How to Make Successful New Year Goals

I always tend to write a huge list of resolutions that pertain to everything from my personal life, relationships, business.... ect. It's honestly kind of annoying because the list is just that a list. I usually end up only marking off a few of the many resolutions I make every year. Today I want to share with you my new approach to resolutions that will make them more successful this year.


1. Changing Resolutions to Goals:
Here is the definition I found for resolution on wiki...
New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual makes at New Year's Day
A commitment which to me means set in stone and if you break it you feel horrible about that. So why don't we change it up and call them goals instead? Here's the wiki definition for that...
A goal is a desired result an animal or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve—a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development
Desire... that sounds a little more pleasing and I am still going to commit to achieve it but I will plan to make that happen. Seems less stressful to me.

2. Organizing your List:
Taking your large extensive list ranging from cleaning the home to making more business connections and putting into smaller lists can make your thought process a lot simpler. I am putting my goals into three small lists business, personal, and blog. That makes it easier for me to handle them. 

3. Creating the plan of attack:
Making your resolutions into goals means you need a plan of attack and that always brings up the chances for success. Take the time to dream up what each might entail in order to get there. Maybe you need to make so much money in a certain amount of time or you need to lose so many pounds in so many weeks. Write all of that down as condensed as you can so it doesn't overwhelm you. Focus on the important factors.

4. Posting Reminders and Memos in clear Sight:
Take the time to create eye catching/ cute signs as reminders and put them in the places where they make sense or where you look every day. Maybe in your closet where you pick your clothes out in the morning or in the bathroom right above the sink. If you plan on losing weight trying sticking a sign in the pantry to remind you to eat good. If your trying to save money stick a note in your wallet beside your cash. 

5. Share Goals with a Friend:
Having someone to talk about your goals can help you understand them better and give you perspective. A friend can also be a kind reminder or a goal buddy if they want to achieve it with you. Having a workout buddy is the best!

6. Schedule one day of the Month for Reflection and Adjusting:
Choose one day out of the month to look at your achievements and see what is working. If losing 20 lbs in a month isn't happening (god knows that's kinda impossible) then adjust and make it more reasonable for you. Adjusting isn't giving up it's giving you a better chance at success.

7. Rewarding Yourself Along the Way:
Rewarding is just a way to give yourself a pat on the back for a good job. It's also motivation to keep on trucking... so remember that!

8. Be Confident:
Always say I can, I will, I am and never say never! I think this is the most important success tip!


What do you think? What are some of your goals? How do you keep up with them throughout the year?

Did you know??? Blog tip Favicon

I have been fooling around a lot more with my blog lately, attempting to learn html and using my new cs5 program to get better images on the blog. I'm also taking two ecourses... one pertaining to business and the other to blogging. I have been spending a lot of time researching how to do specific things to my blog and a while back I came across a post by Wonder Forest on adding a Favicon.

So did you know that you can add a little image to replace that orange and white blogger symbol in the tab when you open your blog?

Well you can and you can personalize it too! It's called a favicon!! I know most of you have but those of you who haven't, it's pretty neat and a lot simpler than I thought.

If you look at the tabs or beside the address bar above you should be able to see my new favicon I created last night!! Can you tell what it is? I literally drew this one up myself so I am wondering if you can figure it out.

Here's the thing... it is literally this simple....
go to this site http://www.favicon.cc/
and you can either upload an image that it will transform into tiny pixels
or you can draw one out yourself in those pixel format on the site (it is a bit strange at first because it is so pixelated)!

 That's what I did last night! It did take a couple of attempts but you can see the progress up in the address bar while you create it.

Once you have something you like all you need to do is download it. *** be sure to click the blue download favicon link under preview. They have a silly ad beside it that says download (which I am sure is how they get people to click it) and it will install something else on your computer... I made that mistake... opps.

Then just go to your layout section on blogger and notices in the top left  it has a place to add your favicon. Upload the image there and save arrangement! I still don't see a change on my computer but it says that it can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to do so. However my sister can see it on her computer... so can you see it???

Did you know? Prove your NOT a Robot

I have been thinking of throwing out a new type of post where I share with you something I recently figured out that I didn't know anything about. These things may be obvious to some of you but I wish someone would have posted about it instead of me spending endless hours discovering it.

