Did you know that Etsy now allows sellers to track Purchase History for each buyer? So now I can click on each customer's name and see a history of orders. Which in turn, allows me to calculate how much $$$ they have spent with me. I made an executive decision this weekend (actually, the wheels started churning on this a coupla weeks ago) that for every $500 someone spends with me, they will receive a $50 gift certificate to use in either my beads or jewelry shop. Because, well. It's the right thing to do.
So this week, as a small token of my appreciation, Lorelei is receiving a $50 gift cert to my shop because she has been my biggest customer and has far surpassed that $500 mark. Thank you, Lorelei! You were one of my original customers early on after I opened my shop. Besides perpetuating my habit and love for playing with fire, you have helped push me to become a better lampworker and my skills by requesting custom items that I never would have tried otherwise. You have graciously named my work every time you have used one of my pieces in your jewelry and as a result, help throw business my way. You have enabled my addiction with glass through presents from my favorite glass companies with the coolest of colors. But mostly, you have become one of my best friends. Days where I don't get to chat with you pass slower and feel a little empty. Thank you for your supporting my habit AND for your friendship. YOU ROCK!
And for you others, who are hoarding my boxes (you know who you are), don't forget you can send them back to me and receive $2 off your next purchase for each box you return.
Some of my beads appeared in this cool
treasury.
Now. Onto my weekend. I didn't get to a Friday post to tell you what was on the agenda, but now I have pics to share. :) Saturday morning we went to a pancake fundraiser at the elementary school (the proceeds are going to a child with Leukemia). The bonus was our kids got to see Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Instead of asking for toys, they said what they wanted for Christmas was to go back to the North Pole with them. They wanted to see the elves.
After that, we went to the boy child's indoor soccer game where he scored two out of the three goals that helped his team win.
When I went to the bathroom, I saw this sign inside the door. I imagine the language on the right is Korean, but that's just based on the assumption that many of the Presbyterian churches here hold Korean services. And the soccer games are in the gymnasium of a Presbyterian church. I know it can be difficult for women to break the cycle of abuse and get out of the relationship, or even acknowledge that they don't deserve it. At any rate, I thought it was awesome to see it in writing like this.
Then we went for a photoshoot walk along the Chattahoochee River again, but this time with our good friend Martin and his son Luke.
We dropped off Todd on the way home and then went up to my friend
Tabitha's for dinner. She cooked me a belated birthday dinner of chicken and dumplings with fried okra. I have never eaten either of these foods and thought they were absolutely delicious!! (Tabitha, I wanna know what you used to make the fried okra. Kthxbye). And then we ate the moistest, most fabulous chocolate cake ever! This is Evil-Incarnate right here. She saw fit to give me an upper right hook and a simultaneous left hook to the face. And she's not declawed. After that, I must admit I did try to provoke her since she was most inhospitable. I made sure the photo has a red tint, so you would know automatically she is evil. In case you couldn't tell by the ears.
The kids made Christmas ornaments and absolutely loved both crafts. This one involved painting the palms white and then grabbing a ball ornament from the bottom. The fingers reaching upwards toward the top were turned into snowmen.
The kids were absolutely wonderful ALL day Saturday. But I think they used up all their angelic goodness, which may explain why they were on our last nerve yesterday. With the exception of the hour we went grocery shopping (which is not the norm for when they choose to behave like angels), it was a trying day. There were snow flurries all day yesterday, but it didn't stick. It just blew around and never really covered the ground.
We went to my Mom's to help decorate the Christmas tree and stay for dinner. The kids had fun, but it was just a continued exercise in trying our patience and not listening. We were all ready for the day to end so we could ALL get some much needed sleep.
And atypical to Atlanta tradition of closing all schools the minute one snowflake 'might' have been spotted, they kept ours open today. Even though the flurries continued today. And for that, we were thankful.
So very thankful.
My Mom's cat Jack curled up with my Grandma for awhile on the sofa. He went in for mouth surgery last week and the veterinarian called in the middle to say his mouth was full of cancer and he should be put down. Mom talked him out of doing that then and there and when she brought Jack home, he was acting like his normal self. The vet agreed to wait and let Jack decide when it is time to go. Thankful for that, but we know we are on borrowed time now. Jack is an old boy, but one of the sweetest. Hoping he hangs around for awhile longer as he is loved to pieces.
So that was my weekend. Oh, and I got torch time yesterday afternoon and made several dozen new beads and a handful of headpins.
Tell me about yours. What kept you busy? What made you happy?
