Caitlin took me to the mall today...

Caitlin took me to the mall today so we could get our steps in and these big guys were in one of the stores. I don't think I'll ever get over seeing these sculptures around. They had to be at least 8 feet tall. You can take one home with you for around $20,000. It's out of my price range, but how cool would it be to have one of these guarding your yard?

 

I've been dealing with a headache that won't go away most of the day, so I'm about to take a migraine pill and call it a night. Hopefully, I'll be normal-ish tomorrow.

But I do have one other good news:  I got the scholarship for the Web Dev program I want to take, so I'm super thankful for that. I don't think I would have been able to go if I had to pay out of pocket for it.

Happy weekend, friends! ❤️

It's been one of those...

It's been one of those "tried my best, but accomplished very little" type of days.

I spent too much time trying to integrate my Etsy shop with my Polish All the Things page, and in the end it didn't even work. Apparently, you could do that last year, but not anymore. I also had to get my Square account switched over to my current last name and bank.

I jumped in with both feet and signed up to do a craft show this weekend. Info on that will be on the page linked above ^ here shortly. I know very few people where I live now, but I'm still gonna put up the event. 😂

I also submitted the scholarship application for the program I'm trying to get into.

I watered a few plants. Made a plant Insta.

That's pretty much all I managed to do today.

Etsy says I need more photos and videos of my stuff. I agree. I have new jewelry displays, so maybe I can make things look fancy and get some new media up this weekend. We'll see.

This is how my plants are looking today.

This is how my plants are looking today. Some teensy flowers and a large one.

Also, I just love fresh cactus spikes! 💚

I feel like I'm amassing too many social media accounts, but if you're interested, I now have a plant Insta:

https://www.instagram.com/blus_botanicals

Fresh spines are so pretty!

Just a few months ago this poor thing had mealy bugs all in its grooves. I painstakingly removed as many as I could, then put a pesticide on it as well as dusted it with diatomaceous earth. It's looking much better now!

I love this big ol' crazy-spines thing!

This is a Madagascar Ocotillo. The large piece in the back needs to be tossed; I think it froze in the sunroom and I don't think it's coming back. I had another piece in the pot that was doing well, but I believe a creature stole it.

My first one of these to ever try to flower!

Little speckled flowers

Bright blooms

Currently working on reopening Polish All the Things...

Currently working on reopening Polish All the Things on Etsy.  I need to get some fresher pics, as well as some videos to show the sparkle (not to mention I need to get creating!), but I gotta start somewhere.

Almost a year in!

Almost a year in! This is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Sweetest girl. We love her so! ❤️

Sweetest girl. We love her so! ❤️

I still don't have a job.

I still don't have a job. I was laid off in April. The market has been terrible. I put in applications every week, and I'm getting rejection letters and no call-backs.

When I started college in 2015, my plan was to go for something well-paying and in-demand. I really took to Math and Computer Science, and I have no regrets about choosing those paths, although I never imagined that due to the economy and AI it would be so hard to find work. It definitely wasn't like this a few years ago.

Anyway, I've been looking around for a path forward and I think I have a plan. There's a program under one of the local colleges that offers a certificate for Web Design. I have some years of experience, but I also have some gaps in my knowledge since I am self-taught. I would feel much better applying for jobs doing that if I took this boot camp, so I'm about to apply.

I also didn't really think through the whole "moving to a new place where I knew no one and then working remotely so that I have no local network," but that's exactly what I did. I just didn't realize it until it bit me in the ass after my layoff. 😬 So going through this program would help me start the process of building a network here on top of honing my skills.

I'm still also really interested in learning Spanish, so I'm considering (perhaps next year, hopefully after I'm working) taking Spanish here. Living in New Mexico, it would be super useful to have more under my belt than what I can get from Duolingo. And if I have a major in it, I would feel confident in my competency.

I don't know. Spanish is more of a long-term goal than immediate, but what is clear to me is that I'm probably not finding a job soon, so I need to be improving myself. I will continue to apply for jobs, but I need to make myself more marketable while doing that. So I'm going to do my best.

Also, in the meantime, I will probably re-open my Etsy shop and list all of the jewelry I've made. I might also start making press-on nails since I have so many nail art supplies. I don't know how popular press-ons are, but I know you can buy unique and even custom sets on Etsy, so I might as well throw my designs in the ring, too.

I hope y'all are doing well. Aside from not having a job, I'm actually doing pretty ok. I've been doing a lot of self-care, which I needed.

Local friends, if y'all have time to hang out, please let me know! ❤️