My Blog is a mess

So here a I am, back at blogging and my blog is a mess! I re-did layout and background but there are these silly little things on my blog that I don't know how to get off. You know what I'm talking about, that cutest blog logo and the photobucket thing. I don't use the cutest blog anymore and I have no idea how the photobucket got on there.

If you know how I can get these off, can you please let me know.

Thanks. :)

In other news, the moving and packing is going great. I'm about 98% done and waiting to pick my husband up from the airport. Tomorrow we are getting the U-Haul and loading it, getting rid of the couches and furniture we don't need and then bright and early Friday morning, OKLAHOMA bound! Still my only worry about this trip is how the cats will do. I hope the Benedryl works well enough that they fall asleep and I can get Suki in the car. Sammy won't be a problem getting in the car but he will cry. He doesn't like car rides and this is a long one.

The house right now isn't even that messy, its a little messy but it will get clean and there really isn't a whole lot to do.

Ok, time to go pick Bob up. Talk to you all soon.

Long Sabatical and Now I Am Back

Ok, it has been awhile, I admit. But I have had a lot going on and have just decided to wait in the wings. So here I am. Big announcement. I am moving! And starting a business.

More on the business later, I am overwhelmed with this whole moving thing. You never know how much stuff you have until you have to pack it up and move it.

I can safely say I am about 90 to 95% percent packed. I am going to pack the rest of my kitchen today and my closet. So after today, I can no longer cook in my kitchen and I will have 2 outfits. Plus Cleaning. I need to clean, even though my property manager is bringing in a professional crew after I leave, I guess I am kind of that person that cleans before the cleaning lady comes. Plus, my microwave is a mess. Something exploded in there and I'm not sure what. I guess its time to get out the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I love those things!

With all this packing, we are not moving everything. I have 2 couches I need to get rid of. My cats have used them as scratching posts and they are destroyed. Well, if you are into re-apholstering, they would be great, other than that..... I know of a big Goodwill warehouse by my house but I need to get some help getting them there. A pick-up and a strong guy or 2 would be perfect.

And of course, not to put to much pressure on me, but I really need to get this stuff done by tomorrow. Which I'm pretty confident it will happen. Without any missed sleep or missed TV time this evening.

Ok, yes, with moving to Oklahoma, I am beginning a new life, a new job, being with my husband and yes, I am very much looking forward to it. I will find a job, but I am also starting my business, finally. I don't want to reveal to much, but there will be a blog devoted to just that, as well as a twitter and facebook page. I am getting a logo and when I get to OK, I will go to the local SBA office and get some help financing and starting it. Yes, I am very excited!

It's Been Awhile

It has been awhile, sorry to all my loyal readers. But I have been so busy working on something BIG, really BIG that I will let you all in on as soon as the time is right. In the meantime, in an effort to keep my blog current, here is what I have been up to. In February, my husband left Las Vegas for Gulfport, MS with the Navy. He is a construction manager working on Navy bases in Europe and Africa. I am currently sitting on his couch in the GPT on my 3rd visit down here. I came down for the 4th of July holiday weekend and am loving it. I love this place, He lives across the street from the beach and I love just sitting on his patio staring at the water. (pictures to come soon).

I love the small town feel of this place and how green it is. Everyone is so friendly and I love how this is a beach town but its not all pretentious, expensive and crowded.

