Gold Digger

No, I'm not a gold digger, but I do dig gold.

Up until I started working with Sterling Silver all I wore was gold jewelry. However, I've always worn silver with my blue jeans because they look so darn hot together. Anyway, over the last year or so I've added more and more silver to my jewelry case. Funny, but the last time I put a piece in the case I could have SWORN I heard one of the gold pieces make a snide comment to the others about me, but that could have just been my wild imagination, right?

So what does this mean? Well, I'm excited to say that by Friday of next week I will have handcrafted 14K Gold Filled earwires in my shop! Whoo hoo!

Yep. I can hardly wait to see what my Signature Elfin earwires look like in gold! My Silver Leaf earwires will look so lovely, but of course they will be called Gold Leaf. Oh and the Hoops and the Leafettes and the... this is going to be fun!

Oh, and I heard rumors from my jewelry case that the silver will strike if I pay too much attention to the gold.

Dig it!
Rocki

On Grizzly Mountain

I have met some of the most amazing talented people while blogging that it truly excites me.

If you would have asked me a year ago what a "tatting shuttle" was, I would have looked at you with a blank look on my face and say "a what?" Now I may not be a scholar on the subject, but I do know what it is now, and let me just say that Dave, of Grizzly Mountain Arts, creates the most BEAUtiful shuttles I've come across!

Dave creates more than gorgeous shuttles, he makes Niddy Noddies and a vast variety of other tools and carvings. Each time I visit Grizzly Mountain Arts blog, I'm like a little kid waiting to see what Santa brought because both Dave & Jo are talented beyond belief. I don't think there is anything Dave CAN'T do.Who is Dave? He is part of the talent on Grizzly Mountain - here is a quote from their profile: "Dave took up the whaler's art of scrimshaw while aboard ship during the Viet Nam War. He has a degree in wildlife ecology and worked over 25 years in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a wildlife law enforcement officer and wildlife refuge manager. He retired in 2002 and now lives on Grizzly Mountain in central Oregon where he still pursues his art. Whales have been protected since 1972 and Dave continues this historic maritime art by scrimshawing on ancient ivory from walrus and mammoth tusks, bone or imitation ivory."

Who's Jo? Another quote, "she is a classically trained flutist who pretends to be an artist at times. She enjoys working with clay, wood and the computer." Jo pretty much, from what I gather, is the backbone for their websites (correct me if I'm wrong Jo!). Plus she is a very fine artist, pretend or not.

These are some of Jo's handmade earthenware clay pendants.
You can find both of their finished work at Grizzly Mountain Arts and their organic and primitive supplies at Grizzly Mountain Cache, but check out their blog for all locations where you can find their work.

I enjoy chatting with Jo, plus they live in Oregon. My oldest son Jeremy lives in Oregon. Maybe next time I'm up that way I can stop by and we can chat in person!

Oh and I do believe Dave does dishes & windows, but Jo can correct me if I'm wrong ;)

Happy day!

Rocki

Taking the day off!

There are perks to owning and running your own business:

- don't have to wear nylons (yuck!)
- can work in my pj's, house robe, shorts & tank or sun dress - even in the nude (if I wanted to)
- don't have to clock in and out
- can eat & drink at my work station
- don't have to worry if I'm running late
- can take breaks whenever and as often as I like
- lunch can last for hours
- can play any type of music I want without hearing complaints
- can take the day off whenever I want - like TODAY!

Yep. I'm taking the day off!! I worked extra hard this week in order to make this happen. I guess that's one of the downfalls of owning & running your own business - if you're not there, nothing gets done. As long as you plan it right, it will work out.

My brother Chris is taking us & Jeremy to Lake Pleasant today on his boat. I'm looking forward to soaking up the sun, feeling the water spraying on my face and watching Jeremy zipping along the lake in the big water tube!

I'll be back Monday with a very cool spotlight on a fellow blogger buddy & Etsian :)

Enjoy your weekend and remember to smile!

Rocki

Wonderful Way to Start My Day!

My morning starts out the same pretty much every day:

- Receive and return hugs & kisses from my 4-legged kids
- Open up all the blinds to let the sunshine in
- Start all 3 tumblers (yep, 3x's the work)
- Pour myself a cup of coffee & a glass of orange juice
- Grab my laptop, snuggle up on the couch with my 'kids' then check my shops, read blogs & other sites.

