Project 365: Day 063

It was actually clear for once while I was near the Seattle Space Needle! I still haven't been to the top.

Project 365: Day 062

Since I acquired my newest prescription glasses, I rarely wear my contacts. However, I do miss all my sunglasses so with the sun out I decided to put in the contacts and strut in my current favorite pair of sunglasses. These happen to be Oakley Script Asian Fit which I accidentally discovered fit my non-Asian face so much better than the standard fit. They are big lenses but they don't hit my cheekbones and they fit my head better as they are more curved. YAYs!

Project 365: Day 061

I stood up from the sofa and noticed this! OMG, really, I didn't sit there that long, did I? Y and I agreed it was dang hilarious to see my Hydraulic jean imprint so clearly formed so, I had to share. :P

Project 365: Day 060

W00t!!!! I received my Pay It Forward (PIF) prize from Smilemonsters today! It's this adorable black and white glittery heart ring, how friggin' cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! Part of the dealio with winning this prize is to pay it forward. So in the next few days I will be posting my own PIF contest so that the love and fun can continue on. YAYs!!!!

Project 365: Day 059

A special day for us.
<3

Project 365: Days 052-058

I have been MIA for a week, first due to
being busy then due to injury.
Thanks to those who expressed concern :)
you make me feel warm and fuzzy.
Follow my week to see what happened:

Day 052:

I found my wedding shoes! All the rest went back for FREE!
The shoes I settled on are a tad higher than I really wanted but for now they are the best choice. Since Zappos gives you 365 days to return, if I do find a better pair over the next few months I can still return them, YAYs!!

Day 053:

I love avocados and lately Amazon Fresh has been delivering the best avocados I can find. I order non-ripe ones and they are perfect each and every time. Yum!!

Day 054:

Lemons and limes are a staple in my kitchen. I love the smell and the flavor. I am addicted to S.Pellegrino mineral water with a squeeze of fresh lime. Totally refreshing and waaaaaaaaaaaaay better for me than regular soda.

Day 055:

I had to do a ton of research on Tuesday and Wednesday. I opted to do it in front of the TV with my laptop. Very bad move. I usually do my work on my iMac with a normal mouse. The laptop has a built in scrolly area that you need to use two fingers to scroll. I took this photo as I realized what had caused my pain. As you can see, I have very bad form and combined with too many hours of continuous scrolling, I gave myself a repetitive stress injury afftecting my right pinky and ring finger. Such a dork! It hurt all the time from Thursday through Saturday and I could not hold a mouse or type and even petting Zira hurt. Hence my MIA status last week. Please do not try this at home.

Day 056:

Here I am in what I call my Black Spidey glove. I have one for each hand. When I first started creating jewelry pieces, I was a bit of a mad woman going on for hours on end with the excitement. Well that's not such a great thing for your hands when you are not used to these new positions and holding pliers. I started to get carpal tunnel and had to get these gloves to help keep my hands warm and train them to be in a good position (there is a stiff metal brace inside of these from the palm to the wrist). Between the gloves, training myself to only do so much at a time and making sure I take breaks, I haven't had to use the gloves in ages. Until now. My right hand hurt so much after my scrolly injury, even when not doing anything, I figured I would try the magic glove.

Day 057:

Rocky Road ice cream makes me happy.
I had this bowl and I seriously think it cured my hand :P
At least to the point where I could mouse and type a wee bit
and that is the only time it feels sore now.

Day 058:

I can only work on the computer in short stints, so it has taken me all day to get this post up. Luckily it no longer hurts to pet Zira. But at this point, I do feel the soreness coming back so I will be laying off blogging for awhile again until I am fully recovered. I'll be back eventually and I wish you all a wonderful week!

Project 365: Day 051

This is the view as I lay dying under this tree trying to rest after almost making it around the full lake (40 min ride). I can't even imagine how long it would take me to walk it but forever seems to ring true. I would have made it except I attempted to change gears, which I have never understood and still obviously don't, and my bike got all out of whack forcing me to stop. Once stopped, my body realized it should seize the moment and threaten collapse before it might be forced to work some more. Luckily, I brought some water with me in a backpack. Two years away from my San Franciscan lifestyle, two different sagas with physical therapists* and I am completely out of shape but NOT FOR LONG!!!!!! YAYs!!!!

*FYI-the physical therapists highly recommended the bike riding as opposed to walking for me as the way to go as it works the muscles I need without causing me more injury.

