The kids are entertaining each other. I'm BORED??!!

My daughters are 3 & 1 now. And entertaining each other more and more as each day comes & goes. And I'm in such a weird place. Enough time on my hands to breathe. Not quite sure how complex my tasks should be at this stage, as I don't know how long my window of freedom will be open. So I have finally become that woman that Ray always jokes me to be: walking around aimlessly & confused. So confused lol

Not all is lost. I'm happy to say that I'm sewing again. Creating again : )  And I've even opened up a new shop on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/vbwoodwork). Barely opened, that is. I have so much spare wood in the garage, it's not even funny. And I can't stand to throw anything away, so hopefully I can make useful things out of all my leftovers and sell them on etsy. That would be grand. Especially since we need the mullah to get out of our lovely home (she will be missed) & move into a bigger place to support my other addiction: making babies. Hahaha If you had asked me about having another kid 6 months ago, I would've slapped you. But like I said, the kids are entertaining each other. And I'm getting baby fever again : (  Yes, I frown because I know that this baby fever is only sparked by my memory loss of the torture of waking up every 2 - 3 hours too feed the bundle of joy. Oh well, I love nothing more than a challenge. That is a certainty.

My girls in IB

Me & Elise

Corrina is crying. My window is almost closed. I will take the time to bitch & moan that I haven't been able to put my new bags online because my digital camera broke, and the one I bought from ebay is not operating - yet. Otherwise I KNOW the new bags I made would be FLYING OFF THE RACKS! lol hahaha I'm just so eager to contribute to this household (financially. We all know that this place would crumble without me! hahaha). Especially since those damn student loan payments are creeping up on me. FYI: Wells Fargo is trying to rape me with the interest rate they're giving me on my loan consolidation. Rat bastards.

Something tells me the kids are in the snack cupboard. Gotta go!



Gordy after knee surger. The cone was worth every penny. She still isn't using that expensive ass knee.

I LOVE ORGANIC COTTON GROWN IN THE USA!

I'm super excited to announce that I FINALLY took the leap and made some bags from U.S. grown ORGANIC cotton! I love all of the bags that I make - they are like my children - but these are so special to me. I love my business because it serves such a great purpose, and now that I'm making bags that are not only organic, but 100% AMERICAN?! Well, I have to give myself a little (okay, BIG) pat on the back.

Using homegrown fabric was always on my backburner. What a pretty thought, right? And I probably woulda dragged ass about it for a much longer time, but a prospective buyer on etsy.com contacted me re: pricing for a custom order of U.S. Organic Canvas bags, and the correspondence might as well have been heaven sent. I dove right in, and got the ball rolling!

Obviosly, U.S. grown fabric is CONSIDERABLY more expensive that imported fabrics. I googled the living crap out of u.s. grown fabric, american organic fabric, u.s. grown organic cotton, u.s. grown organic canvas, etc. My greatest success was googling U.S. grown organic fabric. After doing that, I found www.organic-cotton.com. I'm very happy with the quality of cotton from this supplier. I loved the site, and all of the options. But pricing and shipping kicked my ass a little bit. Oh well. With each U.S. grown organic canvas bag that I've sold, knowing that I've served such great causes is rewarding and priceless!

Pop Quiz Hot Shot: 30 Minutes Left of Alone Time, WHAT DO YOU DO?

Yes, I've seen the movie Speed about a hundred times. But in my defense, I've seen Con-Air much more. hahaha. The kids are with  my mom, and Mr. Bone had to stay a little late at work. And you know what I just finished doing? I ate a WARM meal, all by myself while watching Anderson. Ahhh... Hey, I also mowed the lawn and failed at fixing the ghetto-rigged turtle tub in the back yard, so don't think I've just been lazy all day (defensive). I'm tired of tackling the to-do list/folding laundry for now.

