Butterflies and Doggies, oh my...

Hard as it may be to believe - hell has not frozen over. Although the simple fact that I have blogged twice in less than a week may make some of you wonder about that.

This design was inspired by a piece of tattoo clip art. I am really pleased with the end product although I discovered that I unknowingly have created an optical illusion. Last week, when I was visiting my cousin, Cheryl, her daughter Caylee was quite interested in my jewelery. She examined all of the pieces - and she really liked this one. She said to me "I really like the pink doggie." At first - I thought I mis-heard her - but then she said it again. And I said "The pink doggie??" And she said "Yes - that's a pink doggie." Now I thought I had designed a butterfly, but after looking at it a bit closer, I do indeed see the pink doggie. It's funny how a 6 year old can offer a fresh perspective on a piece of jewelery. Do you see the pink doggie???

I am currently working on another art deco cuff. I have created a pendant to go with it and I am very excited about that. As soon as the cuff is done, I will be beading it up - and then I will be creating another art deco cuff - but will be using different colors this time around. I want to see that one in something a bit different.

I have really been trying to bead a bit more lately, so have been making an effort to stay OFF the computer. I seem to always get sucked into the computer and the next thing I know an entire day has gone by - and I have gotten nothing accomplished. Now if only someone would put more hours in the day, I would be very happy.

And last but not least, for the first time in a really, really long time, I am feeling hopeful. I am not sure what has prompted this - but I actually feel like good things are around the corner for me. I hope that those feelings are right for once, as this is a nice change - and one that I would like to keep around.

Moving On

I did my last post 6 months ago today. The weather was fiercely cold, snowy, windy. And my Dad had just died....my number 1 fan. Many of you know that my parents were the world to me, so losing Dad was exceptionally hard for me to deal with.

To my family and friends - I want to say "thank you" for the overwhelming love, support, caring and concern that I have received over the past 6 months (and am continuing to receive). You have all made me feel so loved, so welcome in your lives, your homes, your families. Whether you are a long-lost childhood friend - or someone I know merely "on-line" please know that I take every kindness to heart where it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Fast forward to today. Beautiful, sunny and warm - a truly perfect day. I have shed many tears over the last few months - and although the grieving process continues, I have decided that it has time to move on - and try to get back to some normalcy in my life.

That being said, I have still been doing some beading in the recent months as it takes my mind off what is missing in my life. I have some new pieces to show - and needed to get pictures taken of some of the older items in my collection that either had not so great pictures - or just never had pictures taken to begin with which leads me to today...

I spent a simply lovely day with my cousin Cheryl - and her 2 beautiful daughters. Caylee - who is 6 - talked my ear off. (I think she and I will be good friends.) Mia - who is 3 - spent the day trying to get over her shyness - however I did get her approval to come back for another visit so I will give that "2 big thumbs up."

I discovered that Cheryl inherited our grandpa's love of photography. Really - she comes by it naturally. One of my memories of him was that he always had that camera close at hand - just in case there was a flower, sunset, or fruit that needed it's picture taken. This discovery thrilled me to no end - because unlike Cheryl and Grandpa - I *hate* taking pictures of my jewelery. Really - I despise it - loathe it even. It is the bane of my jewelery-making existence. Cheryl, however, got rather geeked about it - and proceeded to spend the vast majority of the afternoon and evening shooting pictures. (YAY for both of us!!!) Soooo - without further ado here are some pictures of what I have been making.

Stay tuned - much more to come. I have quite a few projects in progress right now - including an entirely new adventure with a dear friend of mine that I hope will do well. (It is something that I am fairly sure most of you have not seen before.)

My number 1 fan...

It is with deep and profound sadness and over-whelming sense of loss that I announce the passing of my dear, sweet, beloved Dad, Paul Meister. (http://www.snyderfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/obit_view.phtml?id=9281)

Dad - I will miss you so VERY much - I will always love you and know that a day will not go by that I won't think about you or Mom. I know that you are with her again - and sharing quite a few laughs together. I know just how much you missed her after she passed - your grief for her was painful to watch.

I am so happy that you were able to find love again later in life as I know that you just had so much love to give that once just wasn't enough.

This picture was taken Jan 3rd, 2010 at Alaina's 1st birthday.

Dad was simply the best - the best man, the best Dad, the best husband, the best friend. Your wonderful sense of humor endeared you to everyone who met you. Then they discovered you were a fierce, loyal friend - and you had a virtual army of people who LOVED you - not just liked you - loved you.

You fought a good fight - and rallied after so many setbacks. Your strength was an inspiration to so many.

Five years ago, I began making jewelery and Dad was very supportive from the get-go. He actually bought me a computer so that I could sell my wares on-line. I set up my shop on Etsy, and waited patiently for something (anything) to happen. Then one day - I got a heart. I called him because I was so excited to actually have a heart. Here is the conversation:

Me: "Dad - I got a heart!!!"
Dad: "What's a heart?"
Me: "Ummm - well it's someone who likes your shop enough to save it to their favorite places to visit. Oh - Like a fan!!!!"
Dad:" Well - can't I be your number 1 and first fan?"
Me: "Yes - always."

After that Dad was always my number 1 fan - even though I knew that he always had been. I have simply lost my number 1 fan, my best friend, my Dad. I would tell you I love you 100 times a day every day of I could - but I will just say that I will miss you more than anything and that I love you even more.

