Saturday, January 27, 2007

Dedication weekend...

Have to be at work in less than 6 hours. The new combo basketball/hockey athletic center is done and today is the big dedication. Yes, the building is state of the art. I don't think there's a center in all of the country that matches this one. (When Quinnipiac decides to spend money, they definitely do it right... ) But there's a double header basketball today with both men's and women's teams playing, followed by women's hockey tonight. Tons of crowds. Lots of press. And they want a whole slew of security around the place. So I'm going in this afternoon to work the second basketball game and tonight's hockey game. Probably won't get out much before 9 or 10 tonight...

Other news... I booked my flight last night. Going to St. Louis for the TEAM National Convention in March. Yup, it's that "business thing" I'm involved in. I still get looks like I'm crazy for what I'm doing, but they're expecting 30,000 to 40,000 people at this thing, so I'm definitely not alone in believing that this business is my one chance to not have to work for someone else for the rest of my life. This trip won't be cheap, but I learned way back with the publishing business that you have to invest what you earn back into your business to make it work. I know this is true. OTOH, the first year in publishing, I took an $8K loss in income. And that business began paying for itself after three years. All the bills were paid, the authors earned their royalties and we showed a profit. I honestly believe this business will pay for itself after just one year (sooner if I get off my tush and work the system) and the growth should be exponential.

I started one business on a shoestring budget. This one isn't much different, but this one has a system. Though I loved saying that my publishing company was a business I owned, let's face the reality. It was a company that owned me. TEAM isn't like that. Once I get my business rolling, it won't need me to keep going. That will be refreshing. I'm tired of being what they call a 95%er. And to get into the 5%, I need this trip and I need the exposure to thousands of people who are just like me.

Okay, moving on. I need to hop in the shower so I can sit and spin a while before I have to go to work. Today is a day I need to sit and spin a while. Realign my thinking and maybe watch "Miracle". Meant to watch last night and got halfway through, but I was tired, so I conked out.

Have two new pairs of socks to put on the site. One was made from Stone Barn Fiber's Tainted Love. Came out really pretty. The other is Koigu. Haven't got a clue what the number is (why don't they put names on their colors? ) I call them my Parrot Socks because the colors remind me of ones you'd see in a parrot's feathers. You know you've got too much time at work to do nothing else when you can knit an entire pair of socks in four days. Yup, I started and finished my parrot socks in just four days...

BTW, made a deal with younger daughter. She got a new camera for Christmas. (Have I mentioned this before? ) I get her old camera and will use that for pics. ('Bout time, Bon!!!! ) So pics are coming once she teaches me how to get them from the camera to the computer.

In the meantime, I'm off. Have a sparkling day!!!

Saturday, January 13, 2007

It's a New Year...

...and this is my first post? Oops. I guess I've been busy. I have gotten back to spinning on a more regular basis. I took some gorgeous merino top fiber I'd gotten from Lisa Souza in her Wild Things color and spun that into a beautiful skein. Now I have to set the twist. This will be my first time setting the twist so I hope I don't screw it up.

I joined a spinner's list, hoping to pick up some hints and tips (which I did save on how one woman "washes and whacks" her yarn to set the twist ), but right now the ladies are talking about how to knit two socks on one vs. two circular needles... Yikes!

Me? I like my dpns. I knit both socks at the same time (knit a cuff, knit the other cuff, turn the heel, turn the other heel, work the gusset, work the other, etc.) I can carry one sock with me or I can carry both.

Course, after two years of almost exclusively knitting socks, I'm making myself a pair of mittens. They were on my wish list for Christmas and the only thing I didn't get, so I'll make them myself. It's going to be a slow process but they'll be gorgeous. Lisa Souza's Sock Merino in Mars Quake on a size 0 needle. Yup, it'll take a while, but these babies are going to be gorgeous.

I did finish the pair of socks in Gypsy Girl's Tainted Love. Mom had gotten the yarn and kept trying to adjust the pattern so the color variation would work, but she just wasn't happy with how they were turning out. After frogging the socks three times, she gave the yarn to me.

Oh, I'll finally have pics. Youngest daughter got a new camera for Christmas, so I'm going to confiscate her old camera and she is REQUIRED today to show me how to go from taking a pic to loading it here on my site.

I got all the pics out to the family. Had some really great pics of my Dad, so I sent copies to my brother, my aunt, my uncle and my dad's cousin. Also have one pic of Dad with his Mom and one of his Dad (both of them had died before I was a gleam in Dad's eye, so these pics are the closest thing to having grandparents for me). Anyway, I did get all those in the mail as I had promised, so I'm happy about that.

The business is growing. There's some "fallout" with the new year. People who lost faith (or never had it to begin with) with how the business can grow, so they didn't renew their franchise fee. Their loss because this year is going to be a great year. My goal is to be Platinum by the end of the year, which means a lot of work on my part but I'm prepared, and all the bonuses that come with that. If I can reach that goal, I can quit my day job and concentrate 100% on the business. Imagine having the ability to quit your day job in a year and a half of time investment? If your boss told you that you could retire in two years if you gave him a few hours of overtime every week, wouldn't you give him the overtime? Well, that's the promise and I'm holding to that promise.

Lastly, in a huge fight with oldest daughter. I've forbidden her to have any contact with her now _ex_-boyfriend and she hates me. Oh well, I have big shoulders for my size. I won't tolerate a relationship I know is destructive and denigrating.

HAve to come back later with some pictures. I keep promising and never delivering. It's about time I delivered.