A Productive Weekend!

I got a LOT of stuff done this weekend! And...Johnny and I got some new desks! :)

Friday morning I decided to start working on my office right after I woke up. I needed to empty everything off of the hutch bookcase so I could move Johnny's old desk (the one that my Romeo was on) to that spot and then put the hutch bookcase on top of the desk where it belongs. That bookcase holds all my cookbooks, art books, some writing books, and then I have all of our wedding decorations on top (which I'm very glad still fit up there when we moved the hutch onto the desk).  

Friday afternoon my mom and grandma stopped by so I could fix Grandma's phone. She had inadvertently turned off the full-screen notification of when she's getting a call...so the phone was ringing with just a black screen and she couldn't tell who was calling. We had some Taco Tico for lunch and chatted for a bit. The dogs definitely liked having company. :) 

After mom and grandma left, Johnny's new desk arrived (an hour later than FedEx originally estimated). I got the top and the bottom of the desk put together and then I took a break so we could have some Casey's pizza for dinner. After we ate, Johnny helped me move both pieces of his desk into the bedroom and I attached them together. Then all I had to do was put the LED light strip up (which was not designed well because it lays flat so it can't go around the corner and still be flat against the board). But other than that, it really looks great. It'll definitely be better than the old, slanted art desk of his mom's that he was using before. 

I went to bed around 12:45am. Unfortunately...I woke up to Milo puking on the bed at my feet about two hours later. :P  I didn't want to wake Johnny, so I decided to just go ahead and get up. I didn't do a whole lot during the night...just kinda played around on my phone and the computer. But after Johnny woke up, I started washing the bedding and then got to work in my office. Apparently only two hours of sleep leads to productivity! :P 

Last month I started scanning some of the documents in the file cabinets that we have in the closet in my office...and I decided that I wanted to get those shredded before I put my new desk in the office. My desk ended up getting here around 9:30am (5 hours earlier than FedEx originally estimated) but I wanted to finish scanning first so I could get the box of paper out of the office. It seemed to take FOREVER...but I got the entire box done (which filled almost five 13gal trash bags). Then I vacuumed and moved some things around...and finally put my new desk together. It went pretty quick and it fits perfectly. I really like how my office is coming together. It's a pretty small room, but I'm trying to make the most of the space that I have. Later I'll update my office collection post with all my new stuff. :) 

I made creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner on Sunday night. They're SO yummy...but it makes my back hurt from standing so long. Usually I get my orders that I got over the weekend done on Sunday, but I needed a break after putting the desks together and reorganizing my office. I didn't have any orders due until the 17th, so I took a break on Sunday and then got back at it on Monday. I had a LOT of magnets to print and cut. I'm so glad that I started selling magnets as well as stickers, because it has really helped my business grow. The new layout of my office also helped a lot with my workflow. 

Ooh and I figured out how to create a playlist on Amazon Prime to play music while I'm packing orders. I had been playing shows on Netflix or Hulu on my tablet while working in the office, but I feel like I'm more productive and efficient when listing to music instead. I don't really want to pay for Amazon Music Unlimited every month, but I wanted to play music on the Echo dot that we got forever ago. So I figured out that I could add songs to "My Likes" playlist and then just have Alexa play that list to shuffle all the songs I actually like. I liked having my shows playing in the background, but playing music is more motivating and productive. ;) 

I also made some adjustments to the settings for my cardstock cards. Since my ET-16650 prints so fast, I'd completely forgotten how much slower other printers are...including my new WF-4833. But instead of printing high quality, I went ahead and bumped it down to standard, turned on bidirectional printing, and increased the contrast, saturation, and density. So now it looks pretty much the same, but it prints a lot faster. I like it when things are efficient. 

Oh and I finished the new season of Virgin River on Friday. The last few seasons feel pretty slow a lot of the time, but it wasn't too bad. And every season ends on a cliffhanger...which I never like. It's just a tool to make sure people come back and watch the next season to see what happens...which feels manipulative. But I still come back to see what happens. :P Well...most of the time. There are some shows that I completely lost interest in and don't even care to see what else happens. 

Well...I'm going to get back to work. 

What a mess!

So...my Epson ET-16650 has been having some issues. It still prints my stickers and sticker sheets beautifully, but the rollers seem to be having some issues with auto duplexing and recognizing that there is paper in the lower two cassettes unless they're full. I've opened it up multiple times and tried cleaning the rollers and everything...but it's still having issues. But the only things I've been having issues with are when I'm printing my packaging inserts and packing slips...so I don't want to replace the entire printer when it's still printing my actual products without any problems. 

