Adventures in living!

12:43pm: going, again
I've changed my mind again. Isn't that a woman's prerogative? Go back to my TypePad blog if you want to read what's up with me. There's even a subscribe link at the top of the page if you want to be sure you don't miss a trick! ;)

2:02pm: for all my yoga friends
I managed to stumble upon a great find in the yoga world the other day, and now I have to let everyone know about it. As I mentioned before, one of the things I want to do this year is cultivate a daily yoga practice as part of my fitness goals. I don't really have the time or the money to go to a class, although I do love the group atmosphere and instructor guidance. I am fairly experienced in yoga practice, but I don't always have the ability to put together a sequence of asanas that I like, or that give me the kind of practice I need. Yoga Journal has helped some, and so have my favorite DVDs, but I wanted a bit more. Travis gave me a really cool 4GB mp3 player for Christmas, so I surfed the internet looking for yoga podcasts. I found several, but then I found Yoga Download. This site is fantastic! There is a wide range of guided sequences for all levels and all areas, and differing lengths of time for practice sessions, so you can get a full practice in with a 20 minute session or a longer session. Best of all, the 20 minute sessions are free! I have downloaded about nine sessions total -- deciding that I would try out the audio practice method first, before spending money on a longer class. So far, I have done at least 20 minutes of yoga every day for the last two weeks. I also figured out that I could combine certain 20 minute segments and get a longer practice if I wanted. It's so fantastic to be able to have the structure of a class with the freedom to do it whenever I want. Right now on my player I have Core Yoga #1, Detox Yoga #1, Heart Oepning Flow, Hip Opening Flow #2, Lunar Flow #1, Morning Flow #1, Power Vinyasa Flow #4, Power #3, and Solar Flow #1.

I just completed Core Yoga and Detox back to back and I am whipped. I was dripping sweat on my mat, and I am tired, but I feel energized. I also really like the Heart and Hip opening flows for upper body and hip flexibility. Now that I have tried a number of the sessions, I am going to purchase a couple of full-length (60 min) classes and add those into my routine. The ebauty of all this for me is that I can determine what practice I need on a particular day and I can do as much or as little as I am capable of at a given time. All the classes come with printable pose guides, too, so if you find yourself not sure about a pose, you can refer to the guide to see it.

Anyway, I just wanted to let people know about this great resource for yoga practice. Your milage may, of course, vary, but for me, it is working out to be fantastic! Now to tackle those pesky Christmas decorations....

Namaste!

10:41am: quiz results

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a Romantic Self-Improving Extrovert

7:08am: Oh I bet change is coming....
It is my sincere hope that actual change will actually come, and it won't be at the expense of personal freedoms, or choice, or the ability to make and spend my money the way *I* decide to, not in the interest of spreading the wealth around.

For those of you who voted for our new President-elect, it is also my sincere hope that you will be as gracious and as giving as you claim to be, and that you will remember that just because the popular vote was extremely close, that doesn't mean that *everyone* voted for him.

It is good to see Warner get the Senate seat, though. I am very happy about that.

Enough politics. I am supremely glad that the election is over. Now I must go increase my personal wealth, paltry as it is.

1:56pm: Happy Friday
I'm having a good time watching people's heads spin around and around over the debate last night. I have nothing of substance to offer on the subject, as I didn't watch the whole thing. I agree with Skorri, though...no matter who wins, someone's gonna bitch.

The weather is beautiful today, I had a fantastic morning at the Richmond Children's Museum with the little kids, and it's going to be a great weekend. I'm happy.

Hope everyone else has a terrific Friday and a great weekend!

8:10am: internet geek
Ok, I am a great big geek. I joined Facebook last night.

Already I have found and been friended by a couple people from high school. Very cool.

1:49pm: COOLNESS!!!
My work just got featured in a Treasury on Etsy!!

Go! Run! Check it out at this link!!

10:41pm: Etsy shop is now open for business!
Hi everyone....I am so happy to announce that my new Etsy shop is now open for business!! I just got started, but I'll be adding things at least weekly. Visit the shop at this link.

