8/6/09

Called the neurologist's office about Lukas' MRI and EEG, they've got the test results back but they have to have someone call me back to tell me the results. Sheesh, so now I get to wait and try not to think about it. No wonder my stomach hurts.

UPDATE: Ok, now I can settle down a little. The nurse called, the EEG came back normal and the MRI showed no new findings. So there's no reason they can see that Lukas' seizures started up again. So on we go, and I've got to get back to making beads and make some money so we can pay for those tests :(

8/5/09

We'll start with the feel-good part of my blog first, bird photos!!, and then we'll get the dirty part, updates on the Wacko from Waco (actually Woodway).

Here's a young male Baltimore Oriole, like a little kid with a messy face, he has grape jelly smeared on his beak :) I love watching these birds, they squabble like little kids and when a bumblebee is on the jelly, they just pick it up with their beak and fling it off! They are such a hoot.
And now to the latest news from the (snicker, snicker) 'online fraud investigation' blog:
Unique Gemstones by Nora, a Texan again, who sells gemstones. Oh, I was drooling looking at some of her faceted briolettes, barbarian at heart that I am.
And Danielle of Live Laugh Love Soap, a soapmaker from Florida. She makes some interesting sounding soap, go check out her shop.

The snickering came from reading on her blog, "Everyone has a right to know the REAL TRUTH! We will NEVER post or list any business unless we feel they are pursueing fraudulent online business practices. Our investigations might take months, weeks, or days, but we WILL get to the bottom of it!" Dang, talk about living a lie! (She also needs to learn how to spell.)

UPDATE: Wow! Look at this website. Dang! It's all out in the open there. Honestly, I really shouldn't be smirking, because I still do feel a bit sorry for her. I can't imagine living such a mean, spiteful life. But she's hurt so many people, not because they were doing anything wrong, simply for her idea of revenge.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Oh this is hilarious!! Someone just pointed it out to me, Danielle opened her Etsy shop in April 2009, and this is what the Wacko posted on her fraud blog, "We have informed the IRS about this Fraud online business, livelaughlovesoap, Danielle W.. for her upcoming 2009 filing." She's wasting government money on reporting people for possibly not reporting their taxes in 2010.

8/4/09

Nothing new from the Wacko from Waco, other than her rehashing old victims. Either she's up to more deviltry or more likely, the law is starting to catch up with her.

(Edited to add: Whoops, the Wacko was quite busy today. She added 4 more victims to her hit list:
Gina of GMC Lampwork
Candice of Beadgoodies and Beadgoodies on Etsy
Charity of Sophiecls and Subearthcottage
Stephanie Kay of Stephaniek on Etsy and Stephanie K Naturals

Where does Wacky get all of this time? Oh well, the more she posts, the more evidence against her.)

So today I'm posting more bird photos. The Baltimore Orioles have been gobbling down the grape jelly. I was down to 2 jars of my homemade jelly and had to have Christian pick up a big jar at the grocery store. I really liked this photo, just the pose, and the bad hair day :)
And when I saw this bird, I had to grab the bird book. It is a female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
Well, off to make some more beads...

8/2/09

The Wacko from Waco strikes again, Peaches4me and daisydog7, both with shops on Etsy. She still blasts out in caps and bold letters that these people have no business Paypal account. So what? A lot of businesses don't even HAVE a Paypal account. She continues to think that you need a business Paypal account to sell online. Duh!!

I find it interesting that Wacky seems to be concentrating on people from Texas. She must have gotten too frustrated trying to file false reports in states that don't have the same laws as Texas.

7/31/09

This is great! Someone set up a blog that looks exactly like her's,
http://artisantruthreport.blogspot.com/

Whoever took the time to set this up, THANK YOU!!

7/31/09

ROFLOL, I found the archived ArtFire thread that Wacky started with all of her posts, which were taken out of the active thread when ArtFire closed her account.

What is SOOOO hilarious, she posted "before you write something and show the world what you are about, make sure what you are talking about or heard of is %100 REAL!" She really should take her own advice. I especially like where she said "(oh by the way, if you would like to find out who these people are...anyone out there who has ever used MY NAME with words of FRAUD associated with it without EVER having in their hands ANY LEGAL GOVERNMENTAL PROOF about my business in the past and present, is one heck of moral character and is now in GOOGLE FOREVER for people to see...LOL!" Yup, she's in Google forever now.

ETA: Ah, darn it, the link is gone! I should have copied the whole thing.

7/31/09

Latest update from Waco, "We have reported over 100 home-based studios of online sellers to their COUNTY TAX ASSESSORS."

We're in a recession, with government agencies laying off people and cutting hours, and this woman is filing false reports!?!

