A New Life

I would never have imagined where this year went. We made the move, got settled in, and Hubby started school. Everything looked like it was going well. That was month one.

Now we are into month four. School was a complete disaster. The job we moved for fell through before we had unpacked. We know we are supposed to be here, but so far the best explanation is that we were needed in the church here. But the reasons don't matter, we are here and that is where we start from.

Hubby is working on a new business venture, we're calling it inspiration, but we really must be some kind of crazy. We shall see where that one goes.

So where have I been, making sunclusters, by the thousand. I had hoped to maybe double last years sales. We knew sales started out strong this year. We are well in line to quadrupling last years sales. That's really good, I'm getting pay checks and we can pay some bills. But I've come to the realization that my little business isn't a little business. We're making things just as fast as we can, and it isn't fast enough. Which means now I am looking at training an assistant to help produce more items. Now we have so many sales, that I'm having to rethink how we process orders, because there just isn't the option of spending half a day to enter them into the computer. I'm suddenly running a completely different business.

Needless to say, I love Sundays and am looking forward to a little holiday vacation. I just seem to sleep through every day off for some reason.

Its just amazing the turns that life takes.

Lost into a Blur

I suddenly realize that I disappeared for spring. I did get a lot of production done. Hubby made it through Spring Semester, it was a good fight. He even made it to his internship. And here we are. Its summer, I'm solely self-employed (and way underpaid), Hubby is making money (kind of), and I realize that July will not be my friend. So, with no money (nothing new) and no time, we've been presented with an irresistible opportunity. Instead of increasing the student loans from the size of a small mortgage to a large mortgage, we will switch schools, have less loans, and Hubby will gain wonderful work experience. Oh and yes, he really likes his job and is doing quite well. His managers are good and he likes the company. It is wonderful to see him enjoying a place, that is stable, and where people encourage him to think for himself. Its fabulous.

So what does that mean . . . Well, it means that half way through our anticipated time here . . . oh ya . . . that's right . . . we are moving, again. Or technically, I'm moving, 'cause Hubby is already gone. He promises to come back and help with the transport though.

So having made the decision, and settled on a timeline tonight, I AM FREAKING OUT! Suddenly I need to find a way to pay the bills, finish up projects, catch up on production, and pack the entire house all in 30 days. Hubby, well, he has to find us a place to live. What was an option a week ago, is now a sudden and demanding reality. YIKES!

Anybody want to help pack?

The Exorcism of Lucifer

You could say it is how Hubby spent his spring break, three days of extensive auto repair on Lucifer aka The Beast. Though, the mechanic/friend helping him thinks it should now be called Patches. One way or the other, they definitely removed some demons from the vehicle.

We have interior panels on all of the doors, no holes where the air bags are supposed to be, a functioning horn (I know, who removes the horn), windshield washer fluid (completely new system), two side mirrors that you can see out of, and both windows go up and down.

They even took our the old bucket seat and floor pan (welded together they were), put in a new floor pan with supports, and a bench seat. Some day we may want to figure seatbelts, but a least the passengers wont fall through the floor.

Look at that lovely door and sanding job, we still need to paint. We did discover that much of the "cactus coating" or "demon paint" isn't very attached to the vehicle. One of these days I'll take a paint scraper to the coating and see what we get.

They even got the new tailgate on. Now we have a tailgate with a spare tire mount, extra brake light, and all the interior structure that a door should have.

On top of all that he's got a new windshield, more new shocks, and another new power steering pump (this one doesn't seem to leak, novel concept). They even replaced the clutch and adjusted the emergency brake. Oh yes, and the knee bashing/head banging shelf was removed off of the backend. Now we just need some paint, maybe a new engine, and a little more tuning and tweaking.

After all that it is less bouncy, has power steering, and runs quieter. It might become a real vehicle yet. Maybe I should call it Pinocchio now. Hubby says is Frankentracker (not Su(zuki)(Tra)cker, or Sucker).

Adventures in Vacationing

I went from working to playing. This doesn't work well for catching things up at home or with the business, but is has been a fun break. The new website is progressing along slowly and we are having strong March sales, which is wonderful. So we went around town, saw some museums, and checked out a lot of shops. We found Hubby a new favorite shop, flavored Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegar. He was ever so excited, dinner that night was extra tasting due to his excitement.

Today we went for a drive in the surrounding areas. We went out to Sedona. It was pretty, but we saw more tourists than anything else. Traffic was just madness.

We managed to see some old ruins at Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle. The well was pretty cool and we got to learn about some traditional plant uses. Got to love the plant stuff, especially when they are facts that haven't stuck in my head before. We didn't spend much time at the Castle, as they were closing the gate, but the ranger was nice to let us run in, take a picture, and then get out. 

One of the highlights was discovering Jerome. We hadn't heard much about it. We came out of the canyon onto the small city streets and quickly realized that Prescott isn't the only town built in the hills. We decided that driving a car around town is just not the way to do things. Some day we'll have to go back and check out the shops, but it was just a crazy, little, old town. And yes, some of the buildings have fallen off the mountainside. 

So now we are home and tomorrow we return to reality. It isn't much fun. But we did pick up a little Agave friend to keep our other plants company. So, we'll find a way to make it through all the work.

Still Here

Well, the Christmas season was insanely busy. Which was good for the business and not so good for my health and mental well-being. As a result, I will be under-employed again in a week. YAE!!!!! This really can't happen soon enough. I will have to look for some part-time or freelance work. I'm hoping to use some of the connections I've made and actually get a job in drafting or design, make some real money. At any rate, it will be nice to put my life back in balance and devote more time to the business, which needs a little more time and affection. We are once again working on a new website, hoping third time is the charm. Its looking good so far, but there isn't much done yet. Check out the progress at www.jleencrystal.com. For now I'm focusing on making it through the next week, and preparing for visitors.  Play Time!!