I'm listening to the birds, sipping my coffee and keeping tabs on Owen playing with a roly poly bug on the porch. The kittens are romping around, trying to sneak outside, and a rose on my desk smells heavenly.

This little bit of peace is sure to be short-lived. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Happy Mother's Day!

In an effort to get things moving on Ye Olde Shoppe, I've got a coupon running for 50% off everything, excluding custom listings. Use coupon code 50off

http://aranel.etsy.com

This was SO good, I had to share. It came from a basic veggie soup recipe that I expanded on and went a lil nuts with. Did I mention SO GOOD? You can skip the sausage if you want, but that's where all the really good flavor comes in. Don't over do it, though. Just one link will do for a large pot.

Sausage and Vegetable Soup

1 small diced onion
6 cups beef broth
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 8 ounce can of green beans, drained
4 large diced potatoes (new or red)
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 link beef sausage, diced

In a large pot, saute onions in butter until translucent. Add broth to pot and bring to a boil. Add veggies and spices. In a pan, fry the sausage until browned. Add sausage and juices to soup pot. Cover and cook on medium until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the root vegetables.

It's time for some more introspective navel gazing again.

My current stark reality is that in ten years, I'm not going to be able to sit and sew. It's already difficult enough, but add the regular family back problems to it and I'll be lucky if I'm able to sit down for more than 15 minutes at a time period, much less up at a sewing machine. The business I'm building for myself just isn't going to be there. I won't be able to support my son. It's just not going to happen. I've come to terms with this.

Another reality for me is that I'm just NOT a blogger. I can write here all day long about nothing much, but a dedicated blog? Not so much. I feel more comfortable here, but there are so many problems with LJ that haven't been addressed by the company, plus the almost constant DNS attacks. It just doesn't make for a good platform. I LIKE it, though! I feel at home here. Wordpress is so much easier to customize, though. I just don't know.

I'm delving into the world of mixed media art. It's what I love to do. I just need to give myself permission to DO it. There's been a lot of mental rearranging lately. The dust bunnies I've been finding in here are scary.

Again, it's time to evaluate my internet presence and find the place that works best for me. At the moment, I'm thinking it'll be here. I'm sure a couple of you will be happier about that.

Yay! Crochet stuffs in their own Etsy store!

Hmmph. I can't seem to get my widget thing to work here, so I just have to link it.

Yarnne.Etsy.Com

I can't resolve this in my head. I want to keep my websites and all, but I'm not using them. At all. They're place holders. MED is being used, I think. I'm not sure if the rest gets enough exposure to be worth paying $75 a year for. I feel more comfortable blogging here, when it's WORKING, so I'm not even blogging elsewhere. Wait, you stupid computer! Blogging IS a word!

I've got a few weeks to decide, but... I'm not sure. Most of my business comes from here, Facebook, and Etsy.

Decisions, decisions.

Happy New Year, Y'all!

I don't understand this weirdness in the crafting community. If someone has their product ripped off, it's war. If that same person posts a tutorial on how they made a knock off of an Anthropologie item, it's the best post EVAR.

Is this some sort of blogging schizophrenia? I just absolutely don't get it.

I want to try something. I'm going to start playing with a referral program. If you refer someone to my shop and they make a purchase, you get 10% of that sale as store credit. How's that work? The buyer must use your name in the notes to seller.

Maybe if I get enough success going, I can actually start paying MONEY rather than credit.

Aranel.Etsy.Com

I almost forgot to mention it. I'm running a coupon in my Etsy shop for 20% off through Monday. Just enter the code CYBER20 in when you check out for an automatic deduction.

Aranel.Etsy.Com

I haven't done much, but I've got a few things up. Most of them, I did months ago. Does anyone else do this? You get fired up and make something, but drag your feet to get it listed.

Anyway, I got tired of cloaks that couldn't be worn with fairy wings, so I tried this cloak style. I like how it turned out, but I really need to get a shot of it with wings!



Aranel.Etsy.Com