Happy New Year everyone!

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Those of you out there partying...be safe and have fun! Continue reading >>

Eagles, Hawks & Vultures...Oh My!

Dedicated to all the birds of prey & the peeps I worked with while employed at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium...

My first treasury on Etsy!

Please be sure to check out all the amazing artists featured on Etsy! Continue reading >>

The Monday after Christmas...

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! Family, friends & good times. :)

First, a random funny for you all...


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

OK, onwards to your regularly scheduled program...

Our little one, Nicklaus, made out like a bandit again this year. I finally got off my lazy arse and cleaned out his toys. There are three boxes of toys sitting in the trunk of my car that I'll be dropping off at Goodwill after work today. Somewhere out there little boys will be made happy. :)

It's a good time of year to take stock on what's happened and think about the things that you'd like to do...

• I hope to get out more, you know camping, hiking & climbing. I've been stupidly lax about it and it's actually been bumming me out. All my gear is sitting in bins in our closet gathering dust.
• Starting a 'Daily Brady' feature here on January 1st. A new picture daily of my crazy cat's antics. Just to add a little spice to this place...
• I think I'm going to look into selling my wares on 1000 Markets. I've checked the site out and signed up for an account. Just need to setup up shop. ;)
• I'm also going to explore others ways to promote my shop. I've already listed my shop in a few directories, American Craft Guide's Directory of Handcrafters and Indie Artists & The Hand Made Product Shopping Directory.
  

How about you all? What have you got planned for the new year?

Speaking of the new year...got any fun plans for New Years?

We're headed out to Ft. Wayne to attend a friends New Years party. Speaking of, I have to call my mom to see if she can watch Bubba for us... Continue reading >>

2 days until Christmas...

Are ya ready?

We are! :) I'm excited to see everyone in a few days! All the yummy food & just hanging out with everyone.

Usually our holidays are drama free but we couldn't escape it this year.

All I'm going to say is that if you want us to be somewhere on a certain day then you need to let us know in advance that that's what you'd like. Not like 3 days in advance either... Sometimes we've already made plans with the 'other side' on that day you wish us to be present and when we made those other plans, we let you know immediately that that's what we're doing.

I'm sorry but, do not get pissed at us if your memory sucks!

Meh.

Hope yours are as drama-free as possible! ;)

Now let's balance out the drama induced rant with a funny story, ya? Ya.

Last Christmas, we were at my mom's having dinner. We all had finished the main meal and it was time for desert. For some reason, my mom decided to try to make this funky fruit-cake-esque sweet rice desert thing. You know, made a big show of it & all that good jazz...

Eric, being the good future son-in-law, went to spoon some into his plate. Jeff, my younger brother lent over towards him and desperately whispered under his breath, "go for the pie! the pie! go for the pie!" Eric glance at him and gave a little shake no and proceeded to spoon a rather large portion of the sweet rice concoction onto his plate. I, on the other hand, hearing Jeff's desperate warning plea and got a wee portion to try. Wow was all I could say to my mom. In my mind, other things like 'gah, that was horrible! oh, god, Eric got a huge portion of it!'

Poor mom. I know she meant well. You know, she hasn't made that funky desert since...

Later on that night, Jeff asked why Eric went for the rice thing and Eric said it wouldn't be proper to refuse and he didn't want to offend. Awww. God love him. :)

Now 'go for the pie' has become something of an inside joke between all of us... Continue reading >>

Breaking News: Remains found are Caylee's...

It's official...the remains that investigators found last week belong to Caylee Anthony, CNN reports.

The meter reader who found the remains had called 4 times before...

Even one of Casey Anthony's friends had mentioned the wooded area where the toddler's remains was found during an interview with police...

The grandparents are still siding with mom and her cracked up story...

What the hell?!

Someone I was talking with a few days back had said that nowadays it's becoming more and more common for young parents to use chloroform on their kids to knock them out if they want to go out & party, etc.

How sick is that?

Do they not realize that the world doesn't revolve around you any more? You know are responsible for someone else's life? I realize what a huge shift a child in your life brings. I still struggle with it myself some days, but I would never, never resort to doing anything like that. Call up your parents, grandparents and ask if they can watch the little one(s).

Meh.

People make me sick these days... Continue reading >>

Do you remember that card game, BS?

Well, you could hear all of Blue Jackets fandom yell out 'Bullsh!t' last night...

The boys in blue were in Dallas playing the Stars. It was a very hard fought game full of checks, goals, fights, cheap shots & horrible goaltending. The Jackets came back from 4-2 & 5-3 deficits to force overtime. 13 seconds in Manny Malholtra skates the puck into the offensive zone & fires a backhander at Stars goalie Marty Turco. Since Malholtra is so close to the blue paint of the goal crease & being checked from behind, he's skating by Turco on one foot. The puck bounces of of Turco and hits Manny's skate and into the net. The Stars ended up winning the game via the shootout.

Both refs on the ice motion & call it a goal, but the little light over the officials table in between the benches lights up. The video room in Toronto is reviewing the footage. What seems like 10 minutes later, they, Toronto, overrules the refs & waves the goal off saying because Manny made a distinct kicking motion and kicked the puck into the net.

