Week 2 - There's so much we can do.

Mags30

I WANT some malteser cake:EasterBun

Was thinking of you earlier today while I walked around the Christmas market in my local city. There was a cake stall selling miniature cakes. I bought some mini cupcakes and and some mini tiramisu. The tiramisu and a few other things were served in tiny plastic cups, the ones used for sampling alcohol in supermarkets. It looked so good. Here's a link to their website for some inspiration. There are loads of savoury things on there too but it was only cakes today. http://www.bitesize.ie/Gallery.html
Looking forward to hearing how you got on.
x

RubySewSew

What a day! I'm exhausted! Well, I don't know what to say really. On the one hand, I made my money back. On the other hand, I've worked flat out for 3 days for hardly anything. The first hour was really slow - didn't sell a thing. Started to sell a few bits boosted by my friends teenage daughter taking samples around for me. Feedback was excellent. People loved the cakes especially the chocolate ginger cake and the guiness cake. Gave out a few business cards. Just about broke even but loads of stock on the table so about 45 minutes before the end I reduced everything to £1 which cleared most of it and gained me the small aforementioned profit.

Good points:
I broke even and made a small profit.
I came back with less than I went with
I sold my beautiful vintage picnic set at a very, very small profit.
I met 2 lovely boys who do very similar decoupage projects to me and they gave me loads of really useful tips.

Bad points:
I spent £100 on ingredients and the cake stall plus another £12.50 on the craft stall. I made about £20 on the cakes, about £10 on vintage crockery and didn't sell a single craft item. I came home with £180 which feels like quite a lot of money although not once you deduct the costs.
I sold my beautiful vintage picnic set at a very, very small profit
I still need to clear a whole lot of clutter!

I have one more school fayre to go which I feel a bit more confident about. Firstly because I'm not in competition with my friends and secondly because I've done it before and I think I know what will sell well. And the stall fee is cheaper so easier to recoup.

Went for pizza afterwards which wiped out my £20 profit and then the cinema to see the last 'Girl Who...' film. I recommend it. Got home to discover the boyfriend had left my heating on all day whilst he was out. Feels like I'm scrabbling in the dirt for pennies for nothing.

Sorry, to sound so down. Going to have a cup of tea, check my ebay sales, get a good night's sleep and start again tomorrow. Only 2 weeks to go and then I can have a break and think about myself and my family for a while.

Mags30

OK well you did make a profit which then enabled you to have an evening out with pizza and cinema. Of course I can see why it wasn't ideal but remember that you did make a profit instead of feeling down about it.

Are you a member of the matrix forum? I think if you copied and pasted the above post over there you would get some advice.

I've been watching X-Factor, etc all evening, can't think of anything intelligent just now but I'll be back:)

Karmacat

Oh Ruby, poor you! Sounds like it was really disheartening, but the other positive point in there is that once people had samples, the feedback was excellent. I know Brighton is a really saturated market ... is there any way of selling whole cakes to one of the big hotels or individual cafes, something like that? What you said about competing with friends also strikes me, so the upcoming school fayre might well be better.

Hope you slept well, and feel better now.

NorthernLas

Ruby - Well done on the market, good that people liked the cakes.

My sister used to do the local WI market regularly and I wonder if you are working out your prices correctly. With them, you work out the ingredient cost and then double it (for your time and leccy). I would include cost of packaging in the ingredient cost as well.

Where I live, people quite like quarter or half cakes as they live alone. This also gives you the opportunity to reveal how lovely your cake is on the inside.

You might want to consider baking more simple cakes (with less ingredients). I have found that people buy with their eyes rather than their stomachs IYSWIM. I think this is why cup cakes are doing really well as it is amazing what people can charge for a bun with coloured piped icing and edible glitter (nothing less than £1 each around here).

Keep bashing on, you are doing great, you have your fight back and the ideas are still coming (a very good thing as it shows your mentally keeping it together) .... this last bit sounds patronising, sorry it's not meant to be at all.

Happy Monday

chevalier

I like the sound of all of your cakes. But i would also say that maybe they are luxuries at the moment. ditto with craft stuff? But well done on still making a profit. bah to BF leaving the heating on. you could always bill him!!!!!(joke).

And at least it didn't snow and keep people away so that is a definite plus at the moment.
chev

RubySewSew

I just had a slice of cake and feel a little bit better. It is good cake!

