Facebook

I have always been a bit unsure of all this online stuff... myspace, facebook, blogging, twitter and other online social networking sites. It's taken me a while to warm up to the blog - mostly because I have never wanted to be impersonal, but haven't wanted to give too much of my life to strangers. Because, let's be honest here, we definately spend more time reading blogs of people we haven't actually met than of our close friends.

Today, while I was on twitter, (which I still don't really get, except that I may have "met" some business connections today) I clicked on a link about what has been happening on facebook. SO DISTURBING!!! Here's the link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,494064,00.html I am so glad that I haven't gotten into that!

Now don't get me wrong, I've heard of several friends who have been able to find people who they haven't been in touch with for a long time and in that respect, I think that the process is great. But, I'm so glad that I know what I know now before getting on there. I have a friend (whom I LOVE!! Hey Tracy!!) and she had asked me to get on facebook to catch up with high school friends. Am I curious, sure. Would I love to get in touch with people again, sure. But do I have the time to really interact with everyone I find or everyone who finds me? not so much. I can barely keep up with regular email with the people I see all the time!

Am I saying that I will never do facebook? no, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that I'm so glad that I saw this article first. Now I will be so much more careful - especially with regard to personal information and photographs.

I hope you read the article and become more aware!

I Just Can't Help Myself!!

My daughter has REALLY been into dressing up and is turning into a real fashion icon :) The part that has been difficult is that she has been completely stripping her closet and when we go into her room, we are finding all sorts of partially worn clothing items strewn around. Most of the time it's cute and she's been coming up with some crazy outfits. Other times, I just want to curl up in my bed and go to sleep - so much time to sort through everything and figure out what is really dirty.

But... this morning she has been a doll :) It's still rainy and windy outside and my little one is definately an outdoor kind of girl (don't let the tutu fool you!) and it has been REALLY hard for her to stay inside. So when she started picking things out of her room to put on, I just let her.

And this is what she came up with: red long sleeve shirt, mom's under-roos (anyone remember those) that my mom had saved, boys Cars underwear (that you can't see - it's a shame too), the tutu, mismatched socks and white patent leather shoes from last Easter that really don't fit anymore (but don't tell her that)!!! Just remember this girl... she'll be all over the front pages of many a magazine when she gets older - I just hope it's not all over the "Worst Dressed" list!!! :)

A New Review!

I'm so excited about this review! It's only the second one that I have done, but it was great working with Joanna (and the review was fabulous)!! I am eager to do a contest with her to get even more traffic to my site and think that it will be a good way to get the word out. Here's the link to the review:

http://momof2andwife.blogspot.com/2009/02/daisy-creek-designs-review.html

Check it out!!

I'm So Excited!!

You have to check out this blog:

http://www.totzhatz.com/

She has been having dolls from ImogensGarden (imogensgarden.etsy.com) and AmyRoseDesigns (amyrosedesigns.etsy.com) go shopping and then posting what they have found! Such a cleaver idea and I just LOVE the things that these dolls have found. Much to my surprise.... the doll "Jo" which I helped to name from ImogensGarden found my sweetheart candy canes tee! I was so excited to be featured on this blog! This is another one of those "I wish I had thought of that" ideas and I can't wait to see what these dolls find next... follow with me!!!

BLOGGERS UNITE - WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY - CPSIA BLOG-IN

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades.

I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students: Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader: Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all. Read the article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade: Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter. Check out these listings for examples:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_10&listing_id=19852075

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19883352

To the Environmentalist: Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper: Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur: Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector: Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy: Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy: Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbeshttp://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

To Sell or Not to Sell, That is the Question!!

As my close friends know, starting this blog was difficult for me. I have known people who had them and never really "got it" and although I most of my family lives far away, it just didn't seem like the kind of thing that they would be intereseted in. And then I started putting all the (business) pieces together - how blogging about yourself gets others to blog about you and .... eventually your search engine rating gets raised. So, I looked around at different etsy team member blogs and thought, "well, this might not be so bad!" :)

The first blog entry was the hardest. Getting myself started... UG! How much do I tell about myself - am I telling too much or not enough?!?!? And then a couple of promotions organized by one of my etsy teams (etsybaby) came up and I thought this would be an easy thing to write about. And just as I started getting into the grove (my goal was to write once a week).....

more and more information started coming out about the ramifications of CPSIA (http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html). And at first I kept thinking that it will all get changed for sure. This had to be a joke! No one in their right mind would allow this to happen to so many small businesses! So, I waited and started reading up, and waited, and did more reading, and waited some more, and started reading about people starting to test to be compliant, and kept waiting, and read more about getting MSDS (is that right?!?!?) sheets to prove the lack of lead, and I kept on waiting....

you could say that I am still waiting ;) I've had a few sleepless nights, I've started becoming more active in the fight against it and I've really started thinking: What am I going to do??

I just start to think that I have it all worked out (at least until August when the law gets worse) and then I get more and more confused. So.... for those of you who might actually read this, bear with me!! I still have absolutely no idea what I am doing :)

Team EtsyBABY always comes up with great promotions and this one is no different! As a way to show support for the Help Save Handmade movement, many EtsyBABY team members are offering fabulous discounts! From January 9th to February 9th, I will be offering a free set of coordinating clips with each purchase of a rhinestone tee. Don't miss out on this great promotion!!

Go to www.shopetsybaby.com to see the other discounts being offered by my teammates!!