In Sherburne County, you don't pay business property taxes unless you are a commercial business, which I sure am not. There are certain requirements to qualify as commercial, and I don't see hiring people to clean my half dozen beads a day, or putting a big sign up on the end of the driveway advertising that I am a beadmaker (which about 3 people would see, since we're off a dead end road which ends in a cul-de-sac), and my studio sure doesn't take 25% of my home (good heavens, hubby would have something to say about that!), I don't have items for sale that can be seen from the street (same reason, oh, did I mention my house is set on the backside of 45 acres) nor do I have customers coming to my home (sorry, I like my privacy, which is why I LOVE the Internet, and besides, I don't feel like having to rescue people from my dogs), I don't have any equipment that would be noisy and disturb the neighbors (the roosters crowing at 5 a.m. might, but since they're not part of my beadmaking, we'll let them pass, or we will until fall when they're going into the freezer) and a half dozen other things.

OK, done with the rant. It just shows that she is willing to do anything to damage people who are successful in the area where she failed: making our own lovely beads (and from the tags on her blog, candlemakers, knitters and crocheters, jewelers, purse makers, quilters, and soapmakers.) and doing so honestly!

Well, I filed a report on her last night with the FBI's Internet Crime Division. With a hundred victims, somebody from the government is going to start noticing pretty soon.

7/30/09

OK, back to the Wacko from Waco, another talented artist on her hit list, Sandy. This woman creates the most amazing wirewrapped insects. You have to see her spider, oh my gosh!

And Wacko is still making a big deal out of not having a business Paypal account. What part of 'You don't need a business Paypal account to sell online' does she not understand? And she makes a huge deal out of Sandra not having it posted on her website that she needs to collect sales tax from Texas residents. Hmmm, I don't see anything on Wacko's website about collecting sales tax. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

7/30/09

Taking a quick break from the Wacky from Waco drama, I had 4 young Baltimore Orioles at my feeder this morning, squabbling over the grape jelly like little kids. Here's one of the young ones drinking from the hummingbird feeder, and then there's a photo of a male, in all his beautiful color.

7/29/09

Latest victim of the Wacko from Waco/Woodway, Anne of AMR Glassworks, a very nice, very talented beadmaker. U seems to be mostly picking on fellow Texans, probably because the laws vary from state to state, and she's getting frustrated by getting brushed off by the government agencies of the other states she's been trying to report to. U continues to make a big deal out of people not having a business Paypal account. She just doesn't seem to understand that you don't even NEED a Paypal account to sell online.

7/28/09

Oh, my goodness, the little witch did call our county tax assessor's office. I talked to the first lady she talked to. What a hoot!! She tried telling U that our county didn't have the same law that she was trying to get me into trouble for, but she just wouldn't take no for an answer. She said U asked if they didn't care that I was selling online out of my home, and she told U they weren't concerned with it as long as I pay my property taxes. U was insistent on talking with the assessor (she just didn't think that was right!), so I've got a call into her voice mail to see if U talked to her. Can you imagine someone calling a out-of-state government agency telling them they need to follow the rules from HER state?

U lives in her own little world, where everyone else needs to live by HER rules, whether they're lawful or not.

Oh, and here are a couple of more links to look at. Please notice the dates of the sale and ask yourself how she could be in Milano, Italy making beads, Etsy bead store, and making cookies in Waco, Texas, Etsy cookie shop.

And welcome, Aimee of Lakeside Lampworkwork and Traci of Tracidawn78, talented beadmakers, and Laura of ladedacreations to U's victim list.

7/27/09

More articles about U:
Ebay Power Sellers acticle
Consumer Reports article

Also, her twitter account, TaxEvaderWatch have been shut down.

She's gone after another talented lampworker, Ginny at www.ginnovations.com and ginnovations.etsy.com. I feel very honored to be in a group of such talented beadmakers.

And this is SOOOOO hilarious!! She's reporting us to our county tax assessors for not paying business property taxes. What world does she live in? My house is not zoned as a business so I don't HAVE to pay business property taxes!

I'm curious as to why she tried buying a bead from my Etsy shop today, under the name 'concerned.' I cancel the sale and refunded her money. She's been doing this to other beadmakers too.

7/27/09

Update on the wacko, http://www.handmadeartisanfraud.blogspot.com/
Her new blog, http://handmadelampworkartistfraudinvestigation.wordpress.com/ has been shut down for violations of their terms of service. Awwww, U, so many lies catch up with a person.

I find her very puzzling. She was making and selling enough of her own beads, why did she have to buy other people's beads and sell them as her own? Was she so stupid to think that she could pass such distinctive beads off as her own and not have someone notice? And then when confronted with proof, she attacked the beadmakers. As a result of her fraud, her Etsy shop was closed down and she was banned from Etsy, and her unlicensed bakery in Waco, Texas was shut down. At that point, I actually felt sorry for her. When she opened her ArtFire shop, I figured she deserved a second chance. But then when she started her thread on ArtFire, https://www.artfire.com/modules.php?mop=modload&name=Chatterbox&file=viewtopic&topic=14749&forum=1 (all of her comments have been taken out by ArtFire), she again went on the offensive when people started questioning her. Now that ArtFire has closed her shop and banned her from ArtFire, she has become rather pathetic, attacking beadmakers and people who spoke out on ArtFire.

