My trip to NYC

Four nights in New York and it has been six nights since returning and I am STILL so tired and not even caught up yet! NYC was awesome! I have always wanted to go there and it was so much better than I expected.

Tonya and I stayed with a friend from here who moved up there about 6 months ago. He lives in New Rochelle and runs a bar in Manhattan so we got to experience riding the train right from the start. We flew in at night and it worked out well that another friend lives in NYC and volunteered to pick us up from the airport because Dan had to work. So, Rob picked us up and took us to the bar where Dan works and then we rode the train back to New Rochelle. We got in about midnight and the last train leaves at 1:57 so we had enough time for a beer.

The next morning we went to the trade show so Dan rode with us into the city and from there we were on our own. Thank goodness he was there though because we wouldn't have known what to do by ourselves! He told us how to identify the cabs that are available and told us how to give the directions to where we were going. We hailed a cab and got there, but unfortunately Dan had given us directions to the wrong place! We needed to go to Pier 92 on the Hudson and he sent us to Chelsea piers which happen to be Piers 58-60. So, we hailed another cab.

The trade show was fun. I have very minimal trade show experience so I really learned alot. It was also nice to finally meet some of the people that I have been working with for a year now and only corresponding via email and telephone. Everyone was really cool, really friendly and I got a bunch of new leads and new suppliers.

We cut out a little early and headed back to Dan's bar. We had a couple of cocktails and then Dan got off work and showed us around a little. That night we got a kick because one of our old bar backs from O'Malley's came and met us for dinner. Here we were in NYC and having dinner with two old friends from Hollywood! This happened to be the same day that the water main exploded and so we weren't able to ride the subway to Grand Central to get the train back, we had to take a cab to Grand Central instead.

The next day Dan joined us on the train again and we had lunch at a diner near Union Square. We got a subway pass and a map and Dan left us on our own to find our way around. We went to see the statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center. We got to the trade show by subway and then walking the last 10 blocks. We did some more buying and finished up so that we didn't have to go back the next day. Then, we went to Times Square and wandered all over the city. Then that night Dan's fiance came into the city and met us for cocktails and we had a great time.

Friday, our last day in the city. After sleeping in, we took the train into town on our own and found our way around with no problems. We found the lingerie company that I am trying to buy some sexy costumes from for my costume shop and it just happened to be on the top floor of a building right near the Empire state building and the guy was so cool as to take us out on the roof to get a great view. Then we took the subway to Greenwich Village and got a little lost. We didn't realize that we were lost until after walking for about 20 minutes we found ourselves at the same subway stop WHERE WE GOT ON! So, we hopped in a cab and told him to take us to the meat packing district. We had dinner at an outdoor cafe and then found Red Rock West. This is one of the Coyote Ugly type bars where the bartenders are also the entertainment dancing on the bar and pouring liquor on guys. It is a biker bar and the people there were really fun. Then we went to another bar that was pretty much the same thing called Hogs and Heifers but the people there were kinda obnoxious. Our next stop was a Rockabilly bar called Otto's Shrunken Head. This place was really cool! One of the bouncers at Dan's bar bartends there on Friday nights and he had told me about it earlier in the week as soon as he saw my business card. It was a ton of fun and I totally could have sold entire wardrobes to all the people there. I kept dropping business cards everywhere.
Trying to get back on the train by ourselves after visiting so many bars was not very easy and ended up proving to be impossible. Once we got to Grand central, Tonya started running one way and I was insistent that the train was the other way. Well, I was right but once you've missed the train, what really matters right? A $65.00 cab ride and about 45 minutes later we find ourselves back at Dan's but POOPED!
Our flight left EARLY the next morning and it was not a fun ride back.

Birthday MONEY!!!

Lily got a few bucks for her Birthday and since she got a new swimsuit too, we decided to spend her birthday money on a pool!

My dad sent the money with a letter telling Lily to spend it taking her parents out to dinner. Ross and I decided the at a pool would bring us all much more joy than one meal.

The box said "easy 1-2-3 setup" but it took us forever. It took both of us deciphering the instructions for the pump! We got it filled about half a foot when we realized that it was too close to the screen and it leaned up against the pole, so we had to drain all the water back out and start over. My neighbors must think we are insane. I left our bucket at work the other day so we were both standing inside the pool scooping water out into the yard with mixing bowls.

We finally got it up and running and once Lily got up from her nap we had about 20 minutes to play in it before the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in.

So far, I think she is really going to like it. I sure know that Ross, Zelda and I do!

Lily's Birthday

For Lily's birthday we had a little BBQ. It wasn't anything big, just a couple of folks over for some burgers and to sample some Carlsburg. We had a great time and Lily sure made out with some really cool gifts. Ross and I bought her a little toy that has animals that you drop into slots and then there is a set of keys to get the animals back out. Well, it turns out that Ross and I got the worst gift for her because it is way too difficult for her to manipulate. The animals have to be EXACT and the color of the key has to match. I think I'll have to put it away for a few months.

She got several pairs of pajamas (that she really needed)and they are a little big but that is good because she will get lots more wear out of them that way. She got a new bathing suit and several great little stylish outfits that I am having a good time with. I love to dress her up and can't wait for her hair to get long enough for hair bows and ribbons.

Toys- wow they really make great toys now-a-days. She got this giraffe thingy that you put balls in his mouth and they ride around on a slide and come out the bottom. When the ball passes through the mouth it sings and lights up. Lily LOVES it. Another great gift was an airplane to ride. This one has controlls that make the propeller spin and light up and it sings songs too. She loves to push it around or have us push her, but her legs aren't long enough yet to ride it herself. She got a 'little people' train set that sings. This is so funny to me because I remember the 'little people' I had when I was a kid and these are way more advanced. The old ones were just little cylinders with a ball head, these guys are bigger and more detailed. Actually look like people somewhat.

