Back to school pics

All of this past weekend, I thought that today was Labor Day.  I had such big plans to sleep in this morning, and get some stuff done around the house with the girls.  I even planned a get together at our house with friends.

Luckily, I was informed yesterday that today is in fact not Labor Day.  I'm just glad I found out before the school called wanting to know where my kids are.  I feel like such a dork.  Oh, well, no harm done.

The girls started school last week, and I wanted to share a few pics of the big day.

Adriana on her first day of Kindergarten.    She was so excited!!!

And here is Isabella on her first day of 3rd grade.  Poor little thing.  Her face is all swollen.  She got herself all worked up the night before, a combination of nerves and being afraid of just about everything at night....


And here we are all, in front of the house, waiting and waiting for the timer on the camera to go off to take our picture.  I'm sure we looked crazy!  :)

Well, the girls are in school, and I have the laundry going and have done my chores around the house, so it's time to get to work in my little work shop.  I haven't done anything all weekend.  Time to get busy.

I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Making....

Pardon the lousy picture. I forgot to use the macro setting...oh well. You get the idea. This is what I managed to make last week. It felt like I had gotten a lot done, but seeing everything together, mmm.... not so much.

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of my opening my jewelry shop on Etsy. I had this little goal for myself, and I can say happily that I reached it! I really wanted to have 100 sales by my 1st anniversary. No reason in particular, just a goal that I had hoped would be attainable.

Now that I've reached that goal, I feel a little less pressure to list new things I've made. Besides, I have to build my inventory for the show in October. So, I plan on showing you what I've made, (because I like to share!) but won't be listing anything new until after the show. I'm sure I will have lots of goodies to list after the show has passed.

Happily the girls are enjoying their first week of school, and we are starting to settle into a routine. I have to say though that getting up early has been just awful. By nine at night I am wiped out. I usually lay around on the couch watching tv and yawning for an hour before I finally drag myself to bed. It's an adjustment every year. Before long I'll be used to it.

Yesterday I attended a funeral for the Mother of a friend of mine. I hadn't been to a funeral since I was 15 years old. It was a really nice service, but my friend's son (10 or 11 years old) was sobbing inconsolably throughout. It was heart wrenching to hear his pain and grief. I let loose myself a flood of tears. The pain of losing a loved one is just so heartbreaking. You cannot help but think of your own mortality, and those of the ones you love. It weighed heavy on me all day long.

I got some time in at the bench this morning, and have nearly finished a ring design that popped into my depressed and sleep deprived brain last night. I don't often just hit the bench with an idea right away. I tend to muddle it over and over think it to death. I work slowly enough as it is. I don't have time to sit and contemplate. I need to be making baby! So I threw out this ring this morning, and I'm still not sure if I like it. Oh well, it's just about done now, and will be one more thing I can throw on my table come show time. We shall see.

Hopefully I'll have a few more things to show you by the end of the week. Back to work with me! Have a great week folks...

Tomorrow is the big day!!!

I couldn't resist this shot of the carnelians glowing....have I told you all how much I LOVE carnelian? I'm completely gaga over them you know. I've even started adjusting the colors in my wardrobe to suit it...just so I can wear my carnelian gems...craziness. :)

So, as I alluded to in the title of this post, tomorrow is the big day! The girls go back to school, and my youngest starts kindergarten! I thought I would be thrilled, and ready to do the happy dance (which a part of me still is). But my little one is nervous...I can tell. I know she's going to be just fine, but it's hard to see them growing up. To see the painful moments. Growing up was bad enough the first time. Now I have to go through it with my kids? Dang.. and how come no one told me about all this when they were itty bitty and soft and cute and cuddly. That I would feel my own heart wrenching along with theirs at times? The worst part is, I am just at the beginning. We have miles to go folks.... Luckily all the happy and wonderful moments outweigh the bad in spades and that makes it all worth while.

This week is going to be hard. A lot of adjustments to our schedule. I'll have to actually go to bed at a decent hour. No more playing at my bench until midnight... I just keep telling myself that after we get past these first few weeks all will be good. My irritability levels are through the roof. I even annoy myself. The end is in sight. I just hope I make it....

The luckiest girl in the world...

I woke up this morning with what I thought was a sinus headache, but soon realized it was a migraine. Now, having a migraine doesn't make me the luckiest girl in the word, but having two daughters (ages 8 and 5) who take care of their momma do.

My heart is full to bursting, and my eyes are moist. My girls fed themselves, cleaned the kitchen (better than I do most times!) made me something to eat, and generally took care of each other for a couple of hours while I battled the nausea, vomiting and excruciating pain. When I woke up after a little doze, I was pleasantly surprised at how well they kept it together.

After a migraine I always feel like a brand new woman. Like the world is fresh and bright and wonderful. Like I could take on the world...it is just so wonderful to be free of the vise gripping my head, that everything in comparison is just...perfection. Another reason I am the luckiest girl in the world, is that I get migraines very infrequently, years in between. And over the counter medication always works for me (once I realize that it is in fact a migraine).

I am feeling so loved, and so special, and so proud. I guess I have done something right that they were able to do all of this. Sometimes as a parent you wonder if you are teaching the things that you need to be. I really am the luckiest girl in the world.....

Queen Anne's Lace...

Technically, Queen Anne's Lace grows as a bunch of little white flowers that sometimes have one mysterious purple/magenta colored flowerette in the center of the bunch. Quite intriguing really.