9:05am: Kira's on her way to fifth grade! Hooray! She looked fantastic, and seemed generally positive and excited about starting school again, so this is a good thing. I ahve been up since 5:00 because Noah is getting up then for some reason (teeth? Hungry? sore throat? WHo knows!?).

I just made gym appointments for today, Thursday and Friday, so I am on track to meet my goal of 3x weekly gym visits. At least for this week. Heh.

Glass stuff is going fairly well. Saturday wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped, but I had Kitty with me, so it was at least fun to hang out. Plus there was lunch at Five Guys afterward, so yay! It was ridiculously hot though, which made me feel all yucky. I'm sure I looked terrible, and Kitty pointed out a personal appearance issue I was having, so hopefully I wasn't repulsive to the clientele.

I'm not going to waste any time commenting on the political situation or the debate going on amongst my friends. I don't have time for politics right now, and I frankly don't give a rat's ass who wins the election at this point. They are both questionable choices, and I will end up voting for whomever I determine is the lesser of two evils, anyway. I don't think it is a huge hairy deal that Palin's daughter is pregnant, so I hope there is no stink made of that. The two-party system does us no favors, and the money that is spent and the glad-handing and the Mutual Admiration Society that is the current state of politics just makes me ill. And no, I don't believe Barack Obama is a man of change, or someone who is going to make a dent in all that.

Wow. I guess I did comment, however ramblingly.

Anyway, I am happily busy over here, trying to keep up with two small kids and one bigger one, my glasswork, my 'real' work and get some sleep. Better get back to it.

1:41pm: Ha HA!
My work was accepted for a gallery show this weekend!!

Go check here for information and scroll down to the August 16 post for a picture of the accepted piece!

Today just got awesome!!

8:26am: Hopefully not jinxing
I don't want to jinx it, but Noah's been really consistently sleeping through the night. What a BIG difference in the way *I* feel all day! Hooray!

Also, we have done away with bottles and now he drinks from the sippy cup all day....well, we do an occasional bottle at night before bed just to make sure he is getting enough milk, but that's it. Yay!

Wren continues to work on potty training and refuses to use a public toilet.

The Olympics have not sucked away my life....I have barely even watched anything but a few swimming meets and a bit of gymnastics. I completely forgot about watching any equestrian events....they never show them during the times that I am awake anyway. Michael Phelps is awesome, though, and I am so happy for him. His mom and sisters must have indescribable pride and joy. In fact, as a mom now, I think I'd rather see one of my kids do something like win an Olympic gold medal (or any medal) than actually do the thing myself.

But Dana Torres also rocks it.

Sales were so good at the market last Saturday that I now have to replace my entire earring inventory, some rings, and most of my pendants by this Saturday, plus start on some special requests and my holiday lines. That bulk tank hose can't get here fast enough. I'm going through 3 or 4  MAPP canisters a week! God, I can't wait til I can upgrade to a big dual-fuel torch. I've got one in mind (the Carlisle HellCat!), but balynar will have to give up his garage workshop for me, and THAT ain't happenin'. Not until we scrape up the funds to put a freestanding shop in the backyard for him. No, my next big purchase is going to have to be a kiln with a digital controller. Kiln-babysitting is tough.

(Actually, the torch I'll probably get next is the Carlisle WildCat or the GTT Bobcat, both of which are in my price range and skill level. I just think a torch called a HellCat is SO. Freaking. Cool.)

Anyway...Wren is jumping on the bed, and I have to unload the car from Saturday still, so I'd better get a move on.

Crap....Travis just let me know he has Noah's carseat in the van....at work. Sigh. Logistics are working against me today. I must get significant torch time to replace my inventory so I can run the kiln later....got to clean the downstairs bathroom....stop by work to sign a letter....figure out what supplies to order next....sweat over the art show entry.....do my taxes for August....yikes....must. not. get. stressed.

Gotta go.

