Figuring things out...

The sun is back in our lives in full force. The last few days have actually been warm. That's the great thing about Colorado...the sun is out for an average 300 or so days a year so we can actually get outside and enjoy the snow.

The last of the green is slowly fading away though...

So I spent a lot of time discussing my business, time management, scheduling and overall happiness with my husband over the last few days. I know many of you have gone through (and are still going through) this process and I welcome any additional tidbits of wisdom that you may have on the subject. But what I have realized which you all may think is quite humorous that I just figured this out is that I am not a machine. I was so fixated on successful growth that I was working at all odd hours of the day and week to accomplish this. Well, the realization about the subject is this: having an efficient schedule will still allow me to grow, but with one big inclusion....it is sustainable. Working all over the place with no personal time for me is not something I can sustain. I put too much pressure on myself and now it is time to evolve into a more efficent and happy me. ;)

So with my husband's help we mapped out a better schedule that is still focused on growth, but that makes sense and allows for me to have an overall balance in my life. I'm excited about it and I think it will work well. I don't want to say that I regret anything I have done in the last 6 months, but rather I am learning as I am going!

So now that I have tucked that away (for now!! I know it may rear its ugly head again in the future and I will again need to fix and make changes!) I will share a picture of my two little animals that have been happily prancing around our house in full garb since yesterday!

Where the wild things are indeed!

Have a great weekend!! ;)

p.s. One of things that I have decided, that makes the most sense right now, is to shelve the opening of my Etsy photography shop until after the new year. It needs more time that I can give it and so marking it off my short-term to-do list eliminates another stress that I am very grateful not to have!

Who I am

For the last six months I have left behind an important facet of my life. I have mentioned in past posts my struggle with balance in my work and personal life. Is there a difference? I think they are one in the same actually. But what I have done in this last year is submerge myself in my art to accomplish two things: improve my craft and develop my business. And not that I need to remind you of this, but I also became wrapped up completely in this because this is not a profession I am forcing myself in....rather I am excitedly choosing this path.

I know I am rambling again, but I had another 'not so great day' and I know that I am hitting a wall. It is my own doing, and I know how to fix it. (okay fix is a strong word....'work on making things better' is a more appropriate statement.)

Those who know me, know that exercise and health (for at least the last 12 years) has been a very big interest and an important part of who I am. I love how it makes me feel. I love the idea of being in control of my health. I love it so much I have even entertained the thought in the past of being a trainer or yoga instructor.

I think this is why I have dealt with so many wild mood swings lately as well as fatigue. Exercise makes me stronger and healthier in my mind. I have let this go for too long. I am going to make this a priority again because for all the excuses I have for not having time to run, lift weights or make it to my yoga class, I am actually just piling on the much-wanted(riiiiight) stress!!

I am a work in progress.......see you tomorrow ;)

p.s. Tropic Thunder gets a big thumbs down....we didn't even finish watching the movie! Disappointing....

It has arrived

Right after I wrote in my blog yesterday this happened:


It started snowing at 10 pm or so last night and it hasn't stop since! It is actually not that cold out though...the mister and my oldest monkey spent a good amount of time playing outdoors this afternoon (no school today....or tomorrow).

I snapped a picture of them playing in the park across the street.

My house is in there somewhere....

Besides my little outing snapping pictures, I've spent the rest of the time cozy and indoors with my multiple cups of tea and coffee ;)

I do think it is incredibly beautiful...I am ready for the snow and cold. I don't want warm weather right now. I like sweaters and scarves and boots! Of course come February I've had enough and want to break out the shorts, tank tops and sandals. ;)

Besides taking pictures and drinking my favorite hot beverages (wink, wink :), I made these two custom order pieces this week:

I also completed a custom order 'Dark Cherry amber ring' today. I am going to make me one of those next week!

So I am celebrating a milestone tonight with a glass of Vitiano and a movie....see you tomorrow :)

Winter is coming...

A storm is rolling in tonight and we are supposed to get quite a bit of snow from now through Thursday.

It feels wintery...

I know I'm weird, but I really do like this weather.

Although I like this season , I think it has an odd effect on me. My hands have been dragging in my workshop lately. I feel like all I want to do is curl up in bed with a cup of tea and read. Either that or stare at the sky and daydream. There is something about overcast cloudy days that puts me into a very introspective mood. Not gloomy...just thoughtful. I am working though, just not with a spring in my step. This will pass soon I'm sure. I am always very keen to get into my workshop, so that is a good sign. I guess I just feel like hibernating for a bit ;)

I'll have some pictures of new jewelry to post over the next few days....see you tomorrow!

