FaceTime & Skype Sessions Open Again

Hi all!

I'm pleased to announce that after almost two years, I've re-opened my FaceTime and Skype sessions to those who can't get to my Chantilly, VA office.  I am still not conducting telephone sessions but wanted to accommodate clients who have a difficult time getting to my office or simply are just too far away... and FaceTime/Skype feels more personal to me than phone sessions, anyway.

For now, the FT/Skype sessions will be conducted on Wednesday evenings at 7 - 8pm EST.  I may extend the timeframe of these sessions at some point in the future.

I will be taking individual sessions (with no more than two extra participants - no groups) at the same rate as my in-person sessions.  The sessions with extra participants will work in the same way where you will purchase the individual session and then add the extra participant fee(s) if applicable.  For the best possible experience, I recommend having a good internet connection and to be in a quiet space in your home or office where you won't be distracted by other people or noises, etc.

Because my online booking system won't allow me to split my services/locations, you'll just need to call me at (703) 474-2227 to book this kind of session and I'll put you in the system manually.  You will still need to supply your credit card or I can send you a PayPal invoice, but like my in-person sessions, you'll need to confirm your appointment with your payment in advance since my sessions are so limited.  Thank you for understanding!

A few points on FT/Skype sessions...

One of the reasons I stopped doing these kinds of readings was because of people off-camera quietly participating in the reading with nods and whispers while not paying to participate like you would if you brought someone to my office.  If you're in the same room and off to the side and interacting with my client - silent or not - you're experiencing the reading live and are an extra participant.  I really don't want this to be an issue this time, which is why I'm laying it all on the table now.  If I notice this happening, I will need to stop the session.  I do hope you understand.

And I know this sounds silly, but it's happened more than a few times and also has to be addressed. Please don't wear your pajamas or nightgown for a session, lol.  I know you're comfy in your home, but it's a bit uncomfortable if you're in hair rollers and a robe, lol.  No, you don't have to dress up and I seriously don't care if you wear sweats to be comfy (I may as well), but I've had some awkward situations, so I'll just leave it there... I know you get it.  :D

THAT SAID... (don't judge... ) the only space in my home where I have peace and quiet is my silversmithing studio and having a corner desk, well, you're gonna see my workbenches in the background.  Even all cleaned up, tools and workbenches are messy, and if it seems to be an issue, I'll try to find a room divider or backdrop.

SO... there you go!  If you can't come to Chantilly or it's a big pain in the butt, now you have another option!  :D  Please spread the news with friends you think may be interested!  :)  My website is www.BarbMallon.com and then just click the appointments tab.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!  Stay warm!
Barb xo

Happy New Year and It's Been a While!

Happy New Year, everyone and I hope you had a lovely holiday season!

I'm betting that you probably thought that I've fallen off the edge of the earth since I haven't written or updated since August!  This is the first year where I buckled down in the spring and applied for a lot (for me) of holiday festivals to showcase and sell my jewelry.  I did one or two a month from September to January and what I didn't realize is that if I sold a lot (a good thing!) I had to very quickly create more pieces for the next show which was usually a week or so from the one I had just done.  Because I have family obligations during the day and clients a few times a week, this makes it pretty difficult, so I found myself huddled in my studio after dinner for a few hours every night.  Now Mike knows how I feel when he's getting ready for an election and I feel like a single mom!

Some smaller stocking stuffer-type pieces take maybe 30 minutes, but most others take a few hours to create from start to finish, so I just didn't have time for anything but being able to bring a good amount of pretties to each holiday show.  All of the shows except for one were packed with people, so while it was a really busy few months for me, it was completely satisfying to see my jewelry being purchased, boxed up and customers walking away happy.  Yay!

My last show for a while was last weekend, so now I'm in 2018 planning mode trying to figure out what the heck I want to fill this year up with.  :D

For those of you who are interested in my jewelry, I have 12 new pieces in the shop left over from my shows.  Go check them out!  AND, as a FaceBook follower or blog follower of mine use this secret code at checkout to get 15% off all items (ready to ship).  SECRET18.

You can have a coupon code automatically added by just clicking this link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/barbmallonjewelry?coupon=SECRET18‌

I will also be adding some textiles to my shop.  I used to macrame as a kid and now that it's really popular again, I've created some pretty wall hangings and plant hangers all in white cotton rope with pieces of driftwood.  This is a new big trend now, but it's so fun to get back into, so those will be in the shop hopefully tomorrow.

Click here to see.... enjoy!

Regarding mediumship sessions, I'm seriously thinking of adding a few days a month to do FaceTime sessions (not Skype).  I have a lot of clients who miss my phone sessions who live all around the country/world, so I may add this option very soon.  Please contact me if you'd be interested.  The backdrop to your sessions will not be pretty spiritual stuff, but rather my jewelry workbench and messy soldering station but if you're ok with that... :)  Please be sure to like my FaceBook page and/or follow this blog for updates!

I am still accepting clients in my Chantilly, VA office on Tuesday early evenings and Friday afternoons.  There is no wait list any longer and you can easily book yourself from my website under the Appointments tab.  Easy peasy!  

As far as classes go, as soon as I figure out my spring show schedule, I'll announce some classes for the spring and early summer.  Please let me know if you'd be interested in my Psychic Development Workshop or my Animal Communication Workshop.  Both are held in my Chantilly, VA office.

Personal/family stuff... everyone is good!  Maggie and Sammy are showing a little more grey in their muzzle but are just as silly and feisty as ever!  The Madam Bun is her same diva self and is currently shedding like crazy.  I couldn't figure out why this was until someone on a rabbit FB page said theirs did the same thing because it's warmer in the house than outside.  OH. Didn't even occur to me, so she's on something called Laxitone now to make sure her tummy doesn't get blocked up by her fur, which can be deadly for buns.  I could have already made a sweater from the amount of fur coming off of her!  She will NOT allow me to brush her or use any hair removal device, so I have to patiently and gently pluck all loose fur while making sure I do NOT stop petting her nose, otherwise she jumps right off me and... THUMPS.