Lily had her own cake and was so funny. She was so dainty about eating it. We were all waiting for her to smash it all over her face but she politely picked up a pinch at a time and for about 10 minutes or so, barely had anything on her face. Then, I guess it must have been once the sugar-rush kicked in, she started picking up hand fulls at a time. It ended up all over her head. I ended up with it all in MY hair too because when I got her out of the seat she took a hand full of my hair and the other hand gripped my shirt...BEFORE I cleaned her hands. It was great though, I am so proud of my baby!

and you see from the picture who REALLY got the treat of Chocolate cake!

She was sweet during the whole party and although she cried a few times when Emily bullied her, she had a blast. Emily was a little better this time about being mean to Lily (she is 10 months older) but she still pushed Lily down a few times. :(

Ross and I (of course) stayed up too late tasting Carlsburgs and playing games so Saturday was a pretty useless day around here. Thank goodness Lily has a bunch of new toys to play with to keep her busy so Ross and I could relax.

365 Days!

Lily is one today! Ross and I are definately more excited about her birthday than she is. I will probably regret this down the road, but I can't wait until she can get excited about her birthday too. This year we got a break because it doesn't really matter about what we get her for a gift or which actual day we celebrate. We also didn't have to hide her gifts from her, she was with us when we shopped and we could wrap them right in front of her.
She picked out a new outfit for herself to buy with her gift card and cash-ola from her cousins in Melbourne and she is going to wear it tonight at her party. I took this picture and video this morning as she was waking up to show how excited she was about being a whole number for the first time in her life.

Birthday gifts

The first picture is of a birthday card from the family in Melbourne and Lily is wearing the backpack that I bought her. She got a gift card to her 2nd favorite store Target (the fabric store is her first favorite because she sometimes gets to walk around out of the cart there and all the ladies know her and coo over her) and some cash-ola. The backpack I picked up for a dollar at JoAnn's and Lily wears it all around with a diaper and wipes in it. She looks so cute with it because she looks like a big girl ready for school.
And the second picture is where yesterday the FedEx guy dropped off a box. I put the box in the middle of the living room and went tot the kitchen to get a knife to open it. I came back around the corner to find Lily on top of the box. Can she really already recognize that Barbie pink? We get big boxes here a couple of times a week for my webstore and she never climbs up on top of those plain brown boxes.
Grandaddy has spoiled her again. He sent her a 6Volt battery powered ATV! This is the smaller version of the power wheels that we drooled over as kids. Lily was excited about it right away. She tried to climb up on it the whole time I was trying to put it together. She pushed it around the living room and everything.
The battery took 14 hours to charge so we didn't get to try it out until this morning, but we got it on video.

She was great. For those of you how can't see the video, she put her hands right on the handlebars and worked the 'go' button right from the start. She was just smiling so big the whole time and drove right into the furniture.
Thankfully the thing goes very slow because she has already tried driving while standing and driving backwards, and it has only been an hour!
It is already super hot outside and it is only 10AM so I'm going to wait until the evening to test it outside. As long as it doesn't rain, things get a little cooler around 7 or so.

MY CHARITY AUCTION....Check it out!

I usually do charity auctions in October for Breast Cancer awareness month, but the space in my "warehouse" (aka my computer room) is getting crowded so I decided to clear out some stuff now. This bag is absolutely beautiful but just hasn't sold well online. I think it is one of those things that is better in person than in a picture. I'd appreciate if you'd forward this listing on to anyone that you think might be interested. Thanks.

Such a big girl...sitting facing the front!

The guidelines for turning the carseat from back-facing to front-facing is over 20 pounds AND one year in age. Well, Lily met the 20 pound goal months ago and even though she has a week left before her first birthday we went ahead and moved her to the big seat. Because we have to ride in the HOT Honda now, I felt like her being backwards was making it even hotter for her. That car doesn't get much relief from the windows being open, but Lily was missing out on it. Sandy had given us a seat, but since we wanted one for each car I had bought this one for her last week and she has been playing with it ever since. I think I need to get her a little Lily sized chair or something.
She was so sweet because as soon as we left the driveway she started laughing. I can only assume that she was enjoying the wind in her face.

Yes, I took this picture from my cell phone while driving, isn't that terrible of me? I'm still concerned about what to do when it rains. The air system has been completely dismantled in that car so the defrost doesn't work either. So, when it rains if you roll the windows up, the Heat isn't the only concern. The windows fog up and there is no way to de-fog them. So, we have to be hot AND wet! I can't wait to get another car!!

