Things are finally moving along, and grinding to a halt at the same time

First off...
I FINALLY got around to redoing the blog colors. Our new theme is going to be mint and plum, and we officially have a logo!

That's the good news.

The bad news is, life is really not treating me too well.

My anxiety is still very much a problem, and unfortunately something has been really wrong with my hormones lately.
I'll spare you the details, but basically I'm anemic again.
Last week I started my first summer class, and I was struggling to stay conscious. I actually had to dig my fingernails into my arm just so I wouldn't fall asleep or pass out. The pain helped keep me awake, but on Thursday I was feeling so awful that I had to just give up and go home. I ended up missing the lab for that day, which sucks because the labs are such an integral part of any science class.
(I'm taking General Biology I, fun fun fun.)

So unfortunately, for the time being I haven't done much at all.
I still have two papers to make up for a class I took an Incomplete in, which is looming over me like a massive cloud of failure and hopelessness.

Honestly, if I had it my way, I would crawl into bed and just disappear.
But enough complaining and angst.

I purchased hellointerloper.com last week, so expect a central hub soon where you can choose to visit my blog, YouTube page, Instagram, Twitter, Shop, or whatever.
I also am going to be moving my shop to StoreEnvy instead of Etsy, because Etsy's fees are downright ridiculous for me to pay at this point.

Stay tuned...

Our Commitment to Handmade and more

I admit it.
I've been incredibly lazy.
I could make a million excuses, but that just wouldn't be rational.

Here is the current news in the world of Maddie...

1. I have changed the gawd-awful layout at last. It's not a huge improvement, but it should be easier on the eyes. I am still debating whether or not to put a background image or not, but I like things rather plain... after all, it's the text on the blog that makes the blog, not the pretty embellishments.

2. I -do- have some new post-style earrings available, but they haven't been put up in my Etsy shop yet. To be completely honest, Etsy has really gotten me down lately. If you aren't a follower of Regretsy, you definitely should be now. Recently, April Winchell, the author of the satirical blog and leader of the "fat jealous losers" (it's an old joke that I'm sure only Regretsy veterans will understand) that make up the Regretsy community, released a bombshell... That the Etsy featured seller, Ecologica Malibu, whom they interviewed and wrote a cupcakey little article about, was in fact a dreaded reseller. For those unfamiliar with the term, they are people who buy factory-made items, tag them as handmade, and sell them for a profit. In this case the seller was buying Balinese boat furniture wholesale and selling them as handmade pieces that she claimed she had made herself. This goes completely against Etsy rules and guidelines, but they have initiated a great cover-up and cover-ass by saying that Ecologica Malibu is a "collective" and that doesn't break any rules.
This may not seem like the biggest deal ever, but Etsy is a -handmade- marketplace. When resellers join the picture, it's just a fancier version of our good friend eBay. Handmade is extremely important to me. It was the whole idea of a handmade market place that made me say "Hey, I can do this!" and attempt to work with clay in the first place. Making sales and knowing that somewhere out there, somebody else will be holding and enjoying something I created... It's an amazing feeling and incredibly rewarding. Now that Etsy has begun to lose its integrity as a handmade marketplace, I've found it much more difficult to make sales and my listing fees are greater than my profits again. I also don't feel like I want to be a part of a website that doesn't care about its own sellers.
I'm considering making the switch to a WePay store if things don't improve with Etsy's handmade policies. Of course, that means a huge decrease in viewership. So...

3. ...I'm considering expanding Hello Interloper. Right now there's the blog and there's the shop, but if I do end up having to make a move to WePay I'll be buying my own domain and building a website. Hopefully that will give Hello Interloper more of an audience, or at least a better sense of legitimacy. I'd most likely have to put up ads to support site costs though... or, you could just all click an ad here on this blog, it makes me a quarter, haha.

Well, that's about it. Hopefully I'll stop being such a lazyass and update more often. Now that classes are drawing to a close, there's a good chance I'll be able to update weekly.

ANNOUNCEMENT: New Layout Coming Soon!

Due to Hello Interloper becoming larger, and with the addition of the Etsy shop, it's about time that the blog gets a makeover!

Within the next month or so I will begin to remodel the layout of the blog.

Don't worry, no content will be deleted!

I'll be aiming to accomplish a few things:

- Create a header instead of using plain text

- Make the page wider to better accommodate the rising number of visitors with widescreen monitors

- Make the Etsy Shop link more prominent

- Make the Etsy Shop page showcase the most recent additions

- Create a new color scheme

- Have less clutter on the sidebar

- Make the ads less obtrusive (I know they're annoying and it would be better to have them gone completely, but remember, I don't have an actual job!)

Keep your eyes peeled for new changes and improvements!

New Layout!

I think I've finally settled on a layout.

Quest for the Dragonfruit and Haircuts (+ 5 months!)

It's official... I am going on a quest to find a dragonfruit!
And today Jon and I have been together for 5 months!