Capturing Laughter

Marshal has the cutest, most infectious laugh I've ever heard. Of course, I could be completely biased...seeing as he is my son.

Kids and dogs make for great entertainment, and mine did not disappoint. Timber has always loved water. When we'd put out a sprinkler we'd have to keep him inside or he'd "play" with it so much he'd destroy it. He loves to try to 'eat' the water coming directly from the hose. It's hilarious.

But add Marshal into the mix - now it's even better. Daddy was washing the truck so he had the hose out front with Timber tied up (he'd run away...being tied out is a must if Timber goes in the front yard) and for some reason Marshal and daddy ended up spraying the water for Timber. It was hard to video and not crack up laughing.




Is there anything more precious than a child's laugh? I wish I could bottle it for times when I'm feeling sad. It's impossible not to smile while listening to a truly carefree laugh.

Getting in Shape

I joined the gym. Again.

When I was pregnant with Marshal I went there for the Water Aerobics class but now that I can move outside of water I decided it was time to lose some weight and get in shape. I was getting winded doing the simplest things. The first two weeks were the hardest but I'm really getting back into cardio. 

I've taken Zumba classes too...those are intense workouts. And my trainer is my own little slice of hell. I've decided to start calling those sessions my 30 minutes of hell. But in a good way.

My goal is to be able to keep up with Marshal without needing oxygen. And it's actually nice to be able to go to the gym, put my ear phones in, and read while doing cardio. It's "me" time. 

Maybe this whole kitchen remodel thing has inspired me to redo more than just our house. 

Marshal and me after my exhausting workout this afternoon. He's chillin'. I can barely hold the book up.

What's My Style?

In going through my jewelry photos from the last few years, it's clear to me that I have no style. And by "no style" I just mean that there's no one defining theme among the different pieces I've designed over the years. There are so many types of pieces I like to create that I've never settled on one ... well, style.

Some people focus on creating with lampwork beads. Which I use.

Others focus only on Swarovski crystals. Which I also use.

Some love pearls...which I definitely do.

Others only work in metal. Again...I love to work with metals.

So where is my niche?

I think the next few months will be seeing if I actually have one. :) Maybe it's the Bipolar Disorder talking, but I really think that being eclectic is something I need to embrace. If I work with Lucite one day and freshwater pearls the next, maybe that's okay. And who says Lucite and Freshwater pearls can't go together?

One thing I know...making jewelry is obviously in my blood. Because if it were just a passing phase (like my card making and scrap booking) I wouldn't be so drawn to it after such a long time away.

Back in Gear

Wow...It has been a long time, hasn't it? My last post obviously was an emotional and difficult one. And I took a lot of time "off" from things. Including blogging.

I'd like to start back up again soon. I'm having my business cards re-designed by a fabulous company called Site Impressions, family owned and operated by Sheryl and Joe. Sheryl has designed some amazing drafts and now I just have to pick out the ones I like best.

We've been remodeling our kitchen. What a nightmare that is. But the great news about the remodel is that I'll have my own little built in desk to work on jewelry. YAY! I'll even get to work on a granite surface...so spoiled, right? :)

Of course, the whole kitchen remodel is in honor of my mother in law, Pat. We told her, before she passed, that we were going to redo the kitchen with our "inheritance". She always laughed and said "Good, maybe then you'll start cooking." :) And that is my hope too.

I have a list of things to do and there's still never enough time. My work is still amazing and I love my job so much. But I miss making jewelry and blogging. This blog needs to be cleaned up and revamped but that will be a lower priority than just getting back into the swing of things.

So...here's to new starts. New blog posts. And new jewelry.

Thankful

It's been an emotionally exhausting Thanksgiving holiday. My mother in law passed away Thanksgiving morning. She'd been sick for quite some time (I posted several times about it but don't feel like looking for them right now) with Leukemia and had finally said no more treatments. It doesn't even seem real that she had gone. And it certainly doesn't seem fair. Her parents lived into their 90s. She was 69. She should have made it to see Marshal graduate high school. We're lucky she lived to see his first birthday.

Marshal just born - she'd just finished chemotherapy and a horrendous hospital stay. It was a miracle to have her home.

Four months old - Her hair was starting to grow back - CURLY! =)

Month 11 - Still going through treatment but loving her grandson time.

One of the last really good photos - with her daughter at Marshal's first birthday party.

We moved everything out yesterday into storage and today I did the final walk through her apartment. Hubby couldn't do it.

I'm not the most emotional person. It takes quite a bit normally to make me cry. But the last four days have just been brutal. The smallest thing starts my eyes watering. Like getting Marshal's pictures taken for Christmas and thinking about who gets photos - I immediately thought of her.

I hate crying.

It's all very exhausting. I just want to curl up under the blankets and sleep for a few days.

I'm extremely grateful for all the amazing and wonderful people I've met - online on Facebook as well as through networking and my new job. The support and prayers are very much appreciated and needed.

An Actual Jewelry Post

It's been awhile. But the last couple of weeks I've had the desire to create...mostly jewelry but also cards and scrapbooking. I don't know what's brought the urge back but it's great.

