small update

i have a family emergency that i will be away for. we planned on leaving thursday for a family reunion on whidbey, but that has turned into us leaving this morning and straight to the hospital. my grandma (aka mom) was admitted last night and we will meet her there. she has surgery on thursday morning. she is in the hospital in everett wa. (Providence) i wish i had more details, but they are just not available yet. thank you guys for being awesome. i will have my cell on me at all times.

have a good weekend and a safe labor day.

Dear Friends,

This is Cam of Home2k9 coming to you with some seriously bummer news...

Our lovely Always Sunny Rachel and her family seem to have been the unfortunate victims of some random act of douchebaggery today and have returned home to find that they were robbed. The house was ransacked a bit and it seems the evildoers mostly looked for electronics and items they could grab and leave quickly with which resulted in the heisting of her beloved laptop otherwise known as HER LIFELINE. Other things were taken such as her sweet husband's brand new X-Box, new digital camcorder, the small digital camera..ect.blasted! Please show her some love by seriously commenting it up and lurkers, in the name of justice and revenge, now is the time to uncloak! rachel can check her email on her phone, but may not reply, as it takes some time to type on such a small pad.

Rachel is the loveliest of all women and she would never hurt a flea (OK, maybe a flea would find itself hosed with some sort of toxic spray in her presence, but surely fleas deserve it. She would not however hurt a ladybug, that's for sure). There are so many things we take for granted when we upload photos and check email or process an order for a shop that is our passion and source of inspiration. I know this is going to be a real violation for our dear friends and I'm wishing them the best of luck in recovering their processions or at least the idiots who stole them. Take precautions for those of you, like myself, who have become more lax in the Summer months with remembering to close our windows tightly and ensuring that everything important is locked up or at least out of sight from someone spying on you.

Obviously it will be difficult for Rachel to process shop orders without her computer, but she will find a way to work it out soon. Please be patient as this bump in the road may cause some delays in shipping although if I know Rachel, and I think I do, you won't notice one bit!

Sincerely,

Home2k9

new one of a kind necklaces

birdie et bijoux

frosted flower

vintage lie detector. true or false?

lettre à mon amour

crimson berries

i am over the moon on the way these turned out. these little pretties that you see here will be the only ones. i am just so excited about my little birdie friends and will be adding more to this fun collection. all pieces will be one of a kind. i am using beads that i have in very small quantity, and some only one piece. i will list them soon. if you want to reserve one, let me know and i will hold it for you. enjoy them while you can! all pieces are $29

I FOUND MY RING!!!
it was in the couch.
i don't know how it got there and i don't care.
i have it back.

you have a five pound WHAT?!

in a phone conversation with nathan's mom a month or 2 back she informs me "OH! guess what i got?...i got a 5lb hula hoop". i'm sorry you got a what?! why on earth would you purchase something like that? well it's all the rage in the Curve's classes and they really work. one the the best workouts known to man is belly dancing. and while i am not, i repeat not a belly dancer, i thought trying other methods may be effective. i told her that i would give her 2 months and see how it went before i go out and jump on the bandwagon.

after 2 months, she is in pants she has not fit into in over 6 years and has lost several pounds. i could not push the "order now" button faster. it took one whole agonizing week, and i finally got my hoop. there are three different weights, and she suggested to start with the heaviest, so like a lunatic-i did just that. this little piece of yummy arrived last wed in a small box and you put each link together in a rainbow fashion. i believe there is rainbow pattern, pink, and some other shade of blue that i remember seeing. it depends on the weight i think. i'm not really sure- i picked out the prettiest one and got it. the first time i tried it (and she warned me) it hurt like a son-of-a sea biscuit. it is scalloped on the inside and it feels like you are standing in one place and someone is running circles around you poking you in the midsection with a dull fire poker as hard as they can. i was concerned that it might actually crack my spine, but nonetheless i am just fine. it is normal to bruise the first week or two and just earned my first bruise yesterday. it feels like you have done 300 sit ups for the first time ever. it is not that terrible, but i will not glamorize it. you are not supposed to hoop more than 1 measly minute for the first week but it was so much fun i just had to give it 6 mn on the second day. hence my bruise. it's like anything else, once the pain passes, it actually gets easier. i am launching a '2 week hula hoop blog update' and i will actually tell you all my progress.

