Changes and Etsy Help

Ok... sorry... It has been awhile since I posted. There is a change in the what I put on this blog and started a new blog. I love reading. So I decided to create "Jeanna's Bookshelf" at http://jeannasbookshelf.blogspot.com/ for all my book reads and reviews. And yes, I have a few reviews. One was for "The Chocolate Diaries" (excellent book) and then I also read and reviewed "Between Friends" another EXCELLENT book. So please go check out my other blog and feel free to follow that one too! :)

Ahhh on to Etsy. I have a few few items on Etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com/shop/morgan1875?ref=si_shop) but sadly they are not selling. :( So off I went to get a little Etsy help with my cousin. We got some great tips and great inspiration from a successful Etsy seller Lana's Little Darlin's (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lanaslittledarlins). She has some of the cutest items for baby, toddlers, and kids. The best advise was to keep at it and blog blog blog. Does anyone else have great tips for Etsy? It was suggested that there be a giveaway on my blog. I just might try that. Also sales were good. And heck, who doesn't like a sale!!

I did drop off all my business cards with a deal on them and a raffle item to the Pleasanton Mother's Club for their Mother's day brunch. That goes to 200 people so I am hoping something good comes out of that!! Crossing my fingers. I also am looking into being at the San Ramon Farmers Market. I just need to finalize a few things to get the ball rolling. 

Etsy friends, if you can help out with suggestions I would appreciate it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am off to finally finish my nieces blanket. I swear I will finish...

"Between Friends"

So as I have posted previously that I found a book blog hop that I am enjoying. Crazy-for-books.com So if you are a reader, it is a fun site participate in. The question for the friday blog hop... "Pick a character from a book you are currently reading or have just finished and tell us about him/her?" I am curretnly reading "Between Friends" by Debbe Macomber. It is an exciting read that I find hard to put down, even at 2am! The character I like the most is Lesley, a mother of four kids, going through hard times, with a husband that is a loser, and yet she strives to try to be the best for her kids. I certainly don't compare myself to her. I have only one child, fortunate enough to be able to be a stay at home mom, with a husband who works hard. But I do strive to be the best for my daughter. The book in its self is a great book, taking you through vietnam war, womens movement, and other historical events. It is comprised of nothing but letters and journal entries. I am over half way done and I can't wait to get to the end to see what happens.

Have a great day everyone.

My new bog hop... via Crazy-for-books.com

Being such an avid reader along with everything else on my plate, this is such a good find. Crazy-for-books.com has a book blog hop. What a fantastic way to meet and see what others are reading. I am always in the hunt for a good book. I was just poking around on the net and googling books and blogging for books, etc., and up popped raves about Crazy-for-books.com. So I am excited to experience this new blog and hopefully get some good reads out of it. So I am off to do some hopping. IF you are from that blog hop and ventured over to my site, below are some books that I have reviewed and posted that I am currently reading. Sadly I read several books at once. But I do finish them.

Take care.

Currently reading.... Between Friends by Debbie Macomber. So far it is a great book. I am half way through and I started Monday of this week.

When do I get to slow down???

I feel like I am on a fast forward track through the weeks. My weeks are blending together. And who said being a stay at home mom was easier? Ok so far today... to start out... It is 2:13PM in and I am just now sitting down to have a cup of coffee! Re-heated no less. No breakfast and no lunch. And the sad part is I realize I have only one kid. So I commend all you moms out there that have more than one! I am sure there are alot of moms out there that can feel the pain. This is just a "dump of my brain" in hopes to tell myself to slow down a bit! It is becoming clear that I am running out of time in my days. Between being a mom and a wife, I am the secretary for the MOMS Club, playgroup coordinator for a 2's playgroup, and working hard at starting my business (http://www.jeannasadorra.com/).

My days are so jammed packed with things to do that the only way I can get a good book in is to READ while on the Elliptical at the gym! And that is only two days a week that I am on the elliptical. I also do a UJam class and a Zumba class. I think it would be pretty hard to read and dance around. Plus I am a huge reader! love love love reading. And when my daughter naps (thank goodness for that!) I can't seem to rest either. I have 100 things running through my mind about what I need to do during that time that I don't have to work around her and get things done.

We are also throwing a Easter party for the family at the house this weekend including a egg hunt. My husband has these lovely ideas to have these parties and then zooms off to work leaving me to tell the families, coordinate the food, get the eggs and stuff the eggs to hunt for, clean the house, prepare the backyard, plus keep up the dirty laundry, prepare lunch and dinner every night, and care for our daughter.

Ugh thanks everyone... :-) feeling better now. I hope that this will self help me to slow down a bit. On to other things...

I wanted to give you all a update on the blanket I am making my niece (2mo old). It is in the final stages. I get to give it to her Thursday. This first picture is of the squares themselves.

Then I added a variegated border so that I can sew them all together and crochet around the full size of the blanket.

