Creativity Display

So I've spent a lot of time (well...not TOO much time) lately working on various jewelry projects. Yes, I've done a couple new button rings...but really only two or three. Mostly, I've been working on necklaces, earrings and bracelets

I thought I'd take a minute to share with you some of my newest creations. Visit http://jshell73.etsy.com/ or click on the link under each photo to see the listings!

Caramel Delight - Stacked Button Ring

Bold -n- Beautiful - Necklace

Chaos - Necklace

Sea Foam - Necklace

Sea Foam - Earrings

TTFN JMS

Random Things - Item of the Week

Click graphic to be taken directly to the Etsy listing!

TTFN JMS

I'm thankful for...

This is the time of year when folks actually take the time to count their blessings; actively think about the things they are thankful for. This is a time for family togetherness and good feelings and good friends and good food. Tomorrow, almost everyone in the country will participate in "The Great Feast" - then most likely everyone will take a long nap after gorging themselves on turkey (why oh why do I always want to put an "H" in the word Turkey? Thurkey? What is that? Moving on...) and stuffing (or dressing, as it's called here in the South) and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole and on and on and on. Oh, I'm drooling already just thinking of it! This year, we have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with friends here in town and I'm SO excited I can hardly stand it. She said to me, "We're thankful for our friends..." when we were talking about heading that way for roast bird. It nearly made me cry then and it is threatening to make me cry now. Why did we not make the trip "North" to visit Hubby's family for the annual multi-generational gathering to celebrate the Day of Thanks? Because I only have one day off and it is just not enough time for an up and back trip in one day. I'm disappointed, but then again, we're having our Annual Family Christmas on December 19th - so we'll get to see them soon. Anyway - I do have a point, and it is this... I am thankful for:

• my son, who is so smart and incredible and sweet and...and...well, just wonderful. I adore him so much I cannot even put it into words. He's reading, and doing so well he barely needs help, except when he decides he's just not into it and would rather you just read for him. He draws awesome pictures and when he colors, he is meticulous about staying in the lines. He doesn't pick up his room or put away his clothes or rarely does he actually listen to what we tell him - but right now, I don't care. He's my buddy, my friend, and my love.
• my daughter, who is also super smart, but mostly right now she's just a princess. A diva. A beautiful little blonde-haired, blue-eyed sweetie who gives butterfly kisses, Eskimo kisses and sloppy wet kisses and hugs that could break your heart with the amount of love she puts into them. Who says, "Ok, I'll get up - after I'm done sleeping." At 2 1/2 years old....she's a woman after my own heart. Who wants her soft blankie just-so, and her fluffy blanket tucked all around her, and her Dora comforter up to her neck. Oh, and I cannot forget to kiss bunny and Curly Shirley - the comfort toys she cannot sleep without. I so adore every little thing about her - even with the attitude!
• my husband, who is always there. I feel like I should say more - but I don't think it's necessary. He's there. He's not out somewhere else doing God only knows what, but he's home, with me. He's my love, my life, my friend and my future.
• my job. Though it may be the most difficult job I've had to-date, I'm thankful for it.
• friends who think enough of us to ask us over for dinner again and again, though we, ourselves, rarely entertain.
• the ability to be creative enough to make Christmas presents this year and have some guarantee that they'll be well received rather than dumped in a drawer to collect dust when I'm not looking.

What are you thankful for this year?

TTFN JMS

Feelers...

I'm puttin' feelers out there. I'm looking for a bunk bed for Kiddo, and I'm pretty specific about what I want, so I thought I'd see if there is anyone out there (those who regularly read my blog, and maybe those who stumble across it) who knows where I can find a good, yet inexpensive, bunk bed. I want a wooden, twin-on-top bunk, with a desk underneath and STAIRS rather than a ladder. Meaning, it does not need to sleep 2 (one up and one down), but rather have that space underneath utilized for a desk - I guess they call it a loft bed. I don't want a ladder because I'm uncomfortable with Kiddo going up and down in the middle of the night when we're all asleep. Granted, I'm sure he could probably handle it, but I'm not sure I could. Anyway - used is fine, as long as it is in good condition - but I'm striking out on Craig's List. See - I found almost the perfect bunk bed for his room, but it's $2000.00!!! I'm not willing or able to pay that right now. Though, yes, I'm drooling over it. Actually, the one I want has a ladder. Somehow, I cannot seem to find the entire coveted combination: twin loft bed, desk, stairs and NO 2nd sleeping location. Although I guess a 2nd sleeping location wouldn't hurt; visitors, you know. Hmm... So, if you have any feedback for me, or leads...will you drop me a line or leave me a comment? I know this is an unusual post - but, ah well. Thanks a bunch! TTFN JMS

Random Things: Item of the Week

Click on the graphic for more details.

