No Whining on Wednesday or why are people in Nevada searching for mosquito dunks and ending up here

As part of my SEO immersion I have been checking out (while watching American Idol) .. carefully studying .. my google analytics to see just what it is that I am saying that helps people find me on here.

(for anyone not familiar- google analytics is a service to see what kind of web traffic your website, blog, etc is getting, where that traffic is coming from and the kind of things that people are searching for when they find you)

So, although these search terms seem a bit strange, I am going to trust Google and the googlers and work these search phrases that people seem to have found me with into today's post in hopes of drawing even more traffic in here.


(traffic with credit cards and paypal accounts hopefully, because baby needs a new pair of shoes ...

<------ and by baby I mean me and by shoes I mean these Ciao Bella's - aren't they cuties?)

1. Squirrellicious - Actually this is an easy one because squirrellicious is a word I use alot ... really.

In fact, people who know me are all like that girl is totally squirrellicious.

(it could be a hair thing)

and there is a totally adorable Etsy shop called Squirrellicious

(coincidence? I think not, squirrelincidence? ...maybe)

2. The Race to Wear Plastic - Now this makes total sense because I have been in a race to figure out more ways to incorporate plastic into my wardrobe since I lost my Alice in Wonderland wrist watch in the 1st grade...

(on the playground during recess and my teacher Miss Rehak(?) refused to search my classmates pockets and lunchbags; a situation that left me crying and demanding a Nazi-like siege on the school grounds and fostered a growing distrust of authority figures and inability to work a wrist strap)

3. Ivins Reservoir Itch - I think I am just going to leave this one alone- I am not sure what the people at my local reservoir have been saying about me, but I can assure you that I only did this that one time and well ... I just don't want to talk about it.

4. Mosquito Dunks for Sale in Las Vegas - This is my favorite. I did do a blog post on mosquito dunks once and have probably mentioned Las Vegas

(although I've never been, but hear what happens there stays there, kind of like the fast food fries in my car that Olive just can't quite reach)

and I have almost certainly used the word 'sale' many, many times.

(as in hello- this is a sale, please buy something, baby really, really needs those shoes)

And I am certain the person in Nevada searching for those mosquito dunks was very happy to stumble in here and find some recycled jewelry he didn't even know he was needing.

Of course, there are also plenty of searches for more relevant things, but if I can draw 'em in here with Ivins Reservoir Itch and Squirrellicious and The Race to Wear Plastic and Mosquito Dunks for Sale in Las Vegas

(best to work these all in one more time)

then I think I can do pretty much anything, right?

**Special in both my shops Uncorked and Polarity for the next 10 days - just say one of these search phrases or something similar, no penalties if you say groundhoglicious or the race to wear aluminum foil- I'm just not that kind of seller

(unlike other businesses out there that ignore you if you don't cross every t and dot every i or actually mail in one of their entry forms- damn you Publisher's Clearing House)

in the comments to seller section of your order and receive a free set of earrings with any purchase**


1. Amazing ivy aid - natural poison ivy relief from B. Noel Aromatics
2. Stunning rainbow punk plastic necklace by DarklyngStudios
3. Fun toteBag by GoldieFawn
4. Beautiful red bird cardholder by Squirrellicious
5. Adorable mosquito card by SouthernPestPrints

Take 10 Tuesday - some great posts in case you missed them - lots of podcast action

1) CraftMBA's post Is Use the Best Form of Marketing (do you wear/use your own work?)

<---- 2) Lovin' Amalia's zippers on canvas!

3) 15 Marketing Tips to Remember by the Bakery

4) Art Marketing action podcast on Placing Older Art on Your Website

5) Kari Chapin (The Handmade Marketplace author) answers crafty business questions over at CraftyPod

6) Kim Tillyer has a great birthday giveaway on her blog for one of her amazing brooches!

7) How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review by Chris Guillebeau

I might have to fire myself now - this could be bad or good news

8. Getting Other People to Hate You at the Gapingvoid

9. The amazing Jessica Doyle's amazing videocast over on Elastic Lab.

10. The amazing Carmen Torbus rocks her video "interview" for the incredible ladies of Spring.

Sticks and Stones or how to stop being so sensitive that your teeth hurt

Now, sometimes I like to think that I write posts that are lessons I've learned and would like to pass on, but sometimes I think they are really just lessons for me.