This morning I received a surprise from a very special blog that I love to visit: The Mum and The Rose - thank you! Her blog is full of life, love, family and everything in between. I insist that you visit and read one little post - you'll be hooked from the start.

Anyway, the surprise was that she included me in the above award, the Brilliant Weblog. I'm humbly grateful for this sweet award. I must pay it forward and pass it on to 7 others, so in no particular order I give the Brilliant Weblog Award to:

Any Occasion Boutique (my gifted sis, just getting started blogging)
Mana Moon Studios (loving & compassionate friend)
Angie Kelly Designs (fun, talented & friendly, to say the least)
When Weeds Whisper (inspiration in every read)
Ozknits (never a dull moment!)
Health Nut Wannabee Mom (FABulous blog!)
What I made today ("dream it * do it * make it manifest")

For the nominees here are the rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

I wish you all an inspirational kind of day!
Rocki

Welcome Home & Happy Birthday Jeremy!

My oldest son, Jeremy, is home from Portland for a 2+ week long deserved vacation from school and work. We surprised him with a 30th birthday party... 5 months early!

Jeremy is going into his last year in the A.S.L. Interpretership program (American Sign Language) and works at Starbucks (thanks for our gifts Jeremy!) Due to the intensity of the program, he is now working very part-time (I think just enough to keep us supplied ;) and has very little free time for himself right now, but says that it is all worth it as he is doing what he loves.

Jason, my youngest son, has worked at Trader Joe's for years, school part-time and is working on becoming a fire fighter. We all feel that this is his true calling - plus he fits the look!

Both of my boys are my pride & joy, my buddies, pranksters, comedians, bodyguards, etc. They both work very hard for what they want in life and I'm immensely proud of all their accomplishments.

My boys & I have an open and honest relationship and are very close. Jason & Jeremy are very close as well (like twins actually), and always have been. I can honestly say that they made parenting very easy for me - despite all the jumping out of closets & grabbing my feet from under the bed scare tactics.

Mark & I are so happy to have Jeremy home (or is it the coffee he brought us? KIDDING!)

Oh! Back to why we celebrated Jeremy's 30th so early. sniff sniff... because due to school, etc., he won't be able to come home for the holidays or in January. I couldn't let his 30th go by without a bash! Yes, he'll still get birthday gifts from us in January :) I'm happy to say that we were able to pull of the surprise with help from Jason & Lauren by getting Jeremy home at the right time and everyone keeping their mouths zipped about it.

The day was perfect in every way and to top it all off, Mark surprised me with a bouquet of my favorite flower - the Sunflower!

Happiness to all,

Rocki

p.s. Check out my sister's new blog to see the photo of us both with bling-bling mouths. Oh, and there will be more party photos posted in my MySpace later this week.

Guaranteed Weight Loss Program

I told you there would be 'after' pictures, so here they are. Yep, silver smiles hasn't been smiling so much this week. This has been an experience, to say the least. By Sharon's calculations I only have to wear the braces 3 days! Yippee! Oh... wait. Darn it! That's 3 days off of the 2 years - you do the math.

Without going into all the nitty-gritty details, having the braces put on truly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Having your mouth stretched open like the grand canyon, your tongue trapped by a piece of plastic, hands in and out of your mouth, a mini hose sucking out your... oh, sorry - it really wasn't all that bad.

The worst part about this is due to my bite, they had to build 2 cement cone looking things to bite down on instead of my teeth. So it's a bite, I mean bit difficult to chew because I bite down on those cone things and no other teeth - for 2 months. Kind of looks like a subdued vampire. I would have taken close-ups of that part, but I didn't want to loose all my blog buddies.

If you need to loose weight, try braces. You don't want to eat because it feels like razors in your mouth with every bite and then you have to brush your teeth afterwards. Oh yes, I'm a big tooth brushing fan, but now it takes an hour (okay, not that long, but close ;) because of what all you have to do. I have actually lost 2lbs and I really don't want to loose anymore.

