Shiny, Shiny, Shiny...or, My ADHD Predicament

Okay, I know y'all have been thinking it, so I'm just gonna come right out and say it.

I have a wee touch of ADHD when it comes to knowing just which direction I want to take my business.

And I say business like it's the only thing on my plate, my main source of income and livelihood.
Au contraire...

Oh no, I have a real-life, full-time gig as a respiratory therapist, a job which I've had for a coon's age and pretty much can't imagine ever working anywhere else. I think I'm good at what I do, I love the people I work with, and the patients make it all worthwhile.

But then there's all this other stuff.

You know, the stuff I started prattling on (and on and on and ON) about when I started up this here blog back in August '09.

There's my antique mall booth.

There was (briefly) my forays into furniture refinishing.

There's my writing aspirations.

There's my Etsy Shop.

There's my photography aspirations.

There's selling in Warrenton as a dealer.

There's the mixed-media, collage stuff.

Have I left anything out?

In the past 6 months, you've seen me ping from one thing to the next, like a seriously distracted 3 year old cut loose in Toys-R-Us. Or, as my husband likes to call it, my "Shiny, Shiny, Shiny" moments.

 

My lovely husband and me on our honeymoon in '07. Notice how I'm way too cool to wear the requisite, life-saving, fanny pack apparatus. At least for photo-op's, anyway.  ;-)

You know, you'll be walking along, talking about something else, when all of sudden something totally unrelated catches your eye...."Ooooo, shiny, pretty! Oh...what were you saying?"

Or as Deb calls it, SQUIRREL!!!

Man, she sure has ME figured out!!!

I mean, just look at all the permutations my logo, my brand, my whatever has gone through as I search for an identity. Something about blind pigs and truffles comes to mind. Sorry, inside joke.

So where am I headed?

Right now? The bathroom, but I'm speaking on a larger scale.

Better to do one thing well than a dozen half-ass, right?

Bigger question: Where does my heart lie?

Right now, I'm thisssss close to heeding the advice of a most wise FRIEND and giving up the booth in favor of focusing on my Etsy Shop and doing shows like Canton and Warrenton, albeit locally.

I love the antique mall folk, but honestly, it's a glorified storage space for the amount of money I'm making there. Etsy on the other hand, has proven itself to be both creatively and financially rewarding.

( Vintage Perpetual Calendar, available via my Etsy Shop )

So, no-brainer, right?

Still, I hold out hope that I'll have a boffo sales month at the booth, that I'll land that first floor space, that I'll win the lottery.....

Am I the only one who's unfocused and undecided about the direction they want to take?

Sure feels like it sometimes.

Sorry that this post doesn't end on a resolved note. I vowed to be nothing if not honest with y'all about who I am and what I'm going through in my life when I started this blog, so I'm just keeping true to my promise.

Time will likely answer all these questions for me.

I'm thinking that come Spring, I will have de-cluttered my mind a bit, and my focus and energies will be directed more narrowly.

But until then.....

Thank y'all for bearing with me and all my shiny-ness.

XOXO

Want Goose Bumps?

 Just listen to THIS...

From the recently televised Hope for Haiti Telethon.

To my mind, NOTHING beats the late Jeff Buckley's version, which I've posted below, but JT's sure does come close.

This is far and away my favorite song ever, mostly for the hauntingly sublime lyrics.

Well I heard there was a secret chord 
That David played and it pleased the Lord 
But you don't really care for music do you

Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth 
The minor fall and the major lift 
The baffled king composing hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof 
You saw her bathing on the roof 
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you 

And she tied you to her kitchen chair 
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair 
And from your lips you drew the hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

Well baby I've been here before 
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
You know I used to live alone before I knew you

And I've seen your flag on the marble arch 
And love is not a victory march 
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

Well there was a time when you let me know 
What's really going on below 
But now you never show that to me do you

But remember when I moved in you 
And the Holy Dove was moving too 
And every breath we drew was hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

Maybe there is a God above 
But all I've ever learned from love 
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you 

And it's not a cry that you hear at night 
It's not somebody who's seen the light 
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah 
Hallelujah

( Leonard Cohen) 

To find out how you can help, click HERE.

A Silver Valentine...

 I almost titled this posted "Silver Sunday Apologies", as what I had originally planned didn't pan out, due mostly to having a setback health-wise.

Yep, I started feeling crummier and crummier as the day progressed, until even the mere thought of staging and photographing and editing my silver was making my head explode.

Luckily, I'm off work until next Thursday, so God willing, I'll be back up to snuff by then. If you don't see or hear as much from me in the meantime, now you'll know why.

