Thursday 27 October 2011

My empire. Please note, empire may currently be plague ridden and tissue covered.

I'm still dying but while I burn all the plague ridden items in my house, I thought I'd share with you the pics from my new store. Get ready because it's pretty.
Please note all the work you see here, apart from assembling the desk, was done by me. that means there were no employees, no designers (that part is probably obvious) and no unpackers.

 I'll start with the before pic, since it's always the best way to start, and then show you my stall (or at least how it was last week before I sold a bunch of stuff


We sold out of the paper lazers in the first day, high-five!






 D sold Spongebob, HUZZAH! I was so sick of staring at his stupid little feet dangling over my bookcase for the last twelve months, the question is, do I restock him?

That pumpkin design was created by me *cough* D *cough* on the computer and then I stapled it onto the hanging pumpkin :D



That's my little empire, or the start of it anyway, I need some flooring and a few extra shelves, but it really does look good, bright cheerful and eye-catching, just the way a children's book,toy and craft stall should! We were very impressed by the enthusiasm over our stall last week and hope that it might continue (and we might earn some more money) it's been a risky venture but with a bit of hard-work and good luck it might just succeed.

Now if you would like to hear my actual voice as I was interviewed live on the radio at the stall, go Here! Fast forward to 1:14:45 and you'll hear my five-minute interview.
My MIL heard me on the radio and bought me some flowers since I'm 'famous now' which was really great of her and made my day, well until I got home to D, his giant bear hug and massive bouquet of white lillies and a slab of chocolate fudge cake. He knows me so well.
Well I shall be back again on Monday, with hopefully some funny halloween-on-the-stall pictures and stories.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Driving me crazy

I used to get better a lot faster than this, apparently childhood spoiled me.
My driving test is one short week away and I'm being forced to cancel my lessons this week since
a) I cannot breathe without my mouth open
b) My concentration is very low
c) I keep sneezing so I don't want to drive with my eyes shut
d) I don't want to get out of my pjs
e) I'm sick dammit

I'm getting scared I am going to fail my test, before I felt confident, I mean you just drive, right? But my "wonderful" friends have filled me with so many nightmare tales I think I'll be lucky to get off the parking lot without the tester screaming, grabbing the wheel and demanding I never drive again.
That aside, I know I can drive.
I may lack finesse or experience but I can drive. I've been doing it for two months with the instructor, I can drive at a perfectly acceptable level. I mean, I haven't hit anyone (yet) or crashed (yet) or broken the law too much.
I can get from a to b without too much destruction so surely if I do that on the day I'll pass, right? Please? I don't have much more money for the learning part of driving. What am I saying, I bankrupt my bank account about £300 ago.

Please let me pass, please, I'll only use my driving powers for good and not evil, and I'll even take D to work at 5am...ummm scratch that last part, but I will be very, very good. Vote for me to pass my test :) (It is a voting system right, if I get enough votes I pass, yeah?)

Tuesday 25 October 2011

D is wrong, wrong, wrong - but what's new

D arrived home from work and decided my on-line diagnosis was incorrect, that I don't have the flu but am simply hungover.
I am not hungover, for one I have never been hungover (bless my body chemistry) but I have had plenty of bouts of flu, ergo I KNOW when it's flu I'm having. Plus what hangover comes with a faucet-face and shredded voice box. None, HA!
Today I feel minutely better, I think, it's too soon to tell. My dear friend Emmzie has offered to come by and run my business for a few hours so I can recharge my batteries. I know this has only knocked me down so much because I have been working so hard, eating and sleeping so little these last few weeks.
Thankfully it should be over and done with by the time I re-open the shop on Friday, and then D has a wonderful week off, and I plan on more vodka and pool next Sunday with him, since I was so awesome at both drinking the vodka and shooting some pool last night.

In the meantime I'm curled up watching Downton Abbey and wanting to own a country house - I can always dream.

Monday 24 October 2011

It's a sad day when it's 4 degrees outside but your ice lolly melts before you can eat it

I have THE flu. Not the little kind, the big, 'I woke up at 3am feeling like someone had filed away my larynx' flu.
This is probably due to all my recent rushing around and would explain why, at the stall on Friday other market stall holders were asking me if I was cold and that maybe I should put a coat on, when I was BOILING in the frigid weather.
My temperature is so high my ice lolly (much needed to sooth my abused throat) is MELTING if I simply breathe out in it's general direction.
I'm not sure whether this flu has been brewing for a while or was bought on by my four vodka's and three games of pool last night (I rock, even the old guys at the bar told me so, I was making trick shots all over the place) followed by a walk home in what felt to me like the middle of summer.
I'm seriously hot today, and I feel so - let's be honest - whiny, I don't want to do the 30+ orders that have come through on-line.
If I do, I might just die! For reals! My brain hurts just trying to put words into straight lines that make sense. Don't make me do accounts and orders and writing envelopes and then walking to the post office and posting the envelopes. PLEASE.
People can wait an extra day for me to mail things, right? I mean Christmas is a while away, right?
*grumbles* FINE I'll go get my coat.

*please note now my business establishment is up and running, normal mon-thurs blogging will return*

Thursday 20 October 2011

Men have a different idea about where the next tech advancements should be...

D : "Our next washing machine should be a direct drive"
Me: "No, our next washing machine should hang, dry, iron, fold up and put away the laundry"

HA! I showed him!

