Fashionably Adorned by Sherice

a few things going on here

2011-01-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hello~
I've been so busy this week & it's not quite Friday yet. Started school on Monday and this go around is going to be a lot harder than cosmetology! I've hardly seen my husband or kids, done any housework or anything for that matter besides homework. I will get into the groove soon. It is only the first week. I need to dust off the cobwebs and get my routine down and things will run smoothly. So far I am enjoying myself. What I'm enjoying most is my new Macbook pro!!! LOVE LOVE IT!!!!!

Last weekend I did get into my studio and got a few things made... these are just a couple snapshots I have so far. I will be doing a shop update this weekend! Some of these are a bit dark, I need to get some good daylight photos!

Hope your week is going well,
Ttyl
Sherice

Lost in thoughts!

2010-12-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well Well..... here I am at last!
I've been lost in thoughts for sometime now, but I'm really going to try to be more present with this blog.

A little catch up if you don't mind. I worked at the Salon for about 6 mo,. Left in more debt than what I went in with. Not enough clientele or enough money to advertise, and honestly the location was really poor. It was fun while it lasted. It was a good avenue for selling my jewelry. I sold quite a few pieces while I was there. I have been ordering and stockpiling for a few mos., so now it's time to get some new things made and listed. I'm also thinking I will break outta my comfort zone and try to do a show at some point, if I can ever hear of one before the weekend of. I just don't know how to access that info. any suggestions?

I have been working out at the gym and I'm loving my new found strength and motivation that it's bringing me. That's the place I like to De-stress myself. I would have reached my goal months ago but I just can't get a handle on my food. I have lost but I think I've toned more than anything. When I journal and measure I do great but let's remember I'm A.D.D. so that lasts for a few months then I fall off the journaling wagon and I'm back to my old habits, which aren't totally bad. My biggest problem is eating a lot of small meals a day which is what you really need to be doing to keep your metabolism active and working!!

I'm going back to school, starting on the 3rd of Jan. I'm excited but nervous. I have been thinking about going back for some time and finally decided it was meant to be, since I cannot find a job using my hair license. Besides I really don't enjoy it anyway. I'm going back to get my Bachelors in Science degree in Excersize Science, or so that's the plan at this point. I really want to educate people on health but not sure if personal training is what I want to do. I just don't want to have a degree and then be back where I am now with my hair license... no insurance, no security for the future. See where I'm going with that. I'm thinking diet and nutrition might be calling me. I'm hoping with being educated about this it will help me with my own issues! Having that degree is like a stepping stone to other things! For now I'm getting started and we will see where it takes me.

I hope I haven't bored you all to death! But I feel some sort of a explanation is in order.

I hope all had a great christmas, we did! I have high hopes for this new year ahead. It's gonna be GREAT!!!

My Family!! Cheers!!

Wow, I was MIA for sure!!!

2010-05-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

Hey out there in blog land~ I can't believe I've neglected my blog for sooooooooo long!!!
I will try not to do that again....

a few new pieces between now and then.....

These are one of my favorites......

So..... what's been going on in my world since my last post.... I have started working again, I'm renting in a cute salon, dwntown spokane......

Envy Hair Design

This is my station to the left there...... I'm slllooowwwllly building a clientele. I started out with no clients b/c I've been home for about a yr and half with my kids!!

I'm now selling Fashionably Adorned from the salon as well and that's been a great confidence boost.. to know that people other than my family think my pieces are beautiful and want to wear them.. one of the other renters mom has a coffee shop and ask if I would like to sell at her shop also, which I will be doing eventually. I need some time to up my inventory and get somethings together.

Things have been moving along and I'm so glad spring has sprung and that summer will soon be here... I long for those lazy days of flip flops, sunshine, tank tops and of course tubing down the Little Spokane River!!! ahhhhhh if only I had a cold pina colada!!

Later! :)

Happenings

2009-10-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hello people~

I know I haven't blogged for a while, I just didn't really have much to say!

I do however have a few new things to talk about. Our sweet daughter Jessica turned 11 on the

5th she is growing up so fast and turning in to a young Lady!

She is having her skating party tomorrow and is excited!!

My friend is opening up a little boutique and she is going to sell some of my pieces in her shop! I'm so excited. I hope they will sell, she told me they are nicer than some of the stuff she already has so I'm hopeful!! I also got a job!! A really nice couple has bought a salon that is fairly new about 3 yrs old. It's just gorgeous! They are doing a 50/50 split deal and want it to be a profit sharing company which is also wonderful!! They are also open to suggestions and ideas from us girls who will be coming on board. She has some renters in there now that do not want to stay so they will be out at the end of Oct.

It sounds like it will be awesome! I will be able to make my own schedule which is great. I guess it's like I will be renting but without all the hassle of licenses, products, and insurance, which can be pricey! I don't have any clientele b/c the places that I have worked in the past don't allow you to keep client info so I will be building my clientele once again, which means I won't be bringing any money in for a while but I won't be putting out any money either so I don't have anything to lose!!

I haven't made anything new as far as jewelry goes I just don't have a lot of extra funds to invest in product, but soon I'm hoping.. I really want to start dabbling with my torch and solder!!

Later gators!

Rosy Revolver giveaway

2009-09-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

I Want to win this, Isn't she beautiful, stunning, magnificent?!!!! check it out at http://rosyrevolver.blogspot.com/2009/09/roses-are-red-and-this-ones-for-you.html

I haven't won anything since the 7th grade when I won the coolest pr of black rollerskates!!

A big thanks to Jessi at http://www.jessimakesjewelry.blogspot.com/ for blogging about this giveaway and this awesome blog..

I will be following this blog.. her work is B-E-A-U-T-Y-F-U-L!!!!!

Auf weidezen, mwaaaaa

Etsy sale and new listings!!

2009-09-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hey all~

Hope your holiday weekend has been a good and safe one!

I had an Etsy sale this weekend, yippee me!!! It really perked up my day. I don't sale things that often, I have been on Etsy since Jan 09 and have had 6 sales.. so this is exciting!!!

I also listed about 10 new pieces.. I have had quite a collection going and just needed to find the time to photograph them and get them listed. I will also be making some updates and adding new photos in my shop this week.

Here are a few of the pieces I listed... to see them all, check out my shop!

This is my first etched necklace, I LOVE IT!!

I have been really enjoying working with copper.

Chow!

New Beads

2009-08-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all~
How is everyone doing?

Well, here is back to school already and my kids had their first day yesterday. All went well.

Corey said High School is "awesome". He was crackin me up last night. I was listening to him in the kitchen on his phone talking to a friend that goes to a different school, telling him how awesome it was.. they get off campus lunches and there is a mcdonalds close to the school and they can listen to their ipods in the halls between classes. He doesn't even mind riding the bus.. this is the first yr for that. I have always been able to drive them to and from but this yr. he is going to a high school that is downtown. sounds scary I know but Lewis and Clark High School is one of the top rated in the state. when I was in high school you had your schedule and went about your day, well now at least in C's h/s, his classes are like college where you only have certain ones on certain days.. He is also in the Core Program.. it's a program to help freshman students transition into highschool successfully.. students who need a little extra help with math, homework skills are eligible for this program. lots of parent/teacher support and he will earn and extra credit for just being in the program. We are hoping for a successful yr. I asked him last night what his goals are for this yr and he replied "being more successful" so that's a good start!!

Jessica has had the same teacher for the last 3 yrs. so this yr she has a new teacher. She seems to really like her and her new classmates also.. Jessica is very good in school academically. I don't worry about her to much, it's more boys, clothes, and makeup that I will worry about.. I have a feeling.... :)

Jessica and I had a great time at my friend's in Olympia.. I wanted to take Jess to the capital building and didn't get a chance to so we will do that our next trip. It was great to see my friend Michelle, her nice hubby and kids.. they opened their home to us for a week. Her daughter and Jessica got along awesome not one argument!! so nice!!

I finally got some more wire and some new beads. we went to Shipwrecked beads. what a HUGE store!! So I'm hoping to get into my studio and make some new exciting pieces..I even came across a little bit of solder, so I might try to solder something.. I really need a third hand

though.... so well see..!! Jessica and Elexa!!

New Beads and book... the book has a lot of great info about crystals and stones. I would eventually like to incorporate the metaphysical properties into my descriptions.

Later!!

New Pretties!!

2009-08-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hey out there!!

here are a few new things I've been working on. I still have some pieces to photograph and put in my shop... but these are the newest items!!

These are a cute pair of copper, amethyst spirals and a pair of amethyst and star earrings.. these would match my "Straight on till morning" necklace, http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28402227

These are fun, I noticed that the dangles are a bit longer on one so maybe I will mix em up a bit..

simple and casual

This is a pr. that I'm not quite finished with.. I really think they are going to be nice, but my flame and copper haven't been cooperating lately, so I'm just takin a break from these!

