Thursday, August 10, 2017

Overdue and Long Update (sorry!)


Hi everyone!

Warning: long post!  

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far! It's been a somewhat quiet summer for us with a few exceptions. Everyone here is doing well and doing our own thing. The boys have been working their PT summer jobs, having their Monday "game night" with their friends, and helping around the house after sleeping in until early afternoon, haha. I've been the chauffeur for the most part since both are still learning how to drive. I am NOT a good driving teacher, so my car time with them is limited to roads that go 45mph and lower, lol. The hubs has to be the one to take them on the highways. That's coming soon, so watch out if you're local! :D  

Bren is starting his senior year in just a few weeks. Our county is starting school one week earlier this year, so summer is almost over for him! It's breaking my heart all over the place since he's the last one of my kids in school. He is very involved with music and the production part of theater, so I'm sure he'll be busy with a lot of musicals and plays this year along with his lovely girlfriend, Kaili.

Brady is starting back up at NOVA next week studying history and French. He really wants to work in a museum or be a history teacher some day and I know he can do it. He's smart as a whip with anything history or politics related. We have daily discussions about current politics, "Oh, yeah mom, did you see (insert daily crazy/scary political news here)?" Our other big discussion subject is Game of Thrones. After asking our Game of Thrones friends if it was worth watching SIX seasons of the show to catch up and start the new season in July, and who all responded with a resounding YESSSS, we did it. It took two full weeks of 4 or so episodes a night, but we did it! Brady was curious and watched a few and was so intrigued, he got hooked and finished it in about half the time, staying up until 6am (it IS summer, so...). So many discussions about upcoming shows and theories.

My grandboo, Foster, my daughter Sara and her hubs Brad are doing well, too! "Pappy" and I have a weekly FaceTime with them and it's so fun! He'll go and draw a picture for "Mimi" or run to get a fizzy water out of his fridge as I'm drinking mine. He's so cute and growing so fast! He loves his corgi "puppy" and loves to completely tire out his mom and dad. LOL. Mike has so much fun collecting little weird toys and sends them off to him every once in a while. He'll come home with some random dollar store toy and I'll give him the "what's this, ohhhh it's for Boo" look. We're hoping to go see them soon as soon as I figure out my fall show schedule. I think it's pretty solidified and I'll pop it on here below.

Bunny is doing awesome (shedding like crazy!) and currently is totally flipped on her right side sleeping with her legs sticking straight out. This is a common look for buns called a "flop" but it's the cutest and scariest thing in the world! I always have to check her breathing! Sammy is doing great, too and is his normal ornery self! Maggie is finally going in tomorrow am to have a golf ball sized mass removed from her right shoulder. The surgery is EX.PEN.SIVE so we had to save up. It's been there for three years and the two doctors that have seen her didn't know what it was but deemed it non-cancerous. I wasn't really worried about it until she started scratching at it a few months ago and had it rechecked with a different/better doctor. She and I decided it needed to be removed and then tested, but that she didn't see any cancerous cells. She's also having dental work done. Our Maggie is 7 and while I can't wait to get that thing off of her, I am worried. She'll be in some pain, I'm sure, so it'll be a stressful weekend for her. Keep her in your thoughts tomorrow... at least I get to bring her home tomorrow night. :)

One of the few exceptions to our quiet summer...

On July 27 I got a call from my brother in law in California saying that my mother had collapsed and was taken away with no pulse by ambulance. About a 1/2 hour later he told me that she had passed away. I didn't post this on any social media because it was and continues to be an emotionally weird thing for me. As most of you probably know, I was estranged from my mother and hadn't spoken to her in probably 5 or so years. She and I did not have a normal relationship... ever, so as comforting as it would have been to have a long stream of condolence-type remarks, I didn't think it was appropriate for me to post because I wasn't grieving the way I would if we had been really close. Does that make sense? I wasn't feeling a huge loss, per se', but I was and am feeling a gamut of emotions. The first, when I first heard was anger towards her... like really angry because I never had a warm mother-daughter relationship with her like so many lucky people I know have had. Then I felt really sorry for her and for some aspects of her life. Then sad, then anger again or confusion about what I'm supposed to feel. So weird. I'm working on this and trying to focus on the positive time we did have... about 10 years out of my 52 where we had a pretty nice - yet guarded on my end - relationship where she was able to be Neema to my kids, came to visit, etc. I don't feel like now, I missed the chance to make our relationship better and that's that. Truthfully, it was never going to change... my emotional "cap" had topped off about 5 years ago and I just had zero left. Now I find myself sitting up late at night in the quiet talking to her about all of those above-stated emotions and other things. I know she hears me and understands at a completely different level now. I think that's ok. :)

