Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday!

I love hearing positive news stories... we need more of them.

http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/moms--kids-raise-money-to-fix-mr-mikes-smile


http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/12/gabriella-miller-9-year-old-s-dream-will-help-36-more-kids-to-make-a-wish--83395.html



Merry Christmas!!!

xo     Inge







 

Ok, Christmas is almost over.... thank the Goddess!!!! If you work retail you know what I mean. My Christmas day consisted of resting up for tomorrow which is back to work. Our holiday was quiet and spent with our fur babies. Hubby had to work tonight at the doggie hotel but we did manage to take our doggies to the local park... something we have not done for 2 weeks. My holiday wish... a better job with shorter hours and better or equal pay. Life lesson for me... be careful what you wish for.
Hope your holiday was fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48

My new job has caused me to reflect about who I am and where I am in life... mainly it has helped me realize some things I might not have thought about... like I am definitely not as young as I used to be. Who is really? We get older with each minute. I think of myself as still 20 something at times... ok... most of the time. I like to dress like the 20 year olds but then so does
Gloria Steinem... have you seen her in a mini skirt? That girl can still rock it in her late 60s! But so can Tina Turner and loads of other women.
For me though, I feel it most in the mornings. I stretch 99% of the time before I go to bed and 50% of the time in the mornings. I watch these young servers carry these very heavy trays of food all day... well 5 to 6 hours a day. But even so they still have lots of energy. My GM who is probably somewhere in his 40s requires only 4 hours of sleep a night and he is back in the game. I am sick and have been for a few days now... nothing earth shattering but a bad cold just the same. I can't keep up... There I said it and I hate to admit it. Those 10 hour days are taking its toll on me and I have only been doing this for a little over 3 months.
Let me back track a minute. I have a new GM. I was transferred a couple of weeks ago to another restaurant located inside a mall. This is my 4th store in 3 months and it's like starting a new job all over again. Each one operates differently even though they are part of the same restaurant chain. This also is an hour commute from home each way so I am gone 12 hours a day. Three days a week I work the closing shift and 2 days I open which means I have to be there 6 am... have I mentioned I am NOT a morning person. My GM tried to schedule me to work a closing shift ( 2pm - 11pm) and come back the next day at 6 am... who can do that ???? I cannot get maybe 4 hours sleep and be expected to be alert and run like mad for 10 hours. I just can't. I do know some people that can. Goddess bless them but I can't. We compromised and I will work the mid shift and leave at 8 pm... that still is not enough time for me to be rested and did I mention we are inside a mall? You know it's the holiday season and we are busier than hell. Hungry holiday shoppers... you can only imagine the type of mood these people are in! The movies they show on t.v. this time of year are quite accurate as far as how crazy and impatient people can get.
I am trying to hang on through the end of the year... it's only a few more weeks and then I have to look for another job. It really sucks because I had such high hopes for this job. Management... it sounds good and the pay is more than I ever got but the job really is about baby sitting, refereeing and lots of ass kissing to customers who really don't deserve it because they are only looking to get free stuff... have you heard of people complaining their food was terrible after they ate the whole thing and demanded to get the meal for free? It happens all the time at the restaurant and I have to give them the meal for free and sometimes throw in a free whole pie for them to take home because they threaten to contact the corporate office... that sounds a little like extortion to me. Oh well,like my hubby reminds me... they aren't taking money out of our checking account.

I'm off the next 2 days and plan to rest up. Hope your week and holiday experience is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud.

