In case anyone happens upon this little corner of the inter webs, we've long since moved- join us over there!  Thanks all :)

http://yellowribbonloft.com/lofty-thoughts/

A Few of My Favorite Things...

So my blog isn't entirely made up of posts where I recap my to do lists and how much I haven't gotten done, here's some mindless fodder for you :)

Some really cool things:

Logitech Revue, I got this for Christmas. It turns my tv into a computer, so I can check emails on my tv. The girls can also visit spoutonline.com on the tv. Totally frivolous, but totally cool.
Keurig Single Serve Coffee Brewer- Another fabulous Christmas present. Instead of the disposable K cups, I have one of these, so you can use regular ground coffee. Saves money and tastes yummy.


Starbucks Ceramic Coffee Mug by Jonathan Adler- This one was my Valentine's present. Gotta have something to put all that coffee in. Whenever I see it, it makes me smile.

ipad- I am seriously lusting after one of these. I've had 2 generations of iphones, but moving to Alabama and suffering through AT&T and a non-existent 3G network were just too much, and I sold my iphone to someone named Boris in Russia on eBay (seriously, I did!), and now I carry around a non-smart phone and a laptop. When the next generation of ipad comes out I will be seriously tempted, especially if it happens to come out around my birthday.


white sand beaches- We live 90 miles from these beaches and haven't been once in the 3 years we've lived here. Isn't that sad? Planning a short trip for spring break this year.

Well, there you go, a few things that brighten my day, hope yours is a little lighter, too!

Ups and Downs...

What a year 2011 has been already! So I thought I was headed in one direction with the business, but now a tiny clause in a lease contract has me back tracking a bit. So I guess I'm back where I started, you could say. Problem is, where I started was at a crossroads, lol. I need a new path to trod down, and my GPS seems to malfunctioning, lol.

Geesh, is that cryptic enough for you? Sorry, don't mean for it to be, honest. Basically, I was subletting space that it turns out, can't be subletted. It was an honest mistake, but it sucks. I can't sign a long term lease somewhere because we still don't know what the Army is going to do with us for sure. Its a viscous circle, and I'm smack dab in the middle of it.

{Small side rant on the definition of Army Wife Entrepreneur- I'll write this rant another day, and link it back here}

Weird thing is, I'm not panicking or having a breakdown (yet), just trying to think through all my options. More carefully this time. Any angel investors or millionaires reading this? No? Yeah, didn't think so. Its okay, I'll figure it out!

Aside from that, I actually had good news. There was a business program I wanted to participate in last year, but it was 1200 miles away, and logistically, I just couldn't make it work. Turns out they are going to be offering again in 11 months, and this one? Only 110 miles away from me!!! Its a ways off still, but I couldn't be more thrilled.

Tomorrow I indulge in a little retail therapy. Our small town 30 minutes away from the smaller town where I live just opened a Hobby Lobby, so I am heading that way, 40% off coupon in hand. I will also be trading in one of the girls old car seats at the BRU great trade in event to get JD this new ride and pick up a baby shower gift. And since I am still wearing all my maternity clothes (even though they don't fit and the baby is 9 months old), I have promised my husband I will look for some new clothes, too. Oh, and Starbucks, there will definitely be some Starbucks in there, too.

January in Review/February's To Do List

Here was my To Do List for January:

Start Couch to 5K (again) on the 10th I tried this once before, and I think I made it two days, but I'm going to try again. Really, I am.
Um, what the heck was I thinking? It's January! This really wasn't realistic at all. I'm moving this to March, when its warmer, lol.

Sunday Clean Up (9th- laundry and guest bath, 16th-kitchen, 23rd-living room, 30-dining room) Since it looks like we will be staying in Alabama awhile longer (knock on wood) I've decided I will go through the house, room by room. Not so much cleaning, cause I hate cleaning, and I'm not really good at it anyway, but re-organizing/de-cluttering/redecorating.
I actually did 3 of the 4 rooms I had planned! I will have to make posts for each room showing what I did, but progress!

