I like to call it a sabbatical

Because of having to work a real job nowadays, I haven't paid as much attention to my soaping business as I should. I'm sure you can't tell, afterall, everyone posts Christmas soaps in February still, don't they?

I did get a nice surprise last night though, my aunt-in-law called to put in an order for 6 soaps. I asked her what style she wanted and she said she was happy with just plain white soaps. Plain white?!?! What does she take me for, someone who doesn't like to play with colours and shapes and fragrances? ;) Since she's giving me carte blanche to send her what she wants, I think I'll send her some of these

 and maybe a couple of these

 and one or two of

After all, I would hardly think that an 83 year old lady wants LEGOs or puzzle pieces. But then again, she just might want to re-live her childhood.

Back to Business

I've been using the fact that my laptop went on the fritz as an excuse not to be working as hard on my business as I need to. Mind you, I did nag at potential clients until they got back to me, so it wasn't like I completely slacked off, however, there's so much work to be done still to get the business growing.

I finally got my new laptop (woohoo!) a beautiful Macbook Pro. I love the way it, like all Macs, starts up quickly. Maybe this is why most offices haven't switched to Macs, they want to give their employees an excuse to get their coffees and chit chat for a bit while their PCs turn on. But I digress. What I hadn't realized though, is that I don't have MS Office suite on my new laptop, which means I can read all my files that I saved to the USB key, but I can't make any changes to them. So, despite my best intentions to start working on my business again, I won't be able to do much until I get the proper software. On the bright side though, having a full-time job means I can pay for my much needed software.

Sweet Things

It's only the start of February and I've already screwed up my resolution of blogging every Friday. I'm blaming it on my lack of a laptop, yeah, that's it. Also, starting the new job, I'm learning to get back into the swing of having to go to work and do the things that need doing around the house.

Since I have no new items to talk about in terms of soaping, I thought I'd share this picture instead. It combines two things enjoyed by two of my favourite followers:  cupcakes and bees. The picture is from a book called Planet Cake, by the store of the same name. If you think I borrowed the book to learn how to make such amazing cakes, think again. I borrowed it so I could drool all over the book and make a disgusting mess for the next person who borrows it. ;)

The waiting is the hardest part

I so agree with Tom Petty about that. I don't know what the rest of the song says, but that line rings true. I think I could (almost) handle rejection, but not knowing is the worst.

I applied for a job recently and I waited with bated breath for a response. I was 98% sure I got the job, but I didn't want to say for sure until I got the offer.

Same thing goes with trying to sell:  I can ask, but until I hear back from my potential clients, I'm wondering do they like, don't they like, are they ignoring me, are they just busy and will say yes...eventually?

Sales are my downfall, I don't want to appear pushy but I don't want people to forget me either. There is some saying about having to ask 5 times before you get a yes, but I'm as much an instant gratification junkie as the next person. Or I'm just impatient and hate waiting, you decide.