The first day of my "Dream Life" is today...

Next week I'll be taking a break from my day job (the one that is currently paying the bills) to get ready for my next show on May 10th (see the right side bar for more info). I'll also be working on the show that I am coordinating with friends that will happen this summer the last weekend in July (more information regarding this show is forth-coming). While I'll have lots of work to do next week, I intend to have FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I mean, I'll be living my dream life, which is that of a successful, busy, in demand jewelry artisan. :) I'm one of those people who likes and thrives in "solitude" and know that I would do well if I worked at home. As I write this I'm thinking about the routine I would establish, it would be the perfect combination of work and personal time. I'm one of those people who likes to work in spurts and then take time to recharge my batteries. So, I would set a routine that would be like this:

My schedule for next week (Monday - Friday):

• Rise at 6:00am - 6:30am. Make coffee and drink 2 cups while standing in the kitchen watching the early morning news (Yeah, I got a TV in my kitchen - I like to watch the "Food Network" while cooking or cleaning
• 6:30am -7:00am. Take Bruce for a walk. He's not a very demanding pooch but when he wants to go for a walk he's quietly persuasive and it's best to get such demands out of the way as soon as I can.
• 7:00am (or 7:30am) - 2:00pm. Sit down at jewelry bench. I'll either be working on designs or creating my findings.
  
• 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Take a break or run personal/work related errands
  
• 4:00pm - 5:00pm. Clean up jewelry bench and wrap it up for the day.
• 5:00pm - 9:00pm - Domestic chores and spend time with family.
  

Will I be able to maintain this non-harried schedule? Probably not - only because I'm sure there will be nights when I've got a creative streak where I'll tell my husband that he's on his own for dinner and will work at my bench until all hours of the night. Which will throw off my schedule for the next day. And I'm sure I'll get sucked into watching some daytime TV - so I'm going to avoid the siren song of the BIG TV and the comfortable couch in the living room. My TV daytime TV will be confined to either my kitchen or at my jewelry bench.

So that's my plan.

What else have I been up to? Well, I've been terribly remiss in tending to my shop on Etsy. It hasn't been very busy and truth be told I was avoiding it. Yeah, not the best plan. So, add it to my list for next week: Pay attention to your shop on Etsy!!! This morning, I added more earrings to my shop. Next Sunday, I'll be adding more stock to my shop.

Now I've got to go and get ready. My husband is getting his documentation together to renew his passport. We need to go to the notary today. We're planning a trip to visit his family in England this summer.

I'll be back later.

Until then, Best Regards.

martha

Yeah! I did it and survived to tell the tale!!!!

What did I do? I paid my 1st quarter taxes last night (nothing like waiting for the last moment). Thank god, for electronic filing and e-checks. I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have over paid my taxes - only because my records weren't as "organized" as they should be - but I'd rather over pay then under pay - it's just more pleasant to find out that you erred in your favor. My biggest worry is that I didn't complete the forms correctly - but the silver lining to this dark cloud is that I'm sure I'll find out sooner rather than later if I made any mistakes (That is if the Department of Revenue notices).

Because I haven't had any sales in the first month of the second quarter, I'm going to use this time to organize my financial paper work - just in case I get audited. According to the fine folks from the Department of Revenue - it's not if you get audited, it's when - so I want to be prepared. Sounds pretty ominous - doesn't it?

And finally, next week I'll get a taste of what it's like to be a full time artisan/business owner. I'll be at home all next week getting ready for my next jewelry show sponsored by my Etsy Street Team: EtsyRain in Edmonds. I'm excited about this show for two reasons: 1. It's an opportunity to make more money (my checking account is looking a little anemic) and 2. I'll get to meet more members of the team - some of them I know through the groups I belong to on Flickr and Etsy, and some that I've actually met at other shows like "I Heart Rummage" and classes. I'm hoping it's fun, I'm hoping it's profitable, I'm hoping to meet lots of cool people - I'm hoping that next week is productive and I walk away with a feeling of being satisfied with what I was able to accomplish.

So, my goals for next week are:

1. Take more photos of my jewelry.

2. Post more inventory on Etsy.

3. Have more productive sessions at my jewelry bench.

4. Organize my financial paperwork.

5. Get ready for my next show.

6. Meet with my co-organizers of my Bella Faire art show in Tacoma.

7. Design and get the web-site for the Bella Faire up and running.

8. Take Bruce for a walk every day next week.

9. Set up a routine for me to follow through out the week.

10. Start a feature on my blog dedicated to the artist's who's own web-sites drive lots of traffic to my web-site (Whew! That was a mouth full!). I'm also thinking of hosting a give-away once a month - maybe.

It's good to have goals. Better if you meet them.