Complaining from Kansas

Oh what a joy it is to spend time with the in-laws! {wink, wink} My sister/brother-in-law aren't too bad to hang around & they have so graciously opened their home to us so we don't all have to crowd into the MIL's (mother-in-law) house w/one bathroom for 8 people! And the older cousins are fabulous with Maggie!

But, when it comes to spending days with my MIL I could just shoot myself in the foot in order to get away from her constant negativity! She could find the downside to any situation or thing! Like today, she was glancing through the photos on a wall calendar. The image she stopped on was a sunset over the desert in Africa & a single elephant in the foreground. Instead of the typical, "wow, what a beautiful shot!" she said, "Now isn't that sad? That poor animal out there all alone!" HUH??!!! And there is absolutely no reasoning with her on things! She just gets more defensive & then accuses you of attacking her! She was grumbling over something that happened between her & her caregiver (Edie - who is a saint to put up with all the BS, but a little odd in her own right!) & when Nick tried to find out what was bothering her, she bit his head off & accused him of criticizing everything she (MIL) does! She's nuts!

I am hoping to get out for a little bit tomorrow & the next day to wander through some thrift shops & the local scrapbook store. I need to find some fun little trinket for my mom & sister to make me feel less guilty for what they are going through right now as I write all this!!

On the Home Front (Scrap-a-Teeny Girls)
They are busy pulling our merchandise out & moving the furniture we lugged in to close our little shop at The Barn by the 1st. We went in so excited to be there; to start a new community of paper-crafters in the area, teach & carry unusual items. But we just weren't getting the kind of traffic, support or interest we wanted. We found ourselves scrambling every week; working our tails off to get more stuff into the shop, that we weren't even enjoying it. We found that we were spending money on things that had nothing to do with scrapbooking - like furniture & decor nic-nacks just to make rent each month. We were promised by the manager that she would help promote us & our classes, but when I asked the advertising person to send out an email to the client list, it wouldn't get done. We know that if we could have afforded to stick it out longer, we would have gained a little more of a following through word of mouth & such, it was just too time consuming on the things we didn't want (furniture, working the front register, etc.) & too expensive to keep going in that venue. So, after the first we will re-group. We will take some photos; put together more kits & organize some classes (not sure where we will teach them yet!) & get our "store" filled up on Etsy.

I am looking forward to re-grouping at home too. I consider myself a pretty good multi-tasker, but with all the business stuff, I was really feeling overwhelmed! Now that we don't have to scramble to find the odd thing to fill the shop & can focus on kits, books & such, I should be able to get a better handle on things again! And because I have been so busy trying to make this business thing work, I have had to drop EVERYTHING else - including some friendships that have been pushed aside. (I know I've been just as guilty of not checking in with people over the last few months, but I believe that I am not the only one that has a phone or email address these days!! Huh, sometimes you learn the hard way who really supports you & who doesn't in your endeavors. Sorry to bitch, but I am tired of feeling guilty for being busy & working hard on a dream!!)

Whew! Sorry! Went off on a tangent there! I need to get off of here for a little bit or this entire post will turn into more of a bitch-fest!

Catch-ya later (probably still in Kansas)!