Stitches West 2009 Re-Cap

Wow! Preparing for and being at Stitches West 2009 was an awesome experience, I met a lot of cool people at the show and am glad that everything went as well as it did.

There were definitely many lessons in this process for me and there are some things I will change going forward. There are some things I will never do again, some things I will definitely do again, and some things that need overhauling.

I am looking forward to creating the new normal here. Things will never go back to the way they were before preparing for the show. Now we figure out as a family how to co-exist with a home-based business and everything that was a part of our "normal" family life.

I am excited that this experience was the official launch of this new venture I'm undertaking and am eternally grateful to everyone who contributed to this becoming a reality, you know who you are.

The BIG Reveal!

Hello all,

Welcome to the BIG reveal here on my blog. If you follow me on Twitter you know that I've been working on getting a business off the ground. This past week the website went live to the world. Please visit me at www.papalotlproductions.com

This is a whole new venture for me, something I've been thinking about for some time. Now I've done it and it's underway. I will also have a booth at Stitches West 2009 in Santa Clara, CA so come on by and visit Booth 1141 near the Market Stage.

WOOT! We're hitting the big time - off and running!

Mrs. Bubba ~ Gabriela
My blog - http://livinglavidanormal.blogspot.com
Follow me as Papalotl on Twitter
Find me as Papalotl on Ravelry

Is it really February already???

I can't believe how quickly this year has started off. So many things have happened it's not even funny. Dare I bore you with the details? There are some exciting things that have begun to happen. That I'll definitely tell you about, but not just yet... Is that evil? How I make you wait for the juicy news...

Ok, chronologically... I started the reconditioning group at the Pain Clinic. It didn't work out too well. It was not the group for me and it wasn't the right time. The group was counterproductive to what was supposed to be helping. Maybe it wasn't the right time, I know that once I made the decision to stop attending the group I felt a huge, ginormous sense of relief.

We went to Disneyland with Mr. Bubba's family (his parents, 2 brothers, sister, cousin). We had a great time, our boys really enjoyed being there. I did really well, I must I'm proud of myself for pacing really well. Making sure that I wasn't going to need a week to recover from being on vacation. We hadn't all travelled together, so it was definitely an interesting experience. A good one, but still an interesting experience.

Our baby turned 6... Mr. Snugglebunny is now 6. I don't know where the time has gone. I stop and look at pictures of my kids when they were so little and look at them now and wish and pray that I will not miss a moment of their growing up. There are times when I wish I was Evie Garland from the show "Out of this World" so I can stop time and keep my kids little. Little enough that I can protect them from all the evils of the world, so that I can still make them feel better with a hug and a kiss, so I can still fix everything. However, I know that their growing up is a process... one for all of us. A process in which we learn to let go and let them experience life and the ups and downs that go with it. Experience the joys of a job well done and the disappointment when things don't go their way. (Ok, I got a little philosophical on that one...)

And now I give birth again, no not to another human, I already have two of those. Now I give birth to the next phase of my professional life, my professional life as a business owner. It is difficult in these economic times to feel confident to put myself out there and say to the world, "Hey, I make this product, you should buy it." I had been thinking for a long time of a way that I could contribute to our family financially. I haven't worked since the end of March '08. We are managing but I tend to feel guilty over not contributing to our income. My husband has in NO way pushed me to look for work, has not made me feel bad that I am not working. In fact, he has been supportive and encouraging in my journey to heal and feel better. We know that we will always have RA and Fibromyalgia in the car with us on our journey, but they don't have to be the ones driving the car. They can be silent passengers.

That's another scary aspect of starting a business, what will happen when there is a flare-up? We have to figure out the contingency plan. Inevitably there will be a flare-up, it is the nature of the conditions. It's possible that the sheer "stress" of starting and operating a business can bring one on. This is why it is even more important right now for me to focus on balance and self-care. I have to be strict with myself about setting boundaries, knowing and acknowledging my limitations, saying no - often, listening to my body and my wise self as they tell me what I need in order to continue moving forward.

