Don't Worry Be Happy

Hello Again,

First things first, I must confess that I didn't get my business cards in order in order to order them. I became a little sidetracked this week. I did, however, book us a karaoke gig for Halloween!


It'll be a blast! Now, the trick is to come up with costumes for the hubs and I that we haven't already done. Hmmmmm.....that will take some thought, as in the 10 years that we've been doing the karaoke/dj thing,we have covered a significant amount of territory in that department. We've been known to be fairly creative as far as costumes go, we've been Vegas lounge singers, cop and inmate, dead people on many different levels, surgeon and patient, characters from tv, hmmmm, yep will take some thought. I may need to delve into my tickle trunk for inspiration. It has been picked over by my daughters over the years, so I will have to go with what is left. Although, I'm not sure what I can make out of inflatable breasts, a purple feather boa, and a rainbow beanie with a propeller on it!


Ok, back to business. I did get an email from the Board of Ed in Calgary. They apparently have a meeting toward the end of November in which they review and consider new books for the library. So, I will have to not so patiently wait for news until then.

I also received an email from the greater Catholic Board in Saskatoon, but it was more or less simply letting me know that she had passed on my information to the person in charge of learning resources. She did, however, give me contacts and encouraged me to get in touch of all of the individual schools in the division about doing readings.


"Crazy Day" is coming along pretty well. I am still on track for having it ready for Hazel by the end of October. I do find it a bit hard to focus on it with 100% of my attention with all the "Lexi" stuff going on, but I guess that is one of the differences of doing the second book compared to the first.

It's kind of like when your second child is born, you want to take just as many photos as you did with the first, you want to be as painstakingly meticulous with the second baby book as the first, but it's very hard to give 100% attention to the second one, with the first one running around yelling "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" You don't love the second one any less, the second child doesn't suffer from any of it, it doesn't make us evil, it just makes us human. I guess, like most adults of the female persuasion and maybe Moms even a little more so, I will have to give myself permission to be human, and accept the fact we can't be perfect at everything, every second of every day! (Although we come damn close!)


So, on to the upcoming 7 days. I will need to divide my time a bit this week. I need to follow up with the contacts given to me by the Greater Catholic Division. I need to get business cards done. I need to take my Mom to her Doctor's appointment. I need to put prizes together for the Halloween Bash I mentioned earlier. I need to get posters up for said Bash. I need to order more books for the upcoming trade shows. I need to buy a few office supplies to take to the trade shows. Oh yeah, and I should probably, go to work, clean the house and do the laundry, plan thanksgiving dinner, and buy the makings for that.

Please don't think I am complaining, because I most definitely am not. I am very grateful to have contacts to follow up on about a book I am sooooo happy about having in my hands. I'm grateful to be ordering business cards that people have cared enough to ask for. I'm happy to organize things for the Halloween Bash, it's so fun to entertain people and make sure they have a great time. I'm so incredibly happy and thankful to NEED to order more books. It still blows my mind if I give myself a minute to really think about what that means. And, as far as the housework and laundry, well, who am I kidding, that still kinda sucks, but I am grateful I have a loving home and nice clothes to take care of.

Last, but not least, to have the opportunity and the means to prepare for a meal that puts all of my kids around the same table at the same time, and be enveloped by the laughter and goofiness that naturally comes with that, I will be forever and deeply thankful.


So, have a good week, everyone! Until then:

May traffic be light on the streets where you drive.
May the clerks in your line ups be the fastest alive.

May a gorgeous guy look at you with come hither eyes.
May all the cute shoes in the sale be your size.

May you pull out your fall jacket from the closet with care.
May you find a 50 in the pocket you didn't remember was there.

Have a good one guys!

As I'm feeling a little lazy today, please refer to a previous blog for info where to purchase "Lexi"

Many fine stores and www.margyreidbooks.net

What to do, what to do.......

Hello Folks!

