4th of July Holiday Relaxation Break

Awe. A holiday. Time off. Short Break. Relaxation. Sedona - my happy place.

Peace. Quite. Tranquil. Sedona - our 2 hour trip to sublime nirvana.

Stillness. Calm. Serene. Reliving our week in Kauai. Natural beauty. Sounds of nature. Naturally at ease.

I'm putting my shop in Vacation Mode for 3 full days (7/3-7/5) as Mark & I are taking off this weekend - to do absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. We will enjoy this holiday and be thankful to those who allow us to do so.

However you spend this 4th of July Holiday, I wish you peace, happiness, joy and safety.

Rocki

Driving Miss Sasha or "Ruff" - Pick it up Mom

Most of you know we have 3 four-legged kids right along side our 4 two-legged kids. Yogi, Maelyn & Sasha. Yes, I admit our 4-legged kids may be a tad spoiled and have just a "few" more toys than the boys, but they are all loved the same - no matter what the boys say.

Above we're coming back from the day spa - pet groomer that is. No they do not go to a day spa, that's just what I call it for fun. Sasha loves to drive, but we do not let her go out on her own - can't afford the insurance.

Sasha, a Yorkie Maltese, is our youngest and well, is our little Princess. Okay, and maybe just a smidgen more spoiled than the rest. She has a very sweet personality, lovable, is VERY smart, smiles a lot, loves to play, rough house around with Maelyn, can give some nasty looks if not pleased, and has the CUTEST little bark. In fact, it is a "ruff", a cute and adorable sounding "ruff". She also has me wrapped around her little paw. Just a smidgen that is.

Yes, I know, the pic above looks simply innocent. Well, I have to tell you it is NOT. I'll TRY to sum this up... All 3 of the kids get their lunch & snack "cookies" at the same time each day. Mainly because Sasha comes to get me either with her cute little "ruff", her loving look or simply whines to let me know it is their snack time - and to hustle.

After we go through our routine, they all take off with their snack in different directions - Sasha goes down the hall to the back bedroom, where a few times a week the cookie, I thought, falls out of her mouth and she waits for me to pick it up again so she can take it out of my hand. She won't pick it up otherwise. Well. I THOUGHT the cookie "accidentally" fell out.

One day I just happened to look up while Sasha was trotting off with her goods and "poof", she spit out the cookie! I was floored, shocked more like it! She did it on purpose! She turned around and looked at me as if to say, "well, come on mom, pick it up for me, you know the drill." Then she just looks at the cookie until I do. I had to laugh at this and then called Mark to tell him. He finally witnessed this for himself. It cracks me up still today and YES, she still does it.

Oh and about the "nasty" looks... this is one of them. We returned from the "day spa" one afternoon in which a bow was in her hair. Sasha does NOT like bows in her hair. Well, it was sticking straight up like Pebbles, from the Flintstones and all I could do was laugh, but kept telling her how cute she was. She didn't buy it. When we got home I finally removed the bow and she let me know how happy she was NOT.

Is this little girl loved? Most definitely. Are all our kids loved. That's a big 10-4. Is this little girl spoiled beyond belief and has mom (and dad too no matter what he says) wrapped around her little paw. Maybe just a smidgen.

"ruff, ruff, RUFF!" What's that Sasha? Oh I'm sorry, mommy's on her way!

Happy ruff Monday!

Rocki

Double Bubble - twice the fun!

I was playing around with an idea for a double hoop earring using my Wild West Series as inspiration and this is what I came up with.

Double Bubble.

Go ahead, say it again: "Double Bubble". If you say it real fast, it's kind of like repeating "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper" or "Sally Sold Sea Shells by the Sea Shore".

Currently I have 20g Copper & Sterling Silver Double Bubbles in my shop, but they will also be available in 14k Gold Filled and in 18g... Double Bubble.

I'm selling my new Double Bubble hoops as finished earrings, but they can also be embellished to your hearts content, such as wire wrapping stones or beads, add a dangle or two, etc.

All this bubble talk makes me want to grab my bubble wrap and start popping away. How about you? No problem, click below:

I must admit that I am enjoying wearing my new hoops. I don't know what I like more, the hoops themselves or saying Double Bubble!