And so far I've created three necklace and earring sets...only one of which I've managed to even halfway photograph. All three sets involve pearls. :)

These pearls are so beautiful in person...they don't all "match" - some are a little more yellow in tint and some are more pink but they all have great luster and it's just for me to wear so I wasn't too concerned. I was mostly using up pearls from older incomplete strands...left overs. And the coral just POPS out ... I love red.

Another set for my jewelry box. One of these days I'll make something to put in my Etsy shop. :) But not today.

The Sky is Falling

It's been a wacky 24 hours. The storm started building yesterday and by late evening many people in the area were out of power. Our lights flickered but thankfully we kept our power. Which is weird for us - we generally lose power quickly.

Then this morning we had an earthquake! Sheesh. One thing after another around here.

Carmex Lotions?

This post brought to you by Carmex®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Who says Carmex is just for your lips? I was given an opportunity to try out Carmex® Healing Lotion and Carmex® Healing Cream recently and this is the perfect time of year to get a decent hand cream. While the packaging won't leave any lasting impressions, the product itself is pretty good.

I'm really bad about using lotions regularly; my hubby uses his lotions on a regular basis. Wearing a gun belt and bullet proof vest don't do wonders for the skin.

And you know the smell that Carmex lip balms have? It is incredibly hard to describe and the lotion has an almost lip balm smell but it is more pleasant. It reminds me of winter and snow. :) Which is great because I love winter and snow.

One thing I generally hate about lotions is if they are too sticky or 'wet' feeling. Luckily, Carmex is neither of those. It goes on very smooth and dries very quickly so your hands (or feet, or legs, or whatever) are quickly left feeling soft. I think with regular use the long term condition of my skin will improve.

So far I haven't heard any complaints from hubby either so that is also a good sign. All in all I definitely recommend trying this product if you have dry skin and especially with this cold winter we're predicted to have.

Carmex lotion is available at Walgreens, Walgreens.com, and Drugstore.com for $5.99.

We Just Got a WinCo!

I had a fun adventure tonight. We finally got a WinCo Foods close to our house. I'd never been to one but I've always heard really great things so when I found out they were building one I was pretty jazzed (yes, my life is that pathetic).

Today was the grand opening. They had a few coupons that got sent out in Saturday's paper including a huge thing of apple juice for $0.98, toilet paper for $2.99 (the good stuff), Kraft Mac & Cheese for $0.38, bananas for $0.18 a pound! and several other things that I couldn't resist. Their prices on regular items were decent too although a couple of my regular weekly items weren't that much different than Fred Meyer.

Their bulk food section is incredible. And cheap.

It was absolutely insane there though - I waited in a line for a cart. Then of course the entire store was packed with people...which was actually kind of fun. At least for most of us. Some people seemed grumpy - but if you go to a store's grand opening you should really expect that kind of atmosphere.

Then I had to wait in line just to get in line to check out. Then I waited in the check out line.

Their check out system is really cool. They can actually check out two people at once. They had an issue with one of my coupons so while the checker waited for a supervisor she was actually able to switch to start checking out the people behind me. The little belts to bag the food are separated into two lanes. Talk about efficient.

And I LIKED bagging my own groceries. It was kind of fun. I wouldn't want to do it for a living, but at least I have no one to blame but myself if the bag breaks from being too full. :)

All in all I will definitely be going back to WinCo if I need bulk food items or when they have sales. I think that going there may reduce our grocery bill which is also something we are working on.

I have a feeling that all the other grocery stores were dismally slow today...but competition is good for everyone.

Hot Baby

Marshal had a fever from Saturday morning until Tuesday late evening. It was not a pleasant experience as it was his very first fever ever in his 13 months of life. He stopped eating and getting him to drink enough was a struggle as well. Saturday and Sunday he was pretty catatonic … he only wanted to be held and would just stare blankly most of the time.


His nose has been stuffy but now it's full on stuffed so breathing was difficult for him – and that is our current issue. Since he can't breath he can't drink from his bottle (yes, that's another issue...I realize he should be off his bottle since he's over a year but whatever). He won't drink anything other than milk and pushes all other forms of liquid transport away. He also still won't eat very much.
Which brings us to last night. I truly think he was so hungry that his little tummy kept him up all night. In the middle of the night I even made him an English Muffin with butter – something that has never been done in our household. He had one little bite and was done with that. He would get a few sips in before falling asleep, exhausted, in my arms. Putting him back in his crib worked for 45 minutes to an hour before he was awake and crying again.
Needless to say, mommy is exhausted. Which is not good because today is a big day for me. When I first started with Aflac I called a local business and actually got a meeting. That was in May. It is now November and we've finally moved forward and I'm doing enrollments. It's very exciting and it's a company that I absolutely love – and would have loved even if they hadn't moved forward. But being so tired is not conducive to effective consultation. :(
Hopefully we can get his nose unstuffed somehow. It just sounds horrible but he doesn't know yet how to blow his nose or clear his throat so the stuff just sits there building up. I think we need to try to get him to sneeze or something.