News

Where to buy Melting Hearts

Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 6:57:07 EST

Recently, my Melting Hearts were featured in the IndyStar as one of the suggested gifts to give your sweetie this Valentine's Day.

This story generated a lot of interest in the hearts, so I Just restocked the local store with every single melting heart I had on hand. So if you're interested in a Melting Heart, you'll need to give Twisted Sisters a call, or stop in:

Twisted Sisters
5628 East 71st Street
Indianapolis, IN 46220-3907
(317) 841-7177
twistedsistersindy.com

and of course, email me with any questions!

i'm on indystar.com

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 16:15:15 EST

or rather, one of my hearts is --It's a special gift giving guide for valentines day.

http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/slides/8750?page=5

glass + p.i.

Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 6:04:29 EST

the last few days i've gotten to play with glass...with gift giving season quickly approaching, i've got to get gifts made, stock a couple of stores PRONTO and supply a local jewelry. yikes! Oh, and to add to that, I have poison ivy. yes. it's december. and yes, i have a full blown case of p.i. again.

I have NO idea how i got it. I haven't been in any plants lately. i must have petted someones dog over T-giving that had been rolling around in the woods and carried the oil...? maybe? anyway. i can't sleep right now (it's just after 6am. been up since 4). but i have plans of doing more torching today, once i get more rest. i'll have some fun photos to post here soon!

I'm leaving...sort of

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - 16:37:10 EST

Ok, So I've set up an official "blog"

http://thecrownlady.blogspot.com

I wanted to have an easier site to work with for posting pix and even video for when Josh and I are in England. Also, This will be the site that I use to discuss any crown work.

So that means that I will not really be posting to this news update that much anymore. When I have glass work news to report and show, I will be posting it here....taking this news update page back to its original intention: glass news only. And not even I am so conceded to feel that enough people care to read what I have to say that I feel the need to maintain 2 blog pages!!! :)

Play Date

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 15:14:43 EST

There are so many things wrong with this photo: Yes, that's a peep Desi is eating. and yes, it's an "easter" peep. :) I LOVE IT!

Play Date

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 15:13:28 EST

Desi helping Auntie Mo rake the leaves

Desi and his Mommy

Halloween Weekend

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 15:11:33 EST

Josh and I went as Bubble Wrap and the UPS delivery guy. I'm not posting pix of my sister and brother and their spouses...I don't want them to get made, even though Alisa and Jason were SOOO cute! (they were an "office affair")

desi and Alisa came over to play this past weekend... I love this little guy!!

Halloween weekend

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 15:09:08 EST

Lego-man brownies :)

Aaron and Sarah killing the bunnies

Halloween weekend

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 15:06:36 EST

The lawyer (alisa) trying to figure out all the rules to "killer bunnies".

The bunnies--they killed me

fun link

Saturday, November 7, 2009 - 10:43:39 EST

so i've been tempted to post this link before, as I just live this site...and I'm finally going to do it because i can't get over some of the homes on the homepage today.

http://www.trendir.com/house-design/

While i don't like extreme, super-stark modern furniture or design, i do prefer more of a modern style, underground homes, clean open spaces, but with comfy furniture. so this site is just awesome. it does range from the extreme to the more moderate, but it's fun to see all that and everything in between. I love each home more than the last. There are some amazing homes on the front page today, hence my motivation to post.


my dream home would be some kind of mix of partial underground home--and although I cringe at the now trendy "green" label, i do want all those features-- solar panels, sunlights, eco friendly stuff..--and i also really want poured concrete construction. With radiant heat incorporated into the floors. When Josh and i were looking at home a few years back, for some reason i had a really negative impression of homes built on concrete slabs (it's more the idea that your home is just sitting there on the ground, not particularly anchored), but now, I do have an appreciation for that now that i live in a home with a crawl space.

But since my dream home would be partially underground, that concrete slab-sitting there aspect would be resolved. but the whole sturdiness factor, not settling, not worries about buggies and water damage. I don't know, that just seems so logical. and if all your supporting walls are concrete, any interior walls can be normal drywall...and if the mood ever struck, you can just tear down all those interior walls and rework your living space! hahaha.

anyway, i just really enjoy this site, i love looking at these homes and trying to picture if i'd be comfortable living there or not, and i love the ideas it gives me. it's just fun.

just got a call--my desi man is coming over to play!!! and My Joshy gets home tonight. good day :)

...almost there...

Thursday, November 5, 2009 - 23:04:51 EST

I've had a couple of marathon work days. I'm almost caught-up in my work. Tomorrow will be the clincher. Joshy comes home on Sat night. he has to leave for dayton on monday and will be gone until tuesday. Sunday will be laundry day, all day! and come Monday, I'll be behind in my work again, i'm sure. vicious cycle.

gmail video chat

Monday, November 2, 2009 - 11:44:25 EST

is SO cool! and very easy to use. just talked with Josh. He didn't have a really great flight over to England...inconsiderate row mate. bummer. but he's safely at the hotel in bristol.

so it begins...

Sunday, November 1, 2009 - 22:13:22 EST

I dropped Joshy-boy off at the airport a little while ago. He's off to Bristol, England for meetings. then later in the week, he's making his way to Derby to meet with the group he will be working with next year. He'll also be finding out the rest of the specifics for our time over there next year.

And so now...all of the preparations begin! Today is/was also the last day that I am accepting custom orders for crowns (well, technically yesterday was, but I'm still 'allowing' custom orders to be placed today). I'll feel so much better when I have all this work done, but right now I'd much rather hide in bed all week.

after i finish up this last rush of custom orders, I really dig in and start on getting stock made up, get things situated in the house for our leave. decide what we're taking...and start posting notes EVERYWHERE for my daddy. (he likes note reminders). feeling a little stressed, but I'm also excited.

on a completely silly note, i really want to go ahead and get an official "blog" started for our time away. I hate the word blog. But aside from that, official blog sited, like blogspot, make it easier to post multiple pix, embed videos, etc. which is what i want to be able to do while we're away. I want a name that will be appropriate and cute for while we're away, but also pertinent for after Derby, in case I decide to maintain that site over this news update.

My sister had the idea of Derby diaries. My sister in law had the idea of clough confessionals. I had been thinking of something basic like ann's sabbatical. silly to be taking brain power to try and come up with a name, but it's a nice diversion. Feel free to email me if you have any ideas :)

for now, i'm going to go snack on apple + caramel sauce + peanuts and watch the rest of madmen all by my lonesome. :)

running!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 22:12:08 EDT

Alright, so I had a Physical Therapy Appt on Tues. She has me starting back into running really slowly. I have to do 20 mins on the elliptical, stretch, then run for a few minutes,stretch, then another 20 on the elliptical, stretch. I am do run for a few minutes every other day for the next 5 weeks. I was allowed to run for 5 minutes today. I get to do another 5 minutes friday. Sunday I get to do 6 minutes, etc...

The 1st 2 minutes of today's run really hurt. But then my foot relaxed some and I was able to finish out the 5 pretty OK. stretching hurt. i'm curious how my ankle will feel tomorrow. tomorrow is supposed to be upwards of 70, so i think we're going to try and head out for a bike ride. so that should help stretch out any kinks.

Man, if you ever want to be have an exercise regiment where you can't allow yourself to "cheat", hurt your self and go to a P.T. and sports medicine dr. They get you back up and going whether you want to or not. and they gauge your performance every 2 weeks to see if you're doing the work. no cheating! Yeesh!

i wish i could!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 7:55:01 EDT

oh, i wish i could cuddle up with my kitty cats and my good book and just read all day!!

Playing in leaves...

Sunday, October 25, 2009 - 21:39:59 EDT

I had my little desi-man over here on Friday afternoon. It was warm enough for us to go out and play in the yard for awhile. The backyard is fenced in, so I just let him take off....and boy, did he go! He had fun stomping all over the leaves. It started sprinkling and we had to run inside. We got inside just before it really started raining! and we went and cuddled up for a little nap during the little rainstorm. it was a great afternoon!!

In Terre Haute...

Saturday, October 24, 2009 - 23:17:29 EDT

...at the Sugar Shack. Totally addicted to sugar again. found baby pictures of my mom that look JUST LIKE my nephew, Desmond!!

there is a reason why I don't normally do my work in the morning...

Friday, October 23, 2009 - 7:17:46 EDT

...It's 7:15 am and my hands are already covered in gold paint. Is that just a sign of how messy I am, OR was I just that messy because I was doing the work before 7am? what a conundrum!

I get to steal my little Desi-man for the afternoon today!!!

go figure

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - 9:31:13 EDT

for years, we've tried to get our fat cat mickey to be more active. we've tried every toy under the sun. Well today, i found something that holds his interest for more than 1 minute: A Styrofoam packing peanut.

I'm pretty relentless about making sure all packing peanuts are under wraps (i don't personally use them for shipping, but i receive many things packed in peanuts), as I'm worried about the boys tried to eat the Styrofoam and getting sick. well, mickey just found a loose peanut under a bookshelf and is going crazy. if i throw it up in the air, he actually jumps up for it!!!!! He's never done that. i think he likes the noise the peanut makes when you rub it, too. silly cat.

Stuff

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 7:58:48 EDT

So, Last night Josh and I were toying with the idea of me going with him to England the first week of Nov. That way, I could help pick out where we live, get a feel for what kind of items we want to take a 6 month supply of with us (i.e. contact lens solution--apparently, most Brits wear glasses. contact lens solution is $15-20 a bottle!). And we were looking at airfares the other day and figured we could squeeze my ticket into the budget. However, by the time we were ready to buy last night, we were suddenly within the 2 week mark....yeah, a round trip ticket would have been like 2k. more than 2x the price if you order at least 3 weeks out. Yikes! So that decided it for us. I'm not going with him. But we did discuss where we'd like to live: we want to stick with living in downtown Derbyshire. While Nottingham has a more "vibrant night life"....Josh and I are home-bodies. We don't go out at night, particularly on week nights. we'd rather be close to cute shops, local little restaurants/pubs, and much closer to josh's work....rather than a 25 minute commute from Nottingham.

So that all will make josh's upcoming trip much easier...there won't be pressure to tour around and choose from a multitude of places. plus, I'll be able to stay home and get a head (or at the least caught-up) in my work. start getting the house in order for the move. all that jazz. So feeling a little better about things today. I have a lot of crown work and website work to do today, though. Plus I need to run a big handful of errands. And, I need to get to the gym to use the elliptical to work-out my funny ankle. I'm tired already. Time to go back to bed? If only....

stress is starting to set in...a little

Monday, October 19, 2009 - 12:55:25 EDT

I'm starting to feel the stress of everything that I want to get done before we leave for England. It looks like we're leaving the 2nd or 3rd week. Josh heads over there the first week in Nov (for just a week) to get the rest of the details settled.

i have this weird conflicting internal dialog going on, wanting to start prepping for the move, but it's way to early to do that. I have a ton of work stuff to do, and I realize it's NOT to early to get that stuff organized, of which I am doing already. But we just rolled out a new version of the site last night with new links and categories. So I now have a ton of website work to do to get all those pages populated. The shopping cart system for that site will roll out right before Josh heads to England for a week. So it's this weird, hurry up and wait feeling. so I am trying to do as much business work NOW, so that I can focus on home stuff the closer the move date approaches.

It's a very strange feeling to know that you're moving for just 6 months. You have to do a lot of what you would normally do for a regular move, but not quite. plus the fact that my daddy will be here in out place, so it's making sure we have stocks of supplies for him, so that he doesn't have to pay out of pocket for extra kitty little, detergents, stuff like that (that stuff is not his responsibility, it's ours. he's doing us a favor by staying here, so we want to make sure there's stuff on hand for him, so he doesn't feel obligated to purchase things for us).

and josh's company sends people overseas allll the time...so it's not an unusual thing. lots of people all over spend time away in foreign locations for their work. It's just unusual for US. we never thought we'd be doing something like that. so it just add to the excitement.

Since I know I'll be spacey come Holiday time, I've already started canning food gifts for christmas. I'm going to start holiday baking and stuff things in the freezer, so that I don't have to worry about it later. And josh's family--well, you might be getting your Christmas caramels at Thanksgiving this year. Annie may not be in the right state of mind to make finicky caramels at Christmas this year. :)

ok, back to work!

metal plate?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - 11:38:42 EDT

so, for about the last year and half, i've has some problems with my right ankle/foot (the tibiotalar joint). stretches and inserts from the chiropractor weren't working, so i went to Methodist sports medicine to get some input (i haven't been able to run in a really long time :( ). They have me doing some different stretches to unlock the joint, and i'm really pleased with the progress, but am still in a lot of pain. so yesterday, they put a metal plate in my shoe to stiffen it to help distribute the load from my heel more directly to my toe, to help take pressure off the midsole, where I'm now feeling a lot of pain each time i walk. I have a metal plate in my shoe! how funny is that?! eh, i don't really notice it...it actually makes my step very springy! the physical therapist and dr were saying that after a few more weeks of stretching, and working up more on the elliptical, I can actually start trying to run again!! I'm shocked! I had given up hope on being able to really run again. Fun!

cold!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - 13:13:50 EDT

Well, after getting over an actual cold last week, I'm physically cold this week! this garage studio is FREEZING!! I have my little electric heater plugged in and chugging away. Josh, if you are reading this, we HAVE to insulate the attic this weekend to help keep me warmer in here. Please!

Last weeks' wicked sinus infection put me way behind in my work, made me forget things and all-together made a mess of my business. I'm getting things back on track now, but i have a few potential unhappy customers. last week was a very bad week. This week: looking much better.

we still don't have all the details set regarding the uber fun secret...but I already broke the news on my other website, so i might as well spill the beans here: Josh and I are moving to England!

It's only for 6 months, unless they somehow talk us into staying longer, or Josh's project takes more time. And seeing as we're going for Josh's work, we may not have total, complete control on that. What about my work, you ask? Long story short, i'm making up a bunch of stock crowns and candles. My daddy is moving into our house to be my full time shipping manager, house and kitty sitter. So i can still sell crowns and candles while we're gone...just no custom work. Which, quite frankly, will be a welcome break for me. we think we're leaving right after Christmas, but we STILL don't have the details in writing, yet. We're going nuts here. Oh well. Rolls Royce is footing the bill for housing, utilities, car, plane tickets. so we really don't have much to complain about....we would just like some certainty, though.

It's been a long day already. i'm looking to procrastinate. but the sooner I get my work done for the day, the sooner i can go play...or rather, clean my office. cold temps make me unfocused, though. that's my excuse, at least.

restd but not restful

Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 7:35:39 EDT

I had some weird dreams last night...and they were about work stuff! I had deadlines, and apparently forgot about some customers for a few weeks, and nothing got resolved in the dream..so even though i slept really well, I awoke pretty stressed out. Harumph!

Oofda!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - 8:01:21 EDT

Customs--ARGH! Int'l shipping should be easier!

if you have a blackberry...

Monday, August 31, 2009 - 13:51:40 EDT

or some other hand held texting device that you use for answering emails, Listen up: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be courteous in your email responses and take the time to thoroughly read incoming emails. And for heaven's sake: take the time to respond properly and answer ALL questions asked of you. and please watch those typos.

I'm about ready to start smashing any blackberry I see. Or rather, refuse to communicate with customers who answer my emails via iphones or blackberries. I'm serious.

orange smiles and fame?

Monday, August 31, 2009 - 12:29:11 EDT

Alright, so i've got to share desi's 1st birthday orange-smile pic. That's my brother, aaron, and me, with our nephew/godson Desmond. He's more interest in cake, than us. then he caught a look at what we were doing and started crying. This is the only pic that turned out mostly clear--all the other pix are blurry.

and then i just found out that the crowns shown here, and are shipping out today and will be worn this weekend in a wedding in MA...well, this wedding will be featured in an upcoming issue of "the knot" magazine. A huge photo spread of this wedding will be in the magazine, and since Greek Orthodox Weddings are all about the crowns...I am sure at least a shot of my crowns will be included. A and the wedding planner for this wedding has already passed along my name and website to be included in the article. Woo woo!

thank goodness this week is almost over.

Friday, August 28, 2009 - 9:16:26 EDT

If I can just make it through today, as I originally planned, I'll be ok. I was up past 1am last night working. I've got some major work to still get done before we get to leave for T.H. to have a really fun weekend. i can do it, right?

Some pix from going over and seeing Desi-boy last night:

P.S.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 20:34:32 EDT

So that none of you who read my little news entries get the wrong idea...by no means am i really really complaining about my work. I'm so grateful for having a job. and to have a crazy-fun job at that. I know I'm so fortunate because of that. But you know, sometimes a job is still a job, and you get tired. and this is my little venting-outlet about my work antics. But I don't want anyone to read my silly little post from a few minutes and think sarcastically "oh, poor ann. she's got so much work". It's good work. I'd rather be busy than bored. So, yeah. maybe i'll just keep my mouth shut from now on :). Eh, I don't think many people read my news entries anyway. I'm just talking to myself now. I'm blaming all of this on the pain meds :)

exhausted.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 20:14:15 EDT

Work has been so busy the last few weeks, without any real signs of slowing down. good for the business bank account, but selfish and lazy me is really really tired. Also kind of stressed out about a potential HUGE change in the upcoming year. so I'm just foreshadowing at this point, and will be nice and vague and not give you any real details, except to say that No, the change is not that I'm pregnant, or planning on becoming pregnant.

aside from that, i'm in pain. I got my "real" tooth today. I'm feeling a wee bit paranoid about this veneer looking like a perfect match. and it feels a little different. so i'm a little self conscious about my mouth right now. that and my mouth hurts.

tomorrow is my desi-man's 1st B-day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i can't believe it. I asked his mama a bit ago what it was like to realize that 1 year ago today she was in major labor pains and hadn't met the little guy yet. yeah, she's blown away. we're going over to their house tomorrow for dinner.

Then, this weekend, there's a big family picnic planned at a park in Terre Haute. So after josh and i have our friday night workout date and dinner, then we're heading to T.H. to the sugar shack.....er, i mean, my parent's house (I always get addicted to sugar whenever I go home. My mommy always buys treats!). We're celebrating Desi's 1st bday with family on sat. and then that night we're celebrating my daddy's retirement! Fun weekend, but I am already dreading how tired I know I will be on Monday. Sleep. I love to sleep. I wish I had the time to sleep for 12 hours a night...I could so totally go for that.

Rufi!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 7:47:29 EDT

Silly Kitty. He woke me up last night at 4am, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I heard a weird meowing and became fully awake while trying to figure out where it was coming from, and from which cat. Turns out, Rufi was wrapped around my arm, and was meowing in his sleep. so it was a meow/snore noise. kinda eerie, totally cute, but also totally woke me up.

hmm

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - 15:39:03 EDT

it's shaping up to be an interesting work week. lots of twists and turns...mostly positive, or at least "ok, i can deal with this", if viewed from the right angle.

grumble

Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 10:29:57 EDT

Ok, so if you read my previous post then you'll know that I have a temp. veneer on a front tooth. Temporaries are made out of a somewhat porous material--i.e. they can stain pretty easily--at least in my experience. And so you can't swish with my blue listerine, that kind of thing (at least I don't want to). and I realized this morning that i don't think i can drink coffee, as that can stain just normal enamel. 2 weeks of no coffee. I know it will be good for me to do that. but i'm still not thrilled.

hahaha, just remembering when I had my first round of veneers done, I had my temps on for just a week. and during that week, i stayed with my uncle, and also had my wisdom teeth removed. well you have to swish with a blue antibiotic mouthwash when you have wisdom teeth removed. My temps turned blue!! but fortunately, that didn't happen until about the day before my veneers arrived. So i just had to go around for 1 day with blue teeth. hahaha. ahh memories.

Ow.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 - 19:48:29 EDT

Alright...so i'm going to divulge a little secret: I don't have naturally perfect teeth. I have a mouth full of veneers and caps. My uncle is an amazing dentist, and i had/have bad teeth (amelogenesis imperfecta. look it up. my teeth are not as bad as the pix you'll see. but they were bad enough). well, a stain started to develop under the veneer of a front tooth. and my uncle needed to know what was going on, so the veneer had to come off. Had that done today. oochie. I have a temp veneer on right now while the new permanent one is being made. I go back in 2 weeks. Back when I had my 1st set of veneers put on, they didn't settle in properly, so my uncle had to chip them all off and start over...and the second set was put on (that was all done a few months before my wedding. and when i say chip them off, i mean literally, chip them off). Now, my uncle has an awesome laser tool that he uses to break down the veneer bond--no more chipping!!!!!!! but my gums still really hurt from the work. pain = beauty, right?

hmm

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - 7:45:16 EDT

So Cuba has been in the news a lot lately due to the ease in traveling restrictions for Cubans. Well, there was a story just on CNN about how the Rum business is booming--Cuba's "house brand" of Rum is Havana Club. And the French distributor for Havana Club is complaining that the US still won't allow for the import of Cuban Rum. And yes, while Havana Club is a Cuban Rum, Americans have access to the original Cuban rum--Bacardi. So I got a laugh out of that, because the Bacardi family is FURIOUS that Havana Club is in the news right now.

I am by NO means an alcohol aficionado. In fact, I've never even bought rum. But I do like to read. and earlier this year, i read a really interesting biography about Bacardi and its start in Cuba...then the Castro regime take-over..and all the legal fights that Bacardi went through to limit the distribution of Havana Club. The Bacardi family went straight to the exiled family who had made Havana Club rum in Cuba and purchased the rights to the name, trademark, etc...Havana Club is now made in the old Bacardi facilities, and the rum is as close to the Bacardi recipe as the people who stayed behind in Cuba could figure out. Anyway...this really is of no particular importance to me...I just really enjoyed that book, and so it's kind of, well, I guess, fun, that there's more to the story. An additional chapter could be happening right now..so it's fun to know the history of it all.

Let's make a deal!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 - 20:56:20 EDT

I'm pretty excited about a new venue for my wedding crowns (my other business, orthodoxweddingcrowns.com): An online Greek import store contacted me to see about introducing some of my designs into their collection to help diversify. We've reached a mutually beneficial arrangement, and I'm currently working on filling my first crown wholesale order!

And of course, on the very same day that i finalized the wholesale details and started working on that order, the Fall wedding order rush started...a few weeks earlier than last year. It's actually been a little comical to see this sudden surge in orders for sept/oct weddings all within the last 24 hours. So I'm pretty darn busy right now. So this is why you're getting a rare evening-update (I normally do my news updates in the morning).

but I've got so much computer work and emailing to do that I'm still working today. (not complaining at all! i'd rather be busy than bored!). But the one kind of bummer-ish thing is that josh is on vacation this week...but I'm having to spend a lot of my time still working. Oh well. At least he's gotten a lot of good down time. and we are making progress on house projects: always a good thing. now to hype myself up to go and put together some legible price lists and get my space-cadet brain into computer code mode so I can remember the proper html to post all the new info on the crown site.

oof!

Friday, July 24, 2009 - 10:01:29 EDT

Well, I just got back from spinning. I managed to get my lazy bum to class....Josh is out of town again (2nd time in 3 weeks!). but he gets home tonight...and has a WHOLE WEEK OFF!!!!! So today was especially hard since i had to get myself out of bed early....normally Josh wakes me up in the mornings. So that's what it was such a miracle that I managed to get myself up and out the door!

today will be a fun day: make some crowns, work in the yard and finish canning pickles and green beans! Made 1 batch of pickles last night..still have more cucumbers though!

This week with josh should be a lot of fun...Got my scheduled mostly cleared to be able to take some days off from work, myself. so fun bikes ride and house projects, here we come!

odd businesses

Thursday, July 23, 2009 - 12:41:44 EDT

So the behavioral trend I have noticed between Business-to-Business, as opposed to Business-to-consumer has been corroborated many times by my brother who is also a business owner.

time and time again, we receive very poor customer service from other businesses. But when we purchase as the non-business-consumer, then we have great customer service. Drives me up the wall!!

I order mass quantities of ribbon from a place up in Canada. They have great stuff, and great prices. Before I opened up a wholesale account with them, man, i had the best service. And now that I have a wholesale/business account...ARGH! They consistently ship me all the wrong items, and it literally takes MONTHS to get the ordered straightened out. Sounds like I need to find a new ribbon supplier...

finally!

Monday, July 20, 2009 - 13:44:12 EDT

Just received a new Business MasterCard. FINALLY. Talk about making small businesses have to jump through hoops for credit in this day and age!

Wow

Friday, July 17, 2009 - 7:45:32 EDT

WOW WOW WOW WOW

I am watching an interview on CNN right now. CNN anchor with a car dealer in MO who is giving away AK-47's with the purchase of every truck (he did clarify it's a voucher for a free AK-47, so that you have to buy the gun from a gun dealer and go through the background check). But Oh my goodness gracious! It was way to early in the morning to hear someone defend the use of AK-47s. I hope they put a clip of this interview up on their website.

already, an interesting day

Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 7:24:22 EDT

Well, Josh went to bed and woke up with major migraine pains last night/today. So he work up early, and it worke me up...but surprisingly i felt awake-awake. So i got up at 5am with him...and i've gotten all my morning housework chores done and out of the way. I've tended to my morning business emails already. Josh went into work early (with hopes of coming home early since he's really not feeling well, if he could have, he would have stayed home. he was actually supposed to have this week off.......).

So i'm going to get my work done ASAP today. and my poison ivy/oak/sumac is INSANELY itchy. It's spreading. it's getting worse, but parts are also getting better, i think. I got some Ivy-dry to keep the rash from oozing. so i'm just super-duper itchy. I may have to call the doc for meds today, though. so depending on how that goes, and work goes, I may try and go to josh's aunt's house and hang out in her pool for a bit...let the chlorine dry everything up even more. I also want to go past my sister's house as they're getting some AWESOME landscaping done right now. So maybe it will be a fun summery afternoon of play. Hmm...maybe I should start getting up at 5 every morning?

Happy Birthday :)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - 7:28:18 EDT

Today is my husband's (Josh) birthday. He's 29 today! we thought he was going to be able to take this whole week off for vacation (he has 2 weeks he has to use by the end of the year, otherwise he loses the days). His boss told him to take this week off....but then they changed some project deadlines, and now he has to work all week. But he still may get to come home early today. I hope so.

lots of work to do, regardless. I may even need to fire up the torch to make a heart for a crown customer, if I one of my stores doesn't have a certain heart still in stock. gotta check on that! have a good one!

oh no!

Monday, July 13, 2009 - 7:54:24 EDT

Not again!

I have poison Ivy....again. Last year, I got poison ivy 2x...and each time had to go on prendisone (sp?)...and it royally fouled up my sleep/eating schedule each time. The rash seems to be developing over a pretty extensive part of my body. and it's really taken a long time to develop. I am itchy but don't yet have bumps in some areas...but can kinda see little red spots where the rash will start bumping out soon. It's on my face, all over my neck (well, i'm just crazy itchy there, but can feel the rash starting to come on) and all over the right side of my abdomen.

So I'm trying to religiously apply cortisone cream so that I can control the itchy and try and slow the development to try and let my body fight this off naturally this time, rather than taking meds.

Fortunately, I think that I have a moderate work load this week..so far at least...so i should be able to get some down time (there's nothing like being super stressed, working in a hot garage, and covered with poison ivy). Also, after spending most of last week in CA for work, it looks like Josh might actually be taking the rest of this week off from work! I'm so excited! he did have to go in today to tie up loose ends. which works as i have a busy day planned to...but I'm excited that he'll be around all week. Here's to a good week!

I could have told you that!

Thursday, July 9, 2009 - 10:54:26 EDT

A news story on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/09/night.owl.morning/index.html

I am a moderate night-owl, and I've always known that I am stronger and have more engery/strength abilities in the evening. I dislike my morning gym classes because I don't feel like i have much strength during them (aside from the fact that i'd rather still be in bed than at the gym. But, it's just interesting to now read that a study has been conducted to confirm that night owls are stronger at night, where as "morning people" tend to have constant strength levels all day. Very neat.

I always get a second wind in the evening, i like working at night-fewer distractions. And there are just certain aspects of my job and/or house chores that i can't stand to do in the morning, and I can only motivate myself to do them in the evening. I LOVE to sleep. I hate getting up in the morning and I love taking early morning naps. I try so hard to be a morning person, because I am way more productive in the morning. But man, does it wipe me out. Oh no, i started talking about sleep. now i want to go back to bed. But I already slept in today because i stayed up super-late working!

I even have one of those mood-lights that is supposed to help you re-set your internal clock. It's a blue light that you're supposed to sit in front of for half an hour starting at the time that you want to start getting up. but i think it works only because you have to get up at that time in order to sit in front of the light for 30 minutes!! and if you're up for 30 minutes, then you're up for good for the day. You're eyes have to be open for this light to work its supposed magic, you can't have it on and go back to sleep. eh.

Desi-n-me

Monday, July 6, 2009 - 15:58:01 EDT

Desi and me cuddling on July 4th over at my uncle's house.

gross

Thursday, July 2, 2009 - 10:33:06 EDT

ok, so i work out in the garage...and inevitably there are a lot of bugs and cobwebs around. but the cobwebs are really just around the garage door and waaay up high where i can't reach (i cleaned the rest:) ).

well i've got rufi out in the garage with me and i heard him slurping up something. I looked up to the top of the garage door (he's on top of some cabinets right next to the door) just in time to see him sucking in a huge cobweb full of bugs and junk.

GROSS

annoying!!!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - 21:40:05 EDT

Ok, do you recall my mentioning a few weeks ago that my business visa card was canceled because the company lost its line of credit? Well I am having an awful time getting a new visa! I'm so angry. and the problems i am encountering are not because of my credit, by any means. All of the 'big' banks, while there's reporting that they're back on their feet again, and they're sending out all these credit card applications like always...well, yeah..try and follow through on one of those. Chase: they'll let you know in 30 days. bank of america: unless you have received a specific offer from them in the mail, they won't accept online applications. and while you can apply in person, there are no bank of americas in indy. (yeah, i LOVE the irony.) i tried getting a card through my local bank with whom i have my business account...their online system wasn't working so they told me to fill out a paper application. Come on banks!! DO YOUR JOB!

Metal!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - 10:26:38 EDT

my order for mass quantities of aluminum, stainless steel and copper strips was finally completed, and i just got back from picking it up. Kinda neat :)

i feel so ashamed

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 11:53:51 EDT

...and dirty...I went and did it. I signed up for a facebook account. NOT because i want to 'connect' with friends. I did it strictly for business reasons. I have an orthodoxweddingcrowns.com page on facebook. I'm so ashamed. I am one of "those" people who really resisted that whole thing in the first place. and this news update really started as a way for me to let people know when my torch-cam was up and when i had upcoming shows. and you'll noticed that i specifically call it a news update page, rather than a BLOG! Yuck.

sigh. so don't judge me. It strictly business. I'm doing it for the greater good.

but the greater good doesn't get a lot of my time. but if i can reach a bunch of other Greek Orthodox couples through that site, then it's worth it.

My kind of fun

Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 16:04:08 EDT

Just got back from an appt at the bank. My business banker guy is trying to get me to switch from using paypal as my Credit Card processor to their in-house merchant service. i didn't realize just how GOOD paypal is until the bank tried to sell me on their stuff. Everytime they tried to point out the features of their software, i could always one-up them with Paypal. It got to be comical. And there were even 2 guys there trying to sell me on their stuff. It was comical!

Then one of the guys tried to give me advertising advice, i totally trumped him again. Wow. that was A LOT of fun!!! hehehehe (and this is all in reference to my other business orthodoxweddingcrowns.com. Glass has become more of a hobby these days. but i still love it!)

all better

Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 7:27:12 EDT

so we went a night without any sick kitties. Guess it was those other treats. How weird. The boys used to get these little crunchy treats and the pounce treats all the time. But i ran out of them awhile back and it took me forever to remember to buy more. And now Rufi can't eat them. I wonder if they changed/added an ingredient? Oh well.

I think we're Ok

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - 15:44:30 EDT

So Rufi has really perked back up to be his normal self this afternoon. we'll see what tonight and tomorrow morning bring. And NO more treats for kitty!

sick kitty?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - 6:19:13 EDT

Hmm,so we figured out a few weeks a go that Rufus can't stomach soft-pounce treats anymore.

but the past two mornings, he's been sick....and I know that yesterday i gave the boys some crunchy treats....and i may have given them some crunchy treats on Monday. I can't remember.

So either Rufus can't stomach the crunchy treats anymore or he's ill. It was obvious that, a few weeks ago, it was the pounce treat making him sick--it'd happen within the 1/2hour. But this is such a delayed reaction this time around, that it's hard to tell.

and all the while, despite all of his weird sinus issues, mickey seems to have an iron tummy. I don't think that cat has ever puked!

Sick kitties make me very sad. It's hard to know what's going on with these fuzzy little guys. we'll just see how today goes.

Cutre baby clothes!

Saturday, June 20, 2009 - 11:07:02 EDT

So my very, very talented friend out in Maryland finally has started marketing the super-adorable clothes that she makes for her 11mo old sweetie-pie, Sofia (accent over the i, don't know how to type that).

http://butterbeanboutique.etsy.com/

Diana pretty much made these patterns up on her own after finding dissatisfaction with current patterns, or improving those said patterns where she saw fit. i.e....making a hat that actually fits a baby, and the baby will Actually wear!

Did I mention that Diana is also a potter? (http://twocatpots.com)

Hmm...think my Desi-boy would wear a strawberry hat? or a shirred dress ? :)

Monday, Monday

Monday, June 15, 2009 - 7:57:52 EDT

It was a good weekend....and I have come to appreciate Monday as I tend to be very productive on Mondays...even thought I hate the start of the work week. And i really need today to be incredibly productive, but I am SO tired today!

Part of my sleepiness is self inflicted, well actually all of it is...but I keep staying up way too late into the night reading. I just finished up Barbara Walters 'memoirs'...that was last week...and it was REALLY good, and i stayed up really late all last week reading. This week, it's 'The nine' A book about the supreme court judges. very good so far. (don't worry alisa, you're next in line to read these books once you finish the Bacardi book) (To everyone else, another good good suggestion is the Barardi Biography. VERY VERY interesting!)

but i didn't really read all that late into the night last night as I was so tired already...but I went and picked strawberries at a berry farm yesterday afternoon. came home and hulled strawberries for an hour and half. we went to the gym for a workout. and then I made jams and marmalades/canned all night. That just kinda zapped me of all my energy, so i slept really well last night. but now i want more sleep.

but i have lots of crowns to make, lots of pictures to take, and lots of emails to send (www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). It's going to be a busy week too, as I have to take the car in for service tomorrow AM, Wednesday I'll be in Ft. Wayne all afternoon, Thursday at my sister's in the afternoon. So i just have today and Friday for all-day workdays.

rough night

Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 10:37:30 EDT

Oo man.

So I already got to bed late last night because I had to get some of josh's work clothes washed and dried. So i get to bed, I do my usual reading for half an hour and i start to try and go to sleep. And I can't fall asleep at all.

And then i hear this blood-curdling meow-howl, and the cats start fighting. So i leap out of bed and run into the living room. i don't see anything out the deck door, so i calm the kitties and go back to bed. But if you've ever heard a cat screech, you know it's the most awful sound...and it gets your heart racing like nothing else. (and this was at 1:30am).

so anyway, i go back to bed. try and get my heart rate under control. at 2am, it starts up again. I run back to the living room. and flip on the deck lights first this time...and there's a scrawny raccoon staring in the doors. It didn't run away when it saw me. in fact it just sat there and stared at me. Kinda creepy. but what was funny this time is that it was only Micky who got upset and was screeching. Rufus could have cared less. In fact, he sat in the hallway with sleepy-kitty fur and a grumpy look on his face because we woke him up.

the raccoon finally slinked away. Mickey calmed down. Rufus came back to bed with me. and I'm laying there...and I am almost asleep. and seriusly, out of the blue, the LOUDEST thunder clap I have ever heard happened.

so it starts storming. and the thunder is not just loud...but the thunder claps were really really really long. That first clap was so loud and long that josh sat straight up in bed. and started asking what was happening and I couldn't hear him. i had to shout to tell him to wait a minute. and literally a minute later, I could finally hear him.

so then, it's storming all night...but i finally got to sleep. Josh got up at his normal 5:45. and i usually get up at 7. but this morning, i kept sleeping. but I was rudely awakened by the blow dryer just a few feet from me, right after 7. The pockets on josh's pants i had just washed were still a little damp, apparently.

UGH. I got up and fixed his lunch, but went back to bed. I just got up at 10. and i feel like i'm still grabbing at straws here. (yes, for those of you with children, I'm sure this is a normal feeling. but i have fuzzy children, not real children. I'm not used to this).

Say it isn't so!!!!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 7:35:47 EDT

drinking my morning coffee and eating bfast with Mickey by my side. we have CNN on in the background. and there was just a story saying that Eddie Bauer might be filing for bankruptcy.

NO! I LOVE EB!!!

the irony here is that my sister and i were JUST talking about this on Sunday, as there was a rumor about this happening last year.

sigh. :(

An ode about my daddy

Friday, June 5, 2009 - 18:30:44 EDT

One of my dad's former students posted this on his website:
http://www.everyview.com/2009/06/04/an-ode-to-mr-corey/

:)

Best Line EVER

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - 12:00:11 EDT

Felicia Rashad just said this in a CNN interview, and I think it's the best line ever. The context of this is race, and the fact in her new place she plays the matriarch of an all-white family. and the CNN interviewer was asking what this meant, does it change current way race is looked up, etc... and Rashad was saying that race just shouldn't matter at all and:

that we all should out a tomato in our shoe and Catch-up! (Ketchup)!

I LOVE IT! best line ever.

torching, but no cam

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - 7:45:03 EDT

I have tried to clear my afternoon schedule from crown work so that I can get to the torch today. I have several projects to complete, so I need several hours, if not days, at the torch. I think that by the time the mailman picks up today's shipments, I should be able to devote the rest of the day to glass.

the bummer here, though, is that-yes, i'll be at the torch, but the torch cam is not set-up :( Maybe josh and I can figure out something this evening, so that's running tomorrow.

We've had some pretty nasty storms the last several days...and today there's more rain expected--and possibly storms--and it's much much cooler today than it has been...so i guess it's a good day to sit in front of the torch.

i'm finishing my morning coffee, typing up shipping invoices, and watching live pictures of Obama in Saudia Arabia--FUN! I get such a kick that we get to watch all of this stuff live. The news was just saying that while Obama won't have time to visit King Abdullah's (sp?) enormous, air conditioned horse stable for his some 260 Arabian horses, they'll be lining the drive to the palace with all of the horses so that Obama can see all of the horses. I hope they show that!

Speaking of Arabs....the other night, josh and i watched the "axis of evil" comedy show (rental on netflix). If you are of middle-eastern descent, you'll LOVE it!

Ok, back to glass. well, more like back to my other work so I can get to the glass this afternoon.

Ain't that a kick in the pants

Monday, June 1, 2009 - 7:34:14 EDT

Friday evening, I received a text message that I just assumed was SPAM (i've had that happen before...and that's about the only time the text feature on my phone gets used). The messaged said that some credit card account with a credit union was now closed and to call this number if you had any details.

yeah right. I don't have a CC from a credit union and I've never heard of that bank's name.

or so I thought. On Saturday I went to log-in to my business credit card website. Here was the message on the home page "As we informed you in the letter we sent you, all accounts are can celled effective May 30th)."

The "letter" was the text message. My business credit card company received its money through a credit union....and the credit union is cutting off the Line of credit to Advanta. And so therefore, My credit card has been canceled.

I am so angry!!! This was THE BEST CC. I have an awesome interest rate, they have a fantastic points program. They've always backed me up when I've needed to dispute a charge.

according the FAQ page about this automatic cancellation, it won't affect/effect my credit score, since the issuer is going out of business...and my account has always been in good standing.

I have a business amex card...but not every place takes amex. So now I have to go out and get a new business visa. HARUMPH!!!!!!

It's always very strange when "that stuff that you hear about in the news"...like all the economy junk, in this case, start to really affect/effect you personally. I am SO incredibly fortunate if this is the only way my life is truly impacted by the damaged economy. But it's still kind of trippy.

Good day!

Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 19:30:13 EDT

Today has been such a good day....and it's not even over yet! I wish every day could be like today :)

further expansion

Friday, May 29, 2009 - 7:36:10 EDT

Several weeks ago, I started my office "expansion", where I moved my workshop out into the garage. The new office still isn't quite fully set up, but I'm much closer now (every day i try to do just a little bit more "relocation" work). But now that I'm mostly out in the garage, I'm feeling the tug to do some expansion to the website.

I placed an order earlier this week for a bunch of new metal (stainless steel, aluminum, copper and brass--all from circlecitycopperworks.com). They're going to be chopping up 4'x10' sheets for me. So i'm getting lots of new sizes that what I currently have. So I have to re-photograph materials, revamp price sheets, come up with new prices sheets, get those posted online, i have lots of new crowns to post online, i need to create an example page for a few things...and I'm going to start offering 4 foot long candles (!!), but those are expensive suckers!!!!!!!! So I need to save a few more pennies before purchasing some (my actual cost is $100 for 2 candles!!!!). Anyway. In case anyone "new" to my site is reading this...all this work is for my other business www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com .

but amidst all of that, I have to get back to the torch. I have a few longstanding orders to jewelry that I HAVE to get done...plus that means more pretty pictures for this site :).

anyway, it's going to be a busy day. but fortunately, I don't think we have any real plans for the weekend, so I am looking forward to some good weekend time.

full work week

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - 7:27:25 EDT

had a fun Holiday weekend...got to be with all my family for a good part of the time. this is just a quick update as, i've got a Mickey-cat laying halfway across my lap and the other half is on my laptop. he keeps reaching up to the screen to block my view. he's laying across my hands making it difficult to type. he's already pressed some keys to make this update disappear more than a few times.

anyway, lots of work to get done this week.....and because of the Monday holiday, i'm already feeling behind in my work. Harumph!

Fun weekend ahead....and then work

Friday, May 22, 2009 - 7:39:37 EDT

I am from Indiana...and currently live in Indiana. So I'm all geared up for the Indy 500 on Sunday!! My parents and my brother and his wife are descending upon Indy this weekend. We'll probably be spending most of our time over my sister's house (Desi's Mama)...and so we're sure to have some super-fun Desi time :).

So I'm really looking forward to playing all weekend and not working! ....but today is still a work day. I do need to get to the store to get ingredients to make a few goodies for the weekend....and I need to get my lazy body back into my old friday morning gym routine. So it will be a busy day, but I think it will be a good day. At least it's nice and warm here...so that helps.

There's a hole in the bucket!

Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 7:38:49 EDT

Or actually, our roof.

We've had ridiculous amounts of rain the past day or so (and for a few days last week, too)...and our old roof finally sprung a leak. Fortunately, the leak is out in the garage...but yea-you guessed it, it's right in the middle of my workshop.

We took up towels to the attic, mopped up the bit of standing water we saw on the drywall for the ceiling, which really wasn't a whole lot. the water came in at a valley in the roof (and the water ran down through a screw hole in the ceiling...a screw hole in the track for my studio track lighting. realllllly safe.). we inspected the valley from the outside..couldn't see anything. we have tar to patch it up...but you can't do that until it's dry. and it just now stopped raining.

I guess we "get" to look into replacing the roof this year. You know, that is one expense I could really live without right now. Oh well.

Really?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 11:23:12 EDT

Really? we're giving this lady airtime? (miss CA news conference. why is this news?)

Heeeeer's Mickey!

Friday, May 8, 2009 - 11:00:02 EDT

Out in my garage workshop. Mickey is peeking out from one of my little "booths" to say hello.

Garage workshop drawback

Monday, May 4, 2009 - 16:29:24 EDT

Big, flippin' huge Bumble bees. and they keep landing in drawers, and I close the drawer, and they start buzzzzzzing around all angry inside the drawer. it's quite unnerving.

I'm now working almost full time out in the new set-up in the garage. not everything is organized, yet...but i'll post pix when it is :)

Monday.

Monday, April 27, 2009 - 7:17:39 EDT

Josh and I got home on Saturday evening, after having been in Redondo Beach, CA for a week! Josh's work sent him out there for a class, and I got to tag along. We had a great time. and now it's back to reality.....and it's a very, very, very busy reality to get back to. We're both really happy to be back home (and Mickey and Rufi are pretty happy to have Mommy and Daddy back around again, too).

So what's on tap for today? I think that early this morning, I'll go ahead and run to the post office to pick up out mail. Then to the grocery store.

I have a jam-packed week FULL of orders that need to be filled ASAP for weddings occurring in the next 2-3 weeks. and then some "less immediate" work for weddings in 4 weeks and beyond. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the the work that needs to be done, just in the fact of getting caught up, but also, my new garage studio is NO WHERE near being set-up. So I'm feeling some stress...but it's good stress for the most part.

but you know what, i'm also tired! it sounds silly, but i'm still in CA time. they're 3 hours behind us...and 3 hours doesn't sound like a lot as far as jet-lag issues go. And it's not. But, man! I'm Tired!!! Oh well.

Slap to the head

Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 16:50:06 EDT

I had a bunch of stuff shipping out today....I always put "Handle with care" stickers on all of my shipments. I have been lectured to no end by the people in the post office that they don't care about "handling with care". But you know, it makes me feel better. And I figure that it at least gives everything a shot at arriving safely--hoping that at least the mail-carries notice the stickers and don't just chuck the boxes at the door (like our mailman in MD did).

WELL, out mailman, with whom I have a good rapport because I do ship so many things...and he knows what I make. I watched him Literally just THROW 5 boxes into the back of his truck. He was in the front of his truck sitting down...and he turned and Threw them behind him. I was standing right there!!!!! I nearly fainted. At least wait until I'm out of sight until you do that so i at least THINK you're trying to pat attention to the stickers. JEEZ!

I've only ever had 1 crown break during shipping (and that was just 2 weeks ago). So out of a couple-a-hundred crowns and candles, guess I should be pretty thankful, eh?

T-2 days

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - 9:05:26 EDT

Ok, just 2 more days before the big move.

for those of you who don't realize what I'm referring to---well, I'm getting ready to move my office and workshop out into the garage. I have completely outgrown my inside office-studio. Actually, I outgrew it officially around Christmas...but we have this weekend reserved for the move. I'm taking over half of the garage. That will double my work space (and one of these days when I take over the whole garage---Oh yeah, lots of room---but don't tell Josh).