Today, I made my first sale to a retailer who wants to carry my product in his store. We started off with a small order so he could see how it would do in his store. It was very exciting to have someone write a check out to my business. A check that I can take to the bank that says to me that someone thinks it is worth their money to invest in my product.

I know, I haven't told you what the product is or what it's for. The website isn't live yet, there is a holding page but not much else. It's in the process.

I am blessed to be surrounded by people who support me on this phase of my journey. People who are doing everything possible to get this dream off the ground, people who are investing their time and energy with me, and for me. There are still things to do, things to set up in order to get completely off the ground. My company will have a booth at a large event at the end of the month. Once we have all the information up and running on the web I will put it out here.

I am doing my best to avoid the skeptics and the nay-sayers. I know this will be successful. There is no way it won't be. I am starting this with the best intentions and with lots of good energy. I won't let anyone take that away from me. Not this time, too many times I've listened to the negative voices and let them convince me to talk myself out of something good. Let them take the wind out of my sails then sit back and enjoy another failed attempt. Not this time. I am working hard at not letting the negative voices of my own internal running commentary burst this bubble.


Mrs. Bubba ~ Gabriela
My blog - http://livinglavidanormal.blogspot.com
Follow me as MsBubba on Twitter
Find me as Mrs. Bubba on Ravelry

Welcome 2009!

We've been pretty busy here in Bubba-land. We got ready for Christmas, celebrated Christmas, waited for New Year's, welcomed the New Year with the hope that 2009 will be much better than 2008.

We didn't have the worst year ever, our situation remained stable even though the economy is in the state that it is.

My wishes for 2009:

• Improved health - I've had the current flare for at least the past 14 months.
• Decreased pain - Probably the worst part of the flare
• To finally get rid of all the extra crap we have around the house - decluttering, I guess
• To know what will happen in terms of Mr. Bubba's career, specifically where will he be working next school year
• That Mr. Skinny demonstrates his true potential, mostly for himself to gain the confidence that he can do whatever he wants
• That I can get to the point physically that I can work if I choose to do so
  

What we have to look forward to in 2009:

• Mr. Snugglebunny turns 6 later this month
• A trip to Disneyland to celebrate Mr. Snugglebunny's birthday and also my sister-in-law's (she's turning 15)
• My participation and completion of an Intensive Reconditioning Group in the Chronic Pain Management Clinic at Kaiser (started Jan. 5 and ending Feb. 6)
• Mr. Bubba completing his first year as a high school administrator
• Mr. Bubba graduating with his administrative credential
• Mr. Skinny graduating from 8th grade
• Mr. Skinny turning 14
  
• Mr. Skinny starting high school
• Hopefully, moving to a home that better fits our family and lifestyle
• Mr. Bubba and I turning 32 this year, and celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary

I hope you all have a wonderful 2009! And that it is better than 2008 was, even if you had the best year ever in 2008, I wish you an even better 2009.


Mrs. Bubba ~ Gabriela
My blog - http://livinglavidanormal.blogspot.com
Follow me as MsBubba on Twitter
Find me as Mrs. Bubba on Ravelry
My Etsy Shop - http://mrsbubbacrafts.etsy.com

Fall Into Reading 2008 Challenge Wrap-Up

It's over... fall is over, and the reading challenge is over. I didn't get to read every book I had on my list. However, I did read some books that weren't on my original list. On my last post about this challenge I updated my list so I will use that to conclude the challenge.