I decided I would go ahead and get a cheaper printer for regular office printing. Since I don't need it to be pigment, I was looking at the regular Epson Ecotank printers. They had a "certified renew" Epson ET-3853 which was the cheapest ($179)...so I went ahead and got that one. It arrived yesterday and it was HORRIBLE. The very first print...there were black smudges all over the page. These weren't smears like the ink I printed hadn't dried or the paper was curled and it hit the printhead or anything. It honestly looked like someone took the paper and stepped on it with their dirty shoe. Just random smudges. I did paper guide cleaning, printhead cleaning, print quality adjustment, printhead alignment...all of it. I even cleaned the rollers off with a cotton swab as explained in the user manual which helped a bit until I had to do another printhead cleaning because there were missing spots in the nozzle check pattern...then it all came right back. I spent HOURS trying to get this damn printer to not make shitty prints to no avail. And I tried to print auto duplex (since that was one of the main reasons for getting a new printer) and the back of the page shifted while printing every time. I was so excited...just to waste the day on a defective printer. 

I've had THREE Epson Ecotank printers...an ET-16650 that I'd converted to sublimation (my sister has that now since I'm not doing sublimation anymore), an ET-5800 that I'd purchased from Epson's refurbished eBay store (that my mom is now using), and another Epson ET-16650 that I have been using for almost three years to print my stickers and sticker sheets. All three of them worked perfectly right out of the box including the refurbished ET-5800. I'd get another ET-5800-series printer if they weren't so dang expensive ($600-800) especially considering it's just for office printing and not products. 

The Epson store customer service line you have to call for returns (because, unfortunately, you can't just do it online) is only open from 7am-4pm PST...which means they close at 2pm my time. The first time I called was at 12:14pm. I explain the issue...and they say that I have to go through tech support to be approved for a return label and refund. So they transfer me and I explain every single thing I've already done. She wanted me to go through it all again...uh, no. I've already followed EVERY troubleshooting step and packaged the damn thing back up last night. So she just goes with it and says that she'll send me an email with the reference number...never got an email. So at 12:39pm I call the return number back. They said that they see no record of tech authorizing the return and they don't know why she would send an email anyway...so I'm transferred and have to explain ALL the things I already did AGAIN. This time I get a ticket/reference number saying it's a hardware failure and told that I have to call the return line back again. So now I call the return number again at 12:58pm. I give the guy the reference number I was given...and he says that there is no mention of a hardware failure, only troubleshooting. So I am transferred AGAIN and have to explain ALL the things I did AGAIN. She assured me that the hardware failure was now attached to the reference number and tried to transfer me back to the return number, but it wouldn't work so I had to call the return number again. FINALLY when I call back at 1:13pm I end up with an email for a return label. Now I just have to get it dropped off for FedEx. UGH. SO frustrating. 

So...I decided to go a different route. We had an Epson Workforce printer before I started my business. It worked fine for awhile, but we didn't print very often and it just went downhill after a few years. It was also a cartridge printer and went through cartridges pretty quick. That's why I originally wasn't going to get another Workforce printer...but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a printer just for my office stuff. So I decided to reexamine the Workforce printers. And after the headache dealing with Epson, I decided I didn't want to go through them directly. I actually found a pretty nice option at our local Walmart that could be delivered same day. Ideally I wanted a printer that could handle auto duplexing cardstock and even better if it had two dedicated paper trays so I could have one for plain paper and another for cardstock like I've had in my ET-16650. The Workforce Pro WF-4833 is actually a lot like my old ET-5800. The only thing it doesn't have that I would've liked is a rear feed paper tray...but that's a pretty minor thing. And, of course, I wish it was a tank printer instead of cartridges. But since the printer is only $129, getting cartridges aren't that bad at this point. 

I got the WF-4833 all set up...and it worked beautifully right out of the box. I printed my double-sided cards that are printed on cardstock...and it had no problem auto duplexing the cardstock from the paper cassette. It does print quite a bit lighter than my ET-16650...but I don't know how much changing I'll do because I don't want to use more of the ink than I really have to on things that a lot of my customers probably throw away anyway. And we'll see how long the cartridges last. But so far I'm pleased with my purchase. :) 

And...I'm really running out of desk space for all my stuff...especially with the new printer. So I found a cheap desk on Amazon that I think will work well for my small office. I'm going to move Johnny's old desk (the one my Romeo has been on) over next to the armoire where the hutch (more like a bookcase) that goes on top of that desk already is. On the hutch I just have my cookbooks, art and writing books, and then all the stuff from our wedding displayed on it. I used to have all my planners and everyone's yearbooks and stuff on it too, but I took all those downstairs when preparing for one of the storms that they were saying would basically take out our town (it barely stormed at all, of course). I decided to go ahead and just leave them in the basement instead of bringing them downstairs every time there might be a tornado warning. 