On previous trips here my husband and I have mostly enjoyed just sitting on the couch and watching movies and tv. Me usually reading or knitting. Other times, Bob and I, huge fans of the TV show's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and "Man Vs. Food" like to scope out the area places featured on those shows. Some excellent ones in the GPT are the Blow Fly Inn in Gulfport and Darwell's in Long Beach. So good, excellent hush puppies and tri-tip respectfully. Another joint Bob took me to just the other night was Tarantino's in Woolmarket. Just a hole in the wall dive that Guy Fierei or Adam Richmond have yet to discover but their fried pickles, buffalo shrimp and Po-Boys are out of this world. I recommend anyone take the treck out there. Ok, I must be hungry because I am going on and on about food. I'm also crazy about the Waffle House and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Twice when I have been down here, Bob and I have made the 90 mile trek to New Orleans, a place Bob says he can only take in small doses. I like it. Its fun and I have yet to see it all. On our last trip down there, just this Saturday, I tricked Bob and lead him to a yarn store. The Quarter Stitch on Chartes St. in the French Quarter, right next to Jefferson Square. Such a neat little store. Yarn, yarn and more yarn. I got my fix, Bob just laughed at my trickery. We also hit up our little artists co-op. A little store by the French Market by the river. Every city my husband and I go to we have to buy art. On this trip, we bought a photo of a street car. And of course, no trip to NO would be complete without my totally tacky tourist move of imbibing in a Hurricane. I totally had to have one. Plus it was so hot, a nice icy cold beverage was just the ticket. Until the half bottle of rum in the drink hit. Wow! Dem' hurricanes are good. I'm such a light weight, I drank half and slept on the way home.

In other news, I must say, I had my best 4th of July last night, Bob and I walked down to the beach in Gulfport and watched the fireworks, both those put on by the casino down the beach and two very close firework shows put on by locals who picked up some very good fireworks and were setting them off about 20 feet from us. A great show, great weather and wonderful company.

I will try to keep writing so stay tuned.

Withdrawls

I'm going through withdrawals. My Blackberry says "JVM Error 102" So now I need to download the Blackberry software on my ROOMMATES computer, because my operating system is too out of date for my brand new Blackberry. So here I am, with my How to fix your Blackberry instructions on my computer and the software and my computer hooked up Joe's computer and a glass of wine in between. Now the software says, " Connecting to device (This task might take up to 30 minutes to complete). It's 8:40.....I don't even know what I am doing, am I actually fixing my phone or downloading more crap onto it, WTF? What happened to hitting the reset button or taking the battery out and putting it back in. Now I have to de-frag my phone?!? Because there is a .cop error. Grrr. Why do phones had dot anything errors?

Next Phase

As you may have noticed, I have changed the name of my Blog from "Mary Kay Adventures" to "My Adventure". As I explained earlier, this is because my life is more about Mary Kay and I want to tell you about it. Also, in discussing with my husband the other night, he so bluntly stated, "Don't you think the train has left the station." And yeah, I think he is right, I think the train has left the station. My Mary Kay business is over. It sucks because as you know, I am currently working on starting a business and if I quit Mary Kay, and/or can't be successful with Mary Kay, what do you think that says about this new business that I am starting? Will that endure the same fate? I hope not! Of course, I can make excuses all day long on why my new business is different than Mary Kay and that it will work and will be successful but at the end of the day its business, and that's the gamble you take when you start a business, whether it be Mary Kay or any other business. It's business.

So why am I quitting Mary Kay you ask? Because its not successful. I've given it a year, over a year and nothing. Yes I have had customers and mad a little bit of money but realistically, I have put more money into this business than I have gotten out of it. I have put my own money into this business and not seen a return. Despite my efforts. So to keep up with Mary Kay at this point would be a bad business decision, not to mention a bad personal financial decision. Especially when I am trying to improve my finances and get out of Credit Card and Student Loan debt. So So Long Mary Kay, (maybe later, or not. Maybe I'll just find a Mary Kay lady because I really do like the products). And on to other adventures in my life. Including my new business. I have a timeline all made up of deadlines for a business plan, financial plan and marketing plan. I have a fabulous web/graphic designer who is stoked to help me and i am EXCITED!!!

On a personal level. In December I turned 28, YIKES!!! 2 more years till 30! A friend of mine is 29 and is currently doing 29 new things on her journey to 30. So I am thinking about doing the same thing. I already have a few ideas, including: Getting a Tattoo, learning how to paint in watercolors and oils, taking a sushi class, a wine tasting class and learning how to snow board. Any other suggestions would be welcome. What has anybody else done that was awesome?! I don't think I want to bungee jump or sky dive. So give me something interesting.