And to all a good night....

First of all - I want to start by wishing anyone out there a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I hope that it is a blessed one for all those who follow me (and their families too)!

I have been so neglectful of my blog in recent months. Things have just been crazy which is fairly normal for me. Let me provide you with some updates.

As you can see by the date on this picture - this is a fairly recent picture of our little Alaina - she continues to do pretty well. She is still having to be fed through a feeding tube - but she is such a sweet and good baby. Smiles all the time. She is learning to wave and has learned to shake her head no (and knows what that means...lol.) She is also sitting up on her own pretty well. She will be 1 on January 3rd - I can hardly believe it!

Dad has spent some time in the hospital recently - due to an infection in his port-a-cath. He is doing pretty well all things considered. The good news there is that his cancer counts are getting better. YAY!!!!

I am working 2 jobs now - both of them waitressing. I like it for the most part although it can be terribly frustrating at times. But you do what you have to do - right?

This week, I finally decided to take the plunge and join Facebook. Please feel free to add me to your friends if you are so inclined. I have had a grand time finding my old friends - I have discovered I know a lot of people on there. I have had a ball catching up with them. If all goes well - I will be having lunch with a couple of them this week - I've not seen them in 10 years or so. (And for the record this has completely made my week as they are near and dear to my heart.) I also received a special call from a friend who lives in Canada tonight - we killed my phone as we hadn't talked in about 3 years. It was wonderful to talk to her - only thing that would be better would be to see her in person.

As for the jewelery - I have been working on making new items to add to my shop. My Etsy store is sadly empty now - I have a goal of 100 pieces for my inventory so that I can start adding new items to my shop on a daily basis. Look for these items (and perhaps some sneak peeks here) in the next few months. Pictures remain a challenge for me - so my goal is to make or buy a light box/tent to help with my picture quality. I have learned several new stitches and I am excited to show what I have made!

Take care all - I miss hearing from you all. Take the time to leave a comment if you like. I am always, ALWAYS happy to hear from you!

Update...

Hello all,

I do have an update to share on my Dad - and on my little niece Alaina.

Dad was transported down to Riverside yesterday - which is here in Columbus. Riverside is a HUGE hospital here in town and they specialize in cardiac care. Dad will be having open heart surgery hopefully before the week is out. I do not have a date or time for it yet as he has popped a fever and they will need to treat that first before they do surgery. His dialysis schedule may also affect when he has surgery as well.

Alaina will also be having surgery this week to put a feeding tube in place so that she can come home from the hospital for good. Colette and Sherman are literally going from one hospital to the next right now - so they are under a great deal of stress.

I want to thank everyone who has sent prayers, good thoughts and vibes our way. If you have left a comment here on my blog - or through one of my Yahoo groups, I thank you. I have read each and every one of them but simply have not had either the time or energy to reply. Just know that I have read them all - and the outpouring of love I have received has been truly overwhelming. Please keep those prayers and good thoughts coming as we do need them.

Family Emergency

I will keep this brief, but here we go again...

I need prayers, good thoughts, vibes from all of you yet again. My Dad suffered a heart attack today and although he is stable, he will be having surgery sometime soon. I do not have a date - or know what kind of surgery that he will be having at this point as they have not yet determined the extent of the damage.

He is not a great candidate for surgery right now because of all of his other medical issues. For those of you who don't know - he has multiple myleoma - A bone marrow cancer that manifests itself by destroying the kidneys. So in addition to chemo, he is on dialysis. He also has a colostemy which is a result of another condition called diverticulitis.

I love my Dad as much as any child can love a parent. We are very close. His good, sweet nature and oddball sense of humor truly endear him to everyone he meets. Seriously - nearly everyone in my hometown knows my Dad - and when they hear I am his daughter, the first words I hear, are "Oh - your Paul's daughter. I just LOVE him." Or "He's a great guy - truly one of a kind." I thank God every single day for him - and sometimes I have wondered how I got so lucky to have him as my Dad.

I will be posting updates as I have more information. I am off to bed shortly as it was a very long day at the hospital - and I know that there will be several more of them ahead.

Thanks for any prayers, thoughts, good wishes, vibes you care to send our way.

Time for the Juleseys again...

Wow - Two posts in one day - what IS the world coming too??? The EBW team has been up to being fabulous again as it is time for their monthly challenge. The theme for this month was HUMOR and there were some absolutely hysterical entries.

So - without further ado here are my monthly awards - otherwise known as the Juleseys:

Best use of toilet paper: Curiosity Killed the Toilet Paper by Licia Beads. Anyone who has ever owned a cat can totally relate to this piece.

Best story line: Punch-Line Bracelet by Francesca's Fancy. Who ever said you have to have words to get your point across???

Best reason to go to court: Jolly Jester by ArtfulAr. No, no - not the court that you go to for a speeding ticket.

Best immoratilization of a weed: WEED by Haute Ice Beadwork. Don't think you can blow this dandelion in the wind.

Best reason to move to a new location: HOUSE for RENT with Garden View by Enchanted Beads. If the spiders in my house were this pretty, I probably wouldn't be scared of them.

As always, the Juleseys are a fun way for me to promote the fabulous bead work that is constantly being created by this team. If you were not chosen - there is always next month!

If you have not already voted - please go to the EBW blog to cast your vote!!! Voting ends on June 15th at midnight - so hurry!!