Lest you think I've fallen off the face of the earth

Things are a bit over the top here in the Lovie household. I'm not sure if I've ever been this busy in my entire life. Between shop doings, mommy duties, household chores, and Christmas, I'm now close to certifiable.

First, there have been BIG things going on for Yarntopia. We have placed huge orders with Plymouth, GGH, Louisa Harding, and Cascade. On Thursday of this week, we will order our Rowan, Classic Elite, & Nashua. The rep that is coming on Thursday also sells Crystal Palace, Trendsetter, and Colinette. We may pick up a little novelty from Crystal Palace. I think we will pass on Trendsetter this go round. One of my big hang-ups is Colinette. I think it is a beautiful yarn, just WAY to expensive for what it is. That says a lot because I will spend a lot on yarn. I know many yarn stores carry it, but to be honest with you, I've never seen anyone actually buy it. What are y'alls opinions? Is this a must carry line?

Now for the things that have given me heartburn this past week. I figure I'll start with the bad and end with the good. Our Plymouth rep put a whammy on us. After we told her on three separate occasions NOT to fill the order right away (what am I going to do with $11K worth of yarn in my house) she filled the order anyway. Sheryl and I were L-I-V-I-D!! We think she did it so that she could count that big order on her last quarter sales. Not only that, she blamed me for the mistake! And to add insult to injury, she didn't apologize!!! She has been put in Amy's permanent black book. Not a good place to be if you know me. After a huge "come to Jesus" with her on the phone, our money was put back into our account.

Next we have the incident that occurred while meeting with the Louisa Harding rep. First let me say that she was lovely. Very professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. Hopefully she is also an understanding person as well because my children were monsters while she was here. There was fighting, television watching at concert level decibels, bathroom going with the door open, numerous pesterings and interruptions, and jumping off of God knows what upstairs that nearly made my chandelier fall off of the ceiling. I was so humiliated and mad when she left, I knew I couldn't punish them. CPS might have gotten involved. I did the old "just you wait until your father gets home". There punishment was no playgroup that week and no TV for two days. A huge deal to five year olds. Needless to say when the Cascade rep came on Saturday, there were no incidents.

Now for the good news. I LOOOOVE the Small Business Administration. I'm finally getting to use a government program!! They have held our hand through the entire business plan and loan approval process. It looks like we will have no trouble acquiring a loan. They also have lawyers, accountants, and other experts to help us every step of the way at no or a reduced fee.

I am still knitting on top of all of this. I have finished all but one of my Christmas presents. I'm also knitting hats for the girls that match their winter coats. I'll post a picture when I'm finished with both of them.

Finally, Knitizen tagged me with an easy meme. Post a picture of where you knit. I won't tag anyone in particular for this one. Please post if you like.