I've got all of my new furniture out in the garage ready to go. I have worked on a layout for the new space. Josh and I are going out to tomorrow to finish buying all the new lighting. We've already taken his tools off the wall. So first thing Friday morning (he has that day off --it's Western Good Friday...but we Orthodox don't celebrate until the following weekend. but he also gets Monday off next week--so a nice long weekend to finish the garage transformation) anyway-first thing Friday morning, we're clearing out the garage. Cleaning it. installing tons of new lights. and then we start loading in my office!

We're not really sure just how long this is going to take us--or rather, how far we'll get on Friday. but we're gonna try and get as much done on Friday and Sat as possible. sunday is our Palm sunday, and then we have his grandfather's 80th b-day party to go to....so not much work getting done then. And we'd like to have at least some of Josh's break to just goof-off (monday). So we'll see.

I'll take pictures. I'm a little hesitant to show you what things look like right now--the garage is pretty scary right now. but scary-to-beautiful are the best transformations, right?

worst possible place!

Monday, April 6, 2009 - 10:59:07 EDT

well, even thought it's nearly freezing today and we had snow showers this morning...it was nice and pretty mild last week.

so one evening, i went out to start doing some spring-cleaning in the yard. I got my first mosquito bite of the season....RIGHT next to my eye. It's literally right at the edge of my right eye lid--on the outside (temple side). OUCH! It's so itchy, it's got my eye a little swollen..but it's mainly just really annoying itchy. the swelling gave me a headache over the weekend..and since it's so close to my eye, I can't really put anything on it. itchy! The swelling has gone down today--but it's more red, so it actually looks worse. but it is healing. but have I said how itchy it is?

and FYI, no desi-baby today (HE CAN CRAWL NOW!). I might have him tomorrow--it depends on how the rest of today goes....

CCC

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - 13:48:41 EDT

I LOVE CIRCLE CITY COPPERWORKS!! www.circlecitycopperworks.com

Wayne, the president of the company, and all of the workers there are the NICEST people!

AND, they're going to be my sole metal supply for the crowns now. They have all the materials i need (save for silver and gold). but they have everything else!! even stainless steel!

Candy

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - 7:31:29 EDT

There's been a news story on cnn.com the last few days about how candy sales are currently soaring. That during a recession, people indulge in little sweet treats.

I got a kick out of that correlation, as Josh and I have definitely been indulging in more sweets lately--but of the ice cream kind. Oh, and Chocolate. Lots of Chocolate. But for no particular reason...but yeah, we just wanted a treat. I think that there are subliminal messages on TV telling you that you want SUGAR!!

On saturday I got a rare treat: i got to visit with my very first friend I ever had. The last time I saw here was 5 years ago and my wedding. And before that...well, I think we were like 8 when her family moved away? Is that right, christy?

Anyway, she and her mom took a little road trip this last weekend, and stopped past for a visit...and they brought me CHOCOLATE! It's gone. I think it was all gone by Sunday night.

So yeah, It was a really neat getting to catch up with my oldest friend...we email back and forth on occasion--she emails me more than I email her. For any of you who know me, I'm not very good about answering personal emails. Business ones I pounce on, at the cost of the personal ones. but she remembers all of my important dates and has definitely been the stronger contact in our long friendship. And We've never really had a chance to just sit and talk as Adults! So that was really fun.

And her mom, kitt, reminded me of some really funny stories about when we were little. I'll share those eventually :)

silly boy

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - 8:52:16 EDT

Yesterday was a Desi-Monday....I'm hiring him to start answering all my email correspondence (see first pic). He's been testing out his writing skills by emailing his mama from our house. So far so good. He's on track to be "employee of the month!"

And we had some fun sitting in front of the mirror yesterday. I got some HILARIOUS videos of him (he started kissing his reflection). Goofball.

let's try that again

Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:48:48 EDT

Ok, so as I was saying "busy week!"

several super late nights of work this week. all my cubicle equipment is now here (we moved 1 truck load of stuff on our own last week, but i hired someone to move the rest). also had a very fun visitor yesterday--the guy who makes all those super fun wooden intarsia pieces....and those wooden airplanes that I get for josh every christmas. He hand delivered this year's airplane (we didn't see each other at Christmas this year), and I gave him a tutorial on my CNC machine.

And last night, my sister-in-law arrived--she's in town for a conference going on today. So i was up way past my bed time getting all caught up on things with her...So I took a nap with mickey-bear this morning. that was nice--i think he knew I was exhausted, as he was a very cuddly kitty this morning. but now it's back to work!

oh, but I sort of have a layout decided upon--or a working layout for the new garage workshop. i will have an area set up with all my glass stuff, which it can remain set up permanently! So i'm looking forward to that!

ok, now it's really time to work.

busy week!

Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:48:32 EDT

desi Day pix

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 7:59:49 EDT

One of these days, i think I may end up biting off those cute little cheeks!

desi day pix

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 7:58:36 EDT

Almost crawling!!!!!

teething

Monday, March 23, 2009 - 10:12:15 EDT

it's a desi-monday. i'm typing one-handed as the other hand bounces his chair to get him to sleep. he's started the teething process. he's being pretty good for me, but was a terror for his parents last night. poor kid. I have to call my aunt/pharmacist to see how often he can have baby tylenol. ooo, he's asleep! Work time!

Grammar check?

Friday, March 20, 2009 - 12:29:24 EDT

OK, so I've been hearing a lot of this lately:

"I appreciate you." and "We should all just appreciate."

And it's driving me crazy! I'm not a grammar aficionado by any means--I make mistakes all the time--but I keep hearing people say these phrases...in person, on TV.... And it just doesn't sound right to me. That can't be proper grammar!

Shouldn't it be, for example, "I appreciate you looking into that for me." or "We should all just appreciate what we have." Finish your sentences, people!

It's like that Boost-mobile phone commercial that used to air all the time with the phrase "Where you at?" I know that is a very common phrase, but it drives me up the wall! My Mama used to pinch me every time I ended a sentence with "at", so I'm like Pavlov's dog now: I hear "at" at the end of the sentence and I feel a phantom pinch.

Mr. Big Stuff

Friday, March 20, 2009 - 10:10:54 EDT

Josh jet-setted to DC this morning. He was asked to accompany a couple of RR execs to DC to talk to the associate administrator ad NASA headquarters in DC. Yeah, AND, they're giving him 3 assistants next week!! Not like secretary assistants, but like, other workers to manage. It's not obvious they're grooming him for management, is it?

Of course, it goes without saying that I am SO proud of Josh. He manages to be at the right place at the right time, repeatedly. He has the patience of a saint, so he's able to "deal" with a wide variety of personalities (even me!). And he follows through on everything that he says that he will do (at work, at least :) ).

He left pretty early this morning (he looked so handsome! all snazzed out in a cool sports coat and tie)...and I promptly went back to sleep and slept through both of my morning gym classes. Oops :)

So I'm going to take off from work "early" and go lift at the gym. then after getting clean, will go over to my sister's house. Gotta spend more time with my little munchkin of a nephew!!!! I'll be taking some work over there. and when Josh lands back in Indy tonight around 9:45, he'll be driving over to Ali's house to join us.

Tonight is the FINAL episode of Battlestar Gallactica. The show will start before Josh gets to the house, so we'll have to "pause" it and wait for him. it's a 2 hour finale. Alisa and Jason, Josh and I always watch BSG on Friday's together (well, save for the last few busy Fridays), so tonight is quite the event.

OK, now to go to work, so that I can go play with my desi-boy tonight!!

Speaking of Desi...the little sugar fiend must have found his peaches quite tart when he was here the other day. Normally he gobbles up any fruit you give him (he's a Corey and a Baby, so he loves sweet food)..but he kept pursing his lips and buzzing/tbtbtbt-ing after each spoonful of peaches. It was So funny! I finally had to wipe the peaches off of my face and go get my camera to photograph this.

side project

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 8:29:02 EDT

Last year I started getting involved with some community organizations--well, aside from my neighborhood association, i guess it's just one other organization i started doing a few things with. It's a group focused on beautifying and re-vitalizing the business district on this side of town. The leaders of this group are all very nice, and try and make a point of only working with local business for projects.

Well last week, one of the coordinators call me up with an interesting request. The husband of a very well loved teacher at a local elementary school passed away. Everyone is really upset over this, and they really want to do something for the wife/teacher, in memory of her husband. They wanted to know if I could do like a glass stepping stone or something.

That size of glass project is outside of my current capabilities. After learning that the husband loved gardening and landscaping, I suggested a landscaping stone that could be placed in one of his gardens with a memory plaque affixed to it. That idea went over pretty well, so I got to work.

A local stone center donated a stone to our "cause". And last night, Josh helped me spike rivet the copper plaque onto the stone. I'm purposefully leaving the copper untreated so that it will develop a beautiful weathered patina over time. I engraved the text and design deeper that I normally work, so that even once weathered, the text should be legible.

Cubicles

Monday, March 16, 2009 - 13:44:07 EDT

So, I bought some cubicles the other day. Used ones. All in the name of the garage-studio transformation that is to take place in about 3 weeks. I went to take a look at the cubicles today to see just how much "stuff" was there (josh's dad is going to help us move the stuff)...but there was a lot more stuff there than i was expecting. Turns out it's because this place has some additional tables and such that they no longer need, and said that if i wanted it, i could help myself to it (it's at an office complex just a few miles from here). I'm moderately worried about transporting all that stuff ourselves (i'm too cheap to hire a mover). So i'm feeling a little worked up right now.

Thank goodness that's done!

Friday, March 13, 2009 - 7:56:51 EDT

Taxes!

They're done! ........finally...... We REALLY Were going to do our taxes the 1st week of Feb. Then Josh ended up going out of the country. Then we were going to do them the following week...and then the following week..and then the following week. Well I finally sat down earlier this week to finish tabulating all my business expenses. And Josh sat down for a few hours each night this past week to pour over the online turbo tax and got everything entered.

this was the first year that we used software to do our taxes. I KNOW!!! But we're now a part of the 21st century. In previous years, weird pay with Josh's Grants and Fellowships for grad school were way too hard to try and get to work in the automated systems...so we did it all by hand. But now that he has a normal job/normal pay, automation it is!

The online system also helped with all the small business crapola, too. OOOOO I am so glad taxes are done. Yeah!!!

You see, I hate money...it makes me nervous. I hate talking about our budget. I hate discussing money. I just hate money. I hate debt. I hate bills. It makes me anxious and uncomfortable. So tax week is just pure torture for me. But I'm good now. Now I can sleep :)......oh, but i have gym classes this morning. To go or not to go. Sleepy Mickey kitty on the couch....or Spinning class? Hmmm.

Local Copper Supplier

Monday, March 9, 2009 - 13:28:35 EDT

Another local artist discovered a local copper supply house...She knew that i was very happy with the copper I was currently buying from a place in NM, but I haven't been able to find any alternative source for the quantities required for the crowns. Well, turns out, this local places is THE BEST! It's http://www.circlecitycopperworks.com/ --the nicest guys you will ever meet! i went over to their workshop on Friday to check out the set-up. It's pretty awesome. and they'll custom cut the copper to whatever dimensions i want. And since they usually make huge countertops ad vent hoods, etc..., they can cut my pieces from their scrap...so they're giving me a great price on the copper (32-oz copper--same as what I had been buying--it's nearly 2mm thick). And i got to watch them cut it (they have a huge machines called a break that just bop-bop-bop, cuts the metal in to 1/2" strips). and it's a nicer quality copper than what I had been buying--less tin, so it's a richer copper. No shipping costs (they're 1o minutes from the house) and supporting a local small business...what could be better?

big step forward

Monday, March 9, 2009 - 11:23:49 EDT

Well, So many of you know about my other business, OrthodoxWeddingCrowns.com. I've decided to make a bold move today: advertise. This business is naturally pretty easy to market with out official advertising..word of mouth and internet searches have provided me with plenty of business. But I'm pretty ready to take this to the next level.

I've had some brides mention that they have heard of me from some "chatter" on theknot.com. and suggested that i place ads with that company since apparently every bride at least visits that site at least once.

I've talked with the company last week...my contact lady was pretty excited as they have NEVER markets ANYTHING like my crowns. And I think I'm going to proceed with some national advertising. The trick is, you have to target specific markets, you can just have a "national" ad. So I'm going to place an ad in the New York market and in the California market. Both areas have very large Orthodox populations, so i'm obviously going for the most exposure for my money. They're giving me a promotional rate, so depending on how the ad does--if it actually drums up business for me, then i might ad more markets in later this year.

And my ad will be places on theknot.com and weddingchannel.com (it's now owned by theknot.com). They were going to list me on another site (partygoer.com or something like that). But I'm opting out of that, because these crowns are NOT party crowns. I Know that I am going to have do spend A lot more time emailing that I already do...more traffic means more questions...and there's a never a guaranteed sale with each email, so it's a bit of a crap-shoot. Plus, I'll have to take into consideration inevitable inquiries from non-orthodox couples who are interested in crowns. So we'll just have to see how this goes.

I've got my desi-man here (usual desi-monday), helping me make all these business decisions, though...so my business is in good hands :)

Thursday Already??!!

Thursday, March 5, 2009 - 8:06:19 EST

Well, hasn't this week flown by (yes, yes, i know we still have to actually get through today and there's still tomorrow--but Friday's don't really count).

I'm waiting for my main man, desi-baby to arrive. I didn't watch him on Monday (i was not up to par on Monday, so he's my little boy today. His mommy has the flu, so it works out especially well that she can rest, and jason can work, and i get some uber nephew time. Apparently he's like *this* close to officially crawling. (it's been a whole 6 days since i last saw him!)

So what has happened in those 6 days, you ask? Welllll:

* Josh and I went to the NAHBS (North American Handmade Bicycle Show). It's an annual, national (actually international) convention of sorts for all the independent bicycle makers. It was held here in Indy this year. It was very neat-lots to see---prime "people watching" arena (some interesting types were there)--and some very expensive bikes.

* and I've already posted about my conclusion that i need to move my office to the garage. I'm still pretty worked up/excited about that. we've been diligently working on some house projects the past few days, so that we can get started on the move over traditional easter weekend.


*keeping very busy with work...i never did post pictures of those beads I made the other night, did I?

*and now, funny cat pix:
so i have this super-nifty canvas-carrier for hot/cold dishes made in a 9x13 pyrex dish (this was a wedding gift from my best-friend's Mom (Hey Mama Lewis!).

I use this thing all the time, but recently it got some food-stuff on it from a recent expedition. So I put it in the washing machine, like I do with everything else that will fit (car mats, pillows, you name it!). Well I laid it out flat in a sun-beam by the deck door to dry out, and when i returned, there was a cat it in!!! Mickey had made himself right at home. So of course, I snapped a pic, and let him stay there (i'm a push-over).

So then, I walk back by the door a little while later, and now Rufi is taking his turn in the carrier!!!!

ya, so i snapped another pic and let him stay. Guess it's time to wash the carrier again, eh?

Big Changes on the way

Saturday, February 28, 2009 - 21:48:16 EST

Well, it finally happened (no, i'm not pregnant)...I've officially grown out of my office space. As Josh has put it "Ann, out in Maryland, you needed more and more space. here in our house, you have a whole office (but it's smaller than my space in MD, and i have 2x the businesses now)." But I can't help it. Business is good (knock on wood), and I NEED SPACE!

Renting a studio space is an options, but expensive: I'd barely make anything at the end of the month after paying for rent, utilities, insurance, food, more gas for the car. Plus the time i'd spend in traffic and expense of movie all my stuff to the studio. So instead, I'm going to put my money into fixing up our garage.

The garage is currently a dark, cold, icky-yucky space. But, with some more insulation, some awesome track light, some recycled rubber floor tiles, I'm able to claim about 220 sq feet in the garage to call my own (and still leave space for josh to comfortable park his car.)I'm currently working in about 110 sq ft, plus the garage has 10 ft ceilings, rather than the houses' 8ft ceilings.

we have a tentative plan in place to try and finish up the odds-n-ends of remodeling the inside of our house. And the goal is to have most of that done by Traditional Easter weekend (yes, I say Traditional Easter...or rather Catholic Easter. I'm Eastern Orthodox, our Easter is typically on a different date that Catholic Easter). So Anyway--Traditional Easter weekend, we're going to clean out the garage, insulate the attic, see if the walls need/can take more insulation, put up a fresh coat of paint, put down the floor tiles, and out up lots of track lighting.

Then that following week, I'll be 'moving' out to the garage. The good news is that, I'll have my computer out there--and I should be able to get the Torch-cam going again!!!

This is going to be quite the undertaking, but it's become very necessary.....well that or i just sell all my business stuff and I got get a "normal" job .....now there's an idea! :)

i've got quite a bit of nervous energy about all of this...I'm gonna go do some torching to help get my nerves under control. I'll post my pretties tomorrow.

Wow

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 11:31:15 EST

Is it 11:30 already!

Rufus is on his trouble-making tirade again. I have barricaded myself in my office (Rufus can open my office doors (small french-door like, wooden doors....rufi can "pop" the doors open!). So i've wrapped ribbon around both door knobs, so the doors can't swing open.

nap time, yet?

PillBug

Monday, February 23, 2009 - 11:24:50 EST

Rufus goes through phases of being "mommy's little helper". He's driving me up the wall today. I think he knows that I'm really busy today, trying to wrap up several orders, But he INSISTS on being the center of Attention. I finally got so tired of shooing him off the photo-stand, and cleaning cat fur off of it each time, that I finally just let him stay till he was tired of it on his own terms. So now I'll just switch out the whole background. But i got a silly picture of him in the meantime......I have aluminum foil taped to the sides of the my photo booth (classy, i know), to help reflect light into the center. Rufus could see his reflection in the aluminum foil and started pawing at the kitty-cat in the wall. What a total pill! He's on a mission to drive me crazy today...i just know it!

Desi-Thurs

Friday, February 20, 2009 - 15:37:48 EST

I had desi-baby over here yesterday. He and Uncle Josh got some good bonding time while I finished up dinner.

Desi Pix

Friday, February 20, 2009 - 15:37:12 EST

Good news all-around

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 14:52:11 EST

*My Dad went home from the hospital last night. When I called to see how he was doing, he was in his chair eating Pie. A whole pie. Raspberry. Yeah--I think he's doing a little better now!

*Despite my teasing and taunting and making him go to Spinning with me, Josh isn't terribly sore today. So that makes him happy that he's able to walk...and it makes me happy that I don't have to hear him complain about sore muscles. I'm curious if he'll be sore tomorrow, though....as you get older, it tends to take longer for the soreness to become apparent. Hmm...

:)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 20:14:42 EST

I convinced Josh go to a Spinning Class with me this evening. He survived.....but I totally kicked his butt. :o)

He says he'll keep going to class with me --at least until Spring. Hmm...our bike rides this spring and summer will be interesting....I have a feeling they'll get a little competitive.

I really don't know how Josh puts up with me. What a trooper!

...maybe if we both try...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 15:33:28 EST

Kitty dinner time is 5:00, sharp. (they have dry food available all day, but they get a teeny bit of yummy canned food each evening). Typically Mickey (the black one) will start meowing for dinner around 3. Rufi will chime in around 4:30 or so. But Today..it's just past 3:30, and they're both in here begging! Do they think that if they cry and beg together, I'll give in? No Dice! They have to wait until 5--but they are pretty cute.

Hoping for a "normal" week

Monday, February 16, 2009 - 7:30:08 EST

Josh got home Saturday night, after being in England for a full week (7th-14th). He was there for work. Our cell phones don't work in Europe, so we had to just communicate by email/gmail chat. England is 5 hours ahead, so by the time he would finally get to his computer it'd be 11 his time, and I was usually on my way out the door for an evening class at the gym. And then my Dad went into the hospital on Thursday...he's still there, he's doing OK, but it's made for a really out-of-the-ordinary week. I had so many projects planned for while Josh was out of town...but it's like I was moving in slow motion the whole time, while time was going full speed. So I feel like I didn't get ANYTHING accomplished!! And spending most of the day Friday at the hospital didn't help. Oh well.

But today has gotten off to it's usual Monday start, which is good. And as it happens, desi-baby isn't coming over today--he's traveling with his Mama and Daddy today, so I have today to get caught up on all that work that didn't get completed last week. I'll have little Desi on Thursday this week. and Josh is back in town, so that makes me happy.

So I'm hoping for a normal week.

I am going to go to the hospital a little later this morning to get in some good Daddy-time. He's having more tests done tomorrow (since today is President's Day, the Docs at the VA hospital here aren't working!), but we're hopeful that they'll be able to give us some answers tomorrow.

Sooo, I guess that means I have to finish my breakfast and get started on my day. Sigh. Have a good Monday.

Torch Time!

Sunday, February 8, 2009 - 13:39:12 EST

Alright, I'm heading out to the garage to do some torchin' It's in the mid 40's today. yesterday was in the 50's. So it should be a good day to get some work done...although i'm not particularly in the mood to do that work. oh well. Once i finish my little box of Brachs candy hearts, then i'll go outside and work. really.

-8

Thursday, February 5, 2009 - 7:20:52 EST

The actual temperature outside, right now, is -8.

YUCK!

It's supposed to "warm-up" to 22 today. And then starting tomorrow, we're supposed to have several days in the 40's and even the 50's!! We have a couple mountains of snow surrounding us right now...I can just see the flooding now. Oh well. If it really gets as warm as "they" are saying, then at least I'll be able to FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY get to the torch and get some orders filled. But until then, I'm thoroughly happy with staying inside where it is warm.

Desi-Day

Monday, February 2, 2009 - 13:38:10 EST

It's another Desi-Monday. I've got the little guy giggling away in my office...we're currently listening to the Little Mermaid soundtrack on online Radio Disney. Ooo!

He's liking it though--dancing away in his little bouncy chair. He gets his little legs kicking so hard!

and he's full to Tbtbtbtbts today--I caught him mid tongue-buzz in one picture...had to post it.

ha!

Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 15:26:28 EST

I always have the TV on CNN while I work here at home (I get lonely sometimes, so it's good to hear the conversation, plus it keeps me up-to-date on current events). Well I just hear the funnies thing. Again, I don't normally talk politics here on my site, as it's not really the appropriate venue...and rarely do people agree on politics...but this is funny.

the news anchor is leading a discussion about the almost-certain vote to kick Blagojevich out of the Governor's seat in IL. So the anchor was asking some guy (didn't catch his name or his qualitifications) about the Lt. Governor. Asking questions like, "Who is the Lt. Governor, what is he all about?". The guy's answer: "The Lt. Governor has always been a Washington outsider for his whole political career---A career of about 30 years now." !!!!

30 years! Gee, that sounds like a career politician to me...and isn't that part of what makes up a "Washington Insider" ? I don't know. Maybe I am interpreting it incorrectly. It just struck me as so ironic and incredibly hilarious.

I'm sure the guy was just trying to point out how qualified the Lt. Gov. is and point out that he does his own thing politically..blah, blah, blah...but it still came off funny.

Snow day

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 16:30:03 EST

Yeah, we got about a foot of snow. At the end of the driveway, though..there was maybe about 2 feet. We're right at the bend in our road, so all the snow came off the snow-plow blade right around our driveway. there was so much snow, we had to use a mini-shovel to help chip away at the upper foot of snow. then we were able to to go in with the full sized shovel actually clear the way. believe it or not, we actually got everything cleared! It took awhile. but the driveway is all clear. The hardest part was finding a place to put all the snow!

snow day

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 16:29:29 EST

cute picture of Josh

yup-it snowed

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 12:36:42 EST

from just looking out the window, it looks to be about a foot of snow. it's probably more like 9 or 10 inches. Eh, I'll venture outside in a bit to measure. Josh stayed home from work today. there's no need to go out in weather like this--the roads aren't really very good right now--might be better now that the sun is out (still below freezing, though). It's days like today where it's "bad" to work from home--you really don't have the excuse of a snow-day like everyone else. Sooo....yeah. I'm still working today, just not as much :).

Snow day

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 14:34:08 EST

I'm sitting at my desk, trying to get through my never-ending list of things to do, and realized that it's snowing at a pretty good rate outside. The weather predictions keep changing as to how much snow we'll be getting and by what time. But I think it's safe to say it's going to be snowing for awhile and we'll end up by tomorrow night with several inches. Fun :)

I'll have to take a break from work here in a bit to go shovel a bit of the snow. i like to shovel snow. don't know why. And when there is snow on the ground, it never feels quite as cold as it really is.

back to work in the meantime, though. I'm considering listing some things on etsy.com. that site is already filled to the brim with so many glass pendants already that I don't know if the hearts or anything else will get noticed. But you never know until you try, right? one of my crown customers (my other business orthodoxweddingcrowns.com) suggested i try listing some crowns on that site too. there are 3 crowns currently posted on that site. My crowns are SO different...maybe those will have a better chance of getting noticed. But right now, i'm actually working on cropping down pix of new crowns to post on the crown site. THEN, i'll get to the glass stuff.

what I really need are 2 days in a row where the low temp is Above freezing. I have some glass orders to fill. But the garage needs at least a day to thaw before I can stand to be out there for more than 15 minutes. So i need 2 days in a row, so i can go work the 2nd day. It was so bad out there last week that Josh and I brought in my engraver. I have it set up on my sewing machine table and have been doing crown engravings inside. I actually really like having it right here. But my office isn't quite big enough to allow the engraver to stay in here full time.

Toying with the idea of trying to keep the engraver inside full time, josh and i tried to come up with some new floor-plan arrangements for my work benches desk and cubbies. But well...nothing really provided me with THAT much more usable space, and a few options blocked off would render my window inaccessible to open it on nice days. Bummer. I need a bigger office!

It took me a year and a half to grow out of this office. I guess that's better than 6months. Bad thing is, there's no getting a bigger office for a very long time. Hmm...maybe there is some "stuff" i can get rid of......I'll keep you posted :)

Got one!

Saturday, January 24, 2009 - 21:28:45 EST

Alright, Indianapolis-ers. I've got a store in the Castleton area carrying some of my items! It's called "twisted sisters" on 71st near Graham. It's in a converted Taco Bell--they have it painted-up really cute. So, between Twisted Sisters and Bunch of Ladies in Terre Haute, i need to get my list of stores who carry my items updated. I'll do that eventually :)

New store

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 18:37:46 EST

Over the weekend, I was able to strike a deal with a new store to carry a few of my items. So, if you're in Terre Haute, swing past Bunch Of Ladies gift shop (Bunch Nurseries on Hulman near Brown)!

I'm trying to get into a few shops here in Indy...shop owners here aren't as open to meeting with local artists it seems.....

I just received a bunch of inventory back from a consignment shop in CT. This store is located in a community center. and while they operate all year, during the Christmas season, then expand their floor space. It started out with my items on display only at Christmas, but they hung on to the items for the whole year and then requested more at the following Christmas. so then, with each subsequent Christmas for the past several years I've sent them more items. But I've built up so much inventory with them, and they don't sell as much in the 'off' season so they shipped some excess back to me. Which is Awesome! I forgot about some of the neat things I had sent them! I'm thinking of listing some hearts on etsy.com......We'll see.

Desi's Baptism

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 21:53:04 EST

Last weekend, my little nephew was baptized! My brother and I are the Godparents. Josh snapped a couple of pictures, thought it would be fun to show them to you all.

desi cried through the WHOLE thing. Poor guy. a lot of prayers were said before this sequence of photos. the photos start up right before Desi gets dunked.
the first photo is where we just got desi stripped to his diaper prepping him for the water.

The second photo is showing desi being anointed with oil

Desi's Baptism

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 21:51:09 EST

Getting dunked!!!

being annointed

Desi's Baptism

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 21:47:32 EST

A small procession is part of the baptism.

desi taking communion for the first time!

Desi's Baptism

Sunday, January 18, 2009 - 21:38:00 EST

I managed to get desi's baptism gown made just in time!

And, well, Aaron and I have a running thing with orange-smiles. We started a series of these photos for Alisa, and figured we might as well keep it going for her child :)

One more year under the belt

Monday, January 5, 2009 - 8:23:27 EST

What I did over Christmas Vacation:

The week before Christmas we had a house-guest for just over a week. Because of that I didn't have a normal work schedule during that time. The day after our friend left, Josh got sick and our water-heater went out. The next day (Mon before Christmas), Josh was still sick, and we stayed up until 1am repairing the water-heater.

Tuesday, Josh was still sick. he went to work that day, I got us packed up to go to T.H. He came home just as an ice storm hit. Ice started melting. Indy and T.H. streets seemed fine...we head out, but get stuck on I-70 for 8 hours because of Jack-knifed semi's losing traction in the ice. We arrive in T.H. at 1:30am. (normally a 1.5 hour drive).

Christmas Eve. Josh is sick. In T.H. good times with family. Have dinner with some good friends.

Christmas day, Josh is sick. I get sick. Good morning with my family. drive to Indy, go to his mom's family's Christmas, then to his dad's house.

Dec 26th-New Year's Eve: Sick on the couch watching movies alllllll day. And I missed an eye appt during this time too. Ooops!

N. Y. eve--we did go to my sister's house for a small celebration. Watched movies and went to the gym N.Y Day. Realized that the Christmas cold took a lot more out of me than I realized when I was at the gym. made myself sick.

Jan 2nd- went to T.H.

Josh and I mini-celebrated our 5th Wedding anniversary!
went to Corey family Christmas in T.H. Drove back to Indy. Watched more movies

Jan 4. actually did some work around the house. and dreaded coming back to work the next day. Dinner at Josh's mom's house.

Today: Back to work for both Josh and myself. not as bad as I thought....so far at least. I've been away from work for so long now, i was worried about getting back into the swing of things. Josh did remind me that I was still working some days while i was sick on the couch...I did manage to answer some customer emails. and I got my sales-tax report for this quarter compiled....and start on the yearly business taxes. My office is a mess though..ugh. But it's all worthwhile, because there is a kitty-cat asleep in a box of misc. tissue paper right next to me. And this kitty-cat snores. (Don't worry, I won't use this tissue paper on any of your orders...you never know who is allergic to kitties!)

show and big-day

Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 22:38:32 EST

Well, I did participate in today's Farmer's Market, under the assurance that by cramming everything into the warmer of the 2 freezing warehouse rooms, that people were able to stay warm last week with "good cheer". Hmm. So I went. Apparently I'm a Bah-Humbug. I WAS FREEZING ALL DAY!! And I'm such a scrooge that I even left early!! But today's show was pretty successful and definitely worthwhile. and thanks to all of you who came out today!

But I didn't mind getting frozen out from the show as I had a lot of work back home that I needed to help with--(plus i snuck in a quick visit with my sister, Alisa, and sweet little Desi-baby). but we had a ton of projects back home in order to be ready for a house guest!

Neal--our good friend from DC--arrived this evening and will be here until next weekend....we're trying to sell him on Indy.

sales pitch for evening 1: order pizza, watch old "office" episodes on netflix.

Some more new stuff

Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 17:35:17 EST

I mentioned in the previous post about some new glass that i used on that heart...well, I bought some other 'new' glass at the same time...I used it on a pen bead shown in an earlier post...but here's another bead made with this stuff. I LOVE IT!!!!!! it's hard to photograph, as it has a lot of dark hues to it, and it's really glossy (i really want to see what it looks like etched, but i love the unetched so much--i hate to dip it into chemicals!) I'll work on getting better photographs of this kind of glass, as i get more things made from it. LOVE IT!

And then I also have a fun new shape to show you. I was just playing around with some of my little hand tools and came up with this. easily repeatable, but not made with a press. can't get any better than that (presses are expensive and sometimes tricky to use if you don't have the right amount of glass to start with).

yeah, I've been bitten by the glass bug again...now that I've been spending more time out there because of that Christmas show (which i will be doing this Sat. as the temps are supposed to be better). I'm getting back into my glass-groove again.

New kind of heart

Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 16:07:35 EST

A customer emailed me asking for a replacement heart pendant: his wife's broke and he needed a new one. Well, since i didn't making the original heart, I was reluctant to make en exact copy...plus it used Dichroic glass--something I don't use a whole lot of. So I made this guy--and i really love the effect I came up with.

I recently purchase this new kind of glass (i like to buy glass-blowers Frit--Glass blowers have way better colors that do waaaay color things than glass meant for lampworking). this new glass is clear, but 'reduces' to gold!!

So I layered this clear glass onto light Lavender. And melted it all in. And i didn't reduce it too much, so you only get glimmers of gold around the spec of melted in glass. So the result is this perfectly smooth heart, that looks like it has an awesome dimpled/crackle look, it glimmers gold, but is still purple! I love it! It's also longer/larger than my usual hearts.

do you say this, or is it just me?

Friday, December 5, 2008 - 20:14:35 EST

I know, i'm full of news today. Anyway, i was just looking at my kitty cats and found myself saying for the umteenth time: Oh, you're so cute, I just want to eat you!

Do you say things like this?

I'm pretty sure i've heard other people saying things like that to babies...so I don't think i'm THAT crazy.

but really, why do we say this? Why is it that we want to *eat* something that is just so that darn cute?

It's so hard to express just how adorable, cuddly, fuzzy, cute, precious, and loved our pets --and for those of you with real, human children ( i hope they're not fuzzy)--are? Is it that eating them (or saying we want to) is the only way to express how overwhelmed with love we are for them?

or does it just show how much we Americans like to eat? or does it show that we're all just carnivores/cannibals way deep down?

do people from other cultures proclaim that something is so cute they want to eat it?

Hmm.

well, if you will now excuse me, I am going to get back to my feast of Mickey and Rufi.

For Sale!

Friday, December 5, 2008 - 18:35:17 EST

Alright, so I just withdrew from tomorrow's scheduled show...and possibly the show next Saturday. When I signed up for the show, we were told that we'd have a heated 10ft x10ft space.

There was no heat a few weeks ago...an accidental oversight, we were told. Ok fine. I froze...i dealt with it, I met a lot of really nice, creative artists, and lots of great business owners in my community. And we were told that there will definitely be heat at the next show.

Well, turns out, there won't be heat. So they're asking people to condense their booths as much as possible so that everyone can fit into one of the two rooms in the warehouse...this one room is supposedly warmer than the other (i was in the 'other' room last time).

So I'm withdrawing. I was sick all day Sunday after the last show from being cold all day. and tomorrow it is supposed to be very cold again...So, I think my time is better spent working at home. I know I'm missing out on sales, as I know people will show up no matter what. But, well, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

So anyway, I'll be posting all of my inventory for sale here on the website. Lots of hearts, some seductive goddesses, and several pens. so stayed tuned for that!

size of a hamburger bun

Friday, December 5, 2008 - 10:40:30 EST

My Mama had her thyroid removed yesterday....And surgeons are able to make relatively small incisions to remove thyroids now. But of course, my mom's thryoid turned out to be Much larger than the dr was expecting. Apparently this was the largest thyroid he has ever removed through such a small incision. I guess the gland was the size of a hamburger bun!!

She's already been released from the surgery center (they only keep you 23 hours) and my parents are now over here resting up before heading back to T.. either tonight or tomorrow. So I get to play nurse instead of artist today :)

technically, I do have another show tomorrow at the Binford Farmer's Market...but depending on how my mama is feeling--if she stays the night--then i don't think that I will participate tomorrow. We'll see how things go. I'll keep you posted.

2 cute pictures

Saturday, November 29, 2008 - 11:22:40 EST

--the first one is of my nephew desi. He was over here on Wednesday. And as usual, being the stellar Auntie Mo, I was taking umteen pictures of him. He became fascinated by the camera. So I started moving it around to see if he would track it...he did. and I caught him doing this little rumpled eyebrow thing that he does...it's adorable!

and then the other pix if of Mickey. I had to bring in my Citrus trees, since it's officially cold here now. I have the potted dirt covered with towels (to prevent kitty-digging)...and sprayed the towels down with this cat-repellent stuff (it's like a pepper spray), to keep the cats away. But we know our curious cats, and so we even put a chair in front of the pots to help block them off--and prevent any tipping.

Well Mickey has beaten the odds: do you see a black cat in the background there, laying in one of the pots? He totally defied the car repellent! This was too perfect of a picture.

Not quite what I had in mind...

Friday, November 28, 2008 - 16:17:37 EST

Well Thanksgiving has turned out to be not quite what I expected this year. We spent All day with Josh's family yesterday. Josh was sick in the morning, but pulled it together for his family's feast and seemed to do pretty well all evening. But then just kind of crashed when we got home. And today he's feeling even worse. So we canceled our plans to head to T.H to see my family. I'm staying here with him...i don't like the idea of leaving him home sick by himself.

So he's napping now. I'm doing some work, and that isn't going particularly well. Just kind of a frustrating day after Thanksgiving.

Holidays seem so anti-climatic anyway. I like the holiday season, but I don't know if I actually like the holiday itself.

I'll just go bury my sorrows with the 2 pumpkin pies I made this morning to take to Terre Haute (didn't realize Josh was going to be so ill I'd need to stay home too...).

and I must say, i DO like Pumpkin Pie! :)

As promised--pix of new piece!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:58:51 EST

and lots of them!

over the course of the next few days, i would like to go ahead and start posting these things for sale here on the website. I may not take new photographs, even though some of these images are the best.....after my next 2 holiday shows are done (6th and 13th), then I'll take better pix of the pieces that are still available.

but I want to go ahead and post these for sale, so that any of you out there-not in Indy- who might have a hankering for a bead pen or a goddess pendant..well, then, you can buy these pieces too.

slider bead--1/2" hole. this is a big bead! great as an accent on any chain!.

black/red bubble pendant.

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:57:11 EST

Goddess Pendants

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:52:46 EST

etched black goddess w/ head. oh, and every goddess as pure silver nipples (of course!).

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:51:28 EST

Silver-Fumed Pregnant Goddess!

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:50:20 EST

Pens!

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:38:46 EST

pens!

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:31:19 EST

Pen 1--I love this glass! It's new and arrived just a few days before the show. this was a test bead---to see what the glass would do--and it turned out so beautifully that I went ahead and used it! Love it! ..wonder what it looks like etched?..

Fun, whimsical pen!

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:28:53 EST

Part of my "yellow stone" series...I've had some similar pieces for sale here on the website before...and will again soon!

new pieces...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:24:18 EST

Silver fumed glass. Pendant and earrings.

a new kind of glass that arrived just 3 days before Saturday's show last weekend! the lighting on the earrings it too dark, but you can see some of the neat characteristics of the glass in the pendant. See also the cooper pen--its bead is made using this glass. also features hammered fine silver detailing.

new pieces....

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 22:22:06 EST

Green art deco necklace (reproduction) --saw a picture of a similar art deco era necklace and i feel in love! My uncle mark made me a really neat tool to help me get those precise steps in the beads.

Plain and simple--shades of white. some etched, others left glossy.

really!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - 13:25:06 EST

Ok, so I've got my nephew, desi-baby, with me today. He's helping me do some Yummy Thanksgiving cooking. while the food is cooking in its various shifts, I will sit down and post pix of some of the new glass items. really! :) and maybe a picture or two of my handsome little helper.

I am in awe

Monday, November 24, 2008 - 18:00:17 EST

Why am in Awe, you ask? I am in awe of people. Rather, I *continue* to be in awe of people...and not in a good way. And more specifically, in awe of other small business owners.

Is it the economic crunch that causes these people to be dishonest, rude, disrespectful, and downright irresponsible? Or is it that they've been "had" too many times, and no longer care to do the right thing? I just don't get it.

everyone works hard everyday. everyone is busy. everyone is in a hurry. everyone is trying to save money. and everyone is trying to make a living.

But that is NO excuse for being dishonest.

Alright, I've said my peace. I probably just need to grow some thicker skin so that I won't be so disillusioned by people....But then I wouldn't be the sensitive "artist" that you all know me as (ha ha :) ).

show tomorrow-time correction

Friday, November 21, 2008 - 16:20:48 EST

Don't forget about the show tomorrow! And the show runs until 2:30! (not 2, as i previously posted). I photographed a bunch of stuff and will post pix in a bit. Right now, i have to run over to the show site and set up my booth.

brrr...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 15:25:41 EST

So I've been doing a lot of torching the last few days. The torch is out in the uninsulated garage. And it's barely above freezing this week. I'm frozen to the core right. I can't torch with gloves or bulky clothing on...but I do have on 2 hats and a heavy sweatshirt,jeans, and heavy boots. about every hour or so i have to come inside for 10 minutes or so to warm up. what's funny is that my body just naturally seems to know when 1 hour is up--I don't have a clock out there. But each time i come in it's almost exactly 1 hour later than when I headed back out.

Anyway, the good news here is that, I finally am getting enough stuff made (enough good stuff, that is), and my new jug of etch-all arrived earlier. So I can start posting my new pieces soon. can't wait to show you pix. I just got done making 3 new goddesses. Plus hopefully enough of a certain kind of bead to make an uber-cool bracelet.

I'm heading back out in a bit..switching fuel sources (from propane to mapp) and am going to make some fun organic-y lookin stuff. I'm doing lots of pendants...a lot less expensive then full necklaces...good price point for gifts.

And of course, there are lots of Melting Hearts :)

Upcoming show reminder

Monday, November 17, 2008 - 11:52:17 EST

For those of you in the Indianapolis area, my first Holiday show in quickly approaching. This Saturday, Nov 22nd, from 10am - 2pm in the old Entemanns outlet (62nd & Binford, next to Peak Performance Gym).

the next two shows are at the same location, also from 10am -2pm, but will take place on Saturday Dec6 and Saturday Dec 13th.

I'm finally starting to get a couple of good show pieces out of my few torching sessions, and will start posting pix for all of you to see!

Can't catch a break today...

Thursday, October 30, 2008 - 19:38:00 EDT

It's been a rough day!!

First, a part on my engraver broke (see pic). Every once in awhile, the bit on the engraver will come loose in the middle of an engraving job. When that happens I've been able to catch it happening pretty quickly, and stop the machine and re-tighten the bit.

well today, not so much. I didn't catch the slip fast enough. I was working on re-leveling a small section of my engraving bed, using an endmill bit to do the work. The bit was taking away very little material so it was moving very nice and smooth. Then, after several minutes, the bit slipped down. I heard it bogging down and knew what was happening. But by the time I got the spindle unplugged and the machine stopped, the bit was already jammed down into the plastic and leaning at a forward angle (because the machine was still wanting to keep on going).

So the sleeve that holds the collet that holds the bit, split and bent. Yeah.

2) a really cool not "toy" arrived (mini rolling mill--i'll explain later). Takes up way more room than I anticipated. where in the world am i going to put this?

3) soldering torch fell off the work bench. ceramic bit broke. Luckily Alisa and Jason (and Desi) were at Harbor Freight and bought me a new one and brought it past :) So I did the soldering on a crown done.

time for dinner. Hope I don't break it.

Desi Pumpkin

Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 17:59:22 EDT

My 2-month old nephew, Desi, is all ready for Halloween!

have you ever...

Friday, October 24, 2008 - 7:49:29 EDT

..heard a kitty cat walking around talking to himself?

I think it's the weather (it's been raining all night/morning). and both Rufi and mickey are in rare moods today. Mickey is playful (he's the laziest cat you will ever meet). and Rufi seems to be unsettled and frustrated...walking around the house MEOWing and then grumbling. it's so funny! poor guy. I think he just needs a hug from mama.

crazy low silver prices

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 12:27:35 EDT

I keep a close eye on silver and gold prices because of my other job as a crown maker. Silver prices are the lowest I've even seen them this week (under $10/oz). And while I wish i could afford to just buy! buy! buy! I can't. But I did go ahead and re-stock my supple of sterling silver snake chains and purchased some REALLY NEAT silver earring backers. and some short lengths of some other fun kinds of silver that will aid me in making some awesome jewelry for the upcoming Holiday show here in Indy. I plan on posting many things for sale here on the website as well. I hope to start posting new finished items here on the site by next week (and i really do mean that!). I have a few new beads made from my torch session last week. I'm in the process of making some new hearts...and all around, I'm feeling re-invigorated with glass work. So I'm anxious to show you some new things.

sleepy day

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 9:50:04 EDT

Typically, I can get myself to snap out of sleepmode on sleepy mornings as i start thinking about the work i need to do for the day. Thinking about the different jobs, there deadlines, what is still left to you--that typically gets my blood pumping.

Not today!

Man-o-man i was SLEEPY when i got up this morning. so went back to bed when Josh left for work :).

I managed to get up a while ago. I've had my b-fast. but I'm still a little apathetic toward work right now, although i have a major, major crown to finish up PRONTO. AND i want to be able to torch this afternoon.

eh. it's gonna be one of THOSE days.

A social study

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 14:20:24 EDT

On Sunday evening, I went to a funny/strange event, that turned out to be, for me, a study in social sciences.

So I've mentioned that I do this "Zumba" class...a fun aerobics workout at the gym down the street. Well, on Sunday, the creator of Zumba, Roberto something or other, who goes by "Beto" came to town to teach a Master Class.

My regular instructor, Cesaer, invited several of us students to the Master class.

I went. I was uncomfortable. I zumba-ed. I went home.

I'm not really the type of gal who gets crazy-excited about things. Well, to clarify, I don't get super excited about Social events. I'm not a "groupie" type person. growing up, I never had a favorite band, you know, stuff like that. In a large crown, i'm not the kind of person that hoots and hollers, or cheers. I'll smile. I'll clap. But I don't really do concerts. I'll have a good time. but it's not my "thing".

And I knew this even would be a little like that, but I still think it's good for me to participate in things like this...it's good to be uncomfortable every once in a while.

and man, there were old ladies there shouting and screaming at Beto like little teenage groupies. it was Weird!! I guess you could say that it was fun to watch other people get so excited. but i wasn't terribly comfortable because all of these women were Incredibly click-y. So I was standing by my lonesome for awhile. that's ok. I'm a big girl. i can handle it.

and once the zumba-ing started, it was no big deal. ...except for the fact that is was PACKED. over 300 people doing aerobics in a not-large-enough hotel conference room dance floor.

I think almost everyone stayed after to get photos with Beto and get his autograph. (he is quite the mini-celebrity. I guess he does the choreography for Shakira and several other musicians, in addition to having created this whole Zumba thing).