O'Malley's Screwed me over yet again

I should have known that it wasn't going to work out.
About a month ago Brian the manager at O'Malley's Ocean Pub (using the whole name so this might hopefully show up in a search)asked me if I'd like to work a beer tub for the 4th of July. I'd always made mad money on the 4th because it is such a beach holiday. Being that O'Malley's ocean pub is located on Hollywood Beach, Florida (maximizing search keywords) it is pretty busy there on the 4th. I happily agreed to work. I loved being a bartender and still wish that I worked there. I had a great time, made great money and there are plenty of really great people who work there and hang out there. So, getting geared up and ready for working today, I spent the last three weeks designing and making a new outfit and making sure to let everyone know they needed to stop in an see me at the beer tub in front of O'Malley's Ocean pub.
Well at about 11AM today, July 4th my friend Veronika calls me to let me know that that Brian had asked her to call me to tell me that they have given the beer tub spot to another girl and thanks anyway but they no longer need me to work.
I guess to them it is no big deal, but to me it is a very big deal. Firstly, I need the money and was counting on the extra cash. Secondly I feel foolish that I spent so much time and money making a complete outfit. I was also looking forward to being a bartender again even if it was just for the day. So, I'm pretty depressed about it now.
I was really upset when they wouldn't hire me back after the baby and I'm pretty sure that what they did was illegal and this most recent screw over just reminds me how unscrupulous and unprofessional the management is at O'Malley's Ocean Pub in Hollywood Beach, Florida.
I think it is pretty weak that Brian didn't call me himself. He told Veronika that it was Joe Udell (the GM) who made the decistion and that he didn't find out until then either. Trying to shift the blame to Joe. I am positive that it was Joe who did make the decision because he hates me, but I think it was weak of Brian to not bother to tell me himself and make Veronika do it. He expressed to Veronika that he was so sorry and that he felt so bad, but I think if he felt badly he should have called me himself. And one of the reasons to go with the other girl and not me was that she had taken off work from her stewardess job to do it. What about me? Doesn't taking off from being a mom count? obviously these men don't understand what it is like to try and arrange for childcare on a holiday!

Photoshoot yesterday

I was so nervous about the photo shoot yesterday but things went pretty easy. The photographer was realy cool and easy going so it made everything go nicely. After I got back I checked out his work on his website and if he makes me look anywhere near as good as the photographs on his site I will be very very happy. If you want to check it out it is www.markwemple.com
We started at the crack of dawn and good thing too because it was so hot that I would have been a big pile of sweat if it had been any later. We took a bunch of pics at Young circle park, some at the beach and some in front of the Hollywood Library because it has cool archetectural lines. I felt like a star because everyone was stopping and looking. He had all these big lights and gadgets and things. The beach pics were of me in the water up to my knees and Mark ended up soaked trying to get the right angle.
I wish I could see the pictures but unfortunately I have to wait until the magazine comes out. Apparently there is some rule against anyone seeing the stuff before it goes to press.
This is all so exciting! I've been telling everyone that I am going to be famous. Really, I don't want to be famous, just want to be able to contribute to my household financially. Right now I am barely making enough to have anything left over after paying the babysitter!

oops forgot to put in the pics

Little headbanger

I love this age that Lily is right now. Or, I guess I should say the 'stage' that she is in right now. She imitates and responds, concentrates and plays. She is really coming into her own personality. It must be very difficult for babies this age because it is obvious that she has needs and wants that she is acutely aware of, yet has very little ways to express them. When she and Zelda are playing and Zelda is getting the best of her she doesn't quite know what to do. She knows that she wants Zelda to let go of the ball, but she isn't strong enough to just take it away and can't tell Zelda to drop it. And, can't tell me to make Zelda let go, so she squeals. Some of these little things are quite cute and endearing, others are just plain obnoxious. I have to be very careful not to react to some of the actions so that I don't encourage her to continue.
Her latest interest is music. She LOVES music. (David, if you read this you'll be interested to know that De Novo Dahl is one of her favs!) She has a little steering wheel that is supposed to be on her stroller that she carries around all day long. I took it off her stroller because I think she was annoying folks in the line at the Post Office. It has a horn and engine noises and another button that plays songs. She dances to almost anything with a rhythm and has lately started bobbing her head up and down. It is so cute because she really concentrates on it. I got it on video here.

Did you see those crazy shoes? She LOVES them and always brings them to me to put them on her. I'm pretty sure she got that from me.

Today I am so nervous because tomorrow morning I have a photo shoot. I really don't like having my picture taken mainly because I feel stupid standing there trying to look my best. And I am very very nervous because this is a really big deal for me. I interviewed for what I thought at the time was a no-big-deal article about ebay that has now turned into a VERY BIG DEAL. I am going to be in Entrepreneur Magazine's quarterly ebay edition. At first, I naively thought it was just a little pamphlet thingy but have discovered it is a real magazine with real subscribers who pay real money to read it. I was excited at first about the free press and even more excited (and nervous) when they asked me to send a picture. And now I am overly excited and overly nervous because they are sending a professional photographer down from St. Augustine to do a REAL photo shoot with me for the magazine! I have been completely over-thinking the whole thing. I am now worried about what the article might say, will it make me look stupid? will I take a good picture? will I actually hurt my store's business? I am just so nervous! and it doesn't help that the shoot is at 8AM! I have to be up early enough to make myself pretty and get Lily up and organized then drive her to Cooper city so Sam can watch her and be back here all by 8AM.

Big Girl Foods

Because Lily is almost one, I have been trying to incorporate more "regular" foods into her diet. I really should research this and find the "right" way to do this, but so far I've just been trying things out. I've discovered that she loves lima beans. I've also discovered that I do too! I had never been against lima beans per se, but just never fixed them for myself. I've discovered that lima beans rock if you eat them cold. And they are really good with cream cheese on a triscuit too. Don't be suprised if that is the new appetiser at my next party.
She also loves tortillas, bananas and green beans (not together though). She doesn't care for pasta, but will eat one and then throw one to Zelda.
Ross is convinced that Lily has a reaction to milk, but I don't think she does. A while back she threw up in the night two nights in the same week. It just happened to be a week that I had given her a few strips of string cheese. So, he is convinced that she can't have dairy. This week I've given her string cheese, cheddar cheese and yogurt (only one each day....not all at once). And so far so good. No reaction.
As far as my work goes I am really bored. I should be updating my site, but that can only be done in the back room where Lily can't be, so I can't get that done during the day. I am expecting two shipments, but until then, I can't do much. I am not going to set up any auctions right now because they would end around the fourth of July holiday and not many people are shopping on ebay during that time. I really learned that lesson last year!

