Getting some new glasses!

I finally got around to going to the eye doctor yesterday. When they asked the date of my last appointment, I couldn't remember exactly when it was. I knew it was between 2020 and 2023, but that's it. So I went back and looked at my old blog posts to see if I'd mentioned it...yep! My last appointment was in April 2023. That's when I got my current pair of glasses. 

I think I mentioned before that the eye doctor I'd been seeing retired. He's the only part of that office that I really liked. Their optical department just felt really chaotic. They didn't seem to understand what my insurance does and doesn't cover...to the point that I wondered if I even paid the correct amount. First they said everything about my lenses was covered, then something wasn't, then they had to check, then they weren't sure if my copay applied and how much it was...it was just a mess. And it could have just been the particular people I dealt with that day...who knows. 

And that was actually the second place I was going to in town. The first place I went to after I moved in with Johnny was basically right down the street from our house. But that guy just up and left. Like...we couldn't even get our records or anything. It was just open one day and he was gone the next with no way for patients to contact anyone. I was trying to get my warranty replacement for my frames that they'd ordered (or said they did) but the voicemail was full and never became un-full again. I do remember at some point his office was seized for not paying taxes...then it opened back up briefly and was gone again a short time later. 

But since I was going to have to switch doctors again anyway, I decided to try somewhere else in town. I think there are 6 eye doctor's offices here plus the one in Walmart (which the girls and I went to many years ago and it was alright). I asked if anyone had recommendations in the local Ehlers-Danlos group on FB...since hEDS can affect our eyes. 

So...I decided to check out the recommendation I got there. It's only about a mile further (in the opposite direction) than my last eye doctor. The office has some interesting decor and kind of a weird layout. My only real complaints were that the wait seemed quite a bit longer than it should have been with the number of patients that were there, and that it was pretty warm. Of course, part of my issue is perimenopause making me hot all the time anyway...but mom said it was pretty warm in there, too. :P

The guy who did all the initial parts of the exam, helped with picking out the glasses, and then handled checkout was really nice and seemed knowledgeable. He told me the exact price with my insurance of every single thing...the Optomap pictures, frames, and all the extras for my lenses. He also told me about Trivex lenses, which the last office I went to either didn't have or didn't offer (they just said I needed the high index lenses which are the most expensive option). I decided to go with the Trivex lenses since I got half-rim frames this time. One thing I wanted but didn't get (and didn't ask for) was a copy of the order form that shows the breakdown of everything. The emailed receipt just shows the payment but no breakdown. 

Anyway...I liked the doctor. He was very personable and thorough. Everything looks good from the Optomap photos. So that's good...because I'd been worried with the increase in floaters the last year or so. My vision is getting worse, especially in my right eye (which has always been my bad eye). He can't quite get it completely corrected, but hopefully the new glasses will be better than the ones I have now. He did say that I'll probably have to switch to bifocals next year because of how much my near-sightedness has to be corrected. The only issue I have with seeing close-up is that it's just taking longer for my eyes to adjust now (thanks to getting older). 

I ended up going with another new brand of frames. When I first moved here, I got these black and blue Bebe frames that I thought were super cute. Then I got these black and grey Bebe frames, but I didn't like how they fit. They were a little bigger and the lenses touched the top of my cheek. So they were my least favorite pair. The pair I have right now are these black DKNY frames, which are super lightweight and comfortable. One thing I don't like is that the end of the arms are square-ish and they can be pointy sometimes if you hit them a certain way. The eye doctor recommended Kliix brand because they have some small, lightweight options. I *think* I got these plum rosewood frames...if I remember right. We'll find out for sure in a couple weeks when they get here. ;) 

They didn't have to dilate my eyes at this appointment, but all the lights in my eyes and trying to focus through different lenses definitely gave me a migraine. Thankfully it wasn't a hemiplegic migraine, but I definitely didn't do much after my appointment. We ordered Cinnamon's Deli for dinner (which I haven't had in forever and it was so yummy!) and I tried to play my new Sims games a little bit, but I ended up just going to bed early. 

Today I plan to get all my orders caught up and ready to ship tomorrow...then I plan to take the weekend off of work and just play Sims and get some stuff done around the house. So I better get to work! 

Ugggghhhhh. Allergies.

In addition to a persistent headache, I've been having issues with my allergies since Thursday. Yesterday was the worst. I was taking 2 Benadryl at a time AND Sudafed and still didn't get much relief. I even ended up taking a nap as soon as Johnny got off work...a combination of feeling like crap and the Benadryl making me tired. I'm feeling slightly better today...but having a hard time concentrating with my head being all foggy. 