Anywhoo... I should wrap this up. I'll leave you with some quick business updates:

1. If you don't already know, I am now booking online again. No more waitlist! I think I'm now booked through 1/2 of September, but here's the link: http://www.barbmallon.com/appointments

2. UPDATE: Now sold out! I have ONE spot left for my Beginner's Psychic Development workshop on August 27 at 11am. If you'd like to learn more or know of someone who wants to attend, here's the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beginners-psychic-development-workshop-tickets-35226564603?ref=ebapi

3. So far, I have five fall festivals lined up where I'll be selling my jewelry from my shop:

*September 16 & 17 - The DC Flea at the Dulles Expo Center
*October 7 - Manassas Fall Jubilee
*November 4 - W.T. Woodson HS Holiday Happenings
*November 11 - Robinson HS Marketplace
*December 3 - Herndon Holiday Show

That's all for now!  Hope you have a wonderful August!

Barb xx

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Online Booking Open Again!

Hi!

Just a reminder! Online booking is open again - no more waitlist! You can easily book via my website at www.barbmallon.com/appointments and the wait isn't that long, either!

New options...

I'm offering slightly later hours on Tuesday's for clients who would like to see me after work so my hours will be Friday's from 3pm - 5:30pm and Tuesday's from 5pm - 7pm.

I am also offering 30-minute mediumship sessions again, so if you've had a session with me before and understand and know the process of my readings, this may be something you would especially be interested in. If you haven't ever had a session with a medium, I would definitely suggest the longer session.

I am offering:
30 Minute and 45/60 Minute mediumship sessions
30 Minute and 45/60 Minute guidance/Tarot sessions
Groups (4 - 6 participants)
45/60 Minute mentoring sessions

At this time, only in-person appointments are available, but I may be offering Skype or FaceTime sessions in the future. :) I will be announcing these such sessions here and on my FaceBook page.

As far as jewelry news, I have four shows coming up for you local folks! I will be at the following Holiday/Fall shows:

*October 7 - Manassas Fall Jubilee
*November 4 - W.T. Woodson HS Holiday Happenings
*November 11 - Robinson HS Marketplace
*December 3 - Herndon Holiday Show

Please come by and see me!  :)  As always, you can find all of my jewelry at www.barbmallon.etsy.com

That's all for now.  Hoping you are all doing well and if you're local, you're enjoying the slightly cooler temperatures!

Barb xx



Thursday, July 6, 2017

Summer Update and Bye Bye Waitlist!

Hello, everyone!

Happy summer!  I hope you're enjoying your summer so far!  It's been a rainy few days which I think helped keep people from setting off too many fireworks at bay.  Our dog, Sammy is deathly afraid of them, so he's been hiding in the basement on the couch.   On the fourth, I even had to sedate him slightly as he was so anxious he was constantly trembling.  Anyhoo, glad that's over!  :)

So, I finally finished up my 15-month wait list and am ready to start taking clients online again!  I found a wonderful booking website called Schedulicity and have added a button to my "appointments" page on my website.

I am still taking way fewer clients than I used to but did pick up every other Tuesday so there may be a wait, but not too bad of one as of now.

I still am not taking phone sessions and probably won't, but am thinking of doing FaceTime/Skype sessions sometime in the future.  If I do, I'll be sure to announce it on my FaceBook page and here as well as my website.

So, feel free to book yourself online!  If you have any trouble, just contact me!

As far as jewelry news, I've added a bunch of new pieces to my Etsy store and am gearing up for fall shows!  I'll be announcing where I'll be very soon so I hope you will come by and see me!  :)

Here's a little peek!


Hope you all have had a great SHORT week at work!  Tomorrow is Friday, yay!

OH, and I still have TWO seats left for me Animal Communication Class on Sunday from noon to 3pm if anyone is interested.  It's a fun class, for sure and helps you have a better relationship with your fur babies!  Click here if you'd like to register.

Enjoy your weekend!

Barb xx



Tuesday, March 28, 2017

YAY, Spring! Updates and News...

Well, hello!