These are new etched pendants

This is something that I was just making to see how it would turn out, and I REALLY like it.. maybe a bit thinner would be better but for a first ring ever I think it's pretty nice.. I hammered it for some detail. I'm not soldering yet so it overlaps slightly. I wouldn't sell this yet probly because it is something new I haven't done before, but I will seal it with something (any

suggestions??) and keep it for myself, I like it as a thumb ring!!

My daughter and I are leaving Weds. morning to go on a little road trip to see my friend in Olympia!! We are excited! I haven't seen my friend in way to long and I'm looking forward to catching up with her.

see ya!!

Road trip with my sis!!

2009-08-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hey~

I had an awesome weekend with my sister.. we took a roadtrip to Friday Harbor and had a GREEEAT weekend..

My best girls... Tara and Stacey! I have know these girls for 25 yrs!!

Awesome to still be so close!!

Great times, Great memories

PLEASE HELP!!!!

2009-08-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hey~

This is a very important and close to my heart posting..

Lime Kiln Lighthouse, west side of Friday Harbor......

The NOAA wants to ban private and commercial kayaking from the west side of the San Juan Island.. those who read my blog no that this is my hometown..

they are saying that the kayaking is a disturbance and a threat to the pods of Orcas that travel through the area.. which is total nonsense.. these whales and people have been coexisting for generations.. and I as I'm sure many of the locals feel proud to see these beautiful creatures swimming, breaching, spyhopping in our local waters. If you don't know much about Orcas they are very smart wonderful whales.. I believe there are 2 pods that come back yearly to the san juans.. J pod and K pod..

Did you know that they stay with there pods for life.. the biggest dorsel fin is the male of the pod.. My husband was out fishing one day, yes on the westside and in a very small boat... and K pod happened to be in the area, well they made an appearence where my hubby was fishing. He came home so excited, K-2 the big male in the pod had come over to see what he was doing they are very inquisitive creatures, he just swam around the boat and down underneath for a bit and moved on.. well Ron, (my hubby) said that he was so close to the boat he could have reached out and touched him and that when he swam under the boat he was so close that they made eye contact.. WOW what an experience that would have been.. Ron said that you know they are checking you out and that they are intellegent, you can see it in their eyes.

For those that have seen the movie Practical Magic with Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman, and many other great actors.. that movie was filmed on the west side of Friday harbor.. all the house scences where out at San Juan County Park which is a well known whale watching park.. so you can watch that movie and get a glimpse of our beautiful island.. ( the house was a set, really doesn't exist there)

so I'm posting this so that everyone who reads this will go to the petition site http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/save-the-west-side-of-san-juan-island-for-kayakers and sign it.. Crystal Seas Kayaking are sponsoring this petition and are also friends of mine.. they are looking for 50,000 signatures to keep the west side open to public and commercial kayaking.. Please sign, it doesn't matter that you have never been there or do not live in Washington!! It only takes a minute literally to sign!!!!

Another positive reason for signing this petition is a lot of kayakers come from all over to kayak these waters, which brings revenue to the Island and to local companies like Crystal Seas Kayaking, who are people doing what they love and wanting to share that with others. It would really be sad if kayakers could no longer kayak in one of the prettiest places on earth!!

Kayaking out by the Lime Kiln lighthouse, westside, Friday Harbor Washington

NEW!!

2009-07-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

I posted these .. I had a couple of productive hrs in my studio last night....
These are my favorite earrings I've made in a long time... I just love them.. I hope someone else will also.. I really need to get my shop out there, but it seems people aren't interested, I did check out a local farmers market yesterday that is every sun and I think they go all yr long.. but I do need to get things before I set up a booth anywhere.. ya know, tables, change box, jewelry display stuff, bags, an awning for shade.. yada yada.... I'm will be going back to work as soon as I find something, it's just getting to hard for my husband to carry the whole load by himself and now that our kids are older they can be alone for a couple hrs after school, so I will have some extra money to poor into this business... I know it will take time.. I just hope that all these other ladies that are making an income with their businesses, know how lucky they are..

I do think I will do well when I get out there, my stuff seems to be a little nicer than stuff I've seen, by that I just mean, precious gems and sterling.. nicely made.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28403968

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28403528

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28402227

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28402876

Jessica left for camp till friday this morning... she went last yr and had so much fun.. I always wanted to go to camp and never could because my mom was a single parent and just couldn't afford it. well, we live in a very low income area and so the school that Jess attends sends out a no cost camp application yrly, so she gets to see her friends from school and it doesn't cost a thing... that's a benefit of living on the mainland.. when I grew up we lived on an island (friday harbor, san juan islands) so there aren't those benefits..

Summer is going by quickly and school will be starting Aug 27.. so early but I guess they are already planning for snow days..

It's another hot day and I think we are going to float the little spokane later...

that's all for now!

later~

Been awhile

2009-07-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey~

Hope all is well with my blogger friends.. I have been M.I.A. for a while it seems.. with the kids out of school and not much going on around home I haven't really had much to blog about.. I have been doing some work in my studio.. experimenting more like.. playing with my dremel and saw, getting the feel of working with the tools.

some etching.....

I really like the bee (on end) not sure what to do with her.. I would like to color her with some inks but still thinking on it.. these are the first etchings I've done... very raw.

These are my first totally finished etched pieces what do you think?? I'm not going to sell them I think I need more practice before I will feel okay with selling.. so for now I will either keep them or give them to my sister, I haven't decided...

I forgot I had some copper wire tucked away so I played around and made these and then oxidized them..I was playin around with the earwires and made them a bit different...

My sister really likes them so I think I will give them to her.. she has gotten quite a bit of my jewelry, she works in an office so it is great advertising.. this is her and her husband.

I don't think I ever posted what I did with my custom stamp!! What do you think? should I use a different color than the black? my earring cards and then the cards I put on my bracelets and necklaces............

These are the "thank you" cards I include with order along with a business card... I thought the handmade with love was a little bit more special than just a thankyou...

I picked up these cabs at a little hole in the wall local jeweler that I happened upon the other day... I don't know why I got them.. I'm a million miles away from learning to solder and bezel set.. but I really loved them.. I love cabs.. I don't know if it is because I know I will be using them someday, so I get them to have a little stash when the time does come, or if it's because I love the way they feel, so smooth and shiny.. I've become addicted I'm afraid..

I already have a beautiful Blue lace agate and a Crazy lace agate.. so now I have these to add to my collection...

the guy I bought these from said they were Sand Onxy... I really don't know much about stones and I'm just learning but I kinda thought they looked like Botswana agate... what do you guys think??

These are Red Jasper

This is a gorgeous piece of Blue Chalcedony.. I always pronounce this wrong... sounds nothing like how it is spelled.. anyway this will someday be used for a ring and I think I will set it this way also...

Last but not least my sleeping husband.. He most often has an afternoon nap when he gets home from work.. the guy gets up at 5:30 most mornings, he has earned his naptime by 3-4pm.. but this pic was so cute cause.. marley was at his feet and roxy at his head.. you can't really see them because they blend so well.. downfall of having bl. dogs...

Well that's what's happenin in my neck of the woods!
later peeps~

4th of July....

2009-07-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

A San Juan Sunrise

Had a great weekend... now I'm home. Would like to pack my bags and move back, but my husband isn't accomidating my wishes.. sheesshh~

So excited to be going back in early aug.. for a longer visit~

This is the view from my friends porch...... awesome isn't it!

This and That!!!

2009-06-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hey~

I can't believe it is almost July 4th!! We decided to go to the San Juan Islands for the 4th and surprise our friends.. I hope she hasn't started reading my blog.. I think not!! The San Juan Islands is where I grew up and It's fun to see old friends.. ya know the kind you have known since 4th grade!!! heres a couple pics

This is the Ferry coming in to Friday Harbor, my hometown!!

Washington's little slice of Heaven!! aahhhh.......

In other news.. C and I are officially Bo dan belts!!! yippeeee.. here are some pics from testing night!! sorry the quality isn't that great, there from my bl.berry, with all it can do you'd think the pics would be better quality....

This is corey doing 1 of his board breaks with a punch.. we had to do 2 board breaks, 1 punch and 1 spinning back kick...

Me breaking with a spinning back kick....

C and I sparring.... Mom puttin the beat down on!!! LOL

C and I doing our poomse, NAILED IT!!!!

Yesterday I finally got into my studio and used my saw for the first time and cut some copper for some etching.... I only broke 3 saw blades.... I will post some pics when I get my pieces finished.. I'm going to try to get them done before we leave on thurs..I think these first ones I make will be for my BFF's daughter.....

Chow for now!!

New Tools!! YIPPEEEEEEE~~~~~~

2009-06-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

I bought these today.......

I bought the vise at Harbor Frieght, It swivels and moves!! and I bought the tumbler from Santa Fe.. It was the cheapest place.. $60. I looked at the tumblers they had a Harbor Frieght and just went with my gut, which told me to get the better one... I didn't like the looks of the display tumbler they had out.. but I think the vise will do fine..

