In Which I Beat the Proverbial Dead Horse

I miss you. I miss blogging. I miss designing my blog, coming up with witty titles (okay, so they're not always witty, but work with me here), filtering every life experience through bloggy eyes ("This would SO make a great post!"). I miss blogging.

Fact is, I'm just too dang busy. It's self imposed, because to look at my house you'd never know I'm too busy. I have three loads of laundry at this present time that need to be put up. A kitchen that looks like a tornado has recently blown through. No makeup on my face. Tassels that wait to be made. Oh, the tassels that wait to be made.

Yet, I spend my day on the dumbputer. I'm on Etsy, Facebook, Etsy, Facebook, Et...well, you get the picture. Granted, a lot of what I do is to promote business. But a LOT of what I do is a complete waste of time. Like Farmville. And Bejeweled Blitz 2. I mean. WASTE OF TIME!!!!

I so need to compartmentalize my day. When I was working, I knew what was expected of me and by when. I had pretty much a self imposed structured day based on the expectations of my boss. So, why is it that now that I'M the boss I don't impose those structures on myself? Because I don't have to answer to anyone. Okay, well, I do have to answer to my husband, but he lets me off the hook far more than he should.

Hmm...I wonder if they rent bosses? I could hire someone to boss me around! Yeah, that way they could give me goals for the day and sack me if I didn't do them! Wait, that wouldn't work because I can't get sacked from my own house. Oh, well. It sounded good.

I need to figure out a way to impose rewards and negative consequences for my household and business. "Business" being a loose term.

So...any ideas?

Now that I've thrown that out at you, let me invite you to my brand new Butterfly Genes fan page on Facebook! Woot woot! If you are on Facebook, just click the link over to the left (just under my Etsy ad) sign in to Facebook, and click the "Become a fan" button. I'd love for you to come see me!

Soon (as in the next couple of days) I will let the cat out of the bag about what I teased you with last week. I'm working on tassels and pictures and communication and all that jazz. Rest assured, I WILL tell you. It's just too big not to tell you.

The excitement builds....

Or, you know. Whatever.

Pumpkin Tassel Sale!

Well, if you've been wanting a pumpkin tassel, now is the time to grab one! I have three left in my Etsy shop and they are on sale through the end of November! They had been reduced 25%, but are down even more now! In case you need a reminder, here's what they look like...

Green Pumpkin Tassel - $17.00
(my personal favorite!)

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Pumpkin Tassel with Gingham Ribbon - $15.00
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Pumpkin Tassel with Bow Tie - $13.00

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So, if you've got a hankerin' for one of these pretties, hop on over to my Etsy Shop and grab it before it's gone!

Anticipation....

I'm waiting...on something big. HUGE.

It took me a while to decide to do it. It was quite the commitment. But in the end, all the parties involved were happy.

Oh, I can't wait to tell you about it. But I will wait...

One of the things came Friday. I just got a notice that a few more are waiting for me to pick up. But even before those three others came, I couldn't help but play with the first....

Well, I was PLANNING on going...

Warning: this post is not full of my normal cheerfulness and optimism (normal for my blog anyway...I never claimed to be cheerful and optimistic, did I?)...you have been warned.....

Have you heard about Blissdom '10? I was all excited about it. I was really excited about the hotel. I mean, I've loved the Opryland Hotel for ages and ages. It's unbelievable. Un-stinkin' believable. And we were going to get a great group rate of $125. The excitement built.

Then, I read how much it was going to cost. Um, what happened to our $100 cost last year? I mean, I didn't go to the conference, but I do remember the early bird price was $100, and the day-of-the-conference price was still only $150.

So, with sadness, I have to say that my plans are changed. I can't justify spending almost $400 (and that's just for lodging and conference...doesn't include food!), even if it will be an absolutely amazing conference.

For those of you who are going, I will miss you. Maybe Kat and I will come stalk you again.

I'm saving my pennies for Relevant. I guess that's the Lord's way of showing me that it was foolish to try to fit both conferences into my crazy schedule.

To those wonderful, fantabulous, extraordinary people who follow me...

I have a dreaded disease. The malady that no blogger wants. At the beginning, it's all sugar and spice and "nothing will stop me"s. But today I have to confess...

I have Blogger's Block.

When I think about writing something, it falls flat. You really don't want to hear about my sewer line backing into our house over the weekend. Or about my husband's current migraine. Or the fact that I have so much laundry to do I wish I could just throw it all away and buy some more.