Order 200 yards interfacing Not as easy as it sounds, trust me, its rather an ordeal, but I need to do it :(
Done! Of coarse it hasn't arrived yet, because of the super blizzard, lol. Even better, the price went down since the last time I ordered.

Left over pre-made inventory I think I have this figured out what to do with most of the pre-made inventory left over from the holiday craft show season, I just need to do it, lol.
Not so much...

Catch up on sales rep stuff Seriously, if my sales reps don't mutiny on me. Its a lot of tedious little things, missing key chains, some of them moved, etc. But instead of doing it one by one, I've let it pile up into this mass of to do's labeled "reps". Ugh, not looking forward to this one, but very much looking forward to crossing it off my list and having happy reps for 2011 :)
I hired a new rep coordinator and she's taking over much of these responsibilities for me! I'm very excited for this new direction the business is taking, although a little sad, as I forward all the emails from potential sales reps to Jennifer, thinking, as I hire more people, it creates more layers, and I might not get to know the new reps as well as I have some of the current ones (who are awesome, by the way, and some of the best people, who keep me going everyday).

Scraps Not a huge bunch of them this time, but enough to work with. I'd like to go through them and test out some new designs, make a few things.
{Ducks and hides} under a much larger pile of scraps that keeps growing...

New purses I have 3 new things that I want to get into the pipeline this month- a clutch, a child's purse, and a version of the scoop bag we had pre-mades of this holiday.
Nope :(

Taxes Must. Do. Taxes. Business taxes, get everyone's 1099s out to them , file business taxes and our personal taxes.
Haven't done my taxes, but I did get everyone's 1099s done, and January's commissions done as well.

Sadly, this is where I stopped :( I got none of the other things below done on my list.

Skin Cancer Screening Cause I'm paranoid.

Blog Gonna work on the bells and whistles- changing fonts, sidebars, widgets, the whole shebang. Then actually "promote" this little bloggy of mine, see if anybody's interested in reading it.

Labels Need to revisit the purse labels, see if its time to change them up, or keep them the same, and just order more.

Signature tag for emails Totally embarrassed to say, I don't have one. How sad is that? I just need to make one, will probably take 10 minutes. Been on the to do list for-ev-uh.

Form Emails Gonna revisit these to, just see if they need any spiffing up.

Website Updates Nothing major this time, just a few things I've noticed, like the lining fabric jpgs are out of order, wanna add the shipping discount codes to the description of each item, instead just in the headers, etc.

So February's To Do List looks like this:

Post Information for new rep sign ups
File Taxes
Premade Inventory
Scraps
New Purses
Skin Cancer Screening
Blog
Labels
Signature Tag
Form Emails
Website Updates

I actually do have new stuff to add to the list, but to save myself some embarrassment, I'm not going to post it, yet, lol. I'm not going to beat myself up about not getting more done though, I am just going to try harder for this month! Hope you all reading this have a fabulous, fun and productive February- that's my goal :)

Random, I know...

Heard this on the radio today. Its been a rough few days, the seriousness and melancholy sort of fit my mood, sadly.

However, not to be a complete downer, I'll post this as well:

This pretty much sums up the Facebook coomments of all my Texas and Oklahoma friends this past week :)

Blaaaahhhh.....

Still not 100% better, pretty much everyone else has been sick or is sick. What can you do? Trudge on. I'm feeling very determined though, lots to do, like always, but this time I know I will get it all done. Ironically, it was being let down by someone (yet again) that's given me this burst of energy and determination. At first I just wanted to cry, then I wanted to yell, now, I am just ready to move on, and get things accomplished in spite of it all.

I will always be the thing that you can put off doing, I'll never be your priority, I get that now, and its okay. The check's in the mail, right? No, it isn't and it never was and it never will be. But its okay- I'm okay.

Update on Sunday with all the things I accomplished this weekend :)

Off to rough start...