Another random post

So I am drinking my ritual pre-bed tea it's usually Sleepytime or Chamomile tea and just wrapping up everything for the day. It's only 8:30 pm, but I usually like to get to bed around now because I need time to unwind. I am really working on making more time for myself...I have really been realizing the importance of personal time and how beneficial it is for my mental well-being. Even though I am so incredibly excited to work, I don't want to hit a wall down the line. Balance is important. So I have carved out an hour or two before bed to read and look at magazines.

Before I go I want to share a few things. First of all, my mom curated a treasury this evening that includes this lovely sweater:

And I found this gorgeous dress last week from this shop:

I love fall and winter clothing. This dress would be adorable with a pair of knee high boots!

Okay, and one more thing before I go....

This is the movie we watched this weekend:

Loved it! It is not humor for everyone, though, that's for sure ;) If you've seen it already, you'll know what I am talking about. I really dig Guy Ritchie's directing style....I have already seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, as well as RocknRolla and I loved those movies as well. I can't wait to see his upcoming Sherlock Holmes flick with Robert Downey Jr. Here is a link to that preview.

Alright, off to bed....goodnight!

Rings and Update

Here are some close-up pictures of the rings I made over the last few days. They are not in the shop yet. I can make more of the first two because I have more of each cabochon, but the last one is an OOAK (one of a kind) ring.

Petite Botswana Agate ring

I'll be making this one in different shades of amber...I like the simple design. I am also going to make myself one next week too!

Dark Cherry Amber ring

Brazilian Agate ring

I really love rings and it seems like they are what most of my customers are drawn to as well. I sell them more than earrings or necklaces, which is funny because the silversmith I learned my craft from, specifically told me that rings were not big sellers. Although now that I have just started selling at fairs I have noticed that earrings are what draws the most interest at my booth. Interesting......:)

Tonight is a short post because I have to pack all of my jewelry and supplies for tomorrow's Christmas fair that I am participating in down in Denver. I will have an abbreviated list of items for sale in my shop tomorrow, just like I have done in the past. In the morning I will make the changes and add a shop announcement.

I'll be back on Sunday with details and pictures....

Have a good weekend!

Amala

Almost a week ago I came across a flickr group called Finding Beauty in the Pure and Simple via Mrs. French's flickr page. The group belongs to Amala, a skincare line that uses sustainable, organic ingredients. I joined the group and added a few of my own pics....the group is intended for sharing photos of beauty that we see in the pure and simple, according to their words.

So I added a couple of pictures from around the house that I have shared on this blog. Well, what do you know, the next day I have a message from Amala telling me that they used my pumpkin picture in their blog!

How neat is that? They included a link to my etsy shop in the post and they are also sending me an 'Amala surprise' for using my picture!

As it happens, Bliss is also having an Amala giveaway that you can check out here. So, I am very excited to try my 'gift' and I definitely want to order something soon. :) I spent some time perusing their website this afternoon reading about their products and process for making them.

By the way, I used to have a link to my flickr page here on the blog and I need to bring it back soon. For now, you can access it by clicking here.

Okay, I'll be back tomorrow with some new rings.......bye!

Pumpkin Pie

I had pumpkin pie for dinner yesterday...with coffee (decaf, but still freshly ground and scrumptious). Why? Because, I think, sometimes its good to celebrate nothing at all. ;) That was the most exciting thing that happened to me yesterday, and since I didn't want to bore you with a one sentence blogpost, I decided to skip an appearance here. I hope you don't mind!

Today, however, was fun because I had another dance party with my almost 2 year old (which consists of a lot of jumping on the bed action) and a good ol' session of this:

All mothers are biased, but I think my boys are so dang adorable :)

So, today I finally sent out the newsletter. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the delay! We've really been juggling 10,000 balls, but it was finally hot off the press this morning. If you didn't receive it for some reason (we did get a couple of bounce-back emails) please send me an email again and I'll get it out to you.

And because it has been at least a few days since I made a music reference of any sort in my blog ;).....I am including another video in today's post. I know for some of you it may seem odd that I bring up different music artists with such frequency here, but you have to understand that I ALWAYS listen to this music while I am working, so to me, it is incredibly relevant. I couldn't possibly just sit here in my studio and work to the sound of crickets. Seriously....I would be so unhappy. Music keeps me humming and moving and dancing, while working....but more importantly it makes me happy.

