Monday, January 14, 2008

Back into it....

OK I'm back and I hope to be posting much more often now. I'm sorry but I think this will be one of those posts that I personally dislike in blogs; one with no pictures.

Lots of things have happened over that past short while. Todd and I have recently decided to become strict vegetarians (vegetarians who do not eat dairy or eggs), I have become far more acutely aware of our societies crazy consumption and why we should decrease how much we contribute to it and I have realised that if I'm going to make money as a WAHM (work at home mom) that I will actually have to make more of a serious commitment to my businesses. Phew.

Olivia has a number of food sensitivities that we try to completely avoid, including dairy, but what we eat when she's not around has not always been so dairy free. We had already cut our dairy intake down by quite a bit a year and a half ago when we found out about her sensitivity so this strict vegetarian choice is not a huge change for us. As a result of our conscious dietary choice I have accidentally made a New Years resolution to make sure that our family is eating a complete and nutritious diet. I feel really great about it.

Todd and I are comfort food lovers and as a result we tend to over do it on the grain part of our diet and under do the fruits and veggies. Not any more! We are both committed to changing this poor dietary choice and getting those vitamins and minerals. Also, we are working on lowering our fat intake. We fry too much and eat a lot of Earth Balance (our choice in vegan margarine).

During the holiday break I watched "The Story of Stuff" (www.storyofstuff.com). It is amazing. Todd and I have come a long way in recognising and eliminating our "need" to consume but this little video just made the reasons to do so so clear to me. I urge anyone who is reading this to watch it. It truly was life changing for me.

Since 2004 when Olivia was 1 I have been dabbling in the world of WAHM. That is when I started selling slings. I have never done any advertising or put any effort into the business and every tax year my income is in the negative, although every year I have become closer to zero :). This past year I started making toys and selling them on Etsy. Again, I have put little to no effort into this business. I realised recently that the reason I put nothing into these businesses is because I am afraid of failing. Is that silly or what? I recognise that I need an income but am too afraid to go out and get one. I have set a goal for a monthly income this year and am taking some steps to get myself there including contacting my local farmers and crafter's market to get a table there, something I have said I was considering doing since the first year I started making slings.

What have you been up to? I'm off to read some blogs and find out.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Naughty, naughty

Well, I have been MIA for far too long. I hear by swear to be blogging more often.

It's funny how when I think that I am going to have heaps of extra time because Todd is going to be home that I somehow have less. At last we had lots of family time. In any case I promise to be back and to blog as often as I can.