Apparently it's been almost 3 months since I last blogged. Not that I haven't felt like it, but I'd rather avoid Bone rolling his eyes at his silly wife who blogs instead of looking for a job (defensive, and possibly paranoid). Coo-koo, coo-koo. I just remember watching an episode of some cop show, and him yelling at his wife during an argument, "Why don't you go blog about it!" Gasp! lol

Life so far has been pretty good. And things are starting to settle down after the holidays, which seem to have lasted from September 1 - January 31. Well, make that February 5th because of the Super Bowl. Can't wait til football season is over. Anyway, we were blessed with a lot of family visits, to and fro. I'm lucky enough to actually love my inlaws. But I'm also autistic enough to go gray when I dont have a schedule to follow. Coo-koo, coo-koo. But now that things are settled, I'm pretending to make time for all of the things that I always fall behind on, by making lots of notes in a planner. And that includes getting back into Bone's Bags.

Christmas time was particularly busy for BB. I had a craft fair in November (The Queen Bee Market), plus I had loads of traffic from Amazon (which was pretty expensive). The Queen Bee Market was pretty disappointing (my second show with them). Although, this time I DID sell enough to cover the entrance fee of $150. Just not much else. It had a centralized check out, which was awesome, and I didn't have to stay at my booth the whole time, but it just didn't pan out. I think that the crowd was probably looking for more childrens items, and jewelry. That being said, I almost sold out of my reusable sandwich/snack bags at each event. Woo-woo. I wont blame the fair, but I think a more diversified group of shoppers might get me a little bit more sales (the fair was indoors, so passers by were limited to hotel guests). And many of the craft booths had incredible displays. Eeek, coming from a craft booth beginner.

Anyway, after the Christmas mayhem and the craft show, I'm ready to get back to creating stuff (it's in my planner, after all). As a matter of fact, I sewed a new kind of produce bag and drawstring bag (for barrel purchases at Henry's, etc) just last night while Bone worked on a presentation for work. I wish I didn't still love to veg on the couch with him so much, otherwise I might actually take off with  my bags. THAT'S A LIE. I gladly succomb to the temptation of spending time with my man. We're lucky that we still enjoy spending time with each other after almost 7 years of being together. I've read on line that 7 years is usually when people fall out of love. But I digress. Aaah! the kids are home, gotta go!

Holy Crap - It's Been Too Long!

Wow, it's almost been 1 year since my last blog. And Corrina is almost 1 year old, so there you go. Not that I was ever very habitual about Mrs. Bone & Her Bone's Bags. But tonight I'm in an unusual position. Mr. Bone is at an Emergency Management Conference for 5 days, and has thereby disrupted my usual routine. Plus, I waited too long in between meals and have a particularly uncomfortable gas bubble swimming inside of me. On the rare occasion that I don't snack/eat regularly, this happens. No, I'm not overweight (on the outside, that is).

 

Anyhoo - Bone's EMC has come at perfect timing because this Friday & Saturday is The Queen Bee Market . It will be my second QBM, and I'm kinda hopeful/excited. The one in August kinda caught me off guard because I thought it was on Aug. 20th, not Aug. 6th (schedule mix up between mine & Bone's events). Thank God for those reminder emails...! Mind you, I've still procrastinated A LOT. But that's never my problem. The unknown/unexpected is my problem. And since I've already gone to one show, I feel slightly more confident than August's cluster fuck. I exagerrate. It wasn't a "cluster fuck," by my lenient definition of the term. I actually sold stuff, which was more than I expected, BUT I mostly sold reusable sandwich & snack bags, which are not high priced items. Lucky for me, I almost always look on the bright side, I never give up, and I always look for opportunity. So off to my second show, I go! Hopefully I will take pix this time.

