Oh, how they grow!

I hope everyone had a great holiday, filled with food and fun. I know we did. Every year, we trek up to Robert's sister's home in St. Augustine. The day is filled with family gossip, food, football and some Monkey-in-the-Middle. This year, everyone brought their dogs. As our children have gotten older, the dogs have sort of taken their place in some ways. Just like the kids used to do, they ran loose all day, playing and jumping, stealing snacks, bickering when the got over-tired. By the end of the evening, the kitchen floor was wall to wall with sleepy canines. Lots of them. Two pit-pulls, two Chihuahuas, a Husky, an Akita and our yellow lab. That's a lot of dogs, let me tell you.

A tradition that we have is, after dinner and dessert, when everyone is winding down, we all head down to Old Towne, where they light up the city with thousands of tiny lights. We walk through the square and wander through the streets, stop for hot chocolate and ice cream (well, it's Florida!), admire the Bridge of Lions and soak up that last bit of peace before the Season kicks in full speed.

As we walk through the square, I always make the kids stop and climb up on one of the old cannons and pose for a picture. We've done this every year for, oh, about a decade or more I guess. This year, when I downloaded the pictures later, I was amazed by how huge the kids were. I mean, really so big. So I went back, looking for an older picture to compare. The earliest one I could find on my computer was from 2004. It's not very good quality, but you can get my general point.

Wow, that went by quick.

Pondering on it

Like about everybody else in the neighborhood and thereabouts, tonight I'm thinking about what I'm thankful for. I mean, there's momentary thankfulness like, "Holy crap, thank God I didn't run over that kid! Freaking blind spot!!!" and there's the deeper thanks of, "My family is good. We've gone another year and we're all still here, still healthy, still together." But there's an awful lot of in between, right? So much grey, so much that seems trivial but that's not really.

So, here's a few things I'm thankful for:

1. My healthy, intact family. Yeah, I know I already said it, but it's the most important thing so I'm saying it again.

2. My new puppy. This one's healthy and lovey and sweet. Goofy as a three dollar bill, though.

3. My kick-ass husband who lets me melt glass all day every day and never bats an eyelash.

4. My kids who do the same and think my job is cool.

5. Although we haven't been untouched by this diseased economy, we haven't been destroyed by it.

6. For the first time since my daughter was born - I'm withing spitting distance of getting my ass into a size 8. And I mean a real 8, not the fake 8 that's really a 10.

7. That Ullja is getting sued

8. The beach. Honestly, I don't know how I'd live without it. Just knowing it's there is enough to get me through the toughest times.

9. Tomorrow is the biggest pie-eating day of the year. Pie's my all time fave.

10. That the world, though still greatly distressed, seems somewhat more hopeful than it did two years ago when I was having trouble even imagining my children's future.

So, what's on your list?

What color are you?

Do you have a color that's just so close to you, so loved by you that it's more than just a 'favorite'? A color that's truly yours?

I don't mean one that you wear all the time (although, that does count) or that you choose because it makes your butt look smaller. No, I'm talking about the color that's reflective of you, that the sight of alters your mood, brings a private little smile to your senses and somehow soothes your overworked nerves. The color that when you look around your home you realize that - through no intentional design plan - you've surrounded yourself with.

Thank you to Joan Miller Porcelain for this pendant. It's my favorite and I wear it all the time!

Some Things to Think About

I didn't write this and yet I still find it funny. And true.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer's history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to the ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this garment... ever.

15. I hate it when I miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. How many ounces of alcholol I consume daily has a direct correlation to how far into summer vacation we are. (This one is mine. It made more sense than the original. To me, anyway.)

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with a martini than Kay.

Something different (for me, anyway)

I don't do a lot of etching in my lampwork. I love the look of other peoples etched beads, but my own are usually these intricate, multi-layered objects that don't lend themselves to that technique.

But I was playing around with the last of my Gaffer Chalcedony and I was drawn into making a bunch of different shapes and textures, using different base colors, frit, different striking times, etc. After a while, I realized that I was really liking these beads, enjoying the color reactions and all the different shapes. So what turned out as an experiment ended up as a set.

A big set.

I've actually broken it down into 3 different sets, but this is the first one. The overall look was very rustic and eclectic and I thought it would look cool to etch it. Let me know what you think. I have them listed on eBay right now.

~*Autumn Garden*~