The boys are good.  Two big birthdays this year... my youngest, Bren turned 18 in October and likes to bring up the fact that he doesn't need my permission for some things... um... you still live at home, dude.  :D  And Brady just turned 21 yesterday!  I can't believe all of my kids are grown, but at least I have a silly little Grandboo to FaceTime with weekly and go visit.  My daughter Sara and her husband Brad just bought a beautiful new home not too far from where they lived before.  Mike and I are looking forward to visiting soon and seeing it first-hand.  

I'm also very grateful that I recently had the very unexpected opportunity to reconnect with my family whom I hadn't been connected to in 12 years, I think.  A lot has changed, but it has been very calming and healing.  I think sometimes you just have to let the past go and try to grow and evolve in love as life is short.  It takes time, conversations and smiles, but at least that door is open now and that makes me happy.  :)  Plus, they like my jewelry so I have new models for marketing, hehe!  :D

Again, wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2018!  I'll be back in touch soon!

Barb xo

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

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

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

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

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and you were able to spend it with your favorite people!   We had a rather quiet one, which I liked and even had a visit from the grandboo who got his new Paw Patrol walking Max dog.  It's so cute... it's like walking a little stuffed dog.  I'm pretty surprised it lasted as long as it did in this house because Sammy wanted to KILL IT.  

I did a few local holiday jewelry/craft shows and learned my lesson.  Do NOT do middle school or elementary school shows!  They were not advertised well and there just wasn't any traffic.  I'll be focusing more on high schools and larger events this year.  If anyone knows of any local shows that are pretty busy, please let me know, if you don't mind!  Some shows are upwards in the hundreds and is why I didn't participate in them last year.  I appreciate any feedback if you're a NOVA show attendee!  :D

I had lots of custom orders for this holiday, so that was really fun!  They are so fun to make, but make me SO nervous that the size may not come out right, or something isn't absolutely perfect.  Then I remind myself that it's hand-made, and pretty darn OK, if I do say so myself!  Ha!  I look back at my starting pieces and cringe knowing that I should have used stronger wire or metal or should have set something more smoothly.  Now that the custom orders are all done, I get to pick a pretty stone and give it a good home in a silver setting.  A friend and fellow silversmith, Kelli says that and I love it.  I find beautiful stones and give them a forever home, ha!  Kelli from Mothers On The Mountain Jewelry... check her out!

Mike is down and out for a few days after a knee somethingscopy to repair a torn meniscus he's had for about a year.  Actually, last years ginormous snow sealed the deal for that knee.  He's working for a local elections office and had ZERO time to have the surgery done because of the election and the craziness it brought.  The surgery went well and I'm taking a break from being Nurse Barb (not Ratched, I've been nice... so far.  :D) to update my blog and to have a bit of me time!  Phew...  Tomorrow, we get to remove the bandages and get stanky into the shower!

The pups are doing well.  Maggie has had some large weird skin lump that needs to be looked at that again, so she's going to the vet for shots and a check up on that.  They said before that it wasn't cancer and not a parasite, but had no idea.  It never grew, but this year it's been scratched a little and I want it gone.  It's weird and I worry, so I really want to have that removed from her and checked.  Sammy is as goofy as always and is going in soon for his shots, too.  The madam had to have her spay put on hold a bit because we had some massive car problems in the fall, but she'll go in soon to have her physical and to see if she can have her spay.  Hoping that there's no cancer detected, but the anesthesia still freaks me out, especially with older buns.  We have the best rabbit savvy vet, though, so I'm praying she'll be ok when the time comes to spay her soon.  

Other than that, just enjoying some time off and catching up on emails, etc.  New jewelry to make soon after the mister doesn't need as much help.  :)

As far as in person sessions, thank you all for your incredible patience.  I'm plugging through the wait list and will soon be calling people for late Feb/early March appointments.  I will be closing my list for a while tomorrow night, and the update from my website is listed below.

If you are interested in my silly life in pictures and you're on Instagram, follow me here!  I post there pretty regularly!

Happy New Year, everyone!  Much love and a MUCH BETTER 2017, omg.  2016 bit the big one.

Barb xx

*Updated 12/30/16:

Thanks so much for your patience and for your interest in a session with me!  As much as I don't want to, as of 12/31/16 I will need to close my wait list for a while to try to catch up on my current wait list for this year.  As of now, any new sign ups will be booking probably during the fall of 2017.  If you'd like to be on my 2017 wait list, you have until 12/31/16 to jump on it.  I will not be taking any names or any "when you DO open your list, please add me" names after that date until I re-open this list sometime next year.  If you are looking for a medium with a sooner availability, I would recommend Lisa Boslett at www.lisaboslett.com.

A few things to consider first:

*Sessions are done on Friday afternoons only between 3 - 5pm.

*I am conducting all sessions in my Chantilly, VA office.

*I have no idea how long it may be to get to you - possibly fall or so if you sign up now.

*Unless there is an unexpected opening, I'll probably contact you about a month prior to the session.

*I am no longer taking gift certificate orders as I don't know how much longer I'll be taking clients.  

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If you still want an in person session, :) please email me or call with the following info:

1. Your first name

2. Email Address

3. Cell phone number

4. What type session (mediumship or guidance/tarot)

5. What length session (45-60 minute or 30-40 minute)  More info on my services here.

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Again, I will be sure to notify you here and on my blog/FB with any updates.

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*If you've left your information, you're already the list to call.  

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Thanks again for your patience!

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Barb