I made these little flower ear hooks, and then went in search of a good name for them. The inspiration for these earrings is from the Edwardian era, after a movie I watched from the era. The heroine's name was Anne. So, it wasn't that big of a leap to Queen Anne's Lace, especially after I started thinking of bunching several of these together somehow....

Anyway, I am having fun exploring ways to make my own flowers....

And, this was my first time to work with Iolite. Such a beautiful stone. A sort of purply blue...I can't believe I haven't discovered them sooner. I think I am quite smitten.

In other news, school starts in a week. The 105 plus degree days haven't abated in a month, and I am becoming increasingly irritable. The girls seem to be bickering more than usual, and everything seems to bother me. I am holding out for cooler weather and a little breathing room. It really can't come soon enough.....

The final countdown...

School starts on the 23rd, and I can't wait! I got an email invite the other day to attend a "boo-hoo breakfast" on the first day of school after we drop off our kindergarteners... I'm wondering if they'll be shocked to have me there grinning from ear to ear. :) Don't get me wrong, I love my girls more than anything, but I do better with forced routines. That, and my nerves must be running short because the whining and arguing is really starting to get to me...

I have big plans of course. Spend more time at the gym, spend more time creating, clean and shop without interruption.... we'll see how it all pans out. All this consistent schedule stuff comes with a price though.. and that price is having to get up early. If I had my way, I'd stay up til about 1 am and sleep til about 9:30. but those days are long gone, even in the summer. I am a person who needs lots of sleep, a minimum of 8 hours, so soon I'll have to be in bed by 10:30 and that just stinks....oh well, can't have it all!
Amethyst Juicy PoP Drop Earrings
These amethysts are gorgeous. I love the dark purple, so regal...

I finally made some decisions on displays for the art show. They should be here by the end of the week. I had been agonizing over them forever, and it's to the point now that I just had to take the plunge. I contacted the lady that designed my logo, and had her resize it for a banner to hang on my table, and now I just need to figure out table coverings, risers, and lighting.

I am still in making mode, whenever I can. In fact I am giving myself 4 hours this morning before taking the girls to the pool this afternoon to get some work done.
Juicy PoP Drop Earrings in Mountain Jade and Sterling Silver

And...you all know how I feel about carnelian....

I had a request the other day to remake a pair of earrings, and I had run out of the beads I needed. So I took a trip to The Rock Barrell in Dallas. And, so as not to waste a trip, I decided I needed a few things... and found these luscious faceted carnelian rectangles. I love carnelian anyway, so that wasn't much of a stretch, but I love everything about these beads. The shape, the facets, the coloring, the fact that the stones are different sizes..... I could go on and on...

Well, I better get to work, the clock is ticking!

Computer problems...

I have been having internet access problems all week. It is completely maddening. I spent several hours listing a few items in the shop last night. I felt like I had dial up again! Horrible.... I still don't know what the deal is. I guess I'll be spending Monday trying to get to the bottom of this.

The worst is trying to do anything on Etsy. There are some other issues with other web pages, but Etsy is the worst. Sometimes I can't access it at all. I'm starting to feel like it's a giant conspiracy against me! :)

Anyway, I am really loving my new swirly top flowers. Here they are in studs and hoops. Already painstakingly listed in the shop!

Well, back to laundry and jewelry making! Have a fabulous week everyone! :)

Falling Leaves

We took the girls to Arkansas for a little getaway. We stayed in Arkadelphia, but traveled to Hot Springs every day. It was nice to have a little vacation, and the girls had a blast. We checked out Lake DeGray, Lake Ouachita, and took the girls to the waterpark at Magic Springs. My husbands sister and her husband own 2 restaurants in Hot Springs. Cafe 1217 which is billed as a "gourmet to go" cafe. They are open only for lunch, but also sell side dishes that can be taken home and reheated. They also own a Mexican restaurant that is right next door called Taco Mamas. Needless to say we had plenty of good food to eat. I am totally having chimichanga withdrawals!

I fired up the torch today for the first time in a week. It felt good, but takes a little time to get back in the swing of things. I was invited to do another show in September, and I am currently fighting full on panic mode. Just thinking of all that needs to be done gets me anxious. I've decided that I am not going to let myself get all stressed out. When the time comes, I'll have what I have, and it will have to do. It just isn't healthy to get myself all worked up, and certainly doesn't make anyone in my family happy!

I read a book while on vacay that I couldn't put down, and I can't stop thinking about it either. It is called Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah. I picked it up at Sam's a while back and realized I hadn't read it yet right before we left for Arkansas. It is an amazingly sad story of a young Chinese girl growing up unloved and unwanted by her wealthy Father and wicked step mother. The cruelty meted out to this poor girl is mind boggling to me. It will be a story that sticks with me for awhile.

I can't believe that it is August already! Time to get ready for back to school.....along with about a hundred other things I need to do. I guess the relaxation we've been enjoying the past couple of months is officially over. My youngest starts kindergarten this year (can I get a woot woot?) :) I've enjoyed the summer, but I am ready to get back to a more productive schedule.

Well, I guess that's about it. I'm hoping to have a few new items to share with you by the end of the week. I picked up some pretty rose quartz cabs in Ark, and some new beads at a local rock shop, so I have plenty to play with! I hope you all have a fabulous week! :)