New Morning Routine

Mmmm...breakfast! The most important meal of the day. I keep telling Brad this, but he still only drinks a million cups of coffee for 'breakfast'. Oh well, guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Speaking of dogs, ours start my morning ritual. Miss Hunnie, our 9-yr old Spitz/Jack Russell mix is the one that actually gets me out of bed in the morning, but I am awake much sooner as a result of Casey, our 9-yr old Australian Shepard/Dalmation mix. Casey is the nervous one, Miss Hunnie is full of pissy attitude; quite the combination. I usually hear Casey pacing the floors and scratching her ears about an hour before Miss Hunnie actually gets up and moving about. I take them out and then I make breakfast. The daily special has been oatmeal since it turned cold. That's oatmeal in the picture above, in case you had any doubts. Bascially, it's one banana, honey, craisins, 1/3 cup oatmeal, and milk. I pop it in the microwave for 5.5 minutes on med. power and then sit down at the computer to check email and read blogs. On this morning, however, I sat down with my oatmeal to write a post. Next, I'll feed the girls and be off to the shower.

Casey and Miss Hunnie usually wait patiently until I've eaten and then the mad (litterally angry and fast) dash begins to the room where we feed them. There is lots of growling and whining from both and then sometimes, they won't even eat. We're just amazed that the two of them can even be in the same room now, though they keep their boundaries in their own way. For instance, while they wait for me, they lay on opposites sides of the room.

This picture I managed to get simply because the camera meant mom was paying them attention to get the perfect shot. One year ago, this would have resulted in a fight and a very expensive vet bill. They're cute, but a handful!

I did manage to get quite a bit of organization done yesterday for the business. I'm very pleased with my progress. I feel slightly better about walking into the unknown. At least I'll be somewhat organized, right? I got my inventory receipts cataloged from last year and started a log for this year, made some folders for taxes, and even looked into some advertising. All-in-all, a very productive day. We'll see if today can be just as productive.

The girls have been fed so it's time for that shower. Later, y'all!

Chasing that dream just got more 'interesting'

Hello all!

Today, chasing that dream of mine gets a bit more 'interesting' as I'm starting a blog! I've always needed someone to talk to about anything and what better way to get those thoughts and feelings out of my head than to tell a bunch of strangers? Hopefully, in the coming months, you won't stay just strangers, however. So, welcome!

Let me just say that this adventure of starting your own business, while exciting and rewarding, is quite the little pill to swallow. I've always been one to plan for months before doing anything and now I feel like I've been pushed out the door without remembering to get dressed first. I know as time goes on and I become more comfortable with what I'm doing that things will eventually get easier.

Let me introduce myself. Bless your hearts, you've gotten two paragraphs into my rant without me telling you anything about me. My name is Michelle. I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. I always wanted to sew but didn't have any proper training or even a sewing machine. Well, my mom had one that I borrowed once but she barely used it and I'm not sure she really showed me how to use it. I did manage to get a quilt sewn, horribly I might add, for my sister one year for Christmas. Jen, do you even use that thing? Did you ever? Anyway, I really started to get the itch to sew again last year and one day, I just went to Walmart and bought a machine. I, of course, had to research every machine available for sale before buying one so I guess stating that I just went out and got one is misleading. In any event, I've been unstoppable ever since then.

The first thing I made was curtains for my house. It seemed easy enough and I'm awfully proud of how they turned out. The best thing was how people reacted when they saw what I'd done with virtually no instruction at all. I have since learned that this appreciation is what I thrive on and it keeps me sewing for more. I've done tons of things since then and people are still amazed at what I can do.

Not being happy with my current form of employment (I'm an architect), I decided that I'd try to see if I can make this sewing thing a business. So, I launched an online store on Etsy (runningdownaseam.etsy.com), decided on my business name (Runningdownaseam), got an email address (runningdownaseam@gmail.com), and now I'm blogging all in the hopes of making it big or at least moderately sized for a one-girl operation.


The love of my life, Brad, has been very instrumental in encouraging my business as he's responsible for my first commission job and possibly a second. Keep up the good work, honey. You're the greatest!

So welcome again! I hope you find this journey of mine into creative bliss as exciting and rewarding as I hope it'll be for myself! If you're interested in items I've made or are currently working on, please visit my Flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningdownaseam/ ). Or, if you'd like to see what I've got for sale in my store, please visit my Etsy page (see the like above). I also do custom orders so if you've got something in mind that you're looking to have made, please don't hesitate to drop me an email (see above) so we can discuss. I will be adding direct links from here to each of these so stay tuned.