I listed a few of my super cute body butters on eBay, figuring that it would be an interesting experiment. There is quite a collection of handmade lotion and soap on eBay so it was worth trying. No one bit, however. Bummer.

I have some things listed on Etsy too, including the aforementioned body butter. I’m so pleased with the packaging, I figured it was irresistable. Apparently, only I can’t resist it. It’s plenty resistable to others.

Anyway, I need to think of some more ways to market. I think that’s the biggest challenge of any small business – how do you reach more people, without expending a lot of budget? I don’t have much budget to expend, after all…

Wooohoooo!! ‘Nuff said.

Y’know, maybe I need to talk to my doctor about adjusting my meds… I’m feeling really crummy in my head. I dunno, I hate messing with them, and just like with pain, there is no quantifiable way to measure head-crumminess. I was having a discussion about pain with DH the other day – like, what’s miserable for me may be nothing to someone else, or what’s really painful for someone else may be nothing for me. Which is why pain management is so hard, I guess. My left wrist is killing me, the tendonitis has flared up again and it is so darned painful. I suppose that isn’t helping my mental state.

I also feel a little low on Mondays too, because of how much the market takes out of me. I love going, but it’s hard to smile and act happy all day, especially when sales are going slow. That’s at least as tiring as the physical work of setting up and taking down each day.

Grr grumble growl. Oh, and we’re totally broke and I need to find a job and since I’m not qualified for anything all that great, that kind of sucks. How come people don’t need an experienced soapmaker? Or a part-time booth sitter? I’m thinking of doing retail again because a Sephora (my holy grail shopping place) is opening in Beaverton and I figure I should apply. Why not, it can’t suck that much. I mean, it could, but I’m trying to be upbeat about it, ya know?

It was a so-so day at the market today. I did have some regular customers come down, which is always cool… especially when they tell me my soap is the only kind they will use and they buy it 12 bars at a time. That’s nice.

Anyway, I’ve been mulling over making an orange soap with a black swirl and calling it Alma Mater – because I went to OSU and all, and their colors are orange and black. It’s not that I have a lot of school spirit (I’ve never been much on school spirit) but I figure it’s a good market as a fall/early winter soap. I just need a scent, something that screams “Autumn! Fresh! Football games and leaves!” or something like that. Right now something oak-y or pine-y I suppose would work. I need to get it figured out fast, though, because I’m running out of fall…

I also figure I can do a soap I’ve been calling Cactus Spice (the perfumer named the scent Feliz Navidad) in green and red (it’s dark green right now) and call it Feliz Navidad as well.

I’m also looking for THE PERFECT vanilla spice. I went to The Body Shop with DH a few Saturdays ago, well, it was a trip to the mall actually, and we stopped at TBS because I have to spy on all the big bath and body stores. Anyway, TBS has this killer vanilla spice that I MUST HAVE NOW. So I’m still on the lookout for that from my scent suppliers.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print. I’m dreadfully low on stock, having been in a total funk for most of last week and not getting much done. This coming week I’ll need to crack down and start getting some soap made. Come down and see me at the market, say hi…

What the heck do I write about when I don’t feel like writing? The depression has been rearing its ugly head again lately, leaving me feeling dull, boring, and rather Eeyore-like.

But I do have a few things. DH sent me the link to a rather addicting little puzzle game: Grow Cube – turn down the volume on your computer, it plays music and makes noise. The purpose of the puzzle is to figure out what order things should be placed. It’s highly addictive. It was really cool when I figured it out though.

We watched The Cat Returns last night. What a charming movie! I loved it.