Wednesday 19 October 2011

During


This is one part of the stall, all set up, just another six spaces and a display table to go..

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Before

This is my unit the day I moved in, I'm part-way to having it set-up now and I am so excited. It's starting to look really professional, just like I wanted!!

Sunday 16 October 2011

All is fair in love and war...as long as there is cake...there should ALWAYS be cake

So I'm rushing around like a mad thing but thought I'd take the time to update ya'll on my life and the craziness it now is.

The neighbours

You know, the ones who I went to war with over cat toileting and slug pellets, well the war is over and I won - or at least I think I did. They were having a party last night and we'd wished them happy birthday and all that, then a few hours later they knocked on the door and brought us slices of Birthday cake. They are now my new best friends. (I did leave the cake to one side for 30 minutes...to see if D died after eating his piece) The cake is wonderful, it had three layers, one seemed to be soaked in orange booze, it had chocolate chips, sprinkles, butter cream filling, iced top, coconut sprinkles, those awesome candy metallic balls and well it was awesome.

The driving

My test is soon, after my conversation with my friend (I did NOT know I can fail for accidentally being in the wrong gear or slowing down too early) I am pretty certain I'm going to fail.

The business

I go to set up tomorrow, and it's forecast to be cold and snowing by the end of the week, oh that helps.
I also need to dress up for Halloween the following week, and now need to iron my bo peep costume, so there are two frustrating hours I'm never going to get back.

My life

I'm trying to assassinate myself,  I've already pretty much broken my toe and since then have repeatedly been taking swipes at my left-side, from walking into a post, banging my shoulder and arm on two shelves on two different days, walking into a pole, losing the ability to grab and dropping things in my left hand, I'm getting the feeling I'm trying to cleave myself in two.

That's all for now, I have a before picture of the stall but no after pic so I won't share it just yet!

Wednesday 12 October 2011

*Space Filler*

This is just a super-quick update before I get my photos together and give you a proper update.

If you are a long-term reader, you may recall my plans to open a store. Well the store thing hasn't happened, I just felt the start-up cash and financial commitment were too high and decided to leave that on the side for a future date.

However.....
As of the 21st of October, I will have my very own retail unit (smaller and cheaper option) in our local market hall, and I've spent the last fortnight working my be-hind off to get ready for it. Tomorrow I move my stock in and start decorating!! I am so excited, I've already met lots of other unit holders and it's like one big supportive family.
I've even had promotional poster's done which go up tomorrow, I'm very excited (and tired) but I hope to get a bunch of pictures done of before-during and after I get set-up, so stay tuned!

Monday 3 October 2011

I could teach those Witches a thing or two.

Sometimes, and I know some of you may find it shocking.....stop laughing.... I can be a right cow.
Here is my confession, because I feel terrible.

D and I are in 'yo-we-sell-all-that-stuff-you-need' shop and D has commented on purchasing a DVD. I am browsing said DVD stack and find a nice Jane Austen-y tale about her life or not getting married or something, and it seems like a nice fictional bio and we were going to buy it, until we realised it was slightly out of our budget (since I'd just made D already buy me 'The Witches' on DVD - he has never seen it, seriously, never.)
So I'm pulling my puppy dog eyes at him and explaining just how necessary it is to my existence that we buy this DVD, (he wasn't falling for it, apparently I can only pull that off once a day and as I already have the Witches sat in my shopping bag...)
I finally decided just to read the back so I could see if I really did want it and maybe get it off Ebay or something...when the till right next to me opened up. D instantly decided we had to use it and started shoving me towards the checkout while berating me for being slow.
Well I (not surprisingly) don't take well to being corralled by ANYONE let alone my ruddy husband (sorry D) who has decided we are suddenly on some - get out of the shop in the next 60 seconds or we'll die - mad dash.
About twenty seconds later fed up of D's whinging, feeling very annoyed and having finished reading the cover, I start to put the DVD back.....

This dear old lady appears next to me and asks "Are you in the Queue?" to which I reply "Yes, apparently."
She gave me a slightly confused/mildly offended/slightly injured look and joined another queue.

Now I said "Yes, apparently" more to D than her, I'd meant yes apparently I am in the queue even if I didn't know I was until HE started shoving me.... but how I think it came across was me saying she was stupid for not realising that I was obviously in the queue. That is completely NOT what I meant.

I didn't realise this for a few moments and when I realised just how rude I had potentially been, no matter how unintentional I was horrified - and even more annoyed at D - and myself. This poor lady had asked an innocent question and any other time I would have simply explained and invited her to go first but I had accidentally treated her abysmally.

Once we paid I was so mortified I desperately wanted to go over and apologise but she was at the back of a queue and D was rushing me out, and I felt embarrassed and ashamed and annoyed that I'd allowed a petty issue with me and D spill over onto someone else.

On our journey home, in silence while I mentally beat myself for being so horrible, D apologised (sort-of he's not very good at it so we'll accept the effort) for rushing me, explaining he thought we were ready and then he felt we should hurry as a till opened up blah-blah.
But I feel terrible about it, I try to be kind and considerate of everyone and today I just didn't think. There is not a lot I can do about it now other than hope the lady understood it wasn't personal.
So that's my weekend low, now I'm off to watch the Witches and perhaps I'll teach them a thing or two.