Fuzzy pictures and Status Quo

     Law week was helpful for me and for my work, but good reading? No. It is a lot of technical terms and boring procedures. Nothing you want to hear about unless you are looking for a divorce. Then call me.
      Instead this week I am posting the pics of the beads I made. I have made them into bracelets. Sorry that the pics are fuzzy, but I could not get an up-close and clear photo. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to make that happen without buying a new camera?

Can you see the pink, purple and green swirl?

This is my fave!

I call these tie-dye beads. You could see them if you could see them up close.

Not my fave.

          This is documentary week. I plan to watch documentaries and learn how they are made. I also hope to get ideas for upcoming weeks. Again, I would love your input. Is there anything you know that you can teach me? Other languages? Mad knot tying skills? Dog Whispering?

Last week was so much better

     I know, I know. I've been a bad blogger. I have not updated you with my book, photos of beads or anything. Someday when I'm not blogging on my lunch hour you will get all of those things, but for now.
     Clay week was fun. I only got five colors so my projects are a little limited. Mix colors? Leave it to me to buy unusual colors that all seem to mix to make a shade lighter of the same color or brown. I got Peacock, Olive, Dusty Rose, Pearl and shimmer purple (the actual name escapes me). With these I made several swirl pattern beads. I also delved into caning (not as fun as it sounds). It involves rolling logs of clay with patterns in the middle, slicing them, rolling the slices out and using it to cover a bead base.
     The main problem I had was in baking them. I burned up 1/2 of them. they went from not done to crispy. A few survived. I think it might be my oven because I made some cookies that went from raw to blackened in the lowest prescribed time on the tube. I think it may be because the oven is as old as I am.
     I also had a little issue with making holes in the beads and not squishing them to funny shapes. That might be solved with better equipment, but I didn't want to invest a ton in something I wasn't sure I would like.
     This week has been named by itself. It is law week. One of the women in my office went on vacation and I am standing in. This has meant that I've had to learn more about the process and all of the cases. I've been reading up outside of work trying not to look too stupid while at work. So I decided to make a week of it and go all out. However, I don't like this week so far and I am ready for it to be over. But it will make me better at my job.
     "Boo being a grown up. Hurray imagination!"

Still no novel

     So, I still did not complete my novel, but I made some real progress. Angelita has now survived the battle. I can say that without giving anything away because it would be a bad author that killed the main character in the first 30 pages. Or a great one. I'm not sure. The point is- she is alive!
     I will put up a snippet soon. My lovely boyfriend bought me a new computer and I don't have all my files transferred. It is an excellent problem to have.
     This week, in honor of my good friend Vicky, is clay week. I have been making beads. Nothing too sophisticated yet, but it is fun. They had a deal at Michael's 4 for $5 and one lump makes so many beads. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas. Visit Vicky at http://treasureislandcrafts.blogspot.com/ to see why she inspires me.

Organized and artsy

    This will be a short update. Organizing was necessary but makes for boring reading.
     I hope that you will forgive me, but I am repeating a week. I am doing write a novel week again. I will be attempting to finish the first one. I know that several of you out there are writers so I'm inviting you to share the title or general plot to one of your stories. We can pretend we are in an old fashioned artist bohemian paradise. I can almost smell the patchouli and unshaven pits now...

Starting off my new year right.

               Celebration week was the best idea I've had so far! I know that some of you participated along with me because I was there. For those of you more remote, I hope you found your own ways to have fun. This week was full. Monday night I had to work but we made it a celebration by laughing more than we worked. Tuesday I went to dinner with a good friend and then Ben and I went to see Pirates 4. Wednesday I went out with the ever-excellent Gloria to paint pottery. Thursday day we celebrated at work with donuts and presents.  Thursday night I celebrated with sleep; 12 hours to be exact. It was supposed to be a nap before going out to dinner and I just didn’t wake up. I am a little concerned that Ben didn’t wonder if I was still living. I did not move until 6 a.m. the next day.

                Now the real party weekend. The celebration started because my boss let us out early from work because she didn’t want to work anymore than we did. I went to the mall and treated myself to a tiara and new shade of lipstick. Then it was on to Virago for a friend’s going away party and then to Fido to meet 3 friends for dinner. Next it was to Sambuca for the best flourless chocolate cake that exists. All with my closest friend in Nashville.