Well, it hasn't been pretty, folks. We caught some sort of bug/germ/flu thing-y and have been passing it back and forth for a solid week now. It started last Saturday with JD, and by Monday I was ready to take all three kiddos in to the doctor, but when I called to make them an appointment, the receptionist told me the office was closed until Wednesday. Wanna guess why? All the doctors went to watch Auburn play in the National Championship game- duh! That's important right? To close your practice and leave your patients with nothing more than a 1800 nurse line. Since no one was gravely ill, a trip to Urgent Care or the ER wasn't really warranted, so we just sucked it up. By Wednesday, everyone seemed to be doing better, but here it is Friday, and we all still have an ugly little cough, and Sophie has started running a fever again. Ugh! I just want my kiddos all better!!!

The highlight of the week was probably the 4 of us trudging through Walgreens (which was plastered with CDC signs warning of flu pandemic breaking out in Alabama), buying cold medicine, a new thermometer, ice cream and Valentine's peeps, sniffling and coughing, to the sounds of Don't Cry For Me Argentina playing on the sound system. I was so out of it, I wasn't even singing along- now that says a lot about how sick I was!

I haven't really accomplished much on my list yet, but I still have high hopes for the month, so I haven't given up yet on that. I guess we'll see where I'm at this time next week.

I did find a great article of new year's resolutions for your small business:

1. Dare to be different.

Be daring and take steps to ensure your company and your products stand out from the crowd. Look at what you did well in 2010 and what you could have been different. Take bold steps to help your brand stand out in 2011.

2. Have a clear purpose.

Make sure you go into the New Year with a clear and compelling mission and ask if you were living it in 2010. Make sure everyone on your team knows what it is, what business you’re in and what is expected of them. Look for creative ways to bring it to life with your team.

3. Listen and have something compelling to say.

Make a commitment to be a better listener in 2011. Commit to listen and then formulate your response. Actively seek your team’s input and feedback for new ideas. Listen to your consumers and understand what makes them tick. Listen to what they have to say and build a relevant and compelling conversation with them. Remember, if you’re not interesting or relevant, people will ignore you.

4. Pick a fight.

When you’ve got an opponent to beat, it increases your motivation to win, so choose an enemy to fight and rally your team around this battle. Make the enemy a competitor, a trend or an element of your internal culture, and put it up on the wall so your team can find motivation and focus in it.

5. Set a big goal.

Set at least one wild and audacious goal for 2011 -- something you’ve never tried before. Outline the goal, share it with your team and challenge them to play their part in achieving it. Make sure you celebrate the small victories and successes along the journey.

6. Inspire your team.

There’s nothing more important than your people, and there’s nothing more engaging than a team who feels acknowledged. Inspire them with your own attention and regular updates on the business. Also bring in relevant speakers and articles to keep them challenged.

7. Laugh a lot.

One of the best motivators for your team is a great work environment, and one of the best elements of a vibrant team environment is laughter. Next year do small things that make your employees smile. Along with laughter and a light-hearted environment, small gestures or events can make a big difference. And the benefits won’t just stop with your team -- they will show through everything that your brand does.

8. Plan the plan.

Commit to setting time aside to plan your year next year ahead. Set two days aside at the end of November every year to plan for the following year. Then take a day out every quarter to review how you’re doing against the plan and revise it where necessary. Every brand needs a plan. Make a commitment to write one.

9. Make friends.

Chart a “circle of love” and identify brands with similar values that you’d like to partner with in 2011. Assign someone to explore potential relationships and collaborations. You’ll be surprised by the results, even just the initial conversations you’ll have about your own brand.

10. Show your appreciation.

Do what your mother told you! Thanking people goes a long way to create valued and appreciated fans -- internally and externally. This year, find new ways to show you appreciate your team, your customers and your partners, in ways that truly make a difference in their lives. You’ll be surprised and delighted by the results.

I like all of these except #4. I think that deserves a post all its own, so I'll have to do that next week, I have some thoughts rattling around in my head about competitors and competition in general, oh, and depending on the seller's reply, maybe even a funny post about scrabble tiles... we'll see, lol.

Good night world, send get well vibes my way please!!!

