Cinco de Mayo, a History

Just thought I would share with everyone the history of Cinco de Mayo, as it was explained to me at work today.

Person 1: Cinco de Mayo! Cinco de Mayo! Why does everyone keep wishing me a happy Cinco de Mayo! I don’t get it!

Me: The fifth of May is a holiday in Mexico.

Person 2: Yeah! It celebrates the end of the war between the Spanish and the French.

Person 1: Oh! The Spanish-American War!

So, as I understand it, Cinco de Mayo celebrates the end of the Spanish-American War. Which was fought between Spain and France. In Mexico.

 

Also, I’ve been working on a major shop restock (here’s some draft listings waiting to become active)

New business cards (something that mentions what I make, aha)

and some pretty exciting changes for me! More on that as it unfolds :)

Recent projects.

I was on vacation last week, so I thought I would use some of my bonus free time to get some lurking projects off my list.

A couple of months ago, this lady who works with my mom asked if I could make a bag for her. Then she invited me to her house (which I was SUPER NOT COMFORTABLE WITH) to go over the specs. I didn’t realize she wanted me to attempt to replicate an existing bag until after I got there.

(original bag)

Nor did I realize that it wasn’t 1 bag she wanted. But 5 bags. She gave me quite a bit of moth-nibbled fabric to work with and asked how long it should take. I promised her just a prototype by the next weekend, because this was Holiday time and I already had a handful of other Holiday-related project to work through, but she said, “Oh, don’t worry about it. Just get to them whenever.” I think you can see where this is going….

(pile of bags)

Well, I got them ALL to her this week. Folded and tucked into the original bag, with all the excess fabric, secured tightly in a large plastic bag. Which I dropped off on her front door. Because angry people make me nervous.

And thus, I’m on official Special-Project Hiatus.  If it’s not already in the shop, I simply cannot do it. I’m trying to juggle too many big things right now and I can’t have another “whenever you can get to it,” turn into “IF WE COULD MEET AND RETURN MY FABRIC AND OLD BAG THAT WOULD BE GREAT.” (Would you want to meet with someone after they sent you an all-caps email?  I can’t blame me.)

(Bags in bag)

The Adventure Bag Prototype is here! It’s actually a little wider than I envisioned, and the strap is wayyyy too floppy. But these are kinks I can work out after I’m sure I don’t destroy it in a week.

Has lots of pockets inside, for all your adventuring needs! But does it have enough pockets? Maybe I could have an Adventure Bag and a Deluxe Adventure Bag?

And I wanted to restock the shop a little bit.  I have all these bags hanging around in various stages of production so I finished some off.

(newly finished bags featured with craft mess)

I still have a whale to make, an Elf on the Shelf to alter, and the infamous T-Shirt Blanket to take care of, but I’m getting there!

January in Review

I’m going to try a monthly review project, in the hopes that it will help me stay focused on blogging. I also think it could help me expand on post topics, since I have to look back at all the work stories I shared this month and see that it doesn’t leave me a lot of other things to pick from.

See? Already helping.

My favorite posts from January:

Reminiscing about last winter when my Mom tried to explain how wireless internet works…

I shared how I sent a letter to the White House in October and, as luck would have it, I received a letter back!

An adorable man was mean to me at work. I have a friend who says that the weirdest things happen to me and if she didn’t see so many of them first hand she would not believe me. This was one of those instances.

And I shared my weekend Netflix queue, which was probably a little boring. But sometimes I’m boring! And I want other people who are part-time documentary-watching hermits to know that they have a place in the world.

My favorite whale find of January was… Definitely the non-slip shower whales! So cute and so perfect for ANY shower!

(source)

And I’m going to set a goal for February. Something to, like, shoot for. Right? I’m a terrible blogger because I’m not an ACTIVE blogger. I plan most of my posts on the weekend and generally avoid my blog during the week. And I spend all my free time crafting and watching PBS specials and zoning out. I don’t keep up with many other blogs, and I’ll end up binge-reading an afternoon away. I find it so hard to engage. I need to work on engaging. Keeping up with people I like. That sort of thing.

What was your favorite thing about January?

Shop update.

I have all these projects I’m supposed to be working on, which makes me feel like I can’t sew for my shop. That doesn’t mean I don’t, mind you. I’m just more sluggish with it because I know there are other things I should be doing.

Which is why I spent a portion of this this weekend reworking some of my expired listings. While I didn’t retake any pictures, but I did rework some of the descriptions so my listings have uniform descriptions. And I  updated the search terms so these items would show up in more searches. I added a couple of new bags, just things I hadn’t gotten around to listing yet.

This also gives me an at-a-glance look at my stock, and what sections I should focus on building up.

I feel like this post was kind of boring. Hopefully I’ll have some exciting things to share soon :)

2013: a Review.

I started 2013 with a fantastic list of resolutions, and  it turned out to accurately describe my year. OOPS! So for my only post this December, I’m going to reflect on those “goals” and offer up a year-end review.

1) Eat More, Exercise Less.
-I didn’t run or roller blade or bike ride or promise to partake in a 5k and I spent almost no time at the beach this summer even though I bought a beach sticker. I did walk a lot with Stephanie but only until it got chilly outside aha. Then she tried to convince me to join a gym with her and I responded with a sad face and hoped she wouldn’t bring it up again. I ate so many hot pockets that I hot-pocketed myself out. I ate a lot of pizza and a lot of mac&cheese. Om nom nom. SO GOOD!

2) Don’t leave Massachusetts.
-While I didn’t make it to California or NYC (as I secretly aspired), I did visit Vermont a half dozen times. So many times, in fact, that I made new friends (multiple), on top of one of my very best friends (acquired at college. Read: go to college, make best friends).

