Well, it took me awhile, just doing a little at a time but I finally got my studio/office clean. So I thought I would show you the pictures:

And here is my desk:

Now, the desk drawers are a little open but that's not cos they are so full. It's because this is my dad's old desk and the drawers just won't close all the way.

And here's my laptop work station:

Of course, the room is not perfect. I wasn't able to take all the furniture out, purge all the things I don't use, etc. But I did get it clean and organized which is enough for now. At least I LIKE being in here again!

Today's Quote: "Inaction breeds doubt and fear.  Action breeds confidence and courage.  If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it.  Go out and get busy.”- Dale Carnegie 1888-1955

Biz Tip: If you use Google adsense on any of your sites, here's a great FREE  privacy policy generator so you will be in compliance with google's rules: http://www.serprank.com/privacy-policy-generator/

How to find your dream

I'm one of the lucky ones. I am actually living my dream. I do what I love doing and am doing it from home. I am actually getting to the point that I'm making a reasonably good living. What more could I want?

I get two questions from others about this. The first is how did you get to live your dream? The second is: How do you know how to find out what your dream is?

The first question of how I got to the point of living my dream is it took quite awhile to get here. Part of it was fate. Most of it was hard work and planning and learning.

My mantra is "Failure is not an option." I am determined to succeed. And that makes me determined to do what I need to do to succeed. No excuses, no whining about how hard it is, no giving up.

The second is answer as to how you figure out  what your dream is, will be a little different for every person. Some people are born knowing what they want to do with their life. Most little kids seem to know what they want. But that seems to wane as they grow older. Why is that? I believe it's because when we are very young, we are open to all possibilities. Nothing is impossible. Our future seems magical. As we get older and get socked a few times by life, we loose that belief in ourselves. Some of our child hood dreams, we just loose interest in. Some seem silly. Most, we would still secretly like to do but feel it's impossible now. It may be. Most of us realize as an adult we don't have the talent to be a ballerina or a star quarterback.

But maybe, we can have some deviation of our original dream. I know as a child, I wanted to be a comic book writer. That dream died by the wayside, but as an adult, one of my businesses does involve art. And I write quite a bit in my affiliate marketing business. So I am doing the 2 aspects of what I wanted to do as a child.

If you don't know what your dream is for your life, start in your childhood. Think about what you loved doing then, and see if there is a way to bring that back in some way now, as an adult. 

Another thing to do is to ask those close to you, what they think you are good at. Often we don't even recognize our own talents. Sometimes, because something comes so naturally to us, we assume it's that way for everybody. Guess what? It's not!

A little exercise you can try is to day dream. Sit in a comfortable chair, close your eyes, and imagine. If you could do anything you wanted, and there were no obstacles  standing in your way, what would that look like? You may get a clue there.

Don't give up. A few years ago, when I was working in a job I absolutely hated, I wondered if my dreams would ever come true? My  dreams were all I had to hold onto and I did hold on to them with all my might. I knew I would have no will to live if I had no hope. It took awhile, but I am finally living my dream. I'm so glad I didn't give up. And I want the same thing for all of you!

Today's life tip: Are you using WIndows 7 yet? They have a neat little sticky note application. I use it to write down my tasks for the day. It sits on my desktop. It also comes in handy when making notes while working on your computer. Love it!

Today's Quote: "Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless." – Jamie Paolinetti

After my crazy, busy Fall craft season, I took a look at my office/studio and shuddered. How did I let it get this bad? Of course I say that every year after my craft season is over and I vow not to let it get like that again, but invariably….it does.

I know I need to clean and organize it. I spend more of my waking hours in here than I do in any other room. And let's face it, this room is just not conducive to work. I don't know if you are like me but I just don't function well in so much clutter. It just makes me feel nervous. I feel so much more peaceful  when my space is organized.

