Sa-Sa-Sa-Saturday!

I thought this picture turned out pretty cool! It's all the triangle discs I made for the Molokai beads strung together and slightly twisted so that it looks like a modified dna helix. Tilly calls this strand the "D. N. Alien".

Of course I'm not selling them like this, because that strand by itself would be $144 dollars. (Although I would consider it if someone were extremely interested! *wink*) It's more for storing them together until I start putting the mixed strands together.

You know, when I look at that picture I can't help but think - they have a kinda caterpillar-ish vibe to them, don't they?!

Anyway - here's the regular shot:

Wahoo - FRIDAY!

Leave the Super Bowl to the guys - I'll have beads to offer the ladies... But there will be an "Early Bird Special" or 2 in my Boutique today - (that you could have first crack at) for those who've been keeping up by reading my blog.

And you know what? I've been having a lot of fun! I think I've enjoyed working with this color series more than any other and it's mostly because I've just let myself "play".

Oh yeah - and Monday will bring back another installment of "MIATWAMH". Brace yourself, Brigid!

Another Sneak Peek

Coming Sunday...

Wanna See!!

I can't wait 'til this comes out!

Busy Weekend

This weekend was the complete opposite of my shamefully lazy last weekend. I got up at my normal 5:15 a.m. instead of lounging around in bed until the children woke up clamoring to be fed. What was I doing at such an ungodly hour? Why, making beads, of course!

With the exception of a few errands and a short time-out to bake cookies (Tilly and Elinor had company come play on Saturday - gotta make goodies!), I stayed remarkably on task for the past 2 days. That might not sound remarkable, but with the way my attention drifts with the slightest provocation (or sometimes without provocation), I honestly think I might have adult ADD. I'm not overly concerned, because I do still manage to get the important stuff done but nearly everything I do takes longer than it should because I'm constantly having to rein myself in and refocus.

One of the fun errands we did this weekend was to go pick out a new bathing suit for Dean. You're probably thinking, "In January? WHY does he need a new bathing suit?" Because he's starting swim lessons tomorrow. My wonderful, lovely husband (who turns 44 in February, by the way) has never really "learned" how to swim. Oh sure, he can float, glide underwater and do a mean dog-paddle, but an officially recognized stroke? Not so much. He kicks his legs and moves his arms, but then forgets to breathe. By the time he gets from one end of the pool to the other, he's exhausted and ready to pass out. So basically, swimming for Dean is a carefully controlled near drowning.

I just wish I could go and watch his lessons - I'd bring popcorn and charge admission!

Somebody's Gotta Do It

Well, it's another beautiful day. The sun is shining, the skies are nearly cloudless, the temperature is over 60° for the first time in what has to be weeks and yes, it's time for another installment of "MIATWAMH".

In what should come as a surprise to exactly no one, today's 'hottie du jour' is Mike Rowe.

Where can you see him: Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs (which actually started as a local San Francisco news segment "Somebody's Gotta Do It", hence today's blog title)

He's also the narrator for numerous television shows and specials like: Deadliest Catch, American Chopper and Shark Week.

Mike is a spokesman for Ford Motor Company (and has appeared in several of their television commercials) as well as W. W. Grainger.


I'm not going to even go into pros & cons with this man, because I haven't run across a woman yet who didn't find Mr. Rowe curiously appealing. I hope I never do.

Yeah, he cleans up very nicely indeed.


But I prefer him like this!

Time Out For Beads

I'm taking a time out from my regularly scheduled posting of attractive men to show you something I made for Tilly. Her school has a required uniform and she wears her sweatshirt as a jacket nearly every day, as do lots of other students. The only problem is that it's warm in the classroom and everyone peels their sweatshirts off and then when the bell rings, it's bedlam while everyone checks their labels to make sure they get their own sweatshirts. So, I decided to make some beads for her to use as pulls so it'd be easy for her to identify her sweatshirt at first glance.


This is the first pair I made. Obviously, very "Valentine-y", but then I think it'll be fun to make beads for all the holidays. (At least the holidays that occur during the school year and are during the cooler months.)

You ought to see the huge honking mandrels I had to use in order to make the holes big enough to slip over the drawstring. They're actually hollow mandrels that were intended to be used for blowing hollow vessels. (From Tink at Black Swamp Glassworks, in case you're interested.)



Didn't they turn out cute?

Where Can I Get a Kilt?

No, not for me. For.... well, we'll get to that soon enough.

Okay! I've been busy this morning, what with getting Tilly to the orthodonist and packing/mailing beads. I haven't even turned on my kiln yet, but here I am with today's edition of "MIATWAMH". (See yesterday's entry for the explanation.)

Who's the hottie of the day?


Ewan McGregor!

