As they say, “when it rains, it pours” (in a good way) … I’ve also made a fantastic arrangement with Murrieta’s newest and most elegant pet boutique, The Pampered Pooch, to carry my line of gifts for dog lovers in their gorgeous shop on Cal Oaks Road. With the holidays coming up fast, we are both anxious to get the items in the store immediately. So, this forces me to do a full inventory and polish up those displays right quick! My goal is to get this done by November 1st, which is only a few days away!

Another goal is to have the Pampered Pooch take on the entire Scruffy Puppy inventory, so that I can concentrate my energy on my handmade pieces, which has developed into a real passion over the past two years. I’m not yet sure if the Scruffy Puppy online shop will be sold in it’s entirety, or if it will simply transform into a shop of all handmade gifts. We will see how the future unfolds!

Cartoon by Dave Walker.

Just when I thought I was out … they pull me back in.

Just when I thought I was out … they pull me back in.
Al Pacino, The Godfather III

The Godfather I and II are on my list of all-time favorite movies. But I do love this quote from Godfather III. Even Silvio mimics the scene in The Sopranos (best TV series ever). Gosh, you are learning so much about me! But this post isn’t about my favorite movies and tv shows … it’s about building websites, believe or not.

Hey, where you been?

For the past 3 years, I’ve been on sabbatical from the web design field, except for managing a few low maintenance accounts. For the first year out, I focused on my freelance writing, which I continue to do. At the same time I began developing my own eCommerce websites: ScruffyPuppy.com, SchnauzerGear.com, Recovery-Gifts.com . Strangely enough, many people, after visiting my new online stores, would repeatedly to ask me “How much would you charge to make me one of those?”

For three years, my answer was always the same: I don’t do that anymore.

It’s such an odd feeling to say no. Especially when it basically means “No. I don’t want your money.” I mean, who says that? To my great surprise, people don’t like to take no for an answer, and they just kept right on asking. Eventually, they pulled me back in.

So, this year, I finally decided to stop saying NO. And I’ll be working on a new eCommerce site for a local design firm. I also will be welcoming back an old client, whose site I designed years ago. I’m flattered and pleased that this company returned and asked me to work for them again. I’m also glad about it, because the previous company slapped their company name on the credits for my design work! We’ll fix that, right quick, won’t we? I also have makeovers in the works to a few sites I designed several years ago. Time for a new look!

As you can see, it didn’t take long to get pulled back in. And I’m thrilled about it. I just love this stuff. Watch for lots of updates, over the next few months, about websites I’m working on.

While I didn’t design Amry’s Tasty’s Treasures website, I did get carried away when she asked me for advice about selling her homemade baked goods online. I gave her a few suggestions on where to get started and boy, she really took the ball and ran with it! I think she did a great job.

I helped with a few of the graphics and offered some coaching by email. But what you see on her site, is result of her own hard work and determination to get her new business off the ground. Watching her website take shape really re-kindled my enthusiasm for doing web design again. It’s truly such a fun process (albeit an often frustrating one, I’m sure Amry will agree!).

Take a look at her AmrysTastyTreasures.com website and try some of her delicious home-baked cookies!

I created Helen’s website six years ago, to help promote her first novel “Picture of Guilt” which was published in 2002. All the pages on the main site were built in reference to her writing career. At this time, I’ve left them just as they were. When my mom’s illness entered a critical final stage in late September, our family began to use the homepage of that website to communicate about her condition with her friends and family. So many beautiful email messages started to pour in for and about Helen; it seemed that a personal section of the website was needed. Eventually, I added the blog as a way for family & friends to stay informed and to post their comments, or photos to Helen’s website.

My mom’s absence is painfully felt every day since she left us. My father says that the website posts and comments sustain him everyday. Thank you so very much to the many people who have taken the time to remember my mother on her blog. You have no idea how much these contributions have meant to my Dad and our entire family.

Michelle