We test tomarrow for our Bo-Dan belts.. It will be nice to get a new belt but now we really have to start training... our next belt is black and we will test in April.. seems like a long way off but not when you have so much to refresh and memorize!! Wish us luck.. here are a few photos of us practicing our Poomse (poom-say, which is kind of like a fight on all four sides of you) tonight in class.

I Got my custom stamp last week, but I really haven't had the time to play with it yet.. I finished switching the rooms around and got my table moved in to my "new" studio space yesterday.. here it is .. I have some space and not much to go in it yet, but I'm Sure before long it will be full!

Lots of shelving, thinking I will paint it a nice light green?? Not sure yet. I will put up a corkboard in front of my table to put design ideas and inspiration...

Oh and I also got this last wk also, like I said haven't had anytime for jewelry lately, but I will soon...

This came with a flex shaft attachment.. I will upgrade to the "real deal" when I have more exp. under my belt..

Later!

Freshman

2009-06-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today I officially have a high schooler.. WOW that just blows my mind.. It seems like yesterday that my son was playing with his dump trucks and still wanting to be rocked... passing the days away watching Pooh Bear.. *sighing* I really do miss those days.. and my daughter is also growing to fast.. she is only 10 and acts like she is 16 (when she can get away with it that is) it seems that now days kids aren't kids anymore... she does still do kid things, like roller skating and riding her bike but she is worried about her hair or how she looks.. jeez when I was 10 I was riding horses and bmx bikes not doing my hair and worrying about what I should wear to school.. I don't think I have ever worried about that stuff.. it's just not me.

Corey's 8th grade graduation was bitter sweet.. he realized that he really didn't want the school yr to end.. he will miss some of his friends that will be going to a different high school than he is next yr.. I never had to worry about such things.. where I grew up there is one elementary school, one jr high and one high school but we are talking about an island.

He was a bit emotional, which I think is normal, it's a hard age being 14.. he has a lot of changes coming his way.. I'm just glad that he and I have a wonderful, open relationship and he can express himself and not feel that it's wrong to be in touch with his emotions.. we are a very open family and talk about pretty much everything.. We have one rule in our house and that is .... NO SECRETS!!!! beyond the normal healthy things kids keep to themselves, but mostly between mom and dad.. we went through a very tough time about 9 yrs ago and worked through it and healed, and moved on and vowed then that we would never keep secrets between us or our children.. sometimes the hardest things will make you the strongest.. wow that was a bit off topic.. so back to grad.... here is a pic..

We finally got his room moved to the downstairs bedroom.. and cleaned. Oh what a mess it was.. I'm surprised I didn't find a slimy science experiment in there.. I'm cleaning the carpets tomarrow and getting Jessica moved in, and then I will FINALLY have my jewelry studio.. her old room is perfect.. a ceiling fan, window and built in shelving.. It could be a bit bigger but I can wait 4 more yrs tell corey goes to college and she can be downstairs. Then I can take over the bigger bedroom and have the little one for my library.. see I have it all worked out! LOL

anyway I'm so excited to have my own area soon. This is my work area as of now.....

My kitchen table.. I don't think this table has ever seen a meal.. now that it will be cleared up soon we will try to have sunday night dinner as a "family" .. we don't really eat together much and if we do it is at the coffee table in front of the t.v. I remember eating together when I was a kid and it's nice.. that's the time when you shut off the t.v. and talk about your day and connect with each other..

I got my stuff for doing some metal etching.. I'm super excited and scared at the same time... I have ventured into a whole new realm of things that I no nothing about but I will figure things out..

that's about it

till next time~

Sunday Brunch

2009-06-14T20:59:00.001-07:00

Hey There~

I love Sheri's Benedict~

This is how we had our eggs benedict when I was growing up....

and I still make it the same way now for my family~

I use bacon instead of candian bacon, and the sauce is a cheese sauce instead of a benedict sauce... so, so yummy!!

I follow the basic recipe in my trusty old Betty Crocker cookbook for a white sauce and then I add cheddar, and pepperjack.. which adds a little kick, pepper, mustard powder, some chx bullion powder and basil.. GOOD FOOD!!!

I should be getting my custom stamp in the mail anyday!! This is what it will look like. what do you think?? It's 2" x 2".. this being my first stamp, I'm hoping it won't be to small.

I ordered my lovely stamp from a seller on etsy.. Terbearco.etsy.com, she was really nice and helpful with all my questions.. I'm sure I will find a need for another stamp and will certainly do business with her again.

I spent some time this weekend contemplating how I want to do my jewelry cards.. I think I have it figured out.. so as soon as I get the stamp in my grubby hands I will post some pics of what I came up with.

This has been bugging me all day long so I need to just vent about it..... My daughter had a friend sleep over last night, and I have meet her mom a couple times at school functions and Jess went to this girls b-day slumber party, to make a long story short.. when I tucked the girls in my daughter's Ipod nano was in the docking station.. when they woke up in the morning, Jess came up to my room and woke me up, asking if I had taken her Ipod, it wasn't in the docking station.. we have searched hi and low,, asked the girl to look for it in her belongings just in case it had gotten mixed in with her things some how.. Nope not there.. It couldn't have grown legs and wondered off. I know it was there when I turned off the light because I remember thinking that I should let them listen to music, then thinking better of it.. goodnight girls.. morning it's gone.. I feel really horrible thinking little fingers took it but when my husband and I both have torn our daughters room apart looking and it's NO WHERE to be found.. what should I think... and when I call the girl and ask her to look in her things again just in case, and she says she doesn't have it, I guess I just have to take her word.... I'm so irritated that Ipod was $150. and jessica's main christmas gift this yr.. I don't have that kind of money laying around to replace it... I really want to think that this girl didn't take it but I have searched all day long for this damn thing and It's totally MIA! What would you think??

well I hope everyone has a good week!

I'm out!!

Random act of Kindness

2009-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!!

I hope everyone's weekend was good~

Tammy from Tammys treasure chest has bestowed upon me a Random act of Kindness!! I was so excited when the mail came today and I had a lovely pkg waiting for me..... This is what was in the pkg!!

Isn't it beautiful.. I really love it!! Thanks so much Tammy!

This weekend I gave my daughter bangs.. she has been bugging me to give her bangs for about a yr and I keep saying no.. she has this wicked coulik,(sp) and her hair naturally parts in the middle because of it.. well now that she is 10 going on 30 hehehe she has started to part in more to the side... so I gave her the bangs...

My little girl is growing up!!!

That's all folks!!

Oatmeal Banana Choc.Chip !

2009-06-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

IF you like to cook than you need to check out this GREAT blog I stumbled upon..... TwinTables.blogspot.com they have the greatest yummiest recipes!!

I found this recipe and couldn't pass it by...Banana oatmeal cookies!! I'm the Queen of tweaking recipes to my needs so of course I tweaked this one.. I added mini choc. chips, and put in shortening instead of butter, I don't like the way cookies turn out when I use butter, they look like pancakes not cookies. If you wanted to be really healthy you could omit the choc chips and shortening and just add extra bananas.

They taste like the crunchy top and sides of banana bread, with a little choc. kick!

Here they are.....

As you can see I couldn't wait to give them a try!!!

Check out twin tables blog.. there food looks and tastes great!!

now, I have cookies to eat!!!!

The work begins

2009-06-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Heeeeeyyyyy!

Yesterday started off the new schedule for the dojang... backtracking.... about 6 mos ago our dojang expanded once again and opened a third school here in spokane.. we transfered to this school for numerous reasons I won't bore you with.. so at first there aren't many students so the belt levels don't really need to be split.. well now the time has come.. so there is low belt class and high belt class. It was great to go to class last night and not have a packed room and to get help and do more advanced techniques.. like using both our nunchucks again.., focus pads and just have more discipline that comes with high belts.. when you first start out your learning all this stuff and the hammer really isn't put down so much..

We usually get to class about 1/2 hr before it starts, so last night Mr. Justin, our instructor asked corey to get changed and help out with class... that frees him up to talk with parents of new students and such..... because Corey and I are always in class together I don't have many "in class pics" so I took this as a photo opp...here are a couple pics of Corey helpin out the white

belts.

If you follow my blog you know that I often post about our TKD experiences and I cannot say enough good things about what it has done for my son and I... It really is a way of life that we have chosen to live... When Corey gets his Black belt which will be in April, he doesn't have to continue.. when we started this journey 6 yrs ago he had no choice.. it was something that I thought would benefit him and we enrolled.. so I have told him once he gets his Bl. Belt he doesn't have to continue, I will, but I won't go back on my word to him.. I'm hoping by then he will want to continue doing it.. he really enjoys it when we are there. He is just not athletic and would rather be home on the computer or texting.. okay he's lazy :)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Then I realized last night that my daughter is usually with us reading or watching class, so I'm thinking maybe she can take a few pics of us now and again in class.. It is also a good way to see if we are doing correct stances and what we look like.. a good critquing method..