TTFN JMS

Now I'm Gobsmacked!

Aw, shoot...now I'm gonna have to make more button rings! Such a shame. I mean, everybody knows it's something I absolutely hate...right? OK - can you hear the sarcasm dripping off those words? LOL! The first ring I sold after renewing some expired items arrived at its destination yesterday and the buyer (bless her) loved it so much she went back and bought 3 more! As UB says, now I'm more than flabbergasted, I'm gobsmacked! (Brit-speak for being smacked in the mouth, or "gob".) LOL! Anyway - just thought I'd share! I mean, any excuse to drag out the ol' craft stuff again, eh? TTFN JMS PS: It's Veteran's Day today - to find the nearest vet and give him (or her) a hug and thank them for their service!

Little Bit, Kiddo, and Hand-Me-Down Clothes...

So my Little Bit still has a temp. Well, not right at the moment, but when she woke us up at 3AM it was 101.4. She's exhibiting no other signs of any kind of illness except for the initial upchucking (and even then, it was just a tiny bit). She doesn't have a runny nose, she isn't having difficulty breathing, her lungs sound clear to me (and I'm an expert...honest. If 30+ years with asthma and bronchial issues doesn't make you an expert, I don't know what will!) and she's not tugging at her ears. Can she possibly be teething at 2 1/2? That was suggested to me, but I can't see how teething can bring a 101.4 degree fever along with it. Maybe that's just me. Anyway - she's really doing OK. She's not floppy and lethargic anymore like she was the first day and seems to be her usual self otherwise. Kiddo has been doing GREAT at school! He didn't get any checks at all last week (did I mention this already?) and he didn't get any checks yesterday, either. His behavior at home, however, definitely leaves something to be desired. I think he and I are going to spend some quality time together tonight going through all of his clothes making sure what he has still fits him and if not, we'll give it to our friend little boy (who is just a few months younger than Little Bit right now. I'm sure they'd love to have them. Plus, they were the ones that gave us bins and bins full of girl clothes when Little Bit came along - so now maybe we can return the favor! Anyway - Kiddo was just given 3 bags of boy clothes from another friend, so after we figure out where we are with what he has, we'll start weeding through the new stuff. I love how kids clothes get passed around through families and friends. It's such a nice thing to be able to fill a need and/or have a need filled - especially for your children. And one final note before I leave off for the day: I just added something new to My Etsy Shop! I really like it because it's simple, yet useful and quite pretty, too - IMHO. TTFN JMS

Follow up to "I'm Flabbergasted" (a.k.a. the last post...ya know, the one just below this one.)

I spent the entire day taking care of my sick little girl. She really did OK for most of the late morning and early afternoon, but come late afternoon early evening, her fever came back. Low-grade, but still elevated. She either gets really super grouchy or super lethargic when she's sick even a little bit, so she was quite floppy today and needed a large amount of hugs and kisses - which, of course, I was happy to give. She'll be OK...it's nothing major, I don't think - but we'll keep watching and if I think a doctor visit is in order, we'll go - insurance or no insurance! Kiddo spent most of the day with Hubby. Church this morning (he sat through the entire service and was extremely well-behaved, so I'm told) and then later this afternoon Hubby and the Chancel Choir from our church went to another church for the annual choir concert. I went last year (or maybe it was the year before), and it was an awesome experience. Hubby said, though, that if I had gone this year, I would have most likely needed an entire box of tissues. (I tend to cry if music of any kind is involved - it is a very emotional thing for me.) Then Kiddo and I went to the grocery store and to get something for all of us to eat - and then we had our Sunday night ritual (such as it is) which includes America's Funniest Videos and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Little Bit goes to bed after the videos and Kiddo hits pillow after the makeover show. I just logged into my email about 30 minutes ago to see if anything interesting was happening that I needed to know about and wouldn't you know it, I'd had ANOTHER sale on Etsy! Again from someone I do not know. I'm floored by this because I've been basically inactive on Etsy for 4 months and then I go and reactivate some listings and BAM! It's like I'm suddenly the popular kid in high school. Anyway - quite happy about the sale, but will be even more happy when my Little Bit gets better. TTFN JMS

I'm Flabbergasted! (Wait...did I spell that right?)

