Thursday, March 21, 2024

Breaking records!

March is continuing to go well for CandiMakerStickers! :) On Monday, March 18th, I hit 600 sales in my Etsy shop. I broke my previous record of 5 orders in one day...I had 6 orders on Tuesday! And then today, I had another 6 orders in my Etsy shop PLUS one order from eBay. I've already had 21 orders this week, so I'm hoping to break my previous record of orders in one week (31 orders in the last week of February/first week of March). My previous record for the number of orders in one month was 60 orders last month in February. As of March 21st, I already have 63 orders this month...and the month isn't even over yet! :) Today I also hit 500 orders in my Etsy shop. I hope the upward trend continues! :) 

When I'm not busy packing orders, I've been working on adding my existing sticker designs to my listings on eBay. So far I've uploaded 71 listings on eBay...so I still have a long way to go. :P But...progress! I've been working on a few new sticker designs off and on as well. I have a document of SO many quotes that I want to make into stickers...it's 29 pages long, so there's a lot of ideas. ;) 

In other news... our AC has to be replaced. :P The electricity had gone out on March 10th. Later, it was pretty hot in the house...and I realized the AC unit outside wasn't actually running. We figured out that it was tripping the breaker every time we'd turn it on. So this week we had an HVAC guy come out and diagnose the problem. As it turns out, the condenser AND the motor went out at the same time because of a power surge. So, we're going through our home owners insurance to get the situation taken care of. Luckily it's in March and not July or August when it's disgustingly hot outside. It's been getting a little warm in the late afternoon into the evening...but it hasn't been too unbearable. Hopefully we can get it all taken care of soon. 

Well I suppose I'll get a little more work done before I go to bed. :) 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Mid-March is going well!

The upward momentum in my CandiMakerStickers Etsy shop is continuing. :) I'm still getting orders from eBay as well. I had 35 total orders in January and 60 orders in February. From the February 1st to 6th, I had 22 orders. From the beginning of March through today, I've already had 45 orders. I love watching my numbers go up...being able to see actual progress from all my hard work. :) 

I'm glad I've started taking a break on the weekends. I tend to spend all my free time focused on my business and I've noticed that after the weekend...I do feel more productive and energized to get back at it on Monday. I did work today for a couple hours. I generally have at least one of each design and size for stickers, but I mostly just print and cut magnets as I get orders. I had four magnets that I needed to send out Monday so I got that done today and packaged the other two orders I had from Etsy and eBay so Aubry can drop them all off on her way to work in the morning. 

But other than that, I played Sims 4 a lot this weekend. I built an awesome house on there that I really love. It's like...if/when Johnny and I build a house in the future, I'd love to build this house that I designed on my Sims game. LOL. It's all one story except for a basement...because I think in the future, it'll probably be best for me to have as few stairs as possible. I already have a hard time with stairs sometimes due to my hEDS...so I imagine that will just get worse as I get older. I also have the washer and dryer in the walk-in closet of the master bedroom because that's such a huge convenience. And then I have a large room for crafting which would be amazing. And Johnny has talked before about wanting a floorplan that isn't as open...so the living room, kitchen, and dining room are all separate. So...our Sim house is awesome. ;) 

I also got my Grandma's taxes done over the weekend, did some chores around the house, and relaxed with Johnny. Our AC is currently not working...so Johnny worked on that a little bit. We're waiting for a part to be delivered...hopefully that'll solve the problem. If not, I'll probably have to call someone to come out and diagnose the problem. I'm just glad it happened now when the weather is nice rather than in the middle of summer.  


Thursday, March 14, 2024

RECIPE: Salisbury Steak

Johnny has been asking for Salisbury steak forever and I just never get around to making it because I'm not a huge fan of it in general :P But I had leftovers to eat tonight, so I decided to surprise Johnny and make it for him. He thought it was very much worth the wait. ;) Aubry was actually awake when I finished making dinner and she had some...she liked it, too. However...I forgot to take a picture! So I'll have to take a picture next time and then I'll add it to this post. :)

Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:
STEAK
1 lb ground beef
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp French onion soup

GRAVY:
1 can beef broth 
1 tbs cornstarch 
remaining can of french onion soup 
1 tsp worchestershire sauce 
1 4oz can sliced whole mushrooms

Directions:
1. Combine all the steak ingredients together in a bowl. Shape into 4 oval patties about 1 in thick. 
2. In a skillet on medium-high heat, brown the steak patties for about 1-2 minutes on each side until browned on the outside. Remove from skillet.   
3. Mix 1/4 cup of beef broth with the cornstarch in a small bowl. 
4. Pour remaining can of beef broth into skillet. Pour in cornstarch mixture. Stir over medium heat until slightly thickened.
5. Add French onion soup, Worcestershire sauce, and mushrooms. Stir then add steak patties to the gravy. 
6. Cover and heat for about 7 minutes, then flip steaks and cook for another 7 minutes or until middle of patties register at 160 degrees. Turn off heat and serve over mashed potatoes.