i scoured online and ebay as well, because i always think i can find anything on ebay for cheaper, but not this. it was the same price and the ones that were listed for less on ebay had 20.00 shipping hiding on there. i got it at sports-hoop.com.
this hula hoops costs 40.00 and it well worth it.
stay tuned for the update!

lotus berries

lanna's silly sunday.

baby on the grass

ahhhh the weekend.

it's supposed to be 101 degrees tomorrow, and while i might melt to a puddle of sweet nothing, i will NOT complain as it will soon be -3 out. ooooh how i hate when summer closes in.
SCORTCH ME!! SCORTCH ME GOOD! i say. i at least want the feeling that i got some really bad heat, and then the feeling that i had enough and then a proper good-bye. dear summer, don't you sneak out on me. tell me bye first and make sure i am ok with it. thank you.

we have quite a nice weekend ahead of us.
tonight was the family reunion of todd and andrea that i photographed. it went really well and i got some great shots. tomorrow is amber's wedding and i am photographer for the day as well. i am quite excited for that and with permission, i may post some photo's. amber is getting married in coeur d' alene and we love to go visit that area, so it's a win-win. i will write more when all is over. here is a photo of lanna tonight as the hulk.

have a great weekend!

i am starting the SALE today.
i wont be home on friday to launch it- so have at it!!

OH POOP!

thank you linda!

boy's don't wear dresses!

lanna: mom look at my bum, isin't it cute?

me: it's the cutest little tiny bum i have ever seen.

lanna: i like my new skirt, do you like it?

me: i love your skirt, and i love that it's green.

lanna: daddy does not have a skirt, only you and i do. boys don't wear skirts do they..

me: no, acutally some boys do wear skirts. and even dresses. and sadly look better than i do.

lanna: scrunched her nose and in a creepy monster voice : nooooo, that's silly, they don't wear skirts!

me: no really, some boys do. and it is just fine. and in 10 years i hope to take you to a show where boys wear dresses.

lanna: that's silly! i dont think they wear dresses.

me: yes, they do. and you will love it. it will probably be one of the most entertaing show you will attend.

lanna: can i eat popcorn?

me: of course.

sale! sale! sale!

my first ever sale.
the shop has been very busy, and i know i am just asking for it by doing this, but summer is closing in! i hate to day that...but it's true. so, lucky you! AUGUST 15th-23rd everything in the sale section will qualify you for 15% off your entire order. i will refund you 15% after payment. how exciting! i am already planning for fall and cant wait to start working on the new line.

approaching four.

i can't believe lanna is almost four. FOUR. it makes me really sad. she is growing up so much and i constantly remind her that she is a big girl, but she is my BABY. lijah will be four this week and i am so wishing we were there to celebrate with him. i hate missing it. we will be there in a few more weeks and will make it up then. he is going on a train ride today to start the festivities. i can't wait to see those photo's. he and lanna have much in common. i can't think of anything lanna would love more than a special train ride.

she is now asking logical questions and listens to the answers very carefully. when we pull out of the drive way she points back to the house and says, "we live that way right?" yes, we live that way. "and we are going the other direction...which is away from the house." yes. that is right. she can spell CAT and DOG. every time she sees a dog now she yells LOOK! it's a D.O.G! she can recognize letters easier than she can write them at the moment, that is something that we are currently working on. she recognizes her name, and the words mom and dad. she said yesterday, omie, pop-pop and lijah live really far away from me. and cam, she works with glasses and has a mirror. it's down a really long road. i have to take a boat to get there. it's far, but i like to go see them. maybe we can go see them right now? i will have to tell my teachers that we will go see them. i wont be in school for my snack. i was astonished that she was planning her absence, and knew the teachers would notice. and how bout that snack? that would be a shame if it went to waste.

we had taken lanna to two movies in the past and neither of them went too well. one better than the other, but we wanted to try again this weekend. we went to a small theater here and saw kung fu panda yesterday. before we left we had the talk. now, you need to be very good while we are in there. your seat is your seat and there is no hopping around. it's important when you pick a seat to stay in it. if you keep moving, they will ask us to leave and that-will be a total bummer. she listened. we got her a small bag of popcorn and she didn't so much as blink the whole time. it was a riot. the seats are extremely flexible, so when she sat in them she folded like a taco. her feet were straight up in the air, and she watched the movie through her shoes. we had her sit criss-cross-apple sauce after a while and that helped. she stayed put until the last 10 mn, where she sat on my lap. she did it. she mastered the theater. good thing, the whole place was packed. we saw a preview for wall-e and asked her if she wanted to come back to see that. while in the car, she piped in "i already saw that. we just saw that!" no, you saw the preview, it was not the movie. NO, i saw it, i don't need to see it again. fair enough. we will continue this later. on the way out of the theater all of us were piling out in a single file line and she yells as we step outside LOOK!!! it's BIRD POOP!!!!"