So did you know that you can turn off that annoying comment word verification when someone tries to comment on your blog? 

Maybe you did and you like that little "Prove your not a Robot" box. If so... ignore what I have to say about it because this is my personal opinion and you might have a real good reason it is still on. 

For those of you who still don't realize what I am talking about... basically when you comment on someone who has this option turned on you will submit your comment only to find that you have to cross your eyes to determine a alien language and attempt to type it into the box to confirm the comment. Let me tell you... I really hate this but some of the blogs I love I will take the time to do this because I love you! 

Lately it seems that it has gotten more blurry or maybe my sight is getting worse so I try to attempt typing this silly word/phrase/number in at least 3 times. Sometimes my computer just erases the comment after multiple attempts... and I honestly give up because I forget what I said and the comment is usually more than a sentence long. 

Lastly I want to say this. I turned off my word verification thing a while back and have noticed more comments. Most of those comments are longer too... which is nice because you can actually have a convo with your readers. I was a little worried about someone writing something I didn't like but that hasn't happened yet. 

If your worried about that or spam... you can always choose to approve you comments before they post or make it where the person has to be a member of your blog to post.

All of these options can be changed by going to Settings and underneath that POSTS AND COMMENTS

Be sure to read all of your options there because you can even do other really neat things. So be sure if you want to get rid of that annoying box and make some of your readers a little less stressed.... make sure you selected NO for the Show Word Verification question.

So what do you think... useful? or not? Do you have a good reason for having this option on?  Whats your opinion should I keep doing the Did you know posts?

11 tips for a successful first year on ETSY!

I have been on etsy now for over a year with a little over 700 sales. Now and then when I run into someone I know they ask me what I do for a living. For a while that answer was I don't have a job... only because I was leery about explaining how I made stuff and sold it online. With a year under my belt I feel a lot more confident with the answer "I sell handmade items on Etsy" because I have some numbers that I can spit out and feel valid.

I guess what I am trying to say is getting into something like Etsy can be hard not only because you have to figure it all out yourself but also you feel like you have to try to validate what your doing to "certain" people.

 Long story short... now that I do tell people what I actually do for a living, 9 out of 10 times someone asks me how I do it or  how they should start. Truthfully, I really don't like to be asked these questions because I feel like their really isn't an answer I can give them. You really just need to dive right in and see for yourself. However I do have some helpful tips for your first year that I would like to share with you today!

1. BE PATIENT: it takes time just like everything else in this world to create a successful shop, brand, and product. It is not going to happen overnight (even though we wish it secretly would). I just spent the past 2 hours trying to figure out how to put font on a picture, move it around and save it in photoshop cs5 for the image above. I did it,.... but what seems to be simple can end up being more complicated process than you thought. So it pays to be patient (literally).
2. EXPLORE: you need to actually look around on etsy. That means explore shops, type things in the search bar and click on everything you see.Heck it is even a good idea to actually purchase something so you see the process customers go through when they buy something from your shop. Doing this helps you discover what etsy is all about which in turn helps you learn how it all works.
3. STAY BUSY: Don't just list one item and wait for it to sell because most likely it won't. You need to get on there just about every day and do something. Whether you list an item, make a treasury, join a team, or like someone else's shop/items. Staying busy on Etsy keeps you visible to potential customers. 
4. INVEST: When you do start making profit it is important to invest back into the business if you want it to grow. My top investments for your first year would include... A good camera, a shipping scale, supplies/materials, a good computer, and packing/shipping materials.
5. EXPERIMENT: Most likely you are going to put something on etsy that your not 100% sure will sell or even get liked. It's important to experiment with different products, shop banners, descriptions, tags, and whatever else you are not completely sure of. I found that by experimenting I discovered and learned a lot of things that I would have never thought would be successful and productive in my business.
6. BE UNIQUE: find that quality in you that makes you different from everyone else and USE IT. It helps to be different on etsy because there are too many people doing the same thing... which means competition. Being unique create your own opportunities for success!
7. KNOW YOUR WORTH: this is important when your talking to customers about a order, listing and pricing an item or writing a description. YOUR WORTH... is all about being confident and listening to your heart. You are worth a lot more than you think. When you know your worth you become more valuable and profitable!
8. LIST ITEMS YOU WOULD BUY: easier said then done right? I mean there have been a whole lot of times when I looked at something I made and didn't actually know if I would buy it because... well I just made it. Basically you need to actually kind of want to keep the item and it's even better if you actually make one for yourself! This means your item is something others are going to want!
9. STAY ON TOP: keep up your listings! Don't let them collect dust! If it's been sitting a while reread your description, check your tags, take new pictures... and if you must renew the item! Just be on top of your shop and stay relevant!
10. KEEP GOING: When all is hopeless and you feel like etsy isn't taking you where you thought it would.... this one is simple KEEP GOING. I have thought a million times that it wasn't going to work out for me but I just kept going. I always get those moments but then something happens and it all gets better! So KEEP GOING!
11. GET INVOLVED: join teams, comment on blog posts, create a social group for your shop, create and comment on treasuries. There are lots of ways to do this but it really is something that you need to do to be visible in the etsy community and to potential customers. 