Happy popping!

Rocki

Thursday's Chuckle

This morning Mark sent me this little funny story that he received at work. It made me chuckle so thought I would pass it on. Besides, we could all use a little humor!

The Buttocks

A married couple was in a terrible accident where the man's face was severely burned.

The doctor told the husband that they could not graft any skin from his body because he was too skinny.

So the wife offered to donate some of her own skin.

However, the only skin on her body that was suitable would have to come from her buttocks.

The husband and wife both agreed that they would tell no one about where the skin came from and they requested the doctor also honor their secret.

After all, this was a very delicate matter.

After the surgery was completed, everyone was astounded at the man's new face.

He looked more handsome than he ever had before!

All his friends and family went on and on about his youthful beauty.

One day, he was alone with his wife, and he was overcome with emotion at her sacrifice.

He said, "Dear, I just want to thank you for everything you did for me. How can I possibly repay you?"

"My darling," she replied, "I get all the thanks I ever need

every time I see your mother

kiss you on the cheek."

Tee hee hee,
Rocki

Can you feel the love? Alaina J Designs

Just about every day I would see these adorable, brightly colored handmade clay beads while relisting items. I became drawn to them like a magnet and decided to check them out. My goodness, this shop is soooo cute its like going to a pet store and looking at the adorable animals that are just begging you to take them home with you - and you do!

Elaine is the creator/owner of Alaina J Designs (etsy shop name is alanajay). Elaine had a desire to paint, however, as she states "I failed miserably at oil and acrylic painting, so I chose working with clay at the suggestion of my oldest daughter." Good move Elaine, your work is adorable!

Living a very quiet suburb life in the small town of Vicksburg, MS (not Mayberry, but not a big city either) Elaine creates her adorable handmade creations. She started out as an Etsy buyer long ago and eventually started selling her craft.

At first glance of the prices, you may wonder why they are so low. Well, Elaine is doing all this work for fun! She states: "I believe in giving customers the best prices possible... Because I actually don't work for profit. I craft for fun, then sell it." Not only does she sell her handmade crafts in her shop, but Elaine also sells commercial beads & findings.

The beads above are not commercial, these are her handmade FROTHEN SEA WATER Swirl Polymer Clay Beads. Oooh! I just love saying the name, sounds so earthy and fun!

I absolutely love this quote when asked if there was anything she would like people to know about her: "I am a very simple country gal, with a strong desire to run my online business with high morals, strong ethics, and a feeling so friendly, customers can just feel the love through the computer screen."

Most definitely Elaine, I feel the love! Please go and visit Elaine's shop to feel the love yourself!

Happy day!

Rocki

Peace & Inspiration - Marie Dodd

Our life journey offers us many opportunities to enhance our personal being along each of our paths. These opportunities present themselves in a variety of ways, such as in physical form, mental, emotional, imagined, created and so on. When we accept these opportunities with our whole heart, a new and exciting path is created.

Mary Jane, the Etsy Shop owner/creator of Mari Dodd "jewelry to feed your creative spirit", is one of my opportunities. Mary Jane, aka MJ, is one of those very kind hearted souls that can touch your life without even being there in person. I've been wanting to feature her shop for some time now and am honored to finally share her with you.

In short, MJ & I met months ago when she first started purchasing from me. Recently I got to know her a little more and discovered what a truly peace loving person she is. I admire her from many aspects and absolutely love her work! You can tell that MJ creates from the heart, the soul, the depth of her very spirit.

Each inspiring creation that she makes, has a fitting title for it and a description to match. The one above is call "seeing clearly" and I simply love the description as much as the piece itself. MJ also inspires me with my own work.

There is so much more I could say about Mary Jane, but I will leave you with this quote from her shop Profile, which you can read more when you visit her shop:

"in my very normal running-around-mom-lifestyle, working with great components brings me peace and inspiration... i love when things come together... you get a great feeling when you wear something that a person actually had their hands and imagination on..."

Besides traveling through her inspiring creative Etsy Shop, make sure to visit her inspiring blog. It will brighten your day - and your life.

Peace & love,

Rocki