The earliest due date for my current orders is September 30th...so they're not overdue, yet. I was hoping to get the orders finished and out today, but I just couldn't get it all done before the last pick-up at the post office at 3pm. Every time I stood up, there was intense pressure in my head and then my nose would get stopped up again in addition to my arms and legs getting tired super easily...so it all really slowed me down. I got the sticker sheet and sticker orders cut tonight...but I still have the magnets to finish tomorrow. So while I'd hoped to get them out earlier, at least they'll go out on Monday.

I had my first experience of review extortion from a customer. She placed the order on September 8th and I shipped it via First Class Mail (regular letter mail) the following day. The tracing history for her order had a delivery update on September 15th. She sent me a message saying that she was home all day and they looked all around but nothing was delivered and she needed it for a birthday party that weekend. I sent her my "quick reply" because I get messages like this all the time. It explains that the order was sent in an envelope with her regular mail, so it isn't scanned delivered at her address like a package. The delivery update is only an estimate and it can take several days after to actually arrive. So far, I've never had one marked delivered that did not show up. So she said that she would wait until the weekend to see if it shows up. 

She sent another message on Saturday the 20th saying that she wanted a refund because she was on her way to the party and claims that it still hadn't arrived. My policies state that I do not provide refunds for lost, delayed, or damaged orders...I only provide replacements (it reduces the occurrence of people trying to scam for free stuff). However, Etsy has a Purchase Protection Program (PPP) that will provide a full refund to customers if their orders are lost or delayed. Since her order was for the party she said she was getting ready to go to and she'd already requested a refund, I sent her the instructions for getting a refund from Etsy's PPP. 

When she responded, she threatened to leave a negative review if I didn't just provide the refund myself...because she didn't feel like she should have to "go through hoops" and that sellers in the past have "always issued the refund." What I hear...is that she has a history of "not received" orders and getting refunds. Not to mention the "hoops" is nothing more than basically sending a message...which clearly wasn't difficult for her since she was messaging me. 

But I responded to explain that my policy clearly states that I only provide replacements and that the entire purpose of Etsy's PPP is to refund customers in this situation. I also told her that I would be reporting her messages for extortion and provided Etsy's link that explains what extortion is. 

She left a 1-star review saying that she didn't receive it and that I wouldn't issue a refund...after she'd already gotten her refund from Etsy. I responded to the review to explain the situation...including that she had already received her refund from Etsy's PPP. I'm not worried about her review considering it's only the second 1-star review I've received out of almost 800 reviews. But the following day she decided to message me again to say, "I never tried forcing you to do anything. I made a suggestion." Yeah...suggesting that she'll leave a negative review if I don't give her a refund is exactly what extortion is. 

I let her know that once Etsy provided her refund, our transaction was complete...that and she is no longer my customer, so she needed to stop contacting me. She responded to say, "No worries. I've found a replacement and no intentions of doing business with you." But wait...I thought she needed it for the party that she was on her way out the door to the day before? Now suddenly a replacement is acceptable? Hmmm. 

I have excellent customer service...but I'm not going to be bullied into giving someone a refund against my posted policies...especially when there is already an option to get a refund through Etsy's PPP. Any decent customer with a legitimate problem with their order isn't going to care who provides their refund, as long as they get a refund. There are so many sellers out there who will immediately give refunds just because they're hoping to avoid a bad review...even though that still doesn't mean that the customer won't leave a bad review. 

I also make it very clear that orders with free standard shipping are sent via letter mail. It's in a listing photo, in the description, in my FAQ, and is reiterated in the email that the customer automatically receives after they make their purchase. I also make it clear that they do not have USPS tracking, but that I offer upgraded shipping options if they want tracking. 

I've been really lucky, though. I've only had one other problem customer...and that was last month. That customer placed an order for 10 stickers on August 20th and they were shipped out August 21st (Thursday)...via First Class Mail which can take 1-5 business days in transit. She sent me a message on August 28th saying that she wanted a refund because she needed them by the 25th (Monday). So, again, I sent her the "quick reply" that has the information about how to file a case with the Etsy PPP (and my message is very polite and professional, because that's my customer service). 