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v20R8GytQSg

Since we are in the midst of the holiday season, I would like to showcase some shops on etsy.com that sell goodies for the animal lover and their pets. As you know I am an self proclaimed animal nut and proud of it! I also believe in buying from small businesses and individual artists, especially this time of year. Here are a few etsy shops I would like to give a shout out to...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PoochyCouture
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenell1
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33483945
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36213664&ref=sc_5
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34958440&ref=cat1_gallery_6
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36531113&ref=cat1_gallery_20
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8390664&ref=cat1_gallery_13
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29376606&ref=cat1_gallery_1
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36538448&ref=cat1_gallery_16
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36516024&ref=sr_gallery_19&&ga_search_query=dog+treats&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36504350&ref=sr_gallery_5&&ga_search_query=dog+treats&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&includes[]=tags&includes[]=titlehttp://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36517603&ref=sr_gallery_17&&ga_search_query=dog+treats&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35669845&ref=sr_gallery_20&&ga_search_query=CAT+TREATS&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36527931&ref=sr_gallery_3&&ga_search_query=bunny+TREATS&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
Happy Holidays!

I just don't understand why some people will stay up all night to shop for Christmas gifts or wait outside all day and night to be first in line when the stores open on Black Friday. I just don't like crowds that much and the thought of possibly being crushed in the hopes of saving a few bucks does not interest me either. The older I get the more I want to enjoy my alone time. I am not a big fan of shopping malls either. Everything is so expensive now and the quality is crap but the prices are high. Maybe I am becoming Scrooge like but I watch so many (mainly women) get crazy at this time of year... they work all day and still feel the need to shop for the perfect gifts, decorate the house, cook for a million guests. I get exhausted just listening to them. This year I am giving the good old gift card that way the person gets to pick what they want... or maybe I will just give the gift everyone likes... cash. Either way I will be less bitchy by not buying into the Christmas hoopla and that's a gift everyone will enjoy!
Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpnYg2FKe-o

Stop here first Santa!

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanuka, Happy Kwanza, did I miss anyone? Hope not ! Hope you get your hearts desire!

Don't forget to laugh outloud!!!!

xoxo Inge and family

I'm feeling festive so...

I decided to do something different today... and added some Christmas joy to my hairdo and went to work. My customers were speechless. What do you think?

I decided to show off

my new antlers to my doggie friends! Don't tell mom I know how to blog ...

Happy Sunday!

woof! Charlie

Bow Wow! Meow!

I have been busy getting ready for the Christmas Craft Fair this coming weekend. I didn't realize this was so huge... I mean I have participated in other craft fairs but not as fancy as this one! I am really excited now and have been making more treasures to make sure I have enough to last three days. I will be located outside in the orchard of a ranch house outside the Chico city limits, so I bought a canopy and will decorate it with Christmas lights since Friday we will open in the evening. I will take lots of pictures...

At the moment I am taking a break from all the gluing and the pasting... it's funny that I like to collage because I do not like sticky fingers... never have... I'm full of paradoxes. I am watching the movie "French Kiss "with Meg Ryan and snooping around etsy my online muse and I found such a cute shop!

Do you have furbabies? How about friends or loved ones who are the proud parents of a pooch or kitty? Did you know there is a shop at etsy that turns photos of those adorable furry creatures

and makes fun collages and doggie "licenses" out of them? They are www.yappyhappy.etsy.com/ and www.happyyappy.com/

How YappyHappy.Com Began...

"Like most dog lovers, I'm always on the lookout for uniqueitems for my own dogs. And when it came time to shopfor a new dog tag, I wanted something special.
Unfortunately, all I could find were boring metal tags thatmade a lot of noise – and for my Chihuahua's they wereway too heavy.
So, one day while I was creating a scrapbooking project forone of my dogs, I decided to create a miniature driver'slicense for use within my project. It turned out so good, thatI decided to make a dog tag out of it.
Reaction from the local Orange County dog parks about mydog's new tag was unexpected. And I found myself making tags for all my friends as gifts.
As a result, I started YappyHappy.Com to make available myunique dog tag for everyone. Today, we make not only dog tags, but key chains, magnets, tote bags, luggage tags, and more.

And, although my original intention was to make a dog tag that looked fun, I quickly realized how much more important they were to my customers. By having so much important information about your dog on them, they better ensure your baby will be returned home safely if they should ever get lost.