my weekends have been full of aerosmith. nathan is in possession of guitar hero. he plays while lanna grabs her giant tin can, with a marker in each hand. she bangs on the cans right along with him. she came into the kitchen to tell me "mom, dad and i are in a band...i don't think you are are in it...but i love you."

don't let them do it!

shoot, i missed it. the post where i was on the front page of etsy was my 1ooth post! whoo hooo.
on another note, here is a beautifully girly bouquet necklace that i just made. it is already listed in the shop. i got the inspiration from the earrings that now match from a few days earlier.

so cute!

i wish i can remember when this was. a year and a half ago maybe?

i am featured on the front page of ETSY!!! right now!

jessica from babyhoot discovered that i am on the FRONT PAGE of etsy! the person made a lovely treasury, and it would have been even more lovely had i known. how great! whooo hoooo!
and it's a pretty one! thank you jessica for discovering this!!! whew! close one.
rachel is screaming:
I AM FAMOUS FOR LIKE 2 WHOLE HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh where oh where can my little ring be?

what a bizarre past week. and this one. and it's not over yet.
not the best week i can think of, but definitely not the worst.
my headaches are back. every day. why? this is what i have wondered for years and i am tired of wondering. after week 2 of a dull headache all.the.time you start to feel a little crazy and unfocused. i got headaches on a daily basis for years. when i had lanna they went away and i was so thankful. but now i am not feeling so thankful. it's not a caffeine issue, diet issue, i drink a ton of water every day, get plenty of sleep...so hopefully that narrows it down. the *slightest* bit of stress gives me one, and it can last for days, so maybe that is it, but if i am stressed, i am unaware of it.

event one.
last week a wore a brand new white shirt to work and the first thing i did was dump my coffee all down the front of me. after sponging it out for 20 mn, i looked like i had just missed the wet t-shirt contest by a few mn, and i was the only one who got the memo.
event two.
i lost my wedding ring. i cant find i anywhere, and i know it's at least at home, so i have not freaked out yet. i remember something like "oh this is a weird place to put this, i bet i will forget it's here..."

event three.
nathan and i had friday off and for weeks we had planned on going to the coueu d' alene street dair to eat taco's. delicious delicious tacos like we had last year. the weather sucked on friday, so we bailed at the last minute and went to the downriver grill and has gorgonzola fries. they were heavenly. and soooo worth it. we decided to go to the fair on saturday with lanna. we go there, tummy's all hungry and ready to shovel in out taco's. well, what do we have here? NO TACOS. we went to idaho for tacos and left with my new addiction. peppermint saltwater taffy. let me know if you need a sample.

event four.
yesterday was nathan and i's anniversary (hence the weekend of dates) and when we got to lanna's school we found out she had been moved into the big kid room. we were really excited for her but had the feeling at the same time that she was being whisked away on the kindergarten bus and i would never see her again. she had a great day. when we got there, she was riding a scooter. a scooter! just like a big kids. she was even wearing a giant helmet, that she insisted that one of the teachers put on her because if she rode a scooter without it, she might be issued a "safety violation". nathan and i get at least 3 a week. she means business. we were so stunned to see her on a scooter that we just froze. we were so proud of her, but were so worried that she was going to face plant into a well planted tree. she saw us and started to push off and fast as she possibly could and show us her badass scooter skills. her hair was a mess, and her cheeks were bright red. her shirt was just filthy, and you could tell that she earned every little bit of it and loved it. i heard that she would remind the kids in her old room every few hours "im in the big kid room now....i miss you guys, but i am taller..." we took her out to dinner. we went to azteca and we all shared chicken fajitas and let her order desert. she picked the fried ice cream with chocolate. she told the waiter we are celebrating "i'm in the other room- because i am taller" .

chips and salsa and ice cream!

to close, i went to bed at 7:45pm and slept all night.