I, however, slipped out the back door.

One other really neat thing though--before Beto showed up--a small dance troop danced a style of traditional-Cuban dancing. I don't remember what it was called. But it was SO cool!! Beautiful!

Anyway, i think i'll keep my zumba-ing to the gym on tuesdays and thursdays from now on.

Holiday Show in Indianapolis

Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 11:54:40 EDT

I Just submitted an application to take part of the Holiday Farmers Market taking place at the intersection of 65th and Binford (old Entemanns (sp?) outlet store).

The Holiday Market will take place on the following dates:
Saturday Nov 22 10-2:30
Saturday Dec 6th 10-2:30
Saturday Dec 13th 10-2:30

Hope you can make it if you're in the area!

Baby Boys

Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 11:46:50 EDT

Mickey, Rufi, and I just got back from our annual trip to the vet. I like our new dr here in IN....and she oooo-ed and aahh-ed an appropriate amount over the boys (you have the flatter the owner, you know :) )

Rufi is a sleepy baby right now, though, because he has to have a pre-shot of benedryl before he gets his vaccines (he gets localized reactions to his shots).

But the dr feels both boys could stand to loose a little weight. she's right. I just like my big guys. Luckily they're not super-overweight. Rufi needs to lose 1 lb, and mickey should loose about 2. and we're starting mickey on a glucosamine supplement to help delay any arthritis or further deterioration in his knees (he has luxiated patellas..and it's because of this condition that we need to get his weight down too).

they were both sooo good for their shots, though! Too bad I can't take the rest of today off to cuddle with my fuzzy bears. Ok back to work.

Today is the day!

Friday, October 3, 2008 - 10:17:17 EDT

I think I may have created a hole of time for myself this afternoon to go out and torch!! WOO WOO! I'll keep you posted ;) wish i had that web cam set up.....i have the software loaded on the laptop...where did josh put the webcam, though??

debating on watching the debate

Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 10:41:37 EDT

So, I really don't talk about politics in this blog...I try and keep things as non-alienating as possible...and focused more on my jobs and experiences (because it's ALL ABOUT ME!! of course!). But I gotta just say, I am super-saturated with politics right now (it's my own fault, I have the TV on CNN every afternoon -I need to hear conversation during the day since I don't have coworkers, except for the fuzzy kind that try and make you take naps with them).

Having said that--I am still intrigued by tonight's VP debate, but also not. Josh and I do have a date planned to watch it and are popping popcorn. But to be completely frank, I don't know if I have the patience to actually WATCH it, you know?

We weren't able to watch last week's presidential debate, and even if we could have-again, I don't know if I have the patience.

I think I've mentioned that I'm a kind of twitchy-anxious person (I really really try to be relaxed and easy going!). and i have a tendency to get impatient and anxious with TV shows/movies (oh man, esp. the kind where people are going behind other people's back...drives me up the wall). When "Meet the Parents" came out on DVD, Josh and I rented it. Poor guy, I made him FF during that middle-last bit where everything was going wrong. I JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT! He was so mad! I was going to leave the room if he didn't, so he didn't have a choice. He had to go back and watch it later by himself. It was just so over the top, and you know how it's going to end, so just get to the end already! ARGH! I'm going crazy just thinking about it!

And that's how tonight's debate is going to be.

I'll just engross myself in some knitting.

interesting competition

Friday, September 26, 2008 - 7:51:29 EDT

So, this morning I was emailing a customer for my other business (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). I had to double-check the spelling of a Greek word, and just "googled" it since there's to way this word is included on dictionary.com! In doing so, a site came up in the results that caught my attention. It's a new site (well, maybe not "new", but it's new to me. really, though, they can't have been around long, as I've never seen this place before -- and I try to keep tabs on all my "competition").

This new place was a little disturbing though, as it wasn't quite like all the other Greek import stores...It actually named its crowns like I do...in fact it had a bunch of the same names! I don't know, that just seems funny to me. But not only that, they say the offer customization of their crowns, where I think I was the only one doing that for awhile. Turns out, their customization is limited to ribbon color, I believe. And their crowns are still imported (not that there's anything wrong with that, really! There are many people and priests who prefer the imported crowns from Greece. That's just fine! But I also get desperate emails from a lot of people who weren't told until 2 weeks before the wedding that the crowns are out of stock, here's your money back. So really it's just more business for me when they run out of a design and can't offer a similar alternate.)

It's still a very interesting discovery. And they have "affiliate" offices, too. Hmmm. very interesting :)

Pens!

Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 10:49:24 EDT

I just ran back across my stash of "bead pen" blanks....I think I have a few pictured, complete with beads, on the gallery page, under "beads". I'm going to see about actually getting back to the torch pretty soon and make up some more of those. I have some stores in need of their Christmas stock...SOON (deadline of Oct 15th, I think!!) So we'll see what happens...I might even make some wine stoppers! Ok, enough teasing. Back to work.

silly kitties

Sunday, September 21, 2008 - 22:06:26 EDT

We've been doing lots of house projects this weekend (including having installed a new dishwasher -YAY!).

Can you find both kitties in the 1st picture? Both cats tend to hang out in my office when we're running power tools and the vacuum. They both must be aware of their coat colors, as they really blend into my furniture!

And in the 2nd picture....we finally are on our way to installing the shower in our master bath!!! Rufus decided to dive right into the box as soon as we brought it in from the garage. He dove in head first....but I was able to snap a pic of him on his way back out of the box.

If you buy it, it will break

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 21:23:27 EDT

Ok, so we're stillllll installing wood floors over here. We had a break-time of a few months as we did other work on the house..but we've been back on the floors the last several weeks. mostly weekends. (We're almost done!!). I was the one using our craftsman miter saw to cut boards on Saturday night. On Sunday, Josh went to use it, and the clutch/break thing that stops the blade apparently broke off. so the blade kept spinning after you let go of the power button.

"Ok," we think. "The blade guard is still there. it's still running fine. Eh. let's keep using it."

So I keep using it, but then I realize it's taking the blade a bit to rev up to full speed. Josh uses it and figures out the brake thing has gotten sucked up into the blade housing. so now, it's really broken and we can't use it

Luckily, it's still under warranty. we purchased that on Oct 9 last year and it has a 1 year warranty. but what stinks is that we have to take to the service center and wait for it to be fixed. We have Josh's Grandfather's super-scary and OLD chop saw that we can use while our nice little one is getting fixed. But that thing is S.C.A.R.Y. I'm not allowed to use it, which is fine by me. So this puts a major halt in our uber-duber motivated work on the floor.

Ok fine. there are other things we can work on that don't need the saw.

But then tonight, I was cleaning up after dinner. went to start the dishwasher. Can't close the door. Nothing is in the way of the door closing all the way...it just won't latch. The stupid latch broke!

I severely dislike this dishwasher anyway (doesn't clean AT ALL!!! the previous owners just bought it in 2003. But It's AWFUL). So in light of the fact that i don't like this dishwasher (have I mentioned that yet?) this is going to be the reason that gets josh to buy "me" a new one. Not the fact that it doesn't clean. not the fact that the heating element is completely caked with lime and calcium and will not come clean no matter how much i chip away at it. Nope. But the fact that a tiny latch has rendered the whole thing useless: yes. and we don't want to pay someone to come fix a dishwasher that doesn't work well in the first place. That'd be like throwing money down the drain to us. There's not fixing that could make this dishwasher work better anyway..it's just a very poor design....previous owner had to have gotten it on clearance.

And plus Sears has dishwashers on sale now (we know that from having tried to take the saw to the store for repair. turns out you have to take it to a separate service center down the street that has limited hours). Is it in the budget to buy a new dishwasher? nope, not with how much our property taxes went up. ugh. Thank goodness for 0% financing.

Thank goodness for an OCD husband (and i truly say that with love and respect), because i know he's going to research the heck out of dishwashers tonight and find out what will be the BEST dishwasher for us. :) (i have no patience for that kind of thing).

Now to finish washing those dishes from dinner.....

Super-glueing at 8am...

Monday, September 15, 2008 - 8:24:46 EDT

...not a good idea.

Maybe I should preface this advice by saying that I'm super sleepy this morning. I was sleeping SO well last night!!! But I apparently require more sleep today. (I finally off that darn medicine, and I've been sleeping like a log the past week!!). I didn't get a whole lot of sleep this weekend, and so this morning...oh man. I was a zombie. Josh just laughed at me as I got his travel mug of coffee prepped.

Anyway. back to my story. Um...so I'm working on some crowns....and yes, using super glue. I'm also wearing flip-flops.

Don't ask. I don't know how. but I have super-glued part of my foot to my shoe. I quite literally cannot get my foot out of my shoe right now. The flip-flop is a foamy material...so it really bonded with that glue. I just need to wait until my skin gets a little oily to break down the super glue so i can remove my foot. Which actually might take some time, because i just got out of the shower, too. Harumph!

Ooo it's a Monday.

If I ever get my shoe off, I think i need to go take a nap. I have a crown that I need to solder later today. I don't even want to know how that will go while I'm this sleepy.

Note to self: Don't use super-glue at 8am on a Monday.

really comfy box of...

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 8:29:33 EDT

....pearls.

can't sleep..

Friday, September 5, 2008 - 2:36:32 EDT

I'm still taking Prednisone... Still can't sleep. I'm tapering off of it at least...but still can't sleep. Last night I was desperate and took a benedryl so I could get some sleep. I slept for a few hours. Got up, fixed Josh's lunch and coffee, then went back to bed for a few hours. I did get a few more hours of sleep, but since it was drug-induced sleep, so to speak, it really didn't feel like I slept at all! but I got up and got some good work done today. I don't want to take another benedryl because it just makes me so groggy/dizzy.

I thought that tonight, for sure, despite still being on the meds, that I'd be able to sleep (cause I am so tired!). but no dice. I just can't shut my mind off. I got up around midnight and have been getting some good work done. Maybe that will help alleviate my anxious mind and allow me to sleep later? Maybe? Please?

Since 10 this evening (when I hunkered into bed to knit and relax) I have finished knitting the cutest hat ever for Desi. And I made a set of crowns. And I wrote a letter to the Mayor's Action Center (we still have barricades in our backyard from the sinkhole work this spring). And I printed off new address labels. And put together some samples for customers. It's now 2:45am. What can I do now that doesn't make too much noise (don't want to wake up Josh)? Maybe I'll go ahead and go make his lunch. And I do have some sewing that needs to be done. I have a ton of website/computer business work to do. I could also go can some more veggies from the garden (is it really wise to operate a pressure cooker at 3am?) Can you tell I'm in a drug-induced hyper-active state yet?

I even went and "Zumba"ed this evening to burn off this anxious energy!

Gah!

Ooohs and Aahh's

Thursday, September 4, 2008 - 13:32:55 EDT

Oooohs: Yesterday I attended my first Spinning class. Spinning class as in Spinning on a bike a the gym...not making yarn.

OOOOOh am I sore today!!

But it's a good kind of sore, so I'm ok with the pain.

A few weeks ago, after realizing that i was "suffering" from cabin fever from working from home all the time, I decided that I need to get out more. And since I just can't seem to make running work in my favor any more, I decided that joining a local gym was a more than justified expense. I found a great place a few miles away. They have tons of neat aerobic classes, Spinning, Pilates, etc... Josh and I got a joint membership, so now he has a place to lift weights too.

I am using the weights as well, but I think the classes are good for me. Human interactions. Exercising. Double whammy. It's a little out of my comfort zone, as I'm just a kind of anxious person naturally. So making myself get out for something other than running errands is a good exercise in and of itself.

What's today's exercise? Zumba! I did it a couple days ago too. it's a fun salsa-like aerobic thing. If you've never done a group aerobic class before..it's kinda silly if you really think about it. It's like being in on of those Jane Fonda workout videos my Mama used to do all the time....She's gonna get me for telling everyone that she used to work out to Jane Fonda. hehehe.


Now for the Aaah's....No, not a pix of my sweet Nephew Desi. Instead, my tabby cat Rufus. I was photographing some materials for a crown customer a bit ago. As soon as I turned away to send off the pictures, Rufus jumped up and made himself a happy napping place on my photo stand among the fabrics. Stinker. He's lucky he's so cute.

Desmond!

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 8:58:57 EDT

I have a little nephew! have a busy morning planned, so details later, but wanted to show pix now!

Desmond Dale. 7lbs 8 oz. 20.75" long. 3 weeks early!

at the hospital...

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 10:17:42 EDT

my sister went into labor yesterday afternoon. her water broke around 3:30. They were at the hospital around 5:30. I got the call at 6. waiting for them to get checked into a room, showed up at 8. stayed till 3am. Things surprisingly are not progressing quickly. for how fast things were moving pre-water breakage, we thought for sure that this kid would slide right out. They had to induce, because of the water breakage, and then from the pain of contractions, she had to get an epidural (was trying to avoid that). things weren't progressing any, so we went home at 3am this morning...back by 8am. didn't sleep at all. finished knitting a sweater. Alisa has progressed just slightly since getting the epidural at 7am. She's having lots of problems with low blood pressure. She's really hanging in there though. Baby is doing fantastic, though...great heart rate. no problems.

Poison Ivy, oh my

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 6:25:03 EDT

Last week I woke up with what has turned out to be poison Ivy....spreading poison ivy. (rash is/was mostly on legs, so don't worry customers-- products didn't come anywhere near my itchy rash). Cortisone cream was not helping, so Sunday morning, rather than being a good little girl and going to church, I went to an immediate care place to get some meds to dry up the rash. I was just hoping for a shot of prendisone/steriod....but Dr gave me a full 2 week course of the pills. Ugh. And I've got a wicked antihistamine to help me stop itching at night so I can sleep.

Few things to note: 1) even though the poison ivy is not contagious at all, since the plant oil is long gone...there's something psychological about having a spreading rash on your own body....and with a little Nephew about to be born any minute now, I knew I had to get this taken care of pronto, so that I can hold him and not be itching like a madwoman.

2) I don't sleep well while on prendisone. I was on this stuff years ago for an AWFUL break out of poison sumac or something. Both my mom and I were just COVERED in that rash. It was crazy. and I recall not sleeping well then.

3)this wicked antihistamine does definitely takes care of the itching and make me sleepy. But it's the kind of sleepiness that you know is drug induced (super dizzy, heavy eyes, moving at half speed kind of thing). But despite that, I still am not sleeping well. I don't know if it's because I just can't shut off my mind to allow myself to sleep (a common problem for me anyway)...or what!

The night before last, I took a full antihistamine at 11....I slept off and on until about 6am. talked with josh a bit before he went off to work. Went back to bed, and slept straight through until 11am! Soo yeah...late start to yesterday. So I thought that last night I'd take just have the antihistamine. So i did...around 9:30 this time. eh. it made me dizzy, heavy eyes...thought I'd sleep like a log last night. No dice. I did definitely get some sleep...but I was awake when josh got up, so I thought I'd get up with him and make his lunch (which i got out of doing yesterday!)...And now a morning round of business emails and updates, so that maybe I can go sleep off the rest of this antihistamine in a bit, guilt free. We'll see.

update

Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 12:47:56 EDT

alisa hasn't popped yet. The subaru plant tour was awesome!

Nephew Update

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 10:55:20 EDT

Well, Alisa is not due until Sept 15th...but the Dr. told her she had a 50/50 shot of going into labor this week. Ali has had all the pre-labor "labor" and honestly, that woman should be having mundo contractions right now......but she's not. So she's not officially in labor right now...But my guess is that by tomorrow night, something should be happening.
I hope so for her sake. That kid is riding LOW LOW LOW in her belly...and quite frankly, he's really not in the belly any more. And Alisa is beyond uncomfortable with this kid's current position. So for her sake.. I hope something happens tonight!

I just hope it doesn't happen Thursday evening. Why? Well.....Josh and I made plans several weeks ago to go to Lafayette, IN. As Indiana Subaru owners, we were invited to a plant tour at the supposedly really cool Lafayette plant. They're offering 2 tour time slots, and the tour is limited to 100 in each time slot.

As soon as Josh got that email the other night, he called me in, we made a super-duper quick decision (YES! DUH!) and emailed back for the Thursday night time slot (rather than Fri morning...and we got in!

And Supposedly, we get to test drive all their new cars on their closed track! Legally, Subaru can't let us drive the cars...but there will be sales people there allowing "test drives". And no pictures are allowed.

And Josh being..Josh/engineer. And Me being.....well....me (grew up watching mr. rogers: seeing videos of factories and how things are made (love that show on discovery, by the way), we're just fascinated by that kind of thing. So we're really excited to go.

But I had no idea Mr. Nephew might pop out on the ONE weeknight Josh and I have plans. HMMMMMM

Rest assured that I will keep you posted of my riveting week.

A-A-C

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 10:28:41 EDT

Anti-Aircraft-Cat

For his birthday, Josh's grandparents gave him a cool little remote-controlled helicopter (that kind that's super easy to fly, and has a Styrofoam body, so it's fairly damage resistant).

Josh has had fun getting flying the thing around the house...and it turns out the cats LOVE it! We thought for sure they'd be freaked out. Nope. Mickey is a menace when that helicopter comes out to play. And Josh loves teasing him with it (no we don't go chase the cat down with spinning blade. We're not THAT mean.). Mickey runs up to it...or will actually sit and study it......and then POUNCE!

He has gotten SO good at knocking this thing out of the air. I got a cool sequence of photos with the 'multi-burst' option on my camera..below sis just one scene of Mickey actually hitting the helicopter. But if you click on that image, you'll see the full scene play out in pictures.

And then once the helicopter battery wears out, so do the cats....

The business world

Friday, August 8, 2008 - 10:56:15 EDT

Over the past 5 weeks or so, I have born witness to more ways of running a business than I ever thought possible. The real kicker here is that, almost all of them were unethical, predatory, advantageous, or down-right stupid ways to run a business.

I do not claim to know the "proper" way to run a business (haven't taken a single business class in my life), nor do I think there is just one way to run a good business. But after having my own business for over 8 years now, I do know that there are a lot of wrong ways to run a business.

Earlier this week, after breaking down when I realized I was being scammed by what I thought was a reputable company, I just completely lost my faith in people. I always thought that you know what, overall people are good. Businesses are trustworthy (otherwise, how would they stay in business?). But an event earlier this week was just the "straw that broke the camel's back."

I did finally have 2 good encounters with businesses yesterday, which is starting to slowly restore my faith in money-making endeavors. But I can't even tell you how suspicious I now feel when I hear commercials toting "great deals!" But you know, that probably is a good thing...you can never be too careful now...literally everyone is out to get you.

And I guess I just wanted to do this posting, not because I feel like a ton of people come to my site and are just on the edge of their seat waiting to read what I write next...But I wanted to do it for those few customers who do stop past from time to time. I want to reassure them that I feel like I run a very trustworthy, ethical, fun, straightforward business.

If you ever have a problem with one of my products, call me. Email me. Tell me. I won't be mad. I will be sad that something didn't work out, or that my item(s) didn't meet your expectations. But it's never directed to you. And while of course I tend to new orders ASAP, I promise that I tend to any problems just as quickly.

My success is directly dependent on you, the customer. I can't even IMAGINE treating any of my customers the way that I have been treated over the past several weeks by various places.

And whether it was just bad timing on my part, and just got hit with all these experiences at once... Or maybe it was something on my part, my behavior, that invited these experiences..I don't know. I'm not objective enough to figure that out. But what I do know is that I have learned quite a bit these last few weeks. And that can only help me to be a better business-woman, right?

Timing is everything

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 10:46:40 EDT

We had a really strong storm move through our area around 1:45 am last night/this morning. This was the first storm in a really long time that actually scared me. The thunder was so incredibly loud, josh and I were having to shout to each other to hear each other, even though we were laying right next to each other. the lighting was so strong and frequent. It was just insane. All i could think was "I am SO glad that dead tree was taken down today, I'm So glad that dead tree was taken down today". But I couldn't stop wondering and just waiting for one of our other huge trees to get struck by lightening and fall in on us. But they're all very healthy, and lean away from the house...but that's how scared I was last night.

Below is a really neat shot of yesterday's tree work that I just discovered on my camera.

Baby Shower

Monday, July 21, 2008 - 17:07:04 EDT

so, I've been talking for weeks and weeks about the baby shower I was throwing for my sister, Alisa. It finally happened on Saturday, and I think it went pretty well. Most everyone showed up, and she got a lot of really crazy-cute things. and several things from her registry. I opted to not get her something from her registry, even though I should have...instead, I got her more of a decorative/keepsake item.

You may have heard me talk about Ray Rickert before..the very talented woodworker in Terre Haute. He just so happened to have the sweetest piece in his inventory over Christmas, that as soon as I found out Alisa was pregnant, I contacted Ray to buy it! It's an Instarsia piece of Noah's Ark.

the other picture here is of a little cousin named Sophia. She was a very good--and patient--little helper at the shower. She assisted Alisa in opening up all those gifts. I love this picture--her little hands clasped behind her back, waiting so patiently until Alisa had another gift to open. It was so cute! (you can see a sophia arm in the intarsia pic..helping alisa clear the piece off her lap to make room for the next gift!).

Timber!

Monday, July 21, 2008 - 16:58:02 EDT

We had a big ole Soft Maple cut down this morning. When we moved in last year, that tree seemed a little sickly, but not overly worrisome. This year, it did get leaves, but very very few, and very late in the Spring. We noticed all of a suddenly, while hanging out in the backyard the other day, that all of the greenery on the tree was DEAD! This big tree is also right in line with the middle of the house, so we decided we had better have it taken care of pronto

Turns out, carpenter ants killed it. We've been treating the tree for a few weeks with ant poison, so the carpenter ants don't go after our house, or other trees in yard once the tree is cut down. We'll see what happens.

Anyway, the tree was taken down today. a guy shimmied all the way up, and used a chain saw to cut off all the branches. and then they just cut down the whole thing. Crazyiness! We have some really cool tree slices now...and lots of firewood...and lots of little tree stump "chairs" :).

Summer Vacation?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 10:19:45 EDT

I am currently taking my "Summer Vacation" this week--seemed a like a good time between busy wedding seasons...and a good time to get things in order before Alisa's Baby shower on Saturday. But I tell you what...I'm gonna need a vacation after my vacation! I had some work from last week spill into this week, and Monday was josh's b-day. and some house projects are taking longer than i had anticipated. Oh well.

I'm having fin with my new CNC machine...except that I can really use it for work until some new parts arrive. The machine is currently set up for use with a Bosch router--the router spins the engraving bit--the cnc machine run the router. But for the uber fine detail work I need to do, Runout (measurement of how off center your bit spins)because a concern. And my current set-up has an unacceptable amount of runout to it--making lines too wide and very messy. So I have a really neat fine detail spindle on order that is crazy balanced....plus a motor to run it...plus a mount to get it all attached to the machine. The stuff won't be in until the end of next week. So in the meantime, i'm just going to work on designs and also order in some really nice engraving bits.

Haven't played with glass stuff yet this "vacation"...but I'm determined to do so, even if it's just on my last day of vacation that i find time to do so.

Below are pix of silly-floppy kitties. We've had the windows open a lot lately, since the weather has been pretty decent. As you can see, mickey enjoys the window sills. His belly just barely fits in the window! And Rufi is my continual office helper. He's sleeping on my desk right now as I type this. He wasn't happy that I was taking his picture earlier though...

Yo may now resume your cable service

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - 10:12:36 EDT

If you read my previous post, then you realize that we may have had some daggers directed at Comcast the past few days. Well, Knock on wood, Comcast is actually stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility! I met with the Supervisor from our local office this morning. he said that he will hand-deliver me a check this afternoon for our out of pocket expenses...and I just called and gave all his info to the company that did the clean-up service. Soooo....keep your fingers crossed.....and don't cancel your cable just yet. (because I know after reading my post everyone went and canceled their service. I know. And I do appreciate your support. :) )

Assuming they follow-through, then everything will be fine.

Joshy Boy is out of town for several days on a business trip. So it's just me and my work, and more work, and more work. And the cats.

Don't let Comcast into your crawlspace

Sunday, July 6, 2008 - 6:34:55 EDT

Last week, some Comcast guys came out because we were having trouble with our cable. They went down into our crawlspace "because everything looks fine outside, the problem must be where you line comes in."

So,I let the guys down there. they didn't fix the problem (Josh and I figured out on our own that night that it was the cable box and went and switched it out at our local office)...but when they were down there, they did something else.

They broke our sewer line.

Yep. Our plumbing has been acting funny the past week, but we didn't put two and two together...until Yesterday when Josh happened to hear splashing water down in the crawlspace while I was running the kitchen sink. The sewer line broke RIGHT underneath the cable junction. I would post pictures, but it's quite gross.

and when I was on the phone with comcast (telling them that they are paying the bill), they actually told us to wait until MONDAY before having a plumber come out and fix the pipe..so that they had a chance to investigate whether or not their technicians actually caused the damage.

You see, because it was a holiday weekend, it wasn't convenient for them to get someone out to look...so we needed to leave our broken pipe for 2 days, with its mess intact.

You can guess who well that went over.

The good news in this is that, we found the broken pipe at about about 2:15...and by 7pm the pipe was fixed and the mess cleaned up. But it definitely put a damper on our holiday weekend. And while we had to pay part of the bills upfront, the companies are nice enough to give us until Monday to figure out billing info for Comcast...so they can be billed directly. So we're just out a couple hundred, rather than a couple grand right now.

So again I say to you, don't let Cable techs down into your crawlspace.

I got up this morning around 4:30 because I couldn't stop thinking about what i was going to put in my letter to Comcast....so I just got up and wrote the letter this morning. Hopefully things will --for the most part-- be resolved on Monday, once Comcast makes itself available. But I have a letter allll ready to go, should they start trying to pull more stunts.

So, here's to having a better day today!

I may already be a winner!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 - 14:03:55 EDT

but we knew that already. Right?

So I got an interesting phone call last night (as I was stripping paint off our back door. one of the umptine items on our to-do list before my sister's baby shower). Publisher's Clearing House called. Her name was Katie. Her supervisor called me back to verify that I understood what was going on. her name was Brittany.

Apparently, I am a finalist in their "Dream of your Life (or something like that) contest". Apparently, one of my CC companies entered me. Hmm.

I am in the running for 25K or a trip for 2 to Australia. The drawing is on Dec 31. But they had to call last night to tell me that I'm (supposedly) a finalist, and that I'm being sent a diamond watch (with a 2 year warranty, mind you). And I'm getting 6 free magazine subscriptions for 2 years.

Hmmm

Yeah, I'll be sure to keep you posted on that.

I know you really don't care about my contest entires...I'm sure you'd rather here when I'm going to be getting back to the torch!? I have my "summer vacation" planned for the 12th to the 21st. I will be making glass pretties that week, if not before then (spring wedding season is finally starting to settle down. I might *Actually* have some free time next week! craziness). Now, I will have to use some free time and vacation time to learn how to use my new engraver (ya!), but there should be time for all of that fun.

what's not fun: Just realized one of our many big and beautiful trees is going to have to be removed. it's a maple. and it's dead (so it's really not so pretty anymore). ugh. we just thought it was sickly, as it did still have leaves. within a matter of days, all of the leaves have died.

I'm waiting to hear back from some tree service companies--I guess i had better get back to work so we can afford to save our house from our dead tree (I have heard it's quite expensive to have a tree removed).

My own Engraver!

Monday, June 30, 2008 - 16:51:18 EDT

Actually it's a mini CNC machine...that can do engraving (and is a heck of a lot cheaper than an actual "engraver")

After 1 too many disagreements with the guy I was paying to do my engraving (don't get me wrong, he's a very nice guy--he just doesn't follow instructions well), I decided it was time to get my own set-up.

And here it is....not yet set-up, though!

Josh is currently working on getting it unpacked the rest of the way. We've got a lot of testing and experimenting to do. We'll see how it goes!

Staring the week on the right foot

Monday, June 30, 2008 - 8:39:09 EDT

Last week was one of those weeks where you feel like you're working non-stop, but you made zero progress on anything! Well, I'm trying to make sure that this weeks goes better!!

Joshy came down with a really bad cold on Thursday. He actually came home from work early, and stayed home on Friday. By Sunday, the cold symptoms started to lift, just as a massive migraine hit him (he's a migraine sufferer, and as a male, he gets "cluster Migraines". 1x a year or so, he gets the kind of migraine that makes him ill to his stomach (rather than just neck and head). So he's still fighting off the migraine, plus the cough the cold gave him, and all the sneezing and nose-blowing, which, of course, doesn't help his head. He's a mess! Needless to say, he stayed home from work again today.

Luckily, I think I have that super-mommy-magic where I don't think I'll be getting sick (knock on wood). Plus, he's been very considerate about keeping his germs to himself, and away from me and my office, and my kitchen!

I'm going to be making a fun purchase for my Crown business later today...but I'll wait and tell you about it, once I have it in hand...just in case something goes wrong :) I'll post pictures.

Last week I did manage to finally finish my new "photo-booth" for my new office set up. So now, once I clean up the office, I'll post pictures.

And it's T-3 weeks until my sister's baby shower. We're having it here...and we have a laundry list of projects to complete before then. But that also means, I'll have more house pictures to show you...since things will actually be DONE!!

And now, it's time to work.

house pics

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - 8:31:52 EDT

I realized that I hadn't posted any pictures of the house with its new paint! So the first picture is of the house Before (yellow paint). the 2nd pic is of the house after. I realize the pictures aren't from the same angle, so the house actually looks really different between the 2 pictures...i'll post better pictures later.

the glass weekend with my sister-in-law went well, but I ended up teaching the whole time and not having a chance to make anything of my own! but the studio is all set up, and I'm going to start scheduling time in day to go out and play.

I'm hosting my sister;s baby shower here on July 19th, and I've got a whole list of house projects to finish before then...but what that means is that the house will be just about done, and I can show you really great before and after pictures.

Today is Josh's 1 yr anniversary with Rolls Royce! how quickly a year can go by!

Ok, I have got to get to work now--lots to fit in today before Josh gets home. It's been gorgeous weather here this week, and today is another beautiful day, so we have a long bike ride planned for tonight, as soon as he gets home.

Spring wedding season is starting to calm down, so I'll be better about posting more often now!

hmmm

Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 20:06:32 EDT

well, this has been an interesting week. It been incredibly stressful, and to top it off, I just got a call from a couple who wants to return a set of crowns (my other business -orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). This is my first return ever, and I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Apparently the crowns weren't quite what they expected, despite the 9 photos I sent the bride over the course of 3 days. I know that you can't always make everyone happy....but it still doesn't feel very good to have someone say they don't care for your work (Or say, "The crowns look OK from a distance, but not up close"). Apparently they spotted some fraying fabric on the crown...I believe them, but also know that I thoroughly inspected those crowns before shipping them.

So to that I say HARUMPH!

And we've had a hell of a time with the company we hired to paint our house. A lot of mis-communications. So that's just been incredibly stressful.

and we have a really big weekend coming up---very busy with family visiting, and I have soooo much cleaning to get done.

Will this week ever end?

Fully Domesticated

Monday, May 19, 2008 - 10:29:36 EDT

Well, I guess you could say that I'm fully domesticated now. Or rather, a full-blown home-owner. Either way, we're having new gutters installed as I type this out. and the house is getting painted on Wednesday. For whatever reason, that really makes me feel very "soccer-mom" like. Regardless--the house is going to look so much better once this is all done (and the gutters are the big 6" ones with a nice leaf screen...as opposed to the literally falling apart screen system on the rickety small gutters we did have!

I'll be sure to post before and after pix.

Also, I'm organizing my glass studio this week!! I know, you're shocked. But get used to it, as I'm going to be posting some really fun photos over the next few weeks. My sister-in-law/student (see previous posting) is coming this weekend for a marathon glass session...Can't wait!!!

Good News!

Thursday, May 8, 2008 - 17:30:11 EDT

I have official plans to get the glass studio back up and running!!

What prompted this sudden case of decisiveness? Well, my sister-in-law is an Art teach up in Ft. Wayne, IN. She applied for and received a Lily Grant to further her art education. This summer, she is road-tripping along route 66, for once-in-a-lifetime photography oppertunities, and meeting up with silversmiths and tradespeople all all kinds across the country! And it's getting kick started this memorial day weekend-with me. Even though she has some experience with lampworking (and a lot with slumping and fusing, I'm so jealous!), she will be my "student" over Memorial Day weekend. It's great motivation, and a perfect situation for me to brush the dust off of not only the glass, but my glass manipulation skills as well. I'm really looking forward to getting to post new pretties here on the site, and to find new stores across the country to sell to.

And this is all coming at a great time, as I'm finally getting a-hold of my crown work (my other business orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). The past 6 weeks have been a total blur for me with the amount of work that I have put into that business. The success of this spring season is not anything I am about to complain about---it's every small business owner's dream! But it also reinforces the fact that it is a very difficult job (being a small business owner, that is). The number of responsibilities is innumerable, and it always seems to be an ever-growing list. On the best days, it's gratifying and fulfilling. On the worst days, you're running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but still not getting work done, and you just wonder to yourself "What the hell am I doing running my own business?!". But then somehow, you pull it all together and you continue on. So to all you other small business owners (esp. those that have to manage employees-I don't envy you)-I salute you.

And have I mentioned that I'm going to be an Aunt?! My sister is 21 weeks pregnant. I'm going to have a nephew! be prepared to see lots of baby pictures soon :)

Store Closing

Monday, April 7, 2008 - 14:01:08 EDT

A really beautiful and eclectic Gift Shop that carried my items has just closed it doors. The Painted Daisy Artique in Eureka, MO just a few years ago was distinguished as one of the top 100 retailers in the US for unique hand made items...i.e. the kind of store that all artists wanted to have carry their work. So, I'm pretty sad about this.

But because of this, I have all my inventory back from the store now, and I will be listing it on the for sale page....it will give my site a nice needed boost of new inventory. I"ll get those things posted as soon as I can. I have a lot of deadlines to meet with my other business (Orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), but hope to get to this very soon.

Dinner with the President

Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 19:45:42 EDT

...or maybe not.

I received a very interesting piece of mail today. The past few years, I have worked on a couple of events with the National Museum for Women in the Arts. This year, I was invited to their Spring Gala (first time I have actually been invited to an event, rather than donating a glass item for their silent auction that always accompanies their Galas).

It's a beautiful invitation, and on the front it says
"Under the gracious patronage of
President George W. Bush
and Mrs. Laura Bush
the board of trustees of the
National Museum for the arts
requests the pleasure of your company
at the 21st Anniversary Gala , etc....."

Now doesn't that initially read as thought the President would actually be at this event?

But I think we have decided that it just means that W. and his wife support the museum (Laura Bush has supposedly been to the Gala's where my work has been shown and auctioned off). And inside the invitation is says that the Distinguished honorary guests are Ambassador of Portugal and his wife.

It's a Black tie event (fun!), but it's also $500 a ticket. And since we don't live in D.C. anymore, there's also the cost of the plane ticket, etc... So, I have no plans of going, but it was really neat to get this invitation.

And I do have every intention of submitting work to the upcoming Swope Art Gallery exhibit....And while that's not a big National Art Gallery , that's ok. It's a locally famous place, and that's good enough for me. A "gala" event there would be just as fun.

Finally...some art news!

Friday, March 28, 2008 - 14:28:14 EDT

I just found out that the Swope Museum of Art in Terre Haute (my hometown)currently has a call for entries for the upcoming Wabash Valley Exhibit. Deadline for entires is April 12. I think I have a few show-worthy things to try and submit--and I might have just enough time to make one or two more, if I get my studio uncovered fast enough!!

Frist run of the season

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 14:28:35 EDT

I mean, fIRst run of the season...still having problem spelling over here.

You might recall me mentioning that I had to take a break from running for a little over a month because of all the neck problems. Apparently, I'm responding really well to the neck and back adjustments, so I get to start running again. I went out and just did a quick mile on Monday. That went pretty well. I was allowed to do 1.5 miles yesterday. That one was only OK. I felt great during the run. But my back and neck and very fatigued today. So even though it is gorgeous today, I think today has to be a rest day.

We've got an electrician scheduled to come and do several projects around here, while will allow us to finish up many of our outstanding house projects, so that's all going well.

On the business front: my other business is keeping me extremely busy still. everyone is getting ready for those late spring wedding right now.

As we finish up some of those outstanding house projects, that we will now be able to do because of the electrician coming over tomorrow, we will be continually pulling materials out of the garage for use in the house (i.e. shower walls, shower door, drywall, light fixtures, bed frame). And all of that stuff is currently trapping my glass studio. So as those materials get put into place, my glass studio will once again be free and ready to go! So we're almost there....just a wee bit longer.

Last week, I mentioned that we were re-doing my office, so to speak (i.e. I bought new office furniture)..and all of it is now built and has been put into place. I'm still loading everything else in, so i don't want to post pictures of the whole office yet...but i have to leave you with this sneak peek. This is Rufus testing out my new storage system. He's very thorough as you can see.

Mystery Solved

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 15:40:39 EDT

Those mystery bulbs are: more Tulips (looked different than some others I have growing), a yellow crocus (which has already opened up this afternoon!), and hyacinths. Thanks, Diana (my friend back out in MD)

SPRING!

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:19:10 EDT

Today is the fist day of Spring! The rain stopped sometime last night, and it's actually a sunny day. I'm so excited to finally have my own yard for the start of the spring/summer season! I have already started on some simple garden plans--leaving enough room in places so that if I see some really neat plants at a random nursery, I can still get them and have a place for them!

Also, a very nice surprise is that the previous owner planted lots and lots of bulbs. They're all popping up now---all over the place! It's such a fun surprise. I know that we have MANY Lily beds (all different varieties). We have lots of Lily-of-the Vally starting to pop up, and even some tulip greens are peeking out. But there are some bulbs that are emerging, whose leaves I can't yet identify. I'm anxious to see the blooms to finally identify them. Here are some pix of those mystery bulbs.

It's too early for Hostas to start coming up, but we have a lot of those. I also plan on stealing some Hosta starts from Josh's Aunt, who has an extensive shade garden...but gotta wait till those start popping out. We also have some Semi-Deciduous ferns in the front...they die back late in the fall. But already, they're getting these cute little green-curl fern fronds forming on their stumps. I for got to get pix of those this morning--but will later.

(...cont'd) SPRING!

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:16:57 EDT

Another patch of interesting bulbs...not sure what these will become. I love the mystery!

and a picture of our lovely sink hole in the back yard, with the city's barricade over it.

(...cont'd) SPRING!

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:07:45 EDT

Couple more pix of the sink hole. A close up, and a view from the East side of out house looking South. That pool of standing water is right next to the sewer grate, and then the sink hole is a few feet North of that grate. What we thinking happened is that some drainage tiles cracked...so water is leaking out of the sewer drain and into the surrounding ground, washing it away, thus a sink hole formed. So it's going to be a mess to get this fixed.

In the wide-shot picture, you can see that there is a very large tree to one side, and our backyard fence along the other. The space left between is not wide enough for a truck. So either the City is going to have to come through someone else's yard (eek), or our fence is going to have to come down. We're not particularly attached to the current fence--we think the previous owner installed it himself. But still, if the City takes it down, the city has to put it back up. We'll see!

rain rain go away

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 7:43:29 EDT

At least it's not snow...

Spring is finally in the air in Indiana, and we're already getting those April showers. I haven't mucked my way through the back yard and all its pools of water to see how our sink hole is doing. I don't think I want to get too close with how saturated the ground is right now (raining for 2 days straight with another full day of rain predicted). I'm currently having nightmares of the city coming out tomorrow or Friday to fix the sink hole...but the ground will surely still be muddy. And they are going to have to drive through our whole yard to get to the very back where the sink hole is. In big. heavy. trucks. argh.

Well what's the news on the business front you ask? Well I have the same ole answer for the glass stuff---"not yet". But I reiterate that it's not for a lack of desire, just a lack of time. I'm actually just excited that my hair is finally long enough, again, that I can start to kind of twist it up. And that means I get to use my fun little glass-hair pins to pull back my wild mess-o-curls. I chopped off my hair in August to donate to Locks-of-Love (or is if Locks for Love?). Anyway, I donated it....and it's been at an awkward length for a while, but I'm almost back to looking "normal" again :).

On tap for the day: crowns, crowns, and more crowns (my other business www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). It's definitely wedding season, but I'm not complaining...just busy. Also, have I mentioned that Josh has been helping me to make my office more 'ergonomic' since I developed my neck problem? Well he is! We should be done with my office re-do by next week, I'll post pix then!

And I leave you with cute kitty pix. Mickey and Rufi acting as bench-top inspectors. When Josh and I were raising my work surfaces (as part of my new ergonomic plan) I had to clear everything off of them. And so Mickey and Rufi had to hop up there and inspect everything. And you'll notice that Rufi also had to help himself to some of my Pineapple plant. Stinker.

Sink hole = big sand pit?

Friday, March 14, 2008 - 14:21:21 EDT

I'm teasing!

Seriously, though, we have a sink hole in our back yard! All the snow has finally melted off around here and the weather was so nice the past few days that I've started to kind of take survey of everything for the upcoming spring. I was walking all around the house and around the backyard in the easement and saw a 1 ft diameter hole. There's no dirt or anything around it. just a hole in the ground. I looked down, and it goes on FOREVER. Not good! This sink hole is about 2 ft away from a drainage pit that has a grate over it....but I'm wondering if something is wrong with the drainage pit and caused some major erosion around it.

I just got off the phone with the Mayor's office and they're sending someone out to look at it. Hopefully it is close enough to city property or because of the city drain that the city will pay for fixing it....not us.

In other news:
Neck update: My neck locked up a few weeks ago because my neck is too straight. So it's not exactly a disc problem that I have going on, but more of a whole spine-alignment thing. I fell and injured my back when I was 9yrs old. All the PT I did as I was growing up was really only for pain management, not really to realign things. And now it has come back to haunt me. What's wrong you ask? Well, my hips are uneven --> so I have been compensating for about 20 years, which has cause my spine to curve out to the left (should be straight from side to side, when then has whipped my neck too straight. Yes, my neck is WAY too straight...And the neck muscles which are already having to work overtime to support my head (since it's not cushioned back in the curve of the neck, but rather sticking way out), got strained when I was wallpapering. Which made the muscles lock-up and bulge.

What does this mean? It's means I have to see a Chiropractor 3x a week for a month, then 2x a week for a month, then 1x a week for a month, all in an effort to straighten things back out.

Who knows, by the end of my treatment, I may be a little taller (says the 5'2" lady)!!! But this also means that I can't run right now :( It's too jarring. Only low-impact stuff for Annie right now. And I'm really having to watch how much I'm at the computer now, too. Using the mouse (I'm right handed), tenses up my neck...isn't that pathetic?? My immediate pain is now gone, but i'm still pretty tight...but I'm getting much better, and starting to feel a lot better. so that's good.

It's a very busy crown season right now (my other business orthodoxweddingcrowns.com)....but warm weather is almost here...which means I will INSIST on getting the garage studio set up so I can make some pretty glass things for all of you. Soon, I promise.

Wallpaper advice

Monday, March 3, 2008 - 18:02:44 EST

The past few weeks have been a hodgepodge of work and play. I'm getting incredibly antsy to get the glass business back up and running...and am definitely getting closer to that reality. Josh and I have made a lot of headway on the house these last 2 weeks. So much so, that we see the light at the end of the tunnel of our remodel. In fact, the space that I allot on my mind for "home remodel thoughts" is starting to allow room for thoughts of my spring garden planning!

Crown work has been keeping my busy otherwise...it is the upward slope to the Spring wedding season. I actually went out and bought a new toy the other day to aid in my efforts. I purchased Craftsman Bench Grinder. The Grinder wheels will be nice to having to shape really thick silver or copper. But what is even nicer is that I got some large polishing wheels that I can swap out with the grinder wheel. So now, I can do some heavy duty polishing like the pros!

Now the not so great news: I did something to my neck! Last weekend, I was hanging a huge wallpaper mural (8'x12' map of the world), and ever since then my neck and back have been hurting. And the neck pain has actually gotten WORSE over time! I have a bulging spot on the back-right side of the neck that is just pure pain. It hurts to lay down, it hurts to sit up, it hurts to move. So I went to the Dr. today. He took some x-rays, but didn't say much else, other than to ice it 4 times a day. I go back tomorrow to see what the x-rays show. hopefully it's just a mass of knotted muscle, and not a disc problem.

But some buts of advice I have learned from this regarding wallpaper:
1)If you really really insist on hanging wallpaper (really not a fan of it, but this was a huge map of the world!! It was a Christmas gift from years ago), hire someone else to do it. 2) Don't want to pay someone to hang wallpaper? Then make sure that you are a tall person. Tall people will have much greater success in hanging wallpaper, are much less apt to over-strain themselves. 3) DO NOT hang a wallpaper mural (whose panels are wider than normal wall paper widths) if you are 5'2" and your name is Ann.

Morning

Monday, February 11, 2008 - 7:34:53 EST

Joshy-boy fixed my sewing machine! Turns out it was a fairly easy fix, so all is right in the world again.

we got a bit of housework done this weekend, but not a whole lot, as I was doing business work all of Saturday (and into Sunday morning...). The most exciting part of what we got done yesterday included hanging a new light in our bedroom closet, putting down baseboards in the kitchen, and I've started over-hauling a china cabinet.

Josh and I are not formal people by any stretch of the imagination. But now that we have a house, and a dining room table (well, it's the everyday table, we don't have a formal dinging room...), and new chairs, I did have to be all weird and insist that we have a china-cabinet of sorts. Our dining room is a very open space that connects the open kitchen to the open living room-type area (i'll be posting lots of before and after pix once we're done with the space). So we needed something of a very specific style. And we just couldn't find anything. But I wouldn't back down, as I have some pretty pottery and we do have china, that I want to store and display properly.

After having repeated bad luck with all of the traditional methods of buying furniture (i.e. stores where the furniture was too expensive-wrong color-not good quality-not right style) we turned to craigslist. We found a family who was going to be moving and didn't want to mess with taking their china cabinet. And as luck would have it, it was PERFECT! perfect price, style, amount of storage, overall size...everything! So we went and picked it up last week. We're doing some work to freshen it up (it's nice and old), and I will post some great before and after pix once we're done with that piece (I'm starting the work on it today).

