Thanks A Bunch

I just wanted to say thanks to all the wonderful women I met today at my grandmother's party in Palisade, NE.

I have had a wonderful time on my leisurely trip the last 2 weeks, but I think I will head back to WA Tuesday or Wednesday morning. I miss Colin and being home, I know the dog does as well. Unfortunately I am still not looking forward to the almost 16 hour drive.

Hope you had a wonderful Saturday as well! P.S.-Apparently Sony fixed my camera and sent it back with a new computer....hopefully it works.

Hello Again :)

Thought I would say hello again.... I am just doing a bit of laundry and packing up my jewelry to head up to Nebraska for a few days. The last few days in CO have been beautiful. Sunday Molly and I talked our mother into going back to all the antique/flea markets to see a few pieces we thought she would like.

Unfortunately we talked our mom into a beautiful waterfall bedroom set that they had marked down to $450. As soon as I get some pictures I will post it because it is awesome, all three of us felt like we stole it walking out. It includes bed, chest of drawers, nightstand, vanity/dresser, chair, and the mattresses (which we really don't want). After I also helped my mother fill up the car in WA (secretary desk, and my chair and ottoman) I think my dad is going to ban me from hanging out with her. In our defense we got AWESOME deals both times.

Hope everyone's week is going well, miss you Cheryl!

Hello from All Over....

Thought I would check in and say hello since I have been away all week. I am enjoying myself at my parents new home and relaxing. After driving 15 1/2 hours straight I need to, that is definitely not an activity I am going to duplicate.

Tuesday Molly (1 of my sisters) and I spent the day in Denver having a dinner with the majority of my cousins and our Mamo (grandma). The rest of the week has been a little more laid back, which is WONDERFUL! Wednesday I slept in, it was needed. Thursday Molly and I went button hunting, she is an excellent hunter.....we did extremely well. :) I made a few bracelets already but alas I have no camera so unless Molly is here I have zero photos (this stinks because I already sold 2 of the new bracelets).

Today we are headed to a wedding up in the mountains for the night, I cant wait to see so many friends I grew up around that I have seen so little of the last few years. I am still not sure what jewelry I am wearing but my mom has hers all picked out and I custom made the mother of the grooms. Molly I'm sure will wear something of mine as well since yesterday she disappeared with my pieces to go to the zoo. My family has been a huge implement in helping with marketing my creations. THANKS!

On a side note my other sister Cheryl has finished my web site and sent me my manual for running it until Christmas. We had decided on a photo loading program but with her busy schedule teaching at KSU we are leaving it out until Christmas. Therefore I have a custom website which I love but it is going to get even better! Look forward to me filling it up the first week of September since I will still be in CO, and NE.

Colin is hanging out with all of his single work buddies since I have been gone, yesterday he told me I need to come home because he is old and tired...I am still laughing about that. He may have to wait until I have the energy to drive that far again :(

Enjoy your weekend!

The list is growing....

There will be very few photos for about 2 weeks as I had to send my "good" camera back to Sony....our old camera has been four-wheeling etc. a few too many times and doesn't focus very well. At least it still is working to some degree. Anyways since as usual I have been procrastinating on the things that absolutely need done I better get to work. Today so far I have been checking out new blogs and saving ideas for decorating in the future. If you don't watch yourself reading new AWESOME blogs can swallow you up.

As I am leaving for CO and NE on Monday morning I better get motivated.....

-Our lawn needs mowed
-I have 2 custom orders waiting to be put together
-A huge pile of laundry
-Packing my displays
-Picking clothes
-Packing for the dog
-Loading the car

I know I am missing quite a few things but those are the bones of what needs done today. I did run to the grocery store yesterday and bought myself healthy drinks and snacks for my trip. I am going to also make myself some sandwiches so I refrain from eating junk food during the trip. I turned over a new/old leaf with this running thing, unfortunately I cant eat Chinese food for every meal to make it a complete transformation into old Kerrie.

Pinch of This a Little of That

I tested out those new shoes and gadgets this morning. :) Today was a good start to getting in shape....I hope my bridesmaid dress still fits in October or I am going to need to do more alterations.

