What's the Plan, It's a New Year

A cool Leo the Lion pin Brooch for sale in my Etsy Shop.

As a new year begins it's time for reflection and future plans. It's the perfect time for me to cozy up beside the wood stove and tie up loose ends for my online business. Tax submission is always last minute for me and I enjoy it like a root canal but at least I have a jump on it with all income and expenses logged online in my accounting software, outright.com.  I would die without this free online software, it has really made tax preparation a breeze. 

TV Room before painting.

TV Room after painting.

Now that we have been settled into our home for 4 years, I anticipate 2014 to be the year for tweaking. We've checked off many of the major home repair projects but there are a few small jobs still on the list.  Several rooms need paint touch ups, our little shed needs to be painted, our kitchen still needs decent flooring, and we need to lay some tile in front of the wood stove. This past Fall while I was in New York City my husband painted the dark paneling in our TV room a bright neutral color.  It seemed like a project that would never be completed since it's the most used room in the house and room deconstruction seemed improbable. That was a major undertaking as was installing a liner for our wood stove, the prior year, but thankfully both are behind us now. 

Annual patch of Cosmos we grow from seed each year.

This gardening season, I'm going to try and not to add new plants or beds and simply tweak what I have and grow my usual tomatoes, peppers, and herbs from seed. Last year I found a wonderful seedling lamp at a yard sale that I'll put to good use. I hope to visit more gardens this year and my husband and I even talked about a trip to Nashville to check in on the Levy Lions at Cheekwood Gardens. That all depends on if we can find a chicken sitter that wants to rise at the crack of dawn to let the girls out!

NEW cute patent leather black shoes I'm selling for a friend.

In reflecting on last year, my online business continues to grow. I have 5 online shops now, 2 on Etsy, and shops on Storenvy, Bonanza, and Ebay. I have three consignment clients which makes it all the more interesting and it's fun to see who buys what and where it ships. We now have a tablet that cha-chings whenever I make a sale - how fun is that! So far, each year I sell 100 more items than the prior year so I hope to continue down that path as momentum and experience sets in.

Dear Simba

Sweet Sally

We experienced several losses last year in the pet department. Our dear old doggie, Simba, finally passed at 16 years and we lost several sweet chickens of natural causes. My favorite chicken, Sally the Comet died a week after Simba, most chickens only live 5 - 6 years. 

As far as saving money, I did a fast tally on what I saved last year by couponing and buying on sale.  I was happy to discover savings of over $1,300. This year I am going to try and do more crockpot cooking, and of course continue to seek out organic and non-GMO foods.  It's my own personal protest again what is happening to our seed diversity and purity! I've found that vegetables really DO taste better organic (compare some bananas or potatoes for starters). We eat mainly vegetarian and non-prepared foods so will continue down that path as well. 

Ivy Creek Natural Area where River meets Reservoir.

To welcome in the New Year, my husband and I hiked along the Peninsula Trail at Ivy Creek Natural Area. It's a hard time of year to find something green to photograph but I always seem to snag that perfect unexpected shot. The only wildlife we spotted was one lone deer, some Chickadees, and across the Reservoir the green heads of several male Mallard Ducks. I hope to exercise in some manner each day but that continues to always be difficult, it's only day 3 in 2014 and I couldn't manage to get off the computer yesterday to meet that goal.

My favorite photo I took last year, Kevin Floodlight Dahlia

Wishing you a Happy New Year and find something meaningful to submerge yourself into during 2014 but only tweak not twerk... you wouldn't want to hurt yourself!

-Rebecca

 

New Year / Reflection on 2012

Monticello trail pond and Canada Geese.

It's time to reflect back onto what worked and didn't in 2012 (a more positive analogy than good vs. bad).  As the end of 2012 approached I decided my 2013 New Year Resolution was to surround myself with positive thoughts and deliver a positive message in my online writings and photos.  There is way to much  "anger pollution" on the Internet and TV and I choose to not participate and spread more gloom and doom.  If I can provide a moments relief to someone stressing from daily pressures our society invariably produces, then I've participated positively on a global level.

I can not wait until SPRING!

Somehow my tumblr photography blog has amassed 45,000 followers!  I'm not vain enough to think that that many people are actually checking in each day but there is exponentially more activity which makes me want to inspire others rather than be defeatist.

ForsythiaHill Limoges Tea Cups / Saucers 

What began as an experiment to see if I could figure out global Internet selling has blossomed into a full-fledged business.  I now operate two Etsy Vintage Shops and have items on Bonanza and Storenvy.  In 2012, I doubled my sales over 2011 and hope to continue on the upswing by taking Ebay more seriously.  I'm not thrilled about their convoluted fee structure and it is tedious compared to other online stores but one can not ignore the volume of goods moved and customers shopping.  I've focused on selling my family collected treasures but it's hard to not stop at a good old Yard Sale.  It is recommended that you not buy what you like... I now know why, you end up keeping things!  I mean how can I give up my found Rooster Lamp, signed Menaboni Bird Book, or Deco Hand Carved Cat!

The Maymont Trophy for $ saved.

Now that couponing is part of my psyche, I've seem to write less about it.  I continue to mainly focus on Grocery Store deals because that is where we spend most of our income.  In 2012 I saved over $2,600.00 by wisely shopping and couponing.  This does not take into account the numerous items I've found on Freecycle - Book Shelves, Packaging Materials, and even a very expensive Solar Pool Cover with Reel (my top freebie of 2012).  I feel like the really good coupon deals have been reigned in by stores that have figured out how some customers have taken total advantage of the term "discount".  There are still plenty of savings to be found, you just have to know where to look online.  I continue to post my favorite deals on my twitter feed.

My husband grew working up on roofs - not for the timid.

Typically we have an active home improvement project.  This year hopefully my husband will become inspired to paint the "Man Cave", Trellis, and Shed.  My top project is to replace the Kitchen Floor.  It's hard to believe that behind us is the Deck staining, Chimney Liner install, and Kitchen Sink replacement projects that came about in 2012.

No matter what happened in 2012, it has come to an end and you can start anew in 2013.

I wonder if I'll actually make room today for that Yoga session I promised myself... hum... sounds like a good way to step into the New Year.

-Rebecca