Project 365: Day 050

We went to The Dish for a nice yummy breakie and this is the mug they gave me for my coffee. Totally perfect. I really wanted to stuff it in my purse but since I haven't done that since my UCB days [blush] and I don't even carry a purse anymore (I used to have to lug so many samples/rocks etc. around for years as an interior designer and felt like such a bag lady, that now I try not to carry anything I can't deal with in my pocket or hands) I just took this photo instead :P

Project 365: Day 049

We brought Stella home today! She's my new ride. Perfect for some fun exercise around the big beautiful lake next to our house (I seriously need some outside exercise now that I don't walk all over SF on a daily basis). As you can see, she was a bit buxom for our Mini. Luckily that convertible top saved us once again. We've moved some pretty large things in this manner. The Ballard Bookcase Company even sports a photo of us moving Y's two vinyl record shelves, LOL.

I'm excited to take Stella out. I managed to get the ring-dingy bell attached but we don't have the proper wrenches to change to the extra cushy seat I bought or attach my water bottle holder [frowny face]. Between Y and myself we seem to have every imaginable hex key/Allen wrench except the one we need. They are either too small or too big, WTF? We got the bolts off the extra seat but can't budge the ones on the existing seat without the proper wrench [sigh].

Yes, those be fuzzy green d20's (20 sided dice) hanging from our rearview mirror.

....O and did you peep the Miskatonic Univeristy Alumni plates on our car in the Ballard Bookcase photo?? We be nerds, yo.

LOL

Project 365: Day 048

Spotted this in the hood today.
I don't know about you all but I would much prefer
Ouchless Waxes and Great Prices!

Fo-Shizzle, Yo!

Project 365: Day 047

On a quick run through Ballard (a groovy neighborhood in Seattle) I came across this in a shop window. I think it's a men's clothing store called Blackbird but I am not sure as the windows were covered up with this logo paper. All I know is, it's a meshing of two of my beloved obsessions, a crow and a skull. Waaaaaaaay coolio!

Project 365: Day 046

Today's image is what I think looks like Cthulhu flying over the trees while I was stuck in traffic. I see him in profile with his face looking to the right and wings on his back on the left. See it? His tentacles are trailing down. See it yet?????

OK, it is weird and kinda gross. It's actually a "Rorschach" left by a crow on our car windshield, LOL. Yes, and that is what I see!

I know, I know, I really need to get out with my camera more.

:P

Project 365: Day 045

Etsy shop owner Laura Walls Taylor quite possibly has the best timing. I decided to brew a batch of my current favorite tea, Red Bush Chai. I haven't had tea in months. I go through moods. Today my tea had literally just finished steeping when UPS showed up at my door with my new Vulture Mug. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!

I love my new mug and it is now my favorite. It is the perfect size and fits my hands and fingers comfortably. The little vulture rider makes for a great thumb rest. The lines are beautiful on this piece. If it were not for Etsy, I wouldn't be able to own this little work of art. The best part is knowing that my hard earned money is going mostly to the artist herself.

I need to finish my tea before Vic The Vulture gets any ideas :P

Project 365: Day 044

Zira is quite the accomplished feline.
She recently published her biography.

Project 365: Day 043

Our friends invited us over for dinner tonight at their lovely home. They have recently acquired baby chicks. There were a couple of yellow and mostly black tiny chicks. They were so cute and soooooooooo soft! They are still living in the house under the heat lamp for now. These will be laying brown eggs in the near future. 'Twas a delightful Easter surprise for me.

This Easter was also interesting as we attended our first ever Passover Seder. We were told we had the merciful cliff notes version. It was very interesting to participate and enjoy the kids getting into it. All I can say is that potato pancakes and matzah ball soup are waaaaaaaaaaay worth the wait. I had never had matzah ball soup before but it was totally yummy. Matzah balls are super filling as they seem to expand in your tummy much like hushpuppies. I definitely have a new addition to my comfort food list. Yum!

Project 365: Day 042

I have been working on a business card design job for a client and was finishing up the design work today before our D&D group came over. Zira, not being too happy about the slow invasion of guests, she is a shy one, decided to hang at my feet under my computer desk. This is not her usual spot. Normally she prowls about up here in my studio and likes to hang on either her cushion by the window or atop the spiral staircase, aka her giant cat tree, where she can monitor all the goings on up here and the floor below. I had to take this photo because she just had this annoyed look to her sweet face. She is not used to us being so social. I am proud of her though. Normally, she would just be under our bed or comforter the entire time but she has actually come out to visit us even when we are playing. She is dealing but she is definitly not amused.

Project 365: Day 041

As you might be aware, all Foxy Monster jewelry items come in a black and soft pink jewelry box with non-tarnish cotton. A black and pink double sided satin ribbon/bow (which slides on and off) completes the look for a perfect presentation as a gift or just to keep.