Where can you see him? Tons of places, most noteably:
Trainspotting (1996) - first movie I saw with him in it
Moulin Rouge! (2001) - by the way, this one is a favorite of mine
Down With Love (2003) - sorta cutesy, but fun nonetheless
Big Fish (2003) - LOVE!
Miss Potter (2006)

And of course, he's Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Oh yes, my friends, I am completely unashamed to admit my Star Wars geekiness.


Pros: He's Scottish. Are we beginning to see a trend here? Do I maybe have a thing for European accents? Also, He. Wears. Kilts. *swoon* Honestly, I shouldn't even have to keep listing all his pros after the kilt thing - that's a homerun all on its own. (Do you think I could get my husband to wear a kilt if I bought one and offered sufficient inducement? And what would that inducement have to be? And yes, I'm leering and waggling my eyebrows suggestively.) Oh yeah, he can sing. Check out the soundtrack for Moulin Rouge! if you don't believe me. And the biggest pro? He gave up smoking last year after making, what he called "a second career" out of it. (I absolutely hate cigarette smoke - it's a migraine trigger for me.)

Cons: Hmmm... with no goofy kid names, no nannies filing sexual harrassment suits and no stolen pornographic videos "leaked" to the Internet, I guess the only cons I can think of are that he's already happily married and so am I!

A New Series

No, it isn't what you're thinking. Despite my near all-encompassing obsession with things glass and glass related, I'm actually not talking about a new bead series. I'm thinking more along the lines of a blog series. I'm thinking I might call it "Men I'm Attracted to Who Aren't My Husband", or "MIATWAMH" for short. Okay, so the name stinks, but if I can come up with a cute acronym I'll certainly change it! (And before you get concerned, I can assure you that my husband won't be threatened by this in the least. He KNOWS I find him attractive to the point of danger. Heck - he can hardly walk through a room I'm in without wondering if he'll be physically assaulted!)


First up on my list is Bear Grylls.

Wow.

Where can you see him: Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild

Cons: This man breaks my very first rule of attractiveness: You must be older than I am. (He's about 2 years younger.) On top of that, he eats things that make my stomach contents roll over and try to exit by any possible means. For most of every episode he is either soaking wet or filthy dirty, usually both at the same time.

Pros: For most of every episode he is either soaking wet or filthy dirty, usually both at the same time. Yeah, I know. Call me conflicted, but there is something about a wet, dirty man that is wildly attractive. Especially when you know they clean up well! Plus, he's British. Do I even need to explain that one? Didn't think so.

Okay, so he's got a few flaws, most noteably naming 2 of his 3 children after cartoon and comic strip dogs. Marmaduke and Huckleberry? What the heck kind of names are those? You cannot tell me that school will be easy for these boys.

By the way, what is it with famous people naming their kids ridiculous names? Bronx Mowgli Wentz? Whaaa? Or my personal favorite, Jason Lee's son, Pilot Inspektor. (Yes, I did spell it right, actually.) I feel for these poor kids when they grow up! And you can't tell me that a goofy moniker won't mess with you either. Case in point, Geldorf's kids: Pixie, Peaches and heaven help us, Fifi Trixiebelle! I'm all for originality, believe me. When I was growing up, I was the ony Jena I ever ran across. I met a few "Gena" and "Gina"s over the years, but that name is pronounced differently than mine. (I'm Jen-uh, rather than GEE-nuh.) And my girls, Tilly and Elinor, aren't likely to meet many people (of their own generation) that share the same name. But you know what? If they hate it when they get older, they've got Lauren and Caroline to fall back on!

Boy, did I stray from my topic - I was busy discussing Bear Grylls' hotness and got completely distracted! Typical.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's "MIATWAMH". Yeah, I've got to come up with a better name...

Monday, Monday

Well, the kids are home for MLK day and while they've been mostly good, they're starting to argue and just generally get on each other's nerves. (Not to mention mine.) I've had to resort to time out several times as well as threaten to donate the toys they're fighting over to "sweet siblings who don't call each other nasty names and scream at the top of their lungs." And that got me to thinking: Do such children exist? I certainly never ran into any during my high school baby-sitting career or during my years of teaching preschool. As a matter of fact, I remember my brother and I used to go at it like cats and dogs until we hit early high school (me) and middle school (him), when we came to an unspoken mutual decision to simply ignore each other until I graduated and moved on. (Of course, we get along fine now.)

My husband, Dean, swears that he and his 3 brothers never argued or fought the way our kids do or the way I remember fighting with Daniel. I don't know about you, but I find that highly suspect. Maybe if there's a large age difference between siblings and the older one takes on a kind of parental role, but really - no fighting? I say baloney.

Wouldn't it be wonderful, though?

Still Lazy

A couple more of Dean's pottery pieces, including the cereal bowls he made for me. I love the turquoise and brown combo, especially where the glazes meet. Oh, so pretty!