5:44pm: credit cards and such
For those of you who are merchants, either in the SCA or out, I need some recommendations for credit card processing. Who do you use, and why do you like/dislike them? I'd like to be able to accept the widest variety of cards, with obviously the most minimal of fees. I have no equipment of my own, so I would need a card reader or imprinter or whatever, too. Help! The holiday shopping season approacheth!

Feel free to direct people you know to this post who might have an opinion on this subject and who might not be on my friends list.

Thanks!

10:32pm: Wow, two posts in one day!
Even though I got up this morning at 4:30 because of Noah, I still managed to get a bunch of stuff done, amazingly enough. I even worked for two hours (professional paid work, not jewelry).

Travis sold the green truck today and we celebrated with dinner at Outback. I think I have been eating really well this summer, because the greasy onion and Alice SPrings chicken both about killed me. I couldn't eat more than half of my meal. Of course, Wren spent the meal alternately sliding under the table and crawling on the floor and crying "I wanna go hooooome". She was so exhausted and I don't think she was feeling all that well. Both kids went straight to bed when we got home at 6:30. I hope I get to sleep all night tonight. I am so tired.

***********************************************************************
Progress on the lists for this week.....

Need:
--small price stickers
--a better cashbox (the handle kept falling off of mine!)
--poster putty to secure wayward display pieces and signage  I put it in my box of display stands
--hanging loops with velcro on my banner
--a "HOT" sign for the torch demo table
--flyers for teaching
--small 1/4 sheet flyers with my show dates
--an updated Etsy page and/or webpage at my domain --anybody good at building webpages? I need a nice one...can trade or maybe pay


To-Do:
--make wineglass charm sets
--order more bead release and a hose for my torch for bulk fuel
--**NEW** order some black heavy card stock earring cards
--make more rings
--wire more pendant beads
--animal beads (owl, frog, cat/dog, etc.)
--some finished jewelry....copper bangle bracelets?
--plan holiday bead sets and jewelry....fall, Halloween, Christmas
--make some fused pendants
--get some silk ribbons for pendants

7:57am: Shameless self-promotion
Ok, so you're gonna want to bookmark this site.

The rest of the weekend was fantastic, even though Noah seems to be in a routine of getting up at 4:30 in the morning. Ugh. I think it's the steroids. My wonderful husband, who did an amazing job all weekend with the kids, is upstairs still asleep, having given me instructions to let him sleep until he wakes up. I should probably get him up now though, since it's 8:00.

I'm really tired. I have a lot to do today and this week. 'Real' work is stacking up on my "desk", so I need to get a bunch of that squared away. I have a full day of Medicare hearings on Thursday that I need to really read the cases for, especially since I found out that the government's attorneys are going to be participating in the hearings as well. Man! I am not jazzed about that. It makes putting my arguments out there a little more nerve-wracking because I am SO not a lawyer. Sigh.

Anyway, he house is awake. Better get moving on the day.

7:01am: Hooray for me!
I had a great day at the market yesterday! It was ungodly hot, ridiculously so, but so was everyone else, so my sweatiness probably didn't put too many people off. Kira and I headed over to the market early, but ended up getting there later than I planned, due to some poor planning on my part (the fact that I forgot to obtain adequate change for my cashbox). We ended up with a space in the middle aisle of the market area, which was not the best option for my new 10x10 tent, but it was okay. Next week I am getting there MUCH earlier and hopefully getting a space along the outside edge that I can park my car in. That should be at least marginally cooler, I hope.

I saw halowenslut and we discussed the merits of the market vs. the one downtown on 17th street, and she bought one of my glass rings! teenytinystar was also there; we finally met, albeit briefly. I hadn't even been open 20 minutes that I sold two pendants, a fish and a large strawberry. I also sold a couple of loose beads that I had set out in a make-your-own necklace area, so that was cool. There was a lot of interest in both the rings and the sculpted pendants, so this week I will be wiring more pendants and making more rings. I also didn't get to make my wineglass charms, so that is on the agenda this week. People LOVED my banner and business name. Hee! I'll post a picture soonish.