This was my original list of books, by Dec. 20th, 2008 bold books have been read, red books have been reconsidered after not being able to get into them at all, books with no formatting are still in the queue, italicized books are in progress:

I would like to read the following books between September 22nd and December 20th:

1. When Organizing Isn't Enough SHED - Julie Morgenstern
2. The Sunday List of Dreams - Kris Radish
3. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
4. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
5. New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
6. The Renaissance Soul - Margaret Lobenstine
7. Love In the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
8. The Measure of a Man - Sidney Poitier
9. Voces Sin Fronteras - Edited by Cristina Garcia
10. Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps - Lara Rios (it's a novel)
11. Out of Joint - Mary Felstiner
12. Beyond Chaos - Gregg Piburn
13. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire
    

I'm also waiting for delivery of books from PaperBackSwap:

1. The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs
   
2. The Dirty Girls Social Club - Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

In addition to the 5 books I've already read that were on my original list, I also read:

1. Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral - Kris Radish
2. Knitting for Good - Betsy Greer
3. Knit Two - Kate Jacobs
4. The Knitting Way - Linda Skolnik & Janice Macdaniels
5. El Libro del Destino - Carlos Barrios
6. Time Management for School Leaders - Dr. Frank Buck
   

I completely finished 8 books, and have 5 books in progress.

I decided to pick up Wicked again after my husband and I went to watch Phantom of the Opera, he wants to watch the theater production of Wicked so I figured I wanted to read the book first. After a few pages I got into the story this time. I am more than 3/4 of the way finished with the book.

My husband and I are reading Beyond Chaos, Time Management for School Leaders, and El Libro del Destino together. We are reading these books by sections.

I am also reading the Knitting Way in sections. Since it is not necessarily a novel.

I enjoyed participating in the challenge as it motivated me to read more often. I love reading and have always used not having time as an excuse to let books sit on my shelf. I am very pleased with what I was able to accomplish in the amount of time we had for the challenge. I have joined the 52 books in 52 weeks group on Ravelry and am hoping that it will keep me on the ball with reading.

Happy Reading!



Mrs. Bubba ~ Gabriela
My blog - http://livinglavidanormal.blogspot.com
Follow me as MsBubba on Twitter
Find me as Mrs. Bubba on Ravelry
My Etsy Shop - http://mrsbubbacrafts.etsy.com

Reflections

There comes a time when we have to stop and reflect... asking questions of where am I and how did I get here? Not literally, hopefully. But in the bigger picture sense...

Where am I?

In the bigger picture am I where I expected to be at this point in my life? Have I accomplished realistic goals I set for myself? Am I happy with the current state of my life? What areas need improvement in some way, shape or form?

How did I get here?

A restrospective view of the decisions, actions, non-decisions that led me to where I am? Would I do it like this again? What would I have done different if I had known what I know now? Will this information help me moving forward? What helped me achieve the goals I did accomplish and what kept me from the goals I did not accomplish?

Where am I headed?
Looking forward, what decisions do I have to make that impact the immediate future? 3 months from now? 6 months from now? What decisions are there that will change the landscape that I will see one year from now? 3 years from now? 5 years from now? What are the next SMART goals I am setting? (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely)

Now what?
What are the next steps? How is my big picture changing? Are there new players? What else needs to be taken into account? Do I have specific manageable pieces towards my goals? Do I still need to figure those out? What resources do I have? What resources do I need?

What's the point?
Why am I headed where I'm headed? For money? Fame? Love? Family? Happiness? Habit? Because it's what I'm expected to do?

These are just some of the questions that have been floating around in my head as the year comes to an end and we are faced with the beginning of a new year. A blank calendar ahead that has so many possibilities. Well, I already have stuff on my calendar for January but you know what I mean.

Mrs. Bubba ~ Gabriela
My blog - http://livinglavidanormal.blogspot.com - but you knew that already, right?
Follow me as MsBubba on Twitter
Find me as Mrs. Bubba on Ravelry
My Etsy Shop - http://mrsbubbacrafts.etsy.com

Eight years and forever more!

To my hubby, Mr. Bubba,

Eight years ago today at this exact time (1:05 pm PST) I was walking down the aisle after the bridesmaids and groomsmen had walked in. The anxiety and excitement of our wedding day finally arriving was overwhelming at times.