(this could be ... is ... one of those times)

I am sometimes very thin-skinned. I know this about myself and it is something I am continually working on.

In my brain I can clearly see that everything is not all about me.

(except on this blog - which is why I have one, sort of)

I know that criticism is sometimes about the other person and sometimes something that I have only imagined and I know that very often it is not personal. I know all of this ... in my head.

But some other part of me gets ... well, hurt and often much more hurt than the situation requires.

In her book "The Highly Sensitive Person", Dr. Elaine Aron says that in evolutionary terms, being sensitive to criticism could be a lifesaver. "Back when we were hunter-gatherers, being excluded from the group was very dangerous. We might have starved or even gone insane from being ostracized. We are very social animals."

(now, I have never thought of myself as any kind of social animal, but I guess it is in my DNA and I will gladly blame my ancestors ... adding sensitivity to the list that includes bad hair and mild OCD)

Our sensitivity to the negative opinions of others is so strong, she says, that we record these emotional wounds in the same part of the brain as actual physical pain.

Now there is some good news here because sensitivity to other people's opinions of us (and brooding and smarting over inconsequentials) is the most adjustable type of sensitivity and I am determined to adjust mine.

(and of course this sensitivity means these are things that I actually care about ... deeply. If someone were to insult my housekeeping skills or singing voice - both pretty bad - I could shrug those things off in a second, but insult the things that matter and watch out)

So here's my gameplan:

1. Rewrite my mornings. I usually hop on the computer as soon as I am alone in the house, but this immediately opens me up to external things- sometimes good, but sometimes not so good; an email from a customer that she accidentally gave me the wrong shipping address ... to Australia ... for a 3 piece uninsured order that left my house the day before - can get me off to a rocking bad start.

But if I take some time for me first, before I open myself up to all that external stuff, I will be better able to separate the problem (if there is one) from myself. So from now on - a morning coffee, stretching and shower before I let the outside world in.

2. Clear things up right away. If something feels strange or out of balance, I will check in with the other person right away. How many times do we think we know what the other person is thinking and when we finally talk it out- we were way wrong about what was really going on.


3. Be ready to move on. Putting all our eggs in one basket is a good way to ensure we will take the outcome personally.

(good when things go our way and bad when they don't, but really always bad because it puts our emotions and happiness and stress level under the control of someone else)

I was turned down last week for a show I was really counting on ... looking forward to ... because "they were full with jewelry" and of course, being an insanely sensitive person I took this to mean "we don't like your work" when what they probably really meant was "they were full with jewelry".

Next time, I will have a list of other options available. I will move on down my list if someone says no. I will find that something else that is waiting for me.

4. Get enough sleep. I am much more sensitive when sleep deprived and stressed.

5. Give myself permission to zap 'em once in a while. I will keep a few zingers in my arsenal because sensitivity can be a strength also and it is often the sensitive people who say exactly the right thing.

(I think)

things such as - "Excuse me?"

(now this must be said very calmly and with a straight face as if we really do not understand what we just heard)

Asking someone to repeat a thoughtless comment is a graceful way to make them think twice about what they just said ... and maybe rephrase it if we have misunderstood.

"I wonder why you would say that"

The kinder gentler version of "what the hell does that mean?" challenges the person to reflect on his/her motives.

"Ouch! That hurt my feelings."

This lets someone know we've taken a comment personally

but I will use my zingers carefully and for the big things and learn to let the small things slide.

5. Keep things in perspective - who we are becoming on this journey of ours is much more important than what happens to us.

When we get beyond taking things personally and allow ourselves to choose a different way to respond, we will become more and more unflappable and happy.

At least, this is my plan, I'll keep you posted ...

(no stopping ever poster by EvenAndy)

Friday Finds - Some Etsy Goodness to get your weekend started

1. squirrellicious fish pouch
2. better than jam dress
3. lemkab leather necklaces
4. polaroid camera drawing by cb78
5. tovie corrie cuff
6. peace 4 you upcycled satchel
7. celentano woodworks avocado guitar
8. english dept giselle dress
9. print by holli
10. rini and faith headband
11. vintage sign from hindsvik
12. eight seasons wristlet
13. amy miwen custom painted vans
14. jane mount painting of your bookshelf

Another weekly stack by the amazing stacker and photog Kella MacPhee.

Thoughtful Thursday - spending money on what is important to us

"The new trend in spending money is to buy things that are painstakingly hand built instead of efficiently mass produced.

