Something to Ponder

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others - Pericles

!NEXT SHOP UPDATE!

more beads coming in November. and there will be eggs!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Back to Blogging and the New Dog!

********AT THIS VERY MOMENT, DOZENS OF BEADS ARE EITHER IN MY KILN OR THE KITCHEN SINK WAITING TO BE CLEANED OF BEAD RELEASE! THERE WILL BE PICS FORTHCOMING THIS WEEK ~ THANK YOU********

This month disappeared on me. Todd was gone for a week in Orlando for a work conference. While he was gone, I got sick with a nasty stomach bug (boo! hiss!) that made me lose ten pounds over two days. It was an effective weight loss method (yay, because it has stayed off over the last two weeks!), but not really how I wanted to do it. Oh well, I'll take the jump start into being better about getting to the gym more often so I can fit into my clothes better. Remember those 200+ cookies I baked in December? They went to my hips. So, so wrong.

Work has been nuts...back to having a healthy sprinkling of late nights working outages. Just thankful it's not like this all the time. Todd was gone again last week for tennis sectionals (where the state championship winning teams play each other) in Mobile, Alabama. I brought Dylan home last Friday while Todd was gone.

Then the girl child got sick this week with a stomach bug that had her throwing up all night (my poor baby!) and us changing out her sheets repeatedly. So lots of stuff going on. Hoping February treats us better healthwise, workwise AND finding more time on the torch!

Meet Dylan. Doesn't he look happy? This is driving home for the first time with a pit stop at Petsmart to pick up a collar that fit him, as well as a name tag with my cell # on it.


I know I had shown you Chance before....we were contemplating naming him Samson or Wilson or a handful of other pretty cool names (thank you to all of you for weighing in with your favorite names!). But then Todd met Chance, who acted a complete spaz (who could blame the sweet boy? he had been penned up in a 4x10ft space for well over a week due to kennel cough and no exercise time). Todd teased that with Chance's jumping, he would knock our piano over.


So Dylan was brought out next and all this sweet boy wanted to do was to sit by our feet and be petted. Dylan didn't jump or dance. He just sat. Very patiently. Waiting to be petted and told how beautiful he was. Dylan wasn't a name we had contemplated, but all four of us liked the name chosen by the rescue and agreed to keep it. After living with us for a week, I think he knows his name now. :)

Dylan weighed in at 68 pounds, which is about 40 pounds underweight. We are feeding him four times a day, instead of two with extra helpings of puppy food thrown in to fatten him up. During his first week with us, he has gained six pounds. He has also started the beginner training class at Petsmart with me on Tuesday nights. And is learning that going up the stairs is not scary (many rescue dogs are scared of doorways and stairs).

Friday was day 8 with us and that was the first day he ventured upstairs on his own (as opposed to me carrying his stubborn/scared self up all the stairs to go to bed each night) and visited Todd over a dozen times throughout the day. He is learning to stay out of the kitchen when we are eating meals and that he must show his manners and sit first before his food bowl will be put down in front of him.

Dylan is a super sweet boy. He is quiet and unassuming; content to sleep most of the day in any cool spot he can find (in front of the fireplace in the family room or out on the back porch). He and Maggie get along well together. She is having fun joining our little 5 minute training sessions throughout the day and is learning with Dylan how to "Watch Me" as I hold a treat in front of my face. We are so glad we found Dylan and look forward to many wonderful years ahead of us with him in our family!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

New Year's Giveaway - Take 2

Ok, Bianca had a week to claim her $50 gift certificate and she didn't respond to me. :( sniff.

But! That gives a new shot to my currently loyal 67 blog followers :)

abeadaday
Alison Kelley
Ames Mama
Artisan Clay
Beads On Fire
Becky, yep
BIANCA
BlueStoneOfOrcasIsland
Brenda Hayes
ChatElaine
Creative Treasures by Donna
Diana
Eileen
Emi_FTLOB
Evie's Tool Emporium
gaffergirls.com
GemmaBeads
gunilla.back
Heather
Higgins Design Studio
hint
How Charming by Michelle - Jewelry Design
Indian Creek Studios
Jan and Shane
Judy
kat
KimberlyRies
kristinann
Lauren
Leslie
Lisa Lutz
Lorelei
Lori
Lucid Moon Studio
lunedesigns
Luthvian
mandywillard
Marbella Jewelry Designs
mari nilda aparicio
Marsha Neal Studio
Mary Ann Carroll
Metallo Bianco Jewelry
nomadcraftsetc
PAM
pearlandpebble
Pink Quartz Minerals
PolymerClayTutor
PowersArtGlass
prettylittleshop
rmar261783
Rosanne
rosebud101
Sarah
sassyglassdesigns
Silver Parrot
SmuTopia Jewelry
Stacey Graham
Stefeny Stanyer
Stephanie
SummersStudio
susikdesigns
Tabitha W.
The Bead Stylist
The Beading Gem
Tosha.jewelry
Veda's Beads
wiredmetal

Number 55 is Silver Parrot! KJ, I think your bead porn stash is about to increase nicely in size. :)


On another note, this is the new boy we are adopting within the next week! Isn't he handsome? He's a two year old Great Pyrenees that I found through a rescue for these gentle giants.

Right now, he is getting over a case of kennel cough and is scheduled to get neutered on Thursday. I'll be bringing our Maggie dog up to the vet's office on Friday for a controlled introduction between the two dogs and hope to bring him home on Saturday. I am so excited!!!!

We are still throwing around names, but have narrowed down the possibilities to Beau, Jack(son), Isaac, Samson, Simon and Wilson.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Look What Pearl and Pebble Did with My Lentils!

She turned them into these gorgeous earrings with bead caps and chips of amber and they're just gorgeous!Buy them here in her Etsy shop!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

My Beads All Grown Up!