What the f$#@k?! How?!

Here's a video posted on Youtube of the "goal".

He wasn't even looking for the puck. He was being backchecked by a Dallas player and he was trying not to kick/cut Turco on his way by. It seems like every time we have something review by Toronto, the CBJ get shafted. It was hard enough to get respect from other teams, but this is getting a bit ridiculous, no?

Here's the definition of a goal from the official NHL Rulebook...

49.2 Goals - Kicking the puck shall be permitted in all zones. A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who uses a distinct kicking motion to propel the puck into the net. A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who kicks a puck that deflects into the net off any player, goalkeeper or official.

A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player’s skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal. A puck that is directed into the net by an attacking player’s skate shall be a legitimate goal as long as no distinct kicking motion is evident. The following should clarify deflections following a kicked puck that enters
the goal:

(i) A kicked puck that deflects off the body of any player of either team (including the goalkeeper) shall be ruled no goal.

(ii) A kicked puck that deflects off the stick of any player (excluding the goalkeeper’s stick) shall be ruled a good goal. Any time the puck has been kicked, makes contact with any stick, and then deflects off any player (excluding the goalkeeper) into the net, it will be ruled a good goal.

(iii) A goal will be allowed when an attacking player kicks the puck and the puck deflects off his own stick and then into the net. A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who kicks any equipment (stick, glove, helmet, etc.) at the puck, including kicking the blade of his own stick, causing the puck to cross the goal line.

Continue reading >>

Stop the presses!

Our 3 year old boy, Nicklaus has reached a milestone!

During dinner, my boyfriend Eric farted and excused himself. Then Nicklaus our 3 year old piped up, "Nuh-uh, Daddy. You didn't fart. I was just getting off of my chair like this..."

LOL!

:p

Man, you just never know what going to come out of his mouth... Continue reading >>

It's snowing bucketfuls!

I've been watching it snow here for the past 2 hours...

It started out with flurries then just let loose with the big flakes in bucketfuls!

Woo!

I wish I had a camera with me because it's so pretty out... Continue reading >>

Pleasantly surprised!

Got a crazy surprise this morning when I checked my email...Made 4 sales last night!

Needless to say I was a bit shocked. :) Then the happy dance kicked in!


In other news, I've been given an award by my fellow blogger, TMCPhoto. Her photos are amazing! Check out her Etsy shop.

Her blog, So Anyways is a great read and I always look forward to what she has to say.

Here are the rules
1. Post a copy on your blog.
2. Mention who gave you the award.
3. Pass the award on to 10 others.
4. Leave a message on their blog letting them know the honor has been bestowed upon them.

10 others, huh? I usually don't have time to read 10 blogs...how about 5? :)

The Awarded
1. The Empty Envelope
2. Four Dog Day
3. Baroness Bijoutery
4. The Neutral Zone Trap
5. The Lone Beader Continue reading >>

My Chrstmas shopping is finished!

Is yours?

I finally got all my Christmas shopping done over the weekend. It's such a relief! :)

I've got to make a necklace for my mom & load up some pics of my little one on this digital photo frame I got my dad then I'll be done done. :p

10 more days until Christmas!

Continue reading >>

Desire...

I listed the double strand pearl necklace in my Etsy shop late last night! Thank you all for your kind words on it! It was fun to design and create. :)

Eric has some old, old books and I borrowed them to use as photo props.



In other news...my boys in blue won last night! They finally beat Nashville! Yay! :)

(Photo by Jamie Sabau)

Defenseman Mike Commodore tied it up with a goal in the third period & Jakub Voracek won it in the shootout. Our goalie Steve Mason made some fabulous saves throughout the game. It's so nice to finally win one against the Preds, although they didn't play like themselves. Eh, a win is a win is a win. :)

Next game is against the New York Islanders on Saturday night at home. Continue reading >>

Cue up The Imperial March...

From Star Wars...

The Jackets play the Nashville Predators tonight at home, Nationwide Arena.

Why that famous 'dun-dun-du-dun'?

Because our coach mentioned in an interview that Nashville was our 'Darth Vader'.

Because those Predators with their fugly baby-poo jerseys have our number, constantly kicking our butts on ice.

The Jackets are 5 points behind Nashville. This is definitely a big game as they are in the same division.

Since we played like crap on our most recent West Coast swing, losing all 3 games out there, we need all the points we can get. Meaning we need to win this game! This is considered a 4point game.

For those not savvy, when you win a game, you get 2 points. Lose a game, zero
points. Tie a game, 1 point. Win the game via shootout, get the other 1 point.

The top 8 teams in each conference (western & Eastern) make it into the Stanley Cup Play-offs. The Jackets play in the Western Conference. The current team in 8th place is Nashville with 30 points, so the boys in blue need to be above them in the
standings. Currently, we have 25 points. The lowest in our division.

So either way, it'll be a fun game to watch! These games have always been physical & chippy. :)

Go Jackets! Continue reading >>

'Tis the season...for holiday parties!

