So you had a bad day

I'm tired this morning. It's just one of those days. Tired and a little down. I told myself when I started this blog that I wouldn't make it a dumping ground for toxic Laurie-waste. That I wouldn't drop piles of yuck all over the place here. It was going to be an upbeat place for beautiful pictures, info about glass and a spot to share the good stuff.
Hmmmm.....
I don't know if it's because my parents have left and I never know if bad news will come from them when they are 1300 miles away or because I've been so busy lately or because my husband's job is so uncertain or because the economy is so rotten or because my toenail polish is chipped. I'm just sad.
I think part of it is I've been having a very bad flare-up lately. I have fibromyalgia. I never tell anyone that. Before I spent two years seeing specialists and having tests run and blood drawn and MRI's and X-rays, I didn't even believe in fibromyalgia. I still don't, sometimes, but I guess I have to.
Since I'm feeling shitty, here's the story. When my daughter was less than a year old, I was on my way to work. I was a Director with a small software development company. I made good money, supported my family, loved my job. Then, this old guy pulled out in front of me in his truck and trailer with a large piece of heavy machinery on it. I hit him very hard in my car, totalled the vehicle and my ruined my back. He didn't have insurance.
I eventually had to leave my job, stop my advanced degree college courses, lose my income and move onto my couch, which is where I spent a great deal of time for many months. I couldn't even walk to my mailbox most days. We nearly lost our house, used every bit of our savings, and extended our credit to the hilt. I was 30 years old.
Eventually, though doomed to chronic pain and limited motion for the rest of my life, my back got a little better through physical therapy, spinal steroid injections and a lot of rest. I could walk upright again. Then the joint pain started. Some days I can't even turn a doorknob or stand up because the wrist and ankle pain is so severe. (I got trapped in the bathroom once for an entire afternoon!) Some days I'm so exhausted that I have to force myself to stay up until my kids bedtime so I can tuck them in. There's medications on the market now, but so far I haven't had any luck with them. It's been six years since that diagnosis and nothing has really changed.
I still can't really work. I still can't do most of the things I used to take for granted. I force myself to stay as active as possible, no matter how bad I feel and no matter how much it hurts because, well, what else can I do?
But, today is just a bad day. I'm just down.
I hope I don't get stuck in the bathroom today. That would just suck.

More Summer Fun

Well, my first set of Flip-Flop beads sold in about five minutes. So, I've put another set up. These are actually even cuter than the first set. Probably I think that because I like blue so much. As if you can't tell that by the fact that virtually all of my beads are blue.

I worked at another race this weekend so I'm behind on beads again. My sister's birthday is today and I have to race around at the last minute and pull something together for that. It's not that I forgot, I just, well....got confused about the date? Yeah, confused, that's it.

My daughter is finally having her birthday party this weekend. Her birthday was in February but, since she wanted a Luau, we had to wait until the weather warmed up and stabilized before we could schedule it.

Or, maybe it's just me in denial because my baby is 10 years old. Ridiculous.

Well, here's a pic of my flip-flops.

~Just Beachy Blues~

Lost in the woods

So, I'm back. Not from the woods, but from the swamp. I worked at a motocross race down in South Florida for the weekend. I don't do many races, but this is a track I like and we usually have a good time. I think the kids miss me because I'm gone from Thursday through Sunday night, but it gives us all a little break.

Also, my parents have headed back up North for the summer. That's always hard. The kids miss them and so do I. I get used to having them right next door and sort of take them for granted when they're here but it was hard pulling in on Sunday night and realizing that they weren't just a few footsteps away.

Bye Bye, Mom and Dad. See you in October.

I did get a little bit of work done and have listed a couple of things on Etsy. I'm out of oxygen so I couldn't get any sets finished for eBay this week. Hopefully, my tanks will be here on Friday.

Here's whats up on Etsy:

Just Beachy

Sunset Beach

I've got to run now. I'm conserving gasoline so the kids are riding bikes to school from now on. Since neither of them can be trusted to make it home in one piece without me, it looks like I'll be getting some extra excercise, too!

Probably not the worst thing that could happen to my ass, if I'm being honest.

Get outta town!

I'm heading out of town tomorrow morning for work and will be away through the weekend. I wanted to show what's been happening in the studio this week before I leave, though, so how about a quickie? ( Will you still respect me?)

~Sand~ is on eBay right now!

The following 2 beads are from a series I just have to call 'Organics Gone Wild'.

~Jacob's Ladder~ Cracked in kiln. Very sad-making.