On that day 8 years ago, we vowed some version of "from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live." And we've been through many of those - for richer, for poorer, in sickness, in health and to this day I remain committed to being in this as long as we both shall live.

Thank you for being a wonderful husband, my best friend, an excellent father and most of all for putting up with all my craziness! At least I keep it interesting!

So for as long as we both shall live I will be by your side, even if we end up living under a bridge with our belongings in a shopping cart. I will support your dreams and goals. I will listen to what you have to say. I will urge you and nudge you when you need it. Each day I vow that from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, in health for as long as we both shall live I will be right here to drive you crazy (not a long drive by the way) and invite you to enjoy my insanity.

I love you more than words can say! (I know, I know - what a sap!)

Last week was such a pain

Oh what a week I had, it all started Monday morning. I woke up as I normally do to get my kids ready for school and realized I could barely move. My body decided to go on strike and I couldn't get out of bed, any small movement hurt - I could barely shift around in my bed. Thankfully my dear sweet husband, Mr. Bubba, stepped in and took the boys to school for me.

Tuesday I decided that I had rested on Monday and that I would be fine. I took my kids to school, ran a couple of errands and ended up in tears from just driving and having to grip the steering wheel. Mr. Bubba once again came to the rescue and drove me to the rheumatologist's office. I had called and asked if I should go in or go to the Emergency Room. The doctor decided to have me go in and get a cortisone shot. Boy did that shot hurt. Mr. Bubba says he had never heard seen me react that way. I was told to go home, take it easy and call again if I wasn't feeling better by Thursday.

Fast forward, Thursday I called the rheumatologist's office again. I saw my rheumatologist and I think it scared him that I was in the condition that I was in when I saw him. We made medication changes, had blood drawn and we were on our way again. One of the blood tests is for a gene mutation that apparently is linked to severe rheumatoid arthritis and can help guide treatment. Well, I guess if I do have this gene mutation I will have to start sewing up my X-Men outfit. I haven't decided what my special power will be.

The rest of the week was pretty low key, I spent most days in bed and now I've decided that enough is enough. I decided that this week will be much different and I will not spend a day in bed. I've got to keep moving forward regardless, I'm a mom and I can't put that on hold while I lay around trying to get better.

So, here's hoping for a better week. Besides, our wedding anniversary is tomorrow and we were given tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera by my mom and our kids. I will not miss that, it will be the first time I see it live, I've seen the movie but I know it's not the same.

Have you seen Phantom on stage? On film? Both? What do you think?

Are you ready for the holidays? Review and Giveaway

Winner alert, winner alert: Mary Grace McNamara of Hooked on Needles.

Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow, I thought I'd let you know in case you hadn't noticed. By now, you've probably been flooded with Black Friday sale ads, e-mails, television commercials, and so much more. I've seen stores that have been advertising for Christmas since September (yes, my local Costco had Halloween and Christmas up at the same time).

So, are you ready for the holidays that come after Thanksgiving? Jennifer over at ListPlanIt sent me a Holiday ePlanner to review and guess what? It's wonderful, it spans 25 pages of planning and organizing goodness. It begins with a comprehensive table of contents so if you know you want to head straight to the Holiday Cards Lists you'll know exactly where to find them. I would suggest you first read the page on "How to Create Your Own Holiday Organizational Manual", which gives the overview of how to physically set up your manual and also ideas of what to use the lists for.

The lists are very adaptable, it doesn't really matter which of the holidays you may celebrate, this planner can adjust.

The wish list will be an essential tool for us this year, the plan is to give one to each of our kids and have them fill it out. I love that it has a ranking column so that they can name their top choices of gifts. Knowing my 13-year-old he'll want several copies of this blank list since he appears to want everything under the sun.

There are also 3 different kind of gift lists that she has included so you can get as detailed as you want. There are also lists for recipes, meal planning, party planning, party budget planning, new traditions. This really is a whole lot of planning and organizing goodness.

