No problems!

I listed 5 items in my Etsy shop tonight. Uploaded my pictures - went through the process without a hitch. Unless of course you count my inability to type or choose which order to upload the pictures in! I am getting views - no trouble at all. Only looked in the forums early today, did not post.

AccentsByDave added me to another of his Treasuries - what a guy! He has been absolutely wonderful to the people who have hearted his shop - and I was the first one. But seeing the first necklace he listed - I knew he would do well - he's got a great eye for jewelry and combining stones in just the right way. Plus he has a tendency to use big focal beads which of course, I love! You can find his shop by clicking on the link in the right sidebar. Great stuff!

That's his necklace in the upper right - where did he find that picture jasper heart? It's beautiful! And the stones he used to make up the rest of the necklace are just gorgeous too. I hope you check out his shop! Oh! Dave just opened a second store called Bling 4 Less. Check out that shop too - great quality jewelry for less!

So. On a completely different note - I ordered my food from NutriSystem today. Since I have started spending so much time on this computer, and at my beading table, I have gained a lot of weight. Probably 25 pounds in the last 2 years. WAY more than my 5'4" frame can hold gracefully. And so far - I simply have not been able to get a handle on things. I have been looking for a way to get some discipline and organization into my meals - but have been totally unsuccessful on my own.

So in looking at all the different options I decided on something that just takes the decisions out of my hands for a while so I can get jump started. I need to get used to eating smaller portions and to eating the right foods. I was really good at this a while back, but I have have gotten so far away from it - it isn't funny.

Thought about Slim Fast and those types of things, but I can't do meal replacement stuff, I need to eat real food or I will have a huge rebound when I go off this program. I plan on doing it for about 2 months, can't really afford to do it much longer anyway. There is a work out plan which for me will be key, I need to make some time for that. Kind of excited about it - so of course I had a chocolate concrete with M&M's from Culvers last night!! That last treat kind of thing. I just have to try not to eat that way the whole time while waiting for the food to arrive! Search for women's issues like menopause, peri-menopause, osteoporosis, feminism, complexion, shoes, hair, makeup, manicure, motherhood, pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormones, daycare, health, and everyday concerns.

Listed

Well I finally listed a few things tonight. Problem is, once you start listing you just want to keep going and list whatever you have. I listed 4 pieces, I had about 10 sitting there waiting to go. It makes sense, because of the way Etsy works, to list things a few at a time, not all at once. So I will wait to list more.

I'm also in a creating mood - ran into the bead room tonight to make an ankle bracelet with bells on it. My daughter came home from the Cubs game (Cubs won!) this evening and picked it up and said "oh that's cute! When did you buy that?" I took that as a compliment that she didn't know I made it. I think. So that will be one more piece to list as well. It doesn't photograph very well tho, and my ankles are not attractive enough to model anything on!

Had an enjoyable day at work today. There were a couple of people out so the workload was heavier for me and I like that a lot better. Mostly it was just Ysabel and I, and it was like it used to be when it was just her and I and we held down the fort damn well all by ourselves. We work well together, always have. Joan was there too but she doesn't really do the same things we do, so really - it was the 2 of us. I enjoy that pace, and there is a lot more sense of accomplishment attached.

Right now we feel like we are waiting to see who will be 'let go' - there have been a lot of people across the company let go since we lost a huge insurance contract. Our business unit has been hit hard, probably because we aren't standard and never have been. We have always been the red-headed step child who did things their own way and other business units don't really like that. Sigh-h-h-h. I would hope 20 years would count for something but when it comes down to the bottom line, it may not. Today was good though.

So - I feel like I'm reaching a new creative phase, trying different things. I have some wire work tools ordered and am looking forward to learning how to make some of my own findings, etc. Tamara from McFarland Designs put a tutorial on her blog not too long ago, on how to make earwires. Very cool - and very nice of her to do that. This picture is from her site, her finished earwires from the tutorial. I like these - have never used this round type before but I would like to try making and using some. The link to her blog is on the left under 'blogs & things'.

That's something I really like about this community, the handcrafted community. People are so willing to share how they do things and help other people out. There are a few people who guard their supply sources closely, I suppose I can't blame them for that. But for the most part - if you ask for help lots of people offer it - and using the tutorial I have been talking about as an example - people put information out there for the taking. Very very nice.

I'm thinking I need to shut down and get some sleep. I am a champion sleeper but I never seem to get to bed before midnight these days - and more often than not - I'm up past 1:30am. Not happy in the morning! :) Nite!!