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!

Another slow February

I've actually had this blog post up in my browser for several weeks...I'd start it but then I'd get distracted or busy with something else and forget to come back and finish it. :P 

I've been working a lot in my office the last several weekends. We have two metal file cabinets in the office closet and I've been working on scanning everything so we can shred the paper documents. We're wanting to do a lot of decluttering, and I decided to start there since it's been something I've wanted to do for, like, ever. I think once I have the file cabinets emptied, I'm going to move them downstairs and then put all the "scrapbook stuff" in them...which I've also been keeping in the closet in my office. My goal is to get that closet cleaned out (or mostly cleaned out) and expand the space in my office. I haven't decided how I'll rearrange yet since it'll still be quite awhile before I get that closet completely cleaned out...but I'm looking forward to changing things up. I also need to get the shelves that I'm going to be using in the basement so I can get that all squared away. I'm going to be using Aubry's old bedroom as storage. Between our stuff and Johnny's mom's stuff (she moved to a care home in Washington back in 2019) we have a lot to get organized and I want to use vertical space as much as possible. 

I took a break from organizing my office this past weekend to work on some new stuff CandiMaker stuff. I have another personalized name sticker sheet that I'm working on right now. I've worked on bookmarks off and on...but so far, I'm still putting those on hold. I really want my magnetic bookmarks to have the full magnet backing--because that is the type of magnetic bookmark that I prefer using myself--but the best way I've found to do that so far is manually lining up the die-cut magnets with the die-cut bookmarks which is hard to get perfectly straight...not to mention the fact that it takes more time. So...I may revisit the magnetic bookmarks at some point, but right now I have other things I want to get done first. I still haven't even finished my website yet. :P 

I had to restock most of my supplies in January. While I was at it, I also decided to change the laminating sheets that I've been using. I started using Oraguard 210 glossy in August 2023. It worked well for awhile, but the last several packages from Creative Craft Vinyl have had very poor quality control. The last 250 sheet package I ordered had more than 120 sheets with imperfections and debris under the laminate. I was already using Oraguard 215 matte for my door sign stickers and magnets, so I decided to switch to Oraguard 215 glossy instead and I'm really loving the change. They have a much higher quality look and feel to them...and very few sheets had imperfections, thank goodness. 

January 2026 was quite a bit busier than January 2025. Actually, I had more orders in January 2026 than I did each month of 2025 until July. I'm interested to see how this month goes. Last year, February was the only month that I didn't get at least 100 orders...I'm hoping this February will continue the trend and be better than last year. The first week, so far, is a little better...so we'll see how the rest of the month goes.

I'm sure I've talked about this before, but I definitely appreciate how supportive Johnny is. It makes a world of difference as a business owner to have someone who doesn't criticize. He frequently tells me how proud he is of me and that he admires how well I'm able to run my business. The first several years, I wasn't even making a profit after expenses (mostly because I had a lot of larger equipment purchases to get started and trying out different materials and things) but he has never once been critical at all. And now I'm actually making a profit that continues to grow each year...and my income even allows for me to upgrade or replace equipment when needed and still come out ahead for the year. It just feels really good not only to be successful, but to have a husband who is always in my corner. 

I've been working on taxes a lot over the past month. I've already filed my dad and grandma's taxes, doing my mom's taxes tomorrow, and then I'm doing Ashlyn's taxes this weekend. I haven't talked to Aubry yet about her taxes. I've already finished our taxes, I just haven't filed them yet. I've been waiting for the best time to pay our federal taxes. Johnny has missed some work lately because of his health issues flaring up, so I want to wait and make sure he'll have a full paycheck when I file and pay the taxes. I had to wait for Johnny's W-2 to finally be posted, but I've had my portion of the taxes done since, like, the beginning of January. :P I keep a running spreadsheet of all my business income and expenses as I go so all I have to do is plug the numbers in and I'm done. This is the first year that my home office deduction and carry-over didn't cancel out my profit. 

We got quite a bit of snow a few weekends ago (not as much as predicted, of course). It's finally been melting in the last week...so we've been spending a lot of time washing muddy dog paws. :P I need to make a groomer appointment. I've been putting it off...waiting to see what the weather is going to do. Their feet are a lot easier to clean off, though, when they're all nice and trimmed instead of grinch toes. 