I called Colin just to let him know I used my shoes since he was skeptical and now he wants to try my gadget....only problem is he doesn't have any shoes, or an ipod (we usually don't need more than one). These may be some good ideas for Christmas as he is really hard to shop for. Thankfully he is more patient than me and if we get him some shoes he will wait and use my gadgets until then.

Now I am off to ship my camera back to Sony....I am not even going to go into the conversation I had with them yesterday. All I can say is thank you to the wonderful sales girl who straightened out Sony's customer service rep. Gurr...now they want me to fill out a survey, aren't you supposed to keep your mouth shut if you cant say anything nice? Today that rule is VOID.

Motivational Present

I bought myself a present today. One that I have been wanting for quite awhile but didn't want to fork out any $$$ for. I needed a new pair of running shoes, which the last few years has been hard to find as I have a bone on each foot that when aggrevated grows. So it is just harder to find shoes that don't rub and aggravate it. I have checked into getting this fixed and they want to break the bone (on both feet) and grind it. Not fun! I would much rather spend more time finding shoes.

I REALLY have wanted a pair of Nike + shoes. Normally Nike's shoes run slightly narrow, but I have found quite a few that fit well, only problem is all of them have been over $100 which I wont spend. Today I was helping a friend shop for new tackle boxes at the sporting store....and as usual I got sidetracked and noticed that one of the shoes I wanted was on sale for $59.99. :) I love back to school sales.

I used to run at least once a day if not twice (yes I was obsessed) in high school and college. After numerous instances it lost its spark and somewhere I stopped. I miss that and if new shoes sparks my old love then I am going to try it. I have a harder time running alone so I decided to purchase the chip for the shoe. It works through your ipod and will let you know how fast you are running, how far, # of calories burned....instead of having a coach I now have a mobile friend telling me how much farther I need to go. I decided to set myself up on a training plan for a 5k in 12 weeks, I know that is super easy so I am excited to start and get back to the old Kerrie.

Bonus is the arm band I already have that is a few years old is actually a Nike + band and was made for my ipod with the attachment. Yeah! Apparently I was thinking into the future. Since I have been up all night making myself a playlist of music I better get to bed so I actually can go for a run in the morning.

New Possibilities

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning....then my phone kept dinging about e-mails. If I was only to say one single thing today it is: "There are always 2 sides to every story". We need to think this thought with every opinion we form on anything we read or hear from anywhere. Life would be much simpler if we all got off our high horses and stopped insisting our ways are better than those around us. I'm off my soapbox now and thought I would share some new photos.

Red Coral Link Bracelet
Braided Crystal Quartz, this photo needs those light skills I mentioned.
Some Shells I had laying around, they are a tiny version of most you see (1 1/4")

Swarovski Crystal Earrings....the rest of this custom set is coming.

Sorry for my soap box, I had a deep dose of numerous people being intolerant to others purely because they can't think outside their own box when they get riled up. I can't stand that!

Beautiful Recycling

I try to be fairly conscious of what I buy anymore so that very little is wasted. I spend a little more on trash bags that will not sit in our landfills and never decompose (and yes I know without air they still might not) but it makes me feel a little better about having to use plastic trash bags.
One thing that I love about Spokane is that they promote recycling, you get a bin with your city trash can and you can put all paper (2' x2') cans, and glass in it and the recycling truck/man sorts it into his truck when he stops by. We have lived so many places and its hard to even find a place to take your cans much less everything else that is recyclable. Think how much they save in landfill space from recycling just one city block. This is one of the very very many reasons I love it up here. I cant wait until we have our own house so I can actually have a full sized garden and a compost bin, it aggravates me that so much goes to waste.
Anyways since it isn't recycling day I still decided to reuse all my old buttons and make a few new bracelets. These are going to be the last 3 until I locate a few more button jars as I am REALLY low.

Black Twist
Ivory Wedding

Black Triple State (It has AZ, CO and WA buttons)

View of the backsides-I personally find this side just as beautiful :)

Sparkly Beauties for Monday

For some reason today's inspiration was circles. Almost all the pieces I completed or have brewing in my head used some form of them. Here are a few new items.....