 

As for being at home alone with the girls... I prayed a lot to keep my mind straight. I can be somewhat of a teenager when it comes to being apart from the one I love. A paranoid teenager, at that (mama didn't raise no fool, if you "crazy" women out there know what I mean). But I have a good feeling about Bone, and I rarely allow myself those when it comes to men. And he's in Vegas, to top it all off. My fellow "crazy" women out there are probably thinking I've crossed over into naive-ville, & maybe I have, but to be honest? I'm too run down from the kids to check up on Bone as much as I used to. Fuck it, let Karma have her way with him. Afterall, she IS a BITCH. Woo-woo. But seriously, probably the worst part about him being gone is a tie between missing his body/warmth, and the fact that knowing there's no man in the house. Thinking about stashing a weapon under my bed... Yeah, I watch those crazy Dateline NBC shows, and what? My philosophy is: Stranger things have happened! Same saying goes when it comes to safeguarding the kids.

 

Anway, this typing has really helped wind me down. And the persistent gas bubble has somewhat run it's course.

What else is going on:

• Corrina is finally sleeping through the nite - and Elise ISN'T! What the hell...
• Taylor Swift is rocking my world
• Corrina looks just like her daddy, and eats just like her mommy
• Looking to get a PT job at HR Block - too keep my brain fresh and my degree useful.
• Elise is STILL constipated. Screw you Miralax.
• I can ALMOST get my CA DL again (DUI @ 21 & 22, forgive me).
• My boobs are almost back to normal since weaning Corrina (I hope they just stop shrinkin... wishful...).
• Almost found a balance, & waiting for the next curve ball.

Revelations:

• Letting Elise watch TV is better than having her watch me lose my patience (/go crazy!). Take a break, woman!
• Many other women feel the same way I do on a regular basis, but are too uptight about how a woman/mom should be. Some people need to reach a breaking point before they say what I do. I'm just comfortable with expressing myself on the spot. Sweet relief!
• PRODUCTIVE communication is good.
• I need Bone as much as I need my kids.
• I like being a homemaker
• I'm crazy BLESSED. Thank you, Jehovah (no, I'm not a JW).
• Forgiveness isn't saying it's "okay" that something happened. It's accepting that it happened, and moving forward. I saw on TV the other day, forgiveness is like letting a prisoner free, and then you realize the prisoner was you.

There's my two sense. Thanks, everyone. Good night!

Welcome Home Turkey Baby!

Finally - some alone time! Well, almost. Beautiful baby Corrina is sleeping in her crib, and Elise and Ray are out of the house.

As suggested by the title of this post, Corrina Kay Bone was born on Thanksgiving 2010. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 10 oz, and is 20 inches long. Just a little smaller than Elise when she was born. Actually, I keep catching myself calling her Elise. I can't help it. They make the same adorable, sleepy faces when they come off the "teet." hahaha  It's funny how much you forget, and how much you remember about your babies. Like, somehow I know that Elise's cry was a little bit more shrill when she was an infant. And when Elise was still hungry, she would bob her head up and down on my chest. Corrina prefers to look for the collar or sleeve of her PJs.

A little funny sidenote: only ONE person - a friend from high school who I haven't spoken to in years, no less - made the connection between my food-loving ass having a baby born on Thanksgiving. Not even I had put two and two together. Hahaha.


Fortunately, Corrina is a tiny, healthy baby. My obgyn gave us a little bit of a scare when she noticed that my belly was small, which resulted in some extra sonograms, which resulted in us finding out that Corrina's measurements (head and femur) were a little small (by about 2 weeks), which resulted in a heightened level of stress for me & Mr. Bone. But all is well. However, she was induced a few days early because during the last sonogram monitoring my obgyn noticed that the amniotic fluid levels had gone from 10.5 on Monday to 3.3 on Wednesday (whatever THAT means, right?). Anyhow, it was reason enough to induce. I just wonder if the loss of fluid meant that Corrina was planning on making an early arrival, anyway, you know? That same day, I had noticed some contractions (which was very unusual). She could've been on her way anyway... But always better to be safe than sorry. PLUS - due to her early delivery, we got to miss out on making so many family trips on Thanksgiving. All the leftovers, and none of the appearances. Priceless. Mr. Bone is still a little worried about her, and says stupid things like, "Have you noticed that this side of her head is a little different than the other?" And then I told him to be happy that she was healthy, already, and to keep his negativity to himself when it comes to my kids. God damnit. I swear, men just do not have what it takes, sometimes. It's very cute how he gets scared when she makes unusual noises, but if he doesn't grow some thicker skin, he's gonna give himself a heart attack before the girls hit their teens. Which, might actually do him some mercy considering what kind of teenagers we were... : )
 
