The Things We Do...

Sometimes I create victories for myself. It helps put a spring in my step, and lets me know that I am the master of something, even if it is not a grand thing.

For example, when I go to the grocery store, I race with the checker. You know the little membership cards you get? I try to wrestle mine out of my wallet, and swipe it through the machine before the checker gets a chance to say,

"Do you have your Smith's card today?"

This is not easy, because, as noted in my previous post, my life gets kind of messy, and so does my wallet. I'm working on it. Anyway, sometimes I win, sometimes the checker wins, but it is always fun. Always.

Anytime I am able to make a cursive "c" that doesn't look like a "v," I reward myself with a candy bar. A student actually pointed out that my c's look like v's. I sent him to the office.

When I make my glass beads (I make jewelry, remember?), and they don't all look like potatoes, I give myself potato chips. The down side of this is, if my beads do end up like potatoes, I have to eat a raw potato. They're not great.

If I walk around all day in my new 4 inch wedges without falling off of them and breaking my ankle, I get a doughnut. If I do fall off of them...well, I probably have a broken ankle, and that is punishment enough.

If I write a post on my jewelry blog that actually has something to do with my jewelry, I get a whole cake! Clearly, that hasn't happened in awhile. I promise the next post will be about my progress toward the Spearfish Show, with pictures of my latest projects and all. Really.

If I write a post in which I address my readers as if I actually had readers...I don't actually get anything except the realization that I am being delusional. Please follow my blog (click the "join this site" button on the right!). I would be so happy if you did, and the reward I give myself for getting more readers would be absolutely bananas!

On a serious note (in case you couldn't tell that this post is absolutely and totally silly), it is very important to celebrate our accomplishments, big and small, real and imagined. We already have plenty of ways to break ourselves down, and it can be so easy to ignore our victories. Yes, a lot of them are small (i.e. successfully avoiding the aggressively friendly stranger at the grocery store--more scary than cuddly), but they are victories nonetheless. I want to hear about yours! Leave them in the comments section!

P.S. I do not recommend that you indulge in chocolate and/or processed sugar every time you write your cursive letters correctly. Neither do I actually condone eating a doughnut every time you walk without falling down. Just to be clear. However, if your lampwork beads don't look like potatoes, by all means, have a chip.

Keeping It Together Can Be Hard

Do you ever feel like you are losing you mind? If yes, does this feeling ever last for a month or more? Well, (I say with a seasoned chuckle) this happens to me every other month and lasts for about three months. That's right, do the math...I feel like a crazy person approximately all of the time. So, assuming that I'm not alone in this (because if I am alone I don't think I can take it--so please just humor me), I decided to write some helpful hints for dealing with stressful situations. Ready? Here we go.

1. Do you have too many books cluttering your house? Well, simply gather the ones you don't want anymore, stuff them in a bag, and leave by them the front door for three weeks, telling yourself each time you trip over them that you will take them to the used book store as soon as you have a moment to breathe. If you're lucky, your dogs will help you out, like this:

Magadoo, sitting happily atop her pile of ruin.

Notice the shredded pages all around her? Yes, the darling took it upon herself to eat some of those pesky books--that's two fewer books I need to worry about schlepping to the store! Score! Look closely at her face. Here is what she is communicating with that sweet little smirk:

Maggie: "Hey, Amy. Remember that time this morning when you had to get to work early, and you didn't take me for a walk? Yeah? Ringing any bells? Well, I ate your books. That's right. Now go get the leash."

And that, my friends, is how you deal with excess clutter. Situation handled.

2. Is one of your best friends having surgery? Okay, I have the perfect solution. Forget about it! Just completely let it slip your mind, then call her the day after for a nice little chat. When she sounds groggy, and not quite herself, you can tease her for drinking at 10:00 in the morning. Then, when she says, "Oh no, it's just the pain killers for my surgery," you can sit silently for a full 30 seconds, really soaking in the guilt until it feels like it will crush your bones. Once you are saturated in your shame, beg for forgiveness, then ply her with gifts. You're welcome.

3. Do you keep getting letters from your insurance company requesting proof that you repaired a hole in the ground next to your house, but you can't really provide proof other than to say "I took dirt from another part of the yard, and put it in the hole until it was nice and filled,"? Don't even sweat it. Just put the letter on top of your bill box with all the other important documents that you don't know how to address, and ignore it. What are they gonna do? Cancel your home owners insurance? (Laughing)I don't think so...oh, wait...

