Here is this weeks Weekly Winners post, as with last week all photos were captured using my new Kodak Cd-1013 Digital Camera.

Here is Alexandria-Maybelle, the bunny. We have had her since way before the move to Evansville. We ended up buying her at the feed and tack store one spring while my mom was visiting us in Flagstaff. We had a bunny, Baby Bunny, prior to Alexandria-Maybelle but because of living situations (the landlord forced us to remove our unauthorized pets from the rental) we had to send her and the cats down to The Ranch to live with my mom for a few months.

Anyway Baby Bunny died (from eating apple core and seed we suspect) and we went several months, almost a year, without a bunny in the home. Then we spotted Alexandria-Maybelle. Here she is in the bottom of her giant cage near her litter box. We aren’t sure what her breed is, probably mixed.

Well, N has been talking about this bunny that was found hippity hopping through the grocery store parking lot that someone he worked with had taken in but could not keep. They were keeping it in a plastic storage bin like this oneand were not able to keep it.

It caught his eye because it was a lop ear and he has always wanted one, plus they weren’t providing it with proper living conditions. Oh and we are also suckers for rescuing pets…

We make our pet decisions together normally and during last week he brought up taking the bunny in again. I was trying hard to not get sucked in to the cuteness of the bunny or any of that because once you do you are screwed.

Don’t get me wrong having a bunny isn’t that difficult, the key is providing it with the proper cage that will both keep your home clean and also keep your pet healthy and safe. Bunnies are cute and cuddly and appealing which is why so many people try to keep them as pets. The thing is they are also animals with needs and should be considered life long additions to your family if you choose to adopt one.

Sometimes bunnies can spray pee outside the sides of a typical rabbit cage, which can in turn stain carpet or dirty walls. Plus, they need a means to get exercise if they are solely indoor rabbits and a cage should provide that unless you plan to take your bunny out of the cage every day and let it play and run. Oh and you’ll also need to supervise it while it is running the house it to insure it doesn’t chew through any power cables on on your walls or something. Lastly, just because they were once wild animals does not mean you can just leave them outside in freezing or smoldering temperatures to fend for themselves, this is just cruel.

So when N brought up the bunny thing I explained that there was no way we could afford another $100+ multilevel cage for a second rabbit. Besides sexing young rabbits is hard and putting two together that are not the same sex (and also unfixed) is just bad news. Every heard the phrase humping like rabbits? They are prolific breeders folks!

I told N that if he was set on taking the rabbit in he would have to construct a cage for the thing that was sufficient for indoor use and also that allowed for exercise. And that is had to be done within days of bringing the new bunny home. Well, let me introduce you to Boner, the bunny.

You are probably wondering “well how does she know it is a he if sexing rabbits is so hard?”. Let me just say that we slowly introduced the two rabbits yesterday and he climbed right on top of Alexandria-Maybelle and started humping her head. When I grabbed him off her his penis was hanging out which very quickly told us he is a male. Plus he has these, balls.

Young rabbits are hard to sex but once they become sexually mature it is a bit more obvious, as you can see. So Now we are keeping Boner and Maybelle separate to avoid baby rabbits, we’ll also have Boner fixed when we find a vet and get some extra money. In the meantime the rabbits will just stay close but be kept apart.

Oh and all the household members are now friends with Boner, here is a video of everyone hanging out last night. Crazy huh?

Register.com sent me and unsolicited email about free domain registeration that they are giving away till 3/25/08. I thought it looked like an interesting deal so I headed over to the site to read the find print.

It is actually free for 1 year from the date of registration (you will need to buy your own hosting plan separate from the domain if you wish to use it), the catch is that they want your credit card information on the account so that when the free year is up they can charge you for a second year and so on. They charge $35.00 for 1 year domain registration!! What a rip off!

I actually do not recommend register.com’s hosting plans to anyone who wishes to have control over their site/ SEO. I used them back in the day and was grossly disappointed. I don’t even recommend them for domain registration because it is way over priced but with a free domain why not use them?

The key is to transfer the domain to another registrar at the end of the year and THEN pay for the next years registration. This is what I plan to do!

I got my free domain registration for customgiftsbytalina.com, I will redirect it to my business site (www.craftedcustomgifts.com) thus reserving my business name as a domain so nobody else can use it and misrepresent the business.

A free domain name could be benificial to you as a blogger. Getting a domain registered and buying a hosting plan means you own your blog. It wont be hosted at a free blogging site (like blogger.com, wordpress.com or MSN spaces) which increases your chance for making money off that blog, plus you have more control!