"My dogs are considered members of my own family. There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep them safe. I hope our products will not only add some fun in your lives, but will aid in the return of your pet should they ever get lost."
- Deanne, Founder YappyHappy.Com

I do not have a great deal of money to spend this year... so I will be supporting only small businesses online and in my neighborhood. I have lots of friends with dog children so Happy Yappy is definitely on my shopping list! Stop in and buy something fun and unique for your loved ones!

Have a fun day and don't forget to laugh out loud!

Inge

I would like to toot my own horn

and show off my booth in Paradise. It's all glammed up for Christmas... actually the last six pictures are of my booth and the rest are pictures of other booths in the antique mall. I can't believe I am decorating already but everyone had to be ready by this weekend for Christmas preview... all shops in downtown Paradise participate... so here we go! Christmas shopping in Paradise has officially started!

Have a good Monday and laugh out loud... lot's!

Inge

Let me start off by saying... I am typing with 2 Chihuahuas and a cat on my lap... I need longer arms...

I worked at Treasures from Paradise today... I really enjoy it! People who shop in antique shops are shop interesting... at least I think so. Business is picking up... even I sold lots of treasures from my booth! yippee!!! for me!!! I am sad to say I have decided to close my booth at the end of the year though, because I need to concentrate on moving down to southern California... even though the move probably will not happen before June. John is flying to Switzerland to visit his sister in April... a trip planned a long time ago... so it is pointless to move before that and for him to start a new job and ask for time off... I was hoping to move sooner but that is the way things go sometimes.

I am just ready to move on... we miss the ocean; I want to sell at flea markets and the ones around here are terrible; I will be closer to family; John and I don't relate to people here... we do love our home though... I had to look at 34 places before I found this place. I was shocked at how the rentals are kept around here... the excuse is the college students will mess it up so why maintain the property. There was one place I looked at that I thought was a crime scene! The college students are used as a scapegoat for alot of things in Chico like the low wages, but if you ask me I think the business owners are just cheap! I read that 60% of the jobs here pay below $10.00 an hour! How can anyone live on that?

I learned a valuable lesson though for the next move... research median income and use the demographics and stats page on Google! When we moved here it was at the end of the hot housing market and everything within 200 miles of San Francisco was priced crazy! We liked the environment... hey they had two health food stores and Trader Joes was on it's way... great parks and hiking trails... it's a college town so it must be pretty liberal right? Wrong! I'm not knocking Chico but it is far away from family and the nearest airport is 90 minutes away... John and I are just ready to go. We think that Chico is great if you have alot of money and are retired but we have some years left in us and the business ideas we have will not work here.

So I will use my time learning new job skills, researching places to live (any suggestions you have are welcomed), crafting, playing with my furbabies, working in that crazy restaurant, etc. Oh, and surfing the web...

I snooped through etsy today and found www.ohmybuttons.etsy.com/ Another fun and fabulous shop! She has terrific gifts to get you ready for the holidays. I especially like the ornaments made from silverware. The owner has one son and 11 kitties!!! I think her 4 legged friends also work as models for alot of the artwork she makes! I am sure you will find the perfect gift for you or that special animal lover in your life in Oh My Buttons Shop.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Don't forget to laugh outloud!

Inge

I like Keepsake Boxes

and I found beautiful ones at www.thehouseofedward.etsy.com/ I have never seen such unique keepsake boxes than the ones Pamela makes and sells in her etsy shop.

She writes that she has always been enamored of the keepsake box, the reliquary, the chinese box that only she knew the secret way to open. In the spirit of treasures and secrets, She has been making Keepsake Boxes for clients and friends for several years. She enjoys creating them so much that she is now making a few available through The Shoppe at The House of Edward. Each one unique, these boxes feature vintage and antique items and are embellished with various florals and German glass glitters. And, each one comes with an autographed photo of Edward himself!

I think her shop name is great too... so sophisticated and quirky! These keepsake boxes will make a great Christmas gift by itself or to put something fabulous in for you or that special someone! Oh...be sure to visit her blog http://www.fromthehouseofedward.blogspot.com/

Happy Monday and don't forget to laugh out loud today!

Inge