Tangible Tidbits 2012 #37: Having A Seriously Social Week

Hi, folks! I am happy to report that I am feeling much better this week after taking the day off work last Tuesday and a visit to the allergist on Friday. He thinks I actually had a cold, but that by the end of the week it kicked in my cough-variant asthma. He renewed a few subscriptions and gave me one for an antibiotic, but he wanted me to wait until after the weekend to see if I really needed it. I’ve pretty much decided I won’t take it. :)

Our Facebook page hit 1,200 Likes this week! :-bd

I did not yet enter the opal beaded ring I made last week in the Beadaholique contest as I said I would, but I did fix up both drawings for the Stones and Findings contest and entered them. The Angel in Flight component – I changed it into a connector link for the contest – has been accepted and was posted here. The Battered Heart drawing – now a pendant – is being reviewed, as their artist has to decide if they can do it as a wax cast, which was how I created the original. The drawing turned out really well, so I’m hoping it’s accepted. :)

This is going to be a crazy week! I am assisting with a class at the Madison, Chatham, & Florham Park Adult School on Tuesday evening. The school is celebrating its 75th anniversary with classes from when it was founded with 1937 prices, and my former wirework teacher has 24 students registered for her one-time class. She asked for assistance, and I offered to help. In exchange, I basically get to take the class and pick up one of the project kits for free. It’s a simple earring project...should be fun! Then, we have our first Bead Society meeting of the new year (we meet September through June) on Thursday. We have a guest speaker coming with a hands-on project for holiday decorations, so that should get us into the fall spirit in a hurry! O:-) Finally, on Friday evening one of my coworkers is getting married. I want to go to the ceremony, although I haven’t decided whether or not to attend the reception at her house afterward. She emailed the whole department with the Save the Date information last week...I didn’t even know she was getting married until after the email went out! :))

Somewhere in there, I want to apply for 1978 Arts Center’s B.A.N.G. (Buy Art Now Guys!) VII, which will be held December 1 & 2 and 8 & 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I've been lucky enough to sell items both years I’ve participated, so I don’t want to miss it! ;)

I'm contemplating taking five vacation/personal days from the office, one a week in October. This will leave me with two vacation days in case something comes up before the end of the year. I may take Wednesdays off, but I have to check with TPTB (The Powers That Be) first. I back up a supervisor who has 13 days left, and she's thinking about taking some Mondays and Fridays. I figured that me taking Wednesdays would create the least amount of conflict. If I do this, I am hoping I will take advantage of the time to really get my act together in the computer room/studio, but we'll have to see. Being out regularly will require me to work extra hours on Thursday and Friday to keep up with the workload, since I don’t have much help. That will mean extra money that I can put toward school next semester, so this may be the best solution all around. ;)

I almost forgot...here's the link to this week's social media poster.

That's all for today. Take care and have a great week! B-)

Tangible Tidbits 2012 #36: The Wonderful World of Allergies

Hey, one and all! Well, it seems allergy season kicked in with full force here over the weekend. I drafted this post yesterday, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything at all last night. I can’t breathe, my throat is raw from post-nasal drip, and I slept even worse for the past few nights than I usually do. It's going to be a looooooooong fall season if this is any indication! :P

While we were in Ocean City, my younger niece kept pointing out the video cameras on traffic lights, installed to catch people who run red lights. I'd read a column about them in The Star-Ledger that cited an instance in Newark, NJ, but I was not aware how prevalent they are. Since we got back, I've started noticing them around town. One in particular is at an intersection where I occasionally "race the light" on my way to work in the morning because I will have to wait three minutes for it to change again if I miss it. It occurred to me yesterday morning that I also have to start paying closer attention to which intersections allow a right turn on red and which ones do not. If I miss the sign and make a turn anyway, it will now most likely be caught on camera! #-o The article I read stated that the ticket the columnist received was $85. I don’t know if that is universal or set by municipality, but I can't afford that! :-O

On Sunday afternoon, my sister and nieces met me at the 1978 Arts Center's 3rd Annual Members Show. My younger niece dragged me around by the hand to look at certain pictures and pieces. She said she particularly liked the two jewelry pieces – I was the only jewelry artist in the show this year ;) – and asked me if I knew the artist. I told her, "We're very close." :)) After touring the exhibit, we went down to the center of town for frozen yogurt. The weather was nice and sunny...unlike Saturday, which was pretty gray all day...so it made for an enjoyable afternoon. :)

Here’s the link to this week’s social media poster, which I posted for the anniversary of September 11 this week. :(

I finally finished the October Focal Piece – an embroidered glass Opal ring – and added an elastic Swarovski Elements crystal band to one of my watches, as I wanted to wear both to the exhibit on Sunday. The colors in the ring are perfect for Beadaholique’s Autumn Colors contest, so I will be entering the ring in that contest this week. In addition, a member of the Bead Society sent a message to our Yahoo Group regarding the Stones and Findings' Sterling Silver Component Design Contest, which I also plan to enter. I looked through my sketch books from MSU and found a really good one of my Angel in Flight pendant that I'd like to submit, although I have to edit the scan because I have some notes on it and lines pointing to certain areas of the design for clarification that I want to remove. Did I ever mention that I added resin to the original piece? I haven't had a chance to clean it up yet, but I mixed some light peach together – using orange, white and pink – while I was playing with the Apoxie® Sculpt resin a number of weeks ago. I had already inserted the white parts for the angel's gown during my classes at MSU, so this was the last step toward finishing it. Anyway, the component in the contest would just be the silver outline without the resin added. I also want to fix up the sketch – or possibly start over again – of my Battered Heart ring and submit just the heart portion as a possible pendant or link. We'll have to see how ambitious I am between now and the October 1 deadline, as up to 10 entries may be submitted per person. ;)

Enjoy the Back-to-School weather while it lasts! I hear it's due to get warmer again by the end of the week. Is it any wonder people get sick this time of year? 8-|

Take care and have a great week! B-)