Ugh...I'm super tired all of the sudden so I think I'm going to get a few more things done before I head to bed. Goodnight!

January so far...

Well...I can't say I'm a huge fan of the new year so far. :P 

On January 1st, we had a coupon for $25 a restaurant order on Instacart, so we decided to get KFC since we hadn't had it in forever. Well...now we won't have it anymore. :P We ordered 4 biscuits...we got a lot of butter and honey, but no biscuits. And then the mashed potato bowl that I always used to get...the quality felt like a frozen dinner you heat up in the microwave. The mashed potatoes were gross and the chicken was rubbery or something. It just wasn't good at all. I ended up making some macaroni and cheese instead. And...this was after our first $25 coupon that we used on December 30th to get Hibachi Boy...and we didn't get the house fried rice that we ordered or the sauce for the appetizer. They almost always forget the sauce...but this is the first time we didn't get the house fried rice. And when I went to look at the receipt from the store...it didn't even have it on there (or the sauce) but it was clearly on the receipt from Instacart. We got a partial refund for the Hibachi Boy order but no refund at all for the KFC order. So...two out of two restaurant orders from Instacart have been a big thumbs down. 

Oh...and then I accidentally restored an autosave of my "Taxes" worksheet from the beginning of July 2025 and didn't realize it until it was too late. It was a really stupid mistake and those mistakes are the ones that always irritate me the most. All I had to do was look at the date...but I didn't. That spreadsheet is where I record all my orders, receipts, etc. So...I had to rebuild that as much as I could using Etsy's data downloads. The only thing I didn't fill back in is the items ordered. It's in my Etsy data download...but I didn't want to put in 6 months worth of catching up. Luckily 2025 is over so I'm not going to be looking at that spreadsheet everyday now anyway. :P But I did get all my spreadsheets updated for 2026, so at least I accomplished that much. 

I wasn't feeling well on Thursday...which is a crap way to start the new year. I had a flare up of my chronic health issues and was up until 4am dealing with that...then still was tossing and turning and having a hard time falling asleep. I'd been working on orders throughout the evening, but didn't end up getting them finished before I went to bed. Then on January 2nd, I still wasn't feeling up to working on orders. Between feeling crappy and then all the medicine...I was just wiped out and I honestly don't even remember anything about Friday. :P I do know that I ended up taking a nap as soon as Johnny got off work. After I woke up, I made beef tips for dinner...and then I went to bed early (well...earlier than my normal 2:30am). 

Yesterday I was finally able to get all my orders finished. Most of them were already done, they just hadn't been packaged yet. I did have a few pages of stickers and an 11x17 page of sticker sheets that I printed and cut yesterday. Now I'm completely caught up on all the orders I had up to yesterday. I ended up with 31 orders going out in the mail today. 

I also realized while making and packaging orders yesterday that I should've ordered supplies last week. :P I could've sworn I had an unopened box of glossy sticker paper...but if I do, I can't find it. I thought it was on my printer stand...but all I had was a ream of cardstock. So I got some more of that ordered. Luckily I still had enough pages to finish my orders yesterday...and any orders I get today won't be due until after my paper arrives. I also ran out of my 5"x7" aqua green glassine envelopes that I package my products in. I had a few leftover from the oopsie sticker packs, so I ended up using those to finish my orders yesterday. Those envelopes tend to run out faster than I think they will because the stack always looks bigger than it actually is, for some reason. I think this is the second time I've run out unexpectedly. But...twice in three years isn't too bad, I suppose. 

I've been trying to find new recipes to try this year...but I haven't found a whole lot I like, so far. The biggest thing is trying to accommodate both my taste and Johnny's. We like a lot of the same things...but it's pretty standard stuff. A lot of new things I think sound good don't always sound that good to Johnny and vice versa. But...I'm determined to find a few new recipes. A couple nights ago I made roast with potatoes and carrots in the pressure cooker and we finished the leftovers last night. Tonight I'm making chicken fajitas in the electric skillet. Those leftovers will probably last 3 days...then I'm back to figuring out what to make for dinner again. :P I always say that I don't mind cooking dinner, but trying to decide what to have for dinner all the time is exhausting. :P  

Ugh...I'm still feeling kinda blah...so I think I'm actually going to lay down and relax for awhile since I don't have orders to work on. Zzzzzz

2025 Year in Review!

Here's my annual "Year in Review" post! :)

1. What age did you turn in 2025? 44

2. What was your relationship status in 2025? Married 8 years, together for 13 years, and in love with each other for 20 years! :) 

3. Did you move in 2025? Nope. It'll probably still be several years before we think about moving. We'd actually like to find some land to build on...but we'll see. Oh...Aubry moved in with her boyfriend in July, so we are officially empty nesters! 