Imitation has started

Lily is so funny because she is imitating us more and more. It was so cute the other day. I scrubbed the outsides of all the bottom cabinets in the kitchen and Lily helped me. I was scrubbing them with a sponge and she was sitting next to me wiping the cabinets with her hand using the same motions I was. She watches me as I brush my teeth and will "brush" her teeth with her finger. She picks up the remote and points it to the TV and also faces the TV when she picks up the controller for the X-box as if she is playing.
Ross taught her this funny little trick and she walks around doing it over and over.

And this is a video of her walking and then crawling down the step. I thought I was going to have to worry about this step for a long time, but she seems to have mastered it.

And I am so annoyed because my stupid laptop has pooped out on me and is slower than dial-up! And that means that I will get nothing done because I can't sit in the "cave" all day to work. Plus I slept in today and slept during Lily's nap so I got absolutely NOTHING done today. I went out last night with Sam, Roni and Mike to visit Tonya at Briny's and did shots and was drinking beer like it was my job or something. I am so hungover!

One more thing that is wrong with the world

My neighbors have a pool (yes, I'm jealous) and they have five kids. Unlike the folks who lived there before them, they use this pool quite often. Our houses are so close together that I can hear them playing in the pool from any room in my house. Every time I hear their squeals and splashing it does two things to me. One, it makes me wish we had a pool, and two, it makes me smile thinking about how much fun those kids are having.
I read a snipet about a New Jersey couple who took their neighbor to court because they were claiming that their neighbor's 3 and 5 year old daughters were in violation of the neighborhood noise ordinace for the noise they made while swimming in their backyard pool.
Thankfully the judge threw it out.
If I were in charge of the world I would have come up with something to punish the idiots who wasted their time, the neighbor's time and the court's time bringing such a frivilous suit to court. This is another thing that is wrong with this world.
I am so happy that I am not a miserable soul that gets angry when they hear the joyous squeals of little girls in a pool!

Carlsberg Beer

I'm not really sure what Lily is doing here, but it was funny none the less.

Ross started his new job this week. He is the South Florida rep for Carlsberg Beer. I didn't write about it before because I didn't want to jinx things and have things not work out like they did with the Gold Coast job. He is officially hired but as an "independent contractor" through the end of the year. This means that he won't get benefits until January. Once January comes around he will have full health insurance and a 401k that the company pays into. YAY!


He will work from home and they are supplying him with a computer. There will be some traveling involved because his area is from Key West to West Palm. The company has less than 20 employees in the US so it is a very big deal that he landed this job.


Carlsberg is from Denmark and has only been in the US since 2003. From what I understand it is huge in Europe.





awww man! I just totally had a "I'm now a real mom" moment. I took a break from typing and went to use the bathroom. As I am peeing I realize that the stream hitting the water in the toilet sounds a little different. Sure enough, there was something in the toilet besides just water. Lily had thrown a small giraffe and a Tupperware bowl in the toilet! I threw them both away.





anyway, back to Carlsberg. They sponsor the Liverpool football (soccer as we know it) team and Ross has already been given a jersey. I think that this job is going to work out well for him. It is alot to learn and a huge responsibility because he is primarily on his own. But Ross is such a hard worker and detail oriented that I am sure he will succeed at this. And, since this Beer is distributed through Gold Coast, he will still be working with them, just not for them.





He is still in Orlando doing his training, but when he gets home tonight I can give the full report.

Juggling

I am such a busy body! I get energized by doing too many things at one time. I am half-way through the process of all of the following:
updating addictedtorockabilly, designing clickforcostumes, 10 corset tops, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, and researching new products
All the while playing with Lily and Zelda full time because Ross is out of town. I Love it. The only thing I would like to change is I would like to be able to sew during the day. Right now the only time I can sew is for about 20 minutes in the morning, during Lily's nap and after she goes to sleep. This time is also the only time I can print anything, so it is also the only time I can process the days shipments. So, if it was a good selling day than I don't get to sew. I think Ross would kill me if I moved the sewing machine to the living room. I have already taken over the pool table!
And, things are going to get a little more hectic around here because Ross' new job is a work from home job. There are so many things about this that I am going to love, but I think we are going to have to be careful not to get too much on each other's nerves. We are going to have to set up some boundaries. I like to work all over the house because I am doing 3 or 4 different things at once so I have "stations" all around. Now, this would work just fine back in the days that Ross was sleeping all day or when he went to work during the day, but both of us trying to work here isn't going to allow for my take over the whole house system that I have going right now.
What do you think of my new pink background? oh, and I changed it to where you don't have to be registered in order to leave a comment so feel free if you like.

What Lily does when left alone

The other day I left Lily in her room alone just to see what would happen. I would peek around the corner every minute or so and she was so sweet. She climbed up on the futon and kicked back with her book, then tried out her new carseat that she will get to start using next month when she is one. Then she tried to check out the night light so alone time ended right away.
She is so funny now because she is imitating us more and more. She "brushes" her mouth after she sees me brush my teeth, she types on the computer if I let her in my lap, she points the remote at the TV and puts my sunglasses on her head.
She is also a pro at walking. I can walk in front of her and go from room to room and she will follow me. Even all the way outside. She stops at the sliding glass door and squats down to get over the threshold then walks to the door of the screen porch and hold on to the frame to step down into the yard. It is so sweet.