One more thing before I bid y'all adieu....

Many thanks to the wonderful Donna at Brynwood Needleworks for the truly kind words of praise and encouragement as she passed along the "Knock Your Socks Off" Award on to me.

I'm sorry if I got the title of that award wrong, it's fun getting punchy on sinus medicine, lemme tell ya.

Donna is a genuinely lovely person, and I think everyone needs to head right on over to her blog and reaffirm what I just said. Show her some bloggy love!

After you've said howdy to Donna, make haste over to Beth at

Gypsy Fish Journal

for links to ALL the Silver Sunday participants!

Say Hello To.....

MY BRAND NEW TOY!!!

Courtesy of HSN, aka Home Shopping Network,

it was last week's

TODAY'S SPECIAL VALUE.

Now THIS WEEK, it's sittin' on my desk!

Makes being stuck sick at home for the umpteenth consecutive day a bit more bearable! 

Check out the spec's....

A cinematic 17.3" high-def widescreen LED backlit display

Windows 7 Home Premium

AMD dual-core processing

ATI Radeon HD graphics

Dolby Surround Sound and extras to keep you productive, you will be able to do things quicker and enjoy more of your entertainment wherever you are.

• AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor QL-65
  Offers 2.1GHz speed, a 667MHz Front side bus, and 1MB L2 cache 
  
• 4GB of DDR2 Dual Channel Memory @667MHz
  Handles multimedia and multitasking
• 320GB SATA hard drive, rated at 5400rpm speed
  Stores up to 90,000 photos, or up to 79,000 songs, or up to 38 hours of HD video
• SuperMulti Double-Layer DVD burner
  Plays and creates CDs and DVDs in a variety of different formats
• 17.3" HD Widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit Display
  1600x900 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
  ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics with up to 1919MB of HyperMemory supporting Shader Model 4.0, Microsoft DirectX 10.0. HDMI video allows you to connect to an HD TV.
• Wireless WiFI & Wired Gigabit Ethernet port
  Connects to a broadband modem (cable or DSL) or a network supporting 10/100/1000Mbps.
  802.11 b/g & N wireless LAN, connects wirelessly to a network, hotpost or broadband router.
  
  Additional Features
  
  
• 56k Modem for Dial up connections
• Integrated Webcam for video chat with family or friends
• HDMI HD Video Out to connect to a HD TV
• Dolby Optimized Surround Sound System with 2 built-in Speakers and SPDIF out
• Multi-in-1 memory card reader to download your files from your digital camera
• Dedicated Numeric Keypad with fullsize keyboard
• Multi-Gesture Touchpad for scrolling, zooming and page flips
• 4 USB 2.0 ports, Headphone and microphone ports, VGA-out ports
• 6 Cell battery for an average of 2.5 hours of battery life
• 7.1Lbs system weight.
  
  Software
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edition. To learn more about the features of Windows 7, 
• Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 60 Day Trail Edition.
• Microsoft Works 9
• McAfee Internet Security Suite 2009 Trial Edition
• NTI Media Maker
• Norton Online Backup
• Acer Backup Manager, Crystal Eye, eRocvery Management, GridVista, & Launch Manager
• Adobe Flash player & Reader

I've been needing a laptop for FOREVER, so this one will fit the bill quite nicely. It was a great price, and it'll finally free up the main computer so that my poor husband can have his turn at it more than once a week, poor man!  ;-)

I also needed something to take with me to Warrenton for Antiques Week, so if you happen to be there shopping or selling, come on over to Bar W Field and say hi to both of us!

Happy Friday!

The Origins of Peculiarity

I've always been a little "off".

Those who know me best will attest to this fact, and for those who do not, well....strap yourself in, the funhouse ride is about to start!

Is weirdness learned behavior? Is it by nature or nurture, or a combination of both?

Whatever the answer, I am in possession of more than my fair share of idiosyncratic behavior, some of which dates back to my childhood.

That's me and my mom.

We both look normal enough, but those are the ones you gotta watch out for, everybody knows that.

Ever since I was a tiny little thing, I've had to raise my feet up every time I go over railroad tracks. I'm not sure why, but I'm fairly certain that some heinous tragedy will befall me if I do not.

Same for those Emergency Broadcasting System tests. As soon as they announce it, I have to run to the nearest bed, chair or sofa and make sure my feet aren't touching the ground until the test is over. I'm fairly sure I've saved y'all from a national nuclear catastrophe more than once with this particular move.

Awwwww, ain't I cute?

You'd never suspect what oddness lies just beneath the surface!