I did post a couple of new earrings.....and bought a few blocks of advertising on http://www.foundhandmade.com/ if you haven't heard of this site, check it out.. very reasonable fees and they are usually running specials to earn free blocks of advertising.. you scroll across an image and the image pops up and has a little bio on the right side of the screen, if you click the image it sends them to your etsy shop or where ever you have linked to the image.. so easy and I'm hoping I will get some sales from it!!

these are the newest additions to my shop....

What do you think?? Are the pictures okay?

till next time

chow

Ahhh, Jasmine!

2009-05-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hi out there!

It's been awhile since my last blog, not much has been going on..
I have just been getting my yard together and getting some flower beds dug...
Before... there was a big Rubarb plant in the corner..

After

This is my Lilac bush, not yet in the ground. It had 2 really nice blooms and my puppy ate them! ugg, she eats EVERYTHING!!!!

nice little fencing to keep the dogs out!

My beautiful Jasmine, my favorite, this plant has such an intoxicating scent!!

In other news, I finally had a sale.. a cute necklace. I hear some of the blogs I follow talk about how slow there shops are when they haven't sold anything in a week.. my sales are few and far between... but I have only had my shop open since Jan of this yr.. I figure if I just plug away at it eventually I will start to get more sales... So this lovely gal said that if she likes my necklace as much as she thinks she will, she will be back to purchase a pr of earrings she has been eyeing.. I'm sure she will like the necklace, I try to be as accurate as possible with my listings and photos..

Sometimes it is hard to be creative when I'm not selling any thing, and I know I'm not a failure but I have those thoughts of self doubt... you know.. "what if my stuff is no good" "what if no one likes it" those nasty little thoughts that creep into your mind.
But I am trying to get better about my self doubts and just know that what I put out there is good quality workmanship. I'm a bit of a perfectionist also and that tends to bite me most of the time.

chow for now!!

Dirt and Dogs!!!

2009-05-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Hope everyone's weekend was great!!

It's beautiful here and I'm hoping that summer is FINALLY here to stay!! probly not but a girl can dream! Today we got out into the yard. I weeded my flower bed and will continue to set my bricks and fence.

I really need to think hard about what I want to put here... I'm thinking maybe something that can climb the lattace in this area, and in the others maybe roses??? See my problem is that I kill everything, it's like a plants death sentence to come live at my house.. Every yr. I buy flowers and every yr. I kill them.. but I really want a nice yard with pretty flowers! So I will need to do my research and think about this for awhile.. If any of you greenthumbers out there have ideas let me know.. it gets a lot of afternoon sun!

While I did this my honey bunny and son cut back some branches, mowed, and weed wacked!!

corey is wrangling those branches! They were cut from the tree behind him, they start to grow over the fence onto the side walk and pretty soon your ducking to walk under the tree itself....

the dogs enjoyed there time also.. and played ball..Now when I say played ball I don't mean like we throw it and they retrieve it, which Marley will do and he brings it back to you everytime.. he will drop it and sit so patiently waiting for you to throw it again, then when you reach down to get the ball he will grab it and want to play tug of war, so you must give him the command... "leave it" and things well go smoothly.. Roxy is just to small (about 5 mos) to get the concept yet but we are working with her.. anyway back to my story.. so Marley is a crazy nut job and he LOVES any type of ball!!!!

Outside he plays soccer.. his soccer ball is destroyed so for now he is using our old slightly flat basketball... he will wrangle that ball all around the yard and back to you so that you may kick it again...the whole time barking at the ball like he's givin it the what for.... he does this over and over and over.. the dog is amazing.. you tell him to "get your ball" and he knows exactly what you want him to do.. then you tell him to "backup" and he does that and sits so patiently waiting for the ball to go flying so he may run hells bells after it and bring it back to you for more...

He is a fabulous dog.. we have had him since he was 5 mos old and he will be 3 in aug... I swear the dog knows english.. you tell him to do something and he does it, he has always been this way. Marley is our first Boston Terrier so I'm not sure if the breed is like that or if we just got lucky and he is great.. the best $350.00 we've EVER spent!!! He is our boy!! and has totally sold us on the breed, we will forever be Boston owners.. In fact we always said we wouldn't own any other breed.. That changed this winter when I saw Roxy sitting in an alley, shivering and looking lost and scared. She was only about 6 wks old when I found her so she really is our dog! That was a shock when I took her to the vets 2 wks later and she was huge, the vet says "oh she's just about 8 wks old, she hasn't dropped her 2 mos. teeth in front yet" YICKS!! that's how she got her nickname.. keep reading!

Then theres Roxy, gotta love her.. she is very smart and will be a great dog someday.. she is just a totally different breed! working breeds like her, need jobs, companion breeds like marley are just that, for your company only!! Everybody has nicknames for their animals and theirs are Roxy aka Miss Moose, she is huge! Marley aka Little Mister... and here they are.....

(I will get him playing ball on video sometime and try to post. It is hilarious, we always say we need to send it in to funny animal videos and we'd win some money)

they both came in after this and are crashed out as I'm typing this!!!

well this is my reward for today's hard labor in the yard, I love this wine! What do you reward yourself with when you deserve it??

Sherice

Smithing Questions??

2009-05-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hi out there in blogger land!

was getting ready to purchase a few things to get the ball rolling on trying to start silversmithing... so can any of you smithers out there help me out and let me know what you think I should purchase to get started....

Things I already have....

butane torch (thank you lisa!)
pickle
pickle pot
copper tongs
flux
magnesium soldering block (is this a good one?? should I try a charcoal to hold the heat?)
regular long tweezers
The complete metalsmith by Tim McCreight (not the pro addition, I think it is an updated version with a green cover and binding like a notebook)
Step by Step jewelry workshop by Nicola Hurst (a lot of good info in this book and easy to follow)

I think thats about it!!!

I really wish I could find a class in my area but no luck so far. I'm still going to keep my eyes open for one and hope one comes round... I know it would be so much help to me, but this is what I really want to do, when I started wire wrapping and making jewelry I new that this is where I wanted to end up!!! So there is no stoppin me.. even if I have to be self taught....

a few things I know I will need...

tumbler
vice
benchpin
saw, blades and lube
solder
bezel wire (any suggestions on sizes & gauges?)
sheet metal (gauges?)
polishing equipment ( what I'm not sure? was thinking about getting a dremel)
protective wear (glasses and masks)
cabs (suggestions on where I can get them? I have a few places already and I know etsy has some nice shops, but names and resources would be great!)

of course I will be doing my research and I know what works for one might not work for the other.. but some input and help would be so awesome and I would be eternally greatful!! I know a lot of the smithers I follow are self taught and there work is wonderful!!!
now I'm drawing a blank and I need help!! So what else, I know there are some tools in there also what would they be??
Last but not least who do you shop from??? (Monsterslayer, Rio etc..)

I hope I'm not asking to much!

Thanks to you all in advance!!
Sherice

Typing!!

2009-05-13T12:11:00.001-07:00

Wassup!!!?

I'm typing this from my computer!!! yea!! Finally got it back yesterday! here is a fun picture from about a month ago!!

This is the group photo we had taken with the other winners of the meet and greet with the band TESLA!!!! Yes old school rockers!!! They have a new album out and so far sounds good.. Im the blond and my husband is beside me with the hat! If you click on the photo it should bring it up for a better look.... If you can see the tall cute guitar player is touching my shoulder... he was my eye candy for the night!!! I think the guy taking the pic said something funny! Ron and I look like we are laughing....
We had a great night and really needed to let off some steam!!!!

later........ Sherice

HAPPY MOM'S DAY!!!!!

2009-05-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hi

I hope all you moms out there had a great day today!!

I made a wonderful quiche and spent some time with my sis, we had wine and laughs! Seems like we always laugh when we're together.

Then my honey bunny (my term of indearment) bbq'ed chx! YUM!!!then we watched the Amazing Race finale! I was bummed that luke and margie didn't win but victor and tammy were my next choice!

Still no computer, soon, soon!!!! I'm so sick of my bl.berry but I guess I'm lucky to atleast have it. Its just without my comp. I feel like things are on hold in my shop, even though I can still keep track of things!!

Everyone have a good evening and I hope the week is good also!!

Later!

HiYa!!

2009-05-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, hey,

first off I must say how thankful I am that my husband has a job and is bringing in an income. there are so many people that have been uprooted by the economy. My sister and her family have been having an extremely hard time. I won't go into details because it's not my place but they are really struggling. I feel really helpless, I want to help her but there's really nothing I can do but just be there for her and love her unconditionally.