Anyway...the new desk I got should fit where Johnny's old desk had been. If it all works out, it should fit my new printer, the Romeo, and my Cricut on the new desk. Then I can move a few random things (like my paper cutter) onto Johnny's old desk. Right now it's just sitting on the end of my desk and I have to keep moving it to use it or when I need more space on my desk. I'm really excited to be making a little better use of the space in my small office. :) I'm all caught up on orders and my desk is supposed to be delivered on Saturday...so I'm going to use the next few days to clean up and rearrange in my office. That way I'll be all ready to put the desk together and move it to its new home. :)

We also got a new desk for Johnny to use for work. He's been using his mom's art desk that's set up in a corner of our bedroom. It has a slightly slanted top which really isn't suitable to use as a computer desk. So it's definitely time we got him an upgrade to something that has much more of an "office" feel to it. I found a perfect corner desk that I think he will love. It's supposed to be delivered on Friday, so I'll put it together when it arrives and then he can get it all set up the way he wants over the weekend so he can have a fresh start to his work week on Monday. :) 

Right now I'm waiting for the new season of Virgin River to start. The new episodes are supposed to drop on Netflix at 2am...so I'm going to wait up for it. I'm only going to watch the first episode tonight...I'll finish the rest tomorrow. Season 6 ended on a cliffhanger...the very last scene is Jack walking into the twins' bedroom at Charmaine's (after Charmaine was a no-show at the wedding and no one could get a hold of her) and he has a shocked look on his face after he opens the door...and that's it. That's where they ended it. I just want to know what the hell he saw! :P lol. 

And that's about all that's going on around here. I lead a super exciting life. ;) 

March?!

Well...I ended February with 97 orders...so didn't make it over 100, but hopefully it'll be the only month with less than 100 orders just like it was last year. And I still had almost 20 more orders this February than I did last year and my revenue was also quite a bit higher. It did pick up more in the last few days. I had 20 orders from over the weekend that I made and packaged last night before I went to bed so they'd be in the mail today. 

Since I worked on my website all day Friday and Saturday then worked on orders Sunday, I decided I'm going to take a break from work today. I've also had a horrible migraine for most of the day, so I haven't really felt like doing much anyway. I even laid down to take a nap for about two hours with an ice pack hoping it would help...but it didn't. I just found an old sumatriptan in the cabinet so I'm hoping that will kick in and make the migraine go away. 

Johnny had surgery this morning to remove the stitches from his surgery last week and to remove another spot of skin cancer. Last week we were home by 9:30am, but it was a bit busier today. We'd been talking all morning about getting McDonalds breakfast since we were out and about. We ended up having to order Door Dash to have breakfast delivered...it got there about 10 minutes before we did. ;) So we enjoyed some breakfast sandwiches and burritos while we watched Playdate. Honestly...I like Alan Ritchson (LOVE watching Reacher) and he was funny in this movie...but the movie itself was not great. It was more corny than funny, and those aren't really my type of comedies. My favorite genre is action movies with funny one-liners...like Reacher! lol.  

Out of  the seven skin cancer surgeries Johnny has had now, this is the only one where he had any issues after we got home. He'd been sitting for awhile but then when he stood up, quite a bit of blood started coming from under the pressure bandage which was no longer secured at the bottom. He has to keep the pressure bandage on for 48 hours after surgery, so I'm wondering if that was part of the problem as far as why it had started bleeding. I went ahead and took the bandage the rest of the way off and there was a small spot about a quarter inch long that had a little bit of blood seeping through the incision (so it was already no longer dripping). We were out of butterfly bandages, so I used a regular Band-Aid across the incision to hopefully hold it closed a little better and then put a new pressure bandage on. He went in the bedroom to lay down a couple hours ago and so far it seems to be doing fine and there hasn't been more bleeding. 

I finally got around to making a groomer appointment for Boz and Nova. They reeeeeally need a spaw day. Unfortunately we couldn't get in until April, but I did see that she posted on FB that they're not taking on any new dogs so the wait doesn't get even longer for their existing customers. She's been our only groomer since Bozley's first groom and with his anxiety, we try not to change things up very often unless we have to. I also need to make their vet appointment so they can get their shots. Nova already has a scab on her head so we'll get her an allergy shot, too. We have to remember to have the vet look at a lump on her chest while we're there. Bozley has had one for years and the vet said it seems to just be a lipoma, so we're hoping that's the case with Nova, too. 

Well...the migraine meds kicked in and helped the pain, but now I have the uncomfortable tightness feeling, so I think I'm actually gonna go to bed early. Goodnight! 

Keeping busy!