But i have to get some business work done first before I can go play with furniture. So I leave you with a pic of a sleepy, fuzzy kitty:

Close-up

Saturday, February 9, 2008 - 23:14:00 EST

Close-up of grumpy helper kitty :)

the crazy life i lead

Saturday, February 9, 2008 - 23:06:21 EST

Do you recall me mentioning some months ago about how I was starting to do some sewing for my Brother-in-Law's hovercraft business (slipstreamhover.com)? Well, I am. I sew the skirts for the hovercrafts (the thing under the vehicle that holds the air and allows it to hover). So, hovercraft sales are picking up this time of year (as are crown sales (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), so I've been pretty overloaded with work lately. You could say, I've been burning the midnight oil lately trying to fill a couple skirt orders.

And my sewing machine, knowing how stressed out I am already, decided to completely jam up on me :( It won't work! It's also JUST OVER 1 year...so out of warranty. So seeing as how it's no longer covered by warranty repair, I'm letting Josh take a crack at fixing it for me. Josh has his phd in aerospace engineering....and I kinda figured that fixing a sewing machine wouldn't require a rocket scientist, right? Yeah, that may not be the case here....not too sure, yet.

Pictures below are of Josh and his little helper kitty, Mickey.....and my sad sad sad skeleton of a sewing machine. I have since run out to target and purchased an inexpensive back-up machine to get me through. I have rationalized this but thinking that if I'm going to be doing this much sewing on a fairly regular basis, it may not be a bad idea to have a back-up machine.

amusing business story

Friday, February 1, 2008 - 9:23:48 EST

so this story is about another business. I always get a laugh when I experience, first hand, the breakdown of communication that can occur in the business world. I know stuff like this happens...and especially the larger the business, the more potential for mis-communication...but here's the story nonetheless:

Some of you may recall that over the summer, I switched from wearing contacts full time back to wearing glasses. I purchased a cute new pair of glasses from a frame store that I've never used before. This store is a chain, and seemed reputable enough. Aside from the fact that this store didn't have the lens lab right in the store, and I had to wait about 2 weeks to get the lenses, I was pretty satisfied with the deal I got. And while the lenses were fairly well made/good quality, they didn't have quite the polished edge finesse that I had noticed on my lenses from other stores.

after about 4 months, I started having problems with one lens continually coming loose in the frames. Repeated in-store adjustments, a larger screw, and a lot of "gimmie a break, people. I should not be having this problem with 4 month old (actually by this time 6 month old) glasses! Finally the manager agreed that the frames were a lemon and said she'd re-order them

over a week goes by, and I don't hear anything. I call the store and I get an "Oh, yeah, we can't get those anymore. come in and pick out a new pair." OK --while I'm bummed that I can't get these same glasses (which is probably ok, as I might have had the same problems), I'm happy they immediately offered me a new set altogether.

I went in about 2.5 weeks ago and picked out a new set of frames. The people were great, they efficiently put my order together, and didn't give me any hassles. I got a call the other night saying that the glasses were ready. Yeah!

I went in yesterday to pick up the glasses. I put the new frames on and couldn't see anything out of them! I have a very strong prescription (-9 in both eyes + astigmatism) and so it's more than obvious when something is off with the lenses. I immediately said "there's nothing in here. These are not my prescription, in fact these are blank lenses."

The guy helping me looked at me like I was a total idiot. And I told him to look for himself. And wouldn't ya know, I was right. He pulls out the invoice for the frames, and says that no prescription was included in the order. So I asked, "So what did I wait over 2 weeks for? Did you actually ship these glass off to have a pair of blank lenses made for them?" "Uh. I guess so."

The Manager comes over. It was finally figured out that THEIR computer system does not contain my prescription...but the lab's system does have my script on file. So somehow or someone wiped my script from the store's computer file. and the labs, rather than verifying the script with the computer system, just made a new set of blank lenses.

All I can think is -wow-what a waste of time and money and material!

Supposedly, the company is going to try and do a rush-turnaround for me. I'm supposed to hear from them in 1 week. We'll see.



Zen Cat photo of the day:

Ann, why so many cat pictures these days?

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 8:57:04 EST

Well, I figure I need to show you all something. and since i don't have any new beads to show you, i figure kitty's are the next best thing. and if you like kitty's, and don't know about http://icanhascheezburger.com then visit that site, and you'll love it. Trust me, though, I'm really trying hard to make sure I don't turn into a crazy cat lady. Just slightly over-excited cat lady.

So, about this picture. Last night, I had been doing some knitting. I stopped and thought I put things away well enough (knowing that Rufus is the biggies yarn thief there ever was!!). I was working on putting clean sheets back on the bed (because as you can see from Micky's pix, yesterday was Laundry day)when Josh noticed in his periphery that Rufus had walking into the room.

Josh thought Rufi had a toy mouse in this mouth and was laughing because Rufi walking in so calmly and went into his "caboose"--huge kitty carrier that we use on road trips, but leave set up under a window for the boys to sit on and play in. But the more Josh thought about it, he realized that they didn't have a toy mouse quite as large as what he thought he saw just then. and he went and looked in the caboose, and started cracking up. I went to look for myself and there it was: Rufi found my yarn stash and tried to slink into his hide-out with a ball of yarn. Little yarn thief was caught red-handed. or rather, pink in this case.

1-29-08

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 14:12:49 EST

Rufi Says...

Monday, January 28, 2008 - 12:24:05 EST

Friendly Reminder

Monday, January 28, 2008 - 7:42:40 EST

This is just a friendly reminder about my policies. If you have ordered something off my website, but have not yet received it...it's because I have not yet received payment. I cannot ship items until payment is received. This policy is upheld regardless of who you are: friend, aunt, retail store, the president...you get the idea (ok,ok, I do make an exception for my mom....).

All other (online) business operate in this same fashion: You pay, and THEN you get your item. So please have the same respect for me and my business that you show to all other companies. I may be small, but that doesn't make me any less official. Thanks for understanding!

Good Morning

Monday, January 28, 2008 - 7:18:22 EST

There's a lot on tap for today, including a little more recuperation.

Last week I was dealing with a cracked molar. The molar has been cracked for awhile now, and I have had a bit of pressure-type pain associated with it. I have been to see my Uncle Sam multiples times in trying to fix the tooth in a very conservative fashion. You see, I really didn't want a crown. And for what it's worth, my Uncle Sam truly is the best dentist--ever! http://www.slcdentistry.com/default.aspx. It was actually another dentist (out in MD) who cracked my tooth, and is now the reason that I will never see any other dentist, only Uncle Sam. So good thing we're back in IN...but I still have to drive a few hours to get to Uncle Sam's office. But I digress.

Well, unbeknownst to me, during this whole time, the nerve in that molar was starting to get pretty irritated. I didn't really feel the nerve pain during all of this. But it was decided that a root-canal should be done to get the nerve out, and then go from there--whether I get a crown, or we figure something else out. Well, it turned out to be a MONSTER of a root canal. My tooth was very unhappy.

4 numbing shots and a few hours later I had a perfectly packed molar with the most wicked little insert you've ever seen. Uncle Sam has a mini CNC machine in his office. He's got a device that takes a 3-D pic of the tooth, and in my case, the huge hole I had in my tooth after the root canal. A computer programs maps out how your tooth should look (all the hills and valley's of a molar), and it sends the pattern wirelessly to this CNC machine. A small ceramic blank is put into the machine, and 2 little diamond bit drills go to work milling a perfectly shaped component. The ceramic blanks come in dozens of shades, so it matches your teeth perfectly. And in my case, this little insert was bonded into my tooth for a perfect fit, and you can't even tell that anything was even done! I got to watch the piece get made, so that helped take the 'sting' out of having to get all of this done.

And while I am SO happy I didn't have to get a crown, I was still left in a lot of pain from the long root-canal procedure/unhappy tooth. So that's why i was on pain meds and antibiotics. I'm just on Ibuprofen now, and still finished up the antibiotics.

What's really funny is that during all of this, Josh came down with Strep throat on Thursday. So we were a pathetic couple for a few days there. But Josh is 100% better (in fact he was 100% better on Saturday, when he had just been to the dr Thursday night (we caught the Strep symptoms really early).

And of course during all of this is when crown orders started picking up again. Go figure. So I'm way behind in my work.

news on the glass front: Well, I know that Valentines day is nearing. I'm not any closer that I was last week to having my glass studio set up, so I'm not sure when I'll get to make more glass hearts for all of you!

more info on all that later.

Update

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 21:47:31 EST

Well, I guess I didn't start the year off very well on this site...I've been severely lacking in my updates the past few weeks, haven't I? Well, I guess a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that not a lot of glass 'stuff' has been going on.

Josh and I have made a lot of progress in recent weeks on the house. Things are finally starting to take shape with the whole-house remodel. And even better: We spent all of MLK day working out in the garage. It was flippin' freezing, but we unloaded the garage, hung up a bunch of shelving, set up some temporary work tables for josh, and then loaded everything back into it....and everything has a space now! We're even able to park his car in the garage now!

As for the glass studio, well, it's seen better days. It's still mostly dismantled. Have i told you how we changed our mind about the master bathroom vanity. If you recall, it was going to be taken out and put in my studio, and an unused door was to be it's work top. and it was going to be perfect working and storage space. Well, after the first attempt of removing the vanity, we realized the pluming had the cabinet locked into place, for lack of better way to describe it. so that idea was thrown out. BUT now, it's back on the table. We ARE taking out the vanity and it will be going into my studio. it just hasn't happened yet. I have moved all of my stuff out of the way in preparation of the vanity getting moved in....we just haven't done it yet.

So, once the vanity is moved in, the i will have a place to put everything, including all the glass. Now having said that, once the vanity is in place, does not necessarily mean i will be able to get right to the torch. Garage temperature has started to play a large role in my glass work. When the garage is below about 50 degrees, it negatively impacts the pressure in my fuel tank (i.e. cold = low pressure = low, cold flame = long working times on even small pieces, burnt glass from trying to speed up the process, and most importantly: a very cold Annie). But I'm working on a blanket system for the tank to keep it insulated. So i will definitely keep you posted on that that progress.

And I hope this update has made sense. I'm not entirely coherent this evening...which may have something to do with being hopped up on pain meds. Why am I on pain meds? Well, that's a really long story, so I'll just say that after a long day, I still hurt. So I'm getting ready to take some more pain killers, an antibiotic, and then it's to bed with me. see you in the morning.

Work update

Monday, January 7, 2008 - 12:17:17 EST

While today is eerily warm, I don't think that I will be doing any torching. Instead, I need to work on straightening the garage/glass studio. We're switching around my work-top surfaces out there...but don't have all the pieces yet. So, even though I had a functioning studio a few weeks ago, things are currently torn down and a bit of a mess. The good news in all of this, though, is that the web cam is mostly ready to go. I just need to get a tutorial on how to use it again!

I am going to be moving my 'photo studio' inside today, since I really need to photograph things for my other site (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), and don't have a work surface due to the switcher-ooing.

I don't have a good answer as to when I'll be torching again, it just depends on how things line up schedule wise with getting my studio set back up (again). I'll keep you posted on that.

On a more personal note, Josh and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary last Thursday. It's very strange to put a number to how long we've been married! we celebrated by eating Chinese food leftovers and watching a movie. We're exciting people :). But actually, last night we went out for a very nice dinner and came home and worked on out wood floor some more.

we had a very productive weekend with regard to the house...we're all done with the flooring in the kitchen, and just have a bit more to do in the the rest of the living room..then it's to the hallway and bedrooms. Everything looks really great so far!

Also, this weekend, we acquired a treadmill (mother-in-law was storing it for her friend, it wasn't being used, and I'm going CRAZY with the cold weather and not being able to run everyday). Josh and his dad and brother got it moved and all set up for me yesterday! And of course that reassured that today's weather is record setting-ly warm, but it's getting cold again next week, and I feel so lucky to now be able to run indoors and maintain my sanity.

And speaking of running, I've been out for today's run already, and am now going to go eat some leftovers from last nights yummy Italian dinner!

Ocean/Galaxy/Outerspace/Funky

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - 7:51:34 EST

Not sure what to start calling this style, but I sure have had fun with my initial results...and plan on doing a lot more.

New experimental piece #1

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - 7:38:51 EST

She didn't turn out quite as expected, but I feel like I'm heading in a good direction. I had a very specific color in mind for her face, and did a custom color blend. Her face ended up with some color striations, which I kind of enjoy, but the color wasn't quite what I was going for.

In person, the shaping of the face and nose come off really great, but I need to work on the eyes some more. The Dense black in this piece didn't photograph well in the eyes, and shading around nose. In person, though, it comes off nicely. I need to work on the eye shaping to get the real look I was trying to go for...things got a little blurred on one eye. I'm really pleased with the lips, though!

Sometimes the very first piece of a new idea is the hardest...You're putting into hard form ideas you've had floating around in your head for days, weeks or even months. Sometimes you luck out and can create your exact thoughts on your first try. But more times than not, it take a few iterations or accurately represent you imagination. and I feel like I'm getting there, but still have a lot of work to do.

Good start to the new year

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - 7:19:22 EST

The holidays were a different experience for Josh and me this year. In the past, since we lived in MD, we would have to do some pretty hefty traveling over a pretty condensed amount of time. All of our family lives in IN. And Josh would have limited time off from Grad work to do all this visiting. Plus the fact that since we didn't see our family that often because of our distance, it made the trips that much more anticipated, stressful, emotional, you name it. But, now that we're in IN ourselves, things were what you might call "NORMAL!". Bizarre, huh?

Josh now works for Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines (performance engineer), and the plant has a winter shut-down. So he automatically had Friday before Christmas through yesterday off. But today, it's back to the normal schedule with a super-cold day to greet him.

Our break went by so quickly, and we didn't get nearly everything done that we wanted to....but it was a good time. and I'm happy with the little bit of progress we made on the house during the past week and a half.

So what's in store for Clo Glassworks in 2008? A lot more than what happened in 2007 I can tell you that. Because of our move, i was knocked out of commission for quite some time. Things are starting to continue on in a normal pattern, more projects are getting completed, and more time is getting freed up for me to start devoting back to glass work. I did have some time before Christmas to do a bit of torching...but I couldn't post the pictures of those items, as they were Christmas gifts! But now Christmas is over, and you can see the direction that I'm starting to head with my work. pics to be posted in the next entry.

so there is a lot in store for this next year...including my almost ready torch-cam dedicated computer!

cutest mouse ever!

Friday, December 21, 2007 - 8:06:24 EST

There's this wonderful woodworker that I know, his name is Ray Rickert. He's located in Terre Haute, IN, and I met Ray and his lovely wife, Shirley, waaay back when I was "Designs by Ann Corey" and doing local shows. Ray makes some of the most beautiful wooden toys, not to mention all of his great functional pieces for the home as well. He also makes these very interesting and often intricate pieces made in the Intarsia style.

Well, every year, I have a standing order with Ray for an airplane. This wooden airplane is always my gift to Josh at Christmas, and this gift has become quite the anticipate item each year, "OH, I wonder what this year's plan will look like??!" Each year he outdoes himself....not only with design, but also with his choices of wood (he uses fun touches of exotic woods).

Well, this year, Ray has something up his sleeve. Apparently, he's doing something a little different-a little surprise, shall we say, and it's driving me nuts not to know!! I got an email from him the other day saying that he was putting the final touches on the design and said he attached a pic of the piece.

But, of course, he "accidentally" attached the wrong picture. Which really got a laugh out of me...and it's fine, as it just adds to the suspense of getting to see this year's plane. But I had to show you all the pic he emailed me.

This piece shows you the Intarsia style---specifically the mouse. All those detail lines in the mouse are actually seams. The mouse is made up of several pieces of extremely well fitting, sculpted, individually sanded pieces of wood. Crazy, huh? Now tell me that Mouse doesn't make you smile!

Last day of work for 2007!

Friday, December 21, 2007 - 7:52:34 EST

Sort of...

It's been a busy week around here. Lots of last minute orders to ship out for both the glass business and the crown business. I've also managed to make 20 lbs of caramels (yes, 20 lbs) in the past 2 weeks, plus a double batch of gingerbread cookies and some gingersnap cookies. My family is celebrating Christmas this weekend and we'll be back in Indy in time to spend Christmas day with Josh's family.

Josh has until Jan 2nd off from work, so we're looking forward to getting some really solid house-work time between Christmas and New Years. We have definite goals of what we would like to have finished by the end of his break. I'll try and stay current with fun house-work photos during this time.

As for my work: Well, there are several things to say here:
1. Torch Cam--for the most part, it's up and running!
2. Over this break, we're going to re-vamp my glass studio a wee-bit. And at the same time, we'll officially set up the web cam!
3. As I posted on my crown site (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), I'll still ship orders for things that are in stock, but I will not be working on custom orders until after the New Year. I want to use this "free time" to play around with some new crown designs...which will in turn free up time during my normal schedule to get more torching time in.
4. I have had some really really fun ideas running around my head for some neat glass pieces, so I really hope to bring those to you early next month.

Ok, I guess that's it...it seemed like a lot more in my head!

Merry Christmas!

Snowy Saturday

Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 16:38:51 EST

we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground this morning, and it continued to snow for a few hours. We've got a few inches on the ground, with more predicted for tonight. Starting to feel like Christmas...

And last night was Josh's office Christmas party. I finally got to put faces with names last night, and the party was held at the Indiana State Museum It was a nice dinner and evening, and we were easily one of the youngest couples there. But all of Josh's co-workers are great, and I really enjoyed getting to meet them...finally....I wonder what they think of me??

But I know you're really just curious about what I've done work wise the past few days. Well, honestly, it's been a lot of 'behind the scenes' type work. Fill orders, shipping packages, and re-ordering materials. All the fun details of a business. I'm doing a few hours of office work today to prepare for a busy week ahead. I really am looking forward to getting to the torch at some point. I had some really crazy fun ideas for some 'critter' pendants. But not critters in the sense that you may thinking of... You'll just have to wait and see! I think that all day Monday will be crowns work, but maybe I can plan for Tuesday to be a glass day. Honestly, a lot of it depends on how cold it's going to be next week.

Even though my shop is in the agrage, the outside temp really impacts the way the fuel produces the flame (how hot and intense the flame is)...which substantially impacts the glass (they way it melts and if it burns or reduces). So i need it to be at least above freezing outside for the garage to have a temp of about 45 degrees. Temps any lower than 45, and things just don't work well (and it's just TOO COLD to work out there anyway). So we'll see what the weather is like next week.

Tonight, Josh's brother is supposed to come over and assist us in installing more wood flooring. With any luck at all, we'll get the kitchen completed this evening! I'll post pix later!

sticky

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 7:43:41 EST

So, I made the first batch of caramels last night. And unexpectedly, making caramels on an electric range was much different than making them on a gas range (like i had been doing that last 3 years).

How different you ask?

boiling over different.

Yeah, the caramels boiled over, but i saved them just in the nick of time! But wow.....can you say sticky? And then not 20 minutes after I finished the caramels, I got a call from josh. He was back in town and in his office parking lot and the VW engine light was flashing, engine running really rough, and smoke was pouring out of the back. So i ran out to pick him up. And this was my first time driving to his office, but I managed to find it, despite it being a very very dark and very very rainy night. So Josh has the Subi today and is arranging to have the VW towed to the dealer. We'll see what comes of all that. But that also means I can't run to the bank and do some super-secret Christmas shopping like I was planning! Guess that means I have to actually WORK all day. Novel Idea.

..or...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 18:59:33 EST

i had it right the first time, and my website was just playing tricks on me. sorry.

whoops

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 18:55:53 EST

i guess i already have pictures on the webserver by the same name as the new flooring pictures!....here are the current flooring pix...really.

Tuesday evening

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 18:45:59 EST

Josh had another overnight trip to start off the week...and he's due home late tonight. I'm going to attempt to make my first batch of caramels for the year this evening...and fun thing for him to get to come home to. Since Josh was out of town yesterday, and I had work mostly under control, I scooted over to T.H. to have lunch with my Grandma and meet up with my friend Sarabeth for dinner..and of course to see my mom and dad!. I came home this afternoon and have been playing catch-up since!

Torch cam update: Josh has the part we need for my laptop on order. Once this part arrives, then Josh will set up the laptop as the web cam 'host'. So we're almost there!

I have several crowns to make tomorrow (my other business: orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), and some Melting Hearts to ship out to some of you lovely people. I'm not sure what else tomorrow holds, But I would like to get some more glass pretties made to show all of you! Until then, you'll have to settle for pictures of how much wood flooring we have done thus far:

Yar, there be more snow!

Friday, December 7, 2007 - 11:44:06 EST

said the snow pirate :)

We got an additional 2 inches or so of snow last night. so I just got back from a run in it :). Out in Maryland, when i would go running in the snow, it was just a figure of speech, because the city did a ridiculously good job of keeping even the sidewalks consistently shoveled. so i was more or less, just running amongst the snow for the most part. Well, out here, our neighborhood does the normal street plowing, and if any sidewalks are cleared, it's at the discretion of the homeowner.....and so needless to say, the sidewalks are all covered with 6 inches of snow. And in my unprofessional opinion, running is snow is similar to running in sand--you have a squishy under-layment and more resistance, and so the side muscles have to work more to keep you steady, so it's a lot more fatiguing than running on a clear normal day. But it's still really fun, because you're running in the snow! But really, it's only fun if it's fresh snow. If it's well used snow, then there are foot tracks frozen in it, and it's really easy to tweak an ankle or slip. So stay in the fresh stuff, and wear cuffed tights to keep the cold snow off your skin, and you're good to go!

Ok, enough about snow-running. Tonight our priest is coming to bless our house (it's an annual even in Orthodox Christian homes, not sure about other religions...it's normally done around Easter, but you can have it done when you move into a new home, or other special circumstances). So I need to clean around our construction mess as best as possible (nothin' like accidentally leaving underwear out for your priest to see..ugh).

this weekend, Josh and I are accompanying my sister and her husband to a Ball! It's a Christmas Party/Fundraiser for charity that a co-worker of Alisa's started. And it's quite the event. so after cleaning, I'm going to run out into the garage and make a really fun pendant that I just thought of (nothing like getting to make your own jewelry on demand!)

Am i good, or what

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - 7:46:56 EST

So was it just yesterday that I said I needed to pray for snow? my word of honor, I didn't know snow was predicted for our area last night until around 7pm. and we got a solid 4 inches of snow over night! Once the sun actually rises, i may try to get out for a little bit.....

Updates all around

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - 10:44:04 EST

* I have my morning business work and emails under control, So I am going back to work on that master closet and try and get it done before Josh gets home tonight!

* I also have a big date scheduled with the torch. I have hearts of many colors I need to get made!!

* we haven't forgotten about the Torch-cam. Josh is ordering a new part to make my old laptop function again. And once that is up and working, it will go out in the garage with me and host the webcam from out there (rather than running wired from my office out to the garage like my hair-brain scheme entailed). But, I'm waiting for Joshy-boy to order that part :)

*It's flippin' cold here, and I don't like it! Out in D.C., being close to the ocean kept the weather and temperatures pretty moderate. That isn't to say it got very cold and snowy on occasion out there...but not until February. So I'm having to re-adjust big time to Indiana winters again. My rule used to be that I would go out for a run if it was 30 degrees or above. I have the winter gear to make running in that weather bearable. But man, the wind chill factor here in the midwest is brutal! ...besides the fact it's been under 30 degrees for the past 4 days. yuck. Once there's snow on the ground, it feels warmer, so I guess I just need to pray for snow, eh?

and last, but not least: look at this dog! Is he not adorable? My friend just sent me a picture of this little guy---he's the newest addition to their family....and I just want to eat him up!

Ye of little faith

Monday, December 3, 2007 - 23:15:05 EST

I got nearly everything on my list done the other day...all but the torching, that is. Just had to let you know :). Josh is out of town on a business trip today/tomorrow. I'm finishing up the master closet while he is away...I'll post pix tomorrow of the finished masterpiece...and then I will get back to my main job: melting glass.

Good Morning

Friday, November 30, 2007 - 8:04:53 EST

Well I'm sure you've been wondering where I've been for the past week or so, since my updates have been so sparse. Surprisingly, I've been here--but just busy! I'm having fun being able to get back to my torch in the afternoon, and am trying to be really good about photographing things and posting them right away. So on that note, I will be posting 2 more hearts for sale in a bit. I've also been experimenting with some other 'products' and also some other designs/styles. so lots of fun going on here!

Also, we're making quite a lot of progress on our house, for those of you who are interested. We're moving right along on installing the wood floor, and have about 1/4 of the hallway/livingroom/diningroom/kitchen area completed.

On tap for today? I've already photographed glass and am getting ready to post it. I going to make a set of crowns, photograph those and email my customer. Then I'm going to go repair drywall in the master bedroom closet, then go for a run. and then rip out carpet from master closet and start painting. and then i really want to get some more torching in today. Josh and I already have a 'date' to install flooring when he gets home..but I don't know what time he'll be home today. Anywhere from 4:30 to 7:00. Hmm...think I'll get all my projects in today?

Mickey is here meowing at me telling me 'no way', but it's worth a try!

New Melting Hearts for sale

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 9:21:49 EST

I just got done posting several new Melting Hearts on the 'for sale' page. Take a look and let me know what you want! Colors-cheme wise, I know they're mostly blues and green. And I know many of you want purples and pinks and red and yellows....So I'll be working on those today, with hopes of posting them tomorrow.

Mickey Says...

Friday, November 16, 2007 - 11:11:57 EST

...Turn on the light!


Can you tell my kitties are goofy today? Must be the weather...

For Sale

Friday, November 16, 2007 - 10:21:36 EST

I've been in the process of uploading lots or more fun items to the for sale page and gallery page. A "new" product is the set of the 3 bobby pins. I've done hair pins before, but never as a set of 3, or with these fun toppers. I've done floral and animal themes ones, but somehow it didn't occur to me to just make fun colored discs! So I've got some fun sets listed (FYI, I DO combine shipping costs). I'm also getting ready to add more Melting Hearts, but I'm not sure how many I will get posted before my Mother-in-law arrives to whisk me away for a fun afternoon of lunch and shopping.

Good Morning

Friday, November 16, 2007 - 9:46:43 EST

Rufus wanted to say "Good Morning" to everyone. He's currently helping me edit some photos to post on the for sale page....

workin' on it

Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 11:22:49 EST

On that fabulous new work top that Joshy helped me build the other night, I have my new photography set-up all situated....but I'm working on my lighting. I need to re-photograph some things in better lighting and then will have those posted today. Yesterday I went out and got a big ole tank of propane, so I'm going to be torching up a storm this afternoon. Now that I'm relegated to the garage, temperature is now a concern. especially today, as It's really cold here in Indy!! We found a great safe and efficient space heater that I will be testing for the first time today. more soon.

Oh and, Josh has a solution for getting the torch cam set back up!! Not sure when it will happen...but it will happen!

house pix

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 13:25:23 EST

Then it was my turn, with Alisa's assistance, to sand the floor while Jason and Josh were moving appliances in the kitchen and pulling up that plywood. When the boys got all that plywood up, we unveiled what was a really poor sub-flooring job in out kitchen. The builders had apparently pieced together several bad pieces of split/cracked plywood, and just glued it all together. It is all structurally sound, just uneven, and big gaps. It wasn'y a big deal to them since they were adding another layer of plywood...but for us, we needed to fix it. So that's me (a very dirty and tired me) smoothing thinset into the cracks of the floor to strengthen and fill in chips and cracks.

we then rolled out our felt paper underlayment for the wood floor, and Josh and I are working on that installation. We have good motivation to keep us going right now: The oven is in the garage, until the kitchen is done. I need my oven by Thanksgiving!! Think we'll get the kitchen done in a week?

house pix

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 13:21:57 EST

On Saturday, my sister, Alisa, and her husband, Jason, came over for such much needed assistance in getting up the rest of the plywood underlayment in the kitchen. The previous day I took up the tile floor and the fiber board underlayment, which revealed it's plywood underlayment--so many layers! The kitchen cabineted were installed on top of the underlayment (underlayment is different from subfloor, so we had to cut the plywood away from the cabinets...that's Alisa working on that task. Me in the kitchen and Josh standing in front of the camera.

house pix

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 13:17:53 EST

I posted pictures earlier showing the progression of carpet in this house. I finally got all that carpet up and out of here. But that glue-down brown and yellow carpet that was original to the house left quite a bit of foam and glue residue. Additionally, taking up the 1/4" plywood underlayment in the dining room and kitchen uncovered glue residue from that flooring. At first we thought that belt sander would make work pretty decently for smoothing out the floor. Well, that proved to not be the case....belt sander kept getting guncked up, which lead to belt breaking right and left. So we quickly rented a floor sander.

Oh! P.s.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 7:23:42 EST

Josh's dad called last night as we were sitting down to dinner. There is a store here called Gander Mtn...it's sports store, but more themed for hunting and fishing. But they had a bunch of snow boots, and hiking shoes and boots on 75% off marked down prices. So we went there after dinner. I got the cutest pair of pull on rubber rain boots (black with a yellow stripe) for mucking around in my garden this spring for $3.00! When I saw them, I was so excited, but worried because they only had kid sizes. As it turns out, I'm a Youth size 3 (yes, I have small feet). Then, Josh found me a great pair of snow boots--again cute!--they're a tad large, as they didn't quite have my size...but that just means i can wear lots of socks underneath. Those were like 10$. and then we found a great and comfy pair of hiking shoes for $12.00. so what would have normally cost us like $250, cost us $24.83! Josh didn't find anything :( they didn't have his size.

Roughin' It

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 7:13:27 EST

So yesterday was an interesting day. I was out in the garage, setting up my glass studio. And I had gone in and out of the house through the garage doe several times already that morning. And in an attempt to go back into the house at one point around 11:30am, the door had locked....and I had no keys. and all the other doors to the house were locked. Yes, I locked myself out of the house. And I had no phone....but that wouldn't have helped anyway. Josh was in meetings all day, and wouldn't have been able to come home to let me in. What happened, you ask? I think the door lock jiggled itself closed after many of my ins and outs.

So, I tried not to panic, prayed that i didn't have use to the bathroom any time soon, and that I didn't get too hungry. The good news is that I was 'forced' to spend some time torching! I got some good work done, but started burning myself repeatedly. And when I get more than 2 burns in 5 minutes, I have a rule that I walk away from the torch before something really bad happens. So I broke into our shed (I couldn't break into our house...i tried....repeatedly....) and grabbed yard tools and got a lot of yard work done yesterday. And luckily, Josh got home at 6:00.

So, we now have a contingency plan for if I ever get locked out again (i.e hidden spare key!). and I will be photographing TONS of stuff to day (on my new handy dandy work table that has my permanent photo set-up!). And I will be posting tons of pictures today. Including some fun house pics from our work this past weekend.

all in an evening's work....

Monday, November 12, 2007 - 21:29:21 EST

Josh and I just got done building a my work table! What does this mean? It means I can finish photographing things and post them, and it means that i have a place to put all of my glass..so that i can start torching! I'm going to go pick his brain about how to get that torch cam set back up....

new items coming soon!

Monday, November 12, 2007 - 13:21:25 EST

I just unpacked some more glass inventory that I can list on the site for sale. It's not a whole lot. But it will hold ya'll over until I can get more things made (hopefully later this week!). I'm going to photograph and list them this afternoon...but first, I have to get our for my run. It's too warm not to get out and play this afternoon!

Adding a new gallery to the list....

Monday, November 12, 2007 - 13:13:15 EST

I will be adding a new gallery to my list of stores that carry my hearts. WICKWIRE fine art/folk art is located in Henderson, NC on Main st. I'm going to wait to list them officially on the website until I've shipped out their order.

And on that note: making and shipping new things. Here's the latest. Josh and I tried to move the vanity out of the master bathroom but hit a big sanfu! The sink plumbing lines come from out of the floor-rather than the wall...and those lines were drilled THROUGH the vanity. So essentially, the vanity is plumbed in! So there goes our grand scheme for replacing that vanity, because it really is not worth the hassle. Like I said before, it's in great condition, just not our dream vanity. BUT, having this puppy being plumbed and fully and permanently situated...well, it will do and be one less expense for the bathroom.

So josh and I have come up with another solution for my workspace. The door that was going to serve as the vanity work top, is still going to be the worktop, but Josh is going to build me a base out of a bunch of scrap 2x4s that we have. It's nice and warm today (Freakishly warm for Nov!), so I'm going to see if we can't build that base tonight, so that I can fire up the torch tomorrow. Because, I"'m serious, I've got some wicked fun things to make and show all of you!

It's cold!!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - 7:19:35 EST

Need I say more? I got our pretty fireplace all cleaned up this weekend, and we've got some firewood ready to go...I may need to light a fire tonight (yay!). That's the only good thing about cold weather--getting to have a fire in the fireplace.

And up until now, I was fine with running in the cooler weather, seeing as 50-60 degrees is perfect running weather temperature wise...but today it's going to be in the 40's. I know that doesn't sound that bad, but it's psychological thing for me. It SEEMS a lot colder today. But I hopefully have a remedy to keep me motivated: I get to go buy a new pair of running shoes today. New toys keep the running fun :). You can put a couple hundred miles on a pair of shoes before the go ka-put. And last week, I noticed the padding was feeling flatter and the shoes just weren't that good feeling, and I was getting hot spots on my feet...and I did the math and realized that It was just about time for a new pair of shoes. I was hoping to hold out until Thanksgiving before getting a new pair. But man, when when your shoes start to go downhill, they go downhill FAST! It's like when you tank of gas gets past that halfway point. It seems like you always burn through the last half of the gas tank faster than you did the first half. And yesterday I hit empty: I got 2 blisters on my foot from my run. So yeah, new shoe time!

Work wise, on tap for the day is a lot of crown work, and a lot of house work. I'm still waiting on Josh to help me move a vanity out into the garage as part of my workspace. I need that vanity to put my glass rods onto....so until that happens, I still can't torch. So someone email Josh for me and tell him to help me move the vanity! :)

Busy bee

Saturday, November 3, 2007 - 6:03:18 EDT

It's been non-stop action around here since last weekend. Rufus is sitting here with me right now and agrees with that statement!
Glass news: the past few days i have been working on hanging wire shelving in the garage in my 'studio space'. I got all the shelving up and finished yesterday afternoon, and have started loading them. The only thing I am waiting on-so to speak-in order to finish my studio is the double wide vanity from the master bathroom that will be moved out into the garage as part of my work space. Our M-bath has to be completely re-done (for those of you who aren't aware, we just moved into a great house, but the master bath is a mess and has to be completely gutted). The vanity is in great shape, but not something that we want to re-use in the space if we're getting the opportunity to do our 'dream' bathroom. So it's going to become very valuable work and storage space for me. The door from that bathroom happens to be the exact dimensions, so that will be the 'table top' :). it works out a little too well, eh? So anyway, hopefully we'll move that out to the garage this weekend, then i can finish storing everything, and have a place to set up all my glass. and then i can start torch in my permanent new studio!!! This couldn't come soon enough because yesterday i had the coolest idea for something and I'm itchin' to get to it!

House news: i started taking up the lament wood floor in the dining area of the kitchen. And have also started taking up the 1/4" plywood that was laid down for the original linoleum floor in the dining area. That was surprising not that bad. You get a pry bar under the wood, and the glue and staples just pop-pop-pop. The tricky thing is that plywood sheets are 4X6. I am 5'2"....so these plywood sheets pretty much eat me up. so it's been tricky. Josh has been doing some electrical projects this week, making sure everything is set up properly, installed a new outdoor garage light, put in a really freakin' cool 'smart' dimmer switch in our entry way, and finally patched that hole in the wall from where we took out the half wall. I'm not sure what all will get done this weekend, but I'll be happy if we finish taking up the kitchen floor, move my vanity into the garage, and finish getting carpet padding residue off the living room floor so we can start on the wood floor in there. Keep your fingers crossed!

Halloween Party

Monday, October 29, 2007 - 7:05:25 EDT

This past Saturday was the 8th Annual Halloween Party hosted by my sister and her husband. However, this was the first Halloween party that Josh and I have ever gotten to attend...as we always lived too far out of town to travel in just for the party. But now since we're all in Indy, we were pretty exited to get to attend this year's bash. Josh was Wolfman and I was a Raven. My outfit was a complete and utter rip-off of a Martha Stewart idea. Below is a cute snapshot of Josh and me. i would post pix of my siblings outfits, but I think they would kill me if I did that!

one more pix

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 16:17:30 EDT

right after I took josh's pic with Rufus the other night, Josh took a picture of me and Rufus (yes, rufi stayed in the box during all of that). And i just found that pix of "mommy and rufus" --it got filed away into a glass picture folder...so here's one more post with picture of rufi and me. In this picture you can see my new glasses and short hair-do (it's already grown over an inch since I chopped it off 8 weeks ago).

Fun with Rufi

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 16:10:26 EDT

2 of my 3 cute boys: Josh and Rufus. Rufus is the cat.

Total 70's

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 15:56:54 EDT

I know you love this carpet as much as I do (is my sarcasm coming through?). In our living, the original carpet--which is in surprisingly good shape-is of the glue down variety. When the previous home owners re-carpeted the place, rather than taking up the old carpet...they just laid the new stuff on top. So yesterday, I spent the day taking up turquoise berber, its padding, and then the brown carpet. The original brown carpet also got stapled down courtesy of the carpet padding getting stapled. I was literally grunting as I ripped that carpet off the ground. It felt so good that get that stuff up and out of here. The house smells infinitely fresher now! I have all the tack strips up too. There is quite a bit of glued carpet residue left on the floor, which I am having to scrap up by hand. Next is to tackle the dining room and kitchen floors. I don't have the energy right now to describe all that needs to be done there...but I will next week when I start on it. I'm going to work on posting pix now.

why?!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 11:30:19 EDT

I avoid going into the post office as much as I can...but there are a few times where a shipment requires that I go ship it in person (rather than leaving it for my mailman). so WHY is it that I always get the same incompetent lady at the post office those oh-so-few times I go in???? OH she drives me CRAZY! You know how they always ask you if your package has anything liquid, fragile, perishable or potentially hazardous. So, to err on the side of caution, since what I am shipping usually is fragile, is always reply with "would you please mark it as fragile?" And she always gives me the same rant (yes rant) of "well, do you have it wrapped and padded well..because it don't mean a hill of beans for me to put fragile on this box. so you better have wrapped it well. 'Cuase those machines can't read this stamp. THEN WHY ASK IF IT IS FRAGILE???? I always nicely replay with, yes I have it wrapped well, but i would also like it marked as fragile. So then as she begrudgingly stamps fragile she start going on about how "ok, it better be 'cuase this stamp don't mean nothin'." So then today I just said, well maybe it is for the carrier's benefit, so they know not to throw the package. Well that just opened up on whole other can of worms. "well you do know that your package gets thrown before it ever even gets delivered. those machines toss your packages around. it gets dropped out of a machine onto a conveyor. so this fragile don't mean nothin'...oh yeah, this package will get thrown around.." and this just went on and on..she continued to mutter this as she stared at me and wouldn't continue to process my package until i admitted defeat. I just said "Fine! Just ship it, please. It's wrapped well!" But of course, she kept going on and on and on. There was a huge line behind me. And I'm getting lectured about how they WILL be throwing around my package that is marked fragile, because even though they ask if it is fragile, that stamp "don't mean a hill of beans". Can I just pay for my package and go??! Honestly!

Bah! I'm going out for a run. Then I'll post some hearts for sale.

late sunday night excuses

Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 23:19:36 EDT

so, I know that I haven't posted more things for sale, as promised earlier this week, on my for sale page. My excuse for that this Sunday night is that I was busy this week with house stuff. Tomorrow I am going to be shipping out one more order to a store, and then I WILL start to list the rest of my inventory on the site. I've gotten some emails about additional Melting Heart options...and I know you want to get cracking on your Christmas gift lists...so I'll be able to help you out soon!

This morning I woke up to the phone ringing, thinking that I had overslept and was late to church, and in the middle of a really WEIRD dream. So this morning got off to a rocky start, so later this afternoon i had to take a nap. and because of that, I haven't passed out in bed like I normally have at this time. So right now, I'm lounging in bed, with my incredible fuzzy black cat, Mickey, curled up next to me, snoring his head off. He's got his little head dug into my hip, and his paws wrapped around my leg. It's quite adorable. I love how pets make you feel so loved!

Also this afternoon, I got to visit with my Aunt and Cousin, who came in from out of town. My cousin Gail (whose picture sometimes pops-up on the homepage--she and her friends are wearing melting hearts) just had a baby about 7 weeks ago. And Gail brought Ava Marie to town so family could meet her. And of course Miss Ava is just the sweetest little thing. She has the sweetest disposition--rarely cries and loves to be cuddled. she's still just a little bitty munchkin. So meeting Ava was was a fun change of pace in the middle of the day.

but I think now, it's probably time to try and get some sleep. There's a lot on tap tomorrow: grocery store, carve pumpkins (i want toasted pumpkin seeds!), mail out glass things, paint the living rip, finish ripping out carpet in living room, and then there is possibly my meeting up with an arborist to grab some oak tree parts from a huge oak tree that is being taken down near us. My brother is a firewood addict (that's how he and his wife heat their home during the winter), so he knows all the right people to get free firewood from (even though he is up in Ft. Wayne, and we're in Indy)...and so he's trying to encourage me to go grab some oak logs....do i have to? that's a boy's job! ....but my boy works on the other side of town all day... harumph!

Stormy Day!

Thursday, October 18, 2007 - 7:17:47 EDT

It is a very stormy day in Indiana today. It started yesterday evening, and is supposed to keep up until tonight. everyone in my family loves thunder storms...we're fascinated by them....and enjoy the sound. Which is very funny for me to also like, seeing as how I used to be deathly afraid of storms.

I remember once when I was a little girl, going over to my Aunt Barbe's new house. She and Uncle Mark (the wonderful man who made some wicked bead molds for me) had just gotten married, and she was showing us her house. And it must have stormed the night before or something, for the topic of storms to be on my mind. But I just couldn't fathom someone not being scared of storms. And when you're scared of storms you need Mommy! But Aunt Barbe was married now, and out on her own with her husband....and I remember asking her if she got scared during thunderstorms. It just seemed logical to me that since she was no longer living with her mommy, that she would suddenly become scared of storms...and she only had Uncle Mark to protect her...wasn't she scared? Of course she said "no", she wasn't scared. Silly me.

anyway, at some point I became 'ok' with storms, and now I love them. Granted, everyone in my family has been lucky enough to never have a bad experience with a storm (i.e. tornado, flooding...), so that probably also helps me feel at peace with them. So I'm looking forward to a fun stormy day. Yesterday was really fun,too, as the bad weather was starting to roll in. I didn't get out for my run until late in the afternoon. So by the time I did get out, the sky was starting to get that fun dark, eerie glow. and the wind was blowing... Yeah. Good times :)

The one bad thing about storms and our move to Indiana--or rather the house in which we moved is: out in MD we had a gas oven and range. So I could still cook if the power went out. I had a morning of cooking some yummy Syrian food all planned out...but our power keeps threatening to go out this morning (very strong wind!) and our oven is electric. I don't feel like getting all kinds of stuff baking just to have the power go out right now. But I can at least go make the dough for some of the goodies. There's supposed to be a break in the weather in a few hours, hopefully I can get the baking done then....

Did someone say Melting Hearts?

Friday, October 12, 2007 - 13:23:10 EDT

I'm getting ready to go make Melting Hearts until I run out of fuel. I'm low, but I should be able to get a nice collection of them made....I'll post pix tomorrow. Also, I will be posting some of them, plus some other items on the 'for sale' page soon. We have a lot of projects planned for the weekend already (house remodeling stuff, of course), but I think I'll have a chance to post things a few at a time throughout the weekend.

this will also be the first time that I am torching with contact lenses in since I got that wicked eye infection a while back. Until now, i had been wearing my safety glasses over my regular glasses (the safety lenses have a special tinting that help me see the glass through the torch flame)...and that was really uncomfortable...and not very handy. I couldn't see very clearly to boot. so anyway, i finally got some new contacts in. I will only be wearing contacts when I torch now...otherwise I'll be wearing glasses because I like them so much :) And because it's weird being back in lenses...everything looks so big! To the torch!

Good News!

Thursday, October 11, 2007 - 13:28:50 EDT

Yesterday I received an email from the National Museum for Women in the Arts. Last year, they asked me to donate a piece to their silent auction fund raiser. They have asked me to again participate this year. I was worried that I wouldn't actually be eligible to donate something, since we have moved to IN. Last year, I thought that they were specifically feature local artists, and at that time I was a D.C. "local"....and so I was worried that I wouldn't get to participate this year. So I emailed back asking whether or not I could still participate. Luckily, they aren't concerned about my location...they are more concerned that the pieces they feature in their Silent auction are made by women artists/jewelry designers.

I was laughing to myself that, yes, I'm actually excited to be able to GIVE a piece away. and not make a cent off of it! But I love being asked to participate in worthwhile events and fund raisers. It's especially nice to be asked to participate in an event year after year. Especially D.C events. Not that events elsewhere in the country are any less worthy or grand...it's just that I have first-hand experience with the DC scene--that whole, you really never know who you are talking to when you meet someone on the street-experience. I have encountered so many very powerful and influential women (and men) at my shows in that area...so it's just fun to think about them wearing my pieces. And with the NMWA silent auction event...well, that just seals the deal even more. It's a Gala event, by invitation only to all sorts of 'bigwigs' in the city. And it's not that I prefer these people as my customers over others...it's just the idea that my work is getting seen. My name is being read, and comprehended. It's a nice feeling. I have a few ideas of what I would like to make/donate. I'll post pictures as I complete those projects.

more torching?

Thursday, October 11, 2007 - 6:26:23 EDT

I'm not sure. I think yesterday I got enough things made that passed inspection, so I may not need to do any torching today. I will probably make more hearts later in the day to make sure i have a nice variety to choose from when sending off my packages for stores...but I'll be sure to post the rest on this site :).

This morning I'm going to work on assembling pieces and packaging. Then I'm going to go meet my sister for lunch downtown. after that? Well, I don't know. There's always house work, yard work, and tons of business work to do....we'll see what I feel like tackling after lunch.