4. Finally, do you feel like you have just way too many things to do in any given day? No problem! Just make a list, like this:

See how simple that is? All you have to do is follow the list, and mark off the items as you complete them! Genius!

Ahh, helpful hints are great! You know what's even more helpful? Knowing that it's okay to take the occasional trip to Crazy Town, as long as you come back. Things get so chaotic, but it helps me to remember that the world will keep right on going, and so will I. Treat your day like a rousing game of Duck Hunt on Nintendo. Know that you'll get a few, but some will fly away and then a dog will come out of the bushes and laugh at you. It's okay. Celebrate the hits, and save the misses for tomorrow. I wish everyone knew how much wisdom there is to be had in the original Duck Hunt.

Up Wake

I stepped into a Barnes and Noble a couple of weeks back. This is a big deal when you live in the boonies--doesn't happen often. Of course, I love our little used bookstore on Main Street like it was my own--but I get dazzled by the bright lights of Barnes, the stacks and stacks of spanking new books, and...oh my, an escalator! That's not one, but two floors of books! Hazahh! I went into a bit of a frenzy, and decided that I absolutley had to have some new books if I was to continue breathing. Yes, I have a Kindle--but I could never give up regular books. Just not happenin', mmkay?

All that being said, I am quite pleased, so far, with one of the books I got. It is So Much For That, by Lionel Shriver. I am not completely done with it--I'm actually about 1/3 of the way through, so this is not an actual review of the book, just my ponderings. The thing I love about the book is the characters. When you flip to the first page, it's like they are all there, hands outstretched, saying "Come on in. Walk around in my life for a bit. It's great to have you here." In return for me taking them up on the offer, they give me 100% honesty, warts and all. It also helps that one of the main characters is a metalsmith, and seriously flawed--I love that. I also get a chuckle because one the ideas that a particular character continuously complains about is capitalism--I find this funny because it was my reaction to the big, glitzy corporate store that got me to buy the book...it doesn't take much to make me laugh, I guess.

The book is big, and tasty, and delicious and I love sinking my teeth into it every night. Books bring me so much joy. I know I am not the first person to think or say these things, but why should that stop me? The things that wake us up and spark our minds should be shared, so there you go. Have a happy day!

Pie?

The guy that owns the greenhouse is quite possibly the happiest person in the world, plus he's a giant. He's like an excited Big Bird with a long pony tail. He's awesome. He's one of those people that you instantly like because he emanates pure joy. As we wandered looking at trees way, he came up to us. Here is how the conversation went:

BB: Aren't those birches awesome?! (I never combine my exclamations with my question marks, but that is the only way I could capture his enthusiasm, and I still didn't do it justice.)

Me: Yeah, we have an empty lot next to our house and we wo-

BB: ORCHARD!! (he throws up some jazz hands)

Me: Maybe, bu-

BB: Oh yeah, an orchard. Pears, apples, cherries...(whistles through his teeth with a dreamy look in his eye as he rocks back on his heels).

My Husband (Ryan): Watches quietly with his hands in his pockets, a happy little smile on his face.

Me: Or these birches...

BB: Mmmm hmmm, mmmm hmmmm. Imagine the pies.

Me: Pies...I like pies.

BB: Well, look around. These birches are native, so they'd do real well for ya'.

Me: Pies...

We kept looking, and eventually we started talking to BB again because the trees we already have tend to get a little sickly. 

BB: Oh, sounds like you have Scale. You might need some Lime Magnesium (I can't remember exactly what chemical he said, so I'm making it up).

Husband: Still quiet, nods his head.

BB: Looks at Ryan. Yeah, you know about the Lime Machomeesa.

Ryan: Nods again.

When you've been with the same person for a significant amount of time, you develop an unspoken language. It goes way beyond body language, and is derived instead from an intimate knowledge of the other person. So intimate, that all you need is a little bit of context to understand exactly what is happening in their mind. Here is what was happening between us at this moment.

Me: I glance at Ryan, and my look says, You don't know anything about Lime Mancala.

Ryan: Does not return my glance, but in so doing he says, I know that you know that I don't know the first thing about Lime Mandolin, but I don't want to interrupt. Just go with it.

So, we finish up our conversation, look at a few more trees, and leave. We totally forgot to get the Lime Of Monte Cristo. As we are driving away, Ryan says:

Ryan: Am?
Me: Yeah?
Ryan: I don't know anything about Lime Mandungus.
Me: I know, Sweety.
Ryan: Lunch?
Me: Yes. How about some pie?

