11:00 am - Update from a 2 year lapse in blogging.
I would apologize but this is my usual behavior. I get so caught up in what I'm doing that I tend to forget to write it all down. Several contributing factors can also be blamed. The bulk of which include: a bad breakup from an abusive relationship, severe panic attacks crippling me for almost an entire year, births in the family, several deaths of close family members and pets, vehicle repair monstrosities, caring for loved ones, two home moves, two new pets and a reawakened passion for knitting.
As I get older I readjust my financial plan. In September of this year I will turn 30 and will be living under a $70,000 student loan debt which has already and will continue to prevent me from the dream of home ownership.
My back is killing me. I've been lax in my gym-time since the move to the new home in December. The frigid and hazardous weather this winter in Ohio has kept me pretty much in bed for over a month. The cat doesn't mind.
http://www.ravelry.com - Ravelry is a place for yarn weavers. I have so far completed one pattern and will be added more as I can. You can charge what you want for your patterns which is very nice to have the flexibility to do so. It's publishing within your target yarn weaving audience.
http://www.amazon.com/ - Picking up on my Amazon selling in a big way. The more I can do to save my physical being from being worn down the better. I am trying to use my mind more and more and Amazon provides an outfit for my ability to sit in a store for hours while I research what I should invest in for resale. I am currently amassing a fairly large amount of knowledge in the fields of antique and vintage books and flatware. It is tedious to say the least but is a nice accompainment to my knowledge of low-mid range glassware.
http://www.clothesmentor.com/ - Always thrift to upgrade. Is it a great name brand item but not in your size? If it's a dollar then it's worth buying and putting in a bag to take along to a cosignment shop or other local store that buys new or gently used clothing items. Clothes Mentor is one of my favorites but you have to know how to function in their environment. Your clothing being accepted will of course depend on the brand, style, appearance, etc but other outside factors could be as simple as the time of day that you bring them in. If you have many items and there is a long line of people selling their items this can lead to the sales associate maybe not taking as long in looking your items over and perhaps passing on something that they missed. When all else fails here remember that shoes and purses are always big sellers.
Music - Much to the dismay of my developing arthritis that wakes me up in the middle of the night I have opted to pick up my guitar again. I have also started applying my cello skills to viola and have found that apart from the awkward position of having the instrument up under my neck and my arm out to the side instead of in front of me that much of the same principles are applying. I do not know if I'll ever successfully understand how to read Alto clef. Bass clef is fairly well engraved into my brain and I could muddle my way through Treble and Tenor enough to play along with the rest of an orchestra but Alto seems to be just too closely related to the patterns in the Bass clef for me to wrap my head around. My singing has come along quite nicely most likely a combination of my aging and lack of smoking (smoke free for about 2 years now). Don't ask me for tips on quitting smoking. I was only able to quit after smoking everyday for a decade after a developing allergy to nicotine started causing me numbness in my face. At least I hope that that's what it was. I had taken several trips to the hospital hoping to figure out what the numbness in my face was. They would examine me, drug test me and then send me home and tell me to relax.
Flatware Jewelry - My latest interest in flatware was peeked by a sudden fancy to make jewelry out of it. It's a difficult and delicate process at times in order to get the metal shaped properly and each flatware pattern brings with it different challenges to get the design at a nice setting on the band while it's being worn. It's not always easy to accept that you have made an error on a piece of vintage silver flatware that you most likely won't be able to find again.
Restarting Couponing - I've had about a year long lapse in any serious couponing. The bulk of my couponing has taken place at CVS (my favorite store for couponing) and at Dollar Tree since they started accepting manufacturer coupons. Most of what I coupon is cosmetics but I find myself needed to restock on just about everything nowadays. I will post results along with some receipts once I get everything back into order again.