The only thing I would add to this ePlanner would be a cleaning list, just because I know that not every single corner of every single room gets cleaned on a regular basis. I would probably create a cleaning list of the rooms that will be used for a holiday gathering i.e. living room, main bathroom, entryway, kitchen so that deep cleaning could be focused on those areas. That's just me though, and I can get a little neurotic about lists, planning and organizing.

So, are you ready for the holidays? Would this ePlanner be helpful in your preparations? Well, Jennifer over at ListPlanIt is offering one of you your very own free ePlanner to get ready for the holidays, a $4.95 value. Leave a comment here and let me know how ready you are for the holidays. A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Saturday, November 29, 2008.

Thanks so much to Jennifer at ListPlanIt.

Jennifer Tankersley is the creator of ListPlanIt.com, which has over 350 printable lists and planning pages including everything you need to get prepared for Christmas! You'll find calendars, daily to do lists, card lists, wish lists, gift lists, cookie/candy planner, party planning pages, holiday meal planning pages, grocery lists, and so much more. You'll also find her at 100 Days to Christmas, a daily dose of inspiration and motivation to help you prepare for the busy upcoming holiday season and List Mama Blog.

Mrs. Bubba Crafts

craft - verb - to make or manufacture (an object, objects, product, etc.) with skill and careful attention to detail. from dictionary.com

Another aspect of how I spend my days is that I craft. I've always liked to create, I have a nagging creative streak that can get quite irritable if I don't allow for some creating time and space.

I've always been interested in being able to take different materials, manipulate them in some way and come up with something different.

My Bachelor's Degree is in Interior Design. I love walking into a room and visualizing how to make it more functional and beautiful. However, I did not particularly enjoy working in the Interior Design Industry.

My career took a sharp turn away from creative work and that creative streak I mentioned got quite irritable and nagging. So this year, after quitting my job, I turned back to creativity as a way to keep myself from going any crazier than I already am.

First, I started beading again, even posted some items on etsy. Well, that didn't start out so well. I made more items for friends than I did for my shop and I had no sales. Boooo!

I decided I needed to branch out and I went to a free knitting class at a local craft shop. I had always been interested in knitting. I learned to crochet from my grandma when I was little but two needles always scared me. At the class I learned to cast on, and the knit stitch. Wow! A whole new world opened up to me. I started knitting a scarf with a vengeance. A very nice variegated purple scarf in garter stitch (knit both sides). Oh boy! I created a monster. I absolutely LOVE knitting. I am now on a yarn diet as I've bought way too much yarn at this point. I've discovered many local yarn shops (LYS) and have even dragged my traveling mates to a yarn shop on a recent vacation to Reno. I have I currently have 3 projects on the needles: a pair of socks using the two circular needle method from Knitting Circles around socks, a scarf with a simple cable (my first cable), and a knit hat for Mr. Bubba (ribbed and cabled) to match the scarf that I made for him.

I also decided that it was about time that I got over the fear of my sewing machine. I've owned a sewing machine for years and I have been absolutely terrified of it. If you have never sewn, the rev of a sewing machine motor can be quite intimidating. I took several sewing classes from a local sewing studio that is now closed. And now, I'm off and sewing. I'm no longer afraid of my machine. I can run it at full speed and not be afraid of catching my fingers. Completed sewing projects include: a tote bag, several zippered clutches, several quilts (4 of which were auctioned at a fundraiser for my kids' school), and I'm working on a secret project (a real quick one) for my in-laws since they'll be travelling later this month.

I picked up embroidery again, my mom had taught me to do counted cross-stitch when I was little. I picked up some embroidery supplies and have begun dabbling a little in that.

I think my creative streak must be quite satisfied with the recent turn to everything that is creative and how much time I'm spending on creative ventures.

I still have my etsy shop, it's called Mrs. Bubba Crafts and I'm working on stuff to list there. Once I have it better stocked I will also add it to my sidebar. For now, I've got to get working on items to put up on the shop.

Do you craft? What do you make?