Have you made any Resolutions for 2009? Or is it same old, same old for you?

As 2009 is just getting started, I have been wondering what I would like to be different this year. Honestly, I'm normally not that original in my resolutions for each new year. In the past, it has always been to lose weight and get in shape. Some years I do better than others with that, but I always try.

This year, since I am pregnant, the lose weight part doesn't seem to quite fit my usual New Year's Resolution plans. It has forced me to think a little harder about what I really need to focus on this year in my personal life. I'm still pondering where I want life to go. I know with a baby on the way, some things are already planned out, but there are certainly things that I can do to make life better on that journey. One thing that I want to work on is our family finances and budget as well as preparing to be a stay-at-home mom. The thought of all of it does put a lump in my throat a bit because it is a new adventure and challenge. I'd also like to refocus my spiritual life which is often neglected - sad for me to admit, but it is true. There are other little things as well like getting organized and getting rid of clutter. I can be very lazy about the physical part of sorting and cleaning. I should probably stop myself soon because this list can go on and on and on if I let it.

Whether or not you believe in resolutions, perhaps you have thought about how you want 2009 to go for you. I'd love for you to share your thoughts about it. Do you have some set-in-stone resolutions or just some things to ponder like myself?

The image above is the array of items that I got when I typed in "2009" in the Etsy search. I thought that it was as nice variety of images and quite appropriate. Happy 2009 to you, and I hope the year is all that you want it to be and make of it!

New Year's Eve Randomness - passing away with the old in 2008 and coming into the new for 2009, and a funny photo too!

Happy New Year's Eve! I hope that your 2008 has been everything that you wanted it to be. I also hope that your 2009 is even better. As far as I'm concerned, I had a terrific year. Here's some highlights of my 2008:

As far as business goes........

• My Etsy shop reached 500+ items sold and over 2,500 hearts.
• One of my fiber art pendants was featured in Interweave's Felt Magazine.
• I was contacted by a publisher to author an instructional feltmaking book which is still in the works.
• My blog traffic has grown in leaps and bounds, and it has become a very fun activity for me to post.
• My felted work is now for sale in two local Kansas City shops: Gifted Hands and Oh Wow Balloons

As far as my personal life goes........

• I had to say goodbye to my beloved pet rabbit, Junior, this year, but I will remember him always.
• I was diagnosed with the early stages of endometriosis and had to have surgery which was actually a huge blessing because I had suffered with pain and other symptoms for years, but now I feel so much better.
• My husband and I have made a lot of improvements to our little house which is very exciting and fun to do.
• And, most recently, we found out that I'm pregnant! Yay! The best news of all for 2008!

As far as next year goes..........

• I hope that my business continues to grow and allows me to be the stay-at-home mom that I'd like to be while also earning a part-time income for our family.
• I plan to start doing freelance graphic design work again. I would like to brush up on my web design skills also so that I can incorporate that into my freelance work.
• I want to continue making home improvements and get the nursery in tip top shape by the end of summer when the baby is due.
• Most of all, I want a healthy baby and good finances to support the baby and our family.

Finally, I just wanted to share this funny photo with you of my husband, Stephen, and our dog Cinnamon. They have a tendency to fall asleep in the living room at night. I am a night owl so I sit and watch late night TV or work on a crafty project while they both snooze and snore (yes, they really both snore!). Here they are side by side which I thought was a super cute photo. (p.s. sshhhh! don't tell my husband that I shared this - he would be mortified! Ha!)



Wishing a very blessed New Year!

Have you uploaded your Etsy shop's item listings to Google Base using LETSETS.com yet? You should! It is so easy and super effective too!

So have you uploaded a .xml file of your Etsy shop's item listing to Google Base yet? You might wonder what the point is. I wondered the same thing a few weeks ago, but since LetsEts.com makes it so easy to create a formatted .xml for uploading, I went ahead and did it anyway. From what I understand, if you upload such a file of your Etsy shop item listings, it is suppose to help with your Google page ranking; thus boosting you to the top (or at least higher up) on the list of items displayed when people do a Google search. At least, that is the way that I understand it. It helps you to advertise a little better just by pushing your way up the list of Google searches.

I had tried to format a .xml file to upload previously on my own, but as I've said before, I am no web designer/developer - I just dabble and apparently not well enough to accomplish the complicated task of creating a correct .xml file. I recently discovered LetsEts.com though, and it is wonderful! It does all that mumbo jumbo figuring for you and creates a neat little .xml file of your Etsy shop listings to upload to Google Base. You still might be thinking "What is the point?" Well, since I uploaded my item file to Google Base a couple of weeks ago, I've sold quite a few of my more high-end scarves to brand new buyers on Etsy. One of them even told me that they found my handmade felted scarves through a Google search! So do I think it helps? Yes! I sincerely think that it has helped my Etsy shop listing to show up in Google searches at a higher ranking position. That's why I'm letting you know. I believe that it is worth your time to give it a try. Below you'll find some directions on how to go about making and uploading a .xml file to Google Base. And, you'll need to update it about once monthly to stay fresh in the listings. It is not a one-time thing, but it is worth your time.


For those interested, here's some simple instructions:

1. Go to LetsEts.com

2. enter either your shop name or shop ID number (also select new/used/both for item type).

3. click on "Fetch my Items" and give it a few seconds to process your shop items

4. scroll to the bottom of the page and follow steps 1 - 4 there. This includes downloading your .xml file (Download Bulk File). Then you'll need to sign into Google Base.

5. When you've signed into Google Base, click on the "Data Feed" link to upload a new data file. Then click on "new data feed" at the upper left of the tabbed menu bar. You'll need to fill out a little information here including your data feed file name which is the .xml file that you downloaded at letsets.com - this is either named with your Etsy shop or your shop ID number. You'll also need to put the item type which should be "Products" and the data feed you're registering which should be "googlebase" Once you've filled in all the info, hit "Register Data Feed" and you'll be taken back to the main page of your data feeds. Next you'll need to hit the "Manual: upload file" link to upload your .xml file from your desktop (the file that you downloaded from letsets.com). Once you've done that, it should process the file which can take a little while to do. After the file is processed, you are all done until you need to upload a new file in a month or so to keep things fresh.