Crazy Aunt Paige

Too much consistency is as bad for the mind as it is for the body. Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead. → Aldous Huxley


I have talked about how my sister's husband is being transferred and they will be moving in late July to Dallas. The picture above is from the last trip home to the farm. The impending loss of my sister's girls has been really hard on me. I think that I have cried more in the past month than I have in the past 3 years combined. One of the things that I find most troubling is the lack of diverse influences the girls will have down there. My sister and her husband are extremely conservative. While the girls were here at least they would always have their crazy Aunt Paige, which is how my brother in law considers and often refers to me, to give them a healthy dose of other creative inspirations.

My sister and I got in an argument yesterday. The girls are currently in a parochial school. They are going down to Dallas this week to look at schools and neighborhoods that they are considering. It seems that the areas they are looking at have very good public schools and very few parochial options yet they are still leaning towards sending the girls to private schools. I just don't get it. With Jess I at least partially understand, she is pretty emotionally needy and they want a small school where she will get plenty of attention and experience less change with the transition. But Kate is extremely advanced and was literally being ignored in her current class. Private schools are great for students who fall somewhere in the middle but in my opinion they just don't meet the needs of students on either end of the extremes.

I know that is clearly not my decision but I feel very strongly about this. Angie's argument was that she felt that there was much more moral teaching in the private schools and that there is less exposure to media influences, whatever that means. I just see them being completely sheltered and having no exposure to differences which to me is a bad thing. I don't want them to get a spoiled rich girl mentality which is already starting to show a little in Jess. I don't want them to be surrounded by all privileged white people with no idea what it is like for the rest of the world and no exposure to other ideas and ways of thinking.

My sister said that if they could afford it and they thought it was the best thing for the girls than why wouldn't they do it. I couldn't really argue with that, since it is their decision and they have to do what they feel is best. My sister always fights dirty though and had to throw a punch at my weakness. She said that she thinks that Anh and Kai, my niece and nephew on my husband's side, are much more influenced by the "media" and are so much more worldly for their age. I spend a lot more time with them as they live just a few blocks from us and their mother has progressively worse health problems as well as other reasons. Ani actually goes to a Montessori school so there really wasn't an argument there to be made, she just wanted to get a dig in. Yes, Kai and Anh have a very unique style and are much more aware of the world but to me that is not a bad thing.

I'm afraid now that my arguments probably just strengthened Angie's convictions. When I said that they would have no exposure to any diversity I got nothing but condescension. What do you think, should I just keep my nose out of it? I know it's not my decision but I also know I will continue to fight for the girls and try to keep them from being completely sheltered from the world.

Celebrating Moms

I know it's a little late but I got to hang out with my Mom today and we all went out to brunch. Believe it or not it was terribly crowded and took forever, who would have thought on Mother's Day. Well I thought I would celebrate some of my favorite Mom bloggers. I really don't know how you ladies do it. Some of you are crafters, some of you work outside the home, all of you somehow find time to write about your adventures and share your thoughts with the world. If you haven't read these ladies I highly recommend that you check them out and experience their unique take on the world. The above artwork is from RiverCityArtworks and comes with the lovely frame.

Kristin from My Art and the Mom in Me is one of the sweetest bloggers you will ever come across. She is always there to give a fellow blogger encouragement and is a dedicated member of the blogging community. She is Mom to two beautiful girls and makes some darn cute crafts to boot.

I really don't know how Julie from Momspective does it. She keeps up not one but two very active and informative blogs and looks great doing it. On Momspective Reviews you'll find product reviews, giveaways, and all kinds of other ideas for women.

My Kids are my World is one of my favorite true Mom blogs. You get a real sense of what an all encompassing job motherhood is but yet she still has time to express herself and her thoughts.

Tiff from Three Peas in a Pod has a very visually stimulating and fun blog to read. She has lots of crafts and humorous posts that definitely keep me coming back.

You know how you have those blogs that you read and try to live a little vicariously through. The absolutely drop dead gorgeous Katherine from Katherine Unabridged has an absolutely gorgeous husband, beautiful baby, and is a really amazing writer to make me even more envious. She writes about the good and the bad so poignantly that I feel like I know her and I promise you will too from practically the moment you start reading.

There are so many other amazing mommy bloggers out there. I hope you all had a Happy Mom's Day and that you got an extra helping of desert and at least one slobbery kiss today.

Roller Derby Girls

So a friend of Betty's from work is a roller derby ref and we all went out to check out the Arch Rivals tonight. Not only was it a rockin' good time but we actually sat right next to Phyllis Smith from The Office. It is one of our favorite shows and one of the few shows that Mike and I always watch together. She is originally from St. Louis and was there to check out the action with her niece, who looked like she was on one of the other teams in the league. Phyllis was very sweet and totally patient with all of the people wanting pictures and autographs. The shot to the right is how close I was to her for the game. Mike was totally into the action and even has a new crush on Keligula from the M-80 Rockers. I don't think the kids were as into it but Ani approved of the fashion.


