Determined not to get lazy...

Now that I'm done w/ my yearly hell of bookkeeping catchup and compiling tax totals..I'm determined to stay focused and not get lazy..

(my fat cat Crash in the laundry room)



Sure I said the same thing last year and the year before..but I think I've tortured myself enough to mean it this time. This year wasn't really fair though, with Cameron getting so ill it really left me devastated and nothing else really mattered other then taking care of him and trying to find out what could heal him.

And well we did spend a LOT of time puzzling!



Here are some finished products!



This one was donated to Cameron by Maui's woman's Harley Davidson club. Dallas, the president answer a craigs list request for cheap puzzles I could purchase to keep my sick kiddo busy. The guys loved it but it was a freaking nightmare! It was so hard! I've done hard puzzles but this one took us a couple of months. We had to take a break after cuz we were so fried. We've only done a couple tiny ones since like the done in 1/2 hour kind like the froggy below.

Catching up and cleaning up...

I've been neglecting my blog again..I think it's because I've been a little preoccupied with Twitter. That thing is too much fun...not to mention I end up chatting w/ my bestest friend Tina at Belle Adorn on there every day. But not just that..I actually follow the news stations updates there(something I never did before..watch the news) and enjoy all sorts of tips and recommendations.

But seriously..I need to get focused here. Today I started cleaning up my studio/office..amazing how many bead supplies pile up and how many receipts and papers. Oh and the dust...ooops..it's been a while since I dusted this room..yikes! I'm not even near done but already it feels so much more inviting to work in. And I need to get this place ship shape because spring is always a busy time for me. For one it's wedding season!

Photograph by Aihara Visuals

Wedding season is a really fun time because I've usually got lots of wedding custom jewelry orders. It's doubly busy though because there is the not so fun compiling of the tax totals for both hubby's business and mine. I never learn my lesson either and I'm always behind on the bookkeeping. Waaaay behind. I'm hoping I did a little better this year though. Honestly I was doing okay the first part of the year..but when Cameron got sick I kinda lost track of it all. Some things are just more important..and that includes your kids.

Speaking of Cameron..he's definitely made progress. He's not 100% but he's definitely more his old self. He still deals w/ nausea every day and so doesn't really like to leave the house. But many of the other symptoms have gone away. Some have returned if he eats the wrong thing...like heart burn or being short of breath. It's all a trial..trying to figure out what food intollerances are causing his discomfort. He's gained back about 7 pounds from the 20 he lost. They came back quickly and he hasn't gained anymore back in over a month..but we are just happy he's not loosing.

And we got him out for an evening! He went to the big babyshower party my sister threw our brother and sister in law. Here he is w/ some friends and his cousin. He's the one in the hat.




The babyshower was a lot of fun...one of the first for our family that I was not involved in. It was nice and relaxing..but felt strange to not be involved in the planning and whatnot. My sister Kimberlee and her sis in law Raylene did a good job though! It was a surf theme...here are some of the decorations..





Here is yours truly w/ her new little nephew Hanalei..(it was a bad frizzy hair day..wish I could have borrowed his hat!)




And of course we have been working on puzzles for family time. I've missed taking pics of the last two we did..but here is the one before that.

New turquoise necklace and our latest puzzle!

Here is my latest! Stabilized turquoise all in green...the pendant is from the Qi Gu mine. The pendant hangs about 3/4" from base of necklace. Necklace size is adjustable from 16" to 18" Here's the link for more information: Stabilized Green Turquoise and Carved Wood Necklace

And we finished another jigsaw puzzle :o) this one was hard but fun. It's really pretty..called "Dance of the Seasons" by Josephine Wall I liked 'The Spirit of Flight" better..this one was smaller and a little bit blurry and mottled..so it was more challenging even though it didn't take as long. It still was very pretty to watch it come together. She has a few others that I hope Walmart will get in. Thats where we found her other two puzzles.

Family Time

Recently we've become addicted to jigsaw puzzles...it's an awesome way to spend family time and encourages the family to sit together and talk without the tv turning us all into zombies.

Here is one we finished a couple of weeks ago..we had done it years ago..it was a hand-me-down from my mom..so now it's missing a few pieces. It was still good fun..time to toss it though w/ those missing pieces.



We have been trying so hard to figure out ways to keep our son Cameron away from playing his computer game Freelancer so much. If it were up to him, he'd live in the corner of the living room where we have his computer table set up at and never leave.

Here's Cam in his favorite spot. Over the last few months of watching him go through the symptoms of gastroparesis and eosinophilic gastroenteritus, I'm just happy to see him not laying in misery on the couch.



It's really hard w/ his condition because it makes him feel nauseas 24/7. However, addictions to any one thing is not healthy either..esp w/ your face inches away from a screen all day every day. So we take easy walks around the neighborhood..one after each main meal...we often bring the rc cars w/ us..esp at night w/ flashlights attached to the top of them. At first he was not interested..but little by little his interest is growing...



peeling out in the dirt...



we watch our favorite shows together and try to make it a family event..love the DVR! We read together and sometimes I can coerce him into helping me bake whatever allergy safe goodie I'm trying out for him, but there really isn't a lot he likes to do right now. He used to love board games but as a teenager he's turning up his nose to that everytime we suggest..and scrabble too..that used to be a favorite of his (I suck at it)..he would play with his dad and they were so serious about it. But now he says it requires too much thinking and he can't handle it with the nausea.

A few weeks ago a lightbulb went off in my head as I layed down to sleep..."Hey a jigsaw puzzle!" that one has been a hit. Now we always have a puzzle at the table..we even start to panick when we are almost done...wondering when and where we are gonna get the next puzzle. Not many places to shop here for them. And you know.. to have fun w/ a puzzle it requires some forethought..it's got to have enough color and different things going on.

Here is the latest one we are working on..it's sooo pretty and so much fun! It's about everything that flies, from birds to leaves to flying fish...The colors are amazing. I"ll post a pic when we are done. I"m definitely saving this one and will bring it out again next year.



While we may not be able to have dinners around the table together because it's occupied w/ a puzzle...at least we are doing 'something' together at the dinner table! And really for our situation it works out better because family time at the dinner table isn't centered around food as food seems to be our sons enemy these days.

Now if we could only find more puzzles!