So, what's a good blogger to do? Get on Facebook and play Bejeweled Blitz 2. My record is up to over 225,000!

Oooh, sorry. I would like to know, what makes you want to read Butterfly Genes? If you are one of the people who follow me or subscribe to my posts, what made you decide to sign up? I'd love to hear from each of you! Get me out of this slump!

Etsy Love

Have you ever discovered something and wish everyone knew about it? Well, over the past few weeks I have immersed myself into the world of Etsy. I've been a member on it for a while, just to get used to it before I opened my shop. But I had no idea some of the treasures that are to be had as Etsians.

A couple of times this week (and the main reason I haven't blogged much lately) I have been in Virtual Labs, where an expert in a certain field or an Etsy moderator will come in and speak to us via web cam about certain subjects. This week I've been in been Etsy for Newbies (I still consider myself a newbie since I don't know anything) and How to Get Ready for the Holidays (or something similar in title...whatever, you get my point). I have learned SO much and have been able to network with a several other shop owners that have products that I have been needing or wanting.

Speaking of wanting...I just have to show you a couple of Etsy shops. This one might be my absolute favorite. Being the bird nerd I am, when I saw these bitty birds, I'm sure I squealed. Take a look at Leanne's shop, Got Crow Creations. Even if you don't love birds, you will still think these are the cutest things ever. E.V.E.R.

And speaking of birds, I have hinted hinted winked winked at my husband for this beauty since I first saw it. Check out the rest of For the Love of All Things Creative and see if you don't find something that you hint hint wink wink for.

Sorry for no pics...I didn't ask permission from the Etsy shops to use their images, and I wouldn't want someone using mine without my permission, even if it is to advertise for me! But please click on over...you'll be glad you did!

What's the point of this post? I guess to let you know that there is so much to love on Etsy. I'm just now realizing it's more than just a place to open a shop. It's a real community of crafters and artisans who have a passion for what they do. That passion spills over onto others and makes them (including me) want to make their shop the most productive it can be and to sell the most excellent products they can make.

I hope you find something you love, and/or something you'd love to give this year. Much of the reason Etsians do what they do is to supplement their family's income (HELLO it's the reason why I'm doing it! Well, that and my tassels are just so dang pretty. hee hee), so see if you can find something that will make the perfect gift. Most of the shops I've been to will do a custom order, all you have to do is ask.

Now get on over there and look around!

(And I wouldn't mind if you stopped by my place, too! : ) )

Unshakable

I'm exhausted. And with good reason. A few weeks ago I told you about the new CD our worship team recorded. Or maybe I didn't. I don't think I wrote a full post about it; I just sort of alluded to it here and there. On September the 12th, we did another live recording concert for our new CD, Unshakable, the follow-up to last year's Reach Out....
This weekend, we went back to Ardent Studios to finish up recording.We worked on eight songs, about an hour on each song. Very repetitive and very tiring. But Latch (Jason Latshaw), our mixer and Producer, wouldn't settle for anything but excellence. So, we did each song until it was right.

I love my Worship Team. I love being the alto section leader. They make me smile more often than not, sometimes by just thinking about them. The Worship Ministry is so much a part of my and Sound Man's life that I can't imagine life without them. My blog is just a collection of glimpses into my life, so I wanted to give you one of those glimpses into my weekend spent with some of my favorite people in the world.
Getting ready to sing, Saturday morning. Kim, our director. Sorry for the ghost. Don't know what my camera was doing. Kim directed us last year, too. She is SO good. She and I share directing responsibilities...she directs the choir one weekend, and I direct the next. But for such detailed work as we were doing yesterday and today, as well as the concert, level headed-ness was a must. Not one of my strong points. It IS one of Kim's, though. She is one of the ones who make me smile.
My crazy altos...I heart them!
Cele
J.B. ~ She wrote many of the songs on the CD. Did I mention that all of them were original songs that our song writing team wrote? Mmm-hmm. A talented group, I tell you.

