"Where is my Furniture?"

Good Morning all! I hope everyone is up and raring to go! I personally was up late last night working on my new website, and then up early to start on my blog. So I am in desperate need of extra caffeine this morning! As I sit in my living room club chair, snuggled up in a blanket writing this post, I am reminded of a few things.

1.  I am so tired! I am still in a deep fog from the Christmas rush. We traveled for a week between Christmas and New Years' with blow-up beds and a young family of 7 looking for any relative along our journey to take us in. It was a great time, surrounded by friends and family, but exhaustion doesn't even touch the way we feel.

2. Where is my furniture? I don't know if any of you have been hit with the bug...the Kijiji bug (Craigslist for you outside of Canada.) I had a major clean-out when we first moved into our new house a few months ago. Stuff from previous houses that just didn't work in our new spot, kids toys that they no longer played with, clothes, books, games.  I happily said goodbye to paintings, furniture and tons of kitchen stuff.  Oh my, to say I was an addicted salesman is an understatement. I loved my phone buzzing at 2am with questions about a queen-sized bed I was selling, people dropping by to pick up the 'new-to-them' items, and of course the spare change that was left in my wallet for my hard work.  But one weekend while my husband was away, I convinced myself that my living room was just not right and to get rid of the furniture to make way for something new. I'm kind of an act now, think later type person. So now, here I sit, months later in an empty room. Two club chairs, an old sideboard(in need of a redo) and a television.  

3. Why now? We live about 7 hours away from our hometown and family. Rarely does anyone travel this way, so it is usually us who packs up every few months and goes visiting. Luckily we have a true Canadian family of hockey players that will travel to the ends of the earth to play. So next week, in the midst of all this craziness and disarray, my sister has asked if her family of six can stay with our family of seven for a long weekend hockey tournament! This rare opportunity doesn't come along that often, so I am trying to work towards the answer, "of course you can stay with us!" Many things come to mind when one is expecting company, but for me it is EVERYTHING! I have lists, upon lists of projects and repairs, cleaning and cooking...utter chaos. But anything for family, right?

Yesterday, I started my post talking about New Years resolutions and took a slight detour to the health and fitness side of things. Today, I wanted to refocus and go back to talk about resolutions that deal with personal goals and achievements. As mentioned above, in the "Where is my Furniture?" segment, I mentioned how much I loved my Kijiji experience. I have always loved retail. Have studied it and worked it. I have always wanted to have a small business, but with 5 small children, time is an issue. But I finally decided that my passions were worth pursuing. So, while traveling over the Holidays, I picked up this book "$100 Start-Up" by Chris Guillebeau.

 

It was recommended by Leo Babauta from zenhabits.net whom I follow faithfully(and savour every word!) Anyway,  I read this book cover to cover in less than a day. My mind never shut down for a minute after closing the cover! Brainstorming ideas, merchandise and challenges. As soon as we walked through the door from vacation, I fired up my laptop and started searching for an inexpensive website to start my business. I figure if I can do the majority of stuff online rather than a storefront (to start), I could manage my home life a lot better.

I am excited and scared all at the same time. But I know I am full of determination and passion. If anyone has any insight on starting an online business, I would appreciate advice and/or experiences.

Have a great one!