~Soul Kiss~ On Etsy

And, last but not least, my very first truly green bead

~Eden Calling~ will be on Etsy sometime today

Happy weekend to all and to all a good night!

Issues and concerns

I thought I'd put it here, since maybe not everyone got the news. I will not be sending out any more Mermaid Glass newsletters due to a reported problem. From now on, I'll be posting specials on my website, http://www.mermaidglass.com/, and here on the blog. I did send out an email to everyone on my mailing list regarding this. Anyone who would like to continue to receive a text only email about specials, discounts and new items, just send me an email letting me know to laurie@mermaidglass.com.

Now, new lampwork focal beads -

~Sand~ This bead is not yet listed. I will probably put it on eBay

~Blue Hawaii~ This bead is currently in my Etsy shop, http://www.mermaidglass.etsy.com

Thanks so much and I'll be back with more later.

Girls Gone Wild

So, as I'm updating my website and paying bills this morning, I've been watching the news. In the last 20 minutes I've seen three (3) different news stories about women on the attack.

1. A grandmother visiting Disney World attacked another woman on the Teacups ride, causing a permanent brain injury. Now, I've been on those Teacups and they are somewhat disturbing. Still....

2. A large group of teenage girls attacked and viciously beat another girl, videotaped it and put it up on the internet. These mad-dog girls had names like Brittni and April, for crying out loud!

3. A woman attacked and beat her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend outside a nightclub as a crowd of onlookers cheered her on.

Did you notice how many times I had to use the word "attacked"? Is it any wonder everyone else on the planet is afraid of America, Americans and Disney World? Seriously, ladies, take a Xanax.

On the lighter side, here's a link to my latest Etsy Treasury. I liked the colors, repetitive shapes and bizarro (see the monkey) dreamlike ambiance of these pieces.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=38546

I have some new beads, but haven't photographed them yet. I'll do it later today and get back with ya.

In the mean time, Peace Out

Roses and Chocolates! Not.

Guess what my husband brought home for me last week. You'll never guess. He's so thoughtful and romantic. I was floored, I was so surprised and happy with such an unexpected gift.
Did you guess yet?

A new exhaust system for my workshop!

How cool is that? How sweet and sexy and romantic. I'm being totally serious and not one bit sarcastic. I've needed a new, better exhaust for a long time. I work with a lot of silver and silver glass and my old system is just not up to par. It's very unhealthy to work around glass, not to mention enamels and frit and propane fumes without proper ventilation. I've been saving for a while, out of my little income, but I also need a new bead kiln and I just couldn't get both. So he got it for me as a surprise.

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

So this is what I made:

A very beachy, lightly etched set of beads that that are much lighter than they look in the picture. These will be on eBay tonight:

A gorgeous, lush set of jewel toned beads that will also be on eBay tonight:

And this, which is quite possibly the most beautiful bead that I or any other person in the entire world has ever made. Hee hee! (Geez, full of herself much?)

Whatever, I do love it and am quite embarrassingly proud of it. I am undecided where it will be located. Probably on eBay.

Enjoy and have a puppies and bunnies kind of day! (oh no, not that shit again!)

Last Hours

Well, we've reached the final hours of Spring Break. Bittersweet. I love spending time with my kids, but I am, essentially, a solitary person and I get exhausted having people around me all the time. That being said, we did pack in as much fun as we could, so I guess it's my own fault. We had people over several times, we went to the beach twice, to the movies and the mall. We played golf-both putt-putt and real- we went to the carnival and Robert and I even had a date night.

Damn, I'm beat!

Still, I have had a chance to make some beads. I also created my very first Treasury on Etsy last night. I'm actually quite proud of it. You can check it out here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37803

Treasuries are one of my favorite things about Etsy. Sure, part of it is a marketing tool. But the other side is, you are forced to go out amongst your fellow craftspeople, see what they're creating, learn what moves others, expose yourself to different art and ideas. It's extremely inspiring, as far as my own work goes. I've come up with tons of ideas, from looking at all of the wonderful photography and textiles, jewelry and stuffies! So fun.

Here's a bead that is giving me some trouble. It photographs blue, but it is actually a gorgeous Royal Purple. I've listed it on Etsy, but I may take it off. I've posted a warning about the color discrepancy, but I'm still afraid someone will buy it and then be disappointed when they get it. A conundrum.

Is that the right word?

Anyhoo, here it is:

~*Swing*~

http://www.mermaidglass.etsy.com/

Let me know what you think.

Oh yeah, remember thos Celadon beads? Well, I remade them and they turned out gorgeous! They're on Etsy, too.

~*Beachside*~