So there you have it! My top 11 tips... I really could give you a lot more but I feel like these are essentials. You see now why it's not just a simple answer?

For those of you who have a shop do you have any more tips to add or ones you agree/disagree with?

Terrariums Serrariums....

Ok... It is obvious that terrariums have become a big part of my life. You could pretty much say that moss has actually put food on my table and paid part of my rent. I think of it as gods gift and a little reminder that life is good no matter how bad it may seem at times.

I remember being a little girl at my grandmas house admiring a large glass pig with a cork snout that inside held a miniature forest of ferns, moss, rocks and dew. It was magnificent and breathtaking. It was my first time experiencing a terrarium. My grandma lived in a small suburb in Illinois where buildings and streets were your playground. She had told me that when my uncle was little he had collected the specimens and put them in the glass pig before they tore down the last bit of real forest in that area. That area became another suburb.

Everyone wanted that glass pig... it was something special that stayed living for years. The idea that the place where my uncle collected the plants didn't exist anymore made it that much more rare. He had captured under glass a moment in time that can never be again. It's kind of sad really.

I have always collected specimens... mostly things that are dry and preserved. I began collecting moss about a year ago and since then have learned sooo much about how it grows and what keeps it alive. So basically I thought I would share with you a few tips and tricks I have learned along the way to help you take care of your terrarium or create one yourself.

MY TOP 5 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR CARING FOR OR CREATING YOUR TERRARIUM

1. A terrarium needs 3 things to survive....
Charcoal, gravel, and moisture.

2. If collecting moss outside remember to soak or wash with plain water before putting it under glass... This helps prevent bugs from hatching and mold or spores from growing.

3. Mold is a natural occuring issue that is resolved one of several ways...

1. moving the moss around (with a stick)... it may have become stagnate
2. Too much moisture... ( refresh terrarium by letting it air out for 20 mins and adding fresh water)
3. bad moss... Sometimes the moss is just not a good batch. Remove and replace.

4. Misting is the best most natural way to water your terrarium. 

5. If your terrarium is under glass... you only need to water once unless you notice it is too dry.

So there you have it... I know it's not the most thrilling post in the world but too me it is part of my life. My terrariums are one of the best sellers in my shop and my studios bathroom is basically a greenhouse for moss.  

I hope you enjoyed... and let me know if you have any questions!

Thoughts on Thursday : Advice for A High School Grad

Tomorrow the last of four girls graduates high school. This is honestly a big deal. When you go through events over three times in your life you start to miss them when they are gone. Events such as elementary school fall festivals, Middle school sports, and just the reminder that 6 years ago I was in the same situation. I would rather forget about it but tomorrow I will experience a high school graduation for the last time when it comes to my sisters. We are all finally adults. I keep repeating it through my head because that is how I think. 

I really don't understand my obsession with this but all in all that is life. So without further adoo.... I give my advice to my soon to be graduate baby sister. 