The Day I Got Nothing Done

I had a hard time pulling it together today. I did not have to work, but my husband did, so I had the house to myself. Perfect time to get started on jewelry for this summer's show, no? I got up brightish and early-ish (a.k.a my dogs jumped on my head until I stumbled out of bed), brewed my coffee, ate my cereal, and...watched an episode of Smash on my DVR. Okay, once that was done I thought about putting on my shoes and getting my run out of the way. I thought about it, but what I actually did was, wait for it, watch another episode of Smash. I'm behind, okay? It's been a busy couple of weeks.

So, once I got caught up on Smash (Uma Thurman, you vixen, you), I looked at the clock and thought I had enough time to run before my hair appointment. I promise you I was headed for my shoes when the phone rang. It was my dear friend whom I have not spoken to since...Wednesday. So, I settled in for a nice long chat. She's doing well, by the way. Thank you for asking.

By the time I hung up the phone I had reached the red zone--the place where you absolutely must get in the shower within the next 45 seconds or you will be terribly late for whatever appointment awaits you. The red zone happens at different times for all women, for me it is exactly 53 minutes before whatever I have scheduled. For example, if my hair appointment was at 1:00 p.m., I absolutely must be in the shower and fairly wet by, at the latest, 12:07. 12:08 is pushing it, at 12:09 I may as well just put on some deodorant and clean socks and call it good.

After making all my appointments (I was only a teensy bit late), I just did not have the energy for that run. I did, however, make some beads. But, I was feeling just a little off-my timing just wasn't there. Here is one of the scariest things about working with glass. If you heat it too fast, it shatters and sends tiny, hot little shards right toward your face. I have never actually been hit in the face, but it is still quite terrifying. What's worse, when this happens, I jerk my head back really hard which really hurts because whenever I am working glass in the flame, I tilt my head to look at it. So, basically, I look at my glass the same way my dog looks at me when I say any of these words:

Ball.

Walk.

Or, Bone.

So, you see, jerking your head back when your neck is all twisted really hurts. But, I did end up with these little pretties.

I think they're worth a little whiplash.

Yup.

Well, here's to a more productive Saturday! 

Over The Moon

I am trying to get my head back into my real life right now. I was away for almost a week at a conference put on by the Council for Exceptional Children, and came back buzzing with new ideas and exciting directions. I was still processing this the morning after my return as I pushed against the cold wind and headed to our mailbox. Inside I found an envelope from the Spearfish Arts Center. My breath caught, and I whispered to Ryan, "I got an envelope from Spearfish."

"Whatever it says," he began, "just be okay with it."

Spearfish is the sight of the annual Festival In the Park. It is one of the largest art festivals in the upper Midwest--yes, I'm quoting their website. Anywhoo, it is a juried show, meaning you have be selected by, you guessed it, a jury. I applied to it last month and have been working very hard ever since then to put it out of my mind--quite unsuccessfully.

With my heart hitching, I tore into the letter and...I got in! This will be my very first juried show, and I am over the moon. Way over! I am scared, and anxious, and trying to figure out how I can possibly make enough before then, but I will do it. My wonderful family has already to volunteered to help in various ways--they're the best--so I certainly don't think I'll be short handed. Hmm, I may have to teach Ryan to use jeweler's pliers...we'll see how that goes.

Now, I have to go breathe because I am at a constant risk of hyperventilating when I think about the show. The good hyperventilating, that is.

Hello, Stranger

Spring Break is over, *deep sigh*. We get so busy during the school year, that sometimes it feels like Ryan and I just kind of get used to not interacting a whole lot.

So much so that the first morning of break, when I glanced over the rim of my steaming coffee cup and saw my disheveled guy across from me, I gave a shocked little, "Oh, well hello! How are you?" 

He looked at me with the same mild surprise, and answered, "Not bad. Your hair got long."

Okay, so it's not actually that bad, but it sure was nice to spend some quality time together doing things that are not at all exciting unless you are living inside our lives.

The first thing we did was shop for trees at the greenhouse--an interesting time, I'll tell more about that later. We also got new furniture because the furniture we've been using was purchased when I was 13 years old...by my parents. Oh yes, it was time.

We also did some hiking with the dogs, and on the way I had to take a few pictures.

I love it when I look out the car window and see something unexpected, like this old truck sitting in front of an equally old-looking store front.

The dogs, however, were not as amused, and really just wanted to get to the mountains already.

And, of course, I got to make some jewelry.



These guys were so fun to make! I will be listing most of them on Etsy very shortly. 

Now, back to work. *sigh*