I'm sorry it's been a little longer than planned to update my blog.  I always seem to remember to update it when I have to run to do something else!  I think that's always the way, though.

After the weirdest "winter" ever, we're back again in spring.  This is my favorite time of year.  Everything starts to turn from this dull green to bright green.  No, it's not fun for allergy sufferers, but the blooming trees are just beautiful.  I have another month before I get to hang my hummingbird feeders again, filling them with sugar water and cleaning them almost every other day.  It's arduous sometimes, but I love seeing those little buzzing beings flying around my front and back yard.  I've had the same three return each year, so I'm looking forward to seeing my rubies again!

The pups are happy to be able to go out on walks again.  The lack of walks was mostly due to Mike's knee needing to heal from his meniscus surgery (I would have walked both, but I cannot handle Sam... he's way too strong for me!).  He's slowly back at the gym and doing pretty well. The Madam was cleared for her spay with an xray showing no masses.  The vet said that he thought she was even a little younger than we thought... possibly 4.5 - 5 instead of 6?   Her spay was scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23.  Brady and I visited her on Friday, and she truly looked traumatized.  I felt so badly, but with a uterine cancer risk of 85 - 90%, it had to be done.  We carefully brought her home on Saturday and she's healed perfectly.  We had to make some adjustments to her hutch, going from a two-story to a one story, which she was NOT happy about.  Speaking of bunnitudes, I read on many forums that sometimes a bun's attitude dramatically changes... or they don't speak to you for quite a while afterward.  I was so worried about this, but she's just as kissy as she was.  She has been different in some weird ways.  She's almost impossible to get out of her hutch for her free roam and even harder to put back in.  She doesn't like being picked up at all and just hops a foot in the air if you try to do so.  It's not that she's in pain, I think it's just that she was grabbed and moved a lot at the vet and she's wary of it now.  She doesn't get as excited about her hide a treat toy much, anymore, and she doesn't jump up in my lap like she used to.  It's only been a month, but hopefully, she'll be her old self again soon!

Sorry there was so much about the bun, but everyone always wants to know about her the most!

Ok, some updates!

MEDIUM STUFF:

I am still working through my wait list, so thank you for your patience!

Regarding my waitlist.  What I basically do is pull about 6 people for 6 spots and write them with dates, info, and prices and then ask for them to get back to me to book ASAP.  The pattern seems to be that about 1/2 get back to me within a few days and are booked, easy peasy.  The other 1/2 I just don't hear back from, even after a few reminder emails where I mark a "1, 2, 3" near their name.  I have a mail track system that shows me if someone opens my email, so I know it's been received. After the third email, I will cross the person off the list.  All this said, if you are on the list and want a session, it may come up a little sooner than I thought.  :)

If I send you an Appointment Availabilities email and you are no longer interested, would you please simply reply that you are, in fact, no longer interested?  Thank you so much... this way I can get to other clients faster.

CLASSES ARE BACK!

I am once again holding my Psychic Development and Animal Communication classes in my Chantilly, VA office.  I was holding out for a while trying to find another hotel or large conference room who wouldn't charge me an arm and a leg and just haven't been able to find one yet.  So, I just decided to hold smaller classes in the office suite I'm in now.

These are going to be a little different in that they will be very small, intimate classes with 4 - 6 students only.  The PD class will be 4 people and will take place in the office where I conduct sessions.  The AC class will be held in the conference room in my office suite.

Upcoming classes:
Psychic Development - Sunday, April 30 from 11 - 4 (SOLD OUT)
Animal Communication - Sunday, May 21 from 12 - 3:30 (5 spots left)
Psychic Development - Sunday, June 4 from 11 - 4 (4 spots left)

Interested?  Here's the link to my Events page! 

JEWELRY STUFF:

I'm currently looking for worthwhile fairs and shows to attend and will keep you updated when shows come up.

Also, if you don't already know, I've had a big sale going on for about a week in my Etsy shop and still have some really pretty pieces left!  Just a few more days and it'll be over!

YOU get 25% OFF any item in my shop (excluding custom orders) if you use COUPON CODE: YAYSPRING at checkout!  25% off!!  :)

Go take a peek!  As you can see, my pieces are already pretty reasonable.  Imagine 25% off!  :)


I think that's it for now!  Ms. Bun needs to go back into her hutch, so we'll see how long it takes me.  :/

Hope you all have a wonderful week and let me know if you have any questions about anything!

Barb xo