Hey, if you want your spouse to tone down the talking, give them braces. I'm not NEAR as talkative as I usually am and Mark seems to be enjoying it (he's kidding... I think). Ha. I should serve him my mashed tators, minced pancakes and salad soup tonight!

Enough about that. One more little photo to share with you. My dear sweet friend Sharon sent a revised photo of my sparkling smile now. She said that the tooth fairy sent it to her. Hmm. Riiiiiight Sharon ;)

Oh yes. Plus I'm still getting used to having metal in my mouth, so my speech sounds hilarious. I won't repeat what my sweet & innocent sister told me I sound like.

And I was excited about this? Oh well, I only have 2 more years left... minus 3 days.

SMILES!

☼ Rocki

Shiny Smiley Day!

Guess what day it is folks! Yep. My braces!

As I type this at 7:00 a.m., I'm thinking about what I should eat for breakfast before heading to my appointment this morning. My sister-in-law, friends and acquaintances have informed me of what NOT to eat while wearing braces, and since I will have them on for 2 years, I thought I would pig out!

My breakfast will consist of:
- my usual wheat/dairy-free pancakes with applesauce, almonds & flaxmeal
- nuts - a big bowl full (squirrels love nuts!)
- caramel
- popcorn, not cooked, just the raw kernels
- thick, chewy gooey fudge with LOTS of nuts (drools)
- several ice cubes
- a side of taffy

Okay. So that's a big fat lie! I'll only have my usual breakfast and dream about the fudge.

I was going to have Mark take a before picture of me this weekend, but we completely forgot about it. So I decided to use one of my favorites of the both of us. It was taken 2 years ago at one of my brothers BBQ gatherings. It's not very glamorous, but hey, that's me. Yes, there will be an 'after' photo :)

Not only do I create with silver, but by noon today I will be SMILING silver.

Kind of fitting, don't you think?

Have a happy shiny smiley day!

Rocki

psst... (points down at previous post ;)

CrAzY SqUiRrEl oN tHe LoOsE!

I would be cautious if I were you and DON'T get too close because you just don't know what I'm capable of!

The CrAzInEsS is running rampant throughout my entire shop! It's uncontrollable! It's darn right SCARY!

All this CrAzInEsS started one year ago (okay okay, so it started years ago) when I opened my first Etsy shop (all thanks to my dear sweet friend Janell of "Dancing Mooney"). My goal, as little as it may seem, was to have 100 sales by August 11th, 2008. I made my goal last week!

To celebrate my 100th sale and my 1st year on Etsy, I'm having a CrAzY 25% off everything in my shop this weekend and through Monday! Read my Shop Announcement for details.

So before I go completely mad, tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc. to stop by and take a peak at my shop - don't worry, I've had all my shots.

Where is all the CrAzInEsS at? Rocki's Rock 'n Beads.

I'm not crazy, I was just born that way. Wait a minute... that doesn't sound right. Oh look! Some cute guys are coming my way all dressed in white! Gotta go now.

Have a fun weekend!
Rocki

p.s. my handcrafted supply shop isn't on sale, but I am adding new goodies to it, so feel free to stop on by Rocki's Supplies. Oh, and of course my sister's awesome shop Any Occasion Boutique

Beat Still My Heart

If you have not seen Beat Black's shop, you must, I repeat, MUST go and check out her amazing polymer clay creations!

I "met" Sarah via blogging & Etsy and then became friends on MySpace. Who is Sarah? She is the fun creator behind Beat Black. Here's a quote from her profile that I just love: "I'm a 21 year old food junkie with a diploma in fashion design. I live in Toronto with my roommate and cactus whose name seems to change on a monthly basis (the cactus not the roommate)"

We can thank Sarah's mom for her amazing talent as her mom is an artist. Sarah has been creating things longer than she can even remember. In fact, before she knew about polymer clay, she would make little sculptures from her brothers "ball of a browny purple colour (clearly a mix of whatever he stole from school). It always had hair in it...ew". I agree Sarah... EWWWW!

Sarah's inspiration comes from many things, such as "weird colour combinations, the folds in a blanket, strange fairytale-ish movies, music, going through old sketchbooks, dreams, nature..."