It might not be a better price than what you could buy at Target, but the very fact that you can pay for an artisan to create it, an artist to design it, a talented worker to bring it to life - that act makes a powerful statement about what you can afford and what's important to you.

Instead of a bigger house, it's a house that's built from scratch by craftsmen.

Instead of a bigger steak, it's a handmade dish of local poached vegetables..."

If you are making a living making things this is a pretty exciting conversation and if you are a human being concerned with the conspicuous consumption of consumer goods it is a conversation worth celebrating.

Conversation by Seth Godin, Letterpress by StarShapedPress

Whining Wednesday - a few things that are freaking me out this week

I know I decided to turn Whining Wednesdays into No Whining on Wednesdays and I have been good for the last few weeks, but every now and then we all need to whine

(just a little)

freak out #1) Hubby reading in the bathroom. This really, really bugs me. And I haven't blogged about him in a long time

(at least a week)

but this has gotten so out of control.

I am constantly finding strange things in the bathroom - like flashlights and drill bits and unopened mail

(I know this has nothing to do with reading, but these things freak me out, too)

and I am totally yucked out when I find a book in the bathroom. I mean, is it just me, or should nothing be in the bathroom that doesn't belong there.



this is how it starts folks -------->


Soon George will be taking the book into the restroom at the library before bringing it home so he can test it out; see how it feels on his lap, how well it rests on the back of the toilet tank, etc.

This so freaks me out

(of course, this does not apply to bathtubs or parents escaping their children- both valid "book in the bathroom" scenarios)

freak out #2) Amazon - Remember when Amazon was the internet's go to place for books, music, and movies?

Then they somehow collaborated with every other website ever created and now you can also purchase wholesale servings of organic juice drinks, a dog sled, a 200 pound drillpress, my own cemetery plot under a shady tree in Nevada and frankly, I don't like seeing those items as suggested purchases next to my shopping cart with my Snowdogs II Anniversary Edition DVD in there.

(Olive claims to be a big fan of Cuba Gooding, Jr although I suspect she has a little crush on snowdog number one)

freak out #3) That Tiger Woods talking listening to his dad Nike ad (ala Hamlet?). I have read this advertising called brilliant branding. I am just calling it C-R-E-E-P-Y.

(remember when Nike had that great ad with all the little girl babies throwing off their pink nursery caps- what the hell has happened to them?)

freak out #4) - An 11 year old girl super hero (YAY), but wait a minute, an 11 year old girl super hero who uses the "c" word (not so YAY) - I don't think I am a prude

(in fact some of the reviewers of this movie want me to feel like a prude for objecting, but I object anyway)

if women let this word become acceptable and part of normal conversation I resign from my race, really truly .... let's boycott this movie - I'm not even going to say its name.

freak out #5) SEO - I have immersed myself in this stuff over the past few days, so I can pass all the wisdom I have accumulated on to you guys next week

(and maybe sell a few things)

"So is it all about the Benjamins, baby?" you may be asking yourself

(because in my head you all talk like P. Diddy)

and yes, it kind of is, actually....

and speaking of immersing myself (freak out #6) I did take a break this morning from my SEO education to liberally baste my face with some new organic skin care products, because I think this is something I need to start thinking about and because I really don't want to be able to use the folds of my face as a coin purse anytime soon.

I realize someday this is going to happen and I will probably be happy to have the extra storage space, but for now I still have a couple empty shelves in my pantry...

Now here's where I insert the disclaimer that I have been advised by my sister (who moved to Portland, Oregon a few years ago) that people on the west coast consider "freaking" a bad word, as if it were the real "f" word (and yes, I think the "c" word is way worse than the "f" word) that we use all the time here on the east coast and no one bats an eyelash.

She claims that when she says "freaking" to people they look at her as if she said something really bad, so she has stopped saying it.

(she is back to using the real "f" word and giving them the finger)

So, if you are a west coaster and this word is like fingernails on a chalkboard to you, I freaking apologize, sincerely. And if you are a west coaster and think my sister is freaking crazy let me know that, too (I think she is actually saying frigging, which is gross actually).


1. Calming and Clarifying Facial Cream by DressGreen
2. Reading photography by A Life Through the Lens
3. Freak Out and Throw Stuff notebook by Earmark
4. Eager Husky print by ToxicGuineaPigs
5. Toilet Paper on your Neck by LiciaBeads