4. Did you purchase a new vehicle in 2025? Nope. But Johnny is really wanting to soon. 

5. Did you add any new family members in 2025? No.

6. Did you lose any family members in 2025? No. 

7. Did you have any school or work changes in 2025? I wouldn't say I had work changes...but I did have an unusually busy July and August because my custom name labels sold really well for back-to-school. Next year I'm hoping to have a few more options available as well. Thank goodness I got the Siser Romeo cutter earlier this year...because trying to make sticker sheets on my Cricut Maker 3 was a pain in the ass. 

8. Did you travel anywhere in 2025? I didn't, but Johnny went to Seattle to visit his mom and brother. Since I wasn't going with him, we spent $100 more for Johnny to fly first class...and he really loved it. He flew on Alaskan Airlines and was on a smaller regional plane which has a side with single seats. He was able to pick his seat (he chose the very front seat on the side with single seats) and had priority boarding, complimentary dinner on the way there and breakfast on the way back, and complimentary drinks. He was able to spend a lot of time with his mom, hiked Deception Pass and went to a salmon hatchery with his brother, and enjoyed the wildlife that visited his brother's backyard everyday. He had a really nice time, but the puppies and I were definitely glad to have him home after being gone for a whole week! Johnny and I haven't spent a single night apart in, like, a whole decade. 

9. Did you make any big purchases in 2025? Aside from Johnny's airline ticket, we also bought a new sectional, coffee table, and tv stand for the living room. The couch was actually our first furniture purchase together! We also bought a new cat tree that we decided to put on the landing of the stairs so that the cats will have something to scratch that isn't the new couch. :P Plus it lets Angel be up a little higher and see what we're doing in the living room more than sitting on the stairs. For work, I also got the Siser Romeo in March and a Cricut Maker 4 in December. 

10. What was the best gift you received in 2025? Mom makes me meatballs and cheesy potatoes each year for my birthday...and it's always one of my favorites! :) We also got a really cute gift basket for Christmas from my sister that had a crockpot and some other cute little kitchen things. My grandparents also gave everyone a little book with cash. Each page spread had a different theme...like going out to eat, getting gas, etc. It was really neat. Johnny and I decided all our new living room furniture is our Christmas present to each other this year. :) 

11. Did you learn any new skills in 2025?  I learned how to use my Siser Romeo...which has been amazing for making my sticker sheets. I also learned how to calibrate the Romeo and manually adjust the camera this past month when it suddenly decided to start cutting off-center. It was the first time I'd ever had to adjust it...including right after I purchased it. It was cutting correctly straight out of the box. But now it's back to perfect.  

12. Did you redecorate in 2025? Just the new furniture in the living room. The only thing we have left to change is the ceiling fan...which I'm hoping to do by spring 2026 because the current ceiling fan doesn't move much hair and hot flashes are stupid. :P 

13. Did you read any good books in 2025? I finally finished The Innocent Man by John Grisham this year. I received the book in 2020 from the "Bless and Be Blessed" exchange group on FB. I carried it around in my purse to read while waiting for appointments and stuff. I actually found it kind of boring compared to other true crime books I've read. I have so many books on my bookshelf that I hope to read at some point. I just don't really make the time to read, despite the fact that I read really fast. :P 

14. Did you see any good movies in 2025? I'm sure we watched some movies this year...I just can't really think of any off the top of my head. We've watched a lot of good documentaries and comedy specials...if those count as movies. ;) Tom Segura just released one on Christmas Eve and it was pretty good. We watch more TV shows than we do movies. 