Check out these beautiful necklaces Gunilla made and she used some of my beads!

I think they turned out wonderfully!

And my beads got the added bonus of flying all the way to Finland to be made into these beauties :D

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Year's Giveaway ~ $50 Gift Certificate!

I wanted to hold a giveaway for my loyal followers, just for dropping in and seeing what is going on in my studio. No contest open to the masses. No hassle with leaving a comment. You were entered just for following.

Just to say Thank You for visiting and a Happy New Year to you.

The giveaway is for a $50 gift certificate with a coupla options. The winner needs to email me with her (yes, her because I know who the winner is) choice. The $50 gift certificate can be used on my beads or my jewelry. If you want beads that you don't see in my shop (a set you found looking through my sold items, perhaps?) then just let me know and I'll make up some new ones just for you! Or if you like a previous piece of jewelry, I may be able to create a new, but similar piece. You can look through my portfolio of jewelry work at www.kelleysbeads.com because there are years of pieces there that are not captured in my Etsy shop.



I couldn't find any easy way in blogger to show all of my blog followers in a sequential order from when each person started following. Nor could I find any gadgets through google that would show this. So, I went through all of my followers and sorted them alphabetically. If you have a blog, then it should be linked by clicking on your name.

Look at all of my 66 wonderful blog followers!

abeadaday
Alison Kelley
Ames Mama
Artisan Clay
Beads On Fire
Becky, yep
BIANCA
BlueStoneOfOrcasIsland
Brenda Hayes
ChatElaine
Creative Treasures by Donna
Diana
Eileen
Emi_FTLOB
Evie's Tool Emporium
gaffergirls.com
GemmaBeads
gunilla.back
Heather
Higgins Design Studio
hint
How Charming by Michelle - Jewelry Design
Indian Creek Studios
Jan and Shane
Judy
kat
KimberlyRies
kristinann
Lauren
Leslie
Lisa Lutz
Lorelei
Lori
Lucid Moon Studio
lunedesigns
Luthvian
mandywillard
Marbella Jewelry Designs
Marsha Neal Studio
Mary Ann Carroll
Metallo Bianco Jewelry
nomadcraftsetc
PAM
pearlandpebble
Pink Quartz Minerals
PolymerClayTutor
PowersArtGlass
prettylittleshop
rmar261783
Rosanne
rosebud101
Sarah
sassyglassdesigns
Silver Parrot
SmuTopia Jewelry
Stacey Graham
Stefeny Stanyer
Stephanie
SummersStudio
susikdesigns
Tabitha W.
The Bead Stylist
The Beading Gem
Tosha.jewelry
Veda's Beads
wiredmetal

I've got 66 public followers (apologies to you anonymous ones!) and then entered that into random.org.



BIANCA is the lucky winner! Please contact me at kelleysbeadstudio@mac.com if you have a custom request for beads or jewelry. Otherwise just check out through my Etsy shop as normal and I will send you an adjusted invoice if you happen to spend more than $50. Apologies, but the difference will not be refunded in cash...we can save that amount to be applied at a later date, if you wish.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy 2010

I can't believe I have been blogging for over a year now. Time just continues to speed up on me and disappears in a blink. Apparently, so have the last 2-3 weeks, as is seen by my lack of blogging over the holidays.

While I have neglected my blogging duties, I have been busy in other avenues. My sister-in-law moved out, after living with us for close to a year and a half. I have spent time reclaiming our guest room and refilling that closet with all of the stuff I pulled out to make room and eventually just sat in lonely piles over the past year. It feels good to have carpet space back in my closet and in our bedroom. Less clutter around the house is helping me think clearer, too. Along with this room, I have also spent mucho time cleaning out my office/studio, my bedroom closet and the one and a half problem counters in the kitchen that seem to always be heaped with mail, AA batteries, Christmas light bulb replacements and kids' art projects.

I washed and put away Keeters's food bowl and haven't gotten over how empty and lonely the top of the dryer looks now (all our cats' food bowls are in the laundry room, either on top of the counter or the washer and dryer). I still see Keeters out of the corner of my eye in the kitchen, like he's on top of the counter being naughty (the last 6 months, he was so naughty and was constantly being shooed off the kitchen counters where he knew full-well he was not allowed) or near the pantry door, waiting for me to get a scoop of dog food out so that he could snatch a piece.

I cleaned out the kids' toy cabinets and dresser drawers and now have a ton of stuff to take to Goodwill once they start accepting toys again. The kids got mostly clothes for Christmas, which was much appreciated over a boatload of toys that will not be played with after the initial novelty wears off.

I have learned how to shoot in manual mode on my camera and now feel comfortable adjusting the f-stop, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. I also have deleted hundreds of pics as I work my way through the various adjustments in each of those settings, but it has been instrumental in learning hands-on how each little dial notch makes a difference. My next step is to learn how to adjust the light metering and focus points. As well as the white balance lens cap that my honeys gave me for Christmas. I don't know how to set the custom settings on WB after using the lens cap.

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, but have renewed old goals. Exercise more. Take time to breathe. Just Say No to cookie dough (because that, along with the 250+ cookies I made this Christmas, I'm not digging the eight extra pounds I put on. neither are my jeans). Find more patience and exercise it. Lose the sarcasm. Be kinder. Up my random acts of kindness. Find more time on the torch. Find more time for me. For my blogs. For making jewelry. For my friends. For my kids. For my husband.

I had a fantastic 2009. I'm really looking forward to 2010!

To you and yours, I wish you all the best! Health. Contentment. Peace of mind. Love. Joy.

Come back tomorrow, I'll be posting a new giveaway! No entry necessary. You just have to be one of my loyal blog followers :)

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