Well...I'm glad I didn't spend too much more time working on my "website" at GoImagine...because they're shutting down next month. Honestly, I can't say that I'm surprised at all that they're shutting down. It seemed like they spent a lot more effort attracting sellers than buyers. A lot of sellers talked about how they liked that it wasn't Etsy and it focused more on sellers...but Etsy actually has traffic, and GoImagine doesn't. It doesn't really matter how they treat sellers if the sellers don't have any buyers. That's why I was just using it as a "website" instead of a marketplace...because you still have to drive the traffic yourself anyway. Their UI was really clunky and their analytics left a lot to be desired as well. 

So anyway...I decided that I still want to build my own website, so I'm utilizing Shopify's $1/mo intro offer to see how I like things there. I went through all the settings to get my account and everything set up yesterday. Then today I finished up the theme and editing the design. Now it's just a matter of getting all my products added. Luckily there is an Etsy integration where I can import all my Etsy listings, so that helps a lot. I just have to go through and tweak a few things like changing the prices. My prices on Etsy include not only the fees that Etsy charges, but also the cost for First Class letter mail labels on Etsy. I'll only be doing tracked shipping on orders from my website, so the item price won't include shipping anymore. I'll be charging for shipping, but I'll be offering free shipping for orders over $35. I'm hoping to have my website completely finished by the end of this weekend. :) 

It's hard to believe it's almost March! February is always my slowest month...but this February has already been better than February 2025, so that's good. I'm not sure that I'll break 100 orders this February, but hopefully it'll be like last year and it'll be the only month that doesn't break 100. And the slower pace has given me time to work on my website anyway. 

Johnny has been off work because he had another skin cancer surgery earlier this week. He has another one next week and hopefully that'll be the last one for awhile. We watched The Wrecking Crew last night and it was SO good. It's definitely the best movie we've watched in awhile. It's my favorite genre...funny action movies. Then today Aubry and her boyfriend stopped by to drop something off and ended up staying awhile. It was a nice time...lots of laughing, so that's always good. :) 

Well...I think I'm actually getting tired. My allergies have been terrible today so I think I might take some more Benadryl and go to bed. :P

Valentine's Day!

Johnny and I are pretty low-key when it comes to holidays. We like to spend quality time together...eating dinner and watching tv shows or movies with each other. I love our nice, comfortable life together. We don't have any drama, there's no fighting...everyday is just...contentment...and I really appreciate that. 

I did splurge a little bit this year. I've been seeing commercials for edible arrangements for years and always thought that it would be neat thing to do for Johnny. He really likes fruit and flowers aren't very "manly" so a fruit bouquet just seemed like it'd be perfect. I ordered an arrangement that had some pineapple hearts, strawberries, and chocolate covered strawberries with a valentines day balloon. I wanted something that didn't have everything covered in chocolate, because I knew he'd want to share it with the puppies. 

I ordered it around 1am on February 13th for valentines day delivery on Saturday. It arrived shortly before 2pm and came in a case in an insulated bag. The balloon was tied to the handles on the bag...and Bozley immediately hated it. :P He ran to the hallway and started barking at it. Then when I was finally able to get him to sit on the couch next to me, he kept shaking really bad. I ended up putting the balloon in my office, and then Johnny opened the bag. I was surprised to find two vases in there...I'd only ordered one and it didn't say anything about it including two of them. Johnny loved it...and the doggies liked getting half a piece of a pineapple heart. ;) Since Johnny liked it so well, I'm going to get another one for his birthday that has a wider variety of fruits. I would have gotten it this time, but it had birthday balloons with it. :P 

Ashlyn came over Saturday afternoon to do laundry (tons of laundry!) and I did her taxes while she was here. She brought Neko with her and he seemed to enjoy seeing Johnny. It took him awhile, but he was also playing with Nova a little bit. She'd lay on the floor and let him jump on her. It was cute. 

It was late by the time Ashlyn left, so we decided to just have leftover cheesy chicken chili for dinner Saturday night. Then tonight we had Hibachi Boy for our valentines day dinner. :) We also finished watching Fool Me Once on Netflix. We watched an episode during dinner Friday night and then watched a couple more episodes in the bedroom. And then tonight we watched the last three episodes during/after dinner. We thought it was a pretty good show. Then on Thursday Season 3 of Night Agent will be on Netflix, so we'll watch that until our other shows come back from hiatus. 

Work has slowed for February, but I'm still doing better than February 2025. Last year, from February 1st through the 15th I had 37 orders...this year I already have 50 orders. So I'm hoping the momentum keeps up for the rest of the month. :) 

On that note...I have some new sticker sheets that I want to work on a little bit before I go to bed. Goodnight!