 or so then maybe there's a chance that our day can get better...who knows. I haven't gotten it all figured out yet but one thing rings true to me with Daylight Savings...Spring is right around the corner. The whole Daylight Savings deal, from what I know, came about decades ago when farmers depended on the days and sun and moon or whatever, for their crops and hence their livlihoods. I can never seem to remember how putting our clocks backwards and forwards played such an important role in farming. But, since the world is ever so changing, I guess we don't have that need for longer and shorter days at certain seasons. I've heard that they(whomever they are) will do away with the 'ol clock changing stuff at some point alltogether! But this year we all got a bonus, in my eyes, we were 'allowed' to change the clocks 3 weeks earlier than in previous years! My one pet peave with the clock changing is that our family traditionally reminds eachother when the clocks change about how it 'really' is only 2pm even though the clock says 3! We play this ridiculous game for a few days until the novelty wears off but don't tell anyone..the novely wore off for me about 10 years ago! Well. I have branched off from my original thought here as I often do in conversation. I think my whole point was to just say how nice it is to see the sun at all let alone being able to see it now for at least one hour more each day!!!

chick-gallery

chick-gallery Originally uploaded by Thinkoutsidethebox2008

# 3 in my needle felting. This is Orville and he is SOLD. Click on my links to take you to my Etsy shop for more needle feltings.

Phinneus gallery

Phinneus gallery Originally uploaded by Thinkoutsidethebox2008

# 2 in my needle felting ventures. Visit my etsy shop for many more to come. Click on my links to take you there.

Fritz

Fritz Originally uploaded by Thinkoutsidethebox2008

My 1st atempt at needle felting. Much more on the way and available in my etsy shop. Click on my links to take you there.