Tuesday Beads are Few, So Here is a Random Post :)

I only got this one set made and just a few eggs still waiting to be etched.  Yesterday was mostly a day of errands.  Today is more of the same as I run around town with my Mom for lunch and shopping.  She needs to find a dress for a wedding we are going to together next month.

While I was out yesterday, I picked up this book by Heather Powers.  One of my eggs is shown on page 15 and she uses my headpins in the necklace tutorial on pages 66-67.  It's pretty neat seeing my work on printed pages, which makes me so grateful for those of you who buy my lampwork, use them in your jewelry designs and then submit some of those designs for publishing in magazines or books.  You all are just the best and go far in reinforcing I am where I need to be and surrounded by the right kinds of folks.

Here is a funky lentil which also came out of the kiln.  This is what happens when too much glass is added before forming the lentil shape.  It smooshes out.  And yes, smooshes is the technical glass term for this.

 

For you Nikon fans, I am thinning out my stash of lenses and selling my 35mm/f2.0 lens and my 105mm/f2.8 Micro lens.  They are both in perfect condition with no exterior wear/marks and come with B+W MRC filters over the lenses for added protection, as well as their original Nikkor boxes, manuals and front/rear lens caps.  Email me at kelleysbeadstudio@me.com if you're interested.  They both performed perfectly on my D90 and now my D700.

Yesterday was my Grandma Eloise's 93rd birthday.  We went out for hibachi for dinner together.  She deals with a bit of dementia and Alzheimer's, so it was a surprise a few times throughout dinner that it was her birthday.  She is always in wonderful spirits and has the best disposition.  My kids adore their great grandmother.

Oftentimes she has crazy hair and even crazier clothes.  One is just not a concern and the other makes her happy.  Her memory is pretty much shot and thoughts do not stay in her head long before being forgotten.  But she always knows she is surrounded by people who love her dearly and knows that the feeling is mutual.  She enjoys being with us and hearing the kids laugh.  She is not the same person she was in my childhood.  Losing her husband and her oldest son over the last ten years were hard blows.  While I miss the woman she was, I am so very thankful she is still here with us...celebrating another birthday (wow, 93!), laughing easily and returning our hugs and kisses.  HaPpY bIrThDaY to my Grandma!

My Grandma's 91st Birthday

My Grandma was born on Friday, September 13, 1918. She has always looked at Friday the 13th as a lucky day, since she was born on one. Her birthday fell on a Sunday this year. I think making it ninety-one years is pretty lucky. Or more-so a blessing.


My six year old made her a birthday card all by himself and enclosed four quarters as the highest esteemed present he could give her. Grandma's reaction made him feel like the best gift-giver ever.

I hope that I make it to ninety one.
And I hope that I will be as healthy and happy.

Happy Birthday Grandma. I love you so much!

My Kids Are HOME!

Yesterday afternoon I was filled with nervous energy and excitement in anticipation of seeing my children for the first time in exactly three weeks since I kissed them goodbye and drove away from their tears and sad faces. Tears and sad faces which were quickly ditched for other fun activities like eating rice crispy bars, playing softball, planning picnics on the boat and swimming in the pool or riding in kayaks. Or so I was told. I know that the tears were genuine. At the time. But c'mon. The kids are 4 and 6 and sadnesses are short lived (oh, if only those quick recoveries carried into adulthood).

The three weeks spread out before us like the ocean, seemingly going on forever when we first arrived home. I stayed busy for the first two weeks cleaning out, re-painting and re-organizing Owen's and Chloe's rooms. But each day passed faster than the one before until I was standing at the gate waiting for my kids to walk off the plane (hugs to the ticket counter agent who gave me a pass through security so I could see my kids that much sooner to smother them in smooches!) and surprise Todd, who believed I was waiting in baggage claim...just like I told him moments before when he called me after landing in Atlanta. :) Yes, I can be sneaky.

So here is the video of their reactions walking into their rooms when we got home from the airport. Gone is my anxiety over the tears and stomping feet yelling "This isn't what I WAAAANTED!" As you can see, I had nothing to worry about.



Do you think the right word for this is nonchalance?

BIG THANKS go to Grandma Sharon and Papa Wenzel for taking care of my children for the past three weeks. There may have been some overindulgence going on (doughnuts for breakfast, cake for lunch, rice crispy treats in the afternoon and pie with dinner for example. yes, there was a security breach, so what happened at Grandma's did not stay at Grandma's....much to her chagrin), but I couldn't be happier about my kids getting to spend so much time Up North in Minnesota with their grandparents and getting filled up on their love.

What awesome memories they will have of these times when they are older. I know some of the snippets I remember of my own childhood with my grandparents bring such a warm feeling of complete and total love. With them, I knew I was safe. They loved me no matter what, even when I was six or seven and ruined my Mom's $300 coffee table with fingernail polish remover when she was napping. My Grandparents were there for me on the phone reassuring me that no matter how angry Mom would be, she WOULD allow me to live.

And that they loved me. So much.