We were on the first row right in them middle of all the action, but this is the best shot I got of the game. Next time I'll bring my different camera lenses to get some better angles.

RU an Etsy Bitch

I've been reading Etsy Bitch religiously for the past 9 months or so. Since I don't read the forums hardly at all anymore it is my real source of gossip and news about Etsy. You will get the 100% no holds barred, honest to God truth in their pages. I'm sure those who are still in the honeymoon period will probably say they are just a negative bunch of whiners but trust me your day will come. My rose colored glasses were rosier than anyones but the glow is definitely faded.

If you are unfamiliar with the site here is their mission statement:

EtsyBitch is a communal blog of likeminded Etsians who are tired of the demeaning treatment, abuse, and general mismanagement of the Etsy.com site. We want Etsy to improve so we bitch to call attention to the unfairness and general stupidity of its admin and the unprofessional way they treat their sellers.

We're bitching because we care, dammit. That's right. It's snark for a cause. Crabbing for progress. Whining to make the handcrafted world a better place.

A recent post gives 8 Etsy propagated myths that should be required reading for anyone interested in promoting their craft. Myth 7 cracks me up and makes me sad all in one:

"ETSY IS REALLY ABOUT THE SANCTITY OF HANDMADE IT'S JUST CONFUSED SO LOOKS LIKE A CRAFT MAGAZINE SPINOFF WITH ALT-CRAFT ONLY. IT ONLY PROMOTES HOT GLUED TOGETHER NEON HOODIES WHEN IT'S DRINKING - ONE DAY IT WILL WISE UP AND LOVE ME BECAUSE IT ALWAYS TELLS ME IT KNOWS NO NICHE, AND IT LOVES ME, REALLY IT DOES!"

Of course Etsy has every right to target whatever market they want with their front page and gift guides, but don't tell us that you are for all things handmade when you are really for all things handmade in Brooklyn.

Leave it to them to point out here how New York Magazine actually said this about Etsy in a recent article, "The Etsy lifestyle has a recognizable aesthetic, which looks remarkably like that of skinny-jeans-wearing, Slow Food–eating, bike-commuting hipsters." So if you live in the Midwest and haven't worn skinny jeans since your were 8 years old than you will never belong. Clearly this hipster image cannot be denied any longer when the media is taking it as common knowledge.

And then quite possibly the funniest post I've read ever was the Etsy on Sunday Morning. Leave it to Etsy to put a dirty Brooklynite peddling handmade hoodies and underwear to the Sunday Morning crowd. And to actually have Martha Stewart point out the flaw in the workmanship. Wow, talk about great press.

So RU an Etsy Bitch or do you still think they are the greatest thing since handmade bread?

Random Thoughts

I'm feeling rather random today so here goes. First my ever honest sister in law, Gray eyed Scorpio, left me a comment in my last post saying that since my blog makeover my page is taking too long to download. I haven't noticed a difference but I don't know if it is because I check it so regularly. Has anyone else noticed an abnormal download time since beautifying the blog? If so I will have to rethink some things. UPDATE: I just removed the Linked Within widget which I had a feeling was slowing things down. Let me know if that makes a difference, please.

To add to the randomness I just included the picture above which is currently listed in my 1000 Market's shop here.

Next I wanted to solicit some thoughts on a new selling venue I just discovered on Twitter. It's called Twolia and it is really new. It is just for women but it also includes music and film and all things creative and indie. I like the idea of it and I see some real potential. The fee structure is exactly the same as Etsy and the categories are very similar. I am really wanting to find a place I feel at home and Etsy just hasn't been making me feel welcome lately. I feel like I'm lost in a sea of sellers. I have some other thoughts on Etsy right now but that is a whole other post. I have never felt comfortable at 1000 Markets either. I love the look of it but it's kind of like going into a really high end boutique. I like looking around but I don't feel like I can relax and be myself there. I just can't get behind the fee structure of Artfire. I like what they are doing over there but I can't justify the $7 or $12 fee each month when there are around 6 months out of the year when I'm not really selling much of anything. Any other suggestions for me from you crafty folks? Should I just pop the cherry and set up my own site since I bought my domain name already? That sounds like so much work though.

I also wanted to give a shoutout to The Soap Seduction. I got my Mother's Day gifts in the mail the other day and I'm absolutely thrilled with her work. Everything was amazingly packaged and made, and they look even yummier in person than in the pictures. She has a MOTHER'S DAY GIFT BASKET with FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING listed right now. It may not get there by Sunday but it is totally worth being a few days late. I particularly love the Black Currant Rose scent. She also included a whole fugly soap pack for me that has some great new scents I'm excited to use.

I also am thrilled to have won Two Strands Soap Works spring basket contest. I can't wait to see what goodies she includes. She has some amazing spices, soaps, and other bath products you should check out in her etsy shop here.

Any thoughts random or otherwise would be appreciated.