I also like where the glaze breaks over the design. I just wanna hold it in my lap and rub it like a genie's lamp! Yum!

Lazy Saturday

Here's one of Dean's recent pottery pieces. I think it turned out AWESOME!!

Believe it or not, it is actually snowing outside! Not quite enough to stick, but it's still really pretty to watch coming down.

February Sneak Peek

Just a quick look of one of the color combinations I'm working on for February's bead offering. This is from the new "Molokai" series. Here's a picture of my inspiration - a black sand beach on the Hawaiian island of Molokai:


Gorgeous, isn't it?! I've got a lot of cool ideas for this series that I'm excited about.

What else am I making? I guess you'll just have to keep coming back to see if I'll post a preview of them too! *evil grin*

Nearly 5 P.M.

Yikes - the day has really gotten away from me! But then again, it always goes by quickly on the days I'm running errands and reading at school. I've got tons of stuff still to do, homework to check and dinner to plan and cook, so this sad little fly-by update is gonna have to do it for now!

Hump Day

You know, I always wondered why Wednesday is called Hump Day and then when I Googled it for the definition, I ended up slapping myself on the forehead. Duh. Of course, it's the middle of the week and the "hump" you have to get over to be closer to the weekend.

You'll have to excuse me, I had a very sheltered childhood.

Congrats!

Wahoo for Anna Paquin! She just won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series. She plays Sookie Stackhouse in my favorite HBO show, True Blood. Way to go, Anna!

Now I just have to wait forever (at least it feels like it) for the next season to air. *sigh*

Valentine Beads

More beads to be listed today!

Wanna Go Cruisin'

I've always wanted to take my family and go on a cruise, but have just never have managed to get around to actually booking one. There's always been some excuse or another, from "it's too expensive" to "we don't have the time". I've thought about it long and hard and decided that 2009 is a year for action! I might have to sell a kidney on eBay or something, but darn it - we're doing it!

Part of it is that I want to offer my children different life experiences so they don't get to my age and realize that they've never been outside of the good ol' U S of A. (And no, that weekend in Tijuana doesn't count because there was far too much tequila consumed and I don't remember anything - aside from some hazy memories of bribing that one police officer. Hey - we were all 20-something and stupid, cut me some slack...) Okay, enough reminiscing about my misspent youth, back to the point!

Another reason I wanna go on a cruise is that I'm a beachy ocean bum girl at heart. I know, kinda stupid for a fair-skinned redhead to fall in love with the beach, but there you have it! Some people like camping (too dirty for me, plus - bears. I'm terrified of them.) while others like cabins at the lake (ugh - leeches. Plus, you can't always see water moccasins very well in murky lake water.). Not for me. Give me a nice sandy beach with crystal blue water so I can see where I'm stepping, thank you very much! And the itinerary of a cruise ship would provide me just enough beach time to enjoy myself without tempting me to stay long enough to burn until I'm lobster red.

There's more reasons, so keep on reading!

Did you know there are some really and I mean REALLY good deals available for cruises right now? One of the ones I'm looking into is a 5 day cruise in late November to the Bahamas for $289 a person. Seriously! For 5 people, that works out to be almost half of what the cottage at Tybee Island cost for a week when we were there 2 years ago! And it rained that week. A LOT. It ranks right up there in my "Vacations Never to be Repeated" top 5.

And the final reason is that once we make all the decisions, put the deposit down and arrange for time off, it will be excellent motivation for me to get my act together and really get in shape. I'm not exactly in "bikini-ready" shape. And I wouldn't say I'm ready to put on a one-piece swimsuit because that's not quite right either. Hmmmm... I have to think. Oh hey - I got it! Remember those old bathing costumes women wore around the turn of the century? Like these?:


Yeah. I'm probably not ready for one of those either.

Have any of you been on a cruise? Do you have any recommendations of things to do or not do? I'd love to hear them!

Christmas Cookies

Swedish Wedding Cookies

Ribbon Cookies

Dark Chocolate-Dipped Spritz Cookies

Here's a few quick pictures of the cookies the girls and I made for Christmas this year. They were all yummy!

Oops!

Uh... yeah. Remember the other sets of beads I was planning to offer this week? Well, I'm not quite finished yet because I lost 2 torching days. I lost one to lack of sleep (I don't torch when I'm tired because my hands shake and everything turns out crap. I usually end up tossing out everything I make anyway, so I figure - why waste the glass?) I lost the second work day to errands, cleaning up Christmas stuff (yes, still!), and reading at the kids' school.

