Thursday, March 31, 2011

Oh, hi.

I has the week off from works so I'm a laaaaazy bunny.

I have done nothing but rotate between netflix, reading, and napping on the couch all day since Saturday.

I'm pretty sure this is what heaven is like.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Turning Point

The last 24 hours have been the most bizarre, emotional, and inspiring ones I've had in years.

I made a friend out of a former enemy.

I gained closure on an experience that broke me down and made me question who I am and why I wasn't valuable as a person.

I realized a friend, was just a friend, and would never be more.
And that is exactly how it should be.

I'll be working on this embroidery pattern this week. With Spring Break coming up my 'to read' and 'to craft' list is growing rapidly.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/juneatnoon

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Quick Check In

I won the two books on ebay that I bid on! I'll post pics as soon as they arrive. I will typically use old and interesting books in art projects but these are SO amazing I don't think I want to alter them at all!

This weekend I hope to complete a few new embroidery projects. I've been meaning to experiment with using beads, felt and fabric in them so I hope to have time to do that. Here's one of my favorites from etsy!



Oh, and Happy 'Drink Green Beer' Day!

Monday, March 14, 2011

A Mind-Blowing Weekend

A friend brought over a movie he was sure I'd like this Saturday and he couldn't have been more dead on! I'm a fan of the obscure and strange and a 1976 fantsy musical pornography of Alice in Wonderland couldn't be better suited for me.
It is X-Rated so don't try to watch this if your not a fan of some extreme close ups and 70's bush. If you don't mind that then this is definitely an interesting film!



The second mind blower was the book, Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstader. Originally published in 1979 it's a massive 700+ page work dedicated to exploring the patterns and symbols in the thinking of mathematician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. My friend left his copy at my place and I only had to read the 20 page preface before I ran to Amazon to order myself a copy. I'll review it in full once finished (probably a while from now!) Has anyone else read/heard of it? I was really surprised I hadn't!


Thursday, March 10, 2011

Ebay - The Bane of my Existance

First of all my prediction about excessive soreness from yesterday's workout was entirely accurate. It's not AS bad as I anticipated though and I know if I continue incorporating that DVD into my weekly routine that it will give me big results. I'm excited!

So, to best use the excuse of being to sore to walk, I've spent almost all day at work on flickr, ebay and etsy gaining ideas for future crafts. I ordered this book:



Which of course entails a trip to the craft store this weekend to stock up on Polymer clay supplies (never worked with clay before!).

I've also bid on 2 antique medical books and an antique science kit on ebay. I'd link to them directly but I'm SO excited about them and don't want anyone snagging them from me :p Hopefully I can show them off soon!

For all of you clay kids - any tips or advice would be much appreciated! Especially if you have any online links to site that talk about the craft.
Love you all :)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

I died.

A little bit this morning.

I work out 5-6 days a week. This can be difficult since I work at 7:30 a.m. and put in 8-14 hour days, so I get up at 5 a.m. (also, very difficult).

I've been going to the gym across town and focusing on cardio since the New Year but I really needed to start toning up so I've been working out with Jillian Michael's dvd's. For the last 2 weeks I've done the 30 day shred a few times a week and love it mostly because it's a quick, 20-minute workout that's extremely effective. I decided to amp it up a bit and tried her 40 minute 'No More Trouble Zones' dvd this morning.


I can honestly say that I will probably be as sore tomorrow from this workout as I was after hiking 150 miles of the Appalachian Trail with my Dad for a week.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I want to hear from you!

I've had so many new followers to my blog this week and I'd love to ask you all a few questions! Most of you are fellow artisians and sell on etsy (or similar venues). How long have you been selling your crafts for? Do you sell offline as well? (I'm interested in doing my first craft show and would love to hear your experiences!) Also, what offine marketing do you do?

It seems many sellers are getting discouraged right now with slow sales and lack of activity. Since I've officially started my 3rd year on Etsy I can say that it's not unusual. Spring is notoriously slow as people are cutting back after the holiday season, and starting to go outside more to enjoy the nice weather. I'd like to use this time to market locally and really start focusing on the Fall season when sales start to pick up again.

We are all in this together! Let's share some advice/tips and help each other out a bit.

Heart Factory, $18, by PearsonMaron
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62321553/heart-factory

Sunday, March 6, 2011

New Magical Vial Line Debuting Today!

