Tangible Tidbits 2012 #20: Taking the Bad With The Good...

Hey, everyone! Guess what? I heard back from my professor this weekend! :-bd He said I'd found his old address, but he stops by every few weeks to pick up mail. Do I have great timing, or what? ;) He's willing to write me a recommendation letter for the MJSA scholarship, and asked me to I send him pictures of my older and newer work, as well as my bio, future goals, and why I want this scholarship. :) I just finished sending him all of that information...hopefully, I sent him enough stuff. B-)

I decided to enter the seed & bugle bead cuff bracelet I mentioned last week in Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Seed Bead Jewelry-Making Contest, and want to also enter the pendant I just finished for BSNJ. I doubt either piece is elaborate enough to place, but you never know. :-S You can't win if you don't enter, right? :P

Also, I ended up ordering a new printer directly from HP. Staples couldn't help me because the warranty I purchased for the old printer had already expired, so they referred me to HP. I spoke with someone there who offered me an upgraded printer for $100! It costs less to replace them than to fix them, it seems. Unfortunately, I didn't have the serial number from the old machine because it was still in the shop. When I called HP back the following week, the prices had changed. The person I spoke with actually admitted that the prices change at random! #-o So, I ended up with an even higher upgrade printer for $99, plus new ink cartridges and a three-year warranty. I ended up spending more than I wanted, but hopefully it will be worth the extra money. If anything goes wrong with this printer in the next three years, they will ship me a replacement for the next business day. Not a bad deal...except the printer I was planning to buy used the same ink cartridges I already have. The new printer does not, so I had to buy new ones and I will send the others back. I'm told I can send an email to someone at HP and request an even trade on the unused cartridges. I'll recycle the used and partially used ones; they sent me a prepaid envelope for them. I can also return the old printer with a prepaid label, so HP can recycle it. The new printer arrived at the end of last week, but I didn't have time to set it up over the weekend. That's on the top of my my To Do list for tomorrow. :)

As you know, I attended the Networking Charity Brunch Image Forum yesterday in Morris County, NJ. I sold one ring, and it was a cheap one at that. :( The other vendors I spoke with didn't do any better, so I don't feel as bad. Still, it was not worth the six hours of prep time I put in on Saturday and the six hours I spent there on Sunday, not to mention the time it took to schlep everything to and from the event. 8-| I actually ended up losing $28 for the gig...which is less than it could have been. Regardless, I will not be attending any more of these events in the future.

A coworker likes a pair of earrings another coworker wore last week that I had made, and she asked me if I could recreate them in other colors. I told her I would see what beads I have and get back to her. Earlier today, I found a few color combinations that may work, so I will bring them in to her tomorrow. I have no idea what colors she wants...but she may like some of the beads regardless of the color. I don't have much that are identical to the ones she liked, but hopefully I have some that will inspire her. ;)

I was supposed to have another NAET treatment this coming Saturday, but I forgot it was Memorial Day weekend when I made the appointment. #-o Since I was invited to a barbecue on Saturday afternoon, I changed the appointment to early June. :P Lately, I've been itching a lot more than I had been...I guess I still have to be more careful than I thought. I was hoping I could eat more of a variety of foods since I've cleared a number of food groups in the past few months. Apparently, I haven't cleared enough to stray too far from my usual. :(

One of my horoscopes yesterday said something about perseverance..."If you don't give up, you can never fail." Here's to not giving up! Take care and have a great week! B-)

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #41: I Probably Should Post Tomorrow, But...

Hi, everyone! I'm really annoyed at the moment because I just got a notice from someone who calls himself "Mystery Moderator" at a new coaching program group on Ning that I joined this week. I was told not to promote my products or services, or I would be suspended for spam. First of all, I think the moderator should have the guts to use his real name and show his picture. Everyone knew who I was when I moderated Michael's Retreat, and they respected me for being fair, as well as being upfront and open about what would and would not be tolerated on the board. Secondly, I do not recall "promoting" myself aside from telling people who specifically asked me what I do. I did post photos of my pieces and events on My Page, but it is MY PAGE. What should it reflect if not who I am and what I do? I did not invite anyone to the events...I just put them on My Page. I did not send anyone the photos...again, I just put them on MY PAGE. I replied to Mystery Moderator that I would be happy to leave the group if My Page offends him, once he refunds my money. I also asked what I did to deserve the "warning." Anyone who knows me knows that I am basically a rule-follower. I admitted I was not aware that promoting your business was against the rules -- generally, it is the point of groups such as this one. However, I also do not recall doing that beyond setting up my My Page. We'll see what happens next, but I'm thinking I may not want to be there after all. :(