Good Morning

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - 7:07:02 EDT

I have another full day of torching ahead of me. Yesterday's torching session got a little rough as I was unsure what to make! I often have fun ideas and inspiration throughout the day, but when i sit down at the torch, I draw a kind of blank. Or, maybe I'll have a vague idea of something specific--a good starting place, but again, lose it once I'm working. Yesterday that kind of frustration was combined with a shear lack of decisiveness of what kind of glass things to make (beads for necklaces, bracelets; pendants; etc...). But I finally had some good breakthroughs, made some executive decisions, and completed some experiments, and I'm back on track now. So now that I have a focused game plan of what pieces to make--I would like to get everything made today. We'll see if it will happen....

So we meet again?

Monday, October 8, 2007 - 8:02:52 EDT

eh, Monday morning? Well this Monday is going to be a good day. After a mad rush with some crown orders over the last few weeks, I suddenly have a lull in in my orders. But that comes at the perfect time, as I've got some more stores anxiously awaiting for their shipments of glass items in preparation for Christmas. Yes, Christmas. Many stores like to have things by the end of Oct/beginning of Nov, so that they can have time to inventory and arrange displays. I think most stores put out Christmas items before Thanksgiving now....But I prefer it when stores wait until after Thanksgiving to put out Christmas things. Luckily my hearts aren't Christmas-specific, so I don't mind them getting put out early. So I've got some major amounts of torching to do today.

I also have some household projects to get done: stain baseboards so Josh can nail them into place tonights....Which then means we can finish clearing out our living room (move stuff into a finished room with baseboards), so that we can proceed with laying our wood floor in the main part of the house. I also have some painting touch-ups to attend to so that we have have 3 completely-completely done rooms by the end of the day (cross your fingers!!).

I also have some yard work that I want to do (big surprise :) ) Over the weekend, I re-set some sidewalk stones in our back yard. I added some other kinds of stones to create a kind of cobblestone walkway that leads from our deck to our side yard. The stones were originally set in a similar fashion, but had become buried in the dirt of the years, and the path was all over-grown with weeds and uneven ground. It was a mess. And now that I've additional stones that I have found laying in the landscaping (leftover stones from when the builders were doing the facade of our stone house?) the stone walking path looks like a real path! But I still have some tweaking left to do--like leveling out a few of the stones, and adding in more dirt to 'set' the stones in.

But right now, I'm going to go water some plants, as we have one more hot day on tap before the cool weather rolls in tomorrow. and I don't want some new plants to die during this one last hot day....So off to water, and then back inside for some work. Depending on how productive I am, I might get to play outside later today. We'll see.

peach tree!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - 12:45:08 EDT

I have tried before in many vain attempts to get a peach pit to sprout. But that hard pit covering makes it very very difficult for water and sun to get down to the baby seed in the center so that it will actually sprout.

Well several weeks ago, as I was cutting open a peach, the pit split open and out came the little seed! It actually looks just like an almond (same concept as a almond and its shell actually). So I potted it right up and It has sprouted!! It took awhile for it to emerge out the top of the soil, but now that it has, it's growing very very quickly. And of course, even though my camera was on "macro' mode, the camera focused on everything but the seedling, but here it is, nonetheless.

My mom also found a split mango seed the other day--well actually two of them. Mango seed are HUGE, and again, very tough...so once you find one that has already split, then the chances of getting a seedling are greatly improved. My mom potted hers up, and it's growing like a weed. My mom kept my seed in water until I arrived in town last weekend. We potted it up, and now I'm just waiting!

Now, for those of you who don't know about my pineapple plant--I've also attached a pix of that here. Cut the top off a pineapple (leave about an inch of fruit meat and skin and such attached to the bottom) and plant it in some potting soil. Keep it very well watered initially to help it form roots. But then stand back and be amazed at how long and big the leaves will get!

In my experience, this pineapple plant will not produce a fruit again--as the condition aren't quite right in a pot, but the leaves will thrive. And did you know that pineapples actually grow in the ground? I used to think that pineapples grew on trees. But I quickly realized my mistake when Josh and I honeymooned in Maui and we saw fields covered with what looked like pineapple tops.....low and behold, that's what they were! Pineapples are actually a conglomeration of lots of little fruits...that's why pineapples have that diamond pattern to their exterior. A bunch of little fruits grow underground and they fuse together to form a great big pineapple. Cool, huh?

"for sale" page changes

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - 11:18:08 EDT

Hey folks, this week I am going to be updating my for-sale page with new items. Also, some of the current items will be going off to stores, and I'll list that info in their descriptions. So, please wait a few days if you're wanting to order something, as I'm not sure how accurate the current page is. And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. And if you have any special requests, feel free to let me know!

spider-pumpkin

Monday, October 1, 2007 - 10:07:22 EDT

Anyone see the Simpsons movie a few months ago? I can't help but look at this thing i put on our porch without thinking of the spider-pig song.

Now, having said that, isn't this the cutest thing ever? This is the first year we get to have pumpkins...seeing as we now have a porch to display the pumpkins. At the farm where I got the pumpkins, they had this spider holders, and it was just too fun to pass up. I can't wait to carve the pumpkins, but I'm not sure when that will happen.....

car pix

Monday, October 1, 2007 - 10:01:56 EDT

Here are a couple of pictures of our new car, as promised

Monday morning, again?

Monday, October 1, 2007 - 7:15:58 EDT

Over the weekend, Josh and I went over to Terre Haute. Josh's undergrad Rose-Hulman was having Homecoming festivities over the weekend. Since Josh has been in MD for the past 5 years, he could never go to Homecoming (he was an RA, and most of his friends were also RAs). So now that we're back in IN, he really wanted to go. So we went--but only to the open house for his department, so that he could see some old profs. (that was really fun, actually). And then we went to the RA luncheon. There were some old-timers there from the class of '52, so that was also really neat. We only saw a few of Josh's old friends, but it was good to see some familiar faces.

After those festivities, we high-tailed it to Marshall, IL where Josh's paternal grandmother lives. We try to go and visit her as often as we can, as she's just the cutest lady. She gave us, as a house-warming gift, a table that her grandparents bought right after they got married in 1908. So it's a 100 year old table with the fun scroll/rung legs. It's well suited as a side table to stack books and hold a big lamp and some potted plants. there's a shelf underneath that is perfect for a kitty, if the table is placed near a window. Grandma Bert also gave me the most beautiful crocheted doily, I guess that's what you would call it, that HER mother made, and has always had a home on top of that table. This doily is just so cool, and has broken in a few places..that we're considering just framing it in a shadow box rather than using it.

After Grandma Bert's house we went to see my Grandma Norris ("Grammers") where we were forced to eat yummy snacks and veg in her crazy-comfy couch. after getting caught-up on all the family 'gossip' we were back to my parent's house. before leaving T.H. to come back to Indy, we loaded up the Outback (still need to post pix, i know) with wedding gifts. You see, even though Josh and i were married nearly 4 years ago (4 years already?!) we have had to store almost all of our wedding gifts at my parent's house. We had no room for China, stemware, glass pitchers and crystal vases, picture frames, all my wedding memorabilia and wedding dress in our apartment out in Maryland. So all of that stuff, plus some knick-knacks of mine that never did get to make the move with me, are currently stacked from floor to ceiling, filling up 2 large closets. Yes. you heard me. 2 closets of wedding gifts. we had a large wedding (big families on both sides). Sooo, we were able to fit the china and crystal and a coffee table and the old reading table from G-ma Bert into the Outback. The coffee table is this gorgeous thing that my mom bought for a few bucks at a yard sale a long time ago, and I refinished. It had been painted this ugly yellow, and when i stripped the paint, I uncovered just the most beautiful wood work. My parents always said it was my coffee table. the table is so pretty, so i didn't refuse. and now it's in its new home!

Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon at the hospital, as Josh's grandfather, "Poppy" is in the heart wing recuperating right now. Poppy is the coolest guy around. He was a builder back in the day, and actually built about 40 houses in our neighborhood! In fact, a house he built for his sister is just down the street! Unfortunately, he didn't build our house, but a friend of his did. Fun, huh? So Poppy has really been enjoying coming over and 'overseeing' our remodeling projects. But unfortunately Poppy has a lot of health problems now, and about 1x a year ends up in the hospital. Poppy is like a second father to Josh, not just a Grandpa, so it's always a little rough when this happens. But Poppy is on the mend, and Josh is going to stop past the hospital on his way home from work tonight.

And I'm not really sure where all that leaves me for today! I've got crowns to get out in the mail, more crowns to make, light fixtures to paint/install, glass objects to make and ship, painting projects in the house...and of course fuzzy Mickey who is always wanting to take a nap. so much to do!

follow-up to last week's ode...

Thursday, September 27, 2007 - 10:34:51 EDT

O heavenly jeans of mine!
The ones that were o-so divine,
When last week they went “RIIIP”
And left me in a trip
O heavenly jeans of mine.

O heavenly jeans of mine!
Once again you are oh-so sublime,
With a cute little flap
To cover that big gap
Again, heavenly jeans-o-mine!

on tap for today?

Thursday, September 27, 2007 - 7:20:13 EDT

I haven't the foggiest idea!

I don't have a whole lot to report in on today. Yesterday, things went as planned for the most part. I got all my work done, and absolutely conked out right after dinner. So really, the only thing that didn't get done was working on the house. I take that back--I filled in the nail holes in the wood floor that has been installed thus far. You have to 'face nail' a few rows of boards near either wall,as the nail gun can't fit that closely to the wall. and so i went around with 6 different colors of wood putty (we have hickory floors--lots of pretty color variation) and filled holes like a mad-woman. Mickey kept trying to help. silly cat. I'm ready for this house to be done already!

I'm only going to allow myself to work on crowns work today. I've got some orders to fill today, and then new crowns to make and post on the site. Think I can manage to throw in a smattering of house work too?

Good morning

Wednesday, September 26, 2007 - 6:56:45 EDT

We picked up our new car last night! the weather was crazy yesterday, and as we were getting the walk-thru with our salesman we noticed the sky starting to get really dark. Within 5 minutes the entire sky to the North started billowing up with this really dark clouds, and this cold breeze started to pick up. Being a half-way smart guy, our salesman picked up the pace and finished our car orientation...we shook hands, I grabbed the Jetta keys from josh and RAN to the car. By this time, the wind was intense. A few rains drops started to drop, but it felt like a constant cold mist because of the wind. As I got my car door pulled shut, it just started pouring. We made it home, and the new-car gallivanting we were planning on doing, didn't happen. we stayed inside, and I went to bed at 8pm. it was heavenly.

What does any of that have to do with glass? Well I'll tell you. I now have transportation to the post office this morning to ship our a huge Melting Heart order to Chicago. I normally let our mailman pick up and deal with my shipments, but this order has got to go out in the earliest shipment possible today. Plus the fact that I have like 5 other boxes to ship today, that I don't think our mailman would like too much.

And because it's not like I don't have enough to keep me busy, I've taken on another job duty, for which I need to run some other errands today. My brother in law has started his own business (www.slipstreamhover.com). Jason has always been an avid hover-craft enthusiast and has built several of his own hovercrafts. He finally got the opportunity to open up this dream business of his when he and Alisa moved back to Indiana.

The thing that makes the hovercrafts hover is a skirt that holds the air underneath the craft. Jason has worked very hard to make his site THE site for all your hovercraft needs, but is not satisfied with the current selection on skirts that are currently on the market. So, I'm making the skirts for him, of course. We're still in our initial experimental phase. I got some test pieces made the other day, and Jason will be sending them to a guy in CA for critiquing. And so today, I've got to get those skirt samples and the enormous roll of materials over to Jason's house. I've been using Kevlar thread to sew up these skirts, which are made of this canvas-y, plastic-y material. Pretty wicked, huh?

And if you ever get the chance to ride in a hovercraft, I highly recommend it. It's insane. Doing a 50mph turn as you hover just barely over the water, with major amount of that water spraying up onto your face....yea, it's fun.

so I now must leave all of you and go box up some glass, sew a couple more hovercraft skirts, and then work on some wedding crowns. It's a weird life I lead.

oh and

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 7:49:05 EDT

Josh's mom and I went to a farm yesterday to get some pumpkins! So I have pumpkins sitting on our front porch, and that just makes me happy.

All kinds of fun stuff

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 7:25:46 EDT

We've been in need of a 2nd vehicle for a little while now...mainly because I get frustrated not being able to run errands during the day when I need to, and then don't feel like doing them at night when I do have access to the car. This was made all the more clear (the need for a 2nd car), when last Friday, Josh stopped for gas on his way home from work and when he went to restart the car--it wouldn't start!

Turns out it was nothing serious, my brother helped us diagnose that it was just a really really dead battery (we had no signs that was going to happen!) Josh replaced the battery Saturday morning, and it solved the problem! Our baby-Jetta is purring like a kitten again. But at the time, Josh was stuck on the South side of town for a several hours waiting for a tow truck...and I had no way to go meet him.

Plus, we're also itchin' to have more cargo/hauling space so that we're not *constantly* calling on our family members who have trucks to help us cart home things like base boards and Garbage cans, etc...

So despite really wanting a second VW, there's not a large market for the jetta or passat wagons here in IN...and the dealership wasn't interested in working on giving us a deal on the one used 2007 passat wagon they had in their lot (bummer...we really wanted it). They had a passat sedan that was perfect (2004 with only 19k miles and fully decked out) and ohhhh, so lovely...but no! We need cargo space!

So back we went to a Subaru dealer where we earlier had test-driven a Forrester. We didn't like the Forrester...but after a second look at the Outback, saw that it was actually just what we were looking for. They had some 2008s in their lot, and the one that caught my eye was a white one! Now, I'm not a person who ever really is attracted to a white car....but this was pretty! the official color is "satin pearl white"

And it drives fabulously! and has heated seats!

We're going in this evening to finish the paperwork (we already were keeping them open an hour past closing, and their finance manager was next door helping someone else, so we couldn't finish the paperwork last night) and drive home with the car today!

we're actually signing a 3 year lease on the car..for those of you who don't agree with leases..well, tough! It's perfect for out situation right now (not only payment wise), but since everything is covered by the warranty, it's nice to know we won't have any repair costs...And we've never had a Subaru, it's nice to test the waters with a lease. It is an open-ended lease, so we can just purchase at the end of 3 years, which we very well may end up doing. Regardless, Josh negotiated us one hell of a deal --part of the reason we were there so late. That man is relentless!

Tip: If you're leasing, the purchase price of the car matters! Get that price down just like you would if you were going to finance the whole thing. And you should never have put down more than $1500 for a lease to get a good deal!

So yeah, tonight, we'll have a 2nd car! I'll post pix of it tonight. But for now..I must go to work to pay for this new baby!

funny sized hearts

Monday, September 24, 2007 - 12:04:08 EDT

in the first of 2 pictures below, you'll see 2 Melting Hearts. The larger of the two is an odd-size in it'self (too large for a baby, but too small as a Large). You see the little guy next to it? Well, he's a baby-baby Melting Heart! I knew he was going to be small when I was making him, but he turned out to be SO cute! It's only about 1/2" tall! I'll be listing both these guys for sell here on the site a little later.

the 2nd picture is a detail picture of the larger heart, as I love how it's decoration on top turned out.

switch-er-roo

Monday, September 24, 2007 - 7:49:33 EDT

My sister and I were going to be going up to Ft. Wayne, Indiana today. My Uncle Sam is a dentist up there, and that's also where my brother lives. Alisa did have a dental appt, with Uncle Sam today (We refuse to go to any other dentist, as Uncle Sam is the BEST! When we lived in MD, while I would go to another dentist for cleanings, I wouldn't let another Dr. touch my veneers when I needed some work done. I literally made special trips back here just to see Uncle Sam--he's that good!) But....he's sick today. So suddenly, I'm left with a 'free' morning and early afternoon. I did a bunch of work last night in anticipation of being gone and not able to work during the first part of today. So now, what to do with myself?! Gee, I guess I could always get ahead on work, and I still have PLENTY of pressing work that needs to be done (Melting Heart order that is only 1/2 done and needs to ship tomorrow!). Hmm, maybe I'll treat myself to a good morning read (yea, I'm an avid reader, so it is a treat when i don't work and 'allow' myself to read instead). And reading usually leads to napping.....

Have no fear, though! I will be posting some fun pix of MHs later this afternoon, for your viewing pleasure!

ITCHY!

Friday, September 21, 2007 - 12:37:07 EDT

Are the mosquitoes bad where you are? They have been absolutely RELENTLESS out here in IN this summer...especially the past few weeks. I can't go outside for 1 minute without getting bitten! I can't even begin to tell you how many bites I have--seriously. And some of them are great big, too. My calves are about 2x their normal size right now from all the bites.....is there some holistic method of fighting off mosquitoes? Is it eating a lot of garlic so they don't like the taste of your blood? I need a way to keep them off of me, but can't stand using icky bug spray....any ideas out there?

sleepless night

Friday, September 21, 2007 - 1:27:14 EDT

well, fyi, I got around to doing everything on my rambled list from my earlier news entry. I cuddled/napped with the kitties, painted, got some Melting Hearts made, worked in the yard a bit, and even got to the bank and the grocery store. But what about the crowns, you might ask--even though this is a glass website and not a wedding crown site....Well, I am going to do some crown work now.

It is a sleepless night right now, and I figure I might as well be halfway productive if I'm not going to be spending the time sleeping. I'm all worked up about something that we thought had blown over...and it's one of those sticky situations where the less said the better....but also one of those sticky situations where you just don't know how to handle things or how to act. Oof! So I might as well work off this frustrations since I can't sleep it off! To work I go.

p.s.

Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 7:43:59 EDT

a note about those twisties: they're already cut into the lengths I use for some beading projects (so if they look dwarfed, that's why!). I highly encourage you to enlarge the picture, as I'm quite happy with how many colors and stripes I was able to pack into some of these skinny little twists of glass. for size reference, each segment is really only about an in long and on average 5mm in diameter.

Twistie Lovin'

Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 7:31:11 EDT

As promised, below is a pic of some pretties--not nearly as many pretties as I was hoping to get made...but it's a start. I waited until too late in the day to start my work, and the lighting wasn't very good for working---so this afternoon, I plan on creating tons-o-goodies. So now, the real question is, "What to do until this afternoon, when the lighting is just right for my glass work?" I know what I SHOULD do (put up a final coat of paint in the bathroom and hallways-ugh. work on crown stuff--don't feel like it. clean -double ugh.)

There's always cuddling with kitties, which is always very high on my list of things to do...along with a nap. If you've only been up and awake for 1 hour, is it still considered a nap? I've gotten into a good routine that I normally have no problem sticking to (i.e. what work to do when), I guess I'm just in a funny mood and not quite sure what to do with myself right now! So rather than continuing to think about that, I'm going to go try and actually do something about it! I'll check in later!

a realization

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - 7:46:25 EDT

It may seem funny that I often type out my day's work schedule for all to read....and I was just thinking this morning about doing that. And then I thought to myself, "Why? Why do I like typing out what my plans for the day?" And I realized that I like to do it, not because I want to "show-off" what I do during the day....but rather, it keeps me honest, and it helps me to think though what I actually want to do on any given day. I'm accountable to myself and to all those who read the update and have read me say what I'm going to get done in one day, so gosh darn it, I better do it! Now, this method also has its downfalls, as it can make me feel guilty, as I know there are many times I say I'll do something, or post something, and just don't quite do it in the time frame I plan on...and I HATE it when that happens! But such is life, eh? And at least I know exactly what it is that I didn't do, because I have it all typed out right here in black and white (err, rather black and peach).

So like it or not, here are my plans for the day:
I just finished some 'administrative' work, and cleaning up some file folders. I need to prep some crown shipments. Then, I think before it gets too warm, I'm going to go outside and get some much needed yardwork done. This afternoon I need to do some torching, and I need to upload new images to my OWC.com website. I also want to start compiling some new photos for THIS site's homepage--those images that randomly pop-up in the center...I think it's high-time I put in some new pix, don't you? Keep your fingers crossed that I get this all done today! Have a good one (and hopefully I'll have some pretty glass pictures to post here tomorrow!!).

that just doesn't make a girl feel good!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - 11:19:21 EDT

Sigh.

Oh, Favorite pair o jeans of mine!
We used to look oh so divine!
This morning you went riiip,
Right near my big hip,
And now I wish I was as thin as a vine.


Sigh...

Along with fall comes...

Sunday, September 16, 2007 - 12:27:25 EDT

...that obligatory nasty cold you get when the seasons change. Oof. What started out as a wicked sore throat that just got worse and worse, has moved its way down into my chest...and up to my head. So I'm full of sinus drainage and coughing congestion. Lovely picture, isn't it? At first, when it was just a sore throat, I was worried it was strep throat. I've never had strep, so I don't know what that kind of sore throat feels like...but when I felt that soreness start to march further down my throat, I knew I was in for a treat of my sinuses flushing themselves out.

When I'm sick, not only do I not feel like working (although the guilt of not working when I have things stacking up is quite real), I also don't like to work--I'm always paranoid my 'sick' germs will get on my products and I'll mail a customer my cold! So I haven't done any work the past 4 days. But the good news is that before I got sick, I did get my fun little temp glass studio set up. So it's just waiting for me to get better so i can create some pretties. And once I fill my orders, then I'll start re-stocking my 'sale' page with fun new things. Regardless of being 100% better, I should be over whatever contagiousness I have had, and am going to try to get back to a normal work routine tomorrow. See you then!

It feels like a monday morning

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 - 6:59:43 EDT

Josh wasn't feeling so hot yesterday so he stayed home from work. And having him around all day made it feel like a weekend....so today really feels like a Monday! And of course, with having Josh around all day yesterday, I didn't get nearly as much work done as I wanted to....but that's what today is for, right?

Up on tap for the day: work on some wedding crowns, go for the obligatory run. After getting cleaned up and getting some glass work done (i have my 'mini temp' studio set up) then I get to go back outside and play in the yard. My mother-in-law brought me some mums that I want to get planted up today. I'm also working on setting in some pavers for a little walkway from our backyard to our front. Tonight, I need to patch/smooth/prep some more walls for painting, so that tomorrow I can do my final coat of paint in the hallway and hall bath.

And now, a side note about Mosquito bites: I can't believe how many I have and I'm about ready to rip through my skin!

Look Ma, no wall!

Monday, September 10, 2007 - 8:52:35 EDT

And last night we took out a wall :)

Office pix

Monday, September 10, 2007 - 8:10:51 EDT

Below are pictures of my new office. I love it! I spend most of my day in here. I'm still working on getting things organized, but luckily i have lots of shelving space to stash everything.

oh, also...

Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 8:11:52 EDT

when I registered my businesses in IN a few weeks ago, rather than registering as a sole-proprietorship, as I had done in MD (and in IN before that....) I have this time registered as an LLC (limited liability company). Where before I was considered to be quite literally the business (If Clo Glassworks got sued, then I was sued, and any asset in my name was fair game). Now, as an LLC, if Clo Glassworks gets sued, then it is the business that takes the fall, not me or any of my personal or joint assets. Now, I don't ever plan on getting sued, but as a business, you have to protect yourself.

What's really fun about this, is that since I have 2 businesses, my LLC is actually called "Clo Creative Concepts, LLC, and I do business as (DBA) Clo Glassworks and OrthodoxWeddingCrowns.com--my trade names. And all I can say is having a lawyer for a sister really helped with this one!

morning

Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 6:57:23 EDT

So I know that I haven't fixed my uploaded images on this new section yet--reason being, I don't know how to! I have to wait for Josh to do it. I finally got him to do some updates to my other site (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), and he says he'll take care of this site's problem tonight. cross your fingers!

On tap for today:
finish my mug-o-coffee. Get a set or crowns packaged up and dropped off in the mailbox on my wait out for a run. run. clean up. and now the real work begins. I have several images i need to update on the other site, and new ones to prepare. I HAVE to do that today. I think i can reasonably say I'll have that done by 2 or 3. Then I need to seal the grout for the new tile floor I laid last week. And then, drum roll please.....I will be going into the garage to start organizing my glass things.

My glass studio, as you may have gathered, has it's new home in our garage. My office (where I am right now), just so happens to be the one room that directly shares a wall with the garage wall. I mentioned this because I really want to have a torch-cam again. And I think Josh can run some long cables (discreetly hidden, of course) from my office to the garage (through the wall?) to make that happen. The web-cam has to be hooked up to a computer to run and upload it's images (hence the dilemma)but I know we can figure something out. It may just take some time. So while I may not have my torch cam back up and running for another few weeks...I will keep you updated with pictures of any new creations. Sound good?

And then let's see, after dinner tonight (what to fix?!) Josh and I will be putting down more Hardwood flooring. We've got his 'library' about halfway completed. It's not that large of a room--it has just taken us a while to get into good practice and get a good rhythm of installing a wood floor. I'd say we could get enough done tonight so that we can actually finish it tomorrow. Assuming josh fixes whatever bug is going on my news page image uploader, then I will post pix. Oh, what would I do without my Josh? (the real question here is, what would Josh do without me??!! hehehe). Alright, I guess I should start the work day now.....more later.

Good morning!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 7:15:07 EDT

Up on tap for today is grouting the hall bath tile that I have set over the past 2 days. I'll take a picture and post a before and after pix of the bath, and actually sit here at the computer until the picture properly uploads. Additionally, I'll try to get past image uploads to post--we'll see how that goes. And maybe today will be the day that i start setting up my glass! i'll keep you posted!

fun stuff

Monday, August 27, 2007 - 21:54:08 EDT

remember how I filed a segment with the Crafty nation people a while ago? while my segment was posted on their site, which went "live" a few weeks ago. here's the link:

http://craftynation.com/friends/ann-clough.php

Hall Bath

Monday, August 27, 2007 - 14:52:27 EDT

Click on the pix, to get a before and after shot.

Long over-due update

Monday, August 27, 2007 - 14:24:10 EDT

I know it's been a very long time since i've done an update...but that all changes now! I'm going to give you the quick highlights of what's been going on:
*My eye infection is all better...except that when i went in for my 10 day follow-up, my corneas were still really inflamed. Dr said i still couldn't wear contacts, which was fine with me since i had just gotten some new super-cute glasses and planned on switching back to glasses for the most part anyway. But i can see, that's the important part!
*I got some new super-cute glasses! The place i went to was having a crazy sale of buy 1 get 2 free---so i now have 2 prs of everyday glasses, and 1 pr of sunglasses--how luxurious!
*Rufi (our tabby cat) is now 2 yrs old. Mickey turns 2 on the 30th.
*house stuff is still going well. i just walked through the house snapping some fun pix, which i will upload soon (today!)
*I am going to start working at the torch again soon. I've got some orders to fill, and it's been waaay too long since i've gotten to play with glass...so i'm in the process of setting up my garage glass studio.
*On saturday, I donated my hair to Locks of Love...You have to have at least 10" of hair to donate...and i certainly did. They pulled my hair back in a pony tail and chopped it off! My hair is really short now, of course, and i love it. I'll have josh take a pic of my do, and post it. I've had really short hair before, but this is a slightly different style. it's good :)

I'm now going to go work on editing some house photos to share with all of you.

...of course...

Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 21:56:36 EDT

so no before and after pix yet. but probably tomorrow. after several days of having some pretty red eyes (just thought i was super-tired and had blood shot eyes), and then some eye pain today, i went to the eye dr this afternoon. Yeah, i have a pretty wicked eye infection. Apparently, out contact lens solution was recalled in May...May 25th to be exact...and we didn't know about it. We were using Complete...and apparently it was on the news. But you know, when you're getting for a big move, you're not exactly watching tv before and after your move (and we moved on the 25th, i think it was). so yeah. we were using recalled contact lens solution that got recalled because it doesn't kill all the proper bacteria. And I'm one of those people who got a really bad eye infection from it.

well, to be fair, the dr isn't sure what cause my eye infection. he doesn't think it's lens-induced (which makes me feel better that it was lack of care on my part). It could be a virus, he said. But he's honestly not sure. I guess I have a bunch of white dots on my corneas. My left eye is worse than the right. the dr seemed pretty surprised by it. So i don't know. I do know i'm tired but have got a TON of work to do. I took a nap from 7-9:30. i'm up now, going to do a bit of work (i'm not that sickly or contagious) and then go back to bed.

I can't wear contacts until i'm done with my meds. I'm trying to talk Joshy into letting me get some new glasses. I think i won :) I'll post a pic of any new rims! more tomorrow. Night!

Hello!

Thursday, July 19, 2007 - 13:02:56 EDT

So Josh and I have officially moved into our new house. While we took possession on July 1st, we didn't move in until just this past weekend. I've been very, very hard at work on the house. I'll be posting several before and after photos this weekend (nearly done with my laundry room and office!!!). Also, now that we have internet here at the house, I will be doing much more consistent updates, in case you're interested.

and here is that pic of the cement subfloor

Monday, July 9, 2007 - 23:24:16 EDT

quick pix

Monday, July 9, 2007 - 23:19:39 EDT

so, i don't have a "before" picture to post with this work-in-progress snapshot...as it's still a work in progress. But i had to post this picture because i just installed this cement subfloor all by myself! This room just so happens to be my future office. The walls are "mossy green" and i'm getting ready to tile the floor with a fun dark tile. But to tile, you first need to have a strong enough sub-floor, hence the cement boards. I just the room completely covered tonight. tomorrow i will use fiber glass tape to patch the seams. And then the tiling starts.

Our stuff from storage gets delivered on wednesday (YAY!). PLUS, we will have cable internet installed at the house on Thursday--that means lots of fun updates are to be had soon!

Light at the end of the tunnel!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 10:59:39 EDT

Alright, now I'm excited. We're scheduled to close tomorrow at 3. I'm having to field a bunch of phone calls today to ensure that everything is in place....Hopefully it is. If any of you have been through a big move, then hopefully you know how much relief I'm finally starting to feel. We haven't been able to really switch things over from MD to IN yet, because we didn't have a permanent address. But once we close, then we can finally get new driver's license's and registration, have our mail sent to OUR house, I can finally register for a business license--which will then allow me to open a business bank account, get new checks printed. ....you know, stuff like that.

I have paint colors all picked out. Once we take possession (over the weekend), we're getting in there, measuring for Bamboo Wood floors. Ordering the flooring, and I will start on the enormous task of painting the whole house. I will definitely be taking before and after photos to share with you, because you're not going to believe what a difference fresh paint and new floors will do to this house. I'm so excited!

I already ordered some new materials for my crown business so that I can get some of those ordered filled. Hopefully I won't have to stress about the few work deadlines I have. So finally, things are starting to fall into place! I'll keep you posted.

ARGH!

Sunday, June 24, 2007 - 0:03:37 EDT

I don't know why, but the wrong pic keeps loading. It's too late, the internet is slow, things are not working with me right now! I'm going to bed. I'll post in the morning if I can get an internet signal. Night!

2 weeks already?

Saturday, June 23, 2007 - 23:24:53 EDT

Has it really been almost 2 weeks since I last posted an update? Well, I tell you what, it doesn't feel like it, although an awful lot has transpired since my update on the 7th.....

We still have not closed on a house. In fact, today was the last day of our company-paid-for-temporary housing. Soooo, we just got done moving in to Josh's mom's house. We were supposed to close on our house yesterday. But the closing was postponed due to a repair that needs to be done. It's not that the repair needs to be done on the house before we close, but more that both parties need to agree on what needs to be done, and more importantly, agree on the company who will be doing the work.

what work needs to be done, you ask? well, the foundation on an interior corner failed. We asked that the foundation be repaired. the homeowner agree to fixing it. he got a proposal for an 800$ fix, warrantied for only 1 year. hmmm. So I called the construction company and talked to the guy who wrote the proposal. I asked him to please explain what exactly the problem was. More specifically, why did the foundation fail? What are you going to do to fix it? and how can you guarantee that the house is not going to settle anymore? The guy couldn't answer one of my questions. well, I take that back, he did say that he could guarantee the fix if we payed a higher price for a longer warranty.

yeah, that didn't sound like a good answer to me either. So we told the seller that we needed to see a more substantial fix that the single 8ft beam reinforcer that was just suggested. Within 5 hours we had a new proposal, from the same guy (but funny, this guy was supposed to be out of town. At least, that's why he said he couldn't fax me a drawing of what he was proposing to do to fix the problem). And this fix was going to cost over $8,500 (granted, it's the seller's expense, but if he was going to pay this much to fix the foundation, then he was going to refuse to fix a few other things he already said he'd fix in addition to the foundation).

Again, we said --uhhhhh, NO. So we're bringing in our own people to assess the situation and recommend a solution. Once a proper fix, company, and price has been decided upon, then we will close on the house. The work will be done probably a week after we close on the house...which is probably, in all, about 2 weeks out.

but that means we won't be moving into the house for at least 2 weeks. which means our stuff can't be delivered for about 2-3 weeks. which means I won't have my work stuff out of storage for almost another month!! ARGH! I'm really getting frustrated work-wise.

once we close on the house, i can get in the house and start painting and tearing out the carpet. but i can't put down new flooring until after the foundation is fixed (in case anything shifts during the fix). and you may ask why we need to put down new floors. well, the current owners are smokers and they smoke in their house. We're not used to that scent, and the whole house is carpeted. as such, the house is saturated with the smoke smell. so we need to get that carpet outta there!

So anyway, once i can get in there to start fixing it up, I'll be ok and feel productive and useful. But what can i do until then???? nothing. Josh is working all day and has the car. His mom works all day. my sister works all day. ugh.

so I have finally decided to bite the bullet. I've decided that I'm going to order a bunch of silver (duplicates of what i already have, but is stuck in storage). and buy some tools (again duplicates, but can't access). And make some crowns. Luckily, i did bring my wooden crown forms with me. So....I think I'll order that stuff tomorrow and hope to have it by Tuesday. and that way I can get some work done.

the bright side to all of this is that josh and i love this house. It has a great layout and i love that I'm officially going to have a real office. I decided that I'm going to post pictures as we go along and fix up the house...do really good before and after pix. Because, honestly, the house is pretty dated decor wise. and it not much to see in the pix. But i will attach an exterior shot for you all :)

long over-due update

Thursday, June 7, 2007 - 21:37:01 EDT

A lot has happened in the last several weeks.... The house that is pictured in the previous post is no longer our future house. The inspection revealed several major concerns and structural problems. This all came as a very big surprise to us, as well as the current homeowners. Luckily, our purchase agreement/contract covered us in a case like that and we were able to withdraw our bid (current owners won't fix the problems, and actually are very upset that we're withdrawing. We've having on heck of a time getting this current ordeal done and over with). I understand the current owners being upset, but when they won't fix the fungus and rot and radon problems that are plaguing the entire house, well then you've got no one else to be upset with other than yourself. That's just my opinion on the matter.

Anywho. Once we were told that we would be released from the above mentioned house, Josh and I had already zeroed in on another beautiful house (and this after looking at another few dozen houses. phew!). Once given the go-ahead, we put in a bid and it's been accepted (that was just Tuesday). The house was inspected yesterday. There are a few things that the current owner needs to address....but then we should be good to go. Cross your fingers....

We're currently in a very nice apartment in a newer apartment complex. They boys (our cats, mickey and rufus), handled the drive from MD to IN pretty well. The glass business is still very much at a stand still right now until i can get my studio set back up (which won't be for at least 4 weeks once we're in the house). The crown business is down to a slow trickle. I'm selling what i have currently made-up, but am not really able to make any custom crowns at this point. It's a little frustrating to not be able to do my work. I feel bad not doing it, but almost all of my materials are in storage. Plus, even if i wanted to work, i really haven't had the time until today. I don't know. it's just a strange situation.

It's very nice to be back in IN, though. I've gotten to see my sister almost everyday. Met my mom for lunch the other day, and have seen lots and lots of Josh's family. I actually spent the day at my sister's house today. She was home sick from work, so I kept her company. Also, she and her husband recently moved into a new house, so I've been doing what I can do help get some of their projects underway. In fact, I believe that I'll be working on their landscaping--getting that all fixed up in the next week or two, while we're waiting to move into our OWN house!

our apartment complex here has a 24 hour fitness center, so i'm going to go partake of that facility now. I will post pix of our 'new' house once I feel that things are a little more certain.

upcoming schedule

Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 17:15:00 EDT

Thing are rolling right along. Yesterday, Josh defended his Ph.D, and passed with flying colors. He's got a few revisions on his Dissertation to attend to, but that's no problem. In-laws are going to start arriving on Saturday for his graduation, which is Monday morning. His Grad. party that I'm throwing him is on Monday night. The moving company is arriviing on Tuesday to pack up our apt. They load the truck on Wednesday. Friday Josh and I drive to IN. We'll be in a an apartment for a few weeks, and then will move into the house in Mid-June. I hope to have my glass studio up and running by mid-July. Don't worry, though--you'll still get lots of updates from me in the meantime. And I'll be sure to get my web cam set back up. I've attached a pix of our new house. I'm so excited! ok, stuff to do. more soon.

Back in MD

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 - 13:48:26 EDT

Hey everyone. Josh and I are back in Maryland now. We got back into town yesterday evening. While in Indiana for 4 days, we accomplished what we went there to do: find a house! We put in a bid yesterday right before hopping on a plane to come back here. We're in the midst of doing a closing day/moving day negotiations, but I think things are pretty close to getting settled. Once I know for sure that the house we bid on is going to be ours, I'll post a pic. Josh defends his dissertation one week from today. His graduation is 5 days after that. And we move to IN 4 days after that!

So what does this all mean? I NEED TO START PACKING! The company that Josh will be working for is paying for movers to come in and pack our stuff and movie it for us. However, we will have to move into 'temporary housing' once we get to IN for about a month (it's a 2 bedroom apartment near our soon to be house). So I have to pack up everything that we will need while in Temp. housing, and let the movers take everything else.

The moving company is sending a guy out here tomorrow to 'survey' our apartment---see how much stuff we have..how many boxes they'll need and how big of a truck. I do know that we need everything off the walls and anything that can be taken apart, taken apart for them by the day the truck gets here to move us. and so that is all stuff that i need to work on now. Plus scheduling an inspector, finalizing house financing, and all that other fun stuff that comes with buying a house.

I hope to be able to post pictures of "our" house soon!!

quick hello

Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 20:09:04 EDT

hey folks. I'm in IN. we left very suddenly for our house hunting trip. it's been pretty intense so far. Lots going on, not a lot of time to fully update. will be out of town until Tuesday. will give more info soon!!

It's official!

Wednesday, May 2, 2007 - 11:28:47 EDT

We're going to INDIANA! Josh just accepted an offer with Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines in Indianapolis. I'm VERY excited! We're going to try and do a house hunting trip this weekend! gotta go finish calling people! more soon!

late-night check-in

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 - 0:49:15 EDT

Hey bead-heads. Soo, A lot has been going on out here in MD. As I've talked about on here a few times before, Josh is getting ready to graduate from University of Maryland with his Ph.D. in Aerospace engineering. Along with graduating comes the need to find a job. After lots and lots and lots of discussion we're really pretty certain of where we will be moving to. I can't publicly announce where we're going yet because family reads this update, and we need to let them know personally first, what our decision is. Josh also needs to solidify things with the employer as well before anything is official. So. that said, without telling you where we are moving to, I will say that we are moving SOON! And as it turns out, the torch-session that I had the other night was my last torch session for my Maryland Studio.

I'm already starting to pack things up for multiple reasons.....one of the main reasons being that our apt. complex is sending an exterminator around our building for the yearly mandatory spring extermination. And for that extermination, everyone has to clear out their kitchen and bathroom. UGH! And since we'll be moving just a few weeks after all that, and I need the space that my studio takes up to put all my kitchen shelves and dishes and food...and i don't really feel like moving and packing things up multiple times...so I decided to just pack up the studio now.

It's kind of sad, as I don't know exactly how long it will be until I get to start torching again. Hopefully not too long.

But because of all this packing up, and in an effort to move as few things as possible, I'm selling off a bunch of stuff. Right now I have 2 HUGE HUGE HUGE bead auctions up. Tomorrow I'm listing 2 more auctions. It's actually pretty refreshing to go through everything, and just sell almost all my beads. I'm also going through my stuff and starting to pitch/give away things I'm not using and things that aren't worth moving.

As anxious as I am to get out of this small apartment, this move is also kind of sad. we've started letting our friends know out here in MD that we are definitely moving. And well, we ended up making some really good friends out here. So this move is definitely bitter-sweet. It's sometimes hard to get perspective on how many roots you've put down in a place, even when you know you'd only be there for a few years. But now that we're up and moving, well...some of our roots went pretty deep.

And I feel like when I moved out here with Josh after wedding (he was already out here in grad school), that the move wasn't all that difficult, or an inconvenience or stressful. But this time around feels completely different. But I guess that is to be expected after having been married for 3.5 years (doesn't seem like a lot, but things really compound and accumulate).

I didn't mean for this to turn into such a long ramble, but there are just a lot of thoughts swirling through my head tonight, as I stay up late packing up glass and tools. But off to bed with me as I've got a very early morning tomorrow, and a very busy day in addition.

I'll post where we will be moving to, once it is official!

Torch Time!

Sunday, April 29, 2007 - 21:01:40 EDT

I'm heading to the torch now--and getting the webcam turned on as well. Also, if you haven't done so, check out the auctions I have up right now to see about getting a great deal. I'll be posting more auctions throughout this coming week. i'll update you on other things soon!

hmm

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 11:27:21 EDT

so this was just going to be a quick post about how the camera is on and I'm getting ready to fire up the torch. But, I just have to add just a wee bit of a rant...about doctors.

Isn't it funny how, when you have an emergency and have to cancel because there's no way you can make your appointment, the Dr.'s office still makes you pay: "The Dr. isn't willing to write-off missed appointments."

BUT, when the Dr has an emergency, well then, lets all just step aside and let the Dr. cancel as many appointments as he wants without any retribution. Any maybe he'll actually let his patients know. Maybe he won't. But no skin off his back either way, because he's the Dr.! ARGH! (And don't get me wrong, I think that dr's should be well compensated for all of the training and school they have had to endure, but honestly, be a human for once. Show some selfless compassion!)

I'm sure this is a Seinfeld episode. But that doesn't really make me feel any better.

K. I'm done. I just needed to blow off a little steam. See you at the torch!

P.S.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 9:21:42 EDT

Happy Birthday, Papa Clough!

Good Morning!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 9:06:57 EDT

Alright Folks, the theme for today is HEARTS. I have some Melting Heart orders to fill, and other hearts to get posted on this site. I've also been working on some beads...yes, some plain ole beads....but we'll see if I've got enough made yet for an ebay auction or two.

And I have a confession to make: I did some torching last night without turning on the camera! It was late, I was a mess, but I had that torch up cookin' up some fun things! I'll post some beauties today. I'll update before turning on the webcam.

torch time

Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 16:21:02 EDT

Getting ready to fire up the torch and web-cam. see you there!

late night torch session

Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 22:18:40 EDT

hey folks, I'm getting ready to fire up the torch and the webcam for some late-night beadmaking!

working night

Monday, April 16, 2007 - 20:44:29 EDT

hey folks. I'm having another working night tonight. I didn't get a whole lot done earlier today, as our power was out for quite awhile. The Nor'easter that blew threw the east coast has really made things weird the past few days. we were having 60 mph winds today!! the power transformer (located very close to us!) kept making these insane echoing bonk-like noises as the power would kick off, then try and come on, and then get kicked off again. and with the eerie wind...well let's just say it was all just a wee bit freaky!

anyway, I'm at the torch for some good night beading. I'll get the camera turned on here in a few. have a good night!

late night torch session

Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 23:06:16 EDT

It's late but I'm way too antsy to go to sleep right now. Josh has been working a lot of late nights to finish his dissertation and I've got ants in my pants that won't let me relax until we've decided where we will be moving! So, we'll see if some bead-making will help me relax....camera is on. and fyi, I've got a funny movie playing on my computer monitor, so if you see me laughing (located directly under the webcam), it's not because I've completely lost it...yet.

evening torch session

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 21:31:30 EDT

It's Friday night, and what could be more fun than a Friday night torch session! I know, I'm wild and CRAZY! You really gotta watch out for me, cause you'll never know what I'll do next!

anyway, since it is late, and well, I'm in sloppy lazy clothes. So I'm not turning on the camera. Artist's choice :). But I will post pix of my creations tomorrow.

did you happen to notice some new pictures on my gallery page? I'm going to try and get some new melting hearts made tonight and post those for sale tomorrow. sound good? good!

and for those of you who are so eager to hear about our current moving dilemma: Josh hasn't decided yet on Santa Fe, New Mexico, or on Indianapolis, IN. He's keeping us all in suspense! Luckily, though, I've finally reached the point where I am excited for either opportunity. So we'll see if the weekend brings any decisions.

To the torch!

pictures

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 15:33:21 EDT

i'm really off my game today, aren't I??!! Here are pix of the ebay auctions:

whoops

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 14:40:17 EDT

Note to self, don't hit enter before you're done typing.

anyway, as i was just trying to say, I've got some new auctions posted on eBay. You can follow the link to those auctions through the 'for sale' page. I've posted pix for your viewing pleasure below. I have lots of things that i need to add to my 'gallery' page, as well as the for sale page. I've been really bad about doing that lately. sorry. I'll get it together soon! I will also be continuing to post auctions throughout the weekend. I will also be at the torch tonight. I'll update you later and get the camera turned on then. Have a great afternoon!

new auctions

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 14:39:49 EDT

I've got some

Play Date

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 20:26:27 EDT

Our Kitty, Mickey, is one special cat. He's very calm and patient. he's also very smart. One of his favorite games is to pull the magnets off our 'fridge. Just recently, Ben, my friend's baby, reached a big developmental goal when he finally noticed the cats. This happened just recently. And even though Ben might look much older, he's not even 7 months. He's just a big baby. Anyway, he's just now discovering the cats. And reaching out to pet them, and he giggles each time he does. both Mickey and Rufi are very very good with him. They're so curious about him, that they don't mind being petted, even if it is a little hard.

Mickey has been especially sweet with Ben. I caught some photos of some fun magnet play time, when his mom, Allison, and Ben came over for a play day early this afternoon.

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 20:25:53 EDT

Team work

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 20:24:48 EDT

Nice Kitty

"Let's pick out our next target!"