I'm looking forward to taekwondo class..I haven't been there since sparring class on thurs, there was no class on sat due to Bl.Belt testing, which My friend did great! But I must say that little green guy named envy did rear his ugly head!! I have been doing TKD for 6 yrs, and if I did not take my "breaks"I would have been a second degree black belt by now! without breaks you can get your bl.belt within 3 yrs. You see it goes a little like
this...

there are 14 color belts that you go through and then you get a first degree bl.belt, then there are 6 levels you go through, testing for each level every 6 mos, you get a level patch that you put on your dobak (uniform) for each level. when you have all 6 patches your next belt will be a 2nd degree bl.belt a nice new black belt with your name in english and korean with 2 gold stripes on it!! The 1st dan is the same but has 1 gold stripe or no stripe depending on the school. The testing goes like this up to 9th dan which is a grandmaster title, at 4th dan you get a master title, after 3rd dan the requirements my vary slightly but that is pretty much how the system goes!! Each school is different we have high belts like high blue, high purple etc.... At my school but some schools only go to red belt and then to black, and I do WTF (world taekwondo federation) which is the same TKD they do in the Olympics!

There are lots of different federations with there own requirements. so now you no what I mean when I say that TKD is a way of life and after 6 yrs it is a part of me. My son and I are red/black belt now and will be getting our Bodan belt in Aug, that is the belt before black and it is a mandatory 6 month belt, after the 6 mos. We will be eligable to start bl.belt training classes, and then testing!! I'm starting to realize that I have a ton of preparation to do, not that I didn't no this before but it is starting to become a reality.

I'm really hoping to get my computer back tomarrow, but I won't know until tomarrow, after I pay some bills. Sorry no pics recently but it's hard to get to my moms to load them. I'm excited about getting my comp back and it will be virus free!!! Yahoo!! Keep your fingers crossed and hopefully tomarrow I will be blogging on my comp instead of my bl.berry and I will be able to leave comments on ALL my favorite blogs! :)

Okay now that I have really bored you with all my martial art talk I will leave you!

sherice

"move along, move along like ya no ya do"

2009-04-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hi! I love that song move along by All American Rejects! That's kinda how I'm feeling today! Things are finally starting to go smoother than they have in a while! Jessica got her cast off on monday, no physical activity for a month for her and she has some wrist excer. To do, otherwise her wrist healed nicely! 2 of the guys that ronnie has been working for the last 6 mos decided to go back to cali, so that's a blessing, he doesn't have to cut them loose after all. Taekwondo is great and I'm so glad I'm back in class. My friend is black belt testing on sat, so I have been giving her a helping hand. There is a ton of stuff she has to know!! She has asked me to hold for her if she needs to do a 3 station break. Meaning break 3 boards, one after the other doing 3 different techniques. She will do good, she doesn't think she's ready but if she wasn't sabumnim (master) wouldn't let her test! If everything goes according to plan corey and I will be black belt testing next april! Seems far away but there is a ton we have to know!! Anyway, we finally got ron's bond paid for his business which was a huge chunk, 900. And an additional, unexpected 600. OUCH!!! We've been struggling to get caught up from when he had no work for 3 wks a couple months back, between that and bills and the bond, talk about stress city! So now with it paid for another year, we feel a lot less stressed and work is going well. Ya no that's how it is in the contracting business, feast or famine. A lot of the time we can get caught up with one good paycheck or job, which seems to be what is happening now. So my new motto is.. I won't make myself sick stressing because things always seem to work out no matter how much I stress about them! and if your wondering why I don't work?? Well, when I was working I worked 4 days a week and brought in about 500.A month and being a wife and mother I still had all the responsibilities that go along with those titles, so for me, it much easier to just be home! My mom watches my kids when I work and her health is just to poor now to do it. Our kids are 14 and 10 and so many people think"well there old enough to be alone" my feelings on this are that now is just as important as when they were "little" with peer pressure, sex,internet and everything else our youth faces today it is so important to be an active part and role model in there lives!! My nephew had a fellow teammate that just committed suicide!! 16 yrs old! Horrible! I'm so thankful that we are managing and that I can stay home with my kids. They grow so fast as it is and I enjoy the time we have together! I'm very lucky!! So hopefully my jewelry business will start to take off at any moment and I can earn a little extra cash!! Hahaha. Hopefully I will be getting some needed tools soon so that I can start learning to silversmith!! I hope all is well for everyone out there! Peace out!!

Pictures FINALLY!!!!

2009-04-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

well how is everyone?

I finally got the camera back!! yahoo!!! here are some pics of what ive done since it broke.. I will be listing these in my shop probly tomarrow, since im here at my moms and will have to come back tomarrow to list them. I don't have the time tonight!!

well that's it for now!! what do ya"ll think?? trying to be more creative with my pictures. I also went outside and took a few..
talk to ya later!!

Im torn up!!!

2009-04-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey!!!! How is everyone?? Good I'm hoping! Taekwondo is going good, getting back in the groove, but man I'm soooooo sore!! After class last night my hip was achin!! Really wish our hottub was in working order. So my mom lives about 15 mins away from me and she got pounded with 6 in of snow! W0W!! Thank god its green at my house! Also wanted to comment on some of the blogs that won't let me leave comments, soon I will have my computer back, its almost finished but can't afford to get it back till end of the month! Hey Lisa..... I love the new tools, those letter stamps are so neat, tammy has the same ones and I saw them on her blog and want some for myself when I start doing that, as of now everythings on hold due to finances...my first purchase will be a tumbler I need one now!! Then I will start gathering to start (trying) to silversmithing, I want to make lovlies like you and can only hope that in a few yrs I can look back and be as successful! My fingers are crossed :) that spiro whatever drink mix, can I get that at GNC or somewhere else? Need a good shake for morning, not much of an eater in the am I drink instant breakfast a lot but not good for trying to lose weight! Tammy.... Love the rings you just did, the custom order.when I start setting stones and get good at it I want to use sea glass!! I just think it is beautiful, I grew up on an island so I think that's why I love the idea of it so much, a little bit of home I can carry with me! I'm sure you will be glad to see your DH soon! A month is a long time! Mine will be gone for the wk next wk! I'm dreading it, but when he is gone for a period of time I get used to it, he has been home for a long time, but gotta go where the work is right!!! Candace.....I miss your blogging, you must have a lot going on, I hope all is well with your dad and that he is healing fast! :) Can't wait to get the camera back, I need to pick it up! I feel like my life has been on hold for the last couple months, but things are slowly getting better, my DH finally realized he can't make the kind of money he needs to with 4 guys on his crew, so thankfully when this job he is on now is done he is cutting 2 loose!! That will help out a great deal!! For now I will just keep trying to be patient! Take care all and talk to ya later!!

camera's fixed!!!

2009-04-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, I hope everyone had a great Easter. Ours was low key and quiet. My mom called today and said Best Buy called her and her camera was in and they did fix it, when she took it in they said that it being dropped wasn't covered by the insurance she had on it,( she had told them it had been dropped) but they said they would send it out anyway and if the repair place couldn't prove it had been dropped they would fix it. So I guess honesty does pay..yes now my kids get what we've been telling them lol!yahoo!! I will have pics again soon people!!! I'm so glad I was feeling like my blog was super BORING!!! Which it was, I really love to see pics on peoples blogs. I have about 10 new pieces to list on etsy also. The lastest is a really pretty choker with garnets and hemitite heart accents on top by the clasp! It's very delicate and is only 8 1/2 in. For those ladies that like em short. Not sure what I should charge? Thinking just my time at 10.00 an hour would be 30. Everything is hand linked!! I'm still really struggling with my pricing! I feel like I want to charge more, but I have so much self doubt and want to be able to have a good reason for my pricing if someone asks "why is it this price?" I've seen stuff similiar to mine or the same techniques and the price is double mine, I guess maybe I feel like because I haven't been making jewelry very long I don't have the "right" to charge a lot or what some people charge for a similiar item, I know that doesn't make sense but that is where the self doubt comes in. Ahhhhh *big sigh* enough about my inadequete feelings!!!!! Hopefully my computer will be fixed soon also, it has been 2 wks and I haven't heard anything yet, they said it would be about 2 1/2 wks when I took it in.I was really bummed I couldn't enter lisas drawing, her blog won't let me leave comments from my bl.berry! *sniffle,sniffle* or watch videos, I knew I should have gotten an Iphone!! Dbl dang!! Who ever won will really enjoy wearing it and showing it off I'm sure! Well not a lot going on here so enough boring stuff! I hope everyone has an awesome day! later!!

almost friday!!

2009-04-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hi, this week has gone by fairly quickly! The weather has been warm and sunny which has been great! Supposed to get rainy this weekend but spring is finally here! Monday my DH won tickets to see Tesla and we also got to meet them!! SO COOL!!! They are really nice and down to earth, It's been about 6 yrs since we've seen them in concert. So Tues night we went to the show and the venue is really small so every seat is a good one! They also have a full bar, so we were able to have a couple drinks and take a load off!! We really needed that! I'm back to Taekwondo class and it feels great! Corey and I went last night and Mr.Justin torn us up!! What a work out, corey whined and complained the whole way there and about 20 mins into class said to me "mom, you are always right, I do like it and I'm glad I'm here".... kids!!! Looking forward to my sparring class tonight! I will post a pic of us with Tesla when I get it. Another couple that won also took a pic (we had a group photo)and are going to email me one!! Sucks not having a camera!! My tummy is already rumbling for dinner! Crockpot lasagne, mmmmmmm but I will have to wait until after Taekwondo, lasagne and tkd don't mix well. Happy trails!