Well, I did manage to knock a few things off of my "to do" list this week. They may not be giant things but stuff that needed doing all the same. I decided and committed to take part in the "Mistletoe Craft and Gift Show" in North Battleford on Nov. 6th and 7th.

It's going to be a lot of fun. My oldest daughter is going to come along, and to show that great minds do think alike, she and I had the simultaneous idea that she could dress as "Lexi" in one of the dress up outfits and work the crowd!

Now, it's a matter of figuring out which outfit would work best and easiest.

I'm also trying to come up with ideas to make my little booth at the show stand out among the hundreds there. Any ideas you might want to throw out there would be appreciated.

All in all, it will be a fun time spent with good friends and my daughter, if I actually sell some books too, that would be awesome!

That, folks brings me to the book ordering decision. I have no idea how many I might need. I'm doing a smaller show in Rosetown on Oct. 9th and then this big one in North Battleford. Plus I am selling books in smaller amounts here and there all the time. I need to figure something out pretty soon, as they do take three weeks from the time I order them until they are in my hands.

As far as other things I ticked off my list this week.... well, I broke down and emailed the Calgary Board of Education yesterday, (I told you I'm not really good at just waiting!)hopefully I'll get a reply very soon.

I also sent information packages to 3 big school divisions around here, hopefully they will want to book some readings. I get such a kick out of reading it to kids!

This week, my plan is to get business cards figured out and ordered. I was also thinking of printing some bookmarks? And, I'm wanting to put together some coloring books using the original "Lexi" sketches, to take to the trade shows.

With these trade shows, "Lexi" is again taking me places unfamiliar and a little intimidating. But, like all the other places she has led me, I'm sure goods things will come from it.

So, to you, the millions of my faithful blog readers (ok, may be a slight exaggeration), I bid you farewell for another week.

Until then......

May you sleep on air, soundly and sweet.

May your dreams take you to heaven, so your loved ones, you greet.

May you wake in the morning with excitement and fun.

May you carry that with you until the day's done.

Where to find Lexi:

McNally Robinson Booksellers Saskatoon

Milbankes Floral and Gifts (both locations) North Battleford

Crandleberry's North Battleford

Our Drug Store Unity

Paisley & Polka Dots North Battleford

Jacq'y Jaye's gifts & Beyond Outlook

Tunes and Trinkets Rosetown

Prairie Rose Floral & Gifts Kindersley

and of course

http://www.margyreidbooks.net/

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Well Hello Folks!
I hope you've all had a great week.
On this end, this week didn't turn out as many results as I had hoped, but a pretty good week all the same.


As I mentioned last week, McNally had emailed me with a request for more books. That is a thrill that does not show any sign of getting old.

Well, when I went to drop off the books, I took the opportunity to check and see if "Lexi" was still hanging out with Robert Munsch. I'm definitely glad I did. Not only was the last copy they had in stock still in very good company, but they also have a little placard right on the shelf where she lives that says "Check Out Local Author, Margy Reid". I know it's probably silly getting so excited about such a small thing, but, I feel very honored to be the only author other than Robert Munsch in that whole section with a placard.

This falls under the category of " Things that a year ago, I never even dared to entertain the thought might remotely happen."


I still haven't heard from the Calgary Board of Education. I don't have a sniff on how long these things take, and I don't want to be a pain in their butt, but the curiosity is getting to me.


Work on a crazy day is coming along. I'm hoping to have it in Hazel's capable hands by Halloween.


I've checked out some trade shows in more detail, some are more expensive to do than others, which, of course, factors into the decision to do them or not. Other factors are timing, helper availability, etc. Do I have enough books? Will I sell enough to warrant ordering more ahead of time? All decisions that need to be made sooner than later.


So, that leads me to the upcoming week.
I need to make decisions about trade shows, fill out applications for said shows, make deposits, maybe order books, see who is available for when for helpers, etc.