Free blogs often cannot use all the nifty little plugins (like comment luv) that exist because they are unable to edit template files and so on. Free blogs are free so the capabilities and benefits are often limited. If you are a serious blogger this free domain name offer can launch you into the world of professional blogging/ owning your own site!

If you want ot claim your free domain head over to their promotion page (http://www.register.com/promo/acquisitions_lp_1.rcmx?trkID=EMAoFkNb1W) and get started.. The offer is only good for the week so don’t wait if you want one.

Then mark your calendar and remember to transfer the domain registration to another registrar of your choice before it expires next year!

Many readers have inquired about website hosting plans and services. There are a number of options to choose from and often times the choices can seem overwhelming. I have found another helpful resource for those shopping for web services. If you visit http://www.webhostingchoice.com you will find a very easy to use tool that allows you to search for plans and services that fit your needs. I believe this tool is helpful and will save time with it’s side by side comparisons of services within your search range. If you are looking for information on a number of hosts and services and would like to see them all in one place you would benefit from following the link posted above.

Also, if you are new to site building or if this is your first website you would also benefit from the informative articles the have posted on the site. These informative articles can help to make sense of buying hosting service and a domain.

I just found a great deal for bloggers who wish to market their blogs outside the realm of the internet. You can get 100 FREE business cards, you just pay the shipping cost! These blogger business cards are a great way to market your blog in the “real world”! On ooprint.com you can design your blog business card with their user friendly site, the blogger specific templates allow you to list your blogs main keywords & tags on the business card along with your preferred contact info.

If you are looking for ways to grow your blogs readership real world marketing through blogger business cards is a great idea that you may want to look in to!

Small business & hobby business owners often have a hard time with accounting software. Small companies often do not have the money to buy expensive accounting software and often times they don’t even really need all the bells and whistles that the expensive programs offer. Small business owners care about bookkeeping but often times have a hard time finding a tool that will help them take care of business.

Today I learned about a rather unique company that takes a different approach altogether. They offer a web based accounting program that does the basics in small business accounting. It’s called LessAccounting.com. The idea they have is to offer accounting solutions that get out of your way and let you run your business.

I went over to the site and created a free account just to test our the service. Overall it seems to be beneficial especially for brand new businesses with low volume sales. It’s a great starter program because it is free and you can keep it & use it free as long as you have less than 5 sales, 5 deposits, 5 expenses and 5 proposals to report per month.

The concept is pretty cool, the whole application is web based so you need to be on the internet to input or view any information but it’s easy and great for small businesses!

If you have low volume sales and want an easy approach to accounting this is a great starter program for you and it’s free till your business picks up! Check it out if you need a nice and easy accounting solution!

This last weekend I did my first outdoor 2 day craft show at the 3rd annual Slide Rock Apple Festival. Taking on outdoor events meant I had to make some investments in equipment and supplies that would make my space look good.

We bought an EZ-Up Instant Shelter to protect ourselves and the products from the elements. We had some problems with the EZ-Up but I’ll talk about that in another post. Anyway, I am trying to find some ways to make my booth a bit more inviting and eye catching. Yes, that is my booth in the photo….

I found a company online that make custom table throws and table runners. I thought this was cool because you can get your logo on the table! Also, table clothes are a pretty important part of a booths look and feel and they can be hard to come by. I went to the fabric store and bought 11 yards of black fabric just to barely cover my two 8 ft tables for this last weekends show. Anyway, had I known about the custom table throws and runners I would have considered buying my own logo table throws instead.

If you do craft shows and trade shows you should check out the trade show display items, table covers, posters and more over at www.godfreygroup.com. They have lost of fun and creative ways to merchandise and display your stuff!

For more information visit: Literature Display over at www.godfreygroup.com

Today is the beginning of a new chapter with my business!! I have the state and city business licenses and the tax id applications ready to be mailed back to the appropriate people.. That means I am an official business!

I am also taking all my prepared product over to my new permanent location @ the Flagstaff Swap Meet to get things set up. I joined a co-op organization that makes it possible to display and sell your work without having to pay excessive & costly craft show fees and without having to spend tons of time working various craft booths.

I am excited and stressed at the same time. This weekend is The Cupid’s Craft Show at the Flagstaff Swap Meet and I am worried that I do not have enough products ready for the big event. I have three premade Romantic Message in a Bottle Gifts, two of my new Custom Made Gifts Baskets, three of my brand new Handmade Denim Purses and about three pounds of my Homemade Fudge I am also interested in what business will be like in our co-op booth and if I will turn a profit… This is an interesting experience that I hope to learn much from! I’ll post more about how things went after this weekend!!