Faceted Amethyst Dangles
Red Coral Braided Bracelet
Red Coral Dangles with Rounded Cross
Circles of Black Jade Earrings
Olive Jade Circle Earrings
Faceted Crystal Quartz Circle Earrings (these look stunning but were very hard to photograph)

I think I need some photo classes, or a class on manipulating light. My photos are never terrible but if you are good at getting the light right your photos can be GORGEOUS! I admire all those that have that skill. It might help if my camera was functioning, it keeps telling me the battery isn't compatible and turns off. Tomorrow I am taking it back as it is only a few months old and Colin being Colin bought insurance on it. This is now the third item that he has bought insurance/extended warranty and I have actually needed it. His tally is at over $1800 right now off the top of my head in savings. Its a good thing I have him around because I never buy extra warranty/insurance. I would just be stuck with a new camera that doesn't work correctly. Thanks Babe!

More delicious things to Eat

Per my sister Cheryl I made Raspberry Chipotle sauce with what was left of the raspberries. Yum, unfortunately it only made 4 1/2 jars. :( That means I need to get more raspberries as I love that stuff. Since I also have so much zucchini left over and we have tons of leftovers cooked in several different ways I decided to shred it and make some bread. Double Yum! I made 4 mini loafs and froze the rest in 2 cup containers to use later.

Today was supposed to be a day of making jewelry orders but now I need to scrub down the kitchen as it is super sticky. I always have Sunday :) and Monday is my goal to share new photos.

Random Facts of Me

Since I haven't been so good about posting pictures of jewelry I thought I would tell you a few random things about me.-I love lots of pillows EVERYWHERE in my house.

-Plants are my favorite but do NOT move cross country well.

-Old buttons never fail to give me inspiration.

-I have learned that I don't like to get comfortable each place we live because I know it wont last, I am ready to leave WA right now because it is going to hurt when we do move.

-I have AMAZING friends all over the U.S.

-I like to cook but hate to clean up my mess.

-I hate clutter yet always seem to have some, it must make our house OUR home.

-I have dabbled in every craft except knitting/crocheting and oil painting. They aren't my mediums and I know that, everything else is fair game in my head.

-I LOVE my husband and our dog.

and

-Moving companies wrap all your shoes individually in paper. Wait, that wasn't about me but it is a weird fact of my life each year.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Yummy Jam

Here is some of the Delicious Raspberry Jam that I made today. Yum! I ate some on homemade crepes for dinner. :) My sister suggested that I also make some Raspberry Chipotle sauce so that is one of tomorrows projects as it has been raining all evening and is nice and cool inside and outside the house. I have a feeling everyone is getting jars of different types of jelly and salsa with their Christmas presents this year.

UPDATE: My website should be done soon so I can start adding items onto it! Yeah! Well things will get uploaded onto it at the end of the month as I am taking myself and Gunther on a long road trip to visit family and friends. Poor Colin has to work, I figured I would go now since we are unable to go home Thanksgiving and Christmas again. :(

Smattering of the Week

Its an early start since it's 2 am pacific time and I can't sleep. I have been busy cooking up ideas and I thought I would share a few photos of what I have been up to.

The start of my raspberry jam project. Yummmmm!
Some abstract Swarovski Crystals I am using for a custom Mother of the Groom jewelry set.

Some of my fly fishing items for the new lanyards...I might have to start fly fishing as well.

My sewing machine with tons of the bibs for gifts.

Gunther looking sad about all of my projects, I took over his chair with fabric.

I am going to have a busy next 4 days as Colin is headed to Idaho for a concert and will be gone. It is going to be a sad and lonely house this weekend so I need to stay super busy.

Garden Delish....yum yum yum

This weekend was wonderful! Minus all the yard work we did in the super hot sun :( We were invited to go raspberry picking. Yum! I was excited because I love raspberries, Colin not so much. He is a very slow picker, probably because he wasn't motivated to pick. Along our picking trip our friends and their neighbor also shared some of their garden produce. I got several yellow squash, zucchini (on steroids), onions, and canned peaches. Oh, can't forget the fresh eggs! I miss my chickens on the farm, store bought eggs are not even similar.

I am planning on canning most of the raspberries into jelly, I shredded quite a bit of the zucchini for bread this winter and everything else is getting incorporated into dinner this week. Yum!

P.S- The picture is only showing 1/4 of the raspberries that I brought home.