I WON!!!

I just wanted to say, "Thank you SO very much" to everybody who voted for my piece on the Vintaj Monthly Design Challenge. Its SUCH an honor to win, particularly given how amazing some of the competition was. 

I am SO frickin' excited I've been doin' a happy dance ALL morning!! 

Thank you again!

http://vintaj.com/wpblog/?p=12700

Vote for ME!!

Hi Folks!!

So for the first time ever I've entered one of my pieces in a jewelry contest! Vintaj Natural Brass is one of my FAVORITE suppliers and they have a monthly  Design Challenge! Voting is open until Friday so if you would pretty, pretty please go vote for me I would REALLY appreciate it!! And feel free to tell all your friends to go vote too! My piece is #1. 

http://vintaj.com/wpblog/?p=12564

Thank you so much!

Also if you haven't seen our Etsy shop its rockin' if I do say so myself: 

www.beadsjustforyou.etsy.com

Annnnnd we're back!

So we just took an awesome and otherwise fantastic trip home to Sugar Land to see my folks (and my sissy and her fam). It was SO much fun. That was the longest trip I think I've taken yet (12 full days!). And just to make it even more full of the awesome - my sweet hubby Adam was able to join us for the 2nd half of the trip (rock on!).

And just to add a LITTLE more awesome - it was the first 4th of July I've had with my fam in several years, which was flat out rockin' awesome because for once instead of drooling over pictures of BBQ on facebook (and shedding the occasional jealous tears) that my Daddy made I was THERE to actually enjoy the feast with everybody else! SO awesome!

But because I am full of the FAIL I neglected to take like ANY pictures so I'll see what I can steal from my Dad and sister and get them to you sooner rather than later.

Also to update you on the yard - the grass now looks like over grown jungle since we got back (rock on the grass is HEALTHY!!) so I'm thinking we might have to buy a real lawn mower instead of trying to make this little old rotary mower handle that beast. I just don't wanna shell out for it. But I also really don't enjoy trying to mow with the weed eater either (definitely NOT intended for whole yard usage). So we might have to break down.

AND if you wanna see what I'm plotting for my redecoration of the dining room/kitchen hop on over to http://ilikesparklyobjects.blogspot.com/ to see pictures and hear all the gushie details.

Brace Yourselves Folks

Because I'm gonna get political. 

I read an article today that ticked me the heck off. And I've just got it running through my head and I can't sleep so you guys get to hear about it. 

Did you know that the US government received a letter from the people who regulate such things (I don't look up, I just remember content) threatening to slash our credit rating if we don't get the deficit under control? 

Did you know that to try to balance the budget they're talking about slashing student loans? 

Did you also know that we give away billions (possibly trillions but that would require me to look it up and I'm lazy) in foreign aid? 

One of the very first things I learned in my water safety class at the Red Cross when I was a Girl Scout is that if you're trying to save a drowning man do not jump in the water with him. If you do, he will pull you under trying to save himself and you will both drown. You have to be on solid ground and reach out to lift them up. 

We as a country are drowning. We have children starving in our own streets. If our credit rating is slashed the effects will be devastating both nationally and internationally. 

If we as a country do not get ourselves on solid ground then we are all going to drown. 

I am not saying we shouldn't send help and aid to countries who have suffered a major disaster or to assist in establishing democracy and protect human rights through out the world. But we cannot and should not do it to the extent that we jeopardize ourselves. 

Additionally we need to carefully evaluate how we help other countries. A dole does nothing good long term. Its the whole "give a man a fish" vs "teach a man to fish" thing. The money should not be permanent. The aid should be given when needed, for a specific cause that will aid in future self sufficiency, with transparency and accountability and a schedule in place from the start as to how and when the aid will end. 

And it royally ticks me off that slashing student loans even got on the table. As far as I'm concerned our children are our national security. Education is an investment, not an expense. If we fail to provide for the future of our country the effects will be devastating. 

I know that the American public is currently up in the air about the true value of a college degree, particularly in this economy. But if you look at the employment stats the value becomes truly obvious. Those who only have a high school education are significantly (I *think* the article said 4 times) more likely to be out of work than those with a degree. And a middle class life style is becoming almost impossible to obtain with out some level of upper level education.

I know the collapse of manufacturing jobs in the US has been devastating for many people. I know there are many who long for the return of manufacturing jobs to the US. However, the reality is that I do not see that happening. Our economy is based on capitalism. If you can get the job done cheaper over seas, then thats what companies (who are in business to make money) are going to do. 