Dram Shop Laws

Jaz has inspired (or guilted) me into getting back to my goal. She is training for a triathalon and is weighing less than she did before she had her baby (a month after I did) and I am still 10 pounds heavier than pre-prego. So, I got moving yesterday after reading her blog. I have been usually running one or two miles but yesterday made it to three! I want to run the race for the cure again this year and I need to get to the point where I can actually make it the whole way without stopping.
When I run I like to listen to radio shows on podcast. The show I listened to yesterday had me so angry. I think that is why I actually was able to make it the whole way (well, that, and the weather being not-so-hot). I was listening to NPR's Justice talking and they were talking about Driking and Driving and the laws associated with it. I enjoy NPR because I feel that they are very good at presenting the fact rather than just the sensational part of it like on TV.
Drinking and driving is a very very serious thing that I have always taken very seriously. and especially now that I am a mother!
But that isn't what made me angry, what got me all fired up are what is called 'Dram Shop Laws' these are the laws that make bars and bartenders liable for the actions of the patrons that they serve. There are parts of this law that are understandable and a little realistic, but the way it can be inforced is infuriating. It takes the individual responsibility away from the individual. The patrons of a bar are all ADULTS (and they are required to show identification to prove it!) and they should be accountable for their actions, not a waitress or bartender who is just doing their job. On the flip-side, I completely agree that a bartener or server has a responsibilty too, and that they should not over-serve. However, there are different stages of alcohol absorption in the body and different people show signs of intoxication at varing rates therefore making the job of determining wether or not someone is drunk completly up to speculation. And .08 is very very low. Someone can reach the legal limit of intoxication without seeing any signs. Judgemnet and reaction time (which make driving dangerous) are the first to go, WAY before speach and balance, so how is a bartender really supposed to be able to judge.
For instance, if a patron has been drinking all day at home and then comes into the bar walking just fine and not slurring or anything and has ONE then leaves and gets in an accident than the bartender AND the bar are liable. Financially AND criminally! When this person had no signs of being drunk how is the bartender expected to know that they have been kicking 'em back all day?
I hate that people don't take responsibility for themselves and their actions. I think we (as a society) are failing at this with laws like this one or the fact that a doctor who has made the choice to smoke for 30 years can sue the cigarette manufacturers and become a millionaire, or that gun makers are to blame for shootings are all just proof that the responsibility has shifted away from the individual.

ok, rant over.

Another notch

Welcome, shelley-faye( 754)
Sales: $3,027Feedback: 99.9%Sold Items: 59Level: Silver

WAHOO!!!!

I just made it to the next level of greatness......SILVER!

I have been a bronze powerseller for months, and now I have made the next level!

For those of you who aren't familiar with ebay.....

Bronze powerseller= at least $1,000 a month in sales for at least 3 months in a row, sliver powerseller = at least $3,000 a month in sales for at least 3 months in a row.

Those numbers and such up at the top are my 3 month averages from the Addicted to Rockabilly and punk store. I sell the same things there as my regular website and try to drive repeat buyers to the regular site to skirt the ebay fees. But currently 90% of my business is on ebay.

The costume one is not even close to reaching powerseller status yet, give it 6 months.

And clicking the logos above will take you to my stores just in case you are curious.

handmade outfits

Last week I decided to go back and update one of my sites that I have neglected ever since Lily was born. It is shelleyfayecreations.com and it is such a mess right now. I have literally done NOTHING to it in almost a year, so obviously, I haven't made any money either. Well, I have designed a corset top that I originally designed for my Addicted to Rockabilly site, but realized that it would be fun to make them out of NFL fabric for football season. An NFL corset top doesn't really fit in an alternative clothing store or a costume shop, so it is now time to re-vist shelleyfayecreations. I have been mass producing corset tops so much that I think Ross is going to kill me for taking over the pool table room for so long!
So, in going back to re-visit the site I realized that there are alot of handmade baby clothes in boxes in my sewing room that I made to sell on the web and never did. Well, many of those clothes now fit Lily!
I dressed her in one of my favorites yesterday. Isn't she sweet? It is so hard to get her picture but in this one she looks like she is modeling! And then she went outside and helped Ross in the yard.

Walking

Lily is such a pro at walking that she now only crawls about 60% of the time. She can get all the way across the room, stop & start, change directions and even pick on Zelda. I am just so amazed with this whole process. I am so proud of her. But then I reflect back on when I was so proud of her for just holding her head up!

Another tooth

I noticed yesterday that Lily has another tooth. That makes 7. Four on top and three on the bottom. I keep trying to look in her mouth to see if she is getting any molars yet but she has this funny way of filling up her whole mouth with her tongue when I try to see. Or if I try and feel for them she bites me. Hard.
She can now walk the entire length of the living room. It is official, she can WALK, not just "take a few steps".
I am so excited....I'm going to New York! I am taking my first buying trip to LENY. The London Edge Streetwear, Alternative, Rock & Cult Fashion Tradeshow! Exciting huh? The business has officially made enough money to afford to pay for it too. I am taking Tonya with me so I guess now she has upgraded from 'model' to 'buyer'. I have never been to New York and I have always wanted to go there.
Ross is not very happy about being left in charge of Lily solo for almost four days. I'm sure he will be fine, but he is not looking forward to it. But, he understands how big of a step this is for my business and how important it is to me. I am excited, nervous, worried and happy all at the same time.

Finally got her walking on video!!!