I got up this morning to discover that while I was really busy running errands yesterday, I forgot one really, REALLY important one. I forgot to take my nearly empty oxygen tank and exchange it for a full one!! I've only got a little left, probably enough to work for an hour or two before running out completely. I'll do my best to finish the sampler sets and get them up this weekend. If not, look for more new beads from me on Tuesday. Also, I WILL be making more Wild at Heart earring pairs and 1 or 2 more of the bracelet sets in that design - I'm glad you all like them so much!!

I'm Officially Old Now

No, it isn't my birthday - it's way worse that that. I have recently discovered that I actually do need to sleep! I know you're probably thinking to yourself: "Well, that was anti-climactic. Of course you need sleep, you weenie!" To which I, in my now mature years, respond: "Nuh uh!!"

It's true. Or at least it used to be true. I've always been able to stay up until the wee hours, hop in bed for a cat nap and then bounce right back out of bed well before anyone else was up, with no ill effects. (Usually, it was the purchase of a new book that inspired my nearly all-nighters. I still have to fight myself to not read every book I get in one sitting.) Apparently, those days are over!

Tilly was actually late to school one day this week. Yes - LATE! Why was she late? Because I overslept! It must've been the combination of going to bed waaaay too late and the fact that someone who sleeps in close proximity to me (but shall remain nameless) couldn't get to sleep and Kept. Talking. To. Me. And what's worse, this person was expecting me to answer...coherently!! At one point the overhead lights were switched on and I must confess, while I'm not what I would consider an overly violent person, I did briefly contemplate murdering my bedmate using the floral arrangement from my bedside table. Mercifully, the lights went back out again and I immediately sagged into unconsciousness.

*beep, beep, beep* (that's the sound of the alarm clock going off in case you couldn't tell) "Huh? What? What time is it? Holy cow, it's after 7 am!" *shuffle, shuffle* *opening door* "Tilly - -get up, we're late!!" And my day went down hill from there, because as I'm discovering, sleep-deprivation can make even the simplest tasks, like say - remembering where you put the car keys last, feel equivalent to scaling Mt Everest.

So now I guess I've got to start going to bed at a "reasonable hour", whatever that is. What's next, am I going to start wanting to eat my dinner at 4 in the afternoon?? Will I call children whippersnapppers? Will I start telling stories that begin with "When I was your age..."? Oh no! I do that last one now! Early bedtimes and "when I was your age" stories - that's 2 horsemen of the Old-pocalypse down already!

Harder Than I Thought

Seriously. When I set the goal of blogging every day for 30 days in a row, I had no idea how difficult it would be to come up with something to say on those days when nothing much is going on. While I suppose I should be happy to have no major upheavals to deal with, I can't help but feel like I owe you all something new and interesting to read.

Instead, I will offer you my favorite picture from Christmas 2008. This is my cousin, Brian, standing in the kitchen and... Well, you'll see...




I love Christmas!!

Wonderful Winter Weather

Yeah, I'm being sarcastic. I know I shouldn't complain because we haven't had more than a few really cold days so far, but what I am tired of is the constant rain. Day after day, with only short, teasing glimpses of the sun. Another week of this and I'm gonna have to start checking my armpits for moss. *sigh* It wouldn't be so bad, but combined with the warmish temperature it means that the bugs aren't dying off like they should and I've got the mosquito bites to prove it!

A New Leaf

As in, "I'm turning over..."

With a brand new year, there comes the opportunity to change the things you didn't like about the previous year. Yes, I suppose some would argue that it isn't necessary to wait for an arbitrary calendar date to make changes, but I (as a general rule) don't like change and so it requires serious motivation to actually do it. And the knowledge that millions of other people are in the same boat somehow makes it easier!

Without going into my personal resolutions, which are numerous, time-consuming and tiring if done correctly, I will tell you about the one you're likely to notice right off the bat. I've decided to completely revamp my business! Gone are the days of seeing the same beads over and over (and over and over) again! Gone are the days of placing an order and then waiting (and waiting and waiting) for your beads to arrive! Gone are the children and the husband and the household pets! I'm moving to an artist's colony where all I will do is make beads, learn glass-blowing and raise goats in order to create artisanal cheeses!! No. Not really - just checking to make sure you're actually reading!!

What I AM doing is eliminating the bead catalog so I can concentrate on making new beads instead of being stuck in constant "remake" mode like I have been for years. That isn't to say I will never again make beads from my regular series (like Fairy Dance, Breathless, Cabana Boy, etc...), only that when I do they will be new sets and I'll only offer 1 or 2. I might, maybe, someday in the future bring the catalog back for a very limited time. Maybe. But for now I plan to finish up any current orders and then concentrate on making new beads. New beads that will ship very, very quickly after you purchase them because they're already made!! Isn't that just fan-flippin'-tastic!?

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got NEW beads to clean, string and post on my website. Wahoo!!

Oh - and if you've been wondering... I took Davis for an x-ray last week. The key has passed. *grin*