Her response, however, was to say that she can't open a case until the 30th, "so what good does that do me"? Um...well if you want a refund, that's the "good" it does you. I didn't say that, of course, but that's what I was thinking. Her message went on to say that it didn't arrive "in the delivery window" and "its location hasn't moved or been updated since August 22. It's obviously lost." So I politely responded to explain that the "tracking" is not actual USPS tracking...it's based on information decoded by Pitney Bowes from automatic sort machines and it's not always reliable...and mentioned that I do offer upgraded shipping with actual tracking. Then I went on to tell her that I don't provide refunds for lost or delayed orders, I only provide replacements...and that if she wanted a refund, she'd have to use Etsy's PPP. I also stated that I don't have a way to speed up Etsy's requirements for the PPP...that their instructions state that the case can be filed 48 hours after the help request is sent. 

She responded--in all caps--that she needed them by the 25th and "they said they would arrive by then so I didn't feel the need to upgrade the shipping option." Oh boy. Here's how estimated delivery dates work: it's a range based on production time plus transit time. So the estimated delivery date range when she ordered was between August 25th-September 1st (1-3 business days in production and 1-5 business days in transit). My due date to send her order was August 25th (3 business days), but I sent it on the 22nd...the day after she ordered. So considering I didn't even have to mail the order until the day she claims to have needed them...yeah, she would've needed to spend $30 for Priority Mail Express which comes with a guaranteed delivery date of the 25th...AND send me a message to let me know about the urgency so I didn't wait until the 25th to send it. 

Considering the absurdity of thinking that an order that doesn't even have to be sent until the 25th would arrive by the 25th AND her "outrage" at having to wait 2 more days to get a refund (when it was already 3 days after she claims to have needed it AND she actually waited 3 days to file for the refund)...I assume this was another scammer. I think she saw that the "tracking" wasn't updated (as it often is not, since it's not actual tracking) and saw it as an opportunity to get her $47 order for free. OH! And when she filed the case on September 1st, she said (in all caps) they were gifts to ask guys to be in her wedding and that, "her shipping said it would be here by the 25th and I asked the guys on the 28th." So she "needed" them by the 25th but she didn't need them until the 28th? Again...hmmm. 

Those are the only two problem customers I've had...and I made a private note in their orders not to do business with them anymore at all. I've had a couple customers get snippy with me before, but it wasn't too bad and it was fleeting. I totally understand that people can get frustrated...I mean, I get that way myself at times. So that's no big deal to me and I don't take it personally. I'm just thankful for the hundreds of customers I've had who have been so wonderful. :) They really make it worth it. 

Aside from my unusually busy July and August, my September revenue is already higher than each of the first six months of the year. And as of the end of today, I have 3140 sales in my CandiMakerStickers shop. As long as I get an average of 120 sales each month, I should hit my goal of 3500 sales in that shop by the end of the year. :) 

I'm still working on my website. I've had to resize all my listing photos because my Etsy photos are too large for GoImagine. Luckily I am able to create a batch process in Paintshop Pro to automatically adjust the photos (since I have several hundred listing photos!). I'm definitely not going to be finished by the end of September...but hopefully by the end of October. :) 

Always working on something...

At any given point, there are no less than a dozen things I want to do...especially when it comes to work stuff. I want to make new designs, I want to make new products, I want to finish uploading all my existing products to my other sites...the list goes on and on. And that's just work-related stuff. There are also projects I want to do around the house, on top of all the household chores I already have to make time for AND filling CandiMaker orders. Not to mention all the things I'd like to do if I actually had free time to do them...like reading, writing, and even silly stuff like playing my Sims game. It feels like the days go by so slow...but there's still not enough time to do all the things. :P 

I have been trying to actually take some days off from work-related stuff, though. Sometimes it's taking the weekend off...sometimes it's just a random day during the week. I do have a hard time actually taking the break...because I think of the big ol' long list of productive things I want to get done. I'm typically pretty good about time management and efficiency...but with some projects, I still have issues with procrastinating. It's especially hard when I'm not feeling well...and I've had a headache for the last week.

Right now I'm working on my website. It's something that I've really wanted to get done, but kept putting it off because it's a lot of tedious work that I had to start from scratch to list around 300 products. But, now I've found a "groove" so it's going a little more smoothly. It's still taking a lot longer than I'd like--especially when GoImagine has glitches--but progress is progress. I was hoping to have it done by the end of the month, but I don't think that's going to happen. :P I did finally finish one section today, though, so I'll celebrate the little accomplishments. ;) 

Next week I have an eye doctor appointment. I liked the eye doctor that I'd been seeing for the last several years, but he retired. So I decided to try a new office altogether. Someone else in the area with Ehlers-Danlos recommended him, so we'll see how it goes. I know I need a new prescription for my glasses...and will likely have to pay extra for high index lenses because I'm blind. :P I'm also not a huge fan of picking out frames because I have a very small head so it really limits my options. But we'll see how it goes. 