I am happy to report that the rest of my house is pretty organized. It's just THIS ROOM that haunts me. I had decided that I was going to get this room in order this month. But when I walk in here, I'm just completely overwhelmed by the mess. I almost feel like one of those people on that show "The Hoarders". Except I don't hoard.

I am a member of Lynn Terry's Self Starter's Weekly Tip's Forum. Our January challenge in the Elite forum is to take a before and after picture of our work spaces and to clean and organize them. How timely! So I am opening myself up to the embarrassment and humiliation of letting them…and you see my messy office/studio.

This is the wall where I hang my finished ornaments. It look ok, but the drawers below it are a wreck!

Here is my desk, and portable desk with both of my computers. Yikes!

And the worst of it….my craft table (you can't even see the table anymore!)

Ok, there you have it. Please be kind!

What are your dreams for this year?

Wow, we are not only starting a brand new year but a brand new decade!  I was just listening to the song by Prince  "1999" ( remember? "Tonight I'm going to party like it's 1999"). I remember when that song first came out. 1999 seemed soooo far away. Now it still does, but going in the other direction, LOL.

I am hoping 2010 is a good year for all of us. The past few years have been kind of rough on many in this country, and it's time we got a break from it. For me, personally, I have had harder years. 2009 was hardly my best year, but it wasn't my worst either. I had plenty of ups and downs.

I'm planning on 2010 being a great year! I know we can't control everything that happens to us despite what the Law of Attraction gurus say. I do know without a plan, you are going to have to deal with whatever life throws at you. With a plan, there is some control over your future.

So the past few weeks, I have been writing down my goals, what I want to accomplish this year, and have written down how and when I am going to do these things.

I also do a little exercise that I wouldn't want anyone to read but me. What I do is write out in a notebook, how I want my life to be. I write it like it's already a fact and that it is a year from whatever day I am actually writing it Not only is this a great break from reality, LOL, but I believe it helps get the ball rolling in making my dreams come true. You can't achieve it if you don't first dream it. I heard someone say (can't remember who to give credit to for this) that all things are created twice. The first time is in our mind, the second time is in reality.  So true.

So what are your dreams for this year?  How do you plan to make them come true?

Today's Biz Tip: If you need a source for free photos for your site, I love this site: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Today's Quote: Let others live small lives, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you. Jim Rohn

Just a little Market Research Please

I have been one busy gal lately. I have been gearing up for the holiday buying season by building up stock. I know, I should have been doing it all year long but I procrastinated.

Anyway, I have also been making a few new prototypes and I need  your help. Below are some samples of a snowflake ornament I want to offer on my Cathy’s Creations site. Check them out  and leave a comment to let me know which ornament you like best. These are just samples of course and the ornies can be ordered with as few as 1 name and as many as 11 names.

Ornament 1

This is the simplest version and I would charge about $9 for it.

Ornament 2

Here’s the second version with the little face. It would be $12.

Ornament 3

This version is just a little fancier. It will also be priced at $12.

Another version of Ornament 3 with fewer names on it.

Ok, so which one do you like best? Ornament 1, 2, or 3. Leave me a comment with your vote. I’d really appreciate it!

The Grandmother’s Club

I know I left everyone hanging on that last post. And I heard from a few people wondering if I had become a grandmother yet.  Well, the answer is obvious from the title, I am now a grandmother!

I told my best friend Donna, and she sent me an e-card welcoming me to the special club known as "The Grandmothers’ Club". After initial hesitation, and much speculation, I happily accepted.

Continuing my daughter’s labor story, she had a rough time of it. The potocin never worked. They broke her water which caused her to go into labor but she couldn’t dialate past 4 centimeters.

She asked for an epidural but the doctor botched it up and gave her way too much. Her blood pressure bottomed out and we almost lost her there! Really scary! They got it up and at least the botched epidural knocked her out and allowed her to sleep for about 3 hours. She needed the rest since she ended up being in labor a total of 36 hours!