Sundays and Brownies

2009-04-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Not a lot going on here, yesterday was gorgeous and seems today will be also. Took the opportunity yesterday to get out in the yard and do some cleaning up, which means dog poo duty! After a long winter of no one cleaning up, it was a stinky job! So rubber gloves and shovel in hand I tackled it. Feels great to know our yard is clean and the dogs like it also, they have been doing some sun bathing, if I was on my comp I would post some pics of them! This weekend I took some time to read back blog posts of some of the blogs I follow, and found some new blogs also!! Contrariwise ramblings is a great blog, it is really interesting hearing about all the great places she's traveled to and about her other adventures in life and jewelry. I really lean more towards blogs that are filled with everyday life as well as jewelry. Tammy's treasure chest is another blog I read and she seems like such a great person. I also read past blogs on candace who I really like,I'm so glad she has combined her 2 blogs!! and lisa.. What can I say about lisa, she is my favorite! There is just something about her blogs and jewelry that really takes hold of me?? Sounds weird I know but she is just so funny and seems very "true" and I love her sweet little house out in the woods!(I would love to live in the woods and have privacy!) her tutorials and her video blogs, our kids are about the same age and my son suffers from A.D.H.D and was diagnosed with tourettes when he was younger, but I think the tourettes was a missdiagnoses, he doesn't take meds anymore and the symptoms stopped.so I guess I really just admire lisa and her strength to change her life and make the best of what she's been given, which is what I need to do as well!! So a little secret for my blogging friends... I quit smoking almost 6 yrs ago this May... But this past couple of yrs I started smoking cloves.. It all happened on a 5 day trip to vegas, damn vegas!!! So I quit then I will get stressed and start again thinking it's better to smoke cloves than a "real" cig, which I know its not! So this last stint has been since august and I have really been wanting to quit but it seems that I always try when I'm totally stressed so what's the point right?? Well I realized that part of my funk lately has been that, just feeling down on myself for doing it and then I get headaches from it also!! I'm feeling the effects of it. So I have quit!!! I'm a cold turkey kinda girl I just feel like get it over with ya know!? And today I'm going back to the dojang! (Taekwondo school) also part of my funk, feeling like I need to lose some weight, I just feel like I'm worthless sitting around daily, not working, not excersizing, feeling stressed out!! The sunshine really does help to have a clear prospective on things. I haven't been making anything new lately, I'm out of quite a few things and just don't have the money right now to restock!! Soon though!! My husbands bond for work came due this month and instead of the regular 900.00 they also wanted an additional 600.00 due to the economy!! WHAT?? You would think they would give us self employed folks a break due to the economy! So hopefully next month I will be restocking and getting a tumbler. Going to get a lortone(?) I've heard good things about them. I know you can find tumblers cheaper at Harbor Frieght but my DH says not to buy stuff like that there, there is a reason they are cheaper. We had brownies for dessert last night, I needed a chocolate fix after the yard cleanup!! Sorry my post was so long today, hopefully I haven't bored you all to death! I guess I really needed to get it out!! One last thing, being a martial artist, of course I love the W.E.C.(World extreme cagefighting) and the U.F.C., I was really sad to hear about the death of Mask, the founder of Tapout. He died in a car crash march 11th. Sounds like he Might have been racing?? Anyway, just wanted to put that out there for all the other Tapout fans like me! Hope every one has a fabulous day!!

snow sucks! Where's spring??

2009-04-02T13:06:00.001-07:00

Hey, well it snowed last night about 2-3in.... I just want it to be sunny and warm, is that to much to ask!? We finally got our hot water fixed, we have a gas tank so I guess it was the component that actually lights the pilot light, you hold it down when you want to light the pilot. So we replaced it and it's working better than it ever has. I guess it's been going out for a while.we know this great guy who is self-employed and has fixed our furnace in the past, he charged us under 200.00 such a great guy! I haven't really made anything new in the last week, life has taken over and I haven't been able.. Take care, until nrxt time.....

just a quickie

2009-03-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hey, just a quick post to say hi.as you may or maynot know I'm keeping tabs on my favorite bloggers with my blkberry and some of your blogs won't let me leave comments!! Glad to see everyone is doing well.......lisa, sounds like your having a great vacation,I'm not sure that I could live in florida with all those "friends" hangin around!... Candace, you go girl!! I've been looking at myself these past weeks and really need to do something to lose about 30lbs!! I really want to get a bike, there are some nice paved bike trails by our house...Tammy, your ring turned out great! I'm sure your very proud of it!.... Carolyn, your new spinner necklace is gorgeous! I love the figure out chain!....Mai, only one more wk till you get your machine back,I'm sure you have all sorts of designs and projects lined up! I can't wait to see them! Well I think that raps it up... oh and I really love jamies new enamel pieces so pretty.. I made some cute new earrings recently but with no camera or computer I will have to post them later!! I did order some great custom business cards from moo.com and can't wait to get them and start giving them out!! Till next time!

viruses suck

2009-03-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hi- my computer has a yucky virus so I will be trying to post from my blackberry/moms computer. Taking mine in to get fixed and won't have it back for a couple wks. Still no luck with the hot water tank, looks like we will have to replace it. Found a nice one a homedepot for 400.00,hopefully just replacing the damn thing will be the answer, we've tried everything else! That's what's happening at the potter house! Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I'm thinking of Lisa and wishing I was somewhere sunny and warm too!

Hot Water!!

2009-03-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

well another day, another disaster.... for about a yr now we have been fighting with our propane hot water heater.. ugg homeownership isn't always as fun as we think it will be.... we don't have a home improvement nest egg hidden under our mattress like some people do, so it's out of our monthly pocket.... just getting back into the groove of things after 3wks no work/no income.. this is really a trial of our patience and I just want it to be over....and to take a hot shower!!!!! so my wonderful and resourceful husband has done everything imaginable to figure this delimma out.. the pilot light just won't stay lit.. or it will for a few months/days then go out... that's why we have been fighting this for a yr..now it won't even light, I guess we are going to have to just bite the bullet and get a whole new hot water heater!!! can't we just get an electric one?? PLEASE!!! an element is so much easier...

In other news... my mom had gotten a 4yr warranty with her camera, yeah mom, so it will be getting fixed!!!! I should have pics back up again soon!

Now I'm going to watch Transporter 3, Jason Statham is such a hottie and has an accent to boot!! YUM!!!! I will feel better seeing muscles and back kicks!!!

see ya!!

April showers bring May flowers!!

2009-03-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here on a rainy spring day thinking about how the rain washes away the old and dirty.. and renews us, and listening to my blog playlist.. lots of different music. Not alot to report.. I made 3 really nice prs of earrings yesterday.. Im tempted to try to take some photos with my blackberry.... and I have a few new ideas going round in my head.. I need to sketch them out.. maybe I will do that today. Boy, Im going to have a huge bill when I can finally do some ordering.. Im running out of EVERYTHING, need some wire, jumprings.. I just can't make them as nice as I can buy them.. I have tried.. I even have one of those little jumpring makers... maybe I just need more practice. practice makes perfect... haha.

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN TWILIGHT AND WANT TO, READ WITH CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I watched Twilight last night.. my daughter really liked it.. I didn't think it was horrible but I was disappointed.. first... books will always be better with the exception of Pratical Magic, I liked the movie better than the book..... These are my thoughts on the movie and only my thoughts....needed to be longer.. I felt like there wasn't really a firm story line..one minute your here then there.... the special effects were a total let down.. I was expecting him to "glow" in the sun.. not look like they put a little sparkly paint on him... I'm not really into the girl that plays bella.. her attitude on screen seems so different from the book.... and maybe I'm losing it but for some reason I thought edward had an accent..maybe in Real life he does and the rain is seeping into my brain giving me brain rot...lol.. anyway those are my thoughts and Im sure there are people who disagree.. The movie left me feeling like I wanted to go and reread the book again cause they left out stuff..

Well I hope you all will bear with me until I can get a new camera.. I feel like my blog is soooooooo boring and really missing something.. so please bear with me and I will have pics up again soon!!

thanks for visiting,
sherice

lazy saturday

2009-03-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hey peoples...

what's going on!!

not a lot here.. just getting ready to make the best homemade spaghetti sauce out of my grandmothers recipe book,.. cool story, so my grandmother and her 2 sisters collaborated and published a cookbook called The three sisters cookbook.. My grandmother is a seventh day adventist and they most times don't eat any meat.. so being introduced to that at a young age I love the veggie recipes.. sham burgers are sooo good.. there not really meat so it's a "sham" anyway.. they only published enough books for their familys!! Me being the kind person I am, loaned my book to a lady I was in hair school with, she also happened to be 7th day adventist so I said " hey I got this great cookbook loaded with veggie recipes, would you like to borrow it!!" she said yes and that's the last I ever saw of it.. well my grandmother was going through some old books and stumbled upon an extra copy she had made for a wife of one of my aunts stepson's.. well they are no longer married and for some reason the cookbook was never sent.. so my grandmother sent it to me with a note inside.. "gaurd this with your life, I do not have anymore".

