Current obsession

I'm on a financial responsibility kick these days. Despite having an archivist's training in record keeping, I'm pretty terrible at my own personal finances. It's pretty embarrassing to admit it. My hope is that if I blog a little bit about it, it will help keep me accountable to a certain degree. I was really inspired by a blog post by my friend Ian who got himself out of debt and managed to save $10,000 in just two years. (Unfortunately I can't find the post and can't link to it.)

Here are my goals:
1. Pay off my credit card debt in 3 years. It seems like a long time, but sadly it's a pretty big number to tackle.
2. Save 10% of my income each paycheck into a high-yield savings account so that I will slowly accumulate an emergency fund as well as a down payment for a house within 3 years.
3. Be very aware of where my money goes. I realize that my fear of really examining it just leads to the problem getting worse. Even when it's scary, you gain control just by opening your mail, sorting through bills, knowing your bank balance, etc.

Anyhow, I'm completely obsessed with this blog: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/
It's full of common sense and written for the regular joe. I'll keep you all posted as to progress.

KatyDidCrafts animals now on sale through Moss in Savannah

I'm super excited to announce that my animals are now on sale through the store, Moss, in Savannah on Wright Square. The store is one of my favorites for browsing and gifts and I finally worked up the courage to talk to them about what I make. I was so pleased that Colin and Ryan, who run the store, were interested in adding them to their children's section. I'm pleased to think that they'll be on display where more people might see them and show interest. Not only that but I will admit to a huge thrill seeing them out there in a pretty display cabinet. I'm still working on getting some things done to post on etsy after the cat incident, but for now you can find some pieces at Moss.

Heartache

On Monday morning I had to throw away the entire box of stuffed animals that I'd made. Aside from two new elephants that I had made the day before and were on my work table, there were about 8 various stuffed animals that I had sitting in a box on the floor of my studio. As I was getting ready to walk out the door for work, I heard a rustling around in there and walked in to find my cat, Oliver, peeing in the box on the animals. Yup, he pissed on them. Oh - I was so angry and sad as I threw out the box and all it's contents. Hours of work to waste and nothing to salvage. Nothing will get that smell out.

Since then Oliver has been clamoring for extra attention. Since his litter was clean when he did it, I think that he was doing it out of spite and jealousy of the dog. Anyhow, if you check my etsy account and there's nothing on it - that's the explanation.

Brushing away the cobwebs

Just finished up a good week for sales from my Etsy account. Sold a purple pony to a buyer who is coming back for her third animal from me! It never ceases to amaze me that a total stranger happened upon my work and bought something, but that they keep coming back for more is just too much to take in. Not only that, but I finally sent out the door a custom order for a mobile that came in several weeks ago off Etsy. Due to a number of factors (attempting to develop a new pattern, getting the dog, getting the flu, having a friend visit, work, etc.) it took me much longer than I anticipated. However, I'm really quite pleased with how it all turned out in the end and am eagerly awaiting the reaction of the buyer when she receives it in a couple of days.

I'll be spending my weekend working on several animals which I'll be offering for sale through a local Savannah store in March. Maybe it's the spring weather and flowers starting to blossom or the fact that my schedule is opening up a bit, but I'm finally feeling motivated and creative again.

Fort Pulaski visit

On Sunday we took advantage of the great warm weather and took Captain Ahab over to Fort Pulaski for a good walk. Ron had never been to the fort before and so we clambered all over that for about an hour before even hitting a trail. One great thing about the place - super dog friendly. I was shocked that they welcomed dogs into the fort itself. After the fort, we followed the lighthouse trail out to the end where we walked through the marsh to the edge of the ocean. Ahab mostly enjoyed rolling in marsh mud and then wading in the water. Ron enjoyed his pipe and the view.

Shhhh....

As a librarian, I can't resist these Shhh cards meant to hand to people who are having loud cell phone conversations. It's definitely one of my pet peeves and I would love to see the reaction of a student as I handed them one in the library...or in the supermarket...or in the movies.

New Addition to Team Awesome

Welcome to our new pup - Captain Ahab. We are just so lucky to have this guy in our home. We adopted him last weekend through the organization Voice for Pets in Savannah. Before getting him, Ron had said that a dog would be entirely my responsibility, but wouldn't you know it? Ron's just totally a push-over for him.