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 20:23:28 EDT

"Auntie Annie, stop laughing at me!"

"My kitty!"

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 20:22:46 EDT

Ok, It's a draw!

oops

Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 11:18:01 EDT

so i just had a long news update all written out. And instead of hitting "submit" to upload the news, i accidentally hit "reset" !! ugh!!

so i don't feel like re-typing everything, so here it is for you quick:

go here to see fun cat pix. http://web.mac.com/allisonslessons/iWeb/Site%208/Photos.html

and i'll be photographing beads today. i might torch tonight. I'll be in touch.

torch time!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 11:08:58 EDT

I will be at the torch, here in a few minutes. I won't be able to turn on the camera, though....josh is working from home today because he needs to use my desktop computer. So when he's over on his 'account' on the computer, I can't have my webcam running. Anyway, I don't think you'll be missing much. Anything fun and important will be posted as pix for your viewing pleasure later on. Have a good afternoon!

morning/afternoon hello

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 11:49:29 EDT

Hey folks. I do plan on doing some torching today, but it will probably be later in the afternoon that I do.

and no decisions on the job/moving front, yet. But the good news is, my best friend in the world (next to Josh and my sister), Tiffany, who so conveniently happens to live in Santa Fe, is going to help me find studio/torching space if we move down there. So nothing to worry about, and no more talk of a possible 2-year break!

and just a side story here: Tiffany and her husband, Dave, are the ones responsible for Josh and me. Tiffany and I went to an all women's school (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College). Dave and Josh went to Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. A dance at SMWC was coming up. Tiff and Dave were already dating, but I didn't know anyone, or have a date for this dance. So, Dave and Tiff worked their magic and set me up with this Josh guy that I ended up marrying 4 years later! But I digress...

Really all that matters right now, or that the rest of you need be concerned about is that I will be torching this afternoon! See you then.

checkin' in

Monday, April 9, 2007 - 14:37:27 EDT

Alright, first some glass news updates: I have some new things to post, and some new things to list on ebay. I will get to all that stuff this evening. I have some pressing crown work (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com) to attend to first. I probably won't be torching tonight, but plan on torching tomorrow.

And in other news: Josh defends his dissertation on May 18th, and has about 4 weeks left to finish his research and paper. He's done interviewing for jobs, and is currently working on making a decision between the two places. One place is in New Mexico, the other in Indianapolis, IN. We'll probably be making final decisions in the next week-2 weeks.

regardless of where we do move, there will be an interruption of my work for an uncertain amount of time. If we move to New Mexico, and all things considered, there's a very high chance that I would not be able to do any lampworking for a couple of years. We'd be in Santa Fe, and the housing down there is pricey, close together, and we'd be renting. We'd be there for 2 years, and it would be most prudent for me to just put up shop for that time.

If we move to IN, then I know we plan on buying, and having a house with a whole room or separate structure as my studio, and I would be able to torch.

so this is just a pre-warning, that, depending on where we move to, there may just be a 2-week hiatus of new work from me, or a 2-year hiatus. Can you guess which I would prefer?? and depending on where we move to, will determine when we start packing up. with either place we wouldn't start packing for anther 6-8 weeks, so I've still got some time to get some good things made.

Sooo, that's what's going on around here. Busy and stressful! So on that note, I suppose I had better get to work, eh? I'll check-in later with new items.

evening torch session

Thursday, April 5, 2007 - 21:09:54 EDT

and the web cam is on!

evening torch session

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 - 21:06:50 EDT

the camera is on!

Break time

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 - 12:50:35 EDT

I'm going to head over to the gym for a bit. I'll be doing more torching later today. So I'm going to turn the camera off until then. see you then!

torch time!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 - 11:34:01 EDT

I'm at the torch and the camera is on!

Torch time!

Monday, April 2, 2007 - 17:41:32 EDT

So, today has been weird....nothing too remarkable has happened. Today just has a weird feel to it. Maybe because it's Monday? I don't know. But I have a feeling doing some torching will help set things right. i'll be firing things up in a minute. see you at the torch cam!

Torch time!

Sunday, April 1, 2007 - 16:18:50 EDT

I have just over 1.5 hours to get some fun torchin' in before I need to go babysit for a friend. I'm getting the camera turned on now.

P.S.

Saturday, March 31, 2007 - 21:37:54 EDT

to get to my eBay auctions, click on 'For sale' link at the top of the site, and click on the ebay link on that page.

I'll be firing up the torch and the webcam soon.

New ebay set

Saturday, March 31, 2007 - 21:33:57 EDT

Here's a fun new set that I just listed on ebay: I call it 1-2-3-Punch. It sometimes seems silly to me to name the bead sets, but you gotta have some way to reference the beads, right?

Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, March 31, 2007 - 14:49:04 EDT

Hi! It's a gorgeous day out here on the East Coast--really bright and sunny...so that's got me in a good mood. Yesterday afternoon turned out to be an all-torching day. I had mentioned that I was going to go outside to address envelopes to businesses (new places to send brochures on my Melting Hearts)...but I ended up staying at the torch the whole time! This afternoon, I do plan on doing the envelope addressing. And this evening, I plan on being back at the torch.

I foresee a lot of fun working-nights in the near future. Why? Well, Josh has to have his Ph.D dissertation turned in in just 2 weeks. So it's crunch time for him. Which means, I need to stay out of his way and not distract him. Which also means, I now have an excuse to go play in my studio all I want, and not feel like I'm neglecting him! So it all works out well. Besides, I always feel like I do better glass work in the evenings. I don't know why.

At any rate, I do have some new beads to list on eBay. And I also need to get some new things listed for sale on THIS site. I will do that this weekend too. I've also got some silver-smithing projects to do for my other business (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). Lots to do, and I'm not sure if there's enough weekend left in which to do it all! Guess I better go get started.

See you tonight at the torch

HI

Friday, March 30, 2007 - 14:09:42 EDT

after doing some work odds-n-ends, and getting another auction listed, I plan on getting to the torch here in a bit. I may hold off on doing a lot of torching until late afternoon, reason being that it is so pretty outside right now. And i have a lot of envelopes that need to be addressed....and that is a job i can do outdoors. So i may need to leave the torch in a while to go get some fresh air. The webcam is already on. I turned it on while I was doing my misc. work. Have a good afternoon!

Torch Time!

Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 11:18:27 EDT

I'm going to be doing some fun torching today. I need to dip lots of mandrels, though (mandrels are long skewer-like lengths of steel, on which the beads are made). So i need to do that first, and then will get to the torching. I'll go ahead and turn on the camera, but you many not be able to see much of me while i'm prepping those mandrels. But don't worry, I'll be front and center torching soon.

Also, just to put this back out there: I have a second computer monitor over in my work area. It's great because i can view inspiration images close while I'm working. Also, I often watch TV or movies on this screen. And this screen just so happens to be right under the webcam. So if it looks like I'm turning and posing for the webcam--you can relax--I'm not THAT big of a ham. I'm just watching TV or a movie :).

ok, camera time.

Good Morning

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 7:59:06 EDT

Today is going to be a busy one. Josh is traveling to IN today for a job interview. I'm being a mean wife and just dropping him off at the metro station (subway station), and making him ride the train to the airport :). after an early workout and getting some laundry done, I'll be posting more auctions. And the high point of my day, you ask? Well that will be lugging both kitties to the vet. We're seeing a different vet than before, and she's about 20-30 minutes away (depends on traffic). I'm not completely looking forward to this. But they're cute, so they're worth it. I had to include some pix of them this morning. Mickey and Rufi on Josh's suitcase, and Rufus in his cubby-hole. Rufus and I have a system, where he's allowed on my desk, on if he's in his cubby. I've some more good pictures of this trick...i'll post them later. Ok, time to get on with the day. I hope to do some torching tonight, i'll keep you posted.

quick update

Monday, March 26, 2007 - 16:33:54 EDT

I just now quickly updated the 'for-sale' page. a quick string of sales took out several of the items that were up. I plan on posting new things this week. In a little while, I will be posting some more ebay auctions. It's sometimes hard to decide when to post the auctions, because it's hard to say when the most people are looking at beads at any given time on any day. Plus, while it's 4:30 here on the east coast, it's just now 1:30 on the west. people are still at work. So I'm going to try switchin' up the times a bit to see what works the best.

Monday Hello

Monday, March 26, 2007 - 10:56:44 EDT

This weekend served as a 'getting stuff in order' weekend. Josh and I finally did our taxes...it took us a while to scrounge up the motivation to sit down and do them. But once we did, it didn't take that long, and things weren't that hard to fill out this year. So there's not much to complain about there. We also managed to get some other paperwork and such taken care of, and even got out for a long bike ride.

And as I am typing this, Mickey--our long hair black cat--is begging for attention. the silly guy has started sleeping out on the couch, rather than in bed with us. So, come morning, he just can't get enough petting and scratches. And normally just sitting with him for about 15 minutes and giving him your undivided attention usually takes care of it. But not today. He's my little shadow today.

But I digress. What's on tap for today, you ask? Well, I've got some business materials I've got to get ordered. I want to list some more auctions, I need to ship some crowns, and I need to send out some more heart brochures. I've got all the address compiled, and will be taking my heart brochure work outdoors today (it's supposed to be a beautiful afternoon out here. I also have my usual Monday chores of laundry and grocery store and some phone calls. We'll see if i can't get to the torch to play some tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Friday Afternoon/Evening

Friday, March 23, 2007 - 16:22:21 EDT

Hey folks. I know I didn't do too much updating this week..there was just a hodge-podge of stuff going on, and not too much glass work was involved in all of that. But, I helped to remedy that today. I've got a bunch of sets of beads that I have been meaning to start listing on eBay. I have a hard time staying on top of getting auctions listed, but I'm giving it another go. And even if they don't do so well on the auction circuit, as long as they sell, it helps me to clear out some of my inventory. So if you're looking for a deal, be sure to check out my auctions! I've got 3 listed now, and I plan to list more throughout the weekend. More updates for you in a while.

Friday Hello

Friday, March 16, 2007 - 11:39:25 EDT

Hey folks! it's a rainy gloomy day today-perfect for sitting inside and getting some fun metal and glass things made. I'll get my camera turned on here in a minute. I'll be doing some metal-smithing first, then on to the glass. You may not be able to see much of me while I'm working with the metal.

And, Josh got home from CT just fine. His interview went really well. and a quick note for family that lives is Indy. Josh will be interviewing at Rolls Royce on Monday the 26th.

alright, enough about the boy-and back to me and my glass. we'll see what I create today!

Vessel

Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 14:37:32 EDT

Here's a quick pick of the large piece I made last night. It's a vessel, with a very organic feel to it. The long crease down the body of the vessel reminds me of a sea-shell. I made a lid for this last night as well, but it turned out a little too big. So I'll be re-making the lid today and will post finished pix later. This vessel measures 1.5 inches long and just under 3/4 inch at its widest point.

I've got some metal-smithing to do next, then it's to the torch. I'll turn the camera on in a bit.

morning

Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 9:46:17 EDT

I'll get last nights creations photographed and posted soon--I'm having problems getting some pieces off their mandrels!! This afternoon, after some errands and a workout (and maybe a nap thrown in there for good-luck) I'll be back at the torch, causing all sorts of trouble. I'll update before I start the camera. have a good morning!

Quittin' Time

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 23:14:59 EDT

Even though I only did a few hours of torch work, I think I've got some pretty neat things annealing in the kiln right now. I'll post pictures in the morning. I have one large piece that I'm really hoping turns out. keep your fingers crossed.

And now: it's time for bed. Josh is in CT tonight, so I've got both kitties and a big bed all to myself tonight. Josh is in CT interviewing with Pratt and Whitney. The interview is all day tomorrow (8am -4 or 5pm), so he flew out this evening to be ready for everything. I'll be picking him up from the airport tomorrow night. So the point of this digression is that I have all day tomorrow to myself! I have lots of fun glass and metal work on the schedule. check in tomorrow morning for full details. Sleep well!

Torch time!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - 20:10:18 EDT

I'm getting ready to fire up the torch. I'm not sure what all I will be working on this evening...hopefully I'll get some good inspiration. If you have any ideas, email them to me! I'm getting ready to turn on the camera.

Goings on for today

Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 11:29:41 EST

Hi everyone. I'm doing much much better today, sleep wise. I went to be ridiculously early last night, and got in lots of good sleep. I've been up and working for awhile now, and realized that I haven't updated this site. I've been over on my crown website (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com)trying to get new info up over there. I want to do a little bit more work on that stuff. Then I have a dr's appt up in Rockville, MD (about 30-45 minute drive, ugh!). After that I may or may not be picking Josh up on my way home. Depending on all that, what time I play tennis with a friend and when dinner is, will determine what time I get to the torch today/tonight. I'm itching to do some torch work and so I will be doing it. So I'm looking forward to a fun night of glass work. I'll keep you posted. Have a good one!

Goof afternoon!

Monday, March 12, 2007 - 11:29:02 EST

Hey folks, I'm doing some computer work today. It's not much fun to watch, so don't have the camera on. I'm going to see about doing some actual glass and/or metal work later this afternoon, and I'll be sure to turn the camera on for that.

another reason I haven't turned on the camera today is because I'm Sleepy! I wanted the car today for some grocery shopping, so I had to drive Josh to work. He wanted to go in early (which is just fine, don't get me wrong!), but wow, I had a hard time getting up. He woke me up right in the middle of a dream and my head has been groggy every since. After getting some more good work in, I'm going to head over to the gym (still have shin-splints, can't run).and see if a little work out will help wake me up. I now a nap would do the trick, but I'm worried that if I lay down now, I won't get up until it's time to get Josh from work. and them my whole work day is gone! So I'm going to try working through the sleepiness. more soon.

work time

Friday, March 9, 2007 - 10:51:12 EST

I'm going to go ahead and get the camera turned on. I'm not sure what all I will be doing today, but I know that I have enough stuff to keep me busy. and just so you know, Yes, I am wearing shorts today. No, it's not that warm out here today, but i work much better in shorts. Artists are strange. That's all I can say. it's good to be an artist :)

Home!

Thursday, March 8, 2007 - 22:53:51 EST

I'm back in MD tonight. it's good to be home, but it was nice to get to see my family.....Anyway, I'll be in my 'studio' tomorrow. Not sure, yet, what all I'll be doing. I'll get the camera turned on when I start working, and we'll see what the day brings. see you tomorrow! sleep well!

Hi!

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 21:32:29 EST

Well, I know that according to my website, I should be back in MD right now. Well, that's not quite the case (big surprise, eh?). I posted before leaving on my trip to IN that during part of my stay, I was going to be visiting my Uncle, the dentist. One of my veneered teeth got an infection after flying back from NM a few weeks back. The nerve was already damaged and the pressure from the flight was enough to send it over-board. I had a root canal last Wednesday. Everything went just fine, except that the tooth is still infected. The infection did no interfere with the root canal, but it did mean that I needed more antibiotics. As a general rule, it is not a good idea to fly with a tooth infection. The pressure can really make things worse. So, I've stayed put in IN while taking some more antibiotics. I finish the meds tomorrow and am flying to MD on Thursday. I'll be back to work and in the studio on Friday.

It's pretty funny the way things have worked out on this trip. I ended up being able to stay at my brother and sister-in-laws house for several days, see my sister and brother-in-laws new house, stay with my parents for several days, have a long lunch with my grandma and aunt. Tomorrow I'm staying with my sister and having dinner with my in-laws. So in all, it's been really really nice to see so much family. Josh is getting a wee bit antsy for me to get home and for things to get back into the normal routine. The poor guy has job interviews lined up, research to finish, a dissertation to finish writing...the last thing this guy can think about is feeding himself and keeping the place clean. Sometimes, it's nice to see and hear how much you're needed (even if it is to cook and clean) and missed. I'll see you guys Friday! Have a good time until then!

crafty nation segment

Friday, February 23, 2007 - 13:41:38 EST

Remember when I posted about how folks from the new web upstart 'Crafty Nation' were here filming me? Well, the segment is all done - I got a chance to see a sneak peak and it turned out great. Jim and Toni did a fantastic job with it! Once their site goes live, I'll be able to post a link here so you all can check it out.

hi!

Friday, February 23, 2007 - 13:23:07 EST

Well, I know it's been several days since I updated. Lots of stuff going on--but mainly a hurt tooth, which has kept me from being really productive. The tooth is a long story (all the flying last week-->irritated/damaged nerve in tooth that has a veneer--> lots of pain meds--> root canal scheduled). I've finally got all of my aches and pains under control for the time being, and I'm trying to get as much work done now as possible. I know I haven't posted any new glass things in a while. I will soon. Trust me. Time has just been slipping through my fingers lately!

Josh got home from CA and his interview last night. All in one piece. The interview went well. But now the question is: does he want to work there? My brother, Aaron, and his wife, Sarah, are coming into town tomorrow. we'll be showing them all the sights this weekend. And I'm off to IN with them on Tuesday. I see my Uncle Sam--the best dentist EVER (http://www.slcdentistry.com) for my root canal on Wednesday. And I help my sister and brother-in-law move into their new house on Friday and through the weekend. I fly back to MD on Monday. And have some Dr. appts. on Tuesday. SO you can probably expect to not hear or see anything meaningful from me until the 6th or 7th :). had enough of me yet? Things will be back to normal soon. I promise.

Good Morning!

Monday, February 19, 2007 - 9:16:21 EST

Josh and I returned to MD Saturday evening. We managed to be completely lazy yesterday--which was a very nice way to round out the weekend. And I must say: the novelty and enjoyment of traveling is wearing off. Oof! I'm sick of airplanes! Poor Josh, though....He has to fly to California super early tomorrow morning. He's got a job interview our there...and he'll be gone until the 22nd.

The poor guy is still feeling sore from uncomfortable conference chairs and uncomfortable airplane seats from this past week's travels and meetings. Josh didn't get any say in what flight to take out to CA tomorrow. We just found out it's a nonstop flight--which normally is nice. But in this case, it's an almost 6 hour flight from the east coast to the west coast. His flight takes off at 7 am our time, and lands at 10 CA time. but that means tomorrow, I have to be dropping that guy off CRAZY early in the morning at the airport. I'm sure I'll manage, but oof! At least I'm not the one traveling, right? :)

Ok, on tap for today: While working through mass quantities of laundry, I will be getting my studio back into working order (I have to semi-pack things up when we travel, so that the cats don't get into too much trouble). I've got lots of crown work that I need to do. And lots of glass work that I want to do. We'll see how much I get to. I'll get the camera turned on in a bit. Have a good day!

hmmm...

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 11:51:12 EST

I have several sets of beads with me, while I'm in Abq. My intention was to gets all these sets of beads listed on eBay while i was still out of town...so that i still felt like i was doing something productive while being out of town. but i've run into a snafu. The hotel's internet service is not secure/encrypted. As such, my website won't let me log onto the ftp site to upload picture for my auctions. I am able to log on to do these news updates, but I don't have to use 'ftp' for this. Hmm, website stuff can be so confusing! I'll see if maybe Josh can't help me our with uploading some things this evening. Until then, Have a great day!

Funny story for you...

Monday, February 12, 2007 - 21:55:28 EST

josh and I arrived in Albuquerque, NM on Saturday. We're here for Josh--he's got a week-long conference for his research, and I'm just along for the ride. But the funny story pertains to our travel to GET here. Our flight out of BWI was delayed for an hour, for the craziest reason. American Air has a contract with USPS to fly their mail across the country. Well, AA was having a slow day, So they canceled a flight before ours and had already announced a cancellation for the flight after us. So that meant that they had to pack 3 planes worth of USPS cargo and mail onto our plane.

Well, that took forever, because they didn't realize they had to do all this until we were ready to go. So then, they had it all loaded, but then the plane was too heavy and we couldn't take off. So they had to unload a bunch of stuff, but not until a huge delay cramped our flight schedule (you can bet there were some people yelling inside the business office!!). And then, they had to redistribute the weight in the cargo hold. And on take-off, they had to make some 1st class people sit in the back of the plane to further even out the weight. They got to move back to 1st class once we were in the air--but apparently, we were that off kilter. I guess i didn't realize how precise the weight distribution in the cargo hold had to be.

Anyway, that all made us late for our connecting flight in Dallas-Ft. Worth. But we were told they were holding the plan for us. Before we landed, the flight attendants told us our connecting flight would take off from terminal B, gate 27. we arrived in Terminal A, gate 35. So we thought, 'OK. we can make this.' we ran to be terminal. it wasn't until we hit B terminal that we found some monitors to verify our departure gate. Turns out our flight was actually taking off from terminal C, gate 27. We ran LITERALLY across the freakin' huge Dallas airport. We were sweating like pigs by the time we got to the gate, just to find that we just missed the flight. BUT, there was another flight taking off just 60 minutes later and they already booked us on it.

And as an amusing side story, I found out, from running through the airport on Saturday, that even though it has almost been a full month since I've stopped running to let my shin splints heal-uh, well, they're not healed yet. I woke up Sunday morning with some killer burning shin pain. Oh well! More updates later. Have a good night!

Checking in

Saturday, February 10, 2007 - 1:16:28 EST

Josh and I are off to Albuquerque, NM tomorrow. We'll be there until the 17th. Josh has a conference, and I'm tagging along (frequent flyer miles are great!). We're hoping to have fun frequenting our old haunts (we both worked a few summers at Los Alamos National Laboratory), and visiting with old friends. And while Josh is in meetings during the first half of the day, I get to go to museums and see friends. I do plan on doing a bit of work while there--so it's not all fun and games, you know. I didn't get a chance to list auctions today, so I will be doing that while on the road. I have some fun sets to list, so I'll be anxious to get that all finished. And I'm sure I'll be checking in from time to time to let you all know what's going on. Have a great weekend!

plan for the day:

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 - 12:19:17 EST

I have lots of odds-n-ends of projects I would like to do....and quite a bit of has to do with traveling. Josh and I will be heading to Abq. NM on Saturday and will be there for one week. So I've been busy with making some beads so that i can have some auctions going will I'm traveling. That way, I feel like I'm still getting some work done next week. But i also desperately need to organize my glass area. So I'm actually starting to pack up some glass to put away. Josh and I plan on moving in a few months (don't know where yet--Josh just started interviewing with places this past week. He graduates in May), and so this will help give me a jump start on the packing effort. After I'm done organizing the glass, I then plan on doing some torching. I have some sewing projects to work on, along with laundry. So, it's going to be a day full of fun projects, but lots to do. I'll get the camera turned on for you all.

torch time!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - 15:34:23 EST

I'm going to have a snack then fire up the torch! I'm getting the camera turned on now. See you there!

Go Colts!

Sunday, February 4, 2007 - 23:10:49 EST

I just got done watching the Colts win the Super Bowl with Josh - his Mom forwarded us this joke a few weeks ago, and I think it's appropriate now:

A guy from Indiana dies and is sent to Hell. He had been a horrible man his entire life.

The devil puts him to work breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer. To make it worse, he cranks up the temperature and the humidity.

After a couple of days, the devil checks in on his victim to see if he is suffering adequately. The devil is aghast as the Hoosier is happily swinging his hammer and whistling a happy tune.

The devil walks up to him and says, "I don't understand this. I've turned the heat way up, it's humid, you're crushing rocks; why are you so happy?"

The man, with a big smile, looks at the devil and replies, "This is great! It reminds me of August in Indiana. Hot, humid, a good place to work. It reminds me of home. This is fantastic!"

The devil, extremely perplexed, walks away to ponder the man's remarks. Then he decides to drop the temperature, send down a driving rain and torrential wind.

Soon, Hell is a wet, muddy mess.

Walking in mud up to his knees with dust blowing into his eyes, the man is happily slogging through the mud pushing a wheelbarrow full of crushed rocks.

Again, the devil asks how he can be happy in such conditions.

The man replies, "This is great! Just like April in Indiana. It reminds me of working out in the yard with spring planting!"

The devil is now completely baffled but more determined to make him suffer. He makes the temperature plummet....

Suddenly Hell is blanketed in snow and ice. Confident that this will surely him unhappy, the devil checks in on him.

He is again aghast at what he sees. The man is dancing, singing, and twirling his sledgehammer as he cavorts in glee.

"How can you be so happy? Don't you know its 40 below zero!?" screams the devil.

Jumping up and down, he throws a snowball at the devil and yells, "Hell's frozen over! This means the Colts won the Super Bowl!"

early start

Sunday, February 4, 2007 - 5:53:24 EST

Well, after laying in bed awake for about an hour, I finally decided to just get up. There are just some nights where--as much as I LOVE to sleep--I just can't. I know everyone has those nights now and then--but I still hate it when it happens to me. I think I'll just get an early start to all my projects for the day...which is probably a good thing considering that the Superbowl is tonight. Go Colts! and I think a nice long nap this afternoon sounds lovely! To work it is. Sorry--no camera. You don't want to see what i look like this early in the morning!

working afternoon

Saturday, February 3, 2007 - 14:10:05 EST

I've got a bit of silversmithing to do this afternoon. most of that work is done on a work surface opposite my glass work--but I'll probably still turn on the camera. all be at the glass bench a bit also today. have a good one!

Torch time!

Friday, February 2, 2007 - 12:05:36 EST

I'm heading to the torch now. and a quick note to Ruth: I am not leaving the torch until I finish the rest of your beads for your necklace!!

And, just because I can, here are some pictures of Jake--the birthday boy, today!

the first picture is of Jake trying out his glass-working skills. I taught him how to make beads, and he caught on pretty quickly. Only thing, though: His hair was SOO long then. I made him clip his hair back while working at the torch. and you can also see from this picture, how my old workstation used to look. This picture was taken at the end of summer 2005.

The second photo was taken just a few days after the previous picture. I had just finished giving Jake a haircut and he thought it was too short. And he got pretty grumpy with me. SO this picture is of him being grumpy on the couch...with Josh next to him.

Happy Birthday, Jake!

Friday, February 2, 2007 - 10:03:14 EST

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday. I believe it's his 18th birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKE!

long-day-o-work

Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 23:44:04 EST

Well, it's nearing mid-night here on the East coast. Lately, the days have really been whizzing by. I've had a lot to keep me busy, but then I almost feel like I haven't accomplished anything when I look back on my day of work. oh well! As long as I keep working, I'm bound to get something completed....right?

Today was somewhat different than others because I did buy myself a new toy! I've got a set of crowns on order (I'm not going to try inserting a link again--go a few posts down to find a link to my other site!)that are of a very traditional Russian style---meaning silver arches and lots of silver edging. The little torch I had been using to solder the silver was a little too de-funct to really do the job. So Josh and I ran over to Lowe's--where I also got a propane tank refill so I can finish my glass pieces--and bought myself a snazzy little butane torch. This little sucker does get hot enough to melt solder--and it has an auto-light function (something my other little thingy didn't have). So I'm feeling pretty professional here: a re-fueled big glass torch, and a brand new mini-torch for crowns. Oh yeah. Do I know how to have fun or what??!! It's bedtime! I probably won't post in the morning--just go straight to work. and yes, the camera will get turned on--so stop past!

Good Morning!

Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 7:49:45 EST

Well, I'm not sure in what order I"ll be doing things today--I'm still sorting through the mess i made yesterday with all my projects. I've still got a bit of crown work to do, but I've also got some pressing bead-making that i must get done. I did a few hours of torching last night, and I honestly think I have a kiln-monster who eats all my beads.

During my bead sessions, a lot of times I'll just get plain tired from the work. and I'll look over to my kiln and see just a whole mess of mandrels sticking out. So I get this nice feeling of "oh, I may be tired, but look at all those beads I made!" And then when I go and check the kiln the day after and look at all my wonderful glass creations...somehow, what I pull out of the kiln doesn't seem like nearly as many pieces as what I put in the kiln. Honestly! I think there's a monster in my kiln that eats every-other-bead I put in there!

This same kind of phenomena (if you can call it that) when looking at the size of a bead. Often, I'll be working on a bead and thinking of how much glass I've used "oh, man! this bead is HUGE!" and then in reality, when I pull that bead out the next morning I see that's it's really not that big. Working with things on a small scale, and close to you face often tricks you into the actual relative size off your item....which can actually be VERY frustrating at times. Oh, the joys and quirks of glass!

Anyway, I know I'll be at the torch at some point today. But I"ll probably turn the camera on early while working on crowns. So stop past later to see what I'm working on!

Torch time

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 20:18:08 EST

i'm firing up the torch for a late night beading session. i'm getting the camera turned on now.

Upcoming Travel Schedule

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 11:35:51 EST

I will be out of town from February 10-17th. And then again on Feb 27th-March 6th-or so. I will not be available to ship anything during these date. I will, however, have email access, So please feel to continue emailing me.

From the 10th to the 17th, Josh and I will be in Abq. NM. He has a conference there that week. Frequent flyer miles got me a free ticket to join him. We have friend in NM, so I'll get to play all week while josh is in his conference :)

The last week of Feb, my brother and sister-in-law are coming out for a visit. They've not been to the East Coast/DC before, so it should be a lot of fun. I'll be traveling back to Indiana with them on the 27th. I'll be staying in IN for about a week or so. I'm not sure how long, as I'll be helping my sister and her husband move into a new house. It just all depends on how long that all takes. I'll keep you all updated throughout that trip since I don't know the specifics yet.

Big time work day!

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 11:33:27 EST

Hey folks, I've got lots and lots to do today. I've already had a jump start on my work this morning...which resulting in my realization that I accidentally mixed up 2 sets of my eBay auction beads--I sent the sets to the wrong people. I guess that sort of thing can happen to the best of us, eh? I didn't get any time at all to torch yesterday, but i will today. Lots to do at the torch, including making more eBay beads. I also have some crown work to attend to. I'll get the web cam turned on it a bit.

go figure

Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 12:41:33 EST

So i just tried to be all fancy and figure out how to do a link inside my news update, and well, the link doesn't work. So if you don't know what I'm talking about when I say 'crown work', visit www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com and you'll understand. I guess I'll have to let Josh teach me how to do a link.

[EDIT: The HTML fairies just magically fixed the links, and now they'll be sure to leave a post-it note on Ann's bulletin board like they were supposed to last week]

Good afternoon!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 12:36:48 EST

Well, today has been a busy day: catching up on everything i needed to do yesterday! and my little tabby cat is really wanting to help me with my office work. You know, like pushing stacks of papers on the ground, walking all over the keyboard, standing in front of my monitor. you know, that kind of thing.

I'm working on some laundry right now, but will probably go ahead and turn on the camera in a minute. I'm going to be doing some crown work while I finish up the laundry. And then i'll be heading over to the torch. A full day of fun stuff, so be sure to stop past the torch cam for a peek.

hanging in there

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 16:57:47 EST

well, just thought I'd update you all--because I know you're all just itchin' to know how I'm doing. After a nice long nap and lunch, I'm feeling much better. I'm even managing to get some work done! We'll see if I brave the torch here in a bit.

What a day!

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 11:45:29 EST

Well first of all, Josh's Pre-Defense on Friday could not have gone any better!

Now, having said that, today is my birthday! I'm a whopping 25 years old today. I'm wondering if being 25 will be that magic number where I'll suddenly feel like an adult. Now the bad news about today is that I woke up with what seems to be the stomach flu. I'm starting to feel a littler better after taking a hot bath and resting a bit. So I'm going to take the rest of this afternoon really easy. But I'm hoping to feel better tonight, as I had some really fun work projects that I was going to work on today. I was no planning on being sick today!! So I'll update you if I'm with it enough to do some torching a bit later. Have a good one!

P-D day!!

Friday, January 26, 2007 - 10:40:21 EST

Today's is Josh's Pre-Defense. He presents at 3:30. And for me, I will be spending a day on the town with a friend. Hitting a yarn store and fabric store and some fun grocery stores. i did some beading last night, in an effort to finish up some orders. Everything turned out great, but i don't think i have quite enough beads for the pieces i need to put together. So, I'll be torching--if not tonight, then definitely tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Good afternoon!

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 12:56:37 EST

After I finish lunch here in a bit, I'm going to be working at the torch. I'll be sure to get the camera turned on, for you viewing pleasure! I've got some orders that I have got to finish up..I just keep putting them off. I've got to stop doing that! Oh, and yesterday I posted a few new auctions. pictures of those sets are below.

and tomorrow is a big day for Josh. He's got his Pre-Defense scheduled for the afternoon. Luckily, this is a pretty informal presentation of his PhD work. He just has to cover what he's done and plans to do to complete his degree. and this is when his committee tells him if it's enough, and will probably offer up some suggestions on the work. So, he's still on track to defend all his work sometime this spring. It's going to be a busy few months, with josh finishing his degree, going on job interviews, and us probably having to move. We'll just see how it all goes!

torch time!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 19:09:11 EST

i'm doing some torch work--and the camera is on!

new auctions are up!

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 19:01:58 EST

I told you I'd be posting eBay auctions soon! I've got 3 auctions listed. pictures of two of the auctions are below. I'm going to try and do some torching tomorrow. stay tuned for details!

yea-rah, sis-boom-bah

Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 22:46:07 EST

The Colts won tonight's game!

Put your game faces on!

Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 19:10:19 EST

Alright, so my husband is currently mesmerized by the television. His Colts are playing right now. If they win this game, then they go on the SuperBowl. I don't really care about all that, but my husband...well, let's just say I couldn't even rest my legs on his lap while vegging on the couch with him a bit a go. I ALWAYS prop my legs up on him. But today, well, I guess he's just a little too tense :).

Some sports news that does affect/effect me, though: I went to the podiatrist the other day because of some pretty intense ankle and leg pain that I've been feeling for a long time (prompted by my running). I delayed going to the dr for a really long time, scared of what he might say, and because I thought I could manage the pain on my own. It turns out I have shin-splints. In case you're not aware of what shin-splints are, it's when the calf muscle is literally getting pulled off of the leg bone. I'm not allowed to run for at least 4 weeks. And when I am able to start back in, I have to do so very slowly. The dr. said that If I start to have pain again after my rest, then I may just not be cut out for running. My sister and I were laughing about this very possibility, as she has all kinds of tendon issues and can't run without special show inserts (and even then she has problems). We came to the conclusion as being that our hips are too big to be good runners :)

We got our first snow of the winter today. Some actually stuck to the roads, not just the cars. And that's about it around here. I do have some new glass things to post, but have really been so busy with crowns (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com) that I haven't had much glass play-time. I finally resolved to actually start doing ebay again. I just need to do it! I have sets ready to go. I just need to photograph and list them. I WILL do this in the next 24 hours! I must!

and now, time to figure out dinner. ugh.

Phew!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 14:09:10 EST

I just had to post a quick note of happiness! I just finished filling out my sales-tax form that i have to send into the state (the joys of having your own business-lots of crazy money forms to deal with). I also managed to do all my calculations and tallying for the entire year, so I now have all my numbers ready for when it's time to file taxes. And now that I have those numbers ready, guess that means it's time to file taxes! Eh, I'll let Josh deal with taxes. The only good thing (and i do mean the only good thing) about taxes is/are that they force me to get organized for the upcoming year. So i'm all set now, and good to go. and now it's time to go make some new items, so that i get to file forms again next year!

good morning!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 9:13:20 EST

Last night was a late night of torching (up until 12:30am!), but i got a few fun things made. I don't have the beads cleaned up yet, but once i do, I'll post pix.

today is a busy day. I need to file my sales tax for the past year, clean beads, take pictures, i also need to get my office straightened up. i have just let things get too out of hand. there are beads and glass EVERYWHERE in my office! I also have a quite a bit of crown-making to do. my crown website (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com) has been getting quite a bit of traffic, so i'm feeling some self-inflicted pressure to get some more pieces posted.

and last but not least, I'm going to be baby-sitting for my friend this evening. luckily my friend lives just one floor down :). Ben, the baby i'm watching this evening, is 4 months old, and a real cutie. so, i don't believe there will be any torching today...but probably tomorrow.

late night torch session!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 21:24:56 EST

the torch cam is on!

Lunch time!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 12:28:24 EST

Just a quick update for you all. I'm going to be joining a friend for lunch in a bit. Once I get home I will most definitely be at the torch.

Josh is going to be working from home today. He's trying to finish up a journal paper for submission, so that he can include it on his resume, so then he can start sending out his resumes. Josh is needing to re-configure some plots, which takes a lot of computer power. It takes too long on his laptop, so he has asked nicely if he can use my desk-top computer. I couldn't say no to the guy! So anyway, what that means is that I may not be able to have my camera on while I'm working today (the web-cam is hooked up to my desk-top). So, you can at least join me in spirit, and I'll post pictures tomorrow of today's creations.

have a good one!

torch time

Monday, January 15, 2007 - 14:08:53 EST

alright, i'm getting ready to fire up both the camera and that torch. see you there!

good afternoon!

Monday, January 15, 2007 - 13:03:25 EST

out here on the East Coast, the weather is eerily fun. It's windy and warm! All weekend was warm, but with rain showers/sprinkles most of the time. I've been trying to take advantage of the good weather and went out for a run each day for about a week now. However, today's run was pretty wimpy, because my legs are tired! I just got in from today's run, but after i get cleaned up, i'm going to be at the torch for the afternoon. I'll update before i turn on the camera. see you then.

Torch time

Saturday, January 13, 2007 - 19:05:27 EST

Well, In case you were around last night, you may have caught me working at the torch. I'm getting ready to fire it up here in a few minutes...Josh is watching the Colts football game right now. With the both of us being from Indiana, and Josh is actually from Indianapolis-the home of the Colts-it's rare that we get to see anything of home. So the few times Josh gets to see his Colts play is a big deal. Plus tonight's game is a play-off game. I'm not much of a sports fan...no one in my family is. We weren't raised playing organized sports, and my dad *rarely* watched any sports on TV. So having a husband who has to watch a game whenever 'his' team is playing is very foreign to me. Oh well! I guess I'm pretty lucky, then, that we rarely get the Colts games out here in DC :) . But I must say, I learned the rules of football pretty quickly. I usually watch a little bit of the game with Josh (moral support). But I'm bored with the game now, and would rather just hear what the end score turns out to be. So: To the TORCH!

gonna fire up the torch soon

Friday, January 12, 2007 - 15:08:19 EST

hey bead-heads! I feel like firing up the torch here in a few minutes. I need to call my Grandma and have a snack before i can go play, though. go give me about 20 minutes, and i'll get the camera up and running. see you then!

normal day?

Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 10:59:18 EST

I hope! Yesterday turned out to be a bit of a nerve-wracking day. I was taking pictures of some new crowns (www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), Rufus was helping (our tabby cat). When I suddenly heard this really loud smack/thud from the bedroom. I ran in there, and Mickey--our long-haired black cat--seemed to have fallen off of his shelf. (his special napping place is way up high on 'his' shelf). I think he was asleep and rolled off. Or he got tripped up as he was jumping off.

Well, he started meowing-crying. He had trouble moving one of his rear feet. He wouldn't let me touch it. Couldn't stand. So of course my adrenaline kicked in. I called Josh at work, and all I had to say was "Mickey is hurt" and he knew he better not question me and he said he'd come on home. I called the vet to see if we could get in ASAP. I seriously thought that Mickey had broken his foot! I was so scared--I didn't want him to be in pain! Well, to shorten the story, by the time Josh got home, Mickey was up and walking. He had a little limp. He let us massage his paw and then he jumped up and started playing like nothing was wrong. So, we decided not to take him into the vet. We're figuring that, as the vet said over the phone, that it's just a tissue bruise and there's not much you can do for that. So we're keeping a really close eye on him. But he's acting like normal now. oof!

There was also some major errand running that I had to do yesterday, and I got stuck in all kinds of city traffic...so let's just say, I'm staying indoors today :)

So, I've got pictures to take this morning, and then I need to post them. There will be some possible torching on the horizon today....

And today I will be leaving you with a picture of my kitties:

Ultimate Update

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:41:31 EST

OK, I know i've been really bad so far this year about updating...but that's all changing as of today. i'm officially back into the swing of things. I'll be at the torch soon--either tonight or tomorrow, and will be in a regular work schedule with that soon. today, i have a few more odds-n-ends to tie up before officially going back to normal.

and as promised, you'll see pix of some of the gifts that i made for family this year. Bead pens! you'll see just a few of the pens now, and soon i'll have some up for sale on this site. Also, i've uploaded some pix from Christmas..all of me, though. wasn't sure how keen other people would be of my posting their pix :).

And, if you haven't been to my 'for sale' page, you'll see it'd been slightly re-vamped. You're now immediately taken to the page with items for sale. At the top of that page are links that will take you to a list of retailers who carry my items, as well as a link to ebay auctions....if i ever get going on that again. OK. now to tie those loose ends. more soon!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:40:45 EST

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:39:00 EST

last pen bead for now. and a picture of me and my sister on Christmas. I'm the one with curly hair.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 11:35:51 EST

If you've never seen "Thoroughly Modern Millie"--You're missing out. My mom showed my sister and me this movie YEARS ago, and this year my mom/Santa gave it to me for Christmas. Go rent it!

My sister and brother-in-law gave me a really cool gift--a gift certificate towards an airline ticket so that I can go back home and visit again soon. I never would have thought to do that!

Done!

Saturday, January 6, 2007 - 10:32:17 EST

Josh here - the transfer went smoothly, and amazingly only took 8 hours to take effect, unlike the 24-48 that I was told by our web host. However, Ann's email was down during the night last night, so if you tried to send something between 11PM EST Friday and 9AM EST Saturday, it probably didn't go through and you should resend it now. Thanks.

Possible site down-time

Friday, January 5, 2007 - 16:04:23 PST

Today was a bunch of busy-but-not-really-getting-anything-done day. One thing that I am getting done is changing the webhost for this site over to the host for my "orthdoxweddingcrowns.com" site. That change will be occurring this weekend, and may cause some 'down-time' here. If that happens, you've been warned, and everything should be up and running quickly. thanks for being so patient! and hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things quickly, myself. For those of you who have placed orders, and I've promised you pictures by today...well I was supposed to do that today. I haven't yet. There's still some time left in the day though, right? Oof! Rainy-gloomy days really slow me down (at least, that's my excuse!!). more soon!

Officially back to work!

Thursday, January 4, 2007 - 7:06:38 PST

well today is my first official day back to work. Yesterday Josh and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary, and since that's so close to the new year, i can't ever seem to get back into work mode until after our anniversary. so, on tap for today is some torching. i've got some orders to fill, so i'll be at the torch all afternoon. i'll get the camera turned on in a bit for your viewing pleasure :)

Happy New year's eve-eve

Saturday, December 30, 2006 - 8:58:47 PST

Hopefully everyone has been enjoying, and continuing to enjoy the holidays! Josh and I drove to Indiana to visit with family. We stayed for about a week, and we returned to MD this past Thursday. I'm not officially back to work yet...but i need to be! Lots to do and lots to brochures to send out for Valentine's Day...gotta try and see if i can get more galleries interested in my Melting Hearts. I have some fun pictures to post of our Indiana Christmas, I'll get those up soon. but first, it's lunch time and out to a movie with a friend. Have a good one!

Good morning!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 3:50:05 PST

I decided to do an early update today, since i'm not sure how today will transpire. Josh and I will be traveling to IN tomorrow for Christmas. Well, we won't just be traveling---we'll be getting up at the crack-o-dawn to drive for 11 hours to Terre Haute. On Christmas day we'll be making our way over to Indy, and then back out here to MD before the New Year. Today will entail a lot of tying of loose ends. Getting packages shipped, packing, cleaning the car and getting it loaded up. I plan on heading to bed early today --or at least taking a heavenly nap this afternoon. I'll be starting the drive tomorrow, so I want to get as much sleep today as i can get.

Papa Clough, if you're reading this, wanna give us a call around 6:30 or 7:00am? That'll get Josh awake (I'm sure he'll be sleeping as I'm driving the first shift), so that he can take over driving after talking to you! hehehe.

I'm done torching for the year. that sounds so sad, doesn't it?! Anyway, I'm finally done with gifts, so it's time to get that all packed up so little kitties don't get into too much trouble while we're gone (don't worry, our friend will be checking in on Mickey and Rufi while we're gone...I knew you'd be concerned about them :) ). So, I guess that's it! Merry Christmas, everyone! and Happy New Year!

hi!

Monday, December 18, 2006 - 12:20:52 PST

hey bead heads! I'm going to do some torching here in a minute....see if i can't get Christmas gifts finished...finally! I'm done with my caramel making, and all the pieces are wrapped...can't tell you how happy i am to have that done and out of the way. I'll get the camera turned on, after i grab a quick bite to eat. see you at the torch!

torch time

Friday, December 15, 2006 - 14:05:32 PST

i'm lighting up the torch for a bit. and the camera is on.

torch time

Thursday, December 14, 2006 - 11:20:58 PST

hey folks...i'm going to be torching here in a few minutes. i have some more organizing and such to do first, but i'm turning on the camera now.

update

Thursday, December 14, 2006 - 9:15:00 PST

just a quick note. the weather is actually pretty decent right now. i'm going to head out for a run, then fire up the torch. ---it'll be around 1:30-2 that the camera will be turned on. see you then!

Good morning!

Thursday, December 14, 2006 - 4:44:09 PST

Mornin' everyone. I plan for today to be one heck of a beading day. I have lots that i want to make today, so we'll see if i can keep it all in mind once i sit down to the torch (a lot of times, my mind goes blank once i sit down to work. it's kinda rough!). I'm not sure what time I'll be firing things up today...but it'll probably be fairly soon. I have hearts, beads and cuff links on the to do list today.

The cuff link beads have been giving me some grief. I'm trying to perfect a method to get some very nice, thin and consistently sized 'beads', and all of this without a bead-hole. Because I'm trying to avoid actually making a real bead, to avoid the bead hole, I've been trying several different off-mandrel, and even some tricky on mandrel techniques. I thought I found a winning method the other day, but a couple of the pieces broke. so I'm not sure how I'll solve that one. i think I'm going to have to go back to my original method of working on the very end of the mandrel. if you were to turn one of these piece over on it's back you'd see a bead hole there...but seeing as how the back is glued to the cuff link, it's conveniently hidden. but i don't really like this method. it's hard to get consistent sizes. we'll see what develops at the torch today! I'll update right before i start to let you know when i turn the camera on.