Ocean

Today we took Lily to the beach and it was finally calm enough for us to put her in the water. She has been to the beach enough to know that she likes the sand but that it doesn't taste good. She was a little hesitant about the water at first but got ok with it really quickly. When we got in while holding her she really clutched on and didn't seem to enjoy it too much. But she did enjoy sitting in the sand where the waves come up. It was a very very calm day and really hot so it was perfect for sitting in the surf.

Rocking Chair

We have this tiny little rocking chair that I'm not sure where it originally came from, but Brandi and I had it as kids. It is a tiny little wooden chair that I have had sitting in the corner of Lily's room with one of my old dolls in it. Well, today Lily crawled over and took the doll out. I thought to myself that we should try sitting her in it to see what happens. She has got pretty good balance and can climb in and out of her other chair (the little infant bouncy thingy) so I pulled the chair out and dusted it off. I sat her in it and she immediately started rocking. As if she already knew that she was supposed to do that! Well, she might have known because we have a big rocking chair that looks very similar. I took this video seconds after putting her in the

seat...see how smart she is?!?!

The other picture is of me and my girls this morning. Someone from Entreprenuer magazine called me yesterday asking could I send some photos of myself for them to include with the article that they are doing for ebay magazine. I was excited before, but now I am excited AND nervous! That magazine is distributed to a hundred thousand households and it will include a PICTURE!! I put on makeup and had Ross take some shots of me and this one with Lily turned out really cute.

The other video was taken a couple of days ago while we were playing outside. Lily likes to lean up against the screen and I'm really not sure what she is trying to do here, but it sure looked funny with that disco outfit I had her dressed in.

So busy but too excited not to share

Such an exciting day! Lily took what I would call her first official steps today! She has been trying for days but tonight she put one foot forward then the other, and successfully put that foot down before falling down. I am counting that as first steps!

Ross said that he has seen her do that before, but I have only seen her try and take one step and fall down before it gets planted.

She knows just what she is trying to accomplish too and it is so sweet to see her get excited about it too.

AND, I officially opened my costume shop tonight too! I currently only have one costume stocked in it but that is because I got another shipment for Addicted to Rockabilly, and I had to work at monstertixx AND fuss over my now walking baby!

so busy......I love it!

Brat

I would never call my baby a brat, but she certainly acts like one sometimes. She has a strong personality and is very sweet and fun to play with. But, if I don't let her have something that she wants she cries. loudly. This cry is different from the cry of hunger or pain. This is an annoying little bratty kid cry. Like the one that you see big kids doing at the grocery store when their moms say 'no' to the candy. It is kinda endearing though because she is showing so many signs of Independence and is able to express her wants now and not just her needs.
We have been working on switching from two naps a day to only one and this has made certain times of the day really trying. I am now second guessing the choice to do that. She was pretty consistent for a long time but the past month she has been constantly skipping naps which is not good for any of us! So, we decided that maybe one good nap would be better than two inconsistant naps. Ross is good about reassuring me that we made the right decision, but the adjustment is hard sometimes. She is the greatest baby in the world though because it still hasn't effected her ability to sleep through the night. We are SOOOOO LUCKY!

The Remote

right now I don't need to spend any money buying toys for Lily. She has so many favorite things to play with and hardly any of them are actually "toys".
Her favorites are:

1. DVDs - she loves to pull them from the shelf and throw them around the room


2. Zelda


3. the remote control


4. the controller for the X-box


5. a can with bells inside


6. tupperware


7. diapers (clean ones of course....I'm not THAT bad of a mom!)


8. books - her books AND ours


9. Zelda's ball


10. Zelda's food

And today she figured out how the remote works! I am sitting here at the kitchen table flipping through my pictures to post and all of the sudden the TV turns on. I look over at Lily and she has the same look of suprise that I do. Then, it turns off again. Another look of suprise, then on, then off. So smart!

Lily has been standing all the time and it is so cute because she stands, looks over at us and starts clapping to congratulate herself. She'll be walking in no time.

I have included a video to show how well she and Zelda play together and another on of her cracking up and driving Zelda crazy. Zelda's favorite ball is in her toy basket and Zelds is going nuts trying to get it. Hopefully you can hear her laughing over the sound of the radio.

I think I wrote about her busted lip last week, so here is the picture.

Beach day a month or so ago

Re-aranging the furniture

by the way, we do not keep the high chair in the living room, Lily moved it there herself.

Dirty Feet

This is how I know when it is time to clean the floors! Look at this dirty dirty little girl!
Lily is so good at standing these days that she just stands and stands waiting for us to make a fuss it is the cutest thing. and I haven't yet bored of fussing over it. I love it! I can't seem to catch it on video though.
Today she took a spill and busted both her top and bottom lips. I don't even know what happened. She was just crawling along and then bang, smacked her mouth right into the floor! Poor little baby screamed and screamed.
Yesterday we took her to my boss's surprise party at the park and she was so great. She didn't mind at all when people were passing her around and dogs were licking her face. We took a little break from the action and walked over to the playground to play on the swings and she hated it! She likes the swing here but I think the ones at the park were too high. And, as soon as I find my camera I will download the pics I took and post them.
oh, and update, my loan has been bid down to 11.6% !!!!!! wahooo

Funded!!!