Google Me

Someone last week asked me how I knew how many visitors I had each day to my blog. There are lots of tools you can use but I, like most use Google Analytics. I am not going to go into details on how to install it but if you need help here is a good beginner's guide from Mahalo for getting your account set up and figuring out how to initially use it. I rarely refer to Google's help section since I find it to be geared towards a user with a much more techie vocab than myself. When I need help I just google the question I have and usually someone else has translated directions it in a more user friendly way than Google itself. The above Google Love print is by MARCOART ONLINE and combines the Beatles Dynasty with the Google dynasty.

You are going to want to eliminate your own ISP address from your statistics if you are anything like me and check your blog over 20 times a day. You can add a filter from as many computers that you use, I have one for my work and home computers. WeepingWillowyOne on Artfire did a good step by step guide for how to do this here.

Last month I noticed a very alarming trend in my blog stats. I was experiencing a negative % change for the first time ever. I knew intellectually that it was because I had such a huge increase in numbers the month before while running the Lose the Winter Blues Contest. I had done tons of promoting and was linked on all kinds of contest blogs and was still seeing some residual effects of this throughout March. But it was so depressing to see my losses there, especially as they actually got as high as 18% at one point. That is when I jumped into action to try to stop the bleeding, so to speak. I threw myself into Twitter and StumbleUpon and was recently able to turn the corner. I thought it might be interesting for some of you to see where my traffic comes from. If you don't even like looking at your own stats then feel free to move along.

One of the first things I always look at when reviewing my Statistics is where my traffic is coming from. I think this is the most important resource since it helps us to see where we should or shouldn't be putting our energy. To find the whole list you go to your Traffic Sources Overview and click on view full report. I usually have over 70 referring sites, with some of them only referring a few but every one counts as a potential new follower.

Here are my top 10 referring sources from the past 30 days. The first number is the total number of visitors from that site, the second is the average number of page views per visit, The third is the average length of the visit, and the last is the percentage of new visitors.

1.	entrecard.com / referral	2,678	1.06	00:00:25	30.96%
2.	(direct) / (none)	1,217	1.11	00:00:36	54.31%
3.	blogger.com / referral	358	2.61	00:08:32	11.45%
4.	adn.entrecard.com / referral	266	1.06	00:00:30	43.98%
5.	sortafloweringdesigns.com / referral	179	1.12	00:00:49	41.90%
6.	twitter.com / referral	146	1.58	00:03:50	73.97%
7.	etsy.com / referral	80	1.12	00:00:22	81.25%
8.	stumbleupon.com / referral	74	1.19	00:00:31	98.65%
9.	google / organic	72	1.58	00:01:17	93.06%
10.	photodito.com / referral	33	1.03	00:00:39	33.33%

It's no surprise that my biggest source is entrecard. I put the most amount of time into promoting my blog with them. Even with all of their bumps and advertising debacles during the past month they are still the best way to promote your blog that I know of. I no longer do my drops on the weekend since it was taking away too much time from creating so I do have a pretty big drop in viewers by Sunday but I'm ok with that.

The twitter stats are very interesting for me. Those are actually very solid new numbers since I really just started working the twitter last week. Before that I had less than 20 views from them. What is promising from those stats is that they are actually spending some time here, with an average of almost 4 minutes.

The StumbleUpon numbers are about what I thought they would be. A lot of new visitors but not necessarily the same quality. They had an average of only 31 seconds. I will continue to submit some pages to them and it is a good way to search for interesting diversions.

I have been using the etsy forums to promote my blog some the past few weeks too which is where the etsy views are coming from. I'm not real impressed with the quality of these views as the average time is only 22 seconds but I think I will continue to do it as I have time. I also find some great blogs by participating in those threads which is part of the fun.

Do you have any interesting trends or thoughts on Google Analytics you would like to share?

Public Service Announcement

I don't know how many times my mother has told me "you don't get something for nothing in this life my child" but I am the eternal optimist. I just included this recent pic of my nieces since they have that fresh faced look of innocence here. I've joined every music or book club out there at least once, gotten my free stuff and then ended up paying for stuff I didn't want or need when I forgot to return a card or some other requirement.

Once again I've been roped into one of these programs. The Creative Home Art's Club sounded too good to be true in the literature they sent me, which should have been my first sign. I sent in the card and was then billed for $24. When I didn't pay immediately I got a threatening letter saying that I was to be sent to collections, I guess they are a bit gun shy as people are probably quick to regret their purchase. I got my first magazine which was one of the big perks and it was a total bust. It was less than 100 pages and not a single idea or project worthwhile.

The other big perk was the opportunity to test craft items and send in reviews. Well, I got a box from them last week and I thought perhaps they were going to come through after all. To my great disappointment there was a home decorating book in it with a letter explaining that I had been chosen to receive the book and I could keep it if I sent in $11 and I would be sent other lame books in the series every month. If I didn't want it I should return it to them using the paid invoice attached. Thanks a lot for sending me an errand to the Post Office. In the fine print it says you have 14 days to get it back to them, but it doesn't say if that is the post marked day or what so I had better get it back to them this week. Either way I get to keep the tiny gift bag that is made to look handmade, with a great big 'Made In China' sticker on the packaging.

Lesson learned, probably not. If I'm still getting suckered at my age it's unlikely I will ever learn...