This upcoming Saturday night, Eric's work is having their Christmas party...

Last week, I had come up with a double strand pearl necklace design to create for said holiday party. Well I finally got it done tonight! It's made using faux pearls which were hand strung and knotted. The focal piece consists of two wire-wrapped hoops, one with garnets & the other with iolite, with a faux pearl in the center. A pretty olive organza bow finishes the look!

I think I might make my mom one of these for Christmas!

I thought about listing it in my shop too, but I dunno...

Whatcha think? Continue reading >>

The Joys of Parenting...

Or should I say the 'getting-the-stink-eye-from-the-MIL-because-she-so-disapproves-how-you're-raising-her-grand-child' ways of parenting...

Whew, what a mouthful. ;)

Over the weekend, we went up to Columbus and stayed with Eric's mom. You know she's a good woman and I love her to death, but sometimes she is just so overbearing and so ready to give the stink-eye. Especially over parenting matters.

Granted Eric & I are a young couple raising our first child together. I'd like to think we're doing the best that we can with raising Nicklaus and IMHO, we're doing a kick-ass job bringing Bubba up. :)

There was an incident yesterday where Eric and Nick were horsing around on the family room floor while the tv was on. Nick had stepped on the remote which was on the floor and changed the input on the tv so that it displayed a lovely shade of blue. Eric stopped and scolded Nick to remind him of minding where his feet were being placed and to be aware of his surroundings.

Eric's mom was sitting on the couch and she went off on Eric because he was being to silly as to reprimand Nick for it. And the whole time she would look to me to yell at Eric too. I wasn't going to join in and yell at my man.

I let her know that we had been reminding Nick since he was 2 to be aware of his surroundings no matter if he was playing or just lounging on the couch watching tv. Nick is 3.5 now and I truly believe that he is deftly aware of what goes on all around him. Sometimes he just decides to selectively ignore things here and there. :)

Totally got the stink-eye from her.

Meh. Continue reading >>

Chipotle is open!

Yay!

The Chipotle on Fountain Square is open today!

Yip, yip, hurray for horrendously huge burritos!

:)



That is all. Continue reading >>

Craft Show Thoughts...

So yesterday was a much better day, sales-wise at our little work craft show. I sold 3 necklaces and 2 pairs of earrings! You definitely have to be 'on' though.

It was a good time! My table neighbors were fun. :)

Not sure if I'll do any more shows this season, maybe next year. I'll have to work on my displaying my jewelery better.

All in all, 'twas a good learning experience. Continue reading >>

Day One!

So day one of our little craft fair at work went well!

Not a lot of buyers, which I kinda expected, but a lot of folks who stopped and checked out my jewelery. Got a lot of compliments, which is always nice. :) I met a lot of my co-workers and passed out a bunch of business cards so not all is lost.

I did sell a necklace! Yay! I had to extended the chain a bit, but a sale is a sale is a sale.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring a lot of sales! Continue reading >>

Today is the day...

Of my first craft show...dun, dun, DUN! :)

Thanks for all the well wishes folks! You know who you are...

I'm planning on heading down there around 10:30 to setup my table. I lugged all my stuff from home this morning on the bus. Got a few odd looks, heh.

Bag lady, watch out. Bag lady coming through! :p

A little nervous, but more excited than anything.

It runs 11am-2pm today and tomorrow.

A nice little intro show. Our table fees go to a local charity so all is good.

I'll let y'all know how it went later today! Continue reading >>

Sorry about being MIA...

It's busy here & I apologize for not blogging more!

It's cold as all get out now here in the Cincy area.

My first craft show is tomorrow & I've still got some prepping to do! Aaah!

There are also some pieces that I've made in the last few days that I'd like to photograph & list in my shop.

Trying to balance jewelery related stuff with home life is tough!

My boys in blue (the Blue Jackets if you were wondering :)) have been playing well and winning! They will head to West Coast for a couple games in a few days time.

Crazy!

I hope every one is having a great week so far!

Cheers! Continue reading >>

Cheetahs, cameras & funky earrings...oh my!

I hope everyone had a safe & wondrous Thanksgiving holiday! My younger brother Jeff came home and it was great spending time with him. :)


So this weekend, during a quick bit of free time I checked in on my Facebook page to see if anyone left me wall postings and such and noticed that my buddy Troy, who works at the Columbus Zoo changed his profile pic. He was holding a cheetah cub!

Here in Cincy, a pair of cheetahs at the Cincy Zoo's breeding facility had recently had 3 cubs. One of them was to stay at the zoo as an animal ambassador while the other 2 were to be shipped to the Columbus Zoo.

Lo & behold, Troy's department, Shows, got them! Woo! When I was in college, I used to work in that dept with Troy.

I think they're still in quarantine up at the hospital, but we'll have to stop by the Zoo when we're up in Columbus next to see those cuties. :)

In other news, we finally got our replacement LCD screen for our digi camera! Yay! I'm sooo excited & happy!

Over the weekend, I made a pair of funky earrings using some new supplies.

Check 'em out! I call them, "Cosmic Fool" & they're listed in my shop.



Whatcha think? Continue reading >>