Tangible Tidbits 2012 #19: Better Late Than Never!

Hey, all! Sorry I'm later than usual. I was fighting with a project that I was hoping to put on display at my chiropractor's office tomorrow. I finally abandoned it, at least temporarily. :-q I still have a few pieces to price out for tomorrow, unless I display some older pieces instead. I may look at some of my earlier work and use some of those, since I also have to get organized for the Networking Charity Brunch Image Forum on Sunday. I have to decide how much to bring, price the items, and pack them up. We also have a BSNJ meeting this week, so I'm gonna be busy! :P

Well, I never heard back from my friend at MSU about the professor's contact information, so I looked him up in on whitepages.com. I found a mailing address and phone number. I would have preferred email, but I opted to send him a note via snail mail. I felt funny calling his home out of the blue, and since I have a month before the scholarship deadline, I decided mail was best. Hopefully, he's still at the same address. :-/

Over the weekend, I finished the pendant I wanted to wear to the BSNJ meeting on Thursday, and I also made a crystal and seed bead ring. I'm still putting the final touches on the ring. I also worked on my Bead Challenge project for next month's BSNJ meeting. I'm really pleased with how it's turning out! :)

Part of the reason I've been so productive is because I made a big decision the other day. I'm shutting down the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the Virtual Mall as of tomorrow, May 15. It's been 18 months, and it's just not worth the time investment I've been putting into it. The Virtual Mall page on the website is still up for now. I can use that time more effectively doing other jewelry- and business-related activities. So, that's what I will do! ;)

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day -- as a Mom, with your Mom, or remembering your Mom. :x We went to my sister's house for dinner and ate on her patio. The weather was perfect! My sister made a three-course fondue dinner like we've had at The Melting Pot in past years. Apparently, the restaurant changed their menu and it was less appealing to my sister, so she decided to do it herself. Plus, her kids are fussy eaters, so it made more sense to feed them stuff they would eat rather than "force" them to eat something from the menu, and pay through the nose to boot! 8-| We all had a good time...we even managed to play a round of croquet between courses! :))

Mom and I started watching Lifetime's The Client List on Saturday. We saw Cybil Shepherd on The Revolution on Friday, and thought it might be something to see. Jennifer Love Hewitt stars and Cybil is her mother. It's pretty good...enough to make me tune in last night at 10:00 p.m. after catching up with the first five episodes On Demand. We'll see if I keep up with it...I think there are only three episodes left of this season. :|

I still have lots to do, so I will sign off now. Have a great week, everyone! B-)

Tangible Tidbits 2011 # 20: Socializing, Social Media, and Softball

Hey, all! :)

Well, my semester is officially over as of Tuesday night. I did get my projects completed (not completely ruined, thankfully!), and the teacher seemed pleased with them. I also got a lot of compliments from my fellow students, which was flattering because many of them are more advanced than I am. As I mentioned previously, we were to have a picnic for our final critique. One ambitious student made a grill for his project, so we turned the picnic into a barbecue. Unfortunately, the guys got a little carried away with the denatured alcohol used instead of lighter fluid, and there were a couple of casualties ("Boys will be boys!"). Everyone is fine now, but it definitely put a damper on the evening's "party"...not to mention the final critique of our projects. It seemed a bit anti-climactic at the time, but "all's well that ends well." Grades should be posted by May 17, so I will have mine by next week's post. :)

I also attended my second BSNJ Board meeting this week, as well as the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) thesis show for the graduating MFA students at MSU on Friday. The MFA show was okay...the space was pretty small and a lot of people showed up -- not just jewelry students, but all graduating MFA students showed their work. Much was not my cup of tea...it seems everyone tries to make a political statement of one kind or another. Either that, or they are aiming for shock value. Regardless, I prefer work that is more authentic, IMHO. To each her own! ;) After the show, my classmate and I hooked up with one of the teachers I had not previously met, and we ended up at a Cuban restaurant for dinner. The food was good, but the music was much too loud for me. I had a headache anyway from waiting to eat until 9:30 p.m. I should have put a snack in my purse! :o My Brazilian friends will be happy to know I tried a caipirinha. Not bad, but a bit strong for me and I'm not a huge fan of lime. I'd heard so much about them on the message boards back in the day, I had to try it for myself! Mission accomplished. ;)0

Now that I have my Tuesday evenings back to myself, I plan to focus on getting the photos of my recent pieces posted. I've let that slide for far too long, and the content on the Something Tangible LLC Facebook page is pretty thin these days as a result. :o By the way, the Virtual Mall Twitter page is still racking up followers...we have 578 as of today! :D I have 1,615 on my personal Twitter page, which mainly focuses on Something Tangible LLC news. :)

Mom and I did see my older niece pitch in her softball game yesterday. We were there for the first time she ever struck out a player! We played croquet afterwards in their backyard, using the same set my brother-in-law used with his parents as a kid. His mother was also there and played with us, but she was a bit out of practice. ;) Unfortunately, the second game was called on account of rain. It had starting drizzling earlier before the softball game, but we were lucky it held off until after dinner. :D

According to numerous horoscopes, a lot of planets are converging in my house of true love this month into early June. Jupiter, the planet of gifts and luck, will be visiting there for the first time in 12 years! I can honestly say, I've felt that! LOL :o :p I'm not holding my breath, but I'll take all the help I can get. ;)

Until next week...have a great one! :D