Doing a lampworking demo was awesome -- attracted so much attention, and I even got photographed making a bead -- but it was so hot, I was truly in danger of heat sickness. Next week the big 2 gallon water cooler comes with me filled with water. I really liked being able to show off the technique, and there is the added bonus of getting some beads made. I think I need a flyer with info about lampworking, and also a flyer about lessons. I would love to teach some private students and suck them in, er, get them interested in beadmaking.

The to-do list and the needs list are getting long.....

Need:
--small price stickers
--a better cashbox (the handle kept falling off of mine!)
--poster putty to secure wayward display pieces and signage
--hanging loops with velcro on my banner
--a "HOT" sign for the torch demo table
--flyers for teaching
--small 1/4 sheet flyers with my show dates
--an updated Etsy page and/or webpage at my domain --anybody good at building webpages? I need a nice one...can trade or maybe pay


To-Do:
--make wineglass charm sets
--order more bead release and a hose for my torch for bulk fuel
--make more rings
--wire more pendant beads
--animal beads (owl, frog, cat/dog, etc.)
--some finished jewelry....copper bangle bracelets?
--plan holiday bead sets and jewelry....fall, Halloween, Christmas
--make some fused pendants
--get some silk ribbons for pendants

I'm sure there is more....there always is...

For now, I am going to make homemade blueberry pancakes and try not to implode from an excess of unrelieved creativity!

7:11am: South of the James
For all of you who are Richmond-based (or suitably near Richmond), I will be bringing my glass art jewelry to the South of the James Market starting this Saturday, 8/2. The market is fantastic, and it's in Forest Hill Park, so if you haven't been, you should go! And stop by to say hi! The market operates from 8am to noon every Saturday.

I know most of you will be at or going to Pennsic, but I will be there every weekend until the end of market season in October.

Here's a photo of some of my lampworked pendants. I'll have a line of wine stoppers, wineglass charms, pendants, rings, bracelets, and a make-your-own-necklace station. I'm also offering a lampworking demonstration twice during the day, at 9:00 and 11:00. Should be fun! Come see!

7:53am: top 100
Snagged from Justus and Balynar....

-Go to musicoutfitters.com
- Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year.
Strike out the ones you hate, bold the ones you like, ignore the ones you don't know/don't care.