I couldn't sleep last night, it took me ages to get off and then got up this morning to the house in a right old state and a poorly boy. DS1 is in my bed at the moment with what appears to be another bout of tonsilitis. Poorly bean. I was teaching from home this morning, kitchen was in the state I left it post baking, house untidy but basically fixable, and no milk. And clients coming at 9.30. I'm mad at the boyfriend for not having done more to help. I don't know if this is reasonable or fair. I just need more support, more help. I feel like I'm working flatout. I feel very very alone. I feel really quite angry. And I'm really, really tired. I lost it last night when he said I should relax and look forward to Christmas and trees and turkeys and presents. To me that is work, not relaxation. It's money that I have to find that I don't have and a whole host of extra things to do that I can't find the time for at the moment. I normally really enjoy Christmas and the run up to it and the preparation but at the moment I frequently don't have time even to eat. And nobody is helping. I want to go and see my sister and my brothers at Christmas as the kids will be with their Dad. The boyfriend doesn't want to go, he'd rather spend Christmas on his own than be in company which puts me under an enormous amount of pressure to choose. The kids will be with their Dad from the 17th which means I will get no downtime with them. I feel so out of control. Like now, I have an hour before I have to do the school run; I need to empty the car, pack and dispatch ebay stuff, ring Tesco about my order, tidy up work stuff and sort out the kitchen. What I really, really want to do is catch up on sleep. I'm working every day this week and every night. This is awful. I'm sorry. I'm feeling really, really sorry for myself. Going to go and have a look for cheery Ruby, she must be here somewhere...

RubySewSew

Friend came over for a cup of tea and I had a little weep and a long old moan. DS1 is really poorly, he has a virus (not tonsilitis fortunately). He's in bed really unwell. DS3 seems a bit under the weather as well, not quite himself, a bit hot and a bit weepy. I simply can't have any more time off work. I've handed my notice in now so it just looks like I'm taking advantage. I've called their Dad and he said that they can go into the office with him. It doesn't really seem very fair when they are so poorly.

Had made big Tesco order to arrive this afternoon. Spoke to them at 3.30 to say I might be 10 minutes late as had to go to the dr. At 4.15 got home to see that in the 15 minutes between 4 and 4.15 they had attempted delivery. Phoned customer service who said there was nothing they could do they would have to reschedule for tomorrow. So have had nothing for tea and now no nappies for bedtime. And no cleaning materials! Or cat food! Even when I try and make things better they still go wrong!

What I would dearly, dearly like is a couple of days to get myself and the house straight and another day to do some Christmas shopping. To settle down in a calm clean house with well stocked cupboards and happy, healthy children. So what can I do to get as close to this as possible?

I feel a little bit better post emotional outburst. I need to find my choices. You can't choose what happens to you but you can choose how you deal with it. So, how am I going to deal with it? I think what is most getting me down is the lack of time for relaxation and Christmas spirit. The house is a state. I haven't had any cleaning materials for weeks because I haven't been able to afford them. I have my teaching stuff out everywhere, my craft fayre stuff out, ebay stuff and not quite finished bits of furniture. And guinea pigs to house somewhere as it is to cold for them outside. I can't even contemplate putting up Christmas decorations until all of that is sorted. I need a down tools date which unfortunately isn't until next Tuesday night for teaching, Saturday for craft fayres and a week on Friday for school. I need some time to chill out with the kids in a Christmassy way. Essentially for all of this week I have only 3 hours each night with them in which time I need to feed them, clean up and get ready for work again. Any ideas how I can make this more pleasurable? I'm in a cycle of work, poor eating and sleeplessness.

Just wrote another paragraph but have lost it. Maybe I'll do some mindmapping tonight to see what is possible and what isn't. It's all a big jumbly mental mess at the moment. I'm feeling calmer which helps. Tonight I'm going to prioritise putting the laundry away and making my bed up with clean sheets. Then we'll see what tomorrow brings.

RubySewSew

I've declared a duvet day. DS1 is really ill (he must be because I keep checking on him every 30 minutes) and DS3 is burning up and has the same symptoms. I've offered to make up the hours so that will have to do. DS2 has got a bit of a cold to so will keep them all off tomorrow and use it as a chance to recoup and organise. And catch up on sleep.

Cheery_Daff

Oh Ruby ((((((((((()))))))))))) You poor thing, you sound completely overwhelmed

First things first - your health and your sanity. Your food will arrive tomorrow. You'd be surprised how much you can clean with hot soapy water (no washing up liquid? use shampoo/liquid soap/ bar of soap rubbed on cloth). Set your timer for fifteen minutes and spend it in the kitchen. Then sit down and have a cuppa. Then 15 minutes in the living room. Then a cuppa. Then 15 minutes in the bathroom. Then a cuppa.

Then stop for the evening, and mind map if you like.

Don't worry about work thinking you're taking the p*ss - your children are ill, and you're right, probably shouldn't be in their father's office! You've handed in your notice - it doesn't matter what they think of you. Your family comes first. Good on you for declaring tomorrow a duvet day - I reckon an hour of tidying in the morning will make a HUGE difference to the house, which will make a HUGE difference to how you feel.

Get a list of all the other things you have left to do for christmas, and possibly sit down with the boyfriend and delegate? You're not being unfair at all wanting a bit of help! Maybe you need to give him some specific guidance - 'I'd really appreciate it if you could do the washing up while I tidy the living room'... ??

Don't know what else to say, just sounds like you need rather a lot of hugs right now (((((((((())))))))))) xx