Here's another.

Somewhere along the way during my childhood, it became a matter of grave importance that the phrase

"Hot diggity dog" MUST be followed by the words"it's a junkyard."

Hey, waaaaaait a minute....that one's not so crazy after all! ;-)

Definitely prophetic, wouldn't ya agree?

Oh, yeah. That's me. Sad to say.

I'm not sure what's more pathetic, my ensemble or my rockin' curly hairstyle.

You're probably asking yourself, just how does one attain such perfect ringlets?
Look closer, I'm wearing pink, spongy curlers. The SHAME!

Not enough for ya? Behold, child abuse in action....

Not sure if you can make it all out clearly, but that's me.

Wielding a sword.

In curlers.

And a hair net.

Out in public!

And all documented for posterity by my clearly sadistic mother.

And she looked so sweet in that first picture, didn't she?

My weirdness extends to my pets.

Havok

Belle

Winnie

I've always given my animals middle names, as well as the baker's dozen assortment of quirky nicknames, too.

Let's just do the middle names today, shall we?

Winnie came to us as a Winnie. She already had her name, as she was a shelter kitty.

For some reason, she promptly became Winnie Bagel, I'm guessing because it sounds so much like Winnebago. Not so weird.

Then there's Belle.

My husband already had Belle when we met, but she too came with the name.

Very princess-y, and seriously devoid of personality.

I'm a big fan of Indian food, and there's a great South Indian dish known as Bhel Puri.

So, no brainer! She will henceforth and always carry Puri as her middle name!

And lastly, we have Havok.

Whenever I call the dogs, because we live on over 4 acres, I tend to summon them as a unit...

"Havok and Belle! Come, Havok and Belle!"

Ooooo, you guys are gettin' good, you already guessed it!

Havok's middle name is "AndBelle"!

And yes, my husband does look at me with the same bemused sense of "whaaaaa?" you guys have plastered across your faces this very moment.

I've got enough weird to fill another post or three, so don't worry, I'll follow this one up with some of the better stuff in the days ahead. This was just a whet-your-appetite sorta deal here.

In the meantime, what's your particular brand of weird?

I, for one, would LOVE to know! ;-)

Recent Finds and Acquisitions

It's been a good while since I've posted a collection of my recent treasure hunting finds, so since I'm pretty sure you're sick of my recent forays into Photoshopping, here's some pretties to feast your eyes upon!

Would ya believe me if I told you that I got this at Tuesday Morning?

I know, isn't that just lovely?

I normally only go to Tuesday Morning for craft supplies, but while venturing down the home decor aisle, this beauty stopped me in my tracks. If you haven't given Tuesday Morn a look lately, you might wanna look again.

Elsewhere, in my Etsy Shop, here's some of what's currently for sale, what's recently sold, and what's coming soon...

Rock-a-Bye Baby Vintage Doll Stroller

SOLD!

The Object of His Affection Vintage Tole Tray

 

Luminous Candelabra

SOLD!

Glam Vintage Candelabra

SOLD!

"Protected" Figurine

 

This Little Piggy Went to Market Coin Purse

SOLD! 

(to a notorious, hog-wild fellow blogger, no less!)

  

Chunky Vintage Gold Frame

And coming soon to my Etsy...

SOLD!

 

Vintage Silver Name Cups

Madonna and Child Vintage Print
( STYLE TIP: absolutely perfect for the Jeanne d'Arc look! )
SOLD!
(Thank you, Kathleen!) 

 

And from the "mine-all-mine" files, a couple of recent Etsy purchases...

Vintage Paris Business Card Holder, purchased from my friend Troy and the good folks at Junk Exchange.

And then there's this. Y'all are gonna be kicking yourselves that you missed this.

Vintage Clipboard with Calendar, stolen from Michelle at Vintage Junky.

Here's a tip for ya....if you go to someone's blog, love their style, love their junk, nose around a bit...chances are, they either have an Etsy shop or an online store where you can purchase a little piece of their style for your very own. Which is how I scored the last two killer objects!

The only other Etsy news I have to report is that I'm still mulling over selling my photographic art prints in the near future. I've had lots of positive feedback, and for that I thank you all. It'll happen, I'm just not sure when.

And for all those who have sent me get well wishes, thank you! I'm still dragging, but expected to live. ;-)

Until next time....

oink, oink...


Be sure to visit Cindy at
My Romantic Home
for
Show and Tell Friday !

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 "Behind the Veil"

2010 Fiona & Twig

Be sure to visit Kathleen at  

Faded Charm

where every Wednesday is 

White Wednesday