Monday, November 21, 2011

Not quitting my day job

To put it mildly, this weekend was a kick to my ego's crotch. While Kara and Alyssa finished 50-mile races and Gina, Amanda, and Kari finished half and full marathons, I took a punch to the gut by trying to finally run 8 consecutive miles. I tried to let all of the above people be my inspiration.

Here's where I think my downfall was: three forced rest days in a row last week followed by a kick-ass spin class and weights workout with minimal stretching on Friday does not make for a good run on Saturday. My legs were refusing to go and, oh man, the pain. My inner and outer thighs were refusing my attempts at begging. I was forced to quit at about 4.5 miles. I feel so defeated!

Even wearing an awesome outfit didn't help.























...and today I'm going to spinning class since it's the last day of classes for the rest of the week, and then I am going to expect the rest of the week's runs to be successes. Hard-headed? Probably.



















And now, how did the holiday shop go, you ask? Well, Amanda and I went in thinking it was going to be a roaring success. Our "goal" was to make $200. I had spent the last three weeks making Noodle Huggers and pet collars like I was one of Santa's elves. I was trying to be so prepared for this thing, I've let cleaning the house go by the wayside and now I can't STAND the mess! But it's ok because I was going to make enough money to afford Christmas!

We got in and set up our table, which took a whole...15 minutes. We literally sat around watching everyone else set up their tables for two hours.

The left side

















The right side


















Finally, 12:00 came and people started trickling in. We sat and watched...and watched...and watched no one come over and buy a single item. I began to realize that this crowd was...well...not fun (read: snooty and pompous). No one understood the whimsy of my items. I got so sick of hearing "What's a Noodle Hugger?". It was clearly explained on the sign AND I told everyone that showed any interest, "they're non-slip headbands". Now, if someone at a craft show told me that, I'd be all over it, especially with all the designs. I'd get this weird look and then they'd walk away. I'm pretty sure the connection between "noodle" and "head" was completely lost on these people (or maybe it's because they're noses were too high up in the air to be at all imaginative).

Around 2pm I told Amanda that if it didn't pick up by 3:30, we're just going to leave then and not stick around til 4 to get stuck in the crowd of everyone packing up to leave, with all their money. So, as my suspicions expected, we got no sales in that time and we packed it up at 3:30. The organizer lady came around wanting to know why we were leaving early. I told her because we just aren't selling anything so we're going to leave. She goes, "It looks really bad for the other vendors if there's an empty table". And if my brain worked faster, I would have then told her, "There may as well have been an empty table here!" and then I'd have stomped on her foot and ran away. I'm pretty sure I won't be invited back next year. DARN!!

I had to pay $25 for the spot at this show and I didn't even make my money back. Yeah. It was that bad.

The theme of my weekend? DEFEAT



Did YOU have a better weekend??

Do you like to wear colorful running clothes or is it just me?

15 comments:

  1. Oh man, what a rough weekend! What a stupid "holiday shoppe" if people didn't even want to buy cute collars for their snotty rich person dogs!

    Also, you will have a good run soon. Just don't think about other people running double digits and that will make it easier.

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  2. Oh no! I'm sorry it didn't go well :(

    I had a successful 10k this past weekend! I am looking forward to the Hot Chocolate in less than two weeks!

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  3. That sucks.....I say it has to be for the right "crowd".....say someone who doesn't want to spend a fortune on a good headband or collar!! Don't let it discourage you. I would try again, maybe a different venue.

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  4. Awww so sorry you had a rough weekend. That must be so frustrating. But, this weekend is a holiday, and after that - Hot Chocolate blogger epic meetup! At least you have that to look forward to!

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  5. That's absolutely ridiculous! What is wrong with people?

    I did finish the half, but it was a crappy run, so you're not alone. We'll both have good runs soon! PLUS we'll get to hang out soon. Booya!

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  6. Sorry you had a bad time...I would have totally bought a headband from you if I was there. What's not to love?? I'm sorry your potential customers were too dumb to see the geniusness behind the name "noodle huggers"

    Sorry you had a bad run, too. It happens to all of us! At least you were running in style! I think I have that same green hat, btw. Does it have a shorter bill than most hats? If so, that's the one I have! I hope this week goes better than your weekend!

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  7. That really stinks that the craft fair didn't go well. It's really hard to believe that you got such a poor response. That crowd must have something up their butts.

    You should have told them that noodle huggers are something rich stupid people use to show their spaghetti some love...

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  8. Ugh what is wrong with people!? Bummer on not selling anything clearly they did not know a great thing when they saw it.

    Awesome outfit btw.

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  9. What a bummer! How could not be interested? I mean...most people have heads. And dogs.

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  10. Boooo on those asshats for ignoring your table. And you shoulda told that woman off. I'm going to order a headband tomorrow because I am far too tired to get out of bed and get my debit card tonight. I can't wait for owls!

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  11. People suck and I'm sorry it was a crappy experience :( Hang in there! With the runs (haha, the runs - 12 yr old boy humor), I just try to remember that every time I have a bad one, I'm that much closer to the next good one!

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  12. Oh I am so sorry! I love your headbands! I let my neighbor borrow one and I am pretty sure she is ordering some from you because she loved it so much! I'll keep spreading the word about how great they are!

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  13. Try not to get discouraged about your lack of sales. Maybe try to spread the word at your gym that you make and sell the no slip bands? (that's how sweaty bands got their start!) and if you have any friends that sell any of the at home stuff (pampered chef, premier jewelry, mary kay, etc) see if you can join them for some of their home parties.

    And lastly, don't force running. If it's not your thing, that's totally ok!

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  14. Oh no, sorry it didn't go well! Can't believe that lady said that to you guys.

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  15. Your table looks great! I can't believe people didn't take advantage of your low prices and that the woman told you leaving would make the other vendors look bad.

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