Hello 2011 :)

I gave up on this blog when JD was born, it just seemed like there wasn't enough time. He is 8 months old now (crazy how time flies), and while I'm certainly not twiddling my thumbs here, bored to death or anything, I feel like its important to make time to blog again. This isn't meant to be an overly personal blog (i.e. not sharing my deepest, darkest secrets here), but instead, an insight into what its like, trying to run a business and a household, with the Army thrown in, ya know, to keep things interesting. I'd also like to use it to hold myself accountable, as far as my "to do" list goes. And if people are actually reading, lol, use it for feedback as the business continues to grow.
So starting off 2011, my to do list is already packed, but I'm very excited. My new planner is already full of what I intend to accomplish this year, all the way up through July. So here's January:

Start Couch to 5K (again) on the 10th I tried this once before, and I think I made it two days, but I'm going to try again. Really, I am.

Sunday Clean Up (9th- laundry and guest bath, 16th-kitchen, 23rd-living room, 30-dining room) Since it looks like we will be staying in Alabama awhile longer (knock on wood) I've decided I will go through the house, room by room. Not so much cleaning, cause I hate cleaning, and I'm not really good at it anyway, but re-organizing/de-cluttering/redecorating.

Order 200 yards interfacing Not as easy as it sounds, trust me, its rather an ordeal, but I need to do it :(

Left over pre-made inventory I think I have this figured out what to do with most of the pre-made inventory left over from the holiday craft show season, I just need to do it, lol.

Catch up on sales rep stuff Seriously, if my sales reps don't mutiny on me. Its a lot of tedious little things, missing key chains, some of them moved, etc. But instead of doing it one by one, I've let it pile up into this mass of to do's labeled "reps". Ugh, not looking forward to this one, but very much looking forward to crossing it off my list and having happy reps for 2011 :)

Scraps Not a huge bunch of them this time, but enough to work with. I'd like to go through them and test out some new designs, make a few things.

New purses I have 3 new things that I want to get into the pipeline this month- a clutch, a child's purse, and a version of the scoop bag we had pre-mades of this holiday.

Taxes Must. Do. Taxes. Business taxes, get everyone's 1099s out to them, file business taxes and our personal taxes.

Skin Cancer Screening Cause I'm paranoid.

Blog Gonna work on the bells and whistles- changing fonts, sidebars, widgets, the whole shebang. Then actually "promote" this little bloggy of mine, see if anybody's interested in reading it.

Labels Need to revisit the purse labels, see if its time to change them up, or keep them the same, and just order more.

Signature tag for emails Totally embarrassed to say, I don't have one. How sad is that? I just need to make one, will probably take 10 minutes. Been on the to do list for-ev-uh.

Form Emails Gonna revisit these to, just see if they need any spiffing up.

Website Updates Nothing major this time, just a few things I've noticed, like the lining fabric jpgs are out of order, wanna add the shipping discount codes to the description of each item, instead just in the headers, etc.

Geesh, that's a lot, Wish me luck!

PS- anybody reading? leave me a comment and introduce yourself, please :)

But I found it on Google...

I know that I had semi-retired this blog, but I need to say a few things, business related, so this seemed like the best place to put them. Call this my public service announcement about copyrights, intellectual property and just plain common sense (with a bit of conducting business with integrity thrown in). I assume most people already know what I am about to say, but every time I see someone commit this type of theft, they always say the same thing:

"Oh, I didn't know that I couldn't use that image, I found it on Google"

Just because you find an image on Google or elsewhere on the Internet does not mean you are automatically able to use it. Google has even released a new tool that allows you to search specifically for images that are cleared for commercial use. Go to Google Images and use the drop down menu corresponding to "Usage Rights" to select "labeled for commercial re-use". Then enter your search term.

When you find an image on Google, it tells you where the image came from! So the idea that "you didn't know" is insulting. As an example, every single one of my images that appear on Google also include my website:


See, right there in GREEN, plain as day:

heroonmyarm.com

And if you go to heroonmyarm.com, you'll find this:

The name HERO ON MY ARM, stylized cartoon logo, all text and images appearing on this website are property of Polka dot Door Boutique, LLC. They may not be used elsewhere without permission.

