I feel like a kid!

Woohoo! I am running on about 4 hours of sleep. I started sewing last night and then had this huge burst of energy (no caffeine involved LOL) and didn't go to sleep until about 2am. Despite all these weird hours I run nowadays, I am feeling great! I absolutely love what I do and feel blessed to be able to work full time at home with my kids. This year is starting off fresh and fun. I have recently come into the world of applique and it is SO fun! When I feel like bursting out of the normal and predictable pair of relaxed leg longies, I start to cutting free-handed an applique and pop it onto the wool. It is like a kid with a coloring book and really lets me relax and have fun. The kiddos are all feeling much better after several weeks of everyone being sick. I managed to avoid getting it and that was a total miracle. I have been eating 2 grapefruits a day. No, I am not on some nutty diet, but after years of my immune system letting me down, I was desparate and I have finally found something that I can actually see the results from. I eat the grapefruit and then even eat a few of the big seeds. James just cringes when he sees me chomping away on those seeds :) When a person is getting colds constantly for years, you are willing to try ANYTHING! After I am done, I squeeze the juice into a cup, add water, then add one of those Airborne tablets. Then if people are sick or I can feel I am coming down with it, I do the Zicam thing as well. I have been doing this for about a month and I notice my grocery store is having a hard time keeping their grapefruits in stock now :)

The other day I stood on my head, body propped up against a wall of course. Talk about the kids being shocked and amazed. Then finished it off with some backwards somersaults. I think James and the kids were picking their jaws up off the floor thinking that I had totally lost my mind or something. Had I been sniffing the lanolin too much or maybe ingested some wool fibers? I don't know what it is, but I feel great. Maybe it is the magic grapefruit seeds LOL :)

I suppose I better get back to work. There are several more items I need to get listed to stock today and then start tagging and packaging everything in preparation to ship out.

:) Shannon

So, I have been working non-stop to get some organizing done around here. I just finished revamping the website to have a fresh new look. I hope it doesn't look as "home-made" as the one before. I had been putting it off forever and am really glad it is done. I think it turned out pretty good considering I have NO skills when it comes to html. I decided to leave web design to the pros though for my new website, artisanbaby.com. It is almost finished. It has taken longer than expected but Michelle of Elemental Muse is on the final stretch and I think the design just needs to be uploaded and then I can start plugging in items. I have been gathering some really awesome items. Basically it is going to allow me to do some non-wool related items and will be a collection of other artisan made items that I have come across and think would be a great fit. It won't be your typical big name items so I am really excited to bring everything together.

Caleb has been sick... like REALLY sick. The poor guy fell asleep last week sitting at the table waiting for his lunch. He is getting better but all around his nose and mouth is really red and chapped. He is napping right now so I hope he gets lots of rest. I had to grab the camera and take a picture of him alsleep. Then, this is what he looked like when he heard the camera and "woke up". Sarah had been sick almost the whole week before and missed school. I had to finally break down and take her to the doctor. I absolutely detest going there. It is full of a bunch of sick kids that their parents take them in for anything and everything. I am not saying this is true of everyone, but it sure is the majority. I mean why not? Most people have insurance or state assisted programs so they want to feel like they are getting something back. We are one of the in-between families that of course makes too much for any assistance, but we don't have enough to pay for health insurance. I feel like germs are jumping on me and we find a quiet kid-free corner and instruct the kids don't touch anything. You can just feel the germs. Did I mention I hate going there? :) Sarah had a fever for 5 days straight and the doctor said she had brochitis and maybe a touch of pneumonia. So, we took our predictable antibiotic prescription and he said she was not contagious. Right. Hello! she had a fever and of course Caleb now has the EXACT same thing.

I suppose I had better get some footies cut out and ready to sew. I expect footie season is still on go through this month and into Feb. I love making them and will be kind of sad when it is time to take a break for warmer weather. Although, I am really loving the creative outlet that applique work is providing and look forward to doing more of that kind of work when possible.

~Shannon~

Woollybottoms is happy to now have an official blog. This blog will contain more details than our yahoo group announcements and more random thoughts and ideas right here :)