Tangible Tidbits 2012 #48: A Time For Reflection

Hey, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your respective holidays. :) Ours were chaotic, as usual. ;) The kids all enjoyed themselves and most of the adults ate too much. :)) We even got some unexpected snow flurries on Christmas Eve! :-O MacKenzie got her first White Christmas already! :)) It also snowed today, enough to make everything slushy. :(

I tried to get on my computer yesterday morning to post my message as I had promised, but it froze up on me. I think Mercury is out to get me. :))

Given my recent birthday and Christmas, and New Year’s being only a blink away, this is usually the period when I tend to look back over the past year and think about how far I’ve come (or not). It seems like no matter how hard I work or what I do, I always seem to be in basically the same place from year to year. I look at the chasm between what I want my life to be and what it is, and I can’t figure out how to get where I want to be (the phrase "You can't get there from here" often comes to mind! :p). Many years ago, I joked with some friends that I would throw myself a "mid-life crisis shower" if I was still on my own when I was 45 years old, in order to make up for all of the bridal and baby showers I attended for my friends over the years. ;) Well, it looks like 363 days and counting before that happens. It would not be the first time I made a sarcastic crack about my life that eventually came true. :-O I understand the concept of self-fulfilling prophesies, but I never really thought I was turning the tide in that direction. I’ve learned a lot in the past few years, but somehow bridging the gap between knowledge and execution has still eluded me. Astrologers say 2013 will bring many positive changes, but I can’t help but think that this time next year, I will still be in basically the same place I’ve always been...although the Universe is free to prove me wrong at any time! ;) The two things I never wanted to be are broke and lonely. I haven’t always been broke (thankfully), although I am now...but I have been lonely for most of my life. Being surrounded by people does not change that feeling of deep down loneliness. Apparently, there is some secret to resolving this issue that I have not yet learned. Maybe next year? :P

This is my last post for 2012. I wish everyone a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year! Until next time, take care and have a great week! B-)

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #1: A Belated Happy New Year!

Well, we've finally got the website up and running, as you can see. The store was the last section to get squared away, and that seems to be functioning reasonably well. Please let me or the Webmaster know either here, through any of the links throughout the site or on the Contact Us page if you come across anything that doesn't seem quite right. We've been pretty thorough in checking everything out, but nobody's perfect.

I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on the site so far, so thank you to everyone who has contacted me about it. It's always good to have positive reinforcement. ;)

The next few weeks and months should be pretty exciting, so anyone who is impressed with what you've seen so far, hold on to your seat belts because we've only just started this ride! LOL Next week, I start a three-week course in Advanced Wire Jewelry at the Chatham, Madison & Florham Park Adult School, so expect the Kits from sb designs section of the store to expand quite a bit in the next month or so! Toward the end of the month, I start my Metalwork and Jewelry class at Montclair State University, which will include working with jewelry saws and solder...so, we're talking heavy duty stuff! That class will go until May, so I expect to have some pretty interesting projects to share and topics to discuss this spring as a result.

I'm also starting to do a bit more work "by special request," so you'll be seeing some unique items going straight into the NOT FOR SALE -- Photo Gallery of Samples for Design Purposes Only area. Feel free to contact me if you have a specific idea in mind and I'll let you know if I can make it work, given the limitations of my current abilities, your budget and the materials available. If I can't do exactly what you want, I'll try to propose something as close to it as I can possibly come within those pre-determined parameters. :)

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year! May we all have a joyful, healthy, and prosperous 2010. :)