15. What TV shows were your favorite in 2025? Man...favorite? I like all my TV shows! lol. I think my favorites right now are probably Reacher and Virgin River. Stranger Things FINALLY released the last season...and it was an enjoyable watch. I like how the finale tied up everyone's storylines. We finished several series of shows this year: The Killing and Burden of Truth (both of which I'd watched before), The Old Man, the Tony & Ziva spinoff of NCIS, and Chernobyl. We started Invasion in December and it's been pretty good so far. We just started Season 2. Our other regular shows now that we're still watching are: Tracker, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order OC, NCIS, High Potential, and Murder in a Small Town. We'd been watching Tulsa King and Criminal Minds...but we've slacked on them and have quite a few episodes to catch up on. I've also rewatched Burn Notice, 24, and Manifest a few times. ;) But I don't actually just sit down and watch them...it's just playing in the background while I'm working and stuff. The only time I typically just sit and actually watch a show is when Johnny and I sit in the living room to eat dinner and watch one of our shows. 

16. What things did you do in 2025 that you'd never done before? Mom and I cut my king size memory foam mattress in half to create two twin XL mattresses instead of buying brand new mattresses. I was really happy that it worked out...and we're enjoying being able to adjust the bed separately now so that both me and Johnny are comfortable. It's also really nice being able to sit it up to relax and watch TV together. We watched a couple episodes of Stranger Things while relaxing in bed.  

17. What do you wish you'd done more of in 2025? I don't know...there's always a huge list of things on my "to-do" list that usually take a backseat to work. Even with work I have a list of things I want to get done and there just never seems to be enough time to do it all. 

18. What were you proud of in 2025? For me personally...I'm proud of my progress with CandiMaker. I finished 2024 with 1820 sales in my CandiMakerStickers shop and 94 sales in my CandiMakerPlanners shop. Last year, my goal was to hit 3500 sales in my CMS shop...and I met that goal on December 2nd. I also hit 500 sales in my CMP shop on December 20th (I didn't set a goal for that shop last year). So I'm glad that my business is continuing to have steady growth. I'm also proud of Ashlyn...she got her first "big girl job" this year working for an aircraft manufacturer (different company than Aubry and doing composite instead of sheet metal) and it seems to be going well so far. She'd been working retail for several years, but this is her first job using the WSU trade certificate she got in 2024. Aubry continues to do well and I'm proud of her "adulting" journey. She moved in with her boyfriend in July and that seems to be going well. She suffers from pretty bad anxiety, but Danny is a very laid back kind of guy and seems to be a calming influence in her life. 

19. What was the one defining moment of 2025? Probably being empty nesters now. Since our kids have been adults for awhile (the youngest turned 21 this year), it doesn't really feel like it's as much of a defining moment, but it has been nice. :)  

20. How would you describe 2025 in three words? Loving, productive, and comfortable. :) 

And now for some 2026 questions...

1. What did you NOT have in 2025 that you would like to have in 2026? I would say probably my CandiMaker website. Technically I already have it...but it's still not finished yet. Hopefully soon, though! 

2. What skills do you want to learn or improve in 2026? I still want to find the right material combination/process to start making magnetic bookmarks again. That's what I'd wanted to do for 2025, but I never really got around to it. I focused on revamping CandiMakerPlanners instead. And I'm actually thinking that's where I might list my magnetic bookmarks instead of my CandiMakerStickers shop. We shall see. 

3. What do you want to do more of in 2026? Organizing/cleaning out the basement and garage. And probably still exercising. That was my answer for 2025 and I didn't devote as much time to it as I wanted. I've just been having a lot of problems with my back and my joints which makes it difficult...plus hot flashes which exacerbate my existing health issues even more.  

4. What do you want to buy in 2026? I can't really think of anything for the house except that we want to replace the ceiling fan in the living room. Oh...and Johnny is wanting to get at least one truckload of dirt to fill in the settled spots around the house and the yard. He also mentioned wanting to get a new set of dishes. One of these days we might get a new oven. It's the only appliance we haven't replaced. As for work, I eventually want to get a better (and perhaps bigger) guillotine paper cutter, a binding machine, and possibly a dye ink printer (looking at the ET-8550) to print things other than stickers that work better with dye ink...but I'm not in any rush for those things.  

5. What is your number one goal for 2026? I'd like to reach 6000 sales in my CandiMakerStickers shop and 1200 sales in my CandiMakerPlanners shop. :) Technically those are two goals...but they're both the same kind of work-related goal. ;)