Well, grandma is about to bring Elise home. My baby, I miss her so much. I wondered if I would be able to love my daughters both the same (yeah, I said it), and now that Miss Corrina is here I see how ridiculous the thought is. They are technically different, but the same in my heart. Whatever that means. And I'm not the type to use "my heart" when describing things, so forgive me if it sounds a little unnatural. hahaha. Anyway, so begins my adventure in parenting childREN. Yes, I know that it's as easy as it gets right now.
 
As for Bone's Bags, I've had a couple sales a week - or so. And you know what? That's perfect right now.
 
 

Trying Out Wholesale

Hello, hello. As promised, here is a quick run down of what I've done to try to go wholesale. So far no bites... but it's only been a week...  I am forever hopeful.

1) Googled eco-friendly stores and supermarkets in the San Diego area. I limited myself to 15 because I knew that I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for shipping. NO, I DID NOT CALL PRIOR TO MAILING MY WHOLESALE PACKETS - for fear of rejection/humiliation, and armed with the excuse that I don't have time to be calling all these people...

I am slightly experienced with excel and word, so after googling and googling I created a mail merge document for my shipping labels and cover letter.

2) Finalized all of my wholesale docs. Please enjoy the following samples. I kept my discount rates to myself, because someone once said to... Note: the wholesale policies and linesheet are one file.
    - Cover Letter http://bonesbags.com/coverlettersample.pdf
    - Wholesale Policies http://bonesbags.com/linesheetsample.pdf
    - Line Sheet
    - Order Form http://bonesbags.com/orderformsample.pdf

3) Hit up Wal-Mart (yes, the evil and mighty Wal-Mart) for supplies, such as:
    - Green Folders
    - Business Paper (100% recycled)
    - Shipping Labels (100% recycled)
    - Desperately needed ink cartridges

Total supplies cost me about $60, but lets not forget the ink cartridges which we are still using at home. I MIGHT go to a print shop next time if I decide to give it another try. I did NOT research print shop prices. I just like to pretend that going anywhere and doing anything with a 18  month old is a huge hassle. It's the damn car seat, that I hate, I tell you! Oh, AND the cloth diapers. I sure hope using them gets me into heaven... ; ) hahaha

4) Created shipping labels and folder labels, via microsoft word. Sorry, I clearly haven't gone "pro" with my pictures, but all of this is strictly FYI.

5) Put everything in order and shipped to 15 different grocery stores for about $23.00. Note: I used old shipping paper that the movers left with us vs. buying envelopes. I thought it looked pretty and earthy...

Well, I hope that you found something useful. Sorry I couldn't be more detailed, but I'm on borrowed time (i.e. unusually long nap).

What's going on in Mrs. Bone's life, you ask?

1) Getting bigger and bigger. Can't believe Corrina has 2.5 more months of growing to do!

2) Trying to plan a weekend getaway with My Man before Baby Bone #2 gets here.

3) Tacking my "nesting" to-do list, cause mama aint making anymore runs to Home Depot and Walmart after Corrina comes!

4) I have been SLACKING with the cooking lately. Seldom cook, and when I do it's CRAP (imagine fat bastard saying that). But thank God I'm starting to LOOK pregnant, cause now Ray doesn't give me ANY crap. Woo-woo!

5) TRYING to make time for friends.

And what's a post without my personal revelations from the past couple of weeks?

1) Memo to self: Stop being such a martyr.

