I fell in love today...with a ball of HOT PINK mohair YARN

I was crocheting with an exceptionally luxurious ball of hand dyed hot pink yarn last night and today. I made two beautiful hats and enjoyed every stitch of them both. This one special skein may have changed my life, I must have more ASAP! It's made by JJ's Specialty Yarns of New Zealand and the colorway is named, Fireball. I'm off to explore their website.

Contentment Gratitude and Jumping for Joy

The title sums up my Christmas this year.

How To Earn $24 After Six Years of Hard Work

I sold a hat today. I received a compliment for my talents. I finished the Christmas shopping with $9.00 left for groceries! All and all I would call today a giant success.

Slowly I've been trying to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. If I had a less hectic schedule I'd read through this in two nights but I squeeze in paragraphs between tantrums and when my hands hurt from crocheting and I'm forced to rest. He suggest that I make a mission statement to memorize and repeat daily. He also recommends using autosuggestion to create your vision of the future. These are simple enough ways to make some magic happen in my life. So why can't I whip up a mission statement? Right now I'd ramble on and on but never get to the actual mission. I'm stumped.

Basically Universe, I want money, a husband, and to make art every day. Make it happen ASAP. Thank you.

I've finished the last Christmas gift that needed to be shipped. It's my cousins beautiful twins. I love 'em and I've never even met them.

It was a very productive day indeed. In addition to actually painting my line of hats and scarves are now for sale in a store. My little hat children looked so official with price tags, like they were wearing their uniforms to school. Visit Valley Books in Solvang. Buy a hat.

The First in a Series (The Unemployment Diaries)

Here I am, almost 27, single mom, in my mom's house, recently unemployed with $3.44 in my checking account and $0 in my savings accout. I am a stereotype. Every time I thought, "it can't get worse" it did. If it weren't for this crazy hope and faith I've somehow kept I'd be broken by this series of events.
Every year I write a long list of resolutions and this year the list will be even longer, also clearer. My intentions for the coming year are very clear in my mind. It is going to get better starting now. I plan to start my business officially. This includes taxes, permits, other things I've yet to learn about. Instead of saying, "I'm unemployed" I'll get to say, "I'm self-employed." For six years I've casually had an internet business for my entertainment mostly. I craft, paint, and am a thrift store junkie so the bi-product of my passions would be a cluttered home if I didn't virtually peddle my wares. Tell all your friends about www.etsy.com/shop/shannondzikas.
I was fired a few weeks ago from a hair styling job I honestly loathed. Is that luck? Possibly. It wasn't because I'm a terrible employee and I certainly am a skilled but not necessarily outgoing stylist. They wanted me to suddenly work a crazy unpredictable schedule I could not ever work out with a daycare provider. The desire to not ever have to touch another nasty old man's bald scalp will motivate me to find success elsewhere. Success for all intents and purposes means money right now by the way. I'm over the hippie notion that money is unimportant. It's a priority.
To begin with the ritual listmaking, tonights' lists will be organized by, long-term goals, short-term goals and my goals for this blog.

Long-Term Goals:
Earn millions
Become famous among nerds
Have book of knitting and crocheting patterns published
Open a vintage clothing store with museum
Own a home
(Please excuse my vanity) I want a boob job

Short-Term Goals (2011)
Go into business
Get a place of our own
Earn 40,000, to me that seems like a ton of money.
Eat mostly vegan

Blog Goals
World domination
Share crafting patterns and tips
Share what I know and what I learn about starting a small business
Post photos of my creative endeavors to inspire
I want followers, readers, etc. I need the encouragement and validation. Haha.

Wish me luck.