And so does her music....

VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

Goodnight....:)

Shop update complete

My new jewelry is up....finally! It took me the entire day. Of course that is because I multi-task. I got a lot of other business done in between listings, although posting new jewelry is always such a big endeavor.

So here is some of what went up in the shop today. I didn't want to inundate you with a list of all of them ;)

This one is named after my sister :)

Mission complete.....tomorrow more jewelry! I am participating in a Christmas fair this Saturday in Denver that I have to prepare for and there are a few other exciting developments that I will let you in on in a few days ;)

See you tomorrow....

Happiness and Crankiness

We hung out at Pearl Street again this evening. It was fun....and not fun. The fun part was more at the beginning of our evening. We walked around, the kids played and we found this really interesting group 'performing' capoeira, which is a Brazilian martial arts/art form. You really should click here to see this in action. The boys watched it as if they were in a trance. The music was really cool too.

My little monkey liked this guy.
The big monkey did not, and he didn't want his little brother to like him either! So we quickly moved on after mommy snapped a picture.

So the part that was not fun was when we were searching for a place to eat (it needed to be patio seating so that when the boys got antsy they could move around and play with us watching them), which took far too long, and led to hunger-induced irritation. This feeling was felt by every single family member. The monkeys began to be mean to their parents and eachother. And I was NOT in the mood to deal with it. So we quickly bought pizza and sat on a bench because empty stomachs are no laughing matter. After that, all was well with the world ;)

Okay, so here is my tray of shiny things that will be posted tomorrow. I will be busy all morning getting them into my Etsy shop. Keep an eye out ;)

Quick sidenote: A Mighty Heart was a really good and thought-provoking film. Be prepared for it to be a serious and non-light hearted movie. I also suggest not looking up information about the story until after the film....this way it is a bit more suspensful. I remembered some tidbits about it from the past, but not fully. I of course hopped on the computer after, to read more. I tend to do that for most films I like :)

I finished....

...this week's batch of baubles! I'll show them to you tomorrow. I prefer to take the pictures in natural light....otherwise the color looks really washed out.

So I bought a couple of pumpkins to put up on my front porch from a local farmer's market. They are replacing the little pumpkin my parents brought me from their garden because a little thief squirrel took off with it. He is already chomping on my new ones :( Let's see how long these last...

Aren't these bright red leaves beautiful? They have fallen from my neighbor's tree...I'm not used to seeing red leaves in the fall. We usually just get the bright yellow kind in New Mexico.

Like this.

I love fall :)

Okay, time to go watch our movie....we're going to see A Mighty Heart tonight. I think we are due for some comedies now. The last three have been serious and dramatic.

I'll be back tomorrow with new jewelry!

Daydreaming

I want to curl up on this bed and read for a few days....

(found via Bliss)

...and perhaps drink some coffee and tea throughout the day as well. Freshly baked muffins wouldn't hurt either ;)

I'm off to bed....early!

Fall and Fog

It was a very foggy morning...

As I was taking my wee one to school this morning I snapped a few photos of this dark and dream-like morning...

And then the light began to shine through and...

I found this beautiful country road. I would love to live down a road like this.

I have a split personality when it comes to living though.....I would love to live in the heart of a bustling city like Copenhagen, Barcelona, New York, etc., where I wouldn't need a car, just a bike. Where I could walk a few hundred yards to my favorite cafe, florist, bookstore, restaurant and pub. Yet....I also love, with just as much enthusiasm, a quiet cabin in the woods or in a small town where life is about the natural environment.

Okay...........I've decided. I want both!! ;) a girl can dream!

Later, I took a walk with my youngest to our park and we noticed that since our little snow weekend many of the leaves had left their roost and were now scattered along the ground. We crunched around and shuffled a bit in them.....nothing like walking with a child to make you stop. And look.....

It was a nice day :)

goodnight!

Smells like vinegar...

I don't hopefully!! Well maybe I actually do...hard to tell!

I have been busy working in my shop the last few days and the pickle (cleaning agent for silver to remove residue from soldering) that I use is vinegar and kosher salt. I heat it up high in my crockpot so needless to say the stench of vinegar is everywhere around me down here! On a bit of a side note, I used to use an acid as my pickle (most metalsmiths do) but I found forums where others started using this vinegar solution because:
a. its better on the environment
and
b. its better for our health
A. is important, but B. is really the tipping point for me. I try to eliminate as many chemicals as possible in making my jewelry because I just don't want to sprout a third limb down the road ;) hahaha
But in all seriousness, using the acid is safe if you have a good ventilation system, and I don't, so I'm sticking to my stinky vinegar!