Also, there's a new Sims 4 expansion pack being released next week. I'm getting that and another expansion pack for my birthday...so I definitely plan on taking next weekend off to play around with that. :) I think the "Adventure Awaits" pack looks really fun. The gameplay looks interesting and there's quite a bit more hobbies added. They also introduced modular play structures that you can put together to create custom playgrounds. So I'm looking forward to that one. The only other expansion pack that I don't have is "Enchanted by Nature" so I'm going to go ahead and get that one, too. At first I wasn't really that interested in it. It seemed mostly focused on introducing fairies...and I'm just not really interested in the supernatural gameplay. I don't have the vampires or werewolves game packs, so I wasn't planning to get this one right now, either. But, I was watching the trailer and there's more gameplay with houseplants and it also has some really cool build items...so I decided it might be fun to have. And eventually I'll probably get vampires and werewolves...also because they have some cool build items. Building houses and venues is my favorite part of the game. ;) 

But for now...back to work on my website! 

It was a loooong week.

Johnny spent the last week with his family near Seattle, Washington. His mom is in a nice senior care home not too far from his brother. He hadn't seen his mom since she moved out there in late 2019. so he wanted to spend some time with her. Since he was going to be out there for a whole week, I stayed home with the dogs and to work. I didn't want to lose the momentum I've had by putting my shops on vacation mode for an entire week. So this time only Johnny went out there. 

Since I wasn't going, we paid $100 more for him to fly first class...and he enjoyed that. He flew on a smaller ERJ-135. In first class, one side has two seats and the other side has just one seat. Johnny had a seat in the first row on the side with just one seat and he really liked that. He spent most of the flight taking video out the window. He also got a complimentary lunch on his way out there and breakfast on his way back...plus snacks and drinks. He said it was a little bumpy during take-off and landing, but other than that it wasn't bad at all. 

He did a lot of fun things with his brother. They went hiking, to an estate sale, salmon hatchery, and other fun stuff like that. He also sent me a lot of pictures and videos of the wildlife that show up in his brother's backyard. There are lots of birds, ducks, a couple types of squirrels, a weasel, and a larger grey animal that Johnny just saw a flash of in the dark and didn't know what it was. We talked about how Nova would LOVE it...probably a little too much. She's always obsessed with critters in the yard. 

I spent the week working and watching a lot of documentaries. I'd planned to get a lot of projects done around the house...but I've been having bad neuropathy for the past couple weeks and haven't been sleeping much. There have been nights when I haven't gotten to sleep until 4-5am. So I haven't been as productive with projects around the house as I was hoping to be. I think my lack of sleep really started to hit me after Johnny got home...because both Saturday night and last night I ended up going to bed before midnight. Saturday night I woke up a couple times but was able to go back to sleep until I finally got up at 9:30am. Last night I went to bed a little bit earlier and was wide awake at 4am. :P I may try to get a couple more hours of sleep before Johnny has to start work...we'll see how it goes. I never know if it'll make me feel better through the day if I just settle for the 6 hours of sleep or if it'll make me MORE tired if I go back to bed for just 2 more hours. So we'll see. :P 

I did get one project done while Johnny was gone that I was excited about! Mom came over on Monday and helped me cut our memory foam mattress in half. :) It was kinda nerve-wracking to get started with the first cut...but it really wasn't that difficult. We measured and drew the cut line and then mom just used a regular serrated bread knife to cut it while I tried to apply even pressure on both sides of the line to help it cut easier. There were three layers to our mattress, so we decided to cut each layer separately and I held the top layers out a little bit so she could see better. And then it was pretty simple to get it put in the replacement covers that I'd purchased. Then it was just a matter of making the bed and reprogramming the remotes...which was also pretty easy. I'm absolutely loving that both sides of the bed are able to adjust independently now. Johnny sleeps better when he raises the head of the bed, but he doesn't like raising the feet...where my back feels better having the feet raised. So now we can both adjust it however we want. :) So despite getting less sleep lately...I've been waking up in less pain, so I'm pretty happy about that. 

So...if anyone out there wants to replace their king-size memory foam mattress with two TwinXL mattresses (or resize their current mattress to a smaller size), it's very possible (and not that hard) to cut the current mattress down! Our mattress no longer had a warranty (since my grandma bought it for herself back in 2014) but was still in wonderful shape, so we figured we might as well try it and save having to spend at least $3k on new mattresses. I'm definitely not disappointed! 