The top 100 of 1988

1. Faith, George Michael
2. Need You Tonight, INXS
3. Got My Mind Set On You, George Harrison
4. Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley
5. Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns N' Roses
6. So Emotional, Whitney Houston
7. Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Belinda Carlisle
8. Could've Been, Tiffany
9. Hands To Heaven, Breathe
10. Roll With It, Steve Winwood
11. One More Try, George Michael
12. Wishing Well, Terence Trent d'Arby
13. Anything For You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
14. The Flame, Cheap Trick
15. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car, Billy Ocean
16. Seasons Change, Expose
17. Is This Love, Whitesnake
18. Wild, Wild West, Escape Club
19. Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Leppard
20. I'll Always Love You, Taylor Dayne
21. Man In The Mirror, Michael Jackson
22. Shake Your Love, Debbie Gibson
23. Simply Irresistible, Robert Palmer
24. Hold On To The Nights, Richard Marx
25. Hungry Eyes, Eric Carnen
26. Shattered Dreams, Johnny Hates Jazz
27. Father Figure, George Michael
28. Naught Girls (Need Love Too), Samantha Fox
29. A Groovy Kind Of Love, Phil Collins
30. Love Bites, Def Leppard
31. Endless Summer Nights, Richard Marx
32. Foolish Beat, Debbie Gibson
33. Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Whitney Houston
34. Angel, Aerosmith
35. Hazy Shade Of Winter, Bangles
36. The Way You Make Me Feel, Michael Jackson
37. Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin
38. Make Me Lose Control, Eric Carnen
39. Red Red Wine, UB40
40. She's Like The Wind, Patric Swayze
41. Bad Medicine, Bon Jovi
42. Kokomo, Beach Boys
43. I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, Elton John
44. Together Forever, Rick Astley
45. Monkey, George Michael
46. Devil Inside, INXS
47. Should've Known Better, Richard Marx
48. I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love, Chicago
49. The Loco-Motion, Kylie Minogue
50. What Have I Done To Deserve This?, Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield
51. Make It Real, Jets
52. What's On Your Mind, Information Society
53. Tell It To My Heart, Taylor Dayne
54. Out Of The Blue, Debbie Gibson
55. Don't You Want Me, Jody Watley
56. Desire, U2
57. I Get Weak, Belinda Carlisle
58. Sign Your Name, Terence Trent d'Arby
59. I Want To Be Your Man, Roger
60. Girlfriend, Pebbles
61. Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson
62. 1-2-3, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
63. Mercedes Boy, Pebbles
64. Perfect World, Huey Lewis and the News
65. New Sensation, INXS
66. Catch Me (I'm Falling), Pretty Poison
67. If It Isn't Love, New Edition
68. Rocket 2 U, Jets
69. One Good Woman, Peter Cetera
70. Don't Be Cruel, Cheap Trick
71. Candle In The Wind, Elton John
72. Everything Your Heart Desires, Daryl Hall and John Oates
73. Say You Will , Foreigner
74. I Want Her, Keith Sweat
75. Pink Cadillac, Natalie Cole
76. Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
77. Electric Blue, Icehouse
78. The Valley Road, Bruce Hornsby and The Range
79. Don't Be Cruel, Bobby Brown
80. Always On My Mind, Pet Shop Boys
81. Piano In The Dark, Brenda Russell Featuring Joe Esposito
82. When It's Love, Van Halen
83. Don't Shed A Tear, Paul Carrack
84. We'll Be Together, Sting
85. I Hate Myself For Loving You, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
86. I Don't Want To Live Without You, Foreigner
87. Nite And Day, Al B. Sure
88. Don't You Know What The Night Can Do, Steve Winwood
89. One Moment In Time, Whitney Houston
90. Can't Stay Away From You, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
91. Kissing A Fool, George Michael
92. Cherry Bomb, John Cougar Mellancamp
93. I Still Believe, Brenda K. Starr
94. I Found Someone, Cher
95. Never Tear Us Apart, INXS
96. Valerie, Steve Windwood
97. Just Like Paradise, David Lee Roth
98. Nothin' But A Good Time, Poison
99. Wait, White Lion
100. Prove Your Love, Taylor Dayne

Yikes. I feel old.

Hey....my 20th reunion is this weekend. I'm not going. Not paying $150+ per person to hang out with a bunch of people I didn't like back in 1988 anyway. Plus it's in Miami.

In other news, I am sick as a dog. Noah is stuffy and snotty as well, and is up every two hours all night long. I am exhausted. The one sucky thing about staying home with my kids is that I can't take them to daycare and lay on the couch all day when I am sick. Bleah. The show must go on, every day, rain or shine, in sickness and in health.

In other, other news, I took my first spinning class on Wednesday. Not the fibery-goodness kind, the sweat your butt off at the gym kind. It was really fun, and had the bonuses of loud music, the dark, and the ability to control how much resistance you have on your bike. I will definitely do that again. Probably next week, as soon as I stop feeling like crap. I had no idea how much you can sweat when you do a stationary bike workout. I was dripping on the floor. I also realized just how non-angular certain parts of me are. Like my hips and shoulders. The general outline of me is a series of shallow curves, rather than the defined dips in at my waist, hips and shoulders like I somehow imagine. Not a dig at myself, just an observation. Every time I get a full-view image of myself in the mirror in workout clothes, I always expect the dancer image. I get the "had three kids and is almost 40" image instead.

Anyway, Noah is yelling (again) and Wren is climbing all over me and pinching my neck (as usual). Guess I should go.

