pumpkin pie

Yes, there is one of those in the oven. I am baking a pie to take to the elementary school today. Walker's kindergarten class is having their Thanksgiving feast, and I'm delivering the pie. After we leave school, we're making a quick pit stop at our house before heading to my parent's house for a spend-the-night party. The boys are so excited they could POP! There is candlelight shopping downtown, and we are meeting some dear friends for dinner and an evening of quaint shopping. You never know...we may even happen upon Santa!

As I've said before, Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday for me. I know you've seen this necklace before (very recently since it was the November giveaway!); however, it really sums up what I'm feeling as Thanksgiving day approaches. This particular necklace is a little different than the giveaway piece because it has a white coin pearl in the middle. Anyway...don't forget to count your blessings!

It's Friday!

I have had the best couple of days. William's preschool Thanksgiving program/feast was yesterday, and it is my all-time favorite preschool event. It is filled with family, friends, great food and adorable children who did exactly what they were supposed to do on stage. Walker really wanted to be there, so his teacher said that it would be fine to leave school to attend. He seemed quite proud of his brother, and that made me very happy. I know they adore one another, but sometimes the bickering can get the best of me. Yesterday was not one of those days - they were great, and Walker was very supportive of his little brother. Today was Walker's day. They were studying the letter "P" at school today, so the entire kindergarten got to wear their pajamas to school. Walker thought that was the greatest thing ever. Even better than that (for me anyway) was that William and I got to join him for the holiday lunch at school. Walker seemed to enjoy showing William the ropes. We then headed to the high school to deliver a new piece I had been working on. It is funny...I always get a little nervous when I deliver a piece to someone who has never ordered - will they love it, hate it, wish they had gone with something different? Well, this reaction made my day! She was perfectly thrilled. The picture below will give you a little peek.

This is yet another piece that I would eventually like to make for myself. In the meantime, an order for another one of these came in today...looks like mine will have to wait!

I hope your weekend is a good one!

the holidays are upon us

I really have no reason for showing you this necklace except that I thought it turned out pretty cute. This is a piece I took to the local art show, and it sold right off the bat! Since so much of what I do is personalized, it was really difficult for me to come up with things that people could simply walk up and buy. I like the way it turned out, and you know I'd be more than happy to reproduce it for you should you want one! If nothing else it will give you more ideas of what is available/possible in the world of hand-stamped sterling jewelry.

Now, my friend Wendi over at http://alphabetsoupembroidery.com/ contacted me yesterday about the possibility of hosting a Christmas open house. Now, I must tell you that in one respect the idea terrified me. After all, my house needs a serious cleaning and then decorating. On the other hand, I already had the very same idea and had not mentioned it to her. Anyway, we batted around different ideas - participants, date, time, etc. - and it looks like we can make this happen. Now, my husband is having a Christmas photography special at our house the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so the house will have to be decorated anyway. We always get our tree the Friday after Thanksgiving, so 24 hours should be just fine, right? Nothing like having people over to your house to light a fire under you! I am out of school next week, so it should help to have some days at home. Anyway, if you're in the area and happen to hear from me or Wendi about the open house, I hope you'll join us! It would be a great time to wrap up (or start, in my case!) your Christmas shopping. I'll post more details about that later.

We have the preschool Thanksgiving program/feast tomorrow. I absolutely love that program! Then, I'm heading to the elementary school Friday for their holiday lunch. I just love celebrating the holidays with my boys! Hope the remainder of your week is great and full of thanksgiving.

not a foreign language...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:15
Timestamp: 2008-11-17 22:43:34 UTC

While the above may look like gibberish to some of you, it actually tells me that Stacy is a weiner...oh, I mean winner!!! I can say this about Stacy since she is a dear friend of mine. Stacy was comment #15 on the count your blessings giveaway, so she is the winner of the featured necklace. I feel like holding the necklace hostage until I actually get to see Stacy in person; however, since the interstate works both ways (last I heard, anyway), I guess I am equally at fault for not making my way into the big city to see her. Anyway, Stacy, shoot me an email and we'll make arrangements to get your necklace to you - congratulations!

While we are on the subject of things for which we are thankful, I think most of my usual blog readers will know that my family tops my list. So, I actually sat down long enough to make a piece for myself to remind me of my family. So, this is something new I can share with you - our family tree.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment. If you are new to my "giveaway thing," I always offer those that leave a comment 10% off the first piece ordered between now and December 31, 2008 as my way of saying thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog. Several of you have already taken me up on this offer, and I hope to be giving 10% off several more times between now and the end of the year! I plan to have another giveaway in the month of December, so don't forget to check back with me on a regular basis. Have a great week!

on being thankful...