Her doctor told us he would go ahead and do a c-section if she didn’t start dialating soon, but then he went off duty and a young doctor who didn’t look to be out of high school, came on duty. I didn’t like him at all. He had this total arrogant and uncaring attitude about him. He said he would wait til the next day (even though it had  been 24 hours since her water had been broken) and see if she progressed.

At this point I totally lost it. I’m normally very laid back but the lack of sleep and seeing my daughter in pain for so long, brought out the mother bear in me. I told him that I was holding him personally responsible if something happened to April or the baby. I also told him it was cruel to make her go 3 days without food and  water (she did have an IV but was still thirsty).Did he really think she would have enough strength to push the baby out after 3 days of  this?

Anyway, he left and came back 15 minutes later with a different attitude and decided that maybe a c-section was the best way to go. Turns out it was the only way she would have delivered the baby. The baby’s head was in the wrong position and with every contraction, the baby was knocking her head against Apri’s pelvic bone. Poor little thing had bruises all over her head!

Here’s April and her sister Shannon getting ready for the C-section

Here’s little Maylynn Hope, born at 8:44pm on August 16, 2009. She was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. Isn’t  she beautiful???

Here’s me holding my new granddaughter for the first time!

One of our dogs, Roxy thinks she’s the baby’s mother. She whines if the baby cries. She wants to "supervize" everything we do for the baby. Here she is supervising April changing Maylynn’s diaper.

It’s 4 a.m. and I’m watching my 2 baby girls sleep. Mind you my 2 babies are in their 20’s. But they are still my babies, none the less.

My middle child, April is a week over due in her pregnancy. So the doctor wanted to induce her. She was supposed to come in Friday night, have a drug inserted that would soften her cervix, sleep all night and then in the morning she would be given potocin to induce labor.

Unfortunately, the maternity ward was packed Friday night so they told us to go home and they would call when a bed was available. They did call about 10 Saturday morning so we went to the hospital at 11am, April had the drug inserted. At midnight, they took the drug out and at 1 a.m., Sunday they gave her potocin.

So far, the potocin hasn’t done much. April is sleeping, Shannon her sister, is sleeping in the recliner/sleeper. And I’m sitting in the rocker watching both my girls sleep and marveling at how innocent they look, like little angels when they sleep. Just like they did as babies.

And, I’m remembering my own deliveries with them and their younger brother. How soon they grow up.

If I could give April any advice about becoming a new mother, it would be to cherish every moment. Even the difficult ones. I remember at times, I would get so frustrated that I would just wish they were at a different age. I was sure that an older age would be much easier to deal with.

Looking back, I now see that every age has it’s own challenges. Each age also is so very special. Treasure it. Imbed the memories in your mind. Embrace everything about it. It goes by so fast.

I know there are times as a young mother that you wonder if you will ever sleep again. Or ever have any semblance of a life of your own back. You will. But you will never get those sweet, little innocent kisses back. Or the cute little baby giggles. I guess that’s what grandchildren are for. To soften the blow of losing your own children to adulthood.

Still, no matter how old they get, and despite the fact that they tower over me now, they will always be my babies.

 Vacation…from one beach to another

It’s been a long time since I posted here. But I have an excuse. Mind you, not a very good excuse but an excuse. I was on vacation. And you know how it is. It takes several weeks to prepare for a vacation and then several weeks to catch up on everything when you get back. I need a vacation from my vacation!

Anyway, I thought I’d share some pics from my vacation. I realize it will probably not be interesting to you unless you are part of my family or a friend, so just humor me. It’s not as bad as one of those old home movies you used to get stuck watching while visiting old friends, right?

We went to the beach. Ironic since I live in Virginia Beach but this was a different beach. It was 5 hours south close to the SC border in a small resort town called Oak Island. Here’s a picture of my son Ryan driving us there. he’s not too happy about me taking his picture when he can’t duck and hide.(he he)

Here’s the 3 story beach house that we stayed in for a week. it was nice and roomy with 5 bedrooms. I was there with my kids and my inlaws. There were 12 of us all together. Fortunately we all got along great and had a fun time.