WAHOO!!!!

my prosper loan is 100% funded and it still goes until Sunday! Which, for those of you unfamiliar with prosper, means that I have a VERY good chance of lowering the interest rate for my loan because it is a bidding process. The company projected that my loan would be funded by tomorrow but I have already done better than expected and my interest rate has already dropped from 13% to 12.5 which equals about 20 bucks a month!!!! WAHOOOO!!!!
I am so excited and Ross thinks I am crazy because we were out earlier at my boss's 40th birthday party and I just sat down to the computer to find out I was funded and went running through the house doing the "money dance".
Ok, so the money dance might change depending on the environment. Tonight's money dance was one that most likely no one will ever witness, it is like a really bad 80's dance that you might see a comedian doing but then take that and add alcohol and really bad rhythm. The other money dance is one we do at work which is a very mild money dance like "churning butter" or something when we get a sick crazy client call wanting to buy 50 yard line seats for the super bowl and they say the magic words ...."I don't care what it costs, just get it and put it on my American express". Unfortunately no one does that for handmade swing dresses :(
How come none of you that read my blog have suggested a name for my costume shop yet?

Yay...Mother's Day!!!

Yay, my first mother's day. This is the first holiday that I get that I have actually had to EARN. I am a big holiday person and truely believe in Birthdays being your own personal holiday. This is a cool one because you don't automatically get it, it is a reward!
I told Ross that all I wanted was a day off. So, he has been playing with Lily all day while I worked on my web-stuff. Is that still a day off? Lucky for me, I really enjoy working on my web-stuff. I am getting caught up although because the USPS changes their rates tomorrow and I have to re-list all 160 ebay auctions!
But the most exciting thing is that I finally got my loan application finished.
If you would like to check it out here is where to go

http://www.prosper.com/lend/listing.aspx?listingID=136705

I would love for any of you to write an endorsement for me or even bid it you want to earn some money off me! you know I am good for it.

Talented little girl

lately Lily has learned some amazing things. She can totally stand on her own! and she can crawl down from things too. She doesn't crawl down correctly, but she is very cautious in her acrobatic stunts. I have been trying hard to get some of this on video and I have files and files of useless clips because the minute she sees the camera she darts straight for it and I end up with a video of the top of her head while she is trying to climb up my leg to get the camera. She says Da Da constantly and it is usually always accompanied by a finger point. At first we thought that she was so bright that she knew who Da Da was, but now after days of it and everything she points at being Da da and not just Ross, I think it just might be a phase. She does however say Zelda! We are sure of it. It sounds more like El-da, but there is a distinct difference between that and the da da sound. And she will actually point to Zelda when she says it too. I, of course, can't get her to do it on video.
Another thing she does is shakes her head. She started doing it when I wash her hair and I guess because she got such a good reaction to it, now does it all the time. Especially when I catch her doing something she isn't supposed to be doing.
This video shows her acrobatic decent, finger pointing AND the head shake.

Costumes

My dream is to own a costume shop. And although I am years and major funds away from ever reaching that goal, I am jumping in and opening another website.....a costume shop!
I have been doing really well with Addicted to Rockabilly and am still planning to grow with it, but now I have decided to divide my time between two sites. I have gotten savvy enough with it that my website work only takes me just a couple of hours a day and I really need more income than it is producing. (my property taxes went up $300 a MONTH!!!!)
I chose such a small niche for the first site that growth is just not coming fast enough. I have already completed my first initial costume buy in order to stock my store (although the money isn't exactly secured yet....yikes! More about that later) and now I am at a dead-lock deciding on a name.
I know that there are lots of creative folks who read my blog, so help me out.
I need a name that is short and easy to remember, preferably beginning with a letter close to the beginning of the alphabet and that has an open website.
I am just going to open up as an ebay store for now but will branch out to regular ecommerce later, but it is best to go ahead and secure the web-address.

Funding. Well, I found this really cool site prosper.com and I have been researching the hell out of it and think I am going to try to get my starting capital there. It is the world's first people-to-people lending site. It essentially is cutting out the middle man (ie., banks) and that way investors get a higher (and riskier) return and borrowers get a better rate. The way it works is that people can lend as little as $50 each so I'd be getting my loan from a number of investors. Prosper collects the money, gives it to me and then I make monthly payments to prosper and they disperse it to all the investors. I intent to try and borrow $5000. Once I get the thing set up it takes a week for potential investors to "bid" on my loan (this can actually lower my interest rate) and then I'll find out if we are a go.

I also set up a group on Prosper which actually gives me kick backs for signing folks up so I have been marketing that all over ebay...free money is free money!!!

smarts

Saturday night Tonya and I went to BeerFest in Ft. Lauderdale and I won a sweatband. Lily loves it.


I think she needs a brother or sister to play with because she is spending too much time with the dog. She growls, snarles and carrys things around in her mouth.



There are two steps in our house, one from the dining room to the play room and another in my studio. The one to the studio is easy because I just keep the door shut. Unfortunately tonight Lily finally figured out that she can get through the dog door the same way as Zelda!
The other one is always a major worry for me and I keep trying to teach Lily to turn around and scoot backwards. I can't get the backward thing through to her, but she does realize that she can't make it down forwards without hurting herself. This morning I was watching to see what she was going to do and she sat like this for about 10 minutes. She must be smart because she was spending all that time contemplating how she was going to make it down and then she scooted over and used the chair to hold on to while she stepped down.



Now that Lily has figured out how to walk around holding onto her scoot thing that Daddy bought her she is discovering that she can get around using all sorts of things. She scoots the dining room chairs, her high chair, laundry baskets and the vacuum. If you let her she will re-arrange the whole house.

Standing on her own!!!!

I think I can make it official. Lily can stand on her own. She has been attempting it for a few days and today I am going to call it official. She is definately my child because she doesn't do it the normal way of holding on to the furniture and then letting go, she does it the hard way...from a sit! She will pull herself from a sit to a full stand very slowly and then wobble there for about 20 seconds before she lowers herself back down. she must have some incredibly strong thighs because the way she does it, I would have a hard time trying that. She does it in the middle of the floor or the middle of the grass and doesn't even hold on to anything. It is great, I can't wait to get it on video.