How to Order

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - 20:39:49 PST

Just repeating for those of you who are unaware: If you would like to place an order please just email me or call me. The items that i currently have for sale are located on the for sale page. Click on the 'for sale' tab, and the click on the link for 'special edition melting hearts, beads, and jewelry'. The items shown in the gallery are not necessarily for sale. please visit the 'for sale' sale page for what is.

finally!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - 20:35:07 PST

alright, bead heads..i meant to do this much sooner (how many times have you heard me say that?), but i'm getting ready to finish posting chain info on the for sale page (as in, what i have in stock and the prices). I was unable to do all that earlier today, as this was day 1 of 3 of my caramel making winter excursion. Some of you may know this already, but for those of you who don't, here's the deal. When Josh and I got married, my wedding gift from his grandmother was her secret family caramel recipe and all the supplies needed to make caramels. Gramma used to make caramels every year for everyone in the family at Christmas. now it's my job. But I can't just make them for Josh's family...I have to include my family and friends now too. So, that means that I make 15 lbs of caramels, which is 3 batches. I space out the caramel making by a few days do i don't get completely burned out. So tonight was 1 of 3 batches. So i'm full of caramels, on a complete sugar high at a quarter till midnight...so off to post some info.

torch time

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 16:52:27 PST

alright, it's taken me much longer to get to the torch this evening than i was planning..but i'm here now. i'm getting the camera turned on as we speak.

good afternoon?

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 10:57:19 PST

it is around here! I just listed a handful of some really fun Melting Hearts on the for sale page...go take a peek. I need to get out and stretch my legs for a bit. when i get back from my run and get some errands done, i will be firing up the torch. i have lots to make, so stop in and watch for a while. I'll do a quick update before i turn on the camera this evening.

torch time

Monday, December 11, 2006 - 18:57:57 PST

alright, i'm getting ready to fire up the torch for a late night work session. i'm going to turn on the camera--hopefully it won't keep freezing up like it did the other day. hopefully my hair isn't looking too crazy, either. i'm actually pretty sleepy with some potential end-of-the-day hair...but there's still work to be done while it's still Monday. I'll also be testing out a new pair of headphones that Santa (i.e. Josh) gave me as an early Christmas gift. see you at the torch!

Hi!

Monday, December 11, 2006 - 11:10:36 PST

Alright, i'm getting ready to upload some new melting hearts. if you don't see any you like, please be sure to check back tomorrow--I've got some in the kiln right now that are really fun!

New items for sale, and more Melting Hearts on the way!

Saturday, December 9, 2006 - 15:39:19 PST

hey everyone, just wanted to do a quick updated. I've had a few questions on ordering things from me/purchasing items on the for sale page. If you see something you want to purchase, simply call or email me. If you want to custom order something, again call or email. I WILL be posting several new melting Hearts in a few days, along with some great pendants. these all make for really great Christmas gifts! So just email me your list of items you'd like to purchase. I'll give you your total and you can pay via check or paypal payment. It's that easy! My for sale page is located under the link 'For Sale', then click on the 'beads, jewelry, etc...' link to get to the items that are currently for sale. I will be going out of town for Christmas on the 21st, but will be able to ship anything up to that day. I will also be at my torch almost every day from now until then, so if you have a custom request, email me about it now! Check back on Monday for a bunch of new Melting Hearts and cuff links!!

torch time!

Friday, December 8, 2006 - 9:57:50 PST

i'm at the torch and the camera is ON!

my sister is so cool

Monday, December 4, 2006 - 13:09:36 PST

i just had to post this little personal message. i have the coolest sister (and brother, but that's another story for another time). Alisa started a new job today (she's a lawyer) at this really awesome firm in Indianapolis, IN. Apparently, she's got a really cool office at this place, and she's going to be doing some really fun patent and health law work for them. This law firm is also family-friendly...not the cut-throat crazy stress law firm. I'm just so proud of her, that i'm busting at the seams and had to do a little post and brag on her a bit.

I always have to laugh a little bit too, when you look at how differently Alisa and I dress for our jobs. Alisa: she's a super model--just gorgeous and she wears beautiful business suits and high-heels everyday. Me: um, jeans and a solid-color knit shirt and flip-flops or tennis shoes. Ok, sometimes i throw in a button down shirt. but other times, i'm practically in my PJs! (i don't turn the camera on during those torching session!). it just makes me giggle to thing about all that.

ok, i'm done braggin on my big sis. back to the torch for me.

Torch time

Monday, December 4, 2006 - 10:02:20 PST

the camera is already on, and i'm getting ready to take a break from computer work and head on over to the torch. lots to do today!

Sunday night

Sunday, December 3, 2006 - 16:10:13 PST

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm getting ready to upload some pix to both the gallery page and to the for-sale page. enjoy looking at the new goodies! i plan on getting several more things listed throughout the week too.

camera time

Thursday, November 30, 2006 - 13:44:58 PST

alright, i'm going to start doing some work in my studio area. you'll have to put up with me eating an apple, sorry about that. i'll light the torch soon.

Thursday afternoon 'Hello!'

Thursday, November 30, 2006 - 12:49:51 PST

So, Thanksgiving threw my schedule WAY off--i haven't been doing nearly as many updates lately--sorry about that. I have been keeping up with the torching, however, so no need to get worried....yet. I've been working on Christmas gift for family. Normally, I would post pictures and tell all the details of my wonderful creations, BUT my family now reads this update and I can't give too much away. So after Christmas, prepare to be blown away!

but what about you and your gift giving needs, you ask?? Well, this weekend, I will be working on listing some wonderful gift ideas for everyone on your list. Lots of Melting Hearts, some cuff links, stylish necklaces and bracelets...you name, I'll have it!

also, i must make a quick confession. I did a late night torching session last night, and didn't turn on the camera. I know. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you tonight, I promise. I don't know exactly when I'll be firing up the torch, but it will be soon! I'll do a quick update to let you know when the camera will get turned on.

torch time

Tuesday, November 28, 2006 - 11:58:48 PST

i'm actually at the torch today! the camera is on!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thursday, November 23, 2006 - 12:08:29 PST

so, we're gonna have some friens over (yes, our families laughed when we todl them that. you see, our apt. is small. BUT, we did some re-arranging. we have tons-o-room and everything looks great.)i cleared off my office desk to become the food buffet table. so i decided to turn on the web-cam. So in case you're just that bored on Thanksgiving, then you can look in on our little shin-dig. Eat hearty bead-heads!

torch time!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 12:33:03 PST

it's time to get crackin' on my long list of christmas gifts. i feel like it's always at christmas time/when i make everyone's christmas gifts, that's when i really push myself (artistically) to come up with some new designs and styles. I have to keep my art looking fresh and innovative so that my family doesn't keep getting the same bead year after year! i've got some fun ideas for some new techniques and styles, so we'll see what comes from today's afternoon brainstorming/torch session. i'm getting the camera turned on...now.

the end

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 19:52:19 PST

the first shot is of toni lynn ending the segment. and the 2nd photo is of mickey. look at that adorable face!!!! while jim was packing up his equipment, i was sitting on a stool next to my work chair. Mickey was, of course, sitting in that chair, as always, and looked up at me with that sweet expression. i had to take a picture.

this was all a really fun experience for me. toni and jim are just the nicest people and i can't wait to work with them on some future projects.

...con't...

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 19:51:12 PST

the first photo is me showing off some work. the 2nd photo is into the demo photage.

...con't..

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 19:49:29 PST

in the first picture, yes i'm making a funny face, but look at rufus! and then, if you look really hard, you can see mickey in the background, sitting on my work chair back by the torch. goofballs!

and the 2nd photo is just some pre-demo photage

...con't...

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 19:48:30 PST

the 'formal' interview part of the evening.

it's official....

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 19:43:26 PST

...I'm now famous! well, i will be...maybe. Jim Long (the camera-man) and Tony Lynn (the hostess) from Craftynation.com were here for about 3 hours interviewing me and shooting video. it was great time, and i can't wait to see how the piece turns out. craftynation.com isn't 'live', yet. so in the meantime, toni has set up a myspace account for the show: www.myspace.com/craftynation. once they have my episode 'in the can', it'll be posted on the myspace site. i have some fun 'prodcution stills' (do you like all my fancy new jargon?) that josh took while we were filming. the camera acted kind of funny with all the studio lighting set-up, so some of the images turned out blurry. I think all the ones i'm posting are ok, though.

these two pictures are just of toni and me hamming it up for the camera, i think...or just talking in between takes.

Show time!

Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 12:17:53 PST

Jim, the camera-man for craftynation.com is here! i'm getting the camera turned on for your viewing enjoyment.

Losing my marbles!

Friday, November 17, 2006 - 12:46:30 PST

or rather, my beads.

i had a couple of really fun sets of beads to list for sale on ebay (trying to get back into the ebay game), and i just can not find where i put those beads! how crazy is that? oh well, i guess i'll just go make more. i'll get the camera turned on in a few minutes.

Morning, folks

Friday, November 17, 2006 - 6:02:32 PST

well, even though i'm done with morning chores, i haven't yet decided what i'm going to be doing today. I have some brochures to send out, some beads to clean and get listed on ebay. and then i guess i'll do some torching. i need to make a few phones calls, come to think of it....anyway, i have no idea in what order i'll be doing things today, but if i'm at the torch, i'll be sure to get that caerma turned on for your viewing pleasure :) have a good one!

late night date...

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 18:33:07 PST

...with the torch.

today was a pretty full day of domestic duties, but i did just get done packing up a box of goodies to send to my store in St. Louis. I wanted to get that shipment out about 2 days ago, but i tell you what, time has just been flying by! So anyway, that's all done, and i feel like making some fun twisties. yes, more twisties. no i don't need anymore twisties--but man, do i want more! so off i go...the camera is on.

Torch Time

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - 14:06:53 PST

alright folks, i'm getting ready to have a nice relaxing evening at the torch. you might catch a glimpse of josh in the background doing some work at the table...and i'm sure there will be a cat or two poking their nose around.

Tuesday Update

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - 9:33:34 PST

Hello Bead-heads! Lots of fun things to tell you about today: First of all, I attached a few pictures taken this weekend. My sister and her husband were out here visiting. On Saturday-Veteran's Day-we went to Arlington National Cemetery. We were there while the televised ceremony was going on, but we weren't by the tomb of the unknown soldiers. Almost everything was all blocked off when we got there, because the presidential motorcade was going to be arriving. So we saw it arrive, and about 30 minutes later saw it leave. While we were there at the cemetery, we visited General Lee’s house. And we also got to visit the burial site of one of our cousins.

Also on Saturday, we visit the national mall area, and the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. We also walked over to the white house, to see what we could see. On our way home, while down in the metro (subway), waiting on our train, josh, Jason, and Alisa all lined up in the cutest manner. I had to take a photo! Anyway, Alisa and Jason left yesterday, and I’m trying to make today productive.

And now that things are somewhat back to normal, there’s lots of business to attend to. First thing to let you all know about: Craftynation.com. This is a new site being developed by a local team. It’s a site that will offer web-casts/web-isodes of different craft projects and I’m not sure what else. The hostess, Toni Lynn, and her camera-man (whose name I believe is John, but I can’t be certain—he says his name so quickly on the phone-I think I keep missing it), came past my booth (the tent I was sharing with my friend Diana), at the Art on the Avenue show back in Oct. They’re starting filming for shows that will be aired on their website. Anyway, we’ve been talking and have set up a time for this weekend for them to come past and film me working. I’m not sure when their site will officially be ‘open’ for business, but I’ll keep you updates. And I’m sure I’ll have the web-cam on while they’re filing me working and doing an interview.

Also, today, I got an interesting email from a gallery in London. It’s the Saatchi Gallery, and they offer a large index of artists from all over. The give the artist a webpage, essentially, where you can upload images, your contact info, anything you want essentially, and change it as often as you like. So they’ve offered to include my in their artist index. Neat, huh? Assuming I accept this offer (I’m in the process of checking out their site, making sure everything is legit and well organized) I’ll post the link to my ‘gallery page’ when it’s complete.

as far as torching goes-I have an order I need to get shipped off to a store ASAP, but there are a few things I still want to make to include with the shipment. So , I will be making those items today-I’ll turn the camera on when I’ll be working on them. It probably won’t be for a little while longer that I do this work. Josh and I both decided to make this morning and early afternoon a nice relaxing/recuperating opportunity, since we were out sight-seeing all weekend, and didn’t get in our normal 30 hours of sleep in the weekend of 48 hours. I’ll do a quick update when I’m ready to fire up the torch.

checkin' in

Thursday, November 9, 2006 - 20:16:27 PST

This week has been SO busy! I’ve been pretty preoccupied with getting some glass projects, namely some custom orders, finished up. There's been a lot of other misc. work that I have had to deal with as well...you know, typical daily routine stuff that has a way of overloading an otherwise normal day. Oof. The latest rush of work has been house cleaning. Some relatives on my mom's side of the family drove down from New Jersey. They're on their way to DC for a fall break vacation, and stopped in to see us, and took us out to a yummy tex-mex dinner this evening (FYI if you have a Chevy's restaurant near you--you must go. They have the best tortilla chips EVER!!!).

I'm really excited for tomorrow, though. My sister and her husband are arriving for a visit! They'll be staying until Monday (so don't expect to see me at the torch any this weekend). I think we'll see the DC sights on Saturday, and Sunday I think we'll head over to Annapolis. I last saw my sister in August, but it seems like it's been forever! Besides josh (my hubby), she's my best friend...we have way too much fun when we get together. Alisa was last out here this same time last year...that's actually when our cat Penelope became sick. The 1-year anniversary, I guess you could say, of our baby-girl Penny is on the 12th. The 16th, though, is a day of celebration, as that's when we adopted Rufus 1 year ago, and we adopted Mickey 2 days later.

Anyway, this weekend should be a lot of fun, but not productive work-wise. I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of catching up to do next week. I have several other things I’d like to get posted on this site (cuff links, bead sets, necklaces, etc...), but that really takes some doing these days. I think I mentioned a while back about how I got a new photo set-up. I like the new set-up, but it's taking some getting used to (finding the right lighting angles and such). But also, the new set-up involves this white photo tent (it's like a big white cube, with a little door cut-out. The tent acts as a diffuser for the photo lights, but the tent is also a big-ole cat magnet. I can not keep Rufus out of that tent when I’m photographing things. He becomes the biggest pain in the neck as soon as I set up that tent. I can't be mad at him though, because he's just so darn cute inside the tent. But it's impossible to get him out of it (the 'door' into the tent is small), and he leaves his cat hair all over the white lining--ugh. So like I said, it's an ordeal. You might ask, "Ann, why don't you just put Rufi in the bedroom and close the door while you're working?" My come-back to that is: our door doesn't close all the way, and so Rufi can open the door. Yeah. Ordeal.

I’m going to try and get some more business work done before the clock strikes midnight, and I fall fast asleep.

funny Camera

Monday, November 6, 2006 - 10:08:29 PST

the webcam is acting funny today, not sure why. it may or may not be working while i'm torching. we'll see.

Full Afternoon!

Monday, November 6, 2006 - 9:25:41 PST

hey folks, I've got a full afternoon of work to do. I'll be at the torch for the majority of the day. Right now, even though my kiln is warm and ready to go, i need to finish stringing a necklace for a customer, snap some pix and email those off, THEN i'll fire up that torch. The camera is already on for your viewing pleasure :)

Still Searching for my Glass Door-Knob Lady

Friday, November 3, 2006 - 11:47:12 PST

I'm just kind of re-posting my search for my missing "glass door knob lady." If you called me several weeks ago, interested in a custom glass door knob, please call or email me. The email address I have for you doesn't work.

well, until I find her, might as well let the rest of you know that i'm working on listing a few more things for sale on my sale page. i've got some bead sets up, and am getting ready to post some 'paw print' jewelry sets. Go take a peek :)

Good Morning!

Friday, November 3, 2006 - 7:01:56 PST

I'm almost finished with this morning's chores...but i can't get right to the torch today. I still need to finish cleaning beads, and get those babies listed! But i do plan on squeezing in some torch time this afternoon. Happy Friday!

Torch Time!

Thursday, November 2, 2006 - 14:09:34 PST

Hey folks, I'm getting ready to fire up the torch. I hope to get a few good hours of work in, but we'll see what actually happens :). I'll get the camera turned on for your viewing pleasure!

Good Afternoon!

Thursday, November 2, 2006 - 9:03:49 PST

It's a gorgeous fall day out here! I'm thankful for that as, in about an hour or so, we have to take our fuzzy babies to the vet. It's time for their one year check-up. Both cats are so big, that I'm making Josh help me take them to the Vet. I have a hard enough time carring one cat in a carrier, let alone 2 cats and 2 carriers!

I have lots of torching planned for later today, but first, I actually have lots of beads to clean, photograph and get listes on here, and possibly on eBay. I'll do an update before i turn on my camera for a torching session. Have a good one.

P.S.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - 13:49:59 PST

forgot to mention that, after being on the phone with the Mediator for about 15 minutes trying to tell my side and she kept cutting me off, I then thanked her for being such a GREAT help (heavy on the sarcasm here, if you can't tell). And then hung up. Anyway, I'm obviously still a little worked up, so i'm going to go eat some chocolate.

Mediation Service, my foot!

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - 13:29:33 PST

Oooh, the day in the life of an artist/business woman can be so interesting sometimes.

Last May I was part of a local festival/show. To make a long story short, there was a snafu: a breech of contract by the show organizers which resulted in $300.00 of my merchandise getting broken. Letter correspondence, in an attempt to resolve this matter, between myself and the show committee members has not been going well, so I decided to call on the services of the city mediator. I was so excited and so hopeful when I found out that our city offered this service, and thought once and for all, this matter would get solved. I wanted to sit down with the show organizers, and thought it’d be great to have an objective 3rd party present to help, you know, mediate the situation. So I fill out a really short, 1 page ‘form’ with my contact info, the festival committee contact info and a brief synopsis of the situation. The form specifically said to make the description brief (it was even underlined!) and that when we meet, I would be able to present my side of the issue. I mailed it back to the Mediator.

I get a letter in the mail today saying that she, the Mediator, contacted the people I listed as being involved, got their side of the story and is now saying that there’s no issue here: That I haven’t tried contacting these people (they committee apparently is claiming that they haven’t received my letters—even though they replied to one of the letters), and that she’s not going to help any further. I called to ask what the heck was going on, that her letter didn’t make any sense to me, that she hasn’t even heard my side of the story. Yeah, she’s not interested in hearing what happened to me, to look at my documented correspondence. Apparently, that’s not what mediators do. Ha. Silly me. ARGH!!

Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 - 8:32:18 PST

I ended up doing a late night torch session last night, and managed to run out of fuel in the process. So I won’t be doing any more torching till I get a refill. So, that leaves me with some much needed time to work on crowns.

you may notice that I’ve been switching out a lot of pix in the gallery---trying to be more up-to-date with my work. I have some photos that still need some tweaking, as I realize some aren’t loading properly. I’ll fix that all today….eventually :)

that’s about it from here—nothing too awfully exciting. Our cats, Rufus and Mickey, are grumpy today because I called the vet to get them in for a 1-year check-up. We take our guys to the Banfield Pet Hospital that’s in some PetSmart stores. Turns out, our vet for this past year just kinda up and left a few weeks ago. So our Banfield pet hospital is currently without a dr! So I had to call over to a neighboring town to make an appt with another Banfield vet. These boys will not like having to ride in the car that much longer, but not a whole lot I can do about that. In the past, when we were taking these guys in for vaccines and everything when they were just a few months old, we could put the both of them into 1 carrier. Well, these guys are both over 10 lbs. and there’s no way the 2 of them can fit into 1 carrier…so we had to buy a second one. See, I told you it was all sorts of fun around here. Hehehe. Alright, off to work. Have a good one!

Torch time!

Friday, October 27, 2006 - 10:01:44 PDT

I'm getting ready to fire up the torch. I'm going to be making more twisties (yes, more), but then, I will actually be making some beads later on. novel idea, i know. So anyway, i'm turning on the torch cam in a few minutes--i need to finish snacking before i'm ready to hunker down to work :)

Are you my Glass door knob lady?

Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 15:07:33 PDT

So, several weeks ago, i received a call from a very nice woman. She asked me to make a glass door knob for a door in her home. She gave me her email address and name so that i could send her pictures as i began working on samples. Thing is, the email address isn't working. I wrote something down wrong. So, if you're my glass door-knob lady, i need you to call or email me, becuase i have no way to get ahold of you!

googly-eyed

Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 11:49:44 PDT

my eyes are tired of photographing beads, cropping down the images and posting them....so i'm going to go do something mindless--like play at the torch :) i'll get the camrea turned on. i don't plan on making any actual beads today--mainly just twisties.

Hello!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 11:33:25 PDT

I've been dong some updates to the site today: loading some new pix and clearing out some old ones. I've got several new pieces listed for sale on the sale page...not everything has a description, yet. But most things do have prices. I went ahead and turn on the camera just now--I feel like taking a break from computer work and doing some torch work. see you there!

Upside down, but not turned around

Monday, October 23, 2006 - 10:40:36 PDT

OK, so my webcam is still on the frtiz. It's broadcasting upside down still. Oof! I guess it's time to call in the big guns, and let my husband work his magic and fix it. Alright, so be patient. It'll be working properly soon. But have no fear, you're not missing much today. I need to take lots of photographs and get those all posted, and that's not much fun to watch. But be sure to keep checking other parts of my site for updates throughout the next few days.

Sunday Evening 'Hello'

Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 16:57:36 PDT

Today was my show at the Washington Animal Rescue League. The show was great and I met so many interesting people! I was just stunned at, not only how nice WARL's facilities are, but also at how many volunteers they have,as well. And everyone was just SO nice...I actually think this was one of the best organized shows I've participated in this year! Anyway, now that my show streak for the fall is over and done with, I will be getting lots of fun things up for sale on the sale page. I'm also toying with the idea of dealing with eBay auctions again, not sure yet--it's still just a thought. And in all my listing of items for sale, I still plan on taking lots of time to keep my torch fired up to make even more items. I have tons of ideas (doing demos outside today was great inspiration) that I'm just itchin' to try out.

Thanks again to those of you who came out to support WARL (and me!). And now, it's time for me to go cuddle with my fuzzy babies. We're coming up on our 1-year adoption anniversary...both Mickey and Rufi turned 1 year old this past August.

Have a good night!

Gertrude and the Peanut Gallery

Friday, October 20, 2006 - 9:03:41 PDT

I'm happy to present to you Gertrude, Gary's new girlfriend. She just so happens to be wearing a beautiful coral necklace made by Yours Truly! She forgot her lipstick though...It's becuase she was too busy dealing with the Peanut Gallery. That piggie was a real hog and insisted on my showing all views of her cute little body. But she better watch out, as i think the doggies, froggies and Fishy are getting a little jealous. I guess that's to be expected...

The cutest thing you've ever seen!

Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 9:01:31 PDT

ok, maybe not, but i bet it's the cutest thing made out of glass that you've ever seen!! look at this guy: His name is Gary. Gary weighs in at 0.2 oz, 1.25" tall, and about 1/2" wide. I think i'm going to make a girlfriend for Gary....how does Gertrude sound for a name? hehe. I'm getting a little slap happy over here from all the cuteness. Enjoy.

upside-down pix

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 19:40:16 PDT

so, the webcam is acting funny. It's broadcasting upside down and 1/4 the size. that usually means i have to restart my computer, but i can't do that right now as i have some unsaved files that i need to use as inspiration for tonights torch session pulled up and i'm too lazy to deal with saving things and waiting for the computer to restart. as such, i'm making you suffer by not getting to watch. sorry :).

Good evening! Lots of news...

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 19:11:54 PDT

Well it's been a really exciting few days around here. Yesterday I received an email from the "National Museum for Women in the Arts.” This is a lovely museum, of which Josh and I have visited in the past, in downtown DC. The museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary with its ninth annual Fall Benefit. This year, they’ll be showcasing local jewelers work in a silent auction, whose proceeds will benefit the music series at the museum. Someone on the museum board apparently knows of my work and suggested that I be contacted to donate a piece to this wonderful event. How cool is that? What gets me the most is that, as many of you know, when you buy a piece from me, I usually suck you into a conversation, telling you about how your piece was made, etc… So I’m just so curious who this board member is, what piece, if any, she bought. So: Mysterious Woman (I’m assuming you’re a female), if you’re reading this, thank you for thinking of me! This silent auction is taking place on Nov. 2nd, and “attendees will include 300 guests from Washington’s VIP, diplomatic, government, and social communities.” FUN!

Then today, instead of making animals for the upcoming Washington Animal Rescue League show (this Sunday the 22nd from 12-3), I accompanied my friend, Allison-who is a fabulous violin player and teacher, to a super-fun music store, Lashof Violins. While she was looking for a new violin, I got to play on with all the gorgeous cellos! (A bit of background here: I play the Cello. I started in 5th grade and was a very active player up to and all through college. Since moving to MD, I haven’t played much. We don’t have much room in our apt. for a cello and all the fixings that go along with it. However; I think I’ve sweet talked Josh in letting me to bring my cello back out here after Christmas. Remind me to tell you all about my cello sometime.) I also found the coolest gadget ever! The owner of Lasof Violins has created this thing called the ‘Precipitube’. Humidity levels are a big deal when talking about the care of a stringed instrument. Most devices for introducing humidity to your instrument involves running this funny-spongy thing, called a damp-it under water and sticking it in your instrument for humidity. David brilliantly invented this patent-pending thingy that contains that clear absorbent stuff that marketed now as ‘clear-gel’ or something like that for your plants, to use instead of dirt. It’s the stuff that’s in diapers to absorb err..um…leaks. And this long tubs has perforations that allow water vapor out to the instrument in a much more efficient and logical manner. Fun, huh? So even though I don’t have my cello out here, I had to buy one of these thingies while I could!

So back to the real world, it’s currently 10:32 on the East coast. I need to do some torching tonight, but I’m also really tired (haven’t slept well the past few nights). I’m still going to go ahead and light up the torch for awhile, and just try and make a few really nice pieces. I’m aiming for quality, not quantity, tonight. We’ll see….and of course, the camera will be turned on in 3…..2…..1….

o, 1 more thing

Monday, October 16, 2006 - 20:38:27 PDT

don't forget about my show coming up this weekend. It's Sunday the 22nd at the Washington Animal Rescue League in NorthWest Washington, DC. Night!

update

Monday, October 16, 2006 - 18:13:08 PDT

hola, late-night bead heads!

couple of things for you: 1) one of my friends inadvertantly reminded me to post info on a new store carrying my melting hearts (thank-you, Christy for a kick-in-the-butt). The new store is "Chiaroscuro" located at 700 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60611.
2)I'm getting ready to do some late night torchin'. the santa-hate froggies on the hearts are going really well, but i had to take a break to pick josh up from work and go to Best Buy...
....which leads me to 3) I hate Best Buy.

alright, I'm good to go for another round of melting glass. see you there!

Hi from la-la-land

Monday, October 16, 2006 - 10:57:25 PDT

It feels like forever since i've done an update, and more importantly since i've been at the torch. I've been so preoccupied with other work and thoughts that i really don't know where the time has gone. I'm getting ready to sit down at the torch to some work, including some major twisting-making action. last week I made josh sit down with me and out of all the scraps, leftovers, and odd-n-ends of glass put together some really fun color combos for twisties. i think i've got about 60 different combos! i'm also going to make some super-fun froggie-melting-hearts (some with santa caps--getting ready for Christmas). i've started photographing things to get listed on this site as well...just need more time. There aren't enough hours in the day to egt everything done that needs to be done!

alright, give me about 10 minutes to turn on the camera and the torch. see you there!

argh.

Friday, October 13, 2006 - 8:57:54 PDT

ok, you'd think i'd have this whole 'posting updates and uploadng pictures' thing down pat by now. the pictures of mickey i was trying to upload won't appear becuase there was a space in the name of the file, and this little uploading system can't handle spaces. so let's try this again.

also, i did get my photo lights yesterday. Today will be full of working on crowns (if you're new to this site, my other job is at www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com) and photographing beads, jewelry and crowns.

Friday the 13th!!

Friday, October 13, 2006 - 8:42:26 PDT

So our spooky morning started off with our fuzzy black cat (mickey) hiding under a carpet runner in the hallway, just as josh was walking down the hallway. Yeah, mickey got stepped on and squealed. a few treats and lots of hugs later, he's doing just fine :).

And speaking of Mickey, I caught him sleeping in a really funny position yesterday. He's been obsessed with this old love seat that we have. it's his scratching post (why would he use the actually scratching board we bought for him when he has a perfectly good couch right there?) But he always takes naps in this one corner, leaning against the couch arm. Well yesterday, I had the coffee table scooted right against the couch. Whether that threw him off, or he was so sleepy he couldn't make it to the corner of the sofa, I just don't know. But what i do know is that he's as though he fell alseep while trying to make up his mind.

Hi!

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 7:09:12 PDT

Ok, so apparently I lied yesterday when I said that I would do a second post to keep you all updated. In my defense, there was absolutely nothing going on, hence no post was needed! Josh, still on a high from passing his oral exam last friday decided to take yesterday off. So that meant, by default, that i took yesterday off ( I just can't get any work done when that boy stays home!). We ended runnning a few errends, renting movies, picking up burgers. we came home and feasted on the burders and fries and watched the new Albert Brooks movie "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World." It's a pretty cute movie. It wasn't quite as entertaining as I was hoping for, but cute nonetheless. If you haven't seen the Albert Brooks movie "Defending Your Life" go rent it right now. It's a great movie. Don't worry, it's a comedy with Meryl Streep. it's just too cute.

ok, enough movie talk. Did I mention yesterday that I'm waiting for some new photo lights to arrive? Well I am, and once they do arrive, I'll be posting lots of fun this for sale on this site. Until then, I'm pretty much finished with my crazy re-organizing. So that means I can get back to my projects/work that i was doing before i went into crazy show-lady mode for the alexandria show last weekend. i don't think i'll have the camerea on today, as most of my work will be done at the opposite work counter, and you won't be able to see much. I will be beading later this week/weekend, so stay-tuned!

Hi!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 9:06:59 PDT

Alright, so i'm finally back to the swing of things. Saturday's show in Alexandria was very draining. The weather was just awful: very very cold, windy, and rainy. There were a surprising amount of people out and about, but not nearly the 40,000 people that were expected. I'm glad this show is done and over with! I have several pieces left from this show that I won't be taking to the 'Washington Animal Rescue League" show on the 22nd...instead I will be listing them for sale here...well not right here--over on the for sale page. I used all of Sunday, most of yesterday to get this re-organized. Right before a show, I go into 'Crazy show lady mode' and i don't put my tools, jewelry supplies or anything away after i'm done with them. So this apartment was just busting at the seams with all of my stuff! Things are getting put back very nicely, though. All organzied. and I'm acutlaly packing away several things into our storage closet that I can live without for awhile, so that I can have some more work space in my 'studio'. I haven't completely finished, though-so i'm back to organizing. I will be listing new items for sale shortly. I'm waiting for some new photo lights to arrive before I start snapping pictures. i'll update you on more goings-on later this afternoon. Have a good one!

Woohoo

Friday, October 6, 2006 - 9:13:35 PDT

just heard from josh--he passed his exam!! so now, the focus is on me and my show. gotta go meet my man for lunch now.

Test day!

Friday, October 6, 2006 - 6:43:44 PDT

Well, my joshy-boy is at school, and probably just about ready to get started with his Oral Exam. His panel is supposed to show up at 10. I have no idea how long he'll be grilled--could be done by 11:30, or it could be as long as 1:30-2. luckily i have enough work to keep me occupied so i'm not worried about him too much. I've got a candle lit for him, though (a tradition in my family--it's what we do when someone has a big event taking place--you light a candle and say a little prayer). Anyway, it's back to work for me....finishing assembling jewelry and getting organized for tomorrow. it's super rainy here today and they're saying it's going to rain tomorrow too --that is very bad news. we'll see what happens, though.

morning!

Thursday, October 5, 2006 - 7:39:03 PDT

alright, so i didn't last nearly as long as i was hoping to last night. but i did get almost everything made. This morning i'm working on cleaning all the beads i made yesterday, and shipping off my heart order to Chicago. i'll be back at the torch in a little while to finish up my projects. have a good one!

hmm

Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - 21:20:49 PDT

it's almost 12:30. i don't know yet if i can keep on working. i'm getting pretty frazzeled. if i stop now, i'll still have to torch tomorrow. gonna go stretch and see how i feel. this may be good-night :)

Late Night Torch session

Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - 19:04:10 PDT

It's just after 10:00, and i'm getting ready to fire up the torch for another round of beading. I'm really trying to finish everything by tomorrow. I may still have some hearts to make tomorrow--but that's not a real big deal--i just need to get beads for necklaces, etc.. finished! so off I go. any bets on what time i'll be finished tonight? Camera is on.

Wednesday Morning

Wednesday, October 4, 2006 - 6:56:18 PDT

It's getting down to crunch time! I kinda-sorta ran out of fuel yesterday. I have some small back-up tanks to use for when that happens, so i'm not totally without means. However, i can't go until tonight to get more fuel...i have to wait until my Joshy-boy can help me carry the big ole tank of propane....and well, he's a wee bit stressed today. Yesterday's practice Oral Exam was a little too enlightening.... Oh, how I can't wait for Saturday night to be here.

On a good note, though, the webcam has decided to behave for us today--so it's already up and running. I'm going to working on a hodgepodge of beads today. Trying to finish off some sets, and feeling compelled to make new sets that i have no idea if i'll be able to finish before the show. I also need to make a bunch more Melting Hearts. I have a store in Chicago waiting for their shipment, and i'm only half finished with the order. I'm anticipating that tonight will be a late late work night. See if maybe i can finish all my torching today/tonight, so i have tomorrow for assembling, and friday for organizing. we'll see. it never works out that nice and neatly--but you never know-there's a first time for everything.

HOT DOG! I just got a call from my sister, she found out that she passed the bar exam! She's a real lawyer now!! ok, now for me to work so i can be a real artist.....

Techincal difficulties

Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 6:45:14 PDT

Alright, so the camera doesn't want to work today. maybe it'll feel like turning on this afternoon....

Morning!

Tuesday, October 3, 2006 - 6:33:34 PDT

Well, yesterday was another day of domestic diva-ness. You wouldn't believe how much food i made! well, so now we're set for the week, which is good becuase Josh has his Oral Exam on Friday. He's actually doing a practice test today with his advisor, so depending on how that goes and how long of a pracetice test it is, Josh may not be home until 8 or so tonight. so what does that mean for me? LOTS OF BEADING TIME! Yeah, I was a little stressed out yesterday that I didn't get any of my work done and I'm starting to feel a wee bit nervous about having enought things for the show on saturday. So, I need to get a whole mess of things made today. i'll get the camera turned on as soon as this gets posted. have a good one!

Night session

Sunday, October 1, 2006 - 19:13:56 PDT

hey folks.. it's sunday night, and I am getting ready to flip on the camera for a late night torch session.

Mornin'

Friday, September 29, 2006 - 7:36:23 PDT

Since it's Friday, I’m making the executive decision to not do ANY housework! It’s nothing but playin’ with glass for me today. I’m getting ready to turn on the camera, so be sure to take a look!

new flowers

Thursday, September 28, 2006 - 9:03:56 PDT

here are some new blown glass flowers that i made yesterday. Unfortunately, my photo light isn't working right now, so these photos were taken by the window. I really enjoy this style right now and am working on really refining the process so that i get consistent results. we'll see what i end up making today.... The camera will get turned on around or so. i still have laundry to finish up before i can go play with glass.

p.s.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 11:08:19 PDT

i was right last night when i said that josh might be annoyed that i stole the coffee grinder for glass. I got a 'look'. yeah. pretty bad, huh? :) So, I'll give you three guesses as to what his gift will be for Christmas, and the first two guesses don't count.

Blown Glass Flower Exp.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 11:05:02 PDT

here are the results of my latest testing of some new styles of blown glass flowers. these aren't real fancy, but i think they're still fun. what till you see what i have in mind for version 2.0! oh, and it's just the one picture--i'm not giving you a larger picture option. i'm lazy.

makin frit

Monday, September 25, 2006 - 16:16:54 PDT

i've got the camera on again. i'm working with glass right name--namely, making some frit. i'm using a coffee grinder to pulverize some glass for decorating some flowers. josh doesn't know i'm using the coffee grinder, and i have a feeling he might be a wee bit annoyed, as we can't use it for anything but glass now. but you see, i NEEDED the coffee grinder, and he rarely ever used it.... hmmm... note to self: buy josh a new coffee grinder :)

Monday Afternoon

Monday, September 25, 2006 - 10:34:17 PDT

I'm going to be doing some much needed silversmithing this afternoon. I turned on the camera, but i don't know how much you'll be able to see. I do have plans to torch tonight. I've been experimenting with some really, really cool blown-glass flower designs. i'll post pix soon. off to work!

Saturday Night

Saturday, September 23, 2006 - 18:54:55 PDT

So, it's a saturday night, and Josh and I are just such an exciting couple that we're at home completely vegging. We spent the day in Josh's office: he practiced equations and derivations up on the white board for his upcoming oral exam, while I sat, watched, and knitted like an old lady. we had a huge lunch and came home and slept allll evening. it was heavenly. so now, it's time to party...er, ah, bead :). I'll turn on the camera, in case there are any other party animals out there.

Babies Galore!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 11:31:43 PDT

It's Baby Season! I just had to do a little entry on this topic because in the past couple of days, two good friends just had babies (one had an 8.1 lb boy--she was 2 weeks late, and the other friend had a 7.1 lb baby girl). So I’ve been slightly infatuated with buying baby gifts these days and have had babies on the brain. But amusingly enough, as much as I eventually want to have babies, I have no desire to go through all that right now. Can you hear Josh's huge sigh of relief? hehehe. I just finished reading a book that has really been very insightful into raising children and understanding yourself better...and while I learned so much from the book, the whole having to discipline a child, always having to be consistent, keeping your kids away from drugs sex and alcohol...well, let's just say I’m not looking forward to dealing with a teenager ANY time soon!

On the bright side of all of this, the book I read was amazing, and should be a book that every single parent and every single teach should HAVE to read! It’s called “Why Gender Matters” and it’s by Dr. Leonard Sax. Basically, he shows in several case studies just how different boys and girls are in their learning patterns. And as such, why teaching and discipline styles should differ between boys and girls, despite the trendy thought and PC-ness of treating boys and girls the same. So whether or not you agree with the quick little synopsis I gave of the book, you should still read it to at least gain some additional information. It’s a very interesting and quick read.

and that’s all the time I have now for this week’s book report/book club :). Back to the torch!

Good morning!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 7:41:57 PDT

hey there! I plan on today being a nice long torching day. I do have some silversmithing to get done, but that might wait until tonight. i'm getting ready to turn the camera on. I have to leave in a few hours for a dr's appt., but hopefully i'll still feel like torching once i get back. have a good day!

Hi there

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 10:34:43 PDT

hello bead-fans! I will be doing some torching here in a little bit. I really wanted to get to the torch yesterday, but I was too busy being a domestic diva that I completely ran out of time. I’ve gotten into the habit of just doing all my food prep (washing lettuce, etc…) and cooking (baking chicken) for the week as soon as I get home from the grocery store. That way, dinner is easy to prepare, which also means less take out and junk food—which also saves $$ and makes us more healthy. But that also means I completely lose a day of work, but it’s worth it. So anyway, I’m off to eat some lunch, and I’ll meet you at the torch around 2:00 my time.

revision to show schedule

Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 8:59:20 PDT

Hi all, Wanted to give you an update to my October show schedule. The open house that was supposed to take place on Oct 1st has been postponed. Art on the Avenue in Alexandria, VA and the Washing animal rescue league open house are still on track, and you can find more details about those 2 shows if you scroll down a bit and read the previous 'show schedule' entry.

i'll be torching and silversmithing today, and teh camera is on!

Torch time!

Thursday, September 7, 2006 - 8:40:39 PDT

the webcam is on and i'm ready to do some more torching!

fyi, you may catch a few glances of Josh today (if you're lucky!). He decided to work from home today. He's currently in the midst of his month long review/study period to prepare for his Oral exams to take place in Oct. He's working on getting his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering (my little rocket scientist), and this could be his last year (hopefully) in grad school, so things are pretty stressful for him. So anyway, you may actually see quite a bit of him this month on the webcam...i have a feeling he'll be studying at home more than he'll be in the office.

alright, time to play with fire.

Good Morning

Wednesday, September 6, 2006 - 6:10:02 PDT

Yesterday's afternoon beading session was cut a little short: After taking my merry little time to get everything clean, only a few beads got made before I stopped for awhile. One of my friends is VERY pregnant right now (in fact she's 5 days over due) and she's getting a little stir-crazy. so I felt it was my duty to ever so humbly put my work aside to talk about babies all afternoon. :)

Ahhh, but not all was lost. I got some good beading done last night. I plan on making some good stuff today, but not yet. I still have to finish up my morning 'chores'--you know, like housework! I'll get both the torch and the webcam turned on soon. Enjoy your day!

workday

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 - 9:06:06 PDT

It's an incredibly gloomy-rainy day here, and my two kitties keep trying to get me to take naps with them, but I’m staying strong! Today will be a workday full of the wonders of glass! Well, first I have to clean a ton of mandrels. I’ll go ahead and turn on my camera do you can see just how much fun that all is (can you hear the sarcasm?). Hopefully you’ll be able to see my two rotten furry children playing in the background. They’re really playful and cute today---and Rufus is just absolutely destroying a toy right now. Poor Mickey, though---it’s not raining really hard, so I have the windows open. It’s cool, but still humid. And Mickey has long fur—the poor guy is having a frizzy hair day. It’s so cute!

Chihuly Exhibit

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 21:42:43 PDT

More Glass Garden close-ups. In the background of the 2nd photo, do you see those paintings hanging in the background? Apparently, Chihuly draws a lot of his inspiration for his glass pieces from splatter paintings that he makes first—for that very reason: as inspiration. When this exhibit first opened up at the museum, apparently there was a workshop with Chihuly and a bunch of kids making inspiration splatter paintings---and it’s the children’s paintings that are hanging on that wall in the background. Fun, huh?

Chihuly Exhibit

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 21:39:44 PDT

Another part of the Chihuly exhibit was a ‘Glass Garden’. The first photo is an overview of this ‘piece’. The 2nd photo starts to show some close-ups. This size/scale of this work is amazing. I can’t imagine working with such large pieces of glass.

Chihuly Exhibit

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 21:37:38 PDT

Close-ups of the 'ceiling'.

Chihuly Exhibit

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 21:36:29 PDT

The first photo shows the floor under the installation. The second photos shows this same floor, but from underneath. It’s incredible. I WILL have a ceiling like this in my house one of these days!

Chihuly Exhibit

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 21:25:28 PDT

The first photo in this entry shows copies of the letters that Chihuly exchanged with the museum when this exhibit was still just a thought…the date on the letter is June of 2001! What I got a big kick out of is the drawing that Chihuly did of his proposed installation. Not so much of the actual piece of artwork, but of the detail he included surrounding the instillation: namely, the crowd looking at his work and shouting words of praise! Too funny. I’m sure this is just all a part of the Chihuly’s sense of humor, but I truly have no idea. Also in this photo, in the image above the letters, you see a view of the main installation. This huge figure is sitting on a floor/ceiling full of glass. The floor has clear glass panes that expose hundreds of multicolored glassblown objects. If you go into the basement of the museum, underneath this installation and floor, and look up, you see a ceiling of glass. It’s incredible. I have lots of pictures of this ceiling.

This next picture shows how this installation was made/installed. As you may notice, the signs point out that many artists worked on this piece, not just Dale Chihuly. Chihuly designed this piece. He has many apprenticed who then help him to create the many thousands of blown glass objects to turn the design into reality.

Chihuly Exhibit

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - 21:19:01 PDT

So, because of they way my news entries post to the website, this 'slideshow' of sorts will be a bit backwards, i suppose. There will be 6 entries in all.

In these first two photographs, you see the main installation of the Dale Chihuly’s exhibit. I believe this installation is a permanent fixture of the museum, as there was a placard saying that it was a gift to the museum from a family whose name I can no longer remember. This installation is 42ft tall and weighs 18,000 pounds! Chihuly is very much known for this particular style of glassblowing: the wild twisting impossibilities of glass with tons of colors and even more textures.

Upcoming Show Schedule

Thursday, August 31, 2006 - 9:15:19 PDT

I'm back in town and trying to get into the groove of things. This fall is shaping up to be pretty busy--the month of October in particular. Here are the shows on tap so far:

Oct 1st, Sunday afternoon3-5pm.
Open House event at the home of Andrea Hansborough. If you would like an invitation to this event, please just email me. For those of you who live in the MD area and are on my email list, you will receive an email invitation from me shortly.

October 7, Saturday all day. Art on the Avenue in Old Town Alexandria, VA.
This should be a great event, lots of people and lots to see! I will be sharing a booth with my friend Diana (www.twocatpots.com). I have the location of where our booth will be located, but not right here in front of me right now. I’ll post that later.

October 22nd, Saturday 11-3. Washington Animal Rescue League Open House.
This event is a fundraiser for the animal rescue league of Washington DC. They are located at 71 Oglethorpe St., in Northwest DC. I got a call from the organizers of this show several weeks back asking if I would participate and do live demos throughout the afternoon. How could I say no when it's a fundraiser to help save animals! I’m really looking forward to this show…I hope to have lots of fun animal shaped do-dads!

I’m still out of fuel ( I know, I know...bad form…sigh). And the wedding crown business is making me go slightly insane. So I will definitely be getting back to the molten loveliness of glass soon…very soon!

OH, and i have some great photos to share with you all from my trip to IN..i'll post those soon. I was lucky enough to get to steal some time to visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum (it's a great place!) and right now, through sept 2007, they have a HUGE Dale Chihuly exhibit going on. i'll post pix, don't worry.

Hittin' the Road

Saturday, August 19, 2006 - 1:50:24 PDT

WEll, Josh and I are going to hit the road to IN here in a little bit. It's way to early for me, but i'm anxious to get a jump start on the day of drivings. It's about a 10-hour drive to Indy, and of course there is rain along I-70 today. Oh well! I'll have email access most during most of my trip, so feel free to email, or give me a call, and enjoy your last week of August!