2:56pm: fresh out of ideas
Okay, people. I need some ideas. In August I am entering some work into a local juried art show (and hoping I will get accepted). The theme is 'Cats and Dogs' in honor of the Richmond SPCA, and all work has to conform to the theme. I have been kicking around a couple ideas, but I would love some help from my creative friends. I am planning necklace/bracelet/earrings or a very small fused piece.

Some thoughts I'd been having....

"Pawsitively [something]" (poodles? puppies? summer? Richmond?)

other plays on the word 'paws'...."the paws that refreshes"...."paws for station identification"....

"Stray Cat Strut"
"It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
"Dog Days of Summer"

I want to have a theme within the theme, and I will be making beads or small lampworked sculpture....so, what d'ya think? Gimme some ideas.

9:57pm: the 5 things
1. Performed in the Orange Bowl halftime shows in Miami, FL.
2. Completely cleared an intersection in Geneseo, NY of all it's road signs.
3. Married balynar.
4. Student-taught at the elementary school I attended as a kid.
5. Did tequila shots before Honors English class.


Ooooohhh, I'm so cool. Yeah, my life is boring, I know.

8:45pm: Reading
Ok, I'll bite. Here's what I am currently reading.....

Horse People: Scenes From the Riding Life by Michael Korda

The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

The Chronicles of Narnia, CS Lewis

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House, by Cheryl Mendelson

And when I say 'reading', I actually mean snatching a few minutes here and there to stare at the text during the day and at night when I am not doing something else, and hoping I can glean some meaning and/or entertainment and/or information before I fall completely asleep due to motionlessness.

In line to be read next is:

John Adams, by David McCullough

and whatever might strike my fancy at the library next time I visit.

That is all.

9:30pm: thx!
Thanks, everyone for the suggestions on the books for Kira. I got her The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson), and looked at the Fruitsbasket books, which I think will be fine for her. Yay for kids reading books!

Not much more to chat about now, really. This week Kira is at YMCA day camp (Camp Thunderbird), Wren and Noah are home with me. Next week, Wren starts preschool summer program, and Kira is off to her dad's for the summer. I have plans to attack our office space and move my computer desk around, thereby making space for my sewing stuff, which is moving (mostly) out of Noah's room.

I've done some really cool glass, but I don't have really cool pix as yet, so you can't see it! Anybody good at taking very close-up pictures of very small objects? I need some help with photography so I can start my online Etsy store. I need to sell some beads and jewelry so I can get more tools and supplies!! Can't sell anything without pictures, though, and my camera is not doing the job...

I'm hoping to make it to the gym tomorrow. The goal is three gym visits this week. I have to start working on dropping the 20-25 pounds I want to get rid of, and it's unlikely I will voluntarily stop eating bread or chocolate anytime soon, so increasing exercise is my only option. Heh. Somehow, though, I seem to remember being told that after a point, it's hard to drop any more weight while you are still nursing a baby. Guess it won't be happening as fast as I'd like, then.

I should take advantage of the fact that 2/3 of my kids are asleep and get to bed myself. Even my husband is asleep on the couch at the moment. Time to go to bed.

8:12am: help with books
I have a question for all of you who know anything about Manga and graphic novels. My daughter, who is going on ten, loves to read the Kingdom Hearts manga series that is based on the Playstation 2 games. I want to encourage any sort of reading of books, so I want to support her interest and provide her with books to read. BUT, I know nothing about the genre, except that sometimes the Japanese can be a little....out there....and I want to avoid any content that is inappropriate for her age.

So, I turn to my LJ friends and readers for help. Can anybody recommend books in this genre that would be ok for a ten year old girl? Not just Kingdom Hearts series, but any others, too. Obvious no-no's for a 10yo would include graphic sex, violence, gore, blatant foul language, and other inappropriate themes.

So....any suggestions? Thanks!

7:14am: mmmmmmmm
Ice cold watermelon....Best. Food. Ever.

I'm in danger of consuming an entire seven pound watermelon all by myself. Nobody else in the house has the deep and abiding watermelon love like I do.

1:24pm: Our family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

12:19pm: From duchesspadr