(Funny thing is, the image in question is outdated, I know. Its missing several camo patterns! I'm in the middle of a major website update, and this image was on its way out the door anyway, lol.)

As business owners, we all work very hard at what we do. Putting together a website is tedious, and time consuming. The shortcut of stealing work others have already done is just plain wrong. Feigning ignorance about it is just as wrong. Its YOUR responsibility as a business owner to educate yourself and not infringe on the rights of others. That you didn't know isn't an excuse. Neither is that you are a really nice person (which, by the way, the Facebook message I received this morning wasn't nice at all, it was condescending and rude).

So there it is, I'm putting it out there. I'm not a bully, and I'm not a bitch. I am military spouse, wife to a wounded warrior, mom to three beautiful kiddos, and small business owner who believes in playing fair and by the rules, and who runs her business with integrity and expects others to do the same.

{Steps down off soapbox, and washes hands of this whole frustrating ordeal, new day, lots of productive things to get done!}

Priorities...

This will be my last post here for awhile.

I just have too much going on to be a good blogger. I haven't given up on the idea of blogging altogether, I'll probably (eventually) be back. But for now, the time has come to officially give this one up.

You can still follow what's up with me, on the business blog:

www.heroonmyarm.blogspot.com

That one isn't going any where!

In the meantime, this is what I've been up to for the last 9 months:

And what will be taking up most of my free time for the foreseeable future, lol!

Business is still incredibly busy, seamstresses are forever in short supply (ugh), the girls are incredibly happy to be big sisters to baby J.D. and life in general is very blessed.

The Army continues to challenge/frustrate/exasperate us, but that's to be expected. We hope that the summer brings us some resolution to the limbo we've been in as far as the Army is concerned. (And maybe a change of scenery!)

So, that's all from me for a while. Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!

-Seneca

Still Here...

Just so no one thinks I've given up on blogging...

I am still here!

Just incredibly busy.

That's all for now, lol.

Poof! There went October...

That was fast! Can't believe October is over already. We attended two fall festivals, baked pumpkin cupcakes, 2 pumpkin shaped cakes (we even got a thank you note from one of the people that won one of them at the cake walk, letting us know how good it was, lol!), took a field trip to a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins and sunflowers:

And enjoyed a fun night of trick or treating, too!

Work has kept me super busy- too busy, really, but we are finally at the point where we are able to bring in more staff to help! We have a full time embroidery gal, which is helping a ton, and after my last round of help wanted ads for seamstresses, I am feeling incredibly blessed to have found FIVE new seamstresses, all of them wonderful. There's still a bottleneck with emails and also with cutting here at the studio, but one crisis at a time, I guess. Actually, the email issue should get resolved this week, *crosses fingers*

I am still sick, coughing like a lunatic, but luckily I'm the only one here that caught the bug- go me, lol. Also feeling a lot of sadness about last week's tragedy at Fort Hood. There really aren't words for it, or at least nothing that probably hasn't been said, and said better, but suffice it to say, my heart truly aches right now.

Really do wish I was more prolific at blogging, the new year is going to filled with lots of stuff (good and bad) that I want to be able to talk about, but I know no one's reading if I can't manage to post more than once a month, so I will be working on that.

Happy November everyone!

Fall is in the Air!

I just love that it is getting cooler. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are my FAVORITE holidays, so this is my favorite time of the year!

We also celebrated Sophie's 3rd birthday!

We are booked solid this entire month with "fall" activities. There's a pumpkin decorating contest, a fall party (must make fall themed refreshments), a fall festival (where Sydney's class is charge of the cake walk, so we must make a fall themed cake), a fall class field trip to pick pumpkins and sunflowers, and the Moonlit Hayride at the Equestrian Center. Oh, and then the actual trick or treating, too!