Plum Out

Thursday, August 17, 2006 - 8:23:51 PDT

well, i managed to use up every little last drop of fuel in a matter of 20 minutes, if that. So no more torching for me for awhile.

i guess that's a good thing, so that i don't stay at the torch playing all day. I have lots around here to try and get done, seeing as how Josh and I haven't even begun packing for our week long trip. We'll be driving to IN, not flying--which definitely makes things easier with all the new security restrictions.

And completely off topic, but if you ever need some really nice handmade, good smelling candles, go here: http://andreascandlecreations.com. Andrea, the owner, is such a sweetie! I highly recommend that if you want to buy from her, try and attend one of the many shows she participates in, she’s got a huge display. I’ve never seen so many candles in my life. (and no i don't get a discount by mentioning her name, i just wanted to share a good product with all of you :) )

and don't worry, i'll say goodbye before we leave to IN on saturday.

torch time!

Thursday, August 17, 2006 - 7:42:50 PDT

I'm going to be doing a bit of a torch session--and the webcam will be on. I have some last minute projects to get done before heading to Indiana on Saturday. I did some torching last night and realized that i'm really low on fuel right now. so we'll see how long i can keep the torch lit.

Good Morning!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - 3:01:31 PDT

Things are moving right along out here. To start off with, today is going to be a long day....I got up just after 5am this morning! I know. You didn't think I knew that the world existed before 8am. I was pretty restless going to sleep last night and couldn't get to sleep until about 1am. I woke up at 4:30, and just wasn't able to fall back asleep. I'm pretty worked up (in a good way, mind you) about the glass business and the crown business (my other business: www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). I've been slightly inundated with phone calls from Orthodox churches across the US in response to the mass mailing I did a few weeks back. I'm thrilled with the response, and so pleased that I actually am getting a response...it's just a lot to think about, though. I have constant thoughts of who I need to contact, who needs samples, who needs photographs, plus the obvious of finding time to actually make the crowns and get those photos posted ASAP (by the way, new photos will be posted today!).

And then of course, there’s the glass business. Big surprise, the torching I had scheduled to do this past weekend never happened. But that’s not all due to my being a procrastinator; Josh has had some slight complications from having his wisdom teeth removed on Thursday. The sockets are healing just fine—they clotted perfectly, thank goodness. But all of the cranking and yanking on the teeth to get them out, a lot of trauma occurred to the jaw. As such, Josh has developed a case of lock-jaw. Poor guy. He’s not in a terrible amount of pain; he can talk just fine, and he can eat/chew-- he just can not physically open his mouth more than an inch. So he’s still stuck with soft/small foods for a while. The dentist said that this occurrence was rare but not that serious. And that with time it will get better, we just have to be patient.

Oh and Mickey-boy is awake and up on my desk trying to help me type. I think the cats know something is up. We’re going to be driving to Indiana this weekend to visit family before the fall, and we’re not going to be taking the cats this time. One of our friends will be looking in on the boys while we’re gone, but they’re getting lots of extra loving and treats right now, because I’m already sad about having to leave them behind for a week. And on that note, Mickey is pushing my keyboard off the desk, so I guess it’s time to wrap things up for the morning and get the day officially started. Have a great one!

super quick torching session

Friday, August 11, 2006 - 9:37:12 PDT

ok, it's just after 12:30 on the east coast. i'm going to turn my camera on in a few minutes..i'm going to be doing a super-quick torching session. i need to get some more sample hearts out in the mail to some fun stores, but am all out. so i'll be at the torch for about 30 minutes. I need to have time for the kiln to cool this afternoon, so i can still get things out in the mail late this afternoon. we'll see if it works!

Goings on

Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 17:20:46 PDT

Somehow, and I blame it all on my husband, Josh, I have not gotten much work done this week! Today's excuse to not work was that he got his wisdom teeth pulled this morning. Eek! Luckily all 4 teeth were already erupted, but the dentist really had to crank on them to get them out. We got to save the teeth--and man, the roots on those suckers are insane! But he's been pretty pathetic and needed some pampering. I've tied bags of frozen veggies to his head to help with the swelling.

My other excuse for not doing much glasswork has been because of the Wedding Crown business (www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com). Last Monday I did a mass mailing to all the Orthodox churches in North America to introduce my line of crowns to the priests. Several parishes have requested some crowns to put on display in their bookstore. So that's definitely keeping me on my toes. I also have the very business-like job of having to decide with which events and newsletters I would like to advertise. I actually have to arrange an advertising budget! Crazy!

I do have some fun news on the glass front though. Last week, I ordered some special frit (crushed glass that is sometimes used to decorate a bead). What makes this frit so special is that it's actually meant for glassblowers, so it's super-intensely colored. I hope to get some really beautiful effects from the glass. What's amusing about the order was, the smallest quantity I could order of each color was 1/2 a Kilo. Yeah. I felt realllllly weird asking for a half kilo of frit. And just so you know, 1/2 kilo of frit = 1 lb 1.9 oz. Fun, huh? I must get back to my chipmunk cheeked hubby. I WILL be torching this weekend, so stay tuned!

Insane!

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 6:08:47 PDT

So, i thought the heat a few weeks ago was just too much to take...but i was wrong. this weeks is worse. we're getting the heat today that i think was out in CA last week causing all those problems. As you may guess, that means i will not be doing any torching until things cool off a bit.

since i'm not making beads, what am i doing with my time, you may ask. Well, most of my energy lately has been put toward getting the crown business (orthodoxweddingcrowns.com) off the ground. I just got done with a mass mailing to all of the orthodox churches in north america. Yeah, turns out there's over 1,000 churches. Oof! and then i had to order some new materials for the crowns (i.e. lots of silver!). But i'm not completely neglecting my glass. I've ordered some fun to glass items, mailed off a bunch of melting heart brochures, and made appts with local bead shops to see about selling some things in their stores. but now, it's time to finish breakfast.

Daytime Torch session!

Monday, July 24, 2006 - 9:10:23 PDT

I'm serious! I'm actually going to be firing up the torch during the day today!! I've got some work that i've really got to get done, and the heat wave has finally backed off a bit out here. so to the flame i go. turning the camera on, too.

Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 13:38:56 PDT

No.

typos? me? you're kidding!

Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 8:54:29 PDT

So, my husband informed me last night that I've got some pretty amusing typos going on in my last few posts. My excuse, well, actually I have several, for flowering all of my posts with typos are as follows:

I'm an artist. Maybe I'm including the typos for artistic purposes...yeah. That's it.

This is my website (even though my husband, Josh created it--it's mine!!) and you're just getting the true interactive experience of knowing the real me, but realizing, I just don't spell well, and I'm too lazy to type my posts up first in Word and check for spelling errors. You should consider yourself lucky that you get to read the stream of counciousness that flows out of my brain to my fingers on to this website.

So, you know how it's always hard to listen to a tape recording of your voice? Well, for me, I get that same weirded out feeling when I read back over what I've written. I've always been like that. In college, I could barely get myself to re-read over a paper to check for typos and cohesiveness...I just hate having to read what I've just written. It makes me feel so silly to read about what I have written, and I'll want to change it all...but then there was some reason why I wrote it all in the first place... sigh. It's a vicious cycle..so I just stay out of it and leave the typos for your amusement. I might have to start some kind of game: the first person to report any typos to me gets a free heart. Eh, we'll see. That would really keep me on my toes.

Well, back to the real world now. It's just been way too darn hot to torch, and today is better than it has been in the past 1.5 weeks, but still pretty darn toasty. I think I may try and get the torch fired up tonight for a late night torching session. Until then, though, I've been keeping myself busy with my Wedding Crown business and also mailing out brochures for the Melting hearts. I'll be posting more hearts (one with frogs too!) once I finally get going at the torch again...so stay tuned.

[EDIT: Josh here - I just finished editing most of the typos out of this post, but I'll leave the older posts alone for posterity's sake. Do I get a free heart now? ]

Sick boy

Friday, July 14, 2006 - 11:08:24 PDT

Well, Today is my husband's (Josh) Birthday. He just got back into town yesterday having beeing in Sacremento since Sunday. He was out in CA for a conference (fyi, josh is in graduate school about a year out from his phd in aerospace engineering). Tuesday afternoon josh started to get sick with the flu. It's just gotten worse since then. And poor guy is home from work today, on his birthday, sick as all get out. Poor buy. So anyway. All this past week I didn't get much of MY work done becuase i was working on birthday gifts for him. and today i'm his nurse (well, ok, i did go off-duty for a few hours to take a nap!). maybe someday i'll be able to get back to the torch. i'll keep you posted.

New auctions, and plans for today

Monday, July 10, 2006 - 8:56:42 PDT

Last night I posted 2 ebay auctions, so be sure to take a look at those. In a little while, i will be firing up the torch for a beading session andi'll be sure to turn the web-cam on for that. Also, today, i plan on working on my 'for-sale' page---putting in descriptions for some new necklaces, and even posting some bead set specials. so it's going to be a full day, so we'll see how much i can get done!

New items for sale

Saturday, July 8, 2006 - 20:36:38 PDT

Today i was able to get several more Melting Hearts listed for sale on the sale page...so be sure to take a look at those. Also, I'm getting ready to upload pictures of some necklaces that are for sale, but i'm not going to be writing out the descriptions just yet. I'll do that tomorrow. Right now, i just feel like dealing with the pictures, so hopefully you'll enjoy at least being able to look at them. 'Night!

Quittin' time

Thursday, July 6, 2006 - 15:29:06 PDT

well, today actually turned out to be quite productive, and the kiln is still working! but now, i have to fix dinner and then it's off to a movie with some friends. i hope to get some torching done tomorrow, but will also definitely be listing some more hearts for sale on the website. have a good evening!

Back in business

Thursday, July 6, 2006 - 8:22:53 PDT

Alright, i just did a little bit of tweaking to the kiln, and things seem to be working properly. i'll turn on the webcam now...keep your fingers crossed that things keep working!

the kiln gods are against me!

Thursday, July 6, 2006 - 7:57:14 PDT

So, while i did have a freshly working kiln over the long holiday weekend, i wasn't able to use it much because of the extreme heat and humidity out here. Now today, i sit down for a full day of beading, and i turn on my kiln.....The kiln's computer has cycled through the program like normal, but now the darn thing won't heat up. poop! so i'm going to call the company....we'll see what they say.

Too hot!

Monday, July 3, 2006 - 12:01:53 PDT

so, all my grand scheming of having anice long weekend to get lots of torching done is fizzeling. It's been upwards of 100 degrees out here all weekend....and when i torch, i have to have all the windows open (no ac), and working in front of a flame in this weather is no appealing right now. I'm hoping to tackle some glass this evening once it turns dark and things cool off a bit more. we'll see.... anyway, i guess i'll just have to force myself to enjoy the long holiday weekend :)

Good Kiln

Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 14:17:29 PDT

Alright, so after talking to the manufacturer of my kiln, we decided that due to the way my kiln was behaving, it sounded like the heating coil was starting to go out. Luckily, I had a replacement heating coil. Last year, I was having kiln problems, and the manufacturer sent me a new relay switch and heating coil to help solve the problem…at that time, only the relay switch needed replacement…hence having the heating coil on hand. The company still has to send me some rivet replacements to get the coil back into the proper position, but it’s still usable until I get those in the mail….so I should be good to go! The plan is to make several dozen hearts tomorrow (like I wanted to do last night), and those will be listed throughout the weekend. But now, it’s time to finish up some custom orders.

currently listing items for sale

Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 8:38:36 PDT

I'm getting ready to list a few hearts fror sale now. I need to re-photograph some hearts, so i'll be listing items throughout the afternoon as well. have a good day!

bad kiln!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 20:57:00 PDT

so, i haven't been at the torch for an hour, but throughout that whole session, my kiln has been acting funny. It doesn't want to warm up and stay warm. oof! well, of course, now that i'm typing this, it just ramped back up to the proper temp. but wow..it's acting funny. well, at least it's back to annealing temp, so everything inside is nice and safe and should be in perfect condition (knock on wood), but still, it got my heart beat goin there for a minute. I think i'm just going to call it a night with the half dozen or so hearts i've got made. i will post them for sale on the for sale page tomorrow (hopefully by noon). sleep well!

Late Night Torch Session

Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 20:07:07 PDT

Alright, it's 11:17 here on the East Coast, and i'm getting ready to fire up the torch. I had given myself a deadline to get some hearts listed for sale on this website by tomorrow morning, and today just completely slipped through my fingers, so i'm just now getting to the torch. Today was actually a very good day, but it was all play and no work. I went for a 3 mile run this afternoon, by the time I got cleaned up, my husband came home early from work. We went and bought him a new suit for an upcoming conference, and then we bought me some new biking shoes....so of course that meant that i had to go out on the bike to test the shoes. 15 mile bikeride and dinner not until 10pm....needless to say, i'm kinda tired. so, we'll see how long this torch session lasts.....

schedule

Friday, June 23, 2006 - 9:40:50 PDT

you may have noticed that i haven't been doing a whole lot of torching lately...I blame the weather. it's been incredible humid and hot out here in MD for the past few weeks. we're finally getting some rain to help clear the air, but it's still a little too much. the good news is, though, the times that i have been torching, i've been working on custom orders. So, for those of you who ordered a custom piece at my shows last month, by next week you should have pictures of the finished pieces in your email.

what i have been spending a lot of time on lately is this: www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com. this is my other business, that i started just a bit ago. I have a series of adds that are set to start running this weekend, i think, in pertinent publications. So, i've been working to get more designs listed. today's work, in fact, is all about drawing out some designs by hand and getting those listed. I start to do some simple silversmithing for the crowns, and i have no doubt that some lovely silver pieces will find their way over to my glass :) call or email me if you need anything. and enjoy your weekend.

hmmm

Monday, June 19, 2006 - 8:18:27 PDT

ok, so i just turned on the webcam, and something seems to be wrong....i think the image is showing up upsides down, and only a quarter of the typical size. hmmm. i'm going to try something. we'll see if it works...

Quittin' time

Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 23:39:36 PDT

alright, it's almost 3am, i think i'm going to call it a night.

Late night torch session and bats in the bellfry...eer, apartment

Saturday, June 10, 2006 - 21:32:37 PDT

So, i've been torching all this evening, and just realized i didn't have the camera turned on. So i'm going to go ahead and turn it on, so you night owls can take a peek at what i'm currently working on. I got way behind in my work last week (well, becuase of my 2 weeks of travel), so i'm finally motivated and in the mood to get melting hearts made.

And the fact that i'm torching so late into the night was not my plan. today was supposed to be a productive work day, but i ended up sleeping most of the day, becuase well, i didn't get much sleep last night. wanna know why? well, i'll tell you. It's becuase a bat got into our apartment. The cats were chasing it around while we were asleep. I was awakend by this horrible screeching/nicking/chirping sound being drug around by Rufus (our tabby), with Mickey (all black) in tow. By the time i realized that rufi had an animal, and i got the light turned on, all three were under the bed. so of course, i started freaking out, not realizing even at this point what kind of creature it was that was in our apt. Josh woke up, the cats and the bat emerged from under the bed, the bat started flying around, landed on my clothes hanging in our closet. as we hurried to get out of bed and out of the room, the bat swooped at us and we ran out of the bedroom, cats in tow as quickly as possible. Long story short, we (josh, really) contained the bat under a bucket (just barely), and got maintenance up here to dispose of the bat. we went to bed last night initially at 1am, was awakend by the bat at 2am. maintenance came past at 4am. needless to say, we had a MAJOR case of the heebie jeebies, and were too pumped up to go back to bed. So we cleaned up from the bat escapade, and then watched a move "My Fellow Americans" --which is a really funny movie, by the way. Oh, and we have no idea how the bat got in. Rufi and Mickey are currently on the prowl waiting for another winged vistor again tonight. Ugh.

so, bedtime last night was 6am this morning. so now my schedule is all off track, so i'm going to be torching for awhile longer tonight.

oh, by the way, i was just listening to Stevie Wonder's "A Time To Love"--his latest CD I believe--and it's really good-i highly recommend it.

To the torch!!

torch time!

Wednesday, June 7, 2006 - 8:51:12 PDT

ok, i;m getting ready to fire up the torch in a few minutes. i've got to finish straightening my work area first, but i'll go ahead and turn on the camera.

if you called me yesterday, please call me again

Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 18:50:37 PDT

so, yesterday during all of my flight re-directions, when i was giving josh a call to keep him updated, i saw that i had a voicemail. The message was from a customer from the Greenman Festival. on my cell phone if you press '7' the message gets deleted, if you press '8' you can automatically return the call. I meant to press 8 so that I could call my customer back right away, but of course, i accidentally hit 7. so now, i don't have her phone number, and barely understood her name! and my phone didn't keep a record of her number, since it was turned off when she left the message. So i did a search for who i thought the customer was, found a promising lead and left a message on an answering machine this morning. I haven't heard back, so I don't think i contacted the proper person. So, dear, sweet customer, if it was you who called me yesterday and are now reading this, please call me! I don't have your phone number! I'm sure you'll call in a few days out of exasperation of my not having called you back...sorry! now the wait for her call begins...

Back in MD!

Thursday, June 1, 2006 - 10:49:21 PDT

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, but i just arrived in MD last night. unfortunately, my plane was 2 hours late arriving: we initially had a 30 minutes delay for weather. and then, when were just 130 miles from baltimore, our pilot had to go in a holding pattern becuae of a VIP flying out of the baltimore airport. The VIP was president bush, and no planes were allowed to land while he was still there. Well, while we were cirlcing in our holding pattern, out pilot told us we were running out of fuel, so we had to head down to Norfolk to get some more gas, then head up 150 miles to Baltimore. Oof! the one cool thing out of having to detour to Norfolk was that, the airport is right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and we approached the airport from the ocean (as opposed to staying over land). Norfolk has a very large port and I got to see some really neat boats, barges in action, sailboats enjoying the nice weather. So i did enjoy that. But wow, could have done without the 2 hour delay.

so anyway, i'm home now. Thank you very much to those of you who came out to my shows these past few weeks. I enjoyed meeting all of you, and hope to see you again next year. For those of you who attending the Terre Haute show and are wondering who one the Free Melting Heart, that honor went to Jan Croft.

and to those of you who have placed a custom order, i will be starting on those pieces by Monday. While I was out of town, my husband, Josh, actually put all of my glass and studio equiment back into it's proper spot, and for some reason, i cannot work when things are all packed in. So i need to unpack my workspace, and THEN, i'll be torching. Don't worry, i'll be sure to have my torch cam on for all of that!

And just fyi, i will be listing lots of items for sale on the website in the coming days. Included will be lots of Melting hearts (even ones with frogs and lizards). so give a few days to get that all uploaded. Also, I will be adding a store to my 'retail list'. A fabulous art boutique in St. Louis, called "the painted daisy artique" no carries not only my melting hearts, but many of my necklaces. She's got some really great pieces--so if you're in the area, check out this neat store. The address and contact info for the Painted Daisy will be posted soon on the retailer page.

more later!

1 show down....

Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 20:31:01 PDT

2 to go! So, the 2nd annual Greenbelt Greenman Festival has come to a close. thank you to everyonw who came out to see my booth, and an even bigger thank you to those who purchased something! :) and of course, Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms. My two baby boys (kitties) got a me a nice card today. Josh took a picture of me and my boys--just have to share it with you all. They're so cute!

back to business, I leave wednesday for Indiana. First, I will be attending my sister's graduation from law school (saint louis university), and will have a bead show at her house in Eureka, MO on Froday. Then it's to Terre Haute a few days later, with a another bead show taking place at my parent's house the following friday and saturday. the following wednesday I'll be heading back out here to MD, so in total, i'll be gone for exactly 2 weeks (i think my husband is looking forward to my being gone a little bit too much :) ) I will have email all during my travels, but i'm not sure how often i'll be posting a news message. So, until we meet again--see you in a few weeks! feel free to email!

Still alive!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 10:38:52 PDT

so, some of you may have caught me on my webcam torching until the wee hours of the morning the past few nights....well, maybe not, i think the camera locked up a few times. Anywho, the past few days have been pretty long, but very eventful. I'm working hard to make sure that i have, not only enough inventory, but a nice array of all of my pieces to show to all of you who will be attending my upcoming shows. Just a reminder, the greenman festival is THIS weekend. 10-5 on both sat and sun. located in roosevelt plaza here in greenbelt, md. I will be doing demos as well.

and just a reminder, for those of you in the midwest, i'll be doing a show in eureka, MO (just ouside of st louis) next friday, and a show in Terre Haute, In the following weekend. Please see my previous news entry for more info on those shows.

i'm going to try and get the webcam running and get some more beads made. see you then!

well..

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 22:02:42 PDT

my late night torch session isn't lasting as long as I thought it would. I'm starting to konk out over here...and i don't really want to wait to stop until i burn myself (yeah, believe it or not, no burns tonight!). So I think i'm gonna head off to bed now. I have lots of torching that still needs to be done, so plan on me being at the torch all day tomorrow.

and don't forget, i have a show in a few weeks...the greenman festival, here in greenbelt maryland. May 13-14, 10am to 6pm each day.

For you St. Louis redidents, I will be doing a show in Eureka, MD on May 19th. Email me if you would like an invitation to the show. The show isn't invitation only, but rather at my sister's house, and i don't really want to post her address on the internet!

and for you residents of Indiana, I'll be doing my 2nd annual show at my parent's house in Terre Haute. Again, if you'd like an invitation, just email me. This show will be on may 26th (evening) and 27th -mid morning to late afternoon.

Sweet Dreams!

Late Night Torch Session

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 19:17:11 PDT

Hey folks, I didn't get much work done today. 2 dr's appointments, a trip to the grocery store and a nap seemed to take up most of my day. but becuase of my nap, i'm good to go for some late night torching. my web-cam should be up and running.

oh, also, i've heard back about that art contest I entered....it's a no go :( my pieces weren't accepted. Oh well. Life goes on! now to the torch.

It's HERE!!!

Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 6:39:42 PDT

So, after fighting with UPS for 2 days now, I have finally received my glass order! 25 lbs of brand new glass....i'm giddy! I was able to purchase lots of fun odd-lots of color (unique colors that were accidents and won't be repeated again)...i can't wait to play! I also restocked my supply of clear...10lbs of just clear glass (i was down to just 3 inches of clear left!!!). so i will be a labeling fool this morning, getting all the new colors tagged and organized (and cleaned). this afternoon/evening I hope to get the torch going and testing out some of these new colors. See you then! and don't forget about my show this weekend!

Show this weekend!

Monday, April 17, 2006 - 9:54:29 PDT

Hey Folks, just wanted to let you all know about an upcoming show this weekend.

Spring It On! Arts amd Crafts Extravaganza
Sunday April 23rd 2006 from 12noon-4:00pm.
Springfield Hilton, 6550 Loisdale Rd., Springfield, VA

ALSO, coming up in a few weeks, is the Greenman Festival on May 13th and 14th. This festival will take place in Roosvelt Center in Greenbelt, MD. It is an outdoor show with live music all weekend.

alright, guess i had better get back to the torch now and keep on making some beads!

correction

Friday, April 7, 2006 - 10:54:33 PDT

fyi, the name of entry #1, is actually Eternal Summer. Last year i made a spring bouquet for an art show, named eternal spring--but that's a different piece.....just got myself all mixed up.

Entry #5

Friday, April 7, 2006 - 10:51:23 PDT

Starflower

Entry #4

Friday, April 7, 2006 - 10:50:38 PDT

Raku Lentils

Entry #3

Friday, April 7, 2006 - 10:49:59 PDT

On the Rocks

Entry #2

Friday, April 7, 2006 - 10:47:07 PDT

Silver Foil on Blue Glass

ta daa!

Friday, April 7, 2006 - 10:42:35 PDT

ok, i've kept you in suspense long enough, here are my art show entries. I just heard from the camera store, that my slides are done. so i'm picking them up today, and taking them to the art gallery in Bethesda this weekend. we'll see what happens.

Entry #1: Eternal Spring

Another late night

Wednesday, April 5, 2006 - 23:08:25 PDT

well, it's 2:15, and i'm still up...but kind of on my way to bed now. My art gallery slides are due on Monday. I have to take my images in tomorrow morning, to get the slides made in time. So that meant i had to finish everything this evening. and everything is done!...sort-of. the kiln is still ramping down, and i still need to take photos. I think i'm just going to wait until the morning to take photos (i'll post them later in the afternoon for you all to see, becuae right now i'm sleepy and my hand hurts...yeah, you guessed right, i burned myself again. that tends to happen when i'm torching when i'm sleepy! Good night!

Off to bed

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 - 23:28:31 PDT

So, it's 2:35 and all is well. I got some good torching done tonight. I'm very anxious to see how my beads turned out...but that'll have to wait until tomorrow. and right now, I need to wait until the last bead has annealed long enough, then get that kiln ramping down, then it's off to bed with me. more in the morning (eh, more like afternoon!)

Late Night Torch Session

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 - 19:06:08 PDT

Ok, i finally got all my business taxes done, so i'm back to the torch for a late night torching session. I'm working on my gallery entries....i'll post pics tomorrow, assuming i make anything good tonight!

ARGH! TAXES!

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 - 14:33:34 PDT

so, i just need to say, for those of you who aren't small business owners, don't become one. Having to deal with taxes (federal, state, and sales) are more than enough to keep one out of this arena. It's absolutely crazy! It just really frustrates me when politicians go on about how important small business owners are to our society, but then they do absolutely everything they can to make things as difficult as possible for the small business owners.

sorry to go off on a rant, i'm just feeling a little grumpy. I am planning on getting some more auctions up soon. So far this week, my time has been consumed with developing some really cool designs for a possible art gallery entry. The deadling for this art show is the 10th, and by then i need a handful of entries and get slides made. I don't know if i'm going to make it, but the grand prize is $10,000! So, i figure it's at least worth a try. Worst case scenerio, I don't get anything entered in the show, but have some cool new designs.

i'm currently working on nailing down my summer show schedule. I'll post it soon for you!

Can't stop burning myself!

Friday, March 31, 2006 - 8:04:42 PST

in this past week or so, i have burned my self an unreasonable number of times! What is going on?! ARGH! i just now burned my finger (it's my cat's fault too!), so here i am sitting, with a bag of frozen cherries keeping my finger cool. anyone else out there having an off week?

guests arriving...

Monday, March 27, 2006 - 8:54:14 PST

My Parents are coming into town today! They're driving in from IN, and left super early this morning. So anyway, just wanted to let you all know that i won't have the camera on much these next few days as I'll be out sight-seeing and visiting with my parents. I may sneek in an evening torch session or two, though. You never know!

now stop reading this and go bid on my auctions! :)

New auctions just Posted!

Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 11:48:58 PST

Hey folks, I just posted a couple of new auctions. Enjoy!

Was anyone watching?

Friday, March 24, 2006 - 11:23:37 PST

So, I don't know if anyone was watching my torch cam just now, and if you even saw me do this...but...I just burned my armpit! OUCH!!! I have managed to burn myself in some strange places with this job, but never my poor little arm pit! I had the torch off (phew), and was standing at my work space gathering some small pieces of glass. I was leaning over the torch, and was apaprently low enough, that when i reached my arm out and over the torch to grab something the torch head went right into my arm pit. So even though the torch had been off for about 10 minutes, plus the fact that i had JUST burned my arm (arm touched the torch) the torch was still hot enough to form a nice quarter sized circular white burn welt in a very uncomfortable spot. And my left arm--the other burn victim--also really hurts right now. Somedays i can go all day without burning myself, and others, within a 2 minutes period i get 2 burns. OOF. TGIF. Ok, well back to the torch...let's hope i don't burn anything else today, eh?

New auctions just Posted!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 16:58:43 PST

hey bead-heads--I just posted a couple of eBay auctions. I'm going to *try* to post a new auction every few days, if not everyday. let me know if you have any requests!

to turn on the camera, or not to turn on the camera?

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 12:45:05 PST

so, i'm not going to be doing any torching right now, but just some more computer work (ebay auctions, items for sale on this site, new gallery pics), and my studio is a mess...i haven't gotten things put back in their proper places yet from the show over the weekend.....so if i turn on the camera, and you see a big mess...don't judge me!

Monday Morning

Monday, March 20, 2006 - 5:46:26 PST

good morning! Despite going to bed rather late last night, i got up super-early this morning (6:30 am, which is just UNHEARD of for me). so i've already been to the bank and am currently working on photo editing. Rufus, our tabby cat, is laying on my desk, holding down a stack of business papers--you know, just helping out, making sure i don't loose anything. But as i type this, Mickey, our black cat, has climbed onto the desk as well, and everything he is walking past ge getting pushed off the desk and ontp the floor. Oof! Mickey's current obsession is chasing the mouse arrow on the computer screen. I'll turn the web cam on in a little bit so that you can catch him at play.

I'm getting lost of great pieces ready to list for sale, so check back in a little bit!

Home again, home again...

Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 14:40:07 PST

i just got home from today's show. I didn't get a picture of today's set-up, but it was the pretty typical table and earring board set-up. Thanks to all of you who stopped past, and especially to those of you who purchased something! In these next few days, i'm going to be listing items for sale on my website, including Melting Hearts, finished jewelry, as well as some bead sets. I may also try to get some auctions on ebay listed this week. For those of you who would like to watch me make beads, click on the 'torch cam' link on the home page. I'm usually at my torch by 10 or 11am, and usually torching until dinner time. I often do some evening torch sessions. Not sure how often i'll be at the torch these next few days as i post things for sale, but you'll still be able to see me. But for now, it's out to dinner with my husband. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Show Correction

Monday, March 13, 2006 - 19:05:19 PST

Just wanted to update ya'll on my show this weekend. the show actually runs from 12 noon -4:00

WHAT: 1st Anniual Spring Vendor Fair Show/Fundraiser. This show is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. LOCATION: Prince George's Ballroom, 2411 Pinebrook Ave., Landover, MD (off Landover Rd---route 202). TIME: Saturday March 18, 2006 12:00-4:00

The show will take place in the main room.

let me know if you have any questions!

Show next weekend!

Friday, March 10, 2006 - 11:56:43 PST

Just wanted to give you details of my upcoming show.

WHAT: 1st Anniual Spring Vendor Fair Show/Fundraiser. This show is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
LOCATION: Prince George's Ballroom, 2411 Pinebrook Ave., Landover, MD (off Landover Rd---route 202).
TIME: Saturday March 18, 2006 11:30-4:00

if you have any questions about this show, please feel free to contact me. I will have a 6ft. space selling beaded jewelry and some bead sets. I'm not sure of where my booth will be located in the ballroom, but the show was limited to only 40 vendors, so it shouldn't be too hard to track me down!

Hi!

Monday, March 6, 2006 - 16:32:41 PST

So, I know I haven't done an update in a while, but i am still here! A lot has happened since my last update, including my starting a new business. check out www.orthodoxweddingcrowns.com .

this site is currently just a parking page, but will soon be filled with images of wedding crowns. for those of you who don't know what wedding crowns are---have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Do you recall the wedding crowns the bride and groom wear? Well, that's what I make. I am actually Syrian Orthodox, but all Orthodox Christians (Greek, Ukranian, Russian, etc..)wear crowns during the wedding ceremony. So this a fun little area for me to expand some of my creativity. So a lot of energy has been devoted to getting that business set up.

Also, Coming up on March 18, I will be participating in a Breast-Cancer Fundraiser/art show in Landover, MD (details to follow). I am also scheduled to appear at the Greenman Festival here in Greenbelt, MD in May. I'm also currently working on scheduling shows in the St. Louis, MO., Ft. Wayne, IN., and Terre Haute, IN. So stay tuned for details !

and before I forget, just wanted to mention that I'm still planning on having a larger stock of items for sale on this website, but am waiting to list items until after my March 18th show.

On tap for today...

Monday, February 6, 2006 - 7:06:50 PST

I realized that i hadn't done much of a news update in a while, so i thoght I'd go ahead and fill you all in on what's been going on this past week or so. With Valentine's day quickly approaching, I had a mad rush on Melting Heart orders, so that kept me very busy. Several nights last week, you may have seen me at the torch until 10 or 11 in the evening. The orders have slowed now, and i still need to update the retail store list (i'll do that next). Today, I hope to make some fun beads, and i have no agenda for what needs to be made. I did have a bead color-request for some ebay beads, so i will work on those. but i also have some fun ideas for some other beads for either ebay, list on here, and/or sell at an upcoming show in March. So i will be at the torchin in a little bit (doing some laundry right now). See you then!

Technical Difficulties??

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 8:21:04 PST

Between the internet cutting out several times last night, and the camera not connecting properly this morning, i think there have been some 'stuck' images ..but things should be fine now. All you missed this morning was me running around like mad trying to get some sample Melting Hearts out in the mail to stores..i'll be updating my 'retailer' list today, too. Look out Chicago-ans, my hearts will be sold at Arts and Artisans, located on S. Wabash starting next week. Also, North Carolina, keep your fingers crossed, there might be some stores around you selling the hearts soon!

Oh, and also wanted to mention, since my husband even said something about it...my 'TV' is located right underneath the web-cam, so i'm not always looking and posing for the camera, i'm just looking at the TV, watching Ellen while i'm working!

New auction up

Monday, January 23, 2006 - 18:00:02 PST

I just posted a new auction...it accidentally turned out to be a valentine's day set.....I wasn't out to make a red and white set, but I really wanted to play around with my Rainbow Red glass...and the best contrast for experimenting with it was, of course, white...hope you enjoy the results!

auctions and sale page

Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 19:14:25 PST

there are some new eBay auctions are up, and a set of beads for sale on the "for sale" page (click on for sale tabe at top of page --> Beads, jewelry, special edition melting hearts. More to come!

What's in store for today?

Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 5:57:00 PST

Well, I have lots of beads to clean (and that's not much fun to watch), and I'm going to work on some more ebay auctions, as well as listing items for sale on the website 'for sale' page. Hopefully I'll get around to torching (and turning on the torch-cam) later this afternoon.

New eBay Auctions posted!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 11:37:31 PST

I just posted 3 new auctions on ebay...and hopefully, i'll be able to keep up the trend of listing something new everyday...we'll see!

I'll be 'at work' in little bit

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 7:58:37 PST

I had the absoulte worst time sleeping last night! --i think part of it had to do with the fact that there was a huge warm-front moving into our area and you would not believe the wind and rain that we got last night. it was unreal. our windows were continually rattling--i was just waiting for one to break, or have a tree limb come flying through the window. Anyway, I've gotten a very slow start to the day, and haven't finished my morning work just yet. I'll be at the torch soon, if anyone wants to watch :)

When Mom's away...

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 11:36:24 PST

Josh here- I've had the webcam on in the background at work today and noticed a few things that Ann may not have. For reference, the cats absolutely are not allowed up on the desks in the studio area. Note the blue spray bottle on the counter behind Ann.

Well, apparently that rule only applies when Mama's looking.

WARNING: The second link is to a 2.6 MB animation, so dial-up users beware.

Ready for a torch session?

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 7:45:11 PST

Well, Josh worked very hard on getting all of the webcam stuff all set-up for me....becuase also, in all of the webcam set-up, he also put a new computer monitor over on my torching desk and put a tv card in my computer. So what this means is that I can watch TV while I'm working (yes, I admit it, I enjoy watching tv!--but also, it's actually suggested for glassworkers to have a tv nearby to watch while working--to give your eyes a rest so you're not staring at the bright yellow flame all day. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!)

Also, this new monitor also allows me to pull up inspiration photos, and email, while i'm over in my corner....pretty nifty,huh? The monitor is actually located just underneath the webcam....The way the web cam is positioned, it allows you to see my at my torch, a bit of my desk, but then also, my office computer...I often do a lot of work at my computer, and figured, hey, why not show that part as well. The only bad thing about this is that you get to see how messy my office is....oh well! But that also means that you get some glimpses of Rufus and Mickey walking around

Anyway, when you click on the webcam link-go back to the main page, and the link is right above the 'latest news' link-you'll go directly yo the web-cam page. As explain briefly on that page, the images will automatically refresh about 1x every 5-10 seconds. We looking into trying to maybe do streaming video..but we'll see. What we have now, though, is pretty fun...So Enjoy! I'll be turing the camer on in a bit :)

I'm LIVE!

Friday, January 13, 2006 - 11:15:07 PST

alright, so i've got the web-cam turned on. Somehow, the program that runs the camera lost it's settings, so right now, you can refresh whenever you want to, to see new images. LAter this afternoon, when josh gets home, he'll fix it so that images are automatically refreshed, and you can just sit and watch. but anway, the camera is running right now!

The web-cam is up and running!

Sunday, January 8, 2006 - 18:57:07 PST

So, you may have noticed the link to the 'CloCam' right above the link for the News....just fyi, what is currently being broadcasted on the webcam is just a still picture...we will go 'Live'--i.e. turn the camera on for a live feed, once we get things cleaned up and get a longer cord to get the camera closer to my actual workspace. Josh worked all day on getting this thing up and running for me, so Josh, if you're reading this, Thank you very much :).

Big Plans for the New Year

Sunday, January 8, 2006 - 10:10:58 PST

Well, so far, I've kept my word about keeping auctions up on eBay....we'll see how long that lasts :), but i seem to be in a good groove with doing listings. But the REALLY fun news is that for Christmas, my parents gave me a Web-cam. Josh is currently working on getting the cam all set-up. The plan is to position the camera right by my torch, so that when you come to my website, you can actually watch me make beads! ...and that also means, that if you come to my website, and I'm not making beads, then you get to harass me and tell me to get back to work. Alright, that's it for now. I'll check back in soon.

New Auctions!

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 - 18:40:57 PST

Hey Bead-heads...Just posted 3 new eBay auctions. I'm really going to try and keep a steady flow of auctions this year! I posted pix of 2 of the 3 beads sets for your viewing pleasure.

Brother's wedding...a picture

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 - 15:58:55 PST

Here's a picture that my cousin took this past Saturday (New Year's Eve) at my brother's wedding. On the left is my sister, Alisa, and her husband Jason. My brother, Aaron is in the middle, and then there on the right --that's me, and my husband Josh. I ate way too much food and got into a really rotten sleeping schedule (up late, slept late)while being home for Christmas and the wedding. It's going to be hard to get my rear in gear this week.....

Happy New Year

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 - 12:40:39 PST

So, I meant to wish everyone a Merry Christmas way back when, but i didn't even get a chance to put up an 'away message' for when we left town for the Holidays. Let's just say, the week before Christmas was crazy. I made 20 lbs. of caramels (i'll explain that soon, when i post a great picture), then had to pack. We drove to IN on the 21st with our 2 kittens. then all of a suddent it was Christmas. Then came the chaos for preparing for my brother's wedding. I have a pix of that as well...but not edited, and i don't feel like messing with that right now. Josh and I got back out here to MD on the 2nd (left IN at 4:30am-got out here at 3pm). We celebrated our anniversary (2nd) yesterday. and today...you got it, I've been unpacking like crazy. This apartment is a mess! But i'll have some pix posted later, as well as some ebay auctions. that's it for now :)

Good to go

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 11:45:13 PST

Alright, Joshy-boy fixed everything for me, so i'm gonna see If i can upload pictures now!

umm..

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 20:45:05 PST

apparently I'm also getting those error messages when i try and do a news update...or rather, try uploading the pix in the news update. Well, you've waiting this long to see some new beads, so what's another few hours, right? :)

well...

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 20:42:57 PST

so those much promised bead pictures...Yeah, they're here and ready to go, but we're having technical difficulties (of, course!). Whenever i try to upload my pictures, i'm getting some funny error messages, and 'permission is denied'. I've told Josh, he's supposed to fix it, but hasn't yet.....I'll just post some pretties here :)

Postin' pictures....

Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 8:15:55 PST

Hey there, real quick....My plan for the morning is to post a bunch of pictures..yeah, i know, i keep promising to post them, but I'm REALLY gonna do it today. But first i have to start making Caramels (long story), then get out on my run (no more excuses!) and THEN i'll post bead pictures. and FYI, i just finished posting a bunch of kitty pictures on www.cloglassworks.com/rufus.htm

Relaxing :)

Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - 13:27:28 PST

Hey there! So, my show this past weekend went fairly well...not as much traffic as last year, unfortunately, but still it was worth my time. I have pictures of the booth, and of lots of pretty beads to post, but i keep procrastinating. Pictures WILL be posted soon, so just hold tight. And to all those people that I've been ignoring over the past few weeks (Amanda, can you hear me?)I prommise I'll start returning phone calls! :)

More testing

Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 12:24:25 PST

The news script I wrote only allows two pictures per update, but these guys are too much fun, so here are a couple more...

Product Testing

Sunday, December 4, 2005 - 12:16:43 PST

Josh here-
While Ann is busy at her show today, "the boys" and I found a great job for them...

Product testing!

You'll all be happy to know that after 30 minutes of abuse at the paws of two hyper kittens, that bead is still in perfect condition.

Getting back to work

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 9:42:53 PST

I got to bed just before 3am last night. I was looking forward to cuddling up with a couple of sleepy kitties, but they were both pretty hyper. I got some beads cleaned this morning and am just now getting back to the torch...later than i was hoping, but better late than never. I'm really feeling the time crunch right now, so we'll just see what all I can have ready for the show. If nothing else, i have a ton of beads to list for sale here and on ebay....

Bedtime!

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - 23:36:46 PST

Well, it's just past 2:30am out here...and i just finished making beads for the day. Yesterday, i said i was going to take a nap after beading, right? Well, that didn't happen. I ended up beading right up until dinner, then cleaned a couple of hundred beads, then started assembling jewelry until bedtime. Today has been more of the same, essentially. I started torching around noon, stopped for lunch and dinner, and just now got done. I would have kept on going--i have the energy/scared motivation-but my contact lens' kept getting too dried out for me to see things well. I was stopping to put eye drops in every 10 minutes, and finally decided that i just need to take them out, thus ending my beading for the night (my safety glass don't fit over my eyeglasses). So anywho, it's off to bed here in a bit...i have to wait for the beads to finish annealing before i can start the kiln ramping down. Mickey and Rufi are up and about, waiting patiently for me to come to bed.....Josh passed out a couple of hours ago.... Alright, enough chit-chat. See you in the morning!

It's Monday already??!!

Monday, November 28, 2005 - 9:18:16 PST

I have been beading my buns off over here! The past 2 nights I've stayed up until 4:00am making beads...so of course, i've now got a bad chest cold. I still feel like i don't have much made at all for the show this weekend, but i think a few more days of intense beading and i should be ok. I just lost so much work time when Penny was sick...oh well! Mickey and Rufi have been really sweet...and such good helpers (did you catch the sarcasm there?). Rufi keeps trying to jump up into my lap as i'm working at the torch --NOT a good thing! Anyway, depending on how these next few days go, I may or may not get pictures posted of some of my new creations. The show starts Sat., so i hope to have all my work under control by thursday...cross your fingers! It's a surprisingly warm day here today, so i've got the windows wide open and getting ready to hunker down to another marathon beading session. I plan to stop torching at around 4 or 5, take a nap, then clean beads and then assemble some jewelry. well, that's the plan at least. we'll see if it works!

Wed afternoon hello

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 10:28:26 PST

I'm just taking a quick break from torching to stop in and say "hi". I just checked on our kittens (rufi and Mickey--you have to see their pictures...yes, i could post some here, but that smacks of effort, so just go to their webpage--the link is in the post from the other day) and they're both asleep on our bed...it's too cute! I'm making Apple Butter in the crock-pot for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, and the apt. smells so good! Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving--stay safe!. Oh, and just fyi, i have SO many good ideas for beautiful beads and finished jewelry (sometimes i wish i could just hook the torch up to my brain and download my ideas) so be sure to check back after your Thanksgiving holiday to see if i've got any pictures posted!

hello

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 12:58:26 PST

i'm beading up a storm this week---mainly for my show in a couple of weeks, but maybe some ebay items as well. also, i just posted some more kitty pictures ( http://www.cloglassworks.com/rufus.htm ) in case you need something to make you smile today!

let's try that again..... & cats

Sunday, November 20, 2005 - 14:07:06 PST

Oops, I hit the 'enter' button before i could add in my 'cat's' update! so here it is:

So you may have read in a past update that our cat, penelope, was sick for several weeks, and she just recently died. if you're interested in reading all about it, I started a thread about it in the "lobby" of a glass forum that i frequent. I don't think you have to sign up to read the posts, but you may not be able to see the pictures. here's the link http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303729

I was just devestated when Penny died...she was our baby-girl. After several days of crying, i realized that normally, when i feel so sad, i hug a cat to feel better. So, Josh and i went out and found a couple of kitties who needed a good home. I've set up a page off of this website to post all of their pictures---I'm taking so many pictures that there are too many to e-mail to family, hence the website. so feel free to take a look at our new babies. i'll be posting some more pictures this evening, I think. here's the link to their page. http://www.cloglassworks.com/rufus.htm

Hope you enjoy all the fun pictures, and i'll keep updating this news section as often as possible.

Festival Of Lights

Sunday, November 20, 2005 - 14:02:11 PST

Hello! A lot has been going on here, mainly cat relates, so I'll get to that stuff later. First, official business: I will have a booth at this year's Festival of Lights in Greenbelt, MD. Show info:

Festival of Lights
Community Center in Roosevelt Center
Greenbelt, MD
Saturday Dec. 3rd, 10am-5pm
Sunday Dec. 4th, 11am-4pm

I hope some of you will come out and see everything. This year I will be sharing a booth with my friend Diana, owner and artists of "Two Cat Pots". She makes awesome pottery, so it'll be well worth your time to stop past. I have several new fun designs for both beads and jewelry, but may not get a chance to post the pix here until after the show. I'm in a bit of crunch time right now, as I lost several weeks of work becuase our sick kitty.

Passed On..

Monday, November 14, 2005 - 9:39:41 PST

Just to let those of you who were following the illness of our kitty-cat Penelope, just wanted to let you know that she passed away on Saturday evening. Josh and I were with her when it happened, and we able to pet her until the very end. We miss her terribly and always will, but the aching, heart pain is finally starting to go away. The worst part right now is i'm not sure what to do with myself. The past 3 weeks i spent almost all day taking care of our little girl, handfeeding her and giving her shots and fluids. we did everything in our power to save our baby, but it was out of our hands. It wasn't our decision. I'm having a h