boogaj

Chocolate & Taxes

sigh.

My office is a disaster!

My office looks like this:

Because of this:

See, I have another business in addition to the knitting one -- it's a rubber stamp store which I've owned for over 5 years.  I only sell Hero Arts stamps because I love them the best.  I started it up because I needed something to do after Maddie was born and I have stuck with it all these years! 

Well, every December they release a sampling of their new line for the following year -- and it's insane!  It comes in tons of boxes (instead of a few big boxes) and creates a huge mess.  And I have to figure out where to cram all the new stuff -- the shelves are overflowing.  So that's how my day is going -- quite a mess, wouldn't you say?

Oh, the new stamps are *super* cute this year -- want to see?  Just stop by my shop -- Stamping Online!

Why I hate UPS !!!!!!!!!

Okay, these two boxes just arrived.  They were white when they left Hero Arts and presumably were in one piece.  As you can see, they are marked with large stickers that say "FRAGILE".  They have arrived as they always do, filthy -- and I do mean filthy -- ripped open and bashed in.  It's absolutely ridiculous!!  Especially when shipping for two boxes is like $85!!

I have a rubber stamp business (Stamping Online) so I am forced to put up with this.  I have complained, I have asked for a different method of delivery.  Nothing doing.  So I deal with this.  And I'm forced to wait for Hero Arts to send me replacements for all the damaged products while my customers wait.  I can't stand it.  Grrrrrrrrrr. . . . . . . .

Still here. . .

I'm still here.  Just *so* busy.  I re-opened the Knitting Blogs Web Ring which is always insane!  And on top of that I am buried in the 2006 stamps that have arrived at my rubber stamp store -- Stamping Online.  They are totally cute and it's keeping me very busy.  I'm not even mentioning the folder full of Black Sheep Bags orders that I need to fill.  I worked all afternoon Sunday trying to get caught up (and failing) there.  (Did you see all the new shops?!?)

But busy is good.  And Maddie has been an angel the last couple of days.  And my migraines are staying in check.  And my new migraine medicine hasn't given me any terrible side effects.  So mostly I can't complain. 

Off to do some more work!

Organizational Dilemna (or a contest!)

As this year comes to a close and I start to think about 2006 my mind settles on one major goal -- organization!  As least in my office. 

I run two businesses and homeschool Maddie in this office and it's a mess.  Maddie uses an old cardboard Kinko's box as her school desk (well, it is kind of good because the box holds all of her school "stuff" too) and she's getting a little big for that.  Then there's the fact that I have two computers set up right now, but one isn't on a computer desk, so it's pretty much unusable.  And there are piles of things everywhere!  It's a mess.  See for yourself. . .

Western View of the Office of Shame


Southern View of the Office of Shame


Eastern View of the Office of Shame


Northern View of the Office of Shame

So, as you can see, it is a total mess.  I spend a majority of each day in this office and I would love to have it look like a spread from Martha Stewart Living, know what I mean? 

Here are the major issues:

• I have patterns (currently in the plastic drawer thingies on the "shipping" table on southern wall) and rubber stamps (currently on two shelving units on the northern wall) that need to stay here and be near me for work.
• I need a packing area where all of my packing supplies are easily within reach (the big table along the southern wall serves this purpose now, but often gets covered with non-shipping stuff.)
• Two computers -- I want to set up the old one (which is currently not really usable due to its location) for Maddie.  The second computer desk in the room is on the southern wall and is covered with my paper cutter, postal scale (which I use a lot and should have with the "shipping" stuff) and sizzix (which I don't use very often anymore).
• I have built-ins at each end of the room which you can see in the photos, but they need better organization. But how?
• Three walls are mostly windows, so I can't really put anything on them.  This is good (natural light abounds!) & bad (only short things can be on these three walls).
• The eastern and western walls are metal below the windows -- they are actually radiator covers (yep, we have an old house with radiant heat).
• I have lots of files, but no filing cabinet.  If I had a filing cabinet, where would I put it?  Ugh!
• I don't know where to start.  This is my biggest issue.  I think if I start I'll do something totally wrong and have to start again and again.  Is there a method I should be following?  Help me!

Here's where you come in.  Send me links!  Send me ideas!  Send me photos!  Help me out here!

I'll pick a random name from the list of idea senders.  And I will post a list of the best ideas (otherwise known as the ideas that I end up using or learning something new from) on the blog.

You can post ideas in the comments, or email them to me!

Crazy!

I have been knitting a little bit.  I'm very close to finishing my Trekking 100 socks -- yeah!  And I started a pair of mittens for Maddie, but ripped them out when I discovered that they were a bit too big.  Sigh. . .

I want to find time to spin too, but I'm spending all my free time getting caught up on retail orders for BSB.  And any other free minutes are devoted to Stamping Online.  I'm getting in a bunch of new 2006 rubber stamps in the middle of December, so I had to put the discontinued stamps on sale to make room for the new things.  Man!  Have the sale stamps been flying out the door!  (Or flying onto every available surface in the office waiting to get packaged up -- yikes!)

So right now it's work time.  Hopefully later this week I'll have some kntiting and spinning to show!

BTW, I'm wondering if anyone has found any of the new Silk Garden DK for sale anywhere yet?  Yarn shop owners & employees -- heard any news on this?

*** Oh yeah, and our dishwasher broke.  This isn't helping me out in the free time department on 2 counts -- having to wash/dry dishes & having to call/wait for a repairman.  Oy!

Maddie's Almost 5!

Maddie turns 5 at the end of October and she wanted a Halloween themed party.  So today while I was sulking because Renegade got rained out (or at least I'm guessing it did -- it was raining so badly here that we didn't attempt to go), I made the invites for Maddie's party. 

I printed up the details on white cardstock and attached that to some purple cardstock I had cut to match some envelopes I had.  Then I made all those little orange squares, stamped them and attached them.  I stamped the envelopes to match too.  Yeah for papercrafting! 

Aren't the stamps cute?  I sell rubberstamps -- did you know that?  I've had my stamping website since long before I started a knitting blog.  (Oh, it's www.stampingonline.com if you want to check it out.)  And I used to love stamping.  After a good chunk of my day started to revolve around the business aspect of stamping, I really lost interest.  I guess I saw all those stamps as work instead of crafty fun.  So it's kind of cool to do some stamping and enjoy it!