The cookbook has meat recipes also.. if you are wondering her sisters aren't vegitariens. (don't think I spelled that right) I use this cookbook all the time.. I can't live without it! and I love the fact that it is something that will be handed down for generations..
I'm making the homemade sauce because I'm making meatball subs for dinna... yes that's right homemade meatballs too.. have you guessed that pretty much everything is homemade around my house... :) yummy!!!

I'm so bummed my camera is broken, I have all these great photo ideas running like a t.v. screen in my head.. you know the saying you always want what you cannot have.. well it's like that when you lose or break something.. never think about it when it is accesible right!!!! UGGGG....

In other news.... my etsy team.....eastern washington etsy team is having the first ever team contest.. please go to this website http://ewateam.blogspot.com and vote for your favorite entry.. I would of course love for you all to vote for me, but they have some really nice things, so vote for your fave cause on march 27th voting ends. The winning item is givin to a lucky voter!!!! so please take a few quick moments and go vote!!!

what else was I wanting to say... oh, sorry I won't have any more pics up for a while. shouldn't be to long I really am going to need to replace my camera soon.. My sister, bless her, the camera she lent me SUCKED!! so that's out!!

have a great lazy weekend!!
me

feeling springy!!

2009-03-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey,

what do you think of the changes I've made to my blog??

So today I'm feeling springy... looking forward to some heavy duty spring cleaning.. I want to open the windows and doors and let the spring air breeze through and take the old winter, stagnant air out !!!

today the temp is upper 50's almost hitting 60 and boy it is nice... winter is behind us... if you read my blog then you know that lately I have been in a slump.. and so have a few other blogs I follow.. well, I sense a turning point..

so now my husband has more work than he can do, (3 schools) which is always the case in any contractor trade.. it seems when it's slow it's dead and when it's busy you can never catch up!!! so I'm thankful that the slow slump is finally taking a turn for the better.. 3 wks of hardly any work has takin it's toll when your a one income family and I feel that it has a lot to do with my blah mood..

my daughter broke my camera yesterday, so my sis has lent me her very old digital camera and I will see how the pics are once I take a few shots..

I'm in the middle of making the cutest pair of amethyst and hemitite star earrings.. and hoping this borrowed camera will get me by till I can purchase a new one..( although my mom is going to see about getting the broken one fixed.. it is technically hers.. keeping fingers crossed)

I hope all are feeling the renewed outlook that spring can bring and that your days are full of sunshine and bunnies...

bye!

Taekwondo

2009-03-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

well today I'm not feeling that much better, but trying to think positive...
I just have that feeling like everything is going along smoothly, and then you've been rearended by a mack truck!! Everything happens all at once...So I made some yummy healthy dessert...my rustic raspberry and blueberry crustada!

before...... after

Jessica and her broken arm.... getting some puppy love!

new hard cast for 5wks

I haven't been to my martial arts class since Dec... It is something that I have been doing for 6yrs come this May and I so enjoy it.. but life tends to take over and I just can't get there.. and it is also very hard... mental, physically, and emotionally...so taking a well deserved break is needed sometimes..

For any of you that do not know what Taekwondo is.. It is a martial art that originates in Korea.. My sabumnim (master in korean) is from korea and didn't move to the states until he was an adult.. meaning he teaches his class as they do in Korea... HARDCORE!!! no loving words or warm hugs to keep you going in times of doubt... instead.. pushups and "no pain, no gain" attitude.... "why do you do this?" you are asking....

Taekwondo has changed my life and myself... it has given me the confidence to know that I can do anything I set my mind to.. Mental strength goes so much further than physical strength..I love the way I feel after class when those endorphines are running wild, knowing that I will be sore the next day... going home and taking a hot shower and feel physically exhausted because I have just done atleast 200 kicks in a 50 min class, and countless pushups. I go to class and kick, punch, and yell (kihap), I miss the feel of my dobak (uniform) and the ritual of tieing my belt and feeling proud because I earned it with hard work! the sweat rolling off my forehead, the sound of cracking wood on testing nights, speaking my korean commands, the way the kicking pad feels when you've landed a spinning hook kick perfectly, that feeling that nobody can stop me..

It is not only physical.. mentally it keeps your brain on it's toes.. we learn about korean culture, korean language, sparring, self-defense, kicking patterns (sa bong chucks) and forms (poomse)... plus it has helped build my sons character and self esteem also... there is a bit of fun as well.. breaking boards is a real self esteem booster and doing nunchucks is also fun.. never thought I would be using 2 nunchucks like the great Bruce Lee but with practice anything is possible..

my son and I have one more belt level to complete before we can test for our Black Belts which is a huge undertaking... so study time is upon us and we really need to dig deep and get er done!!

So yes, I will be heading back to class and feeling the pain!!! ahhh I can't wait.. here are a few pics!!

Master Kim... 7th Dan (4th dan is a master title)

Mr. Justin our main instructor.. Breaking Bricks for his 3rd dan test..

2007, coreys silver medal for poomse at tournament

Our last belt test.... new Red/Black belts.... next is Bo dan, and then Black Belt....

My back kick

Waiting for class to start

Our last belt test we had to break two 1 inch boards with a spinning back kick..
think it took me 5 trys !

so... hope you enjoyed a little peek into one of the things I love most, Taekwondo!

until next time!

BTW... won't be posting anymore pics any time soon, jess dropped my camera this morning and it broke... what next!!

Blah Blah.....Blah

2009-03-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi cyber world...

not a lot today.. but feeling sorry for myself...

the weather is yucky AGAIN, we are broke as a joke.. my husband is a self-employed commercial floor installer so work this mo. has been scarce...plus today is our 2nd wedding anniversary.. yes we were married on St.Pattys day.. no special reason why it just happened to be the most convienent saturday that yr.. we have been together for 15 yrs. so our wedding was a "lets just do it" kind of thing. Our 2 kids, his mom, the pastor and us were the only ones there. It was nice...the worst thing is our daughter fell rollerskating last night and broke her arm, OUCH!! and we have no insurance!! so today is my pity party and Im really trying to think about how many others are worse off than I am..

grateful for...

a warm house to sleep in

food in our tummies

family and friends

air to breath...

I guess Im grateful for the bare minimums!! :)

tomarrow will be brighter... Jessica will be getting her purple/pink cast on!

Happy St. Patricks day!
see ya for now!

eawa team contest!!

2009-03-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hey out there,

Hope all is well on this sunday... here it is raining, windy and cold....

On march 20th voting begins http://www.ewateam.blogspot.com/ !! we are having our first ever team contest.. spring is the theme.. so anyone who visits my blog please go and vote for your favorite item..voting begins at 5pm. You will then be entered to win the winning item.. voting is open for 1 wk only so don't forget!!! This is my entry... a bracelet and earrings set.

Freshwater coin pearls and opalite faceted rounds!

I can't wait until next sat when Twilight comes out on DVD... think I might reread the book again.. such a great series.. I didn't understand all the Twilight hoopla until I finally picked up the books and couldn't put it down.... Please write more Stephanie!!!!

My favorite sandwich and favorite beer... a yummy cucumber, pepperjack, avocado sandwich, sprouts would have been an improvement but you work with what you got right! and an ice cold refreshing apricot ale... my little slice of heaven in spokane!

I'm also having a special in my shop until April 15th.... buy any item and get my Itty bitty paddle earrings for FREE!!! So go check it out!!

I hope everyone's sunday is a relaxing as mine is turning out to be....

signing off.... for now!

Cupcakes and Kids

2009-03-14T13:41:00.001-07:00

Not a lot to say today, so I thought I would post a few pictures.....