I might also need to get in touch with Calgary, and see what's up there. Waiting, as you may know, is not one of my strongest qualities! lol

In closing, I would like to leave you with some random pearls of wisdom I was able to gather in the last seven days. (I'm sorry, but I simply can Not reveal my sources)lol


* Wearing expensive leather sandals after a torrential downpour is NEVER a good idea. No matter how cute they are!

* The world's problems can all be solved while waiting in line for highway construction.

* Opportunities that seem to be the least likely to be opportunities, most often end up being the biggest and best opportunities.

* We should try to wake up every morning and approach the day the same way a 5 year old does their first day of Kindergarten. With anticipation, excitement, courage, a wee bit of caution, and in awe of what may come!


With that, I will leave you until next week.

Where to find Lexi:

In all the wonderful stores listed in last weeks' blog
and, of course
www.margyreidbooks.com

(I know, lazy, right?) lol

Family, Football & Funny Stories

Hi, Sorry I'm late. My Hubby and I took a little trip to my Mom's house this weekend to catch up with her, my two younger brothers and their families. We had a great time. Did a lot of visiting, played a new game called "the game of things", watched a very good football game (GO RIDERS!), and did a lot of laughing.

Which brings me to last weeks' blog. Did any of you take part in my wee challenge? I hope so, it was pretty fun. For the most part.

1. Eat something fattening without guilt.

Well, I was at Mom's house, need I say more?

2. Laugh until your stomach hurts.

Definitely covered that one. In my family, if you are together for more than a few hours and that doesn't happen? It would be a strange day indeed. lol

3. Give a stranger a present.

Hmmm... not sure if this counts, but a lady in the store was overwhelmed in the shampoo aisle, looking for shampoo for her very picky 11 year old daughter. Drawing from experience, with my own daughters, helped her find one that would make her happy. Besides if it wasn't the right one I told her to just blame me!

4. Don't do anything that makes you wait in line.

Well, although I did my level best, I wasn't able to avoid this evil. Made it all the way to Friday before it happened, though! lol I was sorely disappointed too. This was the challenge I was looking most forward to.

5. Last, but not least, Do something you haven't done in at least 10 years.

Well, for the first time in about 20 years I was pulled over by a policeman! Through some very polite and apologetic conversation, I didn't get a ticket, so I did manage to keep it legal. A simple warning, some batted lashes (glad to know they still work!), and we were on our way!

As for the rest of the past week? Well, I haven't heard from Calgary yet, and am trying not to get too anxious/excited/worried, about that.

Now, for the upcoming week. Hopefully I will be hearing from Calgary this week; I have some more info to move forward on the trade shows; will be working on "A Crazy Day" a bit more, I'm almost happy with it. I continue to work on bookings, and I came home to an email from McNally Robinson last night that they need more books! Yay!

In closing, if you will indulge me, I would like to leave you with a cute grandbaby story.

One of my daughters went on a holiday for a couple of weeks In doing so, left her two goldfish and her pet rabbit in the care of another of my daughters. The latter of the two, being the one that has the priviledge of being my lovely grandson's mother.

Well, in the beginning, Grandbaby, (2 years old) decides that the names his Auntie gave the fish are all wrong and renamed them after his favorite cartoon characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear from ToyStory fame.

He really enjoyed having the fish around, but goldfish being goldfish one of them was found floating on the top of the water one day. So, his Mom and Dad did their best to calmly and gently explain that sometimes goldfish don't live very long, etc. And life went on.

Well, the holiday came to an end and my daughter came to pick up her fish. She already knew what had happened, but asked Grandbaby anyway, to see what his perception might be.

He patted her on the hand, looked into her eyes and said very sympathetically, " Auntie........ Buzz flew to infinity and beyond."

Kids, gotta Love 'Em!

Until Next Week!

You can find Lexi:

McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon

Paisley and PolkaDots in North Battleford

Our Drug Store in Unity

Milbanke's (both locations) in North Battleford

Jacq'y Jaye's Gifts & Beyond in Outlook

Tunes & Trinkets in Rosetown

Prairie rose Floral and Gifts in Kindersley