It's hard to believe October is almost over already. Soon it will be the end of the year! The weather has gotten colder already...because of course we can't have fall for more than a couple of days. :P My health doesn't really like the change in weather. My neuropathy has been bothering me and I've had a headache for the last week.
In somewhat-related health news...I officially have a diagnosis in my file for Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I've talked about hEDS in my blog before and how it explains every health issue I've had since birth. I've been talking to my doctor about it for the last year or so and after I got the genome sequencing back showing that I don't have any other types of EDS, that was the last thing I needed to meet the diagnostic criteria. We've been actively searching for answers since 2006, so it really feels good to have that particular chapter closed. No more testing or "specialists" who think it's all in my head. That's the thing about rare diseases, I guess...specialists would rather think you're crazy than consider a rare disease. But also...it's not like my hypermobility was obvious to medical professionals. Doctors and health questionnaires never ask if you can bend your fingers backwards or put your leg behind your head. :P And since it didn't hurt or cause any problems, it's not like I ever thought to bring it up. I was literally born that way and I just thought it was normal...because it was normal for me (and many of my family members). I do remember I asked whatever doctor I went to when I was in elementary school if I was double-jointed and all I got at that time was that there's no such thing as "double-jointed." But double-jointed is what I heard people say whenever they saw me do bendy things. So...I just never thought about it again until recently. And actually...someone from a parenting message board that I used to be active on suggested Ehlers-Danlos several years ago. But when I read the description, I saw "rare disease" and "abnormally" flexible joints...but I thought I just had "normally" flexible joints and even I dismissed it since it's a "rare" disease. I should've done more than a quick check of the definition though because there were so many other symptoms than just hypermobility that fit me perfectly. Section 2 of the hEDS diagnostic criteria have a list of different symptoms and at least 5 out of 12 have to be present for a diagnosis...I have 8: mitral valve prolapse, pelvic organ prolapse, abdominal hernias, dental overcrowding, arm span longer than my height (from my scoliosis), unexplained stretch marks as a teenager, soft skin, and mild skin hyperextensibility. My regular doctor has diagnosed and/or treated all of my issues since I was a teenager so I think that probably made him feel comfortable diagnosing me with hEDS. And I'm really thankful for that...because I hate going to specialists. :P
We also just celebrated my 42nd birthday! Johnny and I had Hibachi Boy and watched Expend4bles for my birthday. I also got a new wedding ring set. I actually got three rings...a tungsten band just like my old one that I can wear all the time (even in the shower) and then a new bridal set that I really only plan to wear when I leave the house. It's a big emerald cut engagement ring in a halo setting and a half eternity wedding band that goes with it. I have always wanted an emerald cut and it's so beautiful. :)
We also went to my grandparents' house for dinner Saturday for my birthday. Grandma made a yummy chicken spaghetti pasta, we had lemon Chantilly cake, and we played Hand & Foot (a card game). We played in teams and I was with Grandpa and mom...then Grandma, Johnny, and Aubry were on the other team. We won! There are several rounds in the game and there for a little bit Grandma's team was ahead. But then the last round Grandpa went out early so we came from behind to win by a lot. ;) I was also super excited to get an Amazon gift card which I've already used. I went through my Amazon wish lists yesterday and picked out lots of good stuff that is supposed to arrive tomorrow. :) Of course...it's lots of stuff for CandiMaker/my office. ;)
Things with CandiMaker are going well! As of yesterday, October has been my most successful month so far. A lot of people are seeing a slow October...but my September was slow. I had only 26 sales in September (although one of those sales was for 25 of the same sticker) and 46 sales so far in October. I sold 60 stickers in September and 72 stickers so far in October. I've also passed 300 sales (I'm at 311 right now)! It took me from January to August 21 to reach 200 sales...and just a little over 2 months later I hit 300. :) Yesterday alone I had 5 orders...and one was an order for 8 different stickers. I have my Black Friday sale going on right now through November 28th: 28% off orders of $20 or more. Discount is automatically applied to qualifying orders at checkout! If anyone is interested, check out my shop and see what you like!
This week I'm planning to make some more Christmas gift label stickers as well as decorative Christmas sticker sheets. I made one 5x7 Halloween sticker sheet which was a custom request, but my idea right now is to make several different Christmas sticker sheets so I'll probably make them in 4x6 size. I like to keep my sticker sheets between 4x6 and 5x7 because I can ship them via letter mail in my current materials that I use for die-cut stickers.
I also finally finished creating all the die-cut sticker listings for my Faire shop. I applied on October 2nd and was immediately accepted. I set up my shop story, cover and feature photos, etc. but it took me awhile to get all my listings up. I finally got that done yesterday and my shop is live as of today. I'm super excited to start selling wholesale. For any of my friends that are resale business owners, you can sign up on Faire and order stickers in bulk for 50% off MSRP in my Faire shop. If you're new to Faire, you can use my link to get some awesome benefits including $100 off your first order, 1 year of free shipping, 60-day payment terms, and free returns on your first order!
And if any of my crafty friends are interested in signing up to sell on Faire, you can use my link to apply. I'd been putting off signing up on Faire because I heard that the application process could take a long time and many weren't approved when they first signed up. However, I signed up with a friend's referral link and my application was immediately accepted. My shop just went live and I've already had someone send me a message saying they're interested in my products. :)
I'm trying to decide if I want to open a TikTok shop now. Same with Facebook. I previously had a Facebook "shop" but it was just tied to my Etsy shop so the products took them to Etsy checkout. Facebook did away with that option and I just never did anything to set up my shop directly on Facebook. So I've been thinking about that now that I've got my Faire shop set up.
Other than that...the joint graduation party for my sister, Aubry, and Ashlyn was a success! The Friday before we went to the shelter house at the lake to set up all the decorations. My mom, sister, and I were there almost all day. Dad was also there for a big part of the day helping blow up balloons. And then Saturday morning I got up at 6am to make Lazy Lasagna and Crackpot Chicken. I made double batches of both. Then Aubry and I got to the shelter house several hours early to finish setting up (Johnny and Ashlyn drove up for the party later). The balloons needed to be finished, we set all the food out, and Aubry helped set up the tables and chairs. The party went really well. I got a lot of compliments on the food and my cousin also loved the invitations so much that she wants me to make some baby shower invitations in a few months. :) Then after the party was the cleaning up. Ugggghhh...that felt like more work than setting up did. :P But Johnny was there to help this time. :) Even the girls and Aubry's friend who had come to the party helped with popping balloons and taking down decorations. I was SO SORE after the party though...and for about a week afterwards. My back just can't handle things like it used to. :P
Well...I think I'm going to head to bed. Hope everyone has a great week!