Yes it sucks, but its reality. In order for us to compete on a global scale we have to be willing to grow, change and adapt. In another article I saw recently, one of the countries in Europe (I *think* it was Holland) is having the same problem. All of their manufacturing jobs went over seas and they had tons of people out of work. Instead of giving them unemployment benefits forever, they accepted that the jobs ain't coming back and instead instituted a program to reeducate the workers in another field with a benefit program that will help support them through their reeducation and then taper off to encourage them to get new jobs and support themselves. 

Wow! What a great idea. Its empowering. Its supporting people through a rough patch, which I think we as fellow human beings should do, but it gives them the tools they need to be self sufficient long term. It shows confidence and the expectation that they can and will do better and we will not enable their wallowing in self pity. 

I have never had a desire to go into politics. But I'm starting to get angry. I'm talking march in the streets angry. I know the system is huge and complex and bigger than I can comprehend and I'm running off of information I can glean from the media. I know there isn't an easy fix. But I'm starting to think I need to get involved. 

My biggest problem is: I don't know who to get involved WITH. I do NOT like either party at the moment. Both parties are so incredibly polarized I can't say I agree by a long shot with either platform. There are things I like about both, and things that make me wanna smack them both. 

I think we need a new party. I have no idea what to call it. Maybe the "Common Sense" party. Or the "Rational and Empirical Thinkers Party". Maybe just "The Moderate Party". 

I'll have to think for a bit on what all I'd want on the platform. I know we need to reform the education system. Big time. I know we need to massively reform the tax structure. We need to get the debt under control. I think the Constitution is an inspired guide to the spirit of how we should run our country, but I also believe that our forefathers allowed amendments to the Constitution for a reason. They recognized that as the country grew and changed that we would need for Constitution to grow and change with it. But I also think with modern technology there may need to carefully evaluate balance of power and responsibilities between the fed and the states. I'm all for the use of technology to enable transparency and accountability. 

And thats all I've got for now. But I think I may be on to something here. Anybody else feel a grass roots movement coming on?  

Progress on the Yard

I should have taken BEFORE pictures but I had a stupid so you'll just have to imagine the back yard FULL of thigh high weeds and the front yard completely barren except for the occasional weed... I've been busy lately.

This is the start of my bed of roses. That bush in the rear was practically dead by the front door when we bought the house. I transplanted it last year and got it to bloom for the first time. This year its looking even better. And the miniature rose in front is new this month.

I want to have rose bushes going all the way down that brick wall. The row of stones marks the lines of the lawn I'm hoping to seed by the end of the week.

I love that tree. Its a Texas Mountain Laurel and has the most wonderful smelling big clumps of purple flowers!

We have on going fantasies that the side of the yard there might one day be the home of a swing set or something equally exciting.

And over here I'd love to put in some raised veggie garden beds.

Managed to get this all cleaned out. I hate looking out the window at bare fence tho. Someday I hope to grow some sort of pretty flowering vines up the fence opposite the windows. :)

You get a second shot here b/c the 1st one didn't show the bricks well. Those edge bricks used to be like falling off w/ and inch or two of weeds between them and the rest of the patio. I fixed it!

The Front yard. I just planted all the cacti/succulents yesterday!

I love my little Palo Verde trees! They're a thornless hybrid which is a big plus. I hate HATE hate the grey rock tho. Someday I have fantasies of replacing it w/ something prettier. I think a nice sandy colored gravel would look good. I'd also love to run a sand stone path from the side walk to the porch...

To Fly With A Baby

I had a Facebook friend ask the world for advice on flying w/ her 13 month old. And I discovered I had quite a lot of advice to give, so I thought I'd expand it a  bit and make a blog post out of it for posterity.

I've flown with Caleb a dozen times now. I take a backpack (my laptop, meds, jewelry, and a book for me, lipgloss, a change of clothes for me AND him and my wallet) and a diaper bag and my full size stroller. I check the car seat in w/ my bags and take the stroller with me to the gate and then gate check it when I board. You'll need to get a gate check tag from the gate people when you get down there.

If you wanna bring any milk/water/formula/baby food through security the phrase you need to get past TSA is "Nursery Water" for water or "its for the baby". Fair warning they are liable to want to open ALL of it and check it so make sure you have ziplock bags b/c one time they made me open sealed baby food jars and then they came open in my diaper bag and I was NOT a happy person.

