I was saddened to receive an email today about one of our readers who passed away at the end of February. She was one of my Internet friends from way back in 2001, and we even roomed together at one of the early trips I took to Montréal, Canada for a series of annual charity events. She was 84 and lived a long life, although not without its difficulties. She was one of my biggest "fans" from that time in my life, and I will miss her very much. <3 <3 <3 On a more upbeat note, I survived another NAET treatment this weekend. The last one was 75 percent successful; I am only partially cleared of allergic reactions to certain kinds of nuts, so I will have to repeat that treatment at a later date. However, I am fully cleared for a second nut mix, as well as both spice mixes we treated. YAY! We also reviewed some of my previous treatments, and I am fully cleared of reactions to yeast, sugar, eggs, and milk. This weekend, I was treated for bacteria, certain corn products, wheat products, and chocolate. I only recently learned that chocolate gives me headaches, so I decided to deal with that ASAP! ;) We had attempted to clear me using a grain mix before, but that didn't fully take. I'm hoping that by addressing the corn and wheat mixes directly, we will alleviate that issue. Believe it or not, staying away from chocolate, wheat, and corn were not that difficult, since I pretty much avoid them anyway. The bacteria was harder, as I could not use water unless it was distilled or boiled and cooled -- which also ruled out drinking carbonated drinks, milk, and fruit juice -- and I had to avoid toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, and mouthwash for 25 hours. I prefer to have the treatments as early on Saturday morning as possible, so that by the time I wake up on Sunday it's all over. :p My next appointment is May 5, and I think I will attempt to complete the nuts treatment (again), as well as a treatment for vegetables. I will most likely have to repeat the bacteria test, as it only cleared 50 percent before I left her office. That usually means it won't get much better than that. :\ Hopefully, I will only need a few more treatments...I still have to address berries and then retry the original six calcium-related items, including oxalic acid. Since my overall issue is with calcium oxalates, we attempted that test three times, but never fully cleared them all. I'm hoping that by addressing other groups first and clearing those, that by the time we get back to the calcium groups, the problem will be significantly diminished and potentially curable. Fingers crossed! ;) My accountant called me this week about my income taxes. He was concerned that my reported losses might send up a red flag to the IRS that my business is really a hobby, and hobby losses are not deductible. He wanted to warn me that they could audit me if they become suspicious that I am masking a hobby as a business. I told him that my business was only two years old in October 2011, so losses -- especially in this economy -- shouldn't be a surprise. I am also only working part-time...if I were working full-time and trying to maintain my business, I could see them viewing it as a hobby. I do realize that the IRS may not think logically, so I still may have to face an audit. The good news is that I cut my expenses by almost a third in 2011, so in that regard I did well! LOL And I finally learned the difference between the State of New Jersey and Federal income taxes -- the State of New Jersey does not deduct losses against income, so any losses my company incurred last year don't count! The accountant said they have been trying to address the issue with legislation to make things easier for small businesses for years, but I won't hold my breath. I wonder what the rules for income taxes in California are? That may be another reason to relocate to San Diego. ;) A coworker is interested in having me make a necklace for her this week, and wants to show three necklaces I made previously to her daughters. Another coworker liked a pair of earrings I wore last week, and will buy them this week. :) Things are coming along, slowly but surely. I've decided to register as a vendor for a Networking Charity Brunch Image Forum in Denville, NJ that is hosted by a local plastic surgeon's office. I was invited to the event she held in February, but I was leery because I didn't know what kind of turnout she has or what the vending competition is like. I had thought about attending as a visitor to scope it out first, but something else came up that day and I never got there. I bit the bullet and wrote a check yesterday for a table. It's only $39, and I figure the clientele of a plastic surgeon in Morris County probably has more discretionary income than my usual customers. If it doesn't work out, at least I tried. I just hope I can sell enough inventory to make it worth my while to reprice, package, and schlep everything to and from the event. :o Once I get officially accepted, I'll post more information about it. :) Oh, yeah! I've moved back up to the #1 jewelry-making expert position on Knoji (formerly known as Factoidz), thanks to some recommendations from a group of Facebook friends! I was briefly the #1 expert the first year I joined, then quickly went back down to the #2 spot. I think I briefly went down to #3, but that didn't last long. Apparently, there are 17 of us writing in that category. I posted a new article this week, by the way: How To Create A Beaded Netting Fringe. It was adapted from one of my Focal Piece of the Month items from the end of last year...I'd previously updated the draft, but forgot all about it! :o Speaking of Focal Piece articles, the new one for this month is up. ;) And I've already completed the piece for next month! I just have to draft the story, so I'm a little bit ahead of the game right now. :)
I've got a busy week coming up, so I'd better start getting ready for it! Take care and have a great week! :D
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