It was really weird having Johnny gone for a whole week. It was the first time we've spent a night apart since 2015 when the girls were still going to school in our hometown. I'm glad that Johnny was able to spend some time with his family and had a good time...but the doggies and I were definitely ready for him to be home! Nova was SO excited to see Johnny when he walked in the door. Boz was actually nervous and stayed glued to my side, but after a few minutes he realized who it was. Bozley is just weird like that. :P 

Work is still going well. I wrapped up August with my second highest orders per month, revenue per month, and profit for the month since I started CandiMaker (last month is the only month that had higher numbers, largely because of my name label sticker sheets). And on September 2nd, I hit 3000 sales in my CandiMakerStickers Etsy shop. My goal for this year is to hit 3500...so if things continue the way they have, I should be able to hit that goal. :) I just need to average about 5 sales per day...which is doable. I hit 450 sales in my CandiMakerPlanners Etsy shop mid-August, but sticker sheet sales have slowed to a crawl now that kids are back to school. A lot of it is the fact that I only have 8 listings in that shop and don't work on it as much as my regular sticker shop. I have been trying to work on it more...but I just have so many things on my to-do list. 

I think my next point of focus is going to be to get my website up and running. I'd really like to have it done by the end of the month. There are a few quirks about GoImagine's infrastructure that bug me, though. My biggest complaint is that I was trying to bulk delete the listings that they'd pulled from my Etsy data upload (because it's going to be quicker to just start from scratch rather than edit 300+ listings). But after awhile, it started deleting the listings that were NOT checked in addition to the ones that were checked...including the template listing that I'd just created. So...I gave up working on it that day out of frustration. My plan next week is to make as much progress as possible with it, though. 

On that note...I'm gonna try to get some work done while I try to decide if I want to get a little more sleep or not. ;) 

Slowing Down

It never fails...if I go to bed before midnight, I end up being awake at 3am and can't get back to sleep. So here I am! :P It's storming right now...mostly just thunder and some lightning. I love listening to the thunder. Nova Lee doesn't like the thunder, though. She prefers to hide in the hallway during storms. 

Work has slowed down a lot now that kids are back to school. My regular sticker and magnet orders are still regularly coming in, but the custom name label sticker sheets that dominated in July and the beginning of August are now just an order here and there. 

After orders started to slow down, I decided to start working on some new designs. I added a new set of cleaning sticker sheets for planners to my CandiMakerPlanners shop as well as about 20 new regular sticker designs. There are three animal-related designs and the rest are humor/sarcasm designs (actually, the animal ones are humorous as well, but they're under animals). I got them all printed, cut, photographed and listed...and have already had a couple orders for them. 

And now I'm working on getting my website set up. For right now, I'm just using GoImagine to create my website because it's only $15/month. Etsy has a $15/month plan with a website, but I wanted to diversify the platforms I use. At some point, I may migrate over to a true e-commerce website like Shopify, but right now I'd rather save the money. I have my own domain (www.candimaker.shop) so I'll be able to switch platforms easily in the future without having to redirect customers. 

I've also been busy getting everything ready for Johnny's trip to Washington to see his mom and brother. We splurged a bit and he's flying first class! It was only about $100 more...plus we could use the cash back rewards from our credit card to take off another $130. I also got him an 8 piece luggage set on Amazon when it was on sale for just $85. It has two large checked bags, a carry-on bag, and a smaller personal bag plus 4 packing cubes. It seems pretty sturdy so hopefully it'll hold up well! One of his checked bags will probably be mostly stuff for his mom. She is living in a care home and we've had all her stuff here in our basement. So he's going to take some of her things out there to her. Johnny is impressed with how organized I am with getting everything ready for him. He's a procrastinator so if it weren't for me...he'd probably be doing all his packing the night before he left while I've been prepping for a week already. ;) Hopefully he'll have a great trip! 

I'm going to tackle at least one project while Johnny is gone. The sync cord for our adjustable base was damaged (darn ol' cats) so we haven't been adjusting the bed for about a month now. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a replacement cable anywhere since it's pretty old. We've been wanting to get a split king (two twinXL mattresses) but we also don't want to spend the $3k+ right now. BUT...I realized that we can actually cut our memory foam mattress in half. Our mattress is still comfy, so I figured we might as well try this first. Tempur-Pedic doesn't have replacement covers for 11" mattresses, but I ended up finding a company where you can order some generic ones. I already have the new mattress pad and sheet sets...and the replacement covers should be here Friday. Mom's going to help me cut the mattresses and get them in the covers. Hopefully it will go smoothly! 

All right...I think I'm finally getting tired again, so I'm going to see if I can fall asleep. :)