2) From Ray: Who cares if I feel my belly touch his when we're "intimate." At least my belly is because I'm pregnant, and his is just fat.    Yeah, honest to God, that made me feel a lot better. Damn right Ray, damn right.

Alright, that's all I got. Now if I go in there and Elise has wet through her cloth diaper, I have no one to blame but myself. Wish  me luck!

Catch Up

It's been almost a year since I've posted anything   : (    I'm bad, I know. And pretty stupid, too, because I thought that I was going to get a peaceful lunch in at the computer desk before Elise woke up - and then I brought out my bag of chips...  I have no one to blame since I'm the one who decided to make an office space right outside her bedroom door. But anyway -

Since my last post, PLENTY of things have happened:

1) Graduated from HPU with a degree in Accounting
2) Moved back to S.D.
3) Elise turned 1
4) Got pregnant (it was almost completely planned...)
5) Bought our first home
6) Convinced Mr. Bone I should stay at home
7) PAINTING, YARDWORK, ANTS, & ERRANDS

Oh yeah...

8) Trying to sell/make bags

But do I have anything useful to write, you ask? Let me ponder that, while I get distracted by my last bite of a PB & J and wonder why I didn't make 2. No, it's not just cause I'm pregnant. This is how I usually am with food. Anyway - I guess that I will address topic #8 on my long list of accomplishments (LOL), since I think that most of my followers are fellow crafters.

My big lesson learned this year has been that Farmer's Markets are A LOT OF WORK and not necessarily for everyone - but that doesn't mean that you're a failure.

Factors that impacted my "failure" at the San Diego Gaslamp Farmer's Market:

Location, Hours, and People Traffic - This seems to have EVERYTHING to do with success at an FM. With my experience, and my products, I feel that the Gaslamp Farmer's Market in San Diego was just not my venue. It was small (20 vendors), the hours were short (9am - 1pm), and it also seemed to be really subjective to the local events in Downtown San Diego (e.g. Padres games, Comic - Com, Holidays). And this is a consensus based on other vendor opinions, too - not just my desperate attempt to make excuses for myself/my bags. Note: That's not to say that all the vendors crapped out while I was there (maybe I'm a jinx?). The man who takes pix of San Diego and frames them seems to be doing well... Can't remember his website...

However, I was directed towards other FMs that might do me good - sadly, all of them have Reusable Bag Vendors already OR are during the week (that's a no-go, since I already have a full-time job that I'm dedicated to. i.e. Elise). And the vendors, and organizer, Dave, were all really nice and friendly. They seemed like a family, really. I coulda gotten into that. But at $25 a show, and only selling 2 - 4 bags a SUNDAY, I couldn't justify making any more appearances. Plus, coming home and telling Ray of how few bags I sold is torture. My ansy man like results, and he likes them yesterday!

But after some serious "soul searching" (LOL) I AM happy that I participated in the FMs. I can now say that I've tried 'em, and they're just not for Bone's Bags. Which is good, because they're a lot of work... PHEW. But what else can I do? I sure as hell aint quitting. I only quit things that I DON'T like to do.

Now I'm really pushing wholesaling. Well, "pushing" meaning that I've created a linesheet/order form/guidelines that I still need to print. But I'm closer than I've ever been before! hahaha By the way, I WILL make my forms available on my blog once I can write up the full story.

Anyhoo - That's my life and Bone's Bags in a nutshell. Personal Revelations that I've had this year:

1) It's okay if the house doesn't look good when Ray gets home. I DO bust my ass all day, whether it shows or not.
2) Sprinkler systems SUCK
3) Where the hell did my sex drive go? I thought I would be a sex-kitten forever...
4) I don't care about my cellulite because Holly Madison has it all over her legs and ass, and STILL charges $100 a ticket to see her show. God bless her for that.
5) This old grey mare, she aint what she used to be. Aint what she used to be.

That concludes my catch up. Take it easy!