But I digress...so, back to business (we allow that here)! My first critique at school is tomorrow night. I currently have five pieces to show the teacher, and two more wax models I finished up this week at home to cast after the critique. I had to clean up my newer pieces yesterday, so I wouldn't be embarrassed showing them to Dr. Browning. Did I ever mention he is the head of the Metalwork & Jewelry Department? :o One or two are not quite what I wanted them to be, but we'll have to see how nitpicky he is. My guess is very nitpicky. Wish me luck! ;)

I missed this month's Bead Society of New Jersey meeting on Thursday due to a migraine headache. My sister gets them on occasion, but I never have. When I was on Topomax -- the psychiatrist suggested we hold off going back on it when I saw her this week, BTW -- I did have bad headaches, but Topomax is supposed to help migraines. I often wondered how bad those headaches would be if I wasn't on Topomax. Now, I know! I was miserable from about 2:30 p.m. until 7:15 a.m. the next day! Slept a lot, thankfully. I'm not looking forward to getting one again, so hopefully I won't! >:

It looks like the Mother/Daughter workshop at Blue Life Karate and Fitness will be on Saturday, November 13. Time TBD. I will keep you posted on how that goes. My after care coworker is interested, and so is the owner's fiancee. Those are two good signs, IMHO! :)

I had a dry run teaching experience today, working with my nieces to make pearl and crystal rings from kits we got at Michael's. Given that working with two of them took maybe 45 minutes, I'm wondering if making a double-strand bracelet with my younger niece's 13-child Brownie Troop is a bit ambitious. I may have to rethink that one and switch to rings! :o

I'm getting ready for the back-to-back craft shows the first weekend in November. I bought a bunch of supplies from Staples and Walgreens, so I think I'm pretty close to set. I had a checklist I found online, so it helped me a lot in knowing what to bring...items I would not have thought about such as a mirror, first-aid and jewelry first-aid kits, etc. The only thing I don't have is back-up, unfortunately. My sister's family is away that weekend, and Mom has plans with her sisters. Hopefully, the days won't be too long. I'm used flying solo most of the time, but every once in a while, I really wish I had a wingman! ;)

Given that I was otherwise occupied most of the weekend, I'm still working on the photos for this week's Virtual Garage Sale, so I had better get back to it. Have a great week! Catch you on Halloween! :D

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #36: A Business Plan & Dreams

I'm doing this today instead of tomorrow because I have a lot of thoughts running around in my head right now and I want to get them out. Sometimes, writing helps. ;)

First, the business stuff. I attended a workshop hosted by SCORE, a group of retired business people who volunteer to counsel entrepreneurs, on "Starting and Managing Your Own Business" at the local library earlier in the week. I am registered for three more workshops with them this fall. The main thing I got out of this one is that I need to write up a business plan. Apparently, they are required if you want to obtain a business loan from a bank. My chiropractor suggested I get a template program from Staples (think "Business Plans for Dummies") and just fill in the blanks. That will be my next big project after I finish with the database, I guess. :\

On the personal front, I raised $104+ for Fondation MIRA in the first round of my Virtual Garage Sale auction. Not too bad, considering there were only half a dozen people bidding. I'm hoping that word will spread over the coming weeks, so that it will attract more bidders. I sold half of the items I listed, so I'm happy to get that much out of my house! LOL

Here's where I will get a little deep, so if you're not interested in that, feel free to disregard the rest of this message. ;) I don't often dream when I sleep, or if I do, I don't usually remember them. Lately, I've been having very clear, detailed dreams. I think I've had four or five this week. The overall theme seems to be loss, isolation, and loneliness. Given everything I've gone through so far this year, it's not really surprising that's where my subconscious goes. What bothers me is that most of the dreams seem to end with a dramatic sad or tragic ending. If the Universe is trying to tell me something, I don't think I want to know what it is! :o Many years ago as a teen, I had a dream that I was an old woman sitting in a rocking chair and I felt myself die. That scared the crap out of me, but the feeling that I will die old and alone has never really left me. In the past few years, I thought I'd made significant progress in dealing with my long-time emotional issues and healing from them. I guess that was just an illusion, because right now, I feel like I'm starting all over at the beginning again, and that I'm still damaged. It's very disconcerting to think that all of the progress I thought I'd made wasn't real. I went off of one of my anti-depressants at the beginning of the summer (with the consent of my psychiatrist), but I guess maybe it's time to go back on it again. :( Most of my life, I've kind of subscribed to the "fake it 'til you make it" philosophy. I guess my "act" fooled even me for a while. My question is, if you fake it over a long period of time, at what point does it stop being fake and start being who you truly are? :p

Well, enough of that! Off to get my oil changed and figure out what I'm putting up in next week's auction, which starts on Tuesday night.

Enjoy the weekend and have a good week! :)