Twitters from U: "what ever u do, at the end YOU will pay $, not me..hahahah"

"uh oh, FRAUD Lydia Muell got so scared, she is not selling on Etsy nor her website, FINALLY the reality kicks in, she will be audited soon"

"its not important to be on google(good or bad), each business move you make in the future, will be watched by IRS"

"continue trying to shut the blogs and waste your time like, we are off to reporting your FRAUD business to the IRS and authorities"

"Being audited by IRS will cost you lots of $$$, instead of trying to desperately get a GOOD name in google, get a attorney for ur tax audit"

The last one is such a laugh!! Good name?!? That's the kettle calling the pot black. Lydia Muell is one of the most talented, nicest bead artists you can find, http://www.lampworktreasures.com/home.html

In one of her Twitter posts, she ends it with God help you. Well, my God has helped me to forgive her. I feel sorry for her, with her life of lies, deceit, spite and anger.

7/26/09

Latest on the Wacko from Waco (actually, her mailing address is Woodway, TX), she is buying beads from beadmakers on Etsy by opening up sockpuppet accounts. There's conjecture on why she is doing this, from being able to leaving negative feedback to getting Paypal information on the seller.

7/24/09

OK, I am REALLY pissed! I've become the target for the Wacko from Waco.

She got into trouble last year on Etsy because she 'allegedly' (I've been advised to use the word allegedly to protect myself legally) was buying other people's beads, and then selling them as made by her. Here are links about that:

http://etsynews.com/698/allegations-of-fraud-on-etsy/

http://www.skyisland.com/blog/2008/june/international_criminal_my_own_backyard

http://moreglassmusings.blogspot.com/2008/06/ulljas-lampwork-blog-about-beads.html

http://pussdaddyblogs.blogspot.com/2009/07/bitter-party-of-one.html

http://themermaidtale.blogspot.com/2008/06/merlot-and-email.html

http://dancingwinddesigns.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/lampwork-fraud-on-etsy-and-ebay/

http://etsybitch.blogspot.com/2008/06/dont-let-door-hit-you-in-ass-on-way-out_15.html

Recently she opened a shop on ArtFire selling beads, and then started a thread that she was starting to bake again. That's when people started asking her questions about her past practices, and she went on the attack, claiming mobs of people were after her. ArtFire closed her shop and all of her posts were removed, which is why the next link seems to be disjointed. All it consists of is questions to her and replies to her comments.

https://www.artfire.com/modules.php?mop=modload&name=Chatterbox&file=viewtopic&topic=14749&forum=1

So in revenge, she has been gathering people's names from that thread and lampworkers on LampworkEtc., which I belong to, and reporting them to the local authorities as not being licensed (which I am). And she also claims I don't have a business Paypal account. I don't. I have a Premier account. Why she thinks I have to have a business account, I'm not sure.

Here are some of the people she's attacked (I'm in good company).

Ashton Jewels and here's her Etsy shop

Vanilla Bean Baker

cctexan

Double Dipped Sweets

Goatmountainarts

She is such a stinker!

7/23/09

I love this time of the year. I have birds all over the place, swallows, bluebirds, woodpeckers, house finches, goldfinches, blue jays, chickadees and my favorite, Baltimore Orioles. I had 5 young Baltimore Orioles at the feeder this morning. Here's three of them:

7/22/09

I see it's been a while since I posted! Just been busy. Last week it was to St. Paul to Gillette for Lukas' annual neurologist visit. He was concerned about Lukas' seizures starting up after almost 3 years without one, even though the last one was in April about a week after he increased the meds again, and it was just a breakthough seizure. So today I took Lukas down to Minneapolis, where they did an MRI and an EEG. The MRI was the worst; they needed to inject a dye, and the first tech was digging in his arm with the needle until I told her to stop. So she put hot packs on his hand and let that sit for a half hour, then another tech came in and got the needle in without too much digging. I hate it when they have to put IVs in him, his veins are so hard to find. The EEG went fine; he fell asleep during it. Now it's waiting until the results come back...

Long day! I just did the bills and we have a little over $500 to last until the end of next month, so I'm off to make some beads.

7/10/09

And here's another one of my favorites:

7/8/09

And here's another couple of my beads that I really like:


And here's a bead from one of my favorite lampworkers, Lydia Muell, http://www.lampworktreasures.com/home.html. She makes such BEAUTIFUL beads!!

7/7/09

OK, here's the best I could get of the male Baltimore Oriole. He wasn't very cooperative!



And here's a set of Aurae beads that I'm going to put on eBay this weekend. Every once in a while, I'll get a green tinge instead of the pink-violet. It all depends on how much oxygen it gets in relationship to the propane and how cool it gets before flashing it back into the flame. And this set has a lot of striations in it too. Very, very tricky!