I'm in print!!!

I am so excited! Last fall I was interviewed by a journalist for the Wall street journal who was doing an article on ebay express. She never called for the last interview so I thought maybe she had just scrapped the article. Well, on Friday I get a call from another journalist wanting to interview me about ebay sales again. I accepted and we set up a phone interview and during the talk he told me that he had found me because he saw my name in another article. Hmmmmm....so, I googled 'Shelley Wall street journal addicted rockabilly' and sure as shit, there I am!
here is a link to the article
It was published back in December in the StartUpJournal, the Wall Street Journal's center for Entreprenuers.
I am so excited! The interview I did today was for a twice yearly ebay publication. I feel so much more accomplished. I feel so much more important that someone called to interview me. It kinda justifies all the hours that I spend on ebay, kinda makes me feel like a real professional.

Life is never that easy

Last week we were so excited about Ross's new job and looking forward to our life as real adults. The week we are depressed. It turns out that Ross may not get the job after all. He had even gone to work one day too before they pulled the plug! There is still a chance, but we won't find out until Monday.
But anyway, on a lighter note. This video is of Lily practing walking. I have to hold this thing for her to keep it from going too fast. It goes so fast that she can't keep up and then she just sits down, but if I hold it she can take a few steps. She was walking all over but it took Ross so long to get to a pause point in his video game to film us that she had gotten tired.

Here is a video of her riding on the same toy. I think she is supposed to be a little older to ride it but she seems to do just fine. She can't get on it by herself but she can get off without falling. She can only go backwards on her own but if I push her she hangs on.

Insurance & Taxes

I really wish I understood more about politics. I would love to get involved because I feel so helpless and I want to be a part of the solution. But things are so complex that it is difficult to decide where the stand needs to be made.
I just got a letter from my insurance company basically stating that unless Ross or I join the military we would have to get a different insurance company if we ever decide to move. It explains it in a way that makes sense of the business side so I can't fault them for making this decision not to write new policies for Florida. I also understand the legislation's stand in keeping companies from raising rates to Floridians. However, I also feel that if Florida puts restrictions on companies than all that will happen is companies will do exactly what has been happening, and will just quit serving Florida altogether. Which in turn leaves Florida homeowners still screwed anyway. So, what now? It just seems like when it is election day all this talk of keeping the insurance rates from rising sounds great and everyone is all for it, but there isn't much of a thought to the future. I am glad that I can keep my policy for now, and it is nice that my rates aren't going to hike, but I don't plan to stay in this house forever. We'd like to have another kid and hopefully a bigger house someday, but now it isn't just the cost of property that will slow us from that dream, it is insurance too.
Next issue. Last night I did our taxes. (I am not usually a late taxes person, but O'Malley's took their sweet time getting me my W-2.....it arrived on FRIDAY!!) and I realized that we paid more out in Social Security taxes than we did in Federal taxes. I don' t know how it is for the rest of the world because most of our income is in cash, but I find this very strange. And disheartening because I know I will never see a dime of that. I think it is great that my dad and my aunts will be able to collect some of it, but they paid into it their whole lives too. My generation has really dropped the ball on this one. We are a generation of NOW and it is going to really hurt us in the future. My generation needs to stand up and be counted. Instead, we don't vote, we don't get active and in result have allowed for the current government to refuse to look at this issue. No one in government is going to do anything about it unless it matters come election time. It just seems like my contemporaries have just accepted the fact that we can't depend on it and are planning other ways to support ourselves rather than forcing someone to address this problem. My generation is contributing to retirement savings, 401ks and IRA at a higher rate than those ahead of us, which is great, but sad. Last year I contributed 30% of my salary to IRAs because I am so scared of what the future will hold and since I know that I cannot count on ever seeing that money that I am paying out for social security. I think many of my contemporaries see it as a tax and that isn't what it is! It is supposed to be OUR retirement!
sorry....rant over.

Killing some time while my website loads up

I am beat-down tired, but I can't go to be yet until my website loads. I found a new photo editing software that I absolutely love and it doesn't cost a million dollars so I have been up-dating all my photos.
The other day Daddy sent Lily a new toy. She was so excited about it that she skipped her nap. She first played with the box for about an hour while I tried to fiqure out how to put the damn thing together.
She loves it though. She is supposed to push it around in order to learn to walk but she pushes it and when it starts to move she sits down (she is so smart! only took a hundred head bruises to figure out how to protect herself!) She isn't quite to the stage of wanting to put one foot in front of the other yet. Which is perfectly ok with me. She has learned some new neat crawling tricks though. She will carry things like her socks or a small toy in her mouth while she crawls (Zelda taught her that) and she will push things around too. She likes to pull the pillows off the couch and then slide them down the hall. I have been working on teaching her how to go down the step backwards and she will actually do it once I pick her up and turn her around. She has only fallen off of it once, but I am sure that it will happen again soon.

Yep, she is still making "the face"

You have to watch every second

Lily was playing with the tupperware today and since she was playing so nicely on the floor in front of the cabinet I thought maybe I had a second to check my email using my laptop. Well, things got very quiet, no more banging lids on the floor, so I looked over and Lily was gone. I FREAKED! I instantly checked to see if the door to the studio (not childproof and has a concrete step) was closed, it was, and I was standing at the other entrance to the kitchen. ?????? Guess where Lily went?