1. Keep Dreaming
2. Don't do it for the Money
3. Continue Educating yourself
4. Try new things
5. Let your heart and your head guide you
6. Take deep breathes 
7. Positive thoughts
8. Sit in the front
9. Talk to your Neighbor
10. Meet a non-traditional student
11. Attend a meeting
12. Join Something
13. Don't be afraid to be Late
14. Don't be afraid to ask questions
15. Be You
16. Make decisions and goals
17. Take a fun class
18. Take a fitness class
19. Take a art class
20. Take a finance class
21. Get a cool back pack
22. Get a map, agenda and books ahead of time
23. Make a friend
24. Take Naps
25. Find computer labs
26. Use Library and Study halls
27. Eat Breakfast and Lunch (pack)
28. Rain boots, Snow boots, Tennis shoes, Jackets, gloves, scarf and Umbrella
29. Eat a warm lunch
30. Get there Early
31. Take Freebies!
32. Take it easy
33. Plan ahead
34. Have some fun!
35. Enjoy long nights!


Ha ha so what do you think about that! I think this list would have come in handy back when I started college almost 6 years ago.

Hopefully this will come in handy for some one else!

CONGRATS TO MY SISTER! CLASS OF 2012! MISS NICKY HOWARD! 

2012 Summer Bucket List

Usually about this time right before summer hits I will make myself a list and decorate it all nice and pretty so I can hang it on the wall. This is known as my Summer Wish List or Bucket list. I try to spend time brainstorming and remembering all the things I wanted to do or try so that when my lazy summer arrives I will have lots of options to make it interesting. I always try not to keep myself from writing down something even if I think it won't be accomplished or even if it might seem silly because honestly you never know what life will bring and you only live once!

So here is my List of 100 things for Summer and Honestly I better start planning now... 

1. Beach
2. Picnic
3. Road Trip
4. Pinnacles
5. Fishing
6. Camp out
7. Swimming
8. Grill out
9. One large Painting
10. Pontoon 
11. Gallery Hop
12. Zoo
13. Louisville
14. Shopping Spree
15. Bar hop
16. Photo Shot with Pup and Justin
17. Go see Gram
18. Read a book
19. Decorate Apartment
20. Festivals
21. Long Bike Ride
22. Long Walk
23. Hike
24. Tennis
25. Basketball
26. Date Night at Home
27. Blanket Tent in living Room
28. Movie Marathon
29. Play in the Rain
30. Tye Dye
31. Concert or Music Festival
32. Create Patio Oasis
33. Hang out with old Friends
34. Party
35. Flat lick Falls
36. Cumberland Falls
37. Visit a New Town
38. Long Drive
39. Back Roads
40. Lose Weight/ Toned up
41. Art Gallery/ Museum
42. Tattoo
43. Keep a Sketch/ Idea Book
44. Get a New Computer
45. Yard Sales 
46. Flea Market
47. New Thrift Stores
48. New Restaurants
49. Natural Bridge
50. Get a Pedicure
51. Photo Hunt
52. Bomb Fire
53. Fireworks
54. Sunrise/ Sunset
55. Theme Park
56. Natural History or Gardens
57. Mega Caverns/ Zip Lines
58. The Rock
59. Rainbow Hair Tips
60. Canoe
61. Four Wheeling
62. Rock Climb
63. Hot Air Balloon
64. County Fair
65. Water Park
66. Putt putt Golf
67. Trip to the Lake
68. Make myself a Dress
69. Finish 5 Projects
70. Blog Facelift
71. Photo booth Picture
72. Lie in my Hammock all day
73. Graffiti
74. Try a Strange New Recipe
75. Redo a piece of Furniture
76. Farmers Market and Berry Farm
77. Explore an abandoned building
78. Smores/ Home made ice cream
79. Make a new summer cocktail to enjoy with all the extras
80. Light house
81. Create a Scrapbook
82. Create a Piece of Crazy Jewelry just for me
83. Crazy Dressup Photo shoot
84. Blow Some Cash
85. A Meal from Scratch
86. Scavenger Hunt
87. Write and Send a Letter
88. Print Photos
89. Burn a Summer CD
90. Make a Friendship bracelet
91. Teach my Puppy a Trick
92. Learn Something New
93. Spend a Week off of the internet and phone
94. Stargazing
95. Build Something
96. Start a New Collection
97. Pay off my debt
98. Dress up and Go Out
99. Take a bubble bath
100. Build a fort/ create a path

So What did you think about my list... anything missing? Anything you would like to do?