It all ends up looking like this after I hand tie the bow:


Why do I include this??? Isn't this extravagant or wasteful???

There's actually a very good reason beyond presentation, which, however, is still very important to me.

The main reason is that it is the best and most economical way for you, my customers, to receive your items. I buy these boxes in bulk at wholesale prices and I do not make any profit on the packaging. I charge you what it costs me. In exchange for that, you get a beautiful sturdy box which has kept your item safe during shipment. If it is a gift for someone, you are done. No need to go around and spend more money or time on wrapping. I have had many grateful male customers excited that it's all ready for gift giving :P You also can store the original Foxy Monster jewelry item/s in this box, as well as other pieces if you want, and it will help prevent your items from tarnishing due to the special cotton pad I use. The ribbon is purposely tied so you can slide it on and off without having to undo the whole thing. If you don't want to use the box for any of the purposes mentioned, then you can still save it for future use when you need to wrap any small item. This is why I do not add any Foxy Monster branding on the actual boxes.

In my opinion, if I have to charge my customers for protective shipping materials, I would much rather charge for a useful and beautiful jewelry box with many purposes than for a shipping box or other protective materials that may or may not be recyclable and will most certainly end up in the trash. For the same expense and protection of your items arriving in one piece, you get something you can actually use.

I also practice combined practical shipping. If I have a customer who is ordering multiple jewelry items, I always ask if they are going to all be individual gifts. If not, I offer the option of combing items together in larger jewelry boxes as appropriate. This saves my customers money in shipping charges and I always refund any shipping overages of a $1.00 or more back to their PayPal account.

It is truly a win win for all.

:)

Project 365: Day 040

As you are aware, I have been neglecting my wrecking duties due to my crazy schedule at the moment. One page of the journal is for filling with fruit stickers. I started working on that page right away but recently all I have managed to accomplish was this little vignette in my kitchen. We have had all kinds of company as well. No one has asked a thing. I wonder what they all must think? Do they think I have a fruit sticker fetish? That I am too lazy to throw out the sticker each time? After taking this photo I stuck them all on the page and it is nearly filled up. Soon you'll get to see the fruits of my labor, tee hee.

Project 365: Day 039

These are definitely not the shoes. I decided I better start looking for my wedding shoes now. I've been to enough weddings to know such shoes are hard to find. I looked around Nordstrom, Macy's, etc. but nothing. Then I had a brilliant idea. I love Zappos and tend to buy most of my shoes from there anyway. They have the best service, really helpful customer reviews, free shipping and free returns within 365 days, perfect! I figure I'll try out shoes until I find a pair I like and that are actually comfortable. I can test them all I want on the carpet and make sure they don't pinch, dig or otherwise put a frowny on my face.

These are the first pair. They arrived today, literally, mere hours after ordering yesterday!! I thought the look of pleating would match my dress perfectly. OMG! You know they are bad when you just put on one shoe and don't even stand up and it hurts like crazy! Crazy! It was so bad I thought for a half second that maybe my feet were hurting before I put it on, LOL, and that was why it felt so terrible. No, my other foot was fine. I took the shoe off and my foot felt better. I'm a trooper so I even put it back on and stood. That was a mistake. Good grief, the heel dug deep into the back of my foot, they pinched my little toe like crazy, and the straps felt like cardboard being forcibly attached to the top of my foot even after adjusting the strap. I have normal feet. Some say, even pretty. Nothing out of the ordinary. These shoes are plain terrible and will get such a review on the Zappos site. There weren't any reviews for this shoe when I bought them but the box looks like it's been returned several times. This is not my usual experience with Zappos. Usually the box is pristine. I think too many brides-to-be were way too busy to write the review and just returned them. I will take it upon myself to warn everyone.

I really don't understand why someone would make such a horrible fitting shoe to begin with and especially for a bride who needs to be at the very least somewhat comfortable that day. They were not that cheap either. Conspiracy to get me to spend in the hundreds????? No way, José! I have time on my side and free shipping and returns, YAYs!!!

Project 365: Day 038

I am a big fan of the Amazon Fresh delivery service. I have done Safeway delivery in the past and in SF even had a special produce delivery service. However, the best thing about Amazon Fresh is that they have a combo of stuff you find at Safeway, Whole Foods and nowhere else. It's the nowhere else stuff that makes my day. Take these cupcakes from Always Room For Dessert, a local bakery, they actually deliver these to my home and they are waaaaaaay yummy, moist and chocolaty!!! I got a hankering last night and voilá here they are at 11 am the next day. What more could a girl want?????