Self Esteem

I have got to come up with a better way to feed my self esteem.

Things I have learned about myself this Holiday season.
1. Kudos from online customers will never feed my ego as do kudos from direct contact with a customer face to face.
2. No amount of money from online sales feels as good as one single sale from a personal contact.
3. "You are so talented" coming from my husband feels, well, not to hurt his feelings, but feels like an obligation. The same statement from a stranger feels awesome.
4. I am exhausted and grouchy from all this customer interaction!!!

What a complex fork in the road. I have been mulling over the thought of selling strictly online and in retail shops forgoing the tedious, not very profitable and time sucking shows I sell at every Holiday season. I must ask myself - what is my real mission, my goal in being a knit designer? I know what it's not. It's not hauling in tables, bins and product to high school gymnasiums wooing customers into why they need a $44 dollar cashmere hat. What is it then? It's leaning into this crazy world wide web as a customer, it's being confident in my products, and lastly it's choosing to value my weekends home with the family. Geez, when put that way it sounds easy. So here I go, making a commitment to ending the cycle of Holiday Show co-dependency. So I declare - No More Shows! (please friends remind me of this declaration when the need to feed my esteem creeps up on my around October next year!)

come on Ravelry, get it together

2 hours searching on Ravelry and I am more confused than ever. All I want is to become a designer so I can sell my knit patterns. Should be simple eh? it is NOT. Here is a run down of my last 2 hours:

Me reading through the process on how to become a designer. Went to step one = failed. Re read the first step. Attempted step one again = failed. Went to FAQ and found more of nothing. Tried step one for the third time = failed. Began cursing at the computer screen, in comes hubby to help. Hubby asks if I've tried step one. Now I am cursing at hubby. Searching the site for more info - searching - searching - searching. Resorted to hubby reading instructions out loud in case I missed something. skipped step one and went to step two, you can't skip step one. AAAARGH. So I sent a message that was not very nice to the help people, pretty sure that will not help my case to be accepted as a designer.

duck duck goose

I married a man who has a thing for water fowl. Throughout the 21 years we've been together he has charmed wild ducks and geese to come to him, eat from his hand and eventually end up captured and sitting calmly in his lap getting a neck rub! Had I known this would be a running theme with him I would have holstered a camera more often to capture his fowl adventures.

Sitting at the kitchen table I get a txt from my 16 year old son. He informed me to come outside where I am to find a gaggle of juvenile ducks he has herded into the back yard. There were a dozen of them not quite adult size and still peeping like babies. My hubby who as above mentioned having Water Fowl Super Powers knew just what to do. Following his instructions we gathered the babies into the center of our circle and sat VERY STILL for a long time. Eventually they calmed down, nestling into each other, and even nodding off. We got to pet them for good while and I, having learned my lesson and recognized the Water Fowl Super Power DNA passed down from father to son, had my camera ready.

Cat Hair

Cat hair is all over my house right now. It's Spring and Astrophy the big cat is shedding. Darn him! So my first Boise Art Show was coming up and I was spinning cashmere yarn like a mad woman - fiber and cashmere strands being thrown all over the house. I was shedding. The hubby Henry brought Astrophy the big shedding cat in to see me while I was spinning yarn. He - all on his own - decided to sport a cashmere mustache.

Morning Men

Does the time of day affect what a man says to the girl who gives him his morning coffee? yes, at least I think so. I suspect standing in line early in the morning at your local coffee shop just about ready to get your morning caffeine fix sends a chemical to the man's brain that causes him to say sexual things to the chipper barista behind the counter.

Hi, I'm the chipper barista behind the counter and am continually amazed by my morning men customers. CONTINUALLY AMAZED. Watch for posts of Coffee Perv Quote of the Day.