Here's Latch, our producer. He takes nothing less than perfection!For lunch on Saturday, several us went to the same place we went last year, The Blue Monkey...It's a bar. Yes, a bunch of Baptist choir members went to a bar to eat lunch. That sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it?Tricia, Holly, Me, Lisa (one of my closest friends)

Back at the studio, we got ready to work again. Well, at least most of us did. These guys have made me spit diet coke more than once, particularly the two on either end.
Kevin, Billy, Jae
The sops (short for sopranos) take a break.As do some of the altos. Getting a little too comforable, don't you think? The singing sisters, Jodi and Cindy. Jodi is an alto, Cindy is a soprano.
They have beautiful voices!The two other section leaders, Kevin and Kim. I love them not just because they are my co-leaders, but because they each pour into my life the blessings of true friendship. I hope they would say the same of me.
And, like last year, here's a snippet of what we did. This is at the end of the last song that will be on the CD, "Unstained Blood," but it's part of the old hymn, "Oh, the Blood of Jesus". It's a little grainy sounding...I think my camera does that when it starts to get too full a memory, and this vid is two minutes long...a little long for my camera. And sorry that all you hear is my loudness. If this sounds a bit slow and mellow, don't be fooled. It's at the end of a jammin' song. I wish I had recorded some of "Unshakable," the title track. Mmm-hmm. Rockin'. Anyway, here's your snippet of the day...


I count it a great privilege to be a part of this team! Thanks for walking through my weekend with me!

Turkeys and Snowmen and Reindeer, Oh My!

Well, that title is not as catchy as the original, but you get my drift. I have virtually disappeared from blogland the past couple of weeks because I have been working my tail off on tassels. I know you're sick of me talking about tassels. I can't help it. I lurve them. I lurve making them, I lurve selling them, I lurve giving them, I lurve using them in my own house. So, here's yet another post about tassels. Or, rather, tassels to be.

This is my craft area. Or, rather, part of my craft area. I sort of have it spread all over the back part of the kitchen. And office.

I'm very organized. Or, rather, I used to be. Heh heh. Would you rather I stop using rather? You know how if you say your name over and over really fast it starts to sound funny? Try doing that with "rather". Same thing happens.

Oh, sorry. Back to my story. See, out of this chaos comes beauty. This lovely appliance has been my right hand...

...or, rather, has burned my right hand. And I think it laughed after it did it. But such is the life of a crafter.

Hmmm....wonder what these beauties are discussing.

I guess they're really not beauties since they're males, so what would you call them? Handsomies?

What about handies? BAHAHAHAHAHA! I crack myself up. Anyway, they're in line to get all gussied up for the holidays. So is this fella...

I think he'd rather be on a tassel than what's going to happen to his kin in about a month. I've got a few more cuties up my sleeve. Or, rather, on my table.

Oh, just you wait till you see what I do with these sweeties. Oh. My. Word. You can't HANDLE the cuteness.

What I was about to say a minute ago before I so rudely interrupted myself was that out of the chaos of the table comes beautiful things like this...

...and this......and this...And I lurve it.

My Day at the Studio

Okay, well, it was actually only about an hour. But still. I mean, I was at Ardent Studios...the list of artists who have recorded there is a virtual who's who of music. James Taylor....B.B. King....ZZ Top...not to mention Christian artists like Skillet and Todd Agnew. I was soooo nervous to be going in there last Friday! Nervous, but definitely excited!

During the concert, I sang with my two favorite people in the world to sing with, Billy and Sherry, also known as BDub and Sherrylynn. I heart singing with them. We needed to tweak the song from the concert, so all three of us went into the studio. Billy had already recorded his stuff, and Sherry and I were next.

Some of the pics are blurry, because we didn't want to distract Jason Latshaw, who is mixing and producing our CD, by flashing every three seconds. But, I did want y'all to see what I got to do. So, here you go...

Here I am about to lose my breakfast I'm so nervous. Latch was getting coffee. I was getting butterflies.My little room.

Getting the headphones set.

I think I'm probably listening to what I'm supposed to be singing with. I'm so glad Billy had already come in and recorded his part, or I would have NEVER known what to sing!

I love this picture...it shows me singing and the reflection in the glass is my sweet Sound Man taking my picture!

Another favorite, but only because it shows Latch telling me my pitch is not quite good enough. HA! No, really. He was sooooo patient!Look at this board! My husband was salivating.

See? Okay, maybe not.

Latch doing what he does. And is good at. No, he's GREAT at it!

Then it was Sherrylynn's turn. She did beautifully! As always.

To let you hear just a little bit, here's my favorite video. Only because of what Latch says at the end!


It was so much fun, and was over too quickly. Maybe I should have messed up more. Heh heh...naaaah.