                I didn’t get to party that hard because I was up early the next morning and to my Dad’s farm for ½ of the family celebration. My dad, brother, two sisters, one brother-in-law, niece, nephew and their friends all fished and then ate lunch on the dock. Dad even thought enough in advance to get me a cake (even if he couldn’t remember how old I was. I heard 23, 24, and 26. Definitely not 25). After that I left and went to Hendersonville for Seafood with mom’s side of the family. Friends, cousins, my aunt and uncle and of course mom all came and we had a great time. I had stuffed crabs. Sadly, there was no cake involved. But  I still wore my tiara

                Sunday was mostly sleeping until Ben and I went and ate Mexican. How did you celebrate? 

This week is organization week. I am getting my house organized and my personal papers. It is not really a skill that I’m learning, but I could definitely use practice. Otherwise I’m just going to have to move and leave ½ my stuff there.

Almost a two week update

So you all know that last week was gratitude week. It really helped me look on the bright side in a week I would have gladly sulked through. Here is a  condensed list of mini-gratitude

• Stained glass making beautiful light patterns on the wall
• My dog and cat laying with me on the couch when I was upset (the cat kept his butt on the dog's head)
• The perfect Chai latte
• My sister calling me at work just to say she loves me
• Ben cleaning the kitchen unprovoked
• Snapple Sorbet pops that cost $1 for ten! Kiwi Strawberry are the best.
• Watching cat vs. cicada
• Real mail from a real person
• Meanie-free days at work
• My fave lip gloss going on sale

       This week, in honor of my birthday, I have been studying the art of celebration. An easy week, you say? You try bringing the spirit of celebration everywhere you go. To work, to the doctor's office, to the bank. It is particularly difficult with crabby people around. But It has been well worth it. It has been one of the best weeks ever (so far). In the office I have single-handedly brought down productivity levels by 30% and party level up 42%. I managed to talk to the lady at the bank for 15 min about going to the beach and holiday plans.
       I suggest you try it too. It makes mundane tasks much more fun. Try bringing candy with you or wearing an unusual hat. Fortune cookies can also make a party.
       I am still going to run the contest. You have until Monday to submit your list. PS- did anyone see who was visitor 400?

Lunchtime update

      Sewing week was fun, if not productive. I mended some clothes (that I had procrastinated on). My biggest project was kind of a joke gift. My boss joked that she needed a bib because almost every time she eats lunch she spills on her nice shirts. So I made the most upscale bib you ever saw. It is black material somewhere between polyester and satin. It is big and square cut so that when on it just looks like a shirt and not like you were going to the crab shack. The strap does not tie in the back but come around the back and snaps on the right shoulder. There is a pretty silver button as decoration so that you can’t see the snaps.

      In the process I learned how to make knife pleats. I learned about box pleats and fold pleats as well. I experimented with those techniques on scrap fabric and don’t have much to show for it. Even beginner lessons on pleating had terms too advanced for my skill set. I also worked on making button holes, but none of them actually became button holes. I’d like to remind you that this is all done by hand. I don’t have a working sewing machine. The non-sewing portion of sewing week was also fun. I learned to make cheap dress forms. What can’t duct tape do?  I will have to post the pics soon.

                This week is gratitude week. I have hit a rough patch again with news of an impending surgery (although they should be able to do it laproscopically) and my car needing repair, so I decided that it is best if I spend this week focusing on the positive. I am making lists every day of the top ten things that I am grateful for that day. I am trying to be very specific and be grateful for really small things every day. Of course I could say, “I am grateful for my family, for my friends, health, having plenty of food…” But those are too broad. To really feel the gratitude it helps to list specifics. For example, one thing on my list for Tuesday is that my sister called me at work to tell me that she loved me. It really made my day.

                As an added incentive for all of you to participate I am offering a deal. For each one of you that sends me a list of what you are grateful for this week I will send a dollar to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, my budget limits it to 30 people. But still, a dollar is a dollar. Let me hear your gratitude!

 

PS- because this is a little late I will run the offer through next week.