I recently became re-acquainted with an online friend. We'd both been going through some life changes (you know, me with my job and she...well...I'm really not comfortable divulging her issues, but she was definitely in deep) and were just now able to reconnect. Ah...the wonders of FaceBook! (HA HA!) Anyway - We briefly discussed our Etsy shops and I mentioned that I'd been thinking about closing mine, but then decided not to. Last night, I spent about 15 minutes renewing several expired listings at My Shop and much to my surprise, I had a sale! I'm guessing the sale had to have happened minutes after I renewed the item, but needless to say, it flabbergasted me! How cool, eh? I think Kiddo and I will spend some quality time together (with help from Little Bit, too, of course) getting the item packaged and ready to send to my newest (and completely unknown) customer! What a boost! I feel great! Almost enough to start crafting again... My only hesitation is the fact that I really don't have anywhere to craft if I don't do it at the dining room table - and I think after the mess that was just cleaned up by my sweet and helpful hubby, he would be none-to-pleased with that. We'll see. TTFN JMS

It's All Good!

Ah...life is good. 1) I'm employed. I'm supporting my family in the best way I know how. 2) My son is the sweetest little guy every in the world. No real reason prompting that statement...he just is. He is also getting VERY good at BEING good. At school, that is. (LOL!) He's gone 3 whole days with no "check" marks! He's very happy about it and I think the good feeling will carry him through Thursday and Friday, too. My sweet little man woke up early today and said, "Mom, before you leave for work, will you please help me pick out my clothes for school today? We forgot to do it last night." So now he's comfortably dressed in jeans, a long-sleeve collared shirt with a white stripe across the chest and his favorite Transformer light-up sneakers. He even let me cuddle with him for a few minutes without squirming to be let down. 3) Little Bit woke up this morning with a completely dry diaper! YAY! The potty training is finally taking shape! Phew! But those who have never potty trained a child don't realize just how difficulty it can be. Also, my sweet baby girl is just the sweetest, too. Again...she just is. 4) Our Baby Nalla (the dog, for those who don't know) is recovering nicely from her illness - which was a combination of several things that combined to make her lose almost 20lbs, lose most of her fur, and basically look like she was an abused and neglected urchin. She is not abused nor was she neglected - and she's FINALLY over the hump and on the road to recovery. Even her attitude is happier, which is great to see! She actually wagged her tail and smiled at me yesterday! (Yes, she smiles...goofy thing.) 5) I'm feeling the urge to craft again, but I don't want to pull everything out and make a huge mess of the living room all over again. Especially after Hubby pulled out all the stops to get it picked up! I'm feeling glad I haven't closed my Etsy shop, because maybe...just maybe...some new stuff will wind up there in the near future! I have some really great broken, natural shells that we found in St. Augustine, FL, that are just BEGGING to be made into something! Anyway - I guess I'm done for now. There's plenty more where that came from, though - so I guess you can expect to hear from me again in the very near future! Wow! Two posts, two days in a row! TTFN JMS

Playing Catch Up

OMG!!! It's been over a month since I posted anything! No wonder I'm feeling so desperate to write something! But, since I'm severely pressed for time right now, I'll do the ol' bullet-point list...just to cover the basics. If you see anything you want me to elaborate on, shoot me an email or leave a comment and I'll do my best!

• October was my birthday month. The 16th. It was a very nice day, even though I worked all day! I got a new cell phone! YAY! Good-bye TracFone!
• My friend SW visited from New York and I got to spend some time with her. Granted, it wasn't quality time - but I am so glad she decided, on a whim (very un SW-like) to buy a plane ticket and come for a visit. It was really, really good to see her!
• I'm still employed. My job is amazingly busy, which seems to account for my lack of posting to my blog, but I do really like it. Except for the whole having-to-process-payroll-and-be-responsible-for-other-people's-money thing. That, I could do without. Otherwise, it's a great job and I'm very blessed.
• We went on vacation during the last week of Oct. We visited St. Augustine, FL and had a fabulous time. I actually even got to spend a couple of days with my little sister, HB, who lives about an hour south of St. Augustine in Daytona Beach. It was SUCH an amazing thing to get to talk to her, face-to-face, and actually learn more about her as an adult! The last time I saw her, she was 19 and in my wedding! That was over 9 years ago! It was almost 12 before that. Thanks to my Aunt and Uncle in Maryland (no AC/UB, the other ones...sorry) for providing the beautiful condo we stayed in!
• Kiddo got his very first soccer trophy on Monday. He was SO excited he could hardly stand himself! He wanted to carry it around with him, but I had to convince him of just how upset he'd be if he accidentally dropped and broke it. He conceded, and allowed me to put it up on a shelf where he could admire it from afar. Way to go, my little guy. I'm VERY proud of you!
• Little Bit is becoming the little fashionista. She really likes to pick her own clothes and has definite opinions of what she will and will not wear. It's really pretty funny.
• Oh, and we missed Halloween this year because we were traveling back from Florida. Kiddo and Little Bit seem only slightly upset by this...and are already thinking about costumes for next year. Frankly, though, I'm glad I didn't have to worry about it this year!

Anyway - that's about it for now. I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from, but again...time is a-wastin'!

TTFN JMS