Thanksgiving is one of my all-time favorite holidays. I enjoy it because it is all about being thankful and surrounding yourself with those you love. This time of year more than any, I consciously take the time to reflect on how blessed I truly am. I do not get wrapped up in gift-giving or decorating - simply being thankful. (My mom's incredible turkey and dressing dinner doesn't hurt either!) This year, I am so very thankful for a growing business that allows me to be creative and touch people's lives in a really neat way. I am thankful for those that read my blog and for those that appreciate my jewelry. So, to show you how thankful I am...it's time for the November giveaway! You know the drill. Just leave a comment in the comment section of THIS post, and tell me about something for which you are most thankful. The winner of this piece will be chosen Monday. It is a 1.25" sterling washer with a bronze coin pearl inside. And, as always, share this giveaway with your many friends in your address book. If they register a comment and mention your name, you will win a key ring and have the chance put your two cents in about the design! So, get to commenting and spreading the word. Monday will be here before we know it!

inspiring

A friend of mine has a granddaughter who, at the age of 13 months, was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer. I have followed the remarkable journey of this child since first hearing the news of her cancer. She went into remission after a series of tough surgery and treatment. In August of 2007, they faced the news that her cancer had come back. This precious little girl turned four in August and after a rough serious of tests in New York last week, she is showing no evidence of disease!!! I have never met this little girl, and I've also never met her mother. Her mother and I are around the same age, and I find myself constantly amazed by her faith, her grace, her strength and the ability to keep everything going when most people would feel like everything is falling apart. Needless to say, I hold my children closer to me everyday because of the story of this family. While the boys have sent the child a little care package last Christmas, I felt inspired to send a piece of my work to her mother. She also ran the New York City marathon a week and a half ago to raise money for pediatric cancer research. She raised over $13,000!!! This necklace shown in the picture above is heading her way. Gold is the color of the remembrance ribbon for pediatric cancer, and the piece simply reads "hope." They will never know how much I am "hoping" for them! I "hope" each of you will hold your children close to you this day and everyday we are blessed to have them.

out of touch

Sorry I have been out of touch for the last week. I worked so hard getting ready for the art show Saturday that I could hardly complete sentences when it was over! I forget from year to year how exhausting that event is for me. I apologize for no pictures on this post as well. Who wants a post with no pictures? Oh well, I am home late from a PTO meeting with the promise of a couple of great posts this week. Don't forget about me...you might just miss a giveaway (wink! wink!)

bones & bats

It has taken me a while, but here is a picture of my skeleton and my "better-batter baseball man" (as William refers to himself.) They had a grand time as they celebrated Halloween, and I am certain they will not need anymore candy between now and next October 31 (note to Santa, Cupid and the Easter Bunny!) While we are making notes to Santa, I need to let him know that this elf is quite busy holding up her end of then deal when it comes to jewelry. I am also working on some great things that I look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks. One of the pieces is a complete surprise for a total stranger. How fun is that?! Given what she goes through on a daily basis, I find her to be completely amazing. I'll probably have it finished and ready to show you all next week. I'll share her story with you as well...prepare to be humbled and inspired!!! As I mentioned in a previous post, we have the art show in town this weekend. I am SOOOO busy getting ready for that, but I have not forgotten that it is now November. Time for another giveaway! Let's shoot for a goal of no later than the end of next week...deal?

curly, larry & moe!

Okay...so none of the guys in my life have curly hair...but, aren't my campers quite cute?! These are the guys all suited up to head to the mountains. And what do they do when they get there?

Absolutely nothing!!!

Here's to kicking back and enjoying the great outdoors! Hope you've had a great start to your week.

boys night out

Yes, the boys have embarked on their first "real" camping trip to the mountains, tent and all. They left with daddy this morning and will return tomorrow. Not since before Walker was born have I had the house to myself overnight. I am so looking forward to it! If only I can get some cleaning and laundry done, I will be excited and consider it a success. I spent the day running errands, so I have quite a bit of ground to cover tonight. But, it is amazing what you can accomplish without two little ones (and one big one!) under your feet all day. I'll miss the guys, but this was exactly what we all needed. Of course, I will be interested to see if they are really returning tomorrow. When they left, they had enough packed for about four weeks! I, of course, took pictures to remember the occasion, so I'll share some of those next week.

I have been working on some recent orders. This was a necklace that was purchased for a birthday gift. I thought it safe to show since it was just one initial - just a different take on the full monogram. This person is also a little more natural. So, for interest, we went with the copper freshwater pearl dangle. I have much more to do, and would love to get some of it done in the next 24 quiet hours! My friend Laura and I organize an annual art show in the county. We are so fortunate to have so many talented artists who live right here around us. It is coming up next Saturday, November 8th. So, if you are in the area, it would be worth stopping by! We will have approximately 40 artists representing all different types of art. While most of my work is custom, I would love to have a few pieces to show and to sell that day. So, I need to get moving on that...the clock is ticking. So much to do - so little time.

I'll plan to post some camping pictures next week as well as pictures from Halloween. Let me just say that William won the costume contest at church for his age group, and it had nothing to do with the costume! He was dressed as a baseball player (with built in muscles.) The dialogue went a little something like this...

William: Mommy, am I going to win the contest?

Me: I don't know, honey. You are really going to have to sell it. Just work the crowd.

William: Okay mommy. I'm going to try my very best.

Well, let me just say that he put on quite a show. He marched up on stage and started flexing his "muscles" and tapping his cleats on the stage. When he felt like the attention was going some other way, he would quickly step out front and give another flex. It was definitely all in the attitude. When he returned to his seat he said, "I cannot believe I won!" My dad confided in me later that he knew the die was cast before William ever made his way to the stage. What a clown that little one is!