There is a slight problem. Everything is "fall" themed at school, and not Halloween themed, I guess so as not to offend anyone, but Halloween is so much fun! And the best part- Halloween costumes, yes? Uh, no. There are to be no Halloween costumes. :(

I'm one of those mom's that goes WAY overboard with Halloween costumes, case in point:

So this is a huge bummer. Instead, October 30th is "50's Day" at school. Well, at least Sydney's going to have the poofiest poodle skirt in all of K5!

Not much else going on here, but hop on over to the other blog, actually got several new posts over there, too.

Funny Things...

...that my children (ages 5 and 2) say:

Sydney: Mama, what's for dinner?

Me: Steak

Sydney: What kinda steak?

Me: Sugar steak (the marinade has brown sugar in it)

Sydney: Okay, well, just don't burn it this time.

***

Me: Hold still, Sydney, you have an eyelash on your cheek. Okay, there, got it! Now make a wish and blow.

Sydney: I wish Mama would just let me do my own thang. (Blows away eyelash)

***

Sophie: Knock, knock

Me: Who's there?

Sophie: Banana pie

Me: Banana pie who?

Sophie: Banana pie POOH POOH! (Laughs hysterically)

***

Sydney: I don't wanna go to that restaurant, mama lost my balloon.

Daddy: That's right, mama let your balloon fly away last time, but you can get a new balloon today, and just hold onto it tightly, okay?

Sydney: Okay

(after dinner)

Daddy: What does that sign say?

Me: I don't know, its raining, roll down my window so I can see.

Sydney: Dada, Dada, roll down my window too!

(Daddy rolls down Sydney's window, Sydney's balloon promptly flies out the window, Sydney breaks down, balling)

Sydney: See, I told you I didn't wanna go to that restaurant!!!!

Random-ness...

I have grand illusions (delusions) about being a blogger, but I just haven't gotten into the groove of yet, ya know, posting something every three weeks and all...Oh well, to those of you reading, my apologies for the sparce-ness of posts, and here's one to catch you up! (in no particular order)

Sophie's hair is now long enough for pig tails:

We did a custom order this week for paperback book covers (a la Vera Bradley). I think that they turned out great:

However, this lead to the conversation about how I just don't "get" the whole Vera Bradley trend (when my Mom first pointed them out to me in Ohio, in all seriousness, I thought it was an Amish thing). Is it just a southern thing? Because here, they are EXTREMELY popular, and I mean with everybody- grade schoolers through Grandma. So I went to the local store to try and wrap my brain around the whole vibe:

Then it started raining, ya know, because no one ever tells you, but it rains in Alabama like it does in a rainforest. So I'm stuck in the this store, surrounded by all these bags, and I'm just still not getting it. So someone, please help me out here- explain it too me, or at least tell me that I'm not alone in not feeling the whole quilted paisly look.

We went school supply shopping:

Slightly amused that they tell you what brands to buy (Play Dough NOT Rose art!), but its all right, we are all stocked up!

Sydney started Kindergarten, and thinks it's "great":

I'm sad that she's growing up, but also happy that she's enjoying school and making new friends.

I also celebrated a birthday during my blogging hiatus. My present? New iphone 3G-S:

Anybody know what you do with your old iphone when you get a new one?

I guess that's about it. Lots going on with Hero On My Arm, keeping me busy, but never fear, I have great blogging plans, I just have to get that far down on my to do list. Someday.

Happy August, with your suck-y birthstone and all!

More pictures of my hometown for my one faithful blog reader...

Better?

LOL.

Okay, just kidding, here you go:

So many emails, so little time...

This post is more than anything, just to let you all know that I am still here, working, lol. I am actually completely caught up on orders, but unfortunately, not completely caught up on emails. I hope to remedy that in the morning though.

In other news, we are t-minus 19 days and counting until Sydney starts Kindergarten!

I took her school shopping, and I would pick something out only to have her look at me, sigh, and say "But, momma, that's so boring". She has very colorful taste. (And I did, for the most part, let her pick out what she wanted.)