 Here is the view from that 2nd floor porch. I spent a lot of time sitting in one of those rockers watching the pelicans fly by and reading. I managed to read 3 books and even got about 4 articles written. What I wouldn’t give to permanently  have that porch and that view !

Here is April, my little mom–to-be. She’s 8 months pregnant here.

My nephews, Randy and Jason went out deep sea fishing with their dad and caught a truck load of fish. Jason, who is 13, caught this 48 pound monster! My son Ryan went out with them one day and caught (and released) 2 sharks. He thought that was cool.

Sigh….I didn’t want to come home. But I do feel like I’m better able to handle all the pressures and responsibilities I have to deal with. Which is the purpose of vacations anyway, right?

Today’s (funny) Quote: "I want to share something with you: The three little sentences that will get you through life. Number 1: Cover for me. Number 2: Oh, good idea, Boss! Number 3: It was like that when I got here."~Homer Simpson

Today’s Tip: If you have lots of people who you are following on twitter, but they are not following you back;  http://huitter.com/ will help you clean them out and un-follow them. Just click on the "mutuality" link & put in your twitter details. It saves you hours (if you follow a lot of people) of having to do it manually.

Me a Grandmother? Hard to believe!

Ok, I know this probably won’t mean much to anyone but me but this blog is mainly for me to rant anyway, right?

I’m going to be a grandmother in about  5 weeks! Hard to believe. I don’t feel like a grandmother. Grandmothers are old, with white hair and sit in rocking chairs. Grandmothers are full wisdom and maturity. They are great cooks and housekeepers. Ummm, I don’t feel like I’m any of those. Ok, well maybe the old part but let me have my delusions. I still feel like I’m 25.

Anyway, here’s some pctures of my daughter April’s baby shower. It was held at the bar/restaraunt that my oldest daughter Shannon works at. The New Moon Cafe in Virginia Beach. She and her friend Tara put on a great party!

She had a great turn out of about 30 people. And April thought no one would come.

Here’s my sister Barbie, April me (hiding behind my mom’s hair) and my mother.

Here’s pics of the gifts and food at the shower:

And here are my two babies. Shannon is to the left supervising April opening presents.

It was a fun time and I’m sure April will never forget it.

I’m going to be a grandma!

Today’s Quote: "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next." Gilda Radner

Today’s Tip: Keep your pets inside this 4th of July. You want have to worry about them being frightened by the loud boom of fireworks and running away. If you must keep them outdoors, make sure they have ID tags on their collars.

                       I must be a lunatic!

Am I crazy? My 18 year old son, who is as big as a sucker as I am when it comes to animals has talked me into  adding 3 new members to our family. Or as I sometimes think of it, 3 new mouths to feed.

A week or so ago Ryan asked if we could get something to fill the empty aquarium in the living room. I was hoping for a turtle or a frog. We went to our local pet store and picked out 2 Asian fire belly frogs. We chose them for several reasons. They were beautiful. They look like those plastic Dollar Store toy frogs. They are easy to take care of. They live 10 to 15 years. I’m tired of getting attached to a hamster that only lives a few years! They make the cutest little sound, kind of like a soft barking sound. And they were cheap!

We named these guys Fred and Ethel. Here’s a picture of them but they are much more striking in person:

The other member of our animal family is this tiny little kitten:

He came to us one stormy night when we found him wondering in the road in a torrential rain storm. He looks to be about 5-6 weeks. Our SPCA won’t take him because they are overrun with cats. So looks like he’s ours. Our dogs all love him. Ryan loves him too.

So yes I am crazy for adding more animals to this zoo. But hey, what’s one more? Or two? Or three?

Today’s Quote:"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

Today’s Work Tip: Did you know you can change any document to a pdf  versy easily by going to google docs? It’s free. Here’s the link:  http://docs.google.com/