"One of the secrets of real magic is that it is controlled by the mind. The more things in your ritual to help your mind associate with your goal, the more powerful your ritual may be." - Scott Cunningham, renowned pagan/wiccan author.

All of my magical vials have been inspired by the best-selling book, The Secret.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_(book)

They are ways to remind you on a constant basis what your goals are in life and how your mentality and positive thinking can help bring those desires into your life.

Love Potion

Getting past your past

Increasing psychic/mental abilities

Saturday, March 5, 2011

My first shadowbox!

I'm so proud of myself :)

I think it's just lovely. The little jar contains rose hips and lavendar seeds. There is a vintage photograph and a clipping from a 1938 Chicago paper as well.



Friday, March 4, 2011

New Jewelry Line Sneak Peek



It's not of the actual items, but of some of the materials I will be using.

My apothecary is slowly growing ... I can't wait to show off what I've been coming up with! I'm hoping they will be listed on etsy by early next week at the latest.



Thursday, March 3, 2011

Tuscan Bean Salad

This. is. amazing.

I'm kinda a health nut. Well - I'm definitely a health nut!
It's been about two years since I've lost 50+ pounds and 4 since I became a vegetarian. As such, I'm very aware of what I eat and have to make sure I cover all my bases since meat is excluded. This recipe is divine as it adds protein from the beans, and is pretty low in calories since the majority of it is green beans. I'll make up a big batch of it and just add 1 cup of the mix to a small container of salad every morning for my lunch at work and it's about 200 calories and very filling!

From Gaida De Laurentis



Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of green beans cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces (I use about 12 ounces)
- 1 head of Romaine lettuce
- 1 can of cannelline beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup pitted black olives (I leave this out to keep it lower in calories)
- 1/2 red onion, cut into slivers
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ounce shaved parmasean (I only add this after I make my daily salads, not to the mix)

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add grean beans and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until beans are slightly tender (I cook for about 5). Transfer the cooked grean beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 3 minutes. Drain,

2. In a large bowl combine the grean beans with the cannelline beans, olives, and red onion. Toss to combine. Drizzle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

3. Add to salad and nom nom nom!



The way I make it produces about 4 cups or 4 salads for me. It's cheap, delicious and oh so good for you. Let me know if you try it!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

My Kitty is Home!

Reunited and it feels so gooooood!

After a VERY long 24 hour period with Salem at the Vets I was finally able to bring him home this morning :) He has a UTI and will be on antibiotics for the next 2 weeks and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will do the trick.

This is a blurry pic - but the best I could get in my excitement of having him home!




When I was finally able to let him go he went straight to his favorite window to watch the birds.



I never got the chance to bring his brother, Prince, home.
I cannot express how grateful I am to have more time with this lil guy.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Bad Day/Good Day

Bad day: My best friend, my kitty Salem, is in the animal hospital :(
I woke up this morning to spots all over my bed and house of bloody urine and took him in first thing. He's there in isolation so they can get a urine sample from him. So far (7 hours later) he hasn't gone and his bladder isn't full enough to manually pull a sample so he may have to stay overnight.
He's also FIV+ so every 'minor' illness is major for him.
He will be 5 this summer and this is only his second time away from me! I hate it!

When I finally got to work today my coworker, who is aware of my affinity for old and obscure books, brought in two new ones for my collection. They were her grandfathers who was an Army Chaplin in WW1 and it meant so much to me that she gave them to me! They are "Self and Sex Series: What a Young Man Ought to Know" and "Personal Help Series: For Girls".





"What a Young Man Ought to Know" was published in 1904. It was used as a guide to educated men on the dangers of improper sexual behavior and 'self polution.



It's chapters include 'Personal Purity', 'Evils to be shunned and consequences to be dreaded', 'The reproductive organs - their purpose and prostitution' and 'the selection of a wife'. What a gem! I'm placing serious odds that I will rofl at least a dozen times per chapter.

The second book, "Personal Help for Girls" is even better. This work, published in 1918, includes this great advice: "It is also called 'self-pollution' because of its filthy nature and the injury it does to every organ of the body, faculty of the mind and power of the soul; or termed 'masterbation', which comes from two words meaning abuse of the body with the hand. If there is any uneasy feaaling in these parts that inclines you to rube them, you should mention it to your mama."

LOL. I died.