Day 13 - Turn Lemons into Lemonade

Within one week, I had two stressful, unwelcome, and upsetting experiences.  When you are trying to teach your kids to think positively, it really makes you reevaluate your reactions.

Bug is currently a 2nd year Webelo (he'll be moving up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts in December or February), and is working towards his Arrow of Light (the highest honor a Cub Scout can earn).  Two of the requirements are that they have to visit a Troop meeting (Cub Scouts have Packs, Boy Scouts have Troops) and go on at least one overnight Boy Scout camping trip.  This past weekend, our two 2yr Webelos went camping, so they went to the Troop meeting the Monday before the campout.  My dad is the Webelo leader, so the plan was for Bug and I to pick up the other boy, drop them off at my mom & dad's, and dad would take them to the meeting.  Right before I came to the corner where I turn on to my parents' street, I hear a noise, the car started shaking, and one side was noticeably lower than the other.  I had a flat.  It was flatter than flat.  It was no more.  My parents picked us up, and after the meeting, we went to put the donut on.  We turned the flat tire into a teaching moment, and our two Webelos were able to finish earning their Handyman pin!

Then, Saturday evening came along.  I was browsing around Etsy, and came upon a most unwelcome sight.  Somebody had stolen some pictures that I had uploaded to my personal facebook page (thankfully, they just took the scenic pictures, and not any of my kids, nieces, or nephews), and had put them up for sale on Etsy.  After some quick work, I received an apology from the thief (who ended up being a friend of a friend), the chop shop was taken down, and it's my understanding that the person is now banned from Etsy.  This whole episode prompted me to create a facebook page and open a new shop for just my photography.

I'm slowly going through all the pictures I still have saved on my computer,

Then, I'll start going through the ones I've already burned to disks.

I'll keep adding my favorites to my facebook page, and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Since I'm just starting out with Big Cartel, I have only signed up for their free service, which limits the number of products I can have in my store to 5 products.  I will start with some of my favorites, and will switch inventory out and around to accommodate requests.  If you see a photo on my facebook page, but it's not in the shop, just send me a request, and I'll have it up within 24 hours of receiving your request.  Same goes for any pictures you see here on the blog.

The photos are being sold for $5 each, and you will receive a digital copy (the big, noticeable watermark will be replaced with a very small one that blends in so well, you'll really have to look for it) and photo release.  I'd love to sell prints, but I don't currently have the proper packaging to safely ship a print.

Art should be named, but that is sometimes easier said than done.  Therefore, I will be running a few photo naming contests here and there.  As of right now, I'm thinking that the winner will receive a free digital copy of that photo.

Stay tuned!