Also they will want you to take off the kids shoes when they make you take yours off to go through the scanners. And it will save time if you put all the food stuff you can in one or two gallon sized ziplocks so when you put the diaper bag in a bin to go through the scanners, pull that bag out and put it in the side of the same bin and they're less liable to FREAK on you than if they find it on the scanners.

I recommend like one or two FAVORITE toys and then get some new stuff. Books he hasn't seen before or coloring books, I swear by my mini magnadoodle thing I got for 5 bucks at walmart. You NEED to keep him sucking on the way up and the way down. I've done pacifiers, my fingers, sippy cups, crackers, ANYTHING. Otherwise the kid will SCREAM. A sweet treat he doesn't usually get can save you.

I also like to do a diaper change just before we board. Time it for about 40 mins before take off and you should be good. Diaper changes ON the plane are NO fun.

Also I tend to let the kid run around as much as he wants while we're sitting waiting at the gate because once we're on the plane I'm going to NEED him to sit still so I like him to get the wiggles out while he can. Otherwise just try your hardest to be calm and happy and super affectionate and that will help him to keep it cool. They need to wiggle so bouncing, rocking, letting him stand up on your lap and sing songs in public even will help keep him happy.

I know this is LONG but I always have people compliment me on how good he was during the flight and its taken me a bit to figure ALL of this out so I thought I'd share.

One final anecdote - there is ALWAYS one kid in the back of the plane who screams their little lungs out the whole damn flight. One time I had this person RIGHT behind me so I was able to hear what was going on. By the end of it I desperately wanted to smack her mother. The little girl was 2 and her Mom was completely unreasonable in her expectations for the child. Her expectations were appropriate for say a 5 year old, but telling a 2 year old not to fidget and to sit perfectly still in her car seat is not a reasonable expectation.

Yes she does have to stay in her car seat during take off and landing, but otherwise if she can sit in Mom's lap or climb over to Dad's lap and stand up and take a look around the plane she's gonna be happy, and most importantly QUIET than if you try to keep her strapped in that seat, with NOTHING to do for 3 hours and tell her she's not even allowed to kick her feet. The Mom kept complaining to the Dad, "OMG Shes just being SO unreasonable!" And I was thinking "Of COURSE she's unreasonable, she's TWO. Its your job to help her get the wiggles out in a safe, appropriate way.

The plane is something new and different and exciting. They're going to want to cling to you and get a look around and heck they're gonna want to explore this new place, and while that last one isn't so much doable you can at least let them stand up and take a peek.

Caleb at 21 Months

He's growing so fast and he's so smart it takes my breath away.

Caleb is developing socially. He loves other little kids and is developing absolutely adorable little friendships with the other little kids in nursery at church. They are all excited to see each other and give each other hugs to say hello. I'm told he plays well with others and is a delight to have in class.

He's also inventing his own words for things. In spite of all my attempts to teach him the words "More", "food", "drink", "bite", "milk" etc, he has decided that the correct word for any and all of the above is "Guhk". If he wants a bite, if he wants a drink, if he likes it and wants more the correct way to ask is "Guhk!". Good to know.

And while Caleb LOVES to play with other people (grown ups, kids or animals) he will happily play by himself for extended periods of time. He sings little songs and laughs and talks. He likes to crawl up in the rocking chair and rock himself while he reads books to himself.

He loves to watch his cartoons in the morning while he drinks his morning sippy. We watch PBS Kids and his favorites are "Super Why!", "Dinosaur Train", "Sid the Science Kid" and "Word World". He's fascinated and loves to sing along and try to help out and participate in the shows. Its friggin adorable to watch.

Mr. Caleb is also learning his letters. He can point out and clearly say A, I, O, T, G, N, D. He LOVES kitties and puppies and will happily point to pictures or videos or the actual animals and he'll shout "Meow!" or "Woof!" or "Kitty!" or "Goggie!" as is appropriate.

Caleb is an adventuresome eater with a wide palate. He hasn't met a fruit he doesn't like and he'll eat most veggies. It can be a challenge sometimes to get him to eat meat but he's a serious cheese eater. And he's definitely got his fathers sweet tooth. So its a good thing he doesn't get them often because once he does identify something as sweet there is no rest until he either gets it or it mysteriously disappears. Scarcity is our friend is this case.

Mr. KB is so super affectionate. He'll come running to throw his arms around me. He gives kisses and cuddles and hugs. He'll blow kisses from across the room and he loves to cuddle and read books or sing songs. He is truly a delightful child and I am so honored and grateful to be his Mom. He is my sunshine boy and he couldn't get more wonderful.