My mom is coming again next week to help me out, so I'm very excited to hopefully be able to actually be able to report on some new things we get done, instead of constantly reporting that I'm "almost caught up" with stuff that should have been done last week.

And just in case any one was wondering, the song selections (other than the musicals) are usually just whatever I happen to have heard on the radio recently, lol, there's really not some deep meaning to the choice of song, nor is it meant to necessarily compliment the post. (I'm probably going to do away with the music altogether when "work on blog" comes up on my To Do list.)

I heard "Small Town Saturday Night on the radio this weekend as I was out grocery shopping. I always loved the line:

"Lucy, you know, the world must be flat...

'cause when people leave town, they never come back."

(my hometown)

LOL, life in small town, USA- gotta love it!

Thanks, Mom...

I have to say a very big THANK YOU to my Mom, who traveled all the way from Louisiana to spend the entire week last week helping me get caught up on orders. By the time the week ended, my mom was a pro on the embroidery machine and over 150 orders were in the mail- it was a very productive week.

Oh, and the purse in the picture, that's the very last one we did for the week- its been on my "to-do" list for quite some time (see here)- hopefully it was worth the wait!

Post-It Note Revelation...

I figured out that if I put all my "to do's" on post-its, when I get behind, I can just peel and stick them on a later date!  Pretty cool, eh? (yeah, I'm easily impressed).

Several people in Hong Kong are still trying to give me money for free, too!  What a lucky girl I am...

I am Mr. Patrick K. W. Chan Executive Director & Chief financial Officer of Hang Seng Bank Ltd, Hong Kong.

I have a lucrative business proposal of mutual interest to share with you; it involves the transfer of a large

sum of money from my bank here in Hong Kong. I got your reference in my search for someone who suits my

proposed business relationship. If you are interested in working with me contact me through my private email

mrpatrick_chan202@yahoo.com.hk for further details.

Your earliest response to this letter will be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Mr. Patrick Chan 

Back to work now, work, work, work...

Emails, Scams, Books, Lack of time, and other bits of randomness...

WARNING- the song playing over there on the right is not g-rated!  If you are easily offended or children can hear, please mute.

Emails will be the death of me!  I just realized last night that I've lost several hundred emails over the last few weeks- the perils of having 4 emails and trying to juggle forwarding them when life interrupts business, and someone has to be out of the office.  GRRR.  I'm stuck emailing everyone with an order today, in the hopes that if they've emailed us, they don't think they are being ignored.  Great way to have to waste the day, when I have so much to do in the studio and am *this* close to being all caught up.  Ick.

Actual emails, those get lost in cyberspace, but what makes it through?  Stuff like this:

Good Day I am MR.SONG LILE, I work with the Hang Seng Bank,I need your assistance in effecting a transaction worth $30.5m I intend to give 30% of the total funds as compensation for your assistance.respond to my private email: songli20@yahoo.com.hk 1. Full names 2. Private phone number 3. Current residential address Kind Regards, Mr Song Lile Email: songli20@yahoo.com.hk

Really?  People still fall for this scam?  Its annoying that certain members of the human race can be so devoid of ...what?  A conscience?  A soul?  Makes me sick.

In other, unrelated news, I got a brief moment (during the girls gymnastics class) to start a new book.

I'd seen it mentioned somewhere on a milblog, then the ladies at Army WIfe Talk Radio had the author on their show, and I have to confess, the cover looked cool, so I decided to try and find time to read it.  So far (and admittedly, I've only made it to page 60 so far) I'm very glad that I did.

On page 15 you find out that the author used to work at the Life Cafe (hence the song playing, lol!)- she's an Army Officer's wife at West Point and she used to work in the Life Cafe- I mean, come on, you have to just know there's a great story there. 

So far, its a fabulous read, and the author is incredibly funny, witty, succinct and dead on- her description of the catty way in which Army Wives can sometimes (too often, really) treat each other:

"It's the classic judgment-go-round concealed in camouflage and wrapped in the flag."

I'll have to try and post a review of the entire book when I finish it (someday!).  Oh well, back to the emails for me....