3) Reading Goal for 2013: 1 Book.
-I finished 3. So while I tripled my goal, it was a pretty pathetic goal and nothing to be proud of.

4) Drink more Soda.
-I think I drank about the same amount of soda. Although my dental hygienist did suggest I cut down drastically, or limit soda to meals instead of for a breakfast snack, for the sake of my teeth. Yeah, I didn’t do that.

5) Run Desert Sand into the Ground.
-She died. And allegedly went to the car graveyard down the street from my house but I’m going to check into that. Her replacement, Green Car, has no problems to report (yet). And because I was determined not to be swindled, I made out very well when purchasing her. I’m not saying my actual salesman loved me, but I left happy and that matters more. To me.

6) Continue to Live with my Parents.
-Success! The only child, and oldest child, still bunkered down at home. Yes, my brothers make fun of me. Yes, it makes it hard to bring random men home since I’m not allowed to have boys in my bed. And yes, I’m basically obligated to watch Panda whenever my parents go out. But at least the rent is cheap? (SO CHEAP!)

7) Spend Frivolously.
-I started aggressively saving this year. Then my car needed replacing and my savings went with her. Then it took me a couple of months to get back on track, with insurance and excise tax and all that jazz. But I’m back on track, and only a dozen new dresses later!

8) Neglect The Tragic Whale: Blog & Shop.
-So, this happened. I shut my shop down during the winter, spring, and summer. I haven’t blogged, really blogged, in months. This was never my intent. My sincerest apologies to any readers left.

9) Dress Down, Every Day.
-Uhm, so there was a span of time where I wore the same pair of jeans for 3 weeks without washing them, and with visible food and smutz on them. Coupled with sweatshirts I pulled out of the bottom of my laundry basket, AKA the place I hide my sweatshirts from myself when they really, really, REALLY need to be cleaned. Because they have spaghetti sauce or chocolate or salsa down the front. It was a rough year.

10) Allow the World to Crush Me.
– Success! I already said it was a rough year (see above sentence). And for a while it literally felt like a great pressure was pushing down on my shoulders, which made it hard to breathe and then sleep and then think. But with my world-class crew of doctors I was able to get everything in check! Even though I was being pushed down, I pushed back. So I guess, in the end, I won.

BAM! In your face, 2013!

Wednesday Whale Love

My cousin, Michelle, shared this really clever idea with me via Pinterest. I’m dreaming of the dinner parties I can center around these adorable little cheese whales!

(source)

This shirt is too cute. Whales in Love? With a sunset background? On a shirt? Yes, please!

(source)

All I can say about this tape is WANT. It would be the perfect addition to all the orders I send out!

(source)

Hope everyone’s had a great week so far! I’m off to finish up a mini-pouch invasion in the shop ;)

Wednesday Whale Love: Want List.

The holidays are creeping up fast and I know it is sometimes difficult for my family to shop me. My brother Joey already asked me outright what I wanted, but where is the surprise?! So this week’s Wednesday Whale Love will double as a want list. You’re welcome, family!

(Obvi, these are loose ideas if you’re in a creative bind. I will love anything you get me. EXCEPT sour candy.)

This amazing sweatshirt:

(source)

Size medium, gray is fine. The other animals make it fun, but I’m all about those front-and-center whales!

I was really after a sweater. I just got a bird sweater and an owl sweater and I saw a fox sweater but no where can I find a whale sweater! Even though this is a men’s sweater, I think I could still rock it with a pair of skinny jeans.

(source)

Size medium, I like the orange one best. It’s wool, which leads me to believe it might be itchy, but hopefully I could fit a long sleeved shirt under it without bulking it up too much.

I think this is just a shirt with a hood attached, but that’s kind of cool.

(source)

Any color but white, and probably a medium. Honestly, I just really like that whale!

So, in conclusion, I hope everyone is having a fab week!

Yeah. Yeah, I transition well.

Wednesday Whale Love!

I thought office supplies would be a good subject for today, tying into Sunday’s tape dispenser want list ;)

I don’t know how this gem alluded my search! It looks like it could be a high school Plastics class project, but I think it is absolutely darling.

(source)

I already have 3 staplers for home and 2 for work, but none of them are whales. Obvi, I need one.

(source)

I found this one on the Japanese version of Amazon. I have no idea what the currency conversion is, but that doesn’t mean I’m not in love. Look at those little eyes! He looks like he’s smiling at you, ahaha.

(source)

Have a great week, everyone!

One successful giveaway!

The Tragic Whale giveaway on The Waiting was a success! Emily said it was her best one yet, which is awesome for the both of us. I’m really excited about it because I love contests, and giving things away.

Just ask my brothers’ about this. They tell me I’m “doing it wrong,” relatively often.

But whatever! A big congratulations to Emily from The Okayest Mom! (So many Emilys, right?)

Go check out both Emilys’ blogs because they are both fantastic, while I work on a couple new sections for my shop.

Have a great Tuesday!

Good things!

Today was a great day! I know I already mentioned it on Facebook but I’m working with Emily from The Waiting for a Giveaway today! You can win your pick of your three favorite items from my shop! I’m especially excited because this is my first Giveaway. And I like to wrap things.

I took advantage of my sunny lunch with the cloth backdrop I worked on last night.

Now I have to decide if I want to change the background of all my shop listings to white (kind of boring), or maybe mount a piece of wood on that thing. I’m really thrilled because as long as I keep the backdrop and my tripod in my car, I’ll be ready for a photo shoot when ever the sun is.

And finally, we got to listen to my Mom’s new favorite song during dinner.

She just heard it for the first time today and, in true Bazinet fashion, she will listen to it on repeat until she hates it.