Yummy chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream ch. frosting and some choc. frosting

My Greatest Creations!!! Jessica 10 yrs

Corey 14 yrs

Bye!!

sun is shining

2009-03-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Howdy!!

here's my stew recipe.... a lovely lady (mona) asked for it...

when I cook, sometimes I just throw things in and eyeball stuff.. so bear with me.. and you can always add or change anything, depending on amount your feeding or if you want more liquid or less.. I like more because I make dumplings and I like to have a little liquid even when my dumpling is in the bowl... This is the way I do it....

get a pkg or 2 of stew meat... I always place some flour in a ziplock throw in the stew meat and coat.. in lrg, deep pan brown meat on all sides with some olive oil.. remove meat and set aside..add 1 lrg onion, chopped to your liking (I like mine fairly small) you may need to add a bit more oil, saute.. you can always skip this step and just put them in with all the other cut veggies, but there is something about sauteing onions, so that's the way I do it....

add your meat back in to pan with onions...add about 3 cups any red wine you like to drink and 3 cups of beef broth... add 1 pkg beef stew seasoning mix and stir.. I know it is alot of liquid but as the stew cooks it will reduce and thicken.. like I said before I like a bit more liquid so if you don't add less...

put on a lid and let simmer for a couple hrs... stirring from time to time.. just a note.. I don't follow the recipe on the back of the beef stew seasoning mix but you can if you want!

about 1 hr before I want to eat, I cut up carrots & potatoes, you can add whatever else you like in stew and through them in.. about 1o mins before I add my dumplings I put in a can of drained gr. beans... after about 10 mins.. I add my dumplings on top of simmering stew.. and always sprinkle a little herbs de province on top of dumplings when I get them in the pot.. leave the lid off for about 10mins and then place lid on for 10 mins.. whalla... stew is done!!

Okay now the dumpling recipe is just good ol bisquick it's on the box!! and depending on how long my stew has been simmering I might add more liquid.. like I said I tend to eyeball everything.. so make it once and see what you like or don't!! ENJOY!!!

My lastest creation!! my daughter really loved the blue goldstones so I got them to make something for her... they paired up nicely with the blue chalcedony!!
posting it in my shop today so there are a few more pics you can check out there!!!

the weather is supposed to warm up into the 50's by tues.. which will be great, it has been in the teens this wk and even 8 degrees one night this week, BRRRRR!!!!!

so 50's will seem like summer.. hopefully this was our last bout of winter and spring will be here soon!! a girl can dream right??

later gators.. see ya on the flip side!! :)

permanent winter?

2009-03-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it snowed AGAIN.... about 4 in., I think Spokane has beaten the all time record for snowfall in one winter season. So I made some warm comforting stew and dumplings! one of my favorite meals, I always use red wine and beef stock, never water.. if you have not used red wine for stew you are missing out TRY IT!!

I made some new earrings today.. I will post them soon..

I received my cabochons from a nice shop, HarnessedEarth.etsy.com I can'twait to be able to use them!!

last but not least this is where are puppy goes when she is out of water!!

and marley says HI!!!

warm cookies in my tummy!!

2009-03-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hi,

hope everyone is doing well!

As for me, I have warm choco chip cookies in the oven and soon to be in my tummy.. so I'm doing great..

I made a ooey, gooey. cheesy lasagne for dinner last night, yummy comfort food for the cold days of not quite spring.. I should have taken a photo.... I finished my pieces I'm entering in my etsy team contest.. eastern washington team, the theme is spring.. what do you think??

I lightened the top photo with picnik which looks better...
14mm purple freshwater pearls w/ 4mm faceted opalites.. I guess I could have gone more pastels in colors because I think thats what people think of with spring, but these are just beautiful together and I really like it..

bye for now :)

2009-03-06T16:31:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

Posting this blog link for a chance at this great giveaway!!

http://chocolateandsteel.blogspot.com/2009/03/giveaway.html

Isn't this ring great!!! so sweet I would just love to win!!!!

so hurry and check out her blog and get a chance to win....

Played nice with my torch

2009-03-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hey, Hey.....

How's it?? I have been doing daily stuff since my last post... cleaned our livingrm carpets, with a new puppers it really needed it badly.. going to hopefully get hardwood through out, we have it in our dining rm which is half of the livingroom.. my husband is a floor installer by trade so it works out perfectly, it's just he works 24/7 and finding time to do fixes on our own home is the last priority. Meanwhile, I sit home and it drives me CRAZY!!!!! He did say he has some materials to do our dining and kitchen. Yeah!! my kitchen has this ugly dark green and white square lanolium floor and it reminds me of a pizza parlor.. Not what I would have picked but thats the great thing about owning, you can change it..

anywho.... I played with my torch a couple days ago.. don't have materials yet to do any soldering hopefully next week, I did order 2 cabs from a nice shop on etsy.. when I get them I will post them.. I did make just a few balled headpins.. I used 20, 24, & 26 gauges of wire.. then pickled, steelwool cleaned them and polished them with my polishing cloth... anyone have a better way to do this please share... I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of trial and error

Very rustic and organic balls, with 20 guage s/s.. I read that fine silver or argentium not sure I spelled right make better balls, meaning not divets in the balls.... is this true?? maybe I should try it when I want a perfect ball.. I tend to learn more towards the rustic organic stuff.. but I'm sure there will be those moments I want something perfect. anyway I thought they were nice for my very first time..

found a great little dremel 300 series at walmart.. hoping to get it soon. DO NOT want to be hand filing, polishing for long.. and Im not ready for a flexshaft yet.. maybe in a yr.. well see

this is what it was like at my house this morning.....when will it end??? the weather has been so nice the last couple of days... was hoping spring had sprung.. :(

roxy new lab puppy loved it. She was running around trying to catch the HUGE snowflakes in her mouth, she is a crack up!!

tagged by candace

2009-03-02T09:17:00.001-08:00

This was my fourth pic in my picture files..... a long time ago probly 2 yrs. corey and I getting high red belts and jessica getting her yellow belt....

Another sunday

2009-03-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

Another rainy gloomy sunday...

Glad my kids are going back to school, with the weather so crummy nobody wants to be outside except roxy our 10wk old bl. lab puppy. She is very sweet and loving, and has a great personality but marley boston terrier has always been so well behaved even from the git go when we first go him.. so she has been a real trial.... We weren't expecting to get another dog and we found her cold and lost 4wks ago on the side of the road what was I to do?? we put up flyers and no one claimed her so we kept her.. she will be a good dog but can we fast forward 4 yrs??? LOL

I went to the Rings N Things bead show today and was unimpressed.. maybe because I haven't ever been before but I was expecting more.. they did have more beads than at the regular showroom but I was looking for cabochons and they had NONE!! I guess they only have strung beads...

Im looking forward to getting my pkg hopfully tomarrow from monsterslayer.com, ordered some stuff to begin torching pickle, flux, tweezers, soldering block. I'm starting out small, making some balled headpins, and will be getting some metal next week to start practicing.. if anyone has words of wisdom I would love to hear them..since I am going to teach myself.. If I can find a class in my area I will take it but so far cannot find one...

I did post some new earrings yesterday on etsy.. so checkem out!

Birthday gift

2009-02-27T13:16:00.001-08:00

Here are the pics of my sisters bday present.....

She loved them...

4mm opalite faceted rondelles with 4mm faceted amethyst and 8x10 mm faceted amethyst barolettes.....

weekend yeah!!!

2009-02-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,

So glad the weekend is here pretty much... another week closer to nicer weather.. It seems that everyone, everywhere is feeling the same way. With the economy and the weather it feels like the world is in a downward spiral.. but I do try to be positive.... so I've seen a few different things on other blogs that I have thought are very cool so I'm going to do a few ......

My thankful list...Im feeling a bit whoas me sooooo.....

1. my family and kids are healthy

2. we have a roof over our heads and the mortgage is paid

3. my husband and I have a great marriage

4. hot coffee in the a.m.

5. spring is almost here

I'm going to the Rings n things big bead show on sunday and I can't wait.... hopefully going to get my paws on some nice little treasures.....

I got my sisters birthday gift done tonight, they are so pretty and delicate I know she is going to flip for them.... she is such a great friend and sister and she deserves some beautiful jewels.. I will post them tomarrow probly.. keep in mind my camera doesn't do them justice!

till we meet again... :)

Growing up!

2009-02-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

So, today my son had a field trip to L.C. (lewis and clark high school) which is where he will be going next yr.. WOW a freshman! Where has the time gone? I can't think about it to much or I might cry.

I got my new Jewelry workshop book today..... Super excited. I just skimmed through it but it looks like just what I was looking for..

In the process of making my sis a beautiful pr of earrings and necklace for her BIG 40 birthday she has on the 13th... I hope she likes them, I will post a pic as soon as I'm done she won't see them, she is computer handicapped..... I'm waiting on some chain from jewelrysupply.com and should be here fri or sat.. I have my design all sketched out and ready to be put together with love and care just for her....

The weather is FINALLY warming up and the snow is just about gone, I'm really looking forward to a warm and sunny summer!!

tell next time..

Hi

2009-02-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

so Im starting to silversmith.... as of now Im getting all my tools together and then I will be able to start "playing".. Im really excited. I know it will take a lot of practice and patience.. before I get to the point that I will be able to sell my stuff.

I did post some new earrings a couple days ago sooo go check em out..

later

first time blogger

2009-02-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

Well... here I am blogging.... not quite sure what to say or what not to say...

I am sick of snow and want it to be 90 degrees!! can't wait for sunshine!!
I am having a go with my new business venture Fashionably Adorned.
I love to make pretty things and started messing around with making jewelry a couple of yrs ago and started to become more serious about it here within the past couple months. So now I have a small shop (so far) on etsy and am really enjoying myself...