Today is the day my life changed forever

"In mothering, if you do it right, you work yourself right out of a job." ~ Karen Tyler


Sorry for the radio silence. In the past week I was enjoying a basketball tournament (we placed 8th...out of 8... but we had some real glimmers of greatness and it was good to see my son doing something he loves), then on to Madison to see the Broadway musical CATS (you might recall that this was the 3rd of my daughter's Christmas present of dance performances... I think that Tiny Dancer and I enjoyed the performance more than the boys did, who had a bit of an expensive snooze), exploring State Street in Madison, eating at our favorite Italian restaurant Paisan's overlooking the beautiful Lake Monona (the seafood tetrazinni is to.die.for), staying in a hotel (splurged on adjoining rooms - oh how I love my space!) and going shopping the next day (everyone got something...but me!).

This week at work I am busy creating and shipping nearly 80 CD-Roms for the update to the information that we sell. It takes a lot of work to keep it all together and shipping the right thing on the right CD to the right person! As such I haven't had my two half days this week that I usually have, so I think that the company owes me at least one back. I need to get my tax prep done and plan to take that half day back next week whether they like it or not.

{Tiny Dancer and Rocket circa Easter 2002}

Fourteen years ago today my life changed forever.

Today is my firstborn's birthday. I won't regale you with the details that every mother never forgets, but I will say that Rocket was a breach baby and stubbornly wouldn't turn around no matter what we did, so a C-section it was. That night we watched the Oscars and Titanic was the big winner, which we saw just two days before. I recall that I had one of those monster sodas and there was all this rushing water in every scene and I refused to go to to the restroom because I didn't want to miss a moment, and I swear I thought that just seeing water rushing might start things. But no. He was stubborn then and is stubborn now. But I love him with all my heart. He is a good kid, very smart, great at any sport, who is growing into a wonderful independent young man. Bought a suit coat for his graduation happening in May, I know he will be so very handsome. Maybe my job is getting obsolete. Wait until he gets the present I bought for him yesterday... his much longed for Beats by Dr Dre headphones to go with his cracked and beat up iPod (I bought the extra protection on these headphones because, you know, the cracked iPod happened within the first two months of having it!). I might be considered cool after this gift. But likely not. ;-)

{Rocket doing what he loves and is darned good at, too! And baseball season starts in a few weeks. Woot!}

A few weeks ago I signed up to be part of the Echo Creative Club hosted by Jeannie Dukic. I bought some of her lovely polymer clay beads and received one of these lovely Gin Blossoms pendants on my table that needs to be morphed into something spectacular. Ideas are percolating...

It really is crafted so well, and I am excited to use it. The reveal of the club is on Sunday, March 25th. I hope that I can get it done by then, if not it might be Monday. I have a full weekend of the Wisconsin State 8th Grade Boys Basketball tournament from tonight through Sunday. (Rocket plays, my husband coaches, I will be working as it takes over every gym in our hometown and our basketball organization is the sponsor!) So stay tuned for the reveal!






Back in February I joined in the Shop Swap hosted by the sweet Miss Danni of oh, hello friend. I started following her blog because I loved all the pretty packaging ideas that she showed, and her style is so sweet. She announced a shop swap to pair up shops from around the world in a little exchange of sorts. My partner is the lovely Nicole of Yardage Designs. Nicole is a designer who splits her time between Melbourne, Australia and Madrid, Spain (oh! What I wouldn't give to visit you in person, Miss Nic!) who creates fresh patterns on textiles of all kinds. I just love the look of these and it makes me long to know how to sew! I think my favorite thing in her shop is the Make Your Own Bunting kit. That looks like so much fun! On her blog Yardage Girl, she shows her first quilt of the year that she completed. I love the brightness of this quilt and the patterns in her textiles. So pretty!

Here is what she sent me...

This package is so prettily wrapped with her lovely fabrics that I had a hard time opening it up! I love the blue flowers on the linen and the red brackets all tied up with twine. Delightful!

Inside was a pretty postcard and her business card and a hand printed cover of my first Moleskine! I am delighted to have this little reminder of Nic to carry with me!










Inside was this really great tote bag, perfect for the grocery store or the library, or to carry around all my beading magazines! it has this quaint little print on it which sounds like the perfect meal to me.

And this lovely tea towel with these bright colors of 'retro spice canisters.' I think that her work is more like art! I am not sure that I could bring myself to actually use this pretty print! (I had to borrow the picture from Nic's shop because I couldn't get a good one!)












What I sent to Nic is a selection of three of my 'simple truths' pendants on chains. I hope that she can wear them or gift them to someone special.

First is a 'simply charming' monogram in a soft blue with a script "N" on it. I have been getting quite a few orders for these lately. I wear mine almost daily. I love the lacy edge and the lightweight feel. I think that these would be so cute as bridesmaid gifts, don't you? They could all be in the color and letter style (block or script) of your choice. You can find more of these monograms in my shop.

The other two were made specifically for Miss Nic. I wanted to make something reminiscent of one of her textiles and I used a sweet little scalloped edge bezel and a pretty pattern in a soft green.







And when I asked Miss Nic what her favorite colors were, she said red and blue. And her favorite quote is 'do what you love...love what you do.' I turned that into a special little pendant just for her with a pretty red blossom on a blue background. I hope that she likes it!

I think that the best thing about participating in shop swaps and challenges and Bead Soups and the like is that it exposes you to a world that you may never had found on your own. I have a new friend in Miss Nic who lives in two countries I would dearly love to visit and I got to experience a taste of her artful wares as well.

Thanks to Danni for the fun Shop Swap!

Your turn...
If you could have a signature quote on a 'simple truths' pendant, what would it be?
Which of those pretty Gin Blossoms is your favorite colorway?
Have you ever swapped with people before? International? Do tell!