Spring!

It's finally spring...and we've been having crazy Kansas weather. It'll be 70 one day and then snowing the next day. There's also been crazy wind off and on, of course...and I really hate the wind because it gives me migraines. I'd gotten some samples of migraine meds from my doctor last year. There isn't a generic of them so they're pretty expensive. He gave me a couple packs of two different medications...which was almost $1000 in samples. 

I'm also still dealing with the nerve issues in my shoulder. The TENS unit seems to be the only thing providing relief right now...but that's only while I'm using it. I've also had issues with sciatica radiating to peroneal nerve pain. I've had issues with sciatica off and on since 2002, but this is the first time I've had it around the front/side of my knee. It makes it really hard to get comfortable...especially when I'm trying to sleep. Luckily it's not a constant thing. But...I'm still not getting a whole lot of uninterrupted sleep. 

We had a pretty nice weekend. Friday night we had leftover vegetable beef soup and watched Reacher. Usually we watch it on Thursdays...but on Thursday I thought it was Wednesday until I went to print the postage for my orders after Johnny was already asleep...and Johnny didn't remember either. :P So we watched that Friday night during dinner. I'm sad that there's only one episode left! I think it's definitely my top favorite show. Hopefully we won't have to wait long for a 4th season. 

Then Saturday afternoon we watched Electric State which was pretty good. I liked watching it in the bedroom with the head and the feet of the bed up. I love having an adjustable bed! It's so much more comfy than the couch. :) Plus the dogs lay down and relax on the bed (thank goodness it's a king size!) instead of constantly moving around between us and chasing the cats. Anyway...Saturday evening we ordered some Chinese for dinner and watched Bert Kreischer's new comedy special on Netflix. It was pretty good...but the end of it was pretty sad! He talked about how they had someone come to their house to put their dog down. I was fine until he started getting tears in his eyes...then *I* started getting tears in my eyes. :P 

Sunday was a really productive day. I just worked all day printing, cutting, and packaging orders to be mailed out today. Johnny gave the dogs a bath...so they smell all nice and clean again. He got a few things done around the yard and the house that he's been wanting to get to. 

And tonight I made Cheez-It Chicken Fried Steak for dinner. We hadn't had it in awhile and Johnny thought it sounded good. I make it in the air fryer...it's super quick and easy. If I didn't have my air fryer and pressure cookers...I definitely wouldn't cook as much as I do. I love things that are quick and easy...and still taste amazing. Of all appliances that could go out...our oven is the one that I would still be able to make dinner with no problem. Ironically, it's the only appliance in this house that we haven't replaced. LOL. We've even replaced the fridge twice! lol. 

Work is going pretty well so far this year. While it had slowed down after December (which is generally expected), I'm still doing better than I did compared to the same timeframe last year. I had 100 orders in January and then it slowed a bit to only 78 orders in February. March started out about the same as February...but it's picked up quite a bit in the last week. I'm already at 91 orders for the month so far and there's still a whole week left. My revenue has already surpassed by revenue in January, too. And I'm only 4 sales away from 2150 in my CandiMakerStickers Etsy shop! I had a large order for twenty 4" magnets of my "He is Risen" design...so that helped a lot. I'm still so glad that I went through all my listing photos and changed them to show sticker or magnet...because I get a lot more magnet orders now. During slower times, I've been working on new designs as well as revamping designs that hadn't been doing as well. I'm still loving being able to work from home doing something I love. :) I consider myself very lucky! 

Oh! And I forgot that I wanted to update on the Litter Robot situation. Angel still LOVES it and uses it exclusively. The boys? They're still using the old litterbox. BUT...Milo--who was *very* afraid of the Litter Robot and started out not even wanting to go into the cat room at all--has been getting more and more interested in it. He hasn't been getting IN it, but he'll stand on the step and look in it. He likes watching it and will often interrupt it mid-cycle multiple because it stops cycling whenever a cat is on the step in front of it. It'll stop and then he'll sit back and wait...just to stop it again as soon as it starts. So while he's using it...I do think it's good progress that he's gone from scared to curious! Leo used it a few times in the beginning...but as soon as I put the old litterbox back out (because Milo was scared) Leo has been using only the old litterbox again. So...still working on it, but hopefully the boys will eventually prefer a clean bathroom. *fingers crossed*  

Well...I need to get some things done before I go to bed. I hope everyone has a good week! 

Already March?!

It kinda feels like this year so far is going by both fast and slow. :P It's hard to believe it's March already...but with all the craziness going on, it also feels like it's hard to believe it's only March. :P 

The last few days I've been able to sleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time...so that's progress! Right now my biggest complaint is my shoulder. I don't know if it's a pinched nerve or what the exact problem is. I know it a nerve is involved somehow...because I'm getting numbness/tingling in my hand. I've tried taking ibuprofen, my Tramadol, and my Gabapentin (for nerve pain) and nothing seems to be helping. Tonight I remembered that I have my TENS unit...which I got almost 30 years ago for back pain caused by my scoliosis. So I decided to try that on my shoulder and see if it helps. While it isn't making the pain go away...while the TENS unit is on, I don't notice the pain as much. So it's providing a little bit of relief and I'm at least thankful for that. 

I forgot to mention that I hit 2000 sales in my CandiMakerStickers Etsy shop on February 20th! So that's always exciting. My total orders for February were less than the number of orders I got last February...but I had higher income this February than last February. The higher income is largely because I've sold a lot more magnets which are a higher price point. 

While sales have been a bit slower lately, I've been trying to work on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and making some new designs. I'd had a few designs already created, but hadn't gotten around to photographing them. But I finally took pictures after I printed and cut all the new designs. I had 30 new designs and 3 existing designs that I hadn't photographed yet. I got them all printed and cut on Thursday and then photographed them all yesterday. Today I've worked off and on cropping the photos and working on the listing images. I'm hoping tomorrow I'll be able to get all the listings uploaded. It's been so long since I uploaded new general sticker designs...so I really enjoyed working on them. 

And on that note...I'm going to work on them a little more before I go to bed. :)