Dear Lord, Please Forgive Me...

Dear Lord, please forgive me. You see, the Rings-n-Things Road Show came through town this week, and, well, um, I went. I’m sorry, Lord. I just couldn’t resist. Yes, yes, I know I have enough beads to open my own bead store. What’s that? Well, yes Sir, I guess You’re right; I probably do have enough beads to open up two bead stores. But they just have so many beautiful gemstones, Lord! All Your beautiful creations! I tried to have a little more self control, really I did. I even made myself walk through the entire show and look at every table before I put a single strand in my tray. Yes, I know Sir, You’re right. I really should have just turned around and walked away when I saw all that luscious aquamarine. Sir? Yes, You’re right again, of course, I already have seven trays of crystals and gemstones in the blue/green family. I do. But you know how I love that color family, Lord.

I truly envied those shoppers who seemed to be exhibiting a little more self control than I, Lord. Oh, yes Sir, I know envy is one of those seven deadly sins. You see, that’s why I just dropped the whole envy act and went ahead and loaded up my tray, Lord. I got those beautiful aquamarine puffed rectangles and Russian crazy lace agates (1); gorgeous crazy lace agate and purple rainbow agate large coins (2); yummy black onyx rondelles and smoky quartz rondelles, briolettes and puffed disks (3); and even some awesome Russian lace agate, silver needle agate and purple rainbow agate extra large ovals and trillions (4). How could I resist those prices, Lord?! It was 50% off retail, and then another 15% off that! I know, I know, I really do need to get busy now.

What’s that? Oh, yes Sir! I definitely made sure I had the girls’ pre-school tuition covered before I bought anything! Really I did! And it will do our constitution good to live on Ramen noodles for a few weeks, don’t You think? Sarah really prefers peanut-butter-and-jelly anyways, and we’re stocked up on that. And You know Livvie, Lord. She’ll eat anything I put in front of her anyway. Sir? Yes, I will try harder to control myself next time. Thankfully, Lord, the Road Show only comes to town once a year. Sir? Oh yes, I know about that St. Augustine bead show coming up in August…..I’ll try to stay away….but I’m sure I’ll need some silver by then…

Like this post? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders.

Free Bling Friday Number Six!

Time for Free Bling Friday! Random.org picked Nery D. as last week's winner. Nery is the past president of our Jacksonville Parents of Twins and Triplets group, and as the mom of elementary school-age triplets, she definitely deserves some Free Bling. Congrats, Nery!

For this week's entry, I got such a big response to my first Pink Ladies entry a few weeks ago, I thought I'd give you a shot at a second pair from that series (yeah, that, and okay, so I haven't had the energy to get down to the workshop and make anything new this week!). Click here and here for additional photos of these.

To be eligible for this week's Free Bling, email me by midnight, June 14, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Good luck! Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!

Behind the Camera: I Must Share!

Don't we all think we each have the most beautiful children in the whole wide world? Of course, we do! I just downloaded some of my Boca Grande pictures and wanted to share a couple. I took a new camera down there and didn't quite know what the heck I was doing half the time, so it was pure serendipity (don't you just love that word?) that I got some of these shots. More to come!

Livvie looks like the perfect little synchronized swimmer here! She really took to the water this year, no fear whatsoever, which is not always a good thing! There were certainly a few times when she attempted to venture out in the Gulf a bit farther than she should. And we spent one afternoon shelling on various sandbars and she was the first to jump out of the boat every time. “Swim, Mommy? Sure I can swim! Just watch me!” as she goes under just in time for the DH or I to catch her. It’s definitely back to the Y in a couple weeks for lessons.

Sarah had just thrown a ball to her Uncle Rob here. This was the one day we were actually able to use the porch, due to the lovebug adventures I told you about below. One afternoon, the wind shifted and the bugs just disappeared. We all did a happy little lovebug dance. So I vacuumed a gazillion and 37 lovebug carcasses off the porch, literally blowing out the motor in the vacuum cleaner in the process (apparently, it was not feeling the love), and we hung out on the porch that afternoon. But alas, by 8pm or so that night, the winds had shifted back and the little orange-headed blind flyers returned.

Like this post? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders.

Inspiration for the Week...

I received this little story from a friend via email and immediately thought of my Great Aunt Livy, pictured here with my girls. Aunt Livy will be 86 this August and is still going strong....we made her sit in the wheelchair that afternoon simply because we had been walking all over downtown Chattanooga and she was ornery enough to keep saying she didn't need that "darned old contraption on wheels". But given that we still had a couple hours of playing to do, we convinced her of it by saying the girls could sit in her lap! I hope this story inspires you!

...A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who, though legally blind, is fully dressed with his hair fashionably combed and face shaved perfectly each morning by eight o'clock, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.

He continued, "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged...it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life. You see, old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! And thank you, young lady, for your part in filling my memory bank because I am still depositing," he said.

With that, I leave you with the five simple rules to being happy: Free your heart from hatred, free your mind from worries, live simply, give more, and expect less.

Like this post? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders.

Free Bling Friday Number Five!

Time for Free Bling Friday! Congratulations to last week's winner, Jennie P. from Jacksonville, Florida! Here's this week's entry.....beautiful ocean colors for Summer. I've combined blue and aqua lampwork beads torched by Darleen Michael Baker with Swarovski crystals and sterling silver accents. They hang approximately 1 1/2" on sterling silver french wires.

To be eligible to win this pair, email me with the subject line FREE BLING by midnight Thursday, June 7, and include where you are from. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!