Anyway, when I turn 29 I will post the list and let you know of my progress.

Its just ART!!!

Last night I took my husband to First Friday, the monthly art "fair" downtown. I'm sure every city has one. All the galleries in the Arts District downtown open their doors on the First Friday of every month and all sorts of people come. In fact, that is one of the selling points for my husband to go. All the crazy people watching. Unfortunately, the rain last night kept most of the people away, all except for the angry emo teenagers and hippies selling their wares. And the artists and gallery owners of course. However, there were the die hard art goers, the ones who really annoyed me and reminded me of why I don't really go to First Friday that often, despite my love of art.

It's just art for crying out loud! It's not pretentious, you don't have to be in a certain tax bracket or a certain level or field of education or understanding or even background to understand and appreciate art. You just have to be YOU. Seriously, there were people there who were seriously "high brow" posers, acting like because they had a plastic cup of "Two Buck Chuck" wine and were standing near a painting they were cool. Really?! Maybe it's because I actually did study Art that I feel that art is not pretentious, it just is? But I think I may have been the only one in my class who felt that way.

But seriously people, its just art. Cave paintings are one of the earliest forms of art that we have, art is one of the earliest forms of communication, paintings today are simply an interpretation of what the artist sees, much like what the cave painter saw. This blog is art, I am telling you what I see. I'm not above you the reader, you the reader are not above anyone else just because you are reading my blog. Some of you will like what I am saying and/or understand it, some of you will not. And that's OK. If I were a painter, it would be the same, some people looking at my paintings will like and/or understand what I am conveying through my painting, some will not. But those who like/understand my paintings are not above the person who does not. That's just what they see. Or say I paint a big blob. The person who sees a butterfly is no better than the person who sees a blob. That just what each individual person sees. However, on the flip side, if I paint a butterfly and someone sees a blog, either they need to get their eyes checks or I need to go back to art school.

Anyway, that's my rant, Art is not a pretentious thing and those who look or make it are no better than the novice who just comes to check out the galleries and the people watching.


On a business note, I am getting organized. I read a little more today, took notes and organized my notebook. After I post this, I am going to plug my computer in and do some more market research. I even did a little market research today. I ordered some things off of my competition today, one because the product was on sale and looked fun and neat. Two, its research, I want to see how they do business, from when I click on the site to after I get my order. As an adamant e-shopper and very involved in the activity in which I am perusing, I have been a member of their mailing list for awhile, which is how I knew about their sale. And of course, how did I hear about this website? Word of mouth through a group of this related activity. See, that is the market research I am conducting, from word of mouth and advertising, to mailing lists, to sales to ordering and my satisfaction of the product and process of receiving that product to after I have ordered, how much will I hear from that website to my likelihood of purchasing from them again.

OK, battery is getting low, time to do my research and find out what time my Pi-Yo (Pilate's/yoga) class is tomorrow.

The Adventure Continues.....

The fear and rationality set in. Oh yeah, of course I still want to start my business. This is my dream. I have always wanted my own business. The little Entrepreneur in me is just waiting to get out and have fun.

I am still in the research stage of my business with my launching date in 1 year. FEBRUARY 1st, 2011 will be the date.

So yes, I am researching, I have a ton of books, and am looking into ordering more. So far all my books are on the topic of starting a Brick and Mortar business, which is fine, because I will have a Brick and Mortar store one day, but I am starting out online, an online business is a completely different animal. Different rules, different stuff, so now I need to find some books on starting an online business, an ECommerce business. Not just a Yahoo business, or an Ebay business, but a www._________.com business.

And now the fear has sunk in, the excitement is still there but now I am thinking, OK, How do I promote this? How do I bring customers, keep customers coming back and get new customers? How do I get the Buzz out? What will my website look like, including down to the details. What about logistics likes shipping, inventory control, etc etc....

Yikes, I hope at least some of these answers are in all those books I am buying, and websites I visit. However the scariest part is, some of these answers I'm going to have to find out on my own, the hard way.

Oh well, wish me luck, and any advise would be awesome!