WELL WELL WELL. it looks like when i posted this, it just erased HALF of it. sorry, you don't get the rest of it. maybe tomorrow. i don't want to re-type it all. it was good too. bummer.

oooh la la neckalces!

these beauties are a single quartz on a vintage hand oxidized chain. they are citrine quartz, amethyst quartz and aquamarine quartz.
they can be made in the length of your choice.
one below is the aqua quartz and the citrine.

~sunshine and water~

and matching earrings!!!
all will be in the shop soon!

a letter to kid rock

dear kid rock,
since, i am sure you read this blog, i will try to keep my language to a respectable level.
i understand the need to make a cover song, i really do. many great covers have been done and i can say that some of them i enjoy even more in the newer state. HOWEVER...you don't get to just take a great song like 'sweet home alabama' and make it gay. this song needs NO help and i don't appreciate what you have done to it. i like some of your music, not all of it, but some of it is stomach- able. i ask you this: why? is it because you liked the song so much that you thought "hey, what this song need is me in a video of 20 naked girls and their boobies flailing all over the place?" not really the direction i personally would have taken this song...but i get your need for flailing boobies. now, i am going to give you a chance to rectify things. please call leonard skynard and apologize. he is waiting for your call. and i expected more from you.

personality test

cam did this and i thought it was fun.
You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer

You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.
A good listener, you excel at helping others in practical ways.
In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.
You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

In love, you express your emotions through actions.
Taking care of someone is how you love them. And you do it well!

At work, you do well in a structured environment. You complete tasks well and on time.
You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

How you see yourself: Competent, dependable, and detail oriented

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, dominant, and stuck in a rut
(P.S. my husband got the same one!..)

take your test!

a sunshiny necklace that works fabulously in the fall!

yellow jade, in a sunshine-pumpkin color.
shop.

in love with the berries

in real life i dislike blueberries with all of my being.
but in beads, i don't have to eat them and i love them.
they are milky blue, perfectly smooth and oh so pretty.

blueberry vine earrings

LOOK!!

i was featured in a treasury!


*The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 12 hand-picked items each (plus four alternates). It functions as a high-demand (and pretty!) promotional tool that many devoted Etsians fight to get. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme, or just however they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. Admin often choose an exceptional Treasury list to promote on the home page and occasionally make them to tie into Storque articles or special events and occasions.

mr. guy

mr. guy is the nice litte vermet that is pictured in my flicker stream. can someone please tell me what that thing is? groundhog? hedgehog? gopher? anyways...after we visited with him for a while we carried on along the trail.

lanna said well, i sure liked him. he was really polite to us wasn't he?

a romantic little set...

i just did these and i am wild about them! of course i made a pair for me.
these are both made of solid raw brass. both will be available in the shop.
lily's

these are so pretty! the pink bead is a
topaz pink, czech glass rice bead. lovely!

baby earrings!

for the first time i have made earrings for toddlers!
these are so tiny and adorable! i am going to stick with these three for now.
they are sterling silver mini ear wires that i made. all three pairs feature a single vintage bead.
(yes, adults can wear these too)


baby filigree
peas.

baby ladybug.

thank you lanna for modeling these!

sunday breafast.

'breakfast pizza'
thanks to scottie at work for making this for my tummy on tuesday morning.
i never opt for this sort of thing at work. i eat the same thing every single day.
1 hardboiled egg, a cup of strawberries and a piece of whole grain toast.
however this special day she made something so yummy, and all because we has some leftover garlic mashed potatoes. well guess what, now they have a purpose.

using about 2C of garlic mashed potatoes spread them about 1" thick on the bottom of a rectangular baking dish and bake until golden brown. this is the crust of this 'breakfast pizza'.

crust ^

mix 4 eggs and pour over the crust

chop up 6 slices of bacon and a handful of shredded & cheese layer on top

layer with fresh tomato slices

and more cheese

and then bake on 425 for 10 mn, until lightly golden

enjoy your cheesy-bacony-garlic goodess!

cam has a givaway too!enter for a LEATHER JOURNAL!

cam of Home2K9 has a giveaway going in full swing as well! this is a good one.
it's a leather journal from sidney ann. scroll to the bottom of her post, it's a long one, she thought it was funny to try and trick you or string you along or something. nonetheless, its worth it and you still have time. the drawing is JULY 19th.
click the journal to enter!