Here are the pieces I've worked on since yesterday:

The three on the far right have already gone through the tumbler and the others were just put in right now. Look for them to pop up in my shop over the next few days.

Okay I'm starving....see you tomorrow!

**Oh and by the way, I just put up a Facebook business page together and you can access it through the link to the right. You have no idea how much of a pain it was to do.....Facebook is not the easiest application to use. So you can stop by and say hi to me over there as well!**

Back to work....

And boy does it feel good.
I made a couple of necklaces, a ring and a pair of earrings. They are in the tumbler right now. I'll take some pictures later and show you tomorrow.

So, the day before yesterday we watched our new movie from netflix called Into the Wild.

That movie was intense. I loved it....it had an excellent story to tell. To me, the best movies are the kind that immediately engage you, and long after the movie has ended, leave you in deep thought. This is one of those kind of films. I highly recommend it. It is based on a true story and I know that the screenplay was adapted from the book of the same name.

Eddie Vedder also helped compose the music and since I also am a fan of Pearl Jam I thought I would post a video of one of their earlier songs. I have seen them a few times in concert....excellent, excellent band to watch live. Love the hair....:)



The first time I saw them was in '95 in Austin, Texas. The Ramones opened up for them. It was incredibly hot and sweltering in the humid August summer and still the Ramones wore their black leather jackets :)

Dinner time.....bye!

Recovery....continued!

My nurse days have come to an end. Tomorrow I head back into my shop!! Woo-hoo....I am so ready for it.

So basically the last few days have been lots of this:


I loved tinkertoys growing up...luckily my sons love building things with them too.

Did I mention that it snowed here this weekend? So, so weird. Just a few weeks ago we were still wearing sandals. So we've had the fireplace going with lit candles spread around....I'm actually enjoying this weather...of course it helps that I am inside toasty and warm ;)

Here is a picture of my same flower that I posted a few days ago except that it got the harsh reminder that it is really no longer summertime!!



I'm off to bed....see you tomorrow!

Recovery

Well, I thought we would be well by now. But my little ones are not....they are still sickies and it just hurts my heart to see them so sad and pathetic looking :( So I apologize for a slow blog this week and a delayed newsletter. We are just focusing mainly on recovery. Life is just not the same without the laughter, banging and yelling I usually hear bouncing off of our walls!

This also means that I have not been able to get down to my workshop....I really miss it! I am walking around with ideas brewing in my head! It will be exciting when they get to pour out of me. I do, however, have a few more pieces to add over the next day or so. This pair of earrings will go up tomorrow along with a couple more pairs.

I also have a pendant that I made a few weeks ago for another piece of Baltic amber that I bought this summer. I just need to handwrap the beads for the chain and it will be done. We will see though....I do not have very many expectations for work right now ;)

So to get me in a bit of a better mood I will post one of my all time favorite songs (my husband will laugh when he reads this because he will say that I have a lot of 'all time favorite songs' ;)

But, I do so adore this one.....are you digging the 80's fashion?? ;)

goodnight...

Lost, but found :)

Where in the world have I been....you ask?
Well, let me give you a rundown:

1. I was a single parent last week. My husband was out of town on business and returned late on Friday night. Sometimes I need to be reminded just how wonderful my husband really is.....and not having him around was that big reminder!! So basically work was out of the question.
2. We had a neighborhood party on Saturday (lots o'fun I tell you!)...that followed our son's preschool pizza party...that followed his first soccer game. So Saturday was just nuts. In a good way ;)
3. We spent half the day cleaning our house on Sunday because it looked like something blew up here. I think that is a sign that fun was had by ALL.
4. My husband and youngest monkey got sick Sunday night....
5. ...which leads us to today where my husband is now recovering, but my little one is still feverish and unhappy :(

So today I had a limited time to post new items in my shop, but here they are:

I have been wearing my dandelion earrings constantly since I made them!

Have I mentioned that I am loving the change of seasons? Here are a couple of pictures from around my house.

My flowers out front have yet to be told that summer is over....they are still clinging to their bright red glory :)

Okay I'm off to reheat some soup!