Come on in! The Water's FINE!!!

WOOHOO!!
My daughter was soooooo excited yesterday! It was FINALLY warm enuff to get in the pool--you can 'see' her underwater LOL

I love it when the weather is this nice, I just love seeing that bright blue water against the full green trees....

We'd just put this pool in last year towards the end of August, so this will be our first summer to have it open all season and we plan on USING IT!! LOL

We still need to do some much needed landscaping around it and a few more little cosmetic touch-ups but all in all, we love it. Could hardly pass it up!! A friend that my hubby works with was getting ready to scrap it...hubby asked how much he wanted for it instead...friend said $100 if he helped tear it down.

$100!?!?!?! For everything!?!? Deck, pump, filter, sweeper, skimmer, rails, ladder, EVERYTHING---even the stones to put the columns on!

It needed some SERIOUS Cleaning (hubby said there were frogs living ontop of the water filled cover LOL), a new liner and I also repainted all of the white pieces (ladder, columns, deck, rails-everything white was repainted LOL)...but hey...anything worth having is worth working for right?

And so what that it was 'used', put a new liner in it and it bascially becomes a totally new pool!!

By the time it was ALLL said and done, when we tallied up our total expenses to install it, after getting the sand/liner/chemicals/new hose and even counting the rafts and new beach towels, we only put $500 into the WHOLE kit-n-kaboodle.

What REALLY saved us on installation costs was hubby does excavation work on the side and owns his own heavy equipment...so we didnt have to pay anybody to level out the ground. Which is a GOOD THING cuz we had to dig pretty deep to level out a space!

These are pics from us putting it up last year....

You can see part of the deck and the colums in the background on the wagon drying from being repainted

Jack loved this part, any excuse to play in the dirt! LOL

Look how deep down he had to dig! LOL

Jack and Felicia putting on the tops

Full, but now it needs the deck.

ALL DONE!

Come on over!!!

Moving Along!

WOW!
Well, my newly introduced line of professional quality promotional items has really taken off! Those are just a FEW images of completed items, there are more in the works and some not yet pictured!

What started out as a little shop consisting of just Etsy Shop Banners/Avatars and some little paper thank you note cards has rapidly grown into much, much more...both in inventory and quality!

As of now, I offer Car Magnets, Business Cards (matte AND glossy!), vinyl craftshow banners, rack cards, t-shirts, product cards such as for hair accessories and jewelry, price tags, hanging tags, labels, window clings and probably even a few more items I'm forgetting at the moment LOL.

I am now also offering Tote Bags-of which I yet to have a 'completed item' picture of...but will hopefully soon! They are going to be terrific! They come in 2 sizes (100% cotton canvas) of Small and Deluxe, and the Deluxe size also comes in a two-tone option if you'd like! (black handles and bottom) I really can't wait to make my first one so that I can have pictures to show....so excited!
If you may be interested in details, please click on the above image to visit my shop-you can contact me there :-)

Since first beginning this line 4-29, I've now completed/shipped over 35 custom item orders and I LOVE it. I really enjoy working so closely with so many great Etsians and getting to know them...and I totally love the designing process. With Soooo many different shops and soooo many different personal styles between them, I really get to stretch my creative muscles---I've even used some I forgot I had! LOL

I whole-heartedly want to thank each and every person who has trusted me to help them grow and enhance their business and presentation. In doing so, you have helped me to grow and enhance my own little business as well. I am truly flattered to have a part in helping to make your dreams/visions/wishes of making your shops/talents/crafts stand out among the rest come to life :-D And I hope to continue to have that honor as you grow even bigger!

Workin 9-5

During the past week or so, while promoting my new line of Promotional Products, I've spent a GREAT deal of time on the computer. Making new connections on Etsy, networking, taking orders, answering questions, designing items and layouts, emailing my printer....WHEW! It's a LOT of work!
And whereas I'm loving every minute of it...with it being very time consuming...my husband does not.

He seems to think that I should establish actual "Business Hours of Operation" and when quitting time comes....QUIT for the day. LOL
I keep trying to tell him that it doesn't quite work that way! Especially when you're a one-man-show and your success/failure rides solely on YOU!
Plus, I'm always home unless running to the Post Office. So it's not like I'm NOT here to talk to him, fix dinner, keep the house clean...and if we have plans or want to do something, I'm always present.

Funny how when the nice weather rolls in and HE gets busy with HIS Home Business of Excavation/Hauling. He doesn't seem to see the problem with spending every second of his waking day working both his day job AND running his own business-never being home, not here for dinner, always on the phone, giving quotes, taking jobs...run-run-run!

HUH!!!

Hmmm.....Wonder what he would tell ME if I suggested HE instate
"Actual Hours of Business Operation"??

ahhh--- a new day!

I LOVE this picture I took from my back yard last year. I actually sold a print of it out of my TheWoodyNook shop!
We have a little patch of woods there and this tree always seems so 'magical' to me with all the ivy growing up the trunk.....

I can't wait for all the rainy, yucky days to be over. And we've had some crazy lookin weather lately! I took this one from my back deck just a few days ago. Scarey how dark it was under the clouds, but yet how blue the sky was above them...what is this world coming to? LOL
Mother Nature has to be very stressed trying to keep a balance to everything ;-)I like THESE kind of days much better....Mother Nature was on top of her game this day LOL

And here's a little discovery hubby and I made the other day. We'd cleaned out a closet and removed one of the little shelving units we had in there. Not really knowing what to do with it at the time, we just popped it outside on the deck and well..kinda forgot about it actually!
No worries...somebody found a use for it.
Take a gander at our "Fine Feather High Rise" LOL
Wonder what would be acceptable to ask for rent?
This one has some squatters!! LOL