My grandmother and my mom taught me how to crochet. I must say, it is very soothing to the mind to spend an hour or so.

And last, I wanted to share these backyard friends with all of you. They bring my daughter joy every morning. She sits and watches them feed all the time. And anyone out there ever seen a black squirrel? I must say that one is the cutest. And I think the brown squirrel is a little prego! Yay babies....



New Items and a New Camera

So as I have been saying I was needing to work on a donation gift for one of the moms clubs here in the Tri Valley area. I am so excited. I created a cute little version of the sock rose bouquet I sell on my site (www.jeannasadorra.com).

This is the New mini version

This is the bigger version

I think they are the cutest. I posted it on the etsy store and I will be posting it all over trying to sell the small ones also. I am hoping they will sell. This is all so new to me... Yikes. Am I doing it right??? Will it sell??? Will people like it???

Oh and speaking of crafty projects... I have completed all the squares for the crochet blanket that I am making for my niece. Now I am starting to add a variegated border so that I can sew it all together. I am also anxious to start making a new blanket like the one I made with the moon and stars. But that is a bigger project.

On another wonderful note. I bought a new camera and I am loving it. It takes such great pictures. So crystal clear and clean. It is sad to know that I was using a new camera and that was not doing the job. I ended up taking back my Olympus and buying a Nikon P100. I am in heaven!! Here are some pictures I took today while taking my daughter for a bike ride around the block.



So I am completely excited to start taking more pictures and posting them. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and talk to you all next week.

Gardnening and Other Goodies

Happy Monday everyone!!

Well we have had a busy morning this lovely Monday. Although my daughter woke with what I believe will be a full blown out cold, (sniffle sniffle sneeze sneeze), she was so excited to go dig in the dirt and plant out vegetables and herbs. After a few errands, we came home and got to work. She was so excited to get her dirt on! She dug her little holes and filled pots and watered her plants. We successfully planted four tomato plants, two cilantro plants, one basil plant, two zucchini plants, and two squash plants. We turned the ground and are ready to plant more. But her "happy" mood soon faded and so did her coughing and sniffles and we came in for lunch and a nap. She was so good and had a great time planting. What I love the best is we gave her a little squirt bottle that she goes around and "waters" her plants with. It was a great morning.

So as you know I posted that I was going to read "The Weird Sisters", by Eleanor Brown. I can tell you that I finished it. It was a decent book. It covered breast cancer, pregnancy, stealing, love, relationships, sisterhood, and finding individual ways. It was a good read and I would recommend it. Although for some reason I thought the author started too many "story" lines and then just summed them up in the end. It was a little frustrating to me. But again, I liked the book. I don't want to say too too much for fear that I will spoil it for others.

Now my next book, and i doubt that i will finish as quickly as this last book will be "Memoirs of Cleopatra" by Margaret George. It gets excellent ratings and I am so excited to start it. So look for a review in a few weeks or so.



So I am off to finish some things for the business. I am sponsoring a Mother's Day brunch for the Pleasanton Motherhood Club in hopes of spreading the word about the business and get some cash flow in. And I am anxious to finish up the blanket for my niece and start on a new project for etsy. So off I go. Talk to everyone soon.

My favorite comment from my daughter... "mommy where we going??" my reply - "we are going somewhere." her reply "mommy we go crazy??? Yay!!!!" Oops apparantly I tell her I'm going crazy too often. :)

Busy times and nice weather!

It has been a busy few days. I have been scrabbling around putting things into order. Trying to boost the business. But at the same time trying to balance time with Mallory and with out moms club. But it is a process whether it be slow or not... I did have dinner last night with some very good friends of mine who were great motivators. They encouraged me to keep going, that it is not an overnight success, and more ideas for me to look into. Ahhh the opportunities that are there... just where to start.

As far as blogging... I have joined Mom Bloggers Club.(http://www.mombloggersclub.com/) where it has been great exposure to tons of friendly people trying to accomplish the same thing as me. Meeting new mom bloggers and maybe promoting our businesses at the same time. So a quick shout out to those who have started following me from MBC!

The crochet blanket is still not finished. I have seemed to have lost some time in my day... thank you blogging and blog hopping. :/ But I am anxiously wanting to finish. I wanted to post a picture of a blanket I did for my cousin's daughter. I loved doing this blanket and I am thinking of maybe making a similar one and seeing about posting it on etsy? It is just hard to find the time. Eh who needs sleep anyway, right?

Love ya Hot Potato!!!

Oh and like I have any more time on my hands... I am a avid reader. I love reading. I can read while walking on the treadmill or watching TV. It is very relaxing to me also. I started reading a new book for my book club... "The Weird Sisters" by Eleanor Brown. So far it is really good. Ill let ya know how it turns out.



Well I hope everyone has a great weekend. Love the blogging so far... :)