… and many more to go!

Roses for our anniversary

Nick and I had a very quiet anniversary celebration.  It was nice, though.  He surprised me with a bouquet of pink roses when I got home from work.  (Please excuse the crummy cell-phone picture of them; I assure you, they were beautiful despite what the picture might show.)  We exchanged paper-themed gifts.  I got him a nice card and a (paper) giftcard.  (Well, and a stuffed monkey–but obviously that wasn’t paper. It was just too cute to resist.)  He got me a business card holder, post-it’s, printer paper (ha ha), and a gorgeous calendar and stationary set with art-deco type artwork on it.

We had dinner at Prime 108, which is a fantastic restaurant in downtown Nashville located inside Union Station.  Our friend Alan is a chef there, so we always know the food will be great.  It was no disappointment on our anniversary either, and we were floored when Alan came out to check on us at the end of the meal and wished us a happy anniversary from he and his wife Erica and took care of our bill for us.  I actually teared up.  We’re blessed with the most amazing friends.

We also got lots of beautiful cards and gifts from family.  I need to gather them all up and tuck them in a scrapbook when I have some time.

… and things are, as always, busy!  Nick flew back to Erie on Thursday for a visit.  I dropped him off around 5:30 a.m. at the airport.  He made it back to Erie safe and sound and he’s going backpacking with his father for the weekend.  I hope they have good weather and lots of fun.

Gracie sits on my lap while I knit.

I stayed home with the dog and cat this trip.  It’s my first time being “alone” since we moved to Nashville, and it feels sort of strange.  I don’t mind it, but it’s just different.  Thankfully I have the pets to keep me company so the house isn’t completely empty and silent.

I’ve been busy working on soaps.  I have quite a few melt and pour (”M&P”) type soaps made up, and this weekend I’m going to attempt making my first cold-process soaps.  That means getting out the lye–yipes!  No worries, though, I’m taking LOTS of cautions (goggles, gloves, long-sleeves, etc.).  No lye burns for me, thanks.  If you want to read more about what I’m doing with my soap making, check my soap blog.

Melanie at the Parthenon

Oh!  We had company last week too.  My best friend Melanie, who was the maid of honor in our wedding, came to visit for the weekend!  We did a little sight-seeing while she was here and I taught her to knit!  We hung out at the knit shop quite a bit and she got to meet all my friends there.  We also went out for Thai food and Melanie and Nick rode go-carts afterward.  We had a pretty fun visit.  Nick and I are trying to coax she and Chrissy to move down here, but they’re not going for it.  (Bah-humbug!)

Anyway, I think that’s all the news for now.  Hopefully when Nick gets back from his trip, he’ll have some photos or something to post here.  I keep trying to get him to post–we’ll see if it works!

One year ago today at this time, I was busy preparing to walk down the aisle and marry my best friend.

Happy first anniversary, Nick.

I love being busy and productive.  I think sometimes it makes Nick a little bit crazy, but for the most part, I can’t just sit still.  For instance, when I sit down to enjoy some primetime television, I’m always also knitting, working on my computer, doing craft project(s), or something.  I can’t just sit and stare at the TV.  It makes me completely bananas to not be doing something with my hands.

I think I’ve mentioned here that I’ve started teaching some knitting classes at my local yarn shop.  It’s fun and I’m beginning to feel more confident in my teaching, designing, and knitting abilities.  I recently helped a friend at the shop come up with a “Charlie Brown” sweater (I’m knitting one along with her and I just started knitting the sleeves onto mine) and I also designed a sock that I’m going to be teaching a class on later this month.

As if that’s not enough, I’ve also been helping some friends and contacts with some web design and development.  I recently helped a friend launch his new Internet talk-radio network, and I’m really excited to see how that grows.

AND…

I’m starting a home-based business, and it’s probably not what you’re expecting!  Not knitting, not anything computer-related.  Nope.  I’ve started making soap.

For the most part, up to this point, I haven’t technically been making soap.  I’ve been using premade melt and pour (MP) soap, adding color and fragrance, and pouring it into decorative molds.  However, I also recently got all the supplies and equipment I need to start doing cold process (CP) soaps “from scratch”.  These soaps are all-natural, and in most cases are all vegetable-based (vegan-friendly).  Unlike soaps you buy at the store, they do not contain any petroleum by-products.  They’re safer and gentler on your skin and kinder to the environment.  I’ve also started developing different fragrance blends that will be unique to my line of soaps, so that’s another fun selling-point.

Anyway, it pretty much happened by accident: I wanted to make some cute soaps for Christmas gifts this year.  I’ve been really big on the idea of making a lot of handmade things for the holidays, and I thought that soapmaking would be something I could try in addition to my knitting.  I quickly found out that it was really, really fun!  When I showed what I’d done to some friends, they were interested in purchasing some from me to give away as gifts too.  My initial thought at that point was that I should probably check into some of the legalities of selling things like this (taxes and such) just in case — ’cause I’m that type of girl and “Murphy’s Law” always applies to me.

So I started doing research on the Internet and I wound up making an appointment with the local small business development center.  They were incredibly helpful in walking me through the steps, and now I’m in the process of writing a business-plan and financial documents.  Though I’m not seeking any loans to finance this little venture, they still advise taking these steps to “get things in perspective” and focus your efforts.  My eyes were really opened and now I’m even more excited about this opportunity than I was initially.

I’ve started Monkey Bubble Soaps online where I’ll be selling my soaps (right now you can go there to sign up for the e-mail newsletter and be notified when the shop opens).  I’m also planning to get to a few local craft fairs and such.

I don’t expect this to be a career or even a significant source of income.  I’m just hoping it will be something fun that will also earn us a little extra money that we can squirrel away for a rainy day.  Plus, I also see it as an interesting and fun learning experience.  My ultimate goal later in my life is to own my own business (though not a soap-business) and I see this as a baby-step toward that.  There’s less initial investment so I’m not taking on that much risk, but at the same time I’m learning about all the processes involved in creating and maintaining a business.  It’s fascinating, honestly, and everyday I work on this (along with all my knitting projects, freelance work, etc.) I feel even more energized and just plain alive.  It’s an exciting time in our lives — there’s so much opportunity and I really feel like I’m finally wrapping my arms around it and embracing it rather than letting it slip past me.

Also… I had good news a couple days ago: I got a raise at work!  Of course, more money is always nice (especially in tuff economic times like this), but it also was a great affirmation that they’re happy with my work.  It’s just all-around been an awesome past few weeks!