Doggone It!

Today was the last dog show for us. What with the initial investment costs, i.e. business license, insurance premium, vendor fees, signage, and product materials, over the last 3 months I think we may have spent the same amount of money that we made. Let's call it a wash. If it hadn't been for Nancy's generosity via the loan of her booth setup and supplies, our expenses would have far exceeded our net profit. (Thank you to Nancy for giving us a chance to experiment.)

I learned a few things.
The world of dog agility consists of obstacle courses, and hundreds of hours of training, and is peopled with dogs and trainers of every age and stage: Big, small, tall, thin, old, young, male and female, serious and not-so serious. It may well be an addiction.

We met many lovely people with from 1 dog to as many as 9 dogs.

And the dogs--well they run the gamut from designer dog breeds, to mixes, to pound puppies. Beautiful animals--we have the photos to prove it

Editing and prep time for photos may take as little as 1-2 minutes per photo...however, multiplied by 350 images...at the very least it still adds up to 10+ hours.

I learned that if you are processing photos late into the night it is best to wear headphones and listen to Pandora, or you may be editing unawarely..and find you are 20+ photos in, due to the fact that your index finger is pressing the return button while your eyes are resting.

I also discovered that if I can get past 10 p.m. I can edit until approximately 2 a.m. before this happens.

Setting your alarm for 2 hours of sleep is preferable to going without sleep altogether, but not by much.

Although the state of the economy is a clear factor in total sales, our best customers were the ones with the biggest hearts.


If I were to price our photos the way that CVS does there would be a public outcry.
(Processing the 4x6 prints costs 19 cents per print. The processing cost for 8x10s is 20 times that-- at $3.99.) We sell our 4x6 prints for $5.00. If we followed suit and sold the 8x10s for 20 times that they would go for $100.00 apiece!

There are still a few people out there with control issues. Unfortunately, they are usually the ones in charge.

We've suddenly got a free weekend coming up. I guess it's time to hit the beach!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun....

I decided that I am through with all the seriousness that has been plaguing me of late. I just want to have some fun! So that is my new goal-- to do something fun every day. I had this bright idea on Wednesday... today is Day 3.

Wednesday morning I drove over to the Sun Flour Bagel store to sample the Japanese pastries that they make every Wed. morning. (I read about this on Yelp.) But first I stopped at the library and checked out a couple of books, and 2 Playaways. (Have you heard of them? A Playaway is an audio book on what looks like an IPOD). Carlsbad has a fantastic library. It's a 2 story building with a plaza and 2 small theaters and a gallery. The children's library alone is bigger than a few branch libraries I've seen. It reminds me of the Oxnard Library--open to the 2nd story with balconies and elevator.

Ok, so back to the Bagel store: When I got there I purchased 3 different types of Japanese pastry-- custard creme, chocolate creme, and curry. It was nearly noon so I popped into Panda Express and with the help of a coupon, purchased steamed rice, orange chicken, broccoli and beef, and Thai cashew chicken. It seemed that an Asian theme was slowly evolving.





Most of you have not visited our office, so you do not know that the landscaping is really lovely. In the center area between the 4 buildings is a grassy area and a large koi pond with a bridge and multiple waterfalls.


There are 4 tables with umbrellas for dining outside. That is where we ate our lunch. It was sunny and quiet and we watched as the gardeners pruned the area into a pristine garden. It was like visiting a small Japanese park!

Yesterday at lunchtime instead of going to the closest, cheapest fast food spot, we drove to downtown Oceanside and parked in the free public parking at the end of the pier. There's a 50s diner at the other end... Ruby's Diner at Oceanside Pier. It's a cute place, and has the 50s look with the red vinyl booths,touches of black and white and chrome, coca cola signs and bobby socked waitresses. I loved it. Because it was a 50s diner we had to order one of their specialty milkshakes. Similar to the shakes at Fuddruckers, they come out with the stainless steel container and a tall soda glass. We ordered a Caramel shake to share. Ever had a caramel milkshake? Me neither, until yesterday. It was very good- creamy and subtle. No chunks or ribbons of caramel, just a nice caramel taste.

Walking back along the pier, we noticed probably 50 locals fishing with varying degrees of success. Old and young. Squealing children with live fish flopping about and seasoned fishermen/women earning their dinner. The sun was bright and the air was fresh. The wind was blowing the algae beds to shore. Brightly colored umbrellas dotted the beaches. Lots of people were out swimming and surfing. What a lovely lunch break!

Today, once we finish our work, we will have a movie day! Eat, Pray, Love is out. I enjoyed the book, and Grover and I both enjoy Julia Roberts movies. A movie theater and buttered popcorn...I'm looking forward to it.

I'll let you know how it goes. But, I think I am really going to get into this. I bought a cheap digital camera on Ebay the other day so I could have pictures to post. Once it gets here, there'll be no stopping me.

So, that's my report! It's Friday! Go out and have some fun!!!!