When asked what her surroundings are like, this is what she had to say:"Pretty boring actually. I rent so I've never painted or put nails in my walls for artwork. Three of five light bulbs are burnt out in my chandelier. My futon looks like a lumpy monster and there's a microwave in my living room." Sarah my friend, you made this blog post very easy for me to write!

I really love her shop name, Beat Black. Sarah knew she wanted to use a black heart as her logo and after writing down several names, Beat Black stuck in her head. Speaking of heads, make sure you check out her 'brain' creations. Braaaaaaaains (zombie free, of course).

We know that Sarah has a thing for food. In fact, she has a tator fetish. Yes. I said tator, as in potato. Actually, I think my 'tator dude' is what brought Sarah & I together. What? You don't know who 'tator dude' is? Well in order for this to make any sense, you must read my "Weird. That's All I Can Say" post.

On top of her talent, funny humor, creativity & imagination, she opens up her heart and shares many unique fellow Etsian's shops on her fun to read blog: "In The Shadows".

Please visit her shop and blog. Oh, and tell her 'tator dude' says hello ;)

Beat still my heart,
Rocki

Rocki's Make-Over

Yes folks, this is me. This was taken by Laura on Saturday at my Dad's birthday party.

Laura... my sweet and "innocent" (cough cough) sister - so very talented with Paint Shop Pro.

So why did she give me a new make-over? We were razzing each other back and forth yesterday and she said that she would pay me back. Well, looks like she did. Oh, and this isn't the first time she has attacked me like this. I have MANY more pictures that she has either drawn herself or altered in some shape or form. Like when I fell over the dishwasher and scored a big fat bruise and such. She gave a play by play of the event. Yes, I said dishwasher.

Um... excuse me... you can all stop laughing now ;)

Hmm. I've always wondered what I would look like as a Platnium blonde.

Happy day everyone!
Rocki

Weekend of Happiness

This weekend was so full of happiness that I have a permanent smile on my face. When looking for a picture to post, I found the above which we should all truly take to heart.

So what was so special? I'll just list the main ones, otherwise this blog will turn into my first full length novel (and my friends know how I can ramble on):

1. Went to Danny's Pet Scan results doc appt. - miracles do happen! His lung cancer shrunk 90%!!! Even the doc was amazed. Danny is going to continue with chemo, but the doc changed the dosage due to the severe reactions it caused. Our 7 hour days will now be 3 hours due to the change. Yes, we were told that we still have to fight, he's not cured & there is no cure, and that his life span is short, but we're not going by that - we're just going to continue on with each day as it comes. Nobody can predict the future. We had a very nice celebration dinner right after we left the docs office. I'm still full!

2. Jeremy, my oldest son, called to confirm his plans for his trip in 2 weeks! I can hardly wait as it feels like it's been forever since I've seen him and it was *only* last year. Way too long for me! He arrives on the 14th and is here until the end of the month :) Yes, there will be a blog about his visit :)

3. Mark bought me a laptop - my first ever! I didn't think I would really need one as I have my own PC in our office, but wow... this is cool (I'm typing on it right now while sitting on the couch having my morning coffee!) I'll be taking it to Danny's chemo appointments (he has his own :), trips, outings, etc. This rocks!

4. We celebrated my Dad's 67th birthday at Laura's house (67 on paper, 30 something in life). He knew about the party of course as he was doing a lot of the cooking as well. He LOVES to cook, BBQ, grill, bake, make his own BBQ sauce - you name it, he does it. He's an Arizonian Emerill - BAM! A surprise was in store for Dad. My Uncle Bob from California came down to surprise him. Dad was in the kitchen when Bob called his cell and talked to Dad like usual - then Bob walked in the house while still on the phone talking. Dad finally looked up (while still on the phone) to see Bob standing in front of him! BAM!

5. My supply shop is taking off faster than I expected and I am more than thrilled! With each sell I make, I feel so very blessed and am grateful for each and every one! My biggest seller, so far, are my Signature Elfin Earwires. In fact, I woke up this morning to a return customer's sell & convo that she is submitting an earring design to a magazine - using my earwires!

Blessings have been pouring over me these last few days - must be my good karma ripening.

I wish you all peace, love and much happiness.

☼ Rocki