Now on Instagram???

Just yesterday I finally got my account up and rolling with Instagram, because apparently that's where all the cool people hang out, and I like to pretend I'm cool and pretend I know what is going on and what is trendy, so I opened an account. I have absolutely no idea what its all about, even after using it for two days.  I had my coworker show me how it works, and I still don't get it. But that's ok.  It's another tool we are using to get the word out about what we do here at The Shabby Attic. So though I am a reluctant social media person (I've been told i'm good at it, although I still have no idea what i'm doing), I will add it to the list of internet outlets I am staying up to 3am using, to make sure our business is a success. Although in my opinion, nothing beats the old fashioned word of mouth. Even though secretly I wish one of my vids would go viral. So here are my thoughts about Instagram. I am confused by the name, so I came up with what this social sight should really be called:


Instagrammy/Instagramps:   Where old geizers like me try to do social media, but really have to have a ten year old show us how it works. And we are still lost.

Instagrammar:  Trying with frustration to read and decipher screenames, because the English language just got put in a blender. It took me several minutes to figure out that wxyzalphalovr was a friend. Kikilave is my neighbor and I had no idea she even was a Kiki since her name is Mona.

Instacramps: Spasms in your lips from making too many duck faces from individual and group selfies

Instapounds:: Sitting on my arse eating oreos while I post selfies instead of doing my P90x workout.

Instaman:  Another venue for creepy guys I don't know to stalk me. And maybe even some creepy guys I DO know.

Instaglands: This site seems to be  overrun by 14yr olds with raging hormones.

Instapants:     People taking selfies in clothes that don't fit ....too much spandex girls! and pull up those pants boys!

Instaplans:  Planning your vacation around how good your pics at Disney will look in sepia tone.

Instabland: Pics that are posted without using rockin effects that make them look edgy or vintage. Basically, FB pics.

FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR OWN IN THE COMMENTS SECTION...

My No-Good-Rotten-Very-Bad Day

I guess my son got to see a new side of Mommy today. Let's just call her "Spastic Fit Raging Tantrum" Mommy. Not pretty. After a rough day of feeling emotionally and physically drained after eight weeks now of moving, cleaning, moving again, cleaning, reorganizing, some more moving, and painting, all in scorching heat and working in a hot warehouse, and now feeling like I've been living out "of a suitcase" for the past few weeks, piled on top of personal issues, I think I finally hit bottom. Unloading my truck I slammed my finger and it took Jesus and all the Saints to keep me from swearing in front of my son, only to turn around and start kicking my bumper in frustration like a crackhead. My son looked at me like he saw the real Hulk in the flesh...."Are you okay, Mommy??". Answer, "No".  And then I took a deep breath and apologized for having lost it, and buckled my baby into his seat. Still all the while, he was staring at me like he had seen the devil himself. Then on the car ride home someone cut me off and then blamed me for driving legally, and SFRT Mommy resurfaced and a finger went into the air which thankfully by the time the impulse went from my brain to my hand, was my index finger. "IDIOT!!!!!!!"  I shouted with righteous indignation, pointing into the air. And my son cracked up from the backseat. And then I couldn't help but laugh, too.  What idiots we all are. Wrapped up in our little daily dramas, it is so easy to lose sight of how BLESSED we are. It is a blessing to work hard. It is a blessing to work at all. It is a blessing to have a strong back and legs and arms. It is a blessing to not have any major health issues. It is a blessing to provide for my son. It is a blessing to have him, to have a car to drive, to love what I do for a living, to have a roof over our head, to have so many great and kind people follow this page, and a blessing to inspire and be inspired. I have nothing to complain about. Have a blessed day tomorrow. Sleep well, my friends.

BEWARE the pitfalls. And paint buckets.

It has been yet another week of soul searching about my growing business. How can I possibly keep up, what's my next move, why does my store always look crazy (two quarts of paint got tripped over and spilled this week) why isn't my Facebook page more interesting, why do other pages seem to have their crap together and not me????
I had talked today to my stepdaughter about having feelings of jealousy that other business minded people seem to be progressing forward with their businesses in terms of the WOW factor, while I still feel stuck in the stone age. I do not Instagram. I barely Twitter. My website is out of date. I let my Etsy shop shrink. I write hand written receipts and I have a glorified ledger. I am currently not writing a book. I have no scheduled speaking engagements.  But what I concluded at the end of the day is this: I should not look to the right or to the left but focus solely on my own tasks at hand. BEWARE THE PITFALLS of comparing yourself to what other people do!! While it's good to keep an eye on what is trendy, what sells, what new colors are popular, etc, it is dangerous to one's own creativity and growth to look too long over what other's are doing. It's easy to follow trends. But new heights of creativity can only come from doing your own thing. Pinterest is a great example of this "looking" I speak of. While it is great for the occasional look-see, I avoid it for the most part. Because everybody's pin boards start to look alike, and I don't want my stuff to look like everybody else's. I want us to be unique! To do things that nobody has done on the internet. Maybe that makes me not as popular, but at least I know what we create is one-of-a-kind. Just like any flower in the garden, God grows us each in our own unique way, in our own timing, with our own custom-fit goals and achievements. So I will continue to focus on our humble little shop. And see what blossoms out of it.