I'm back!

Well, it was never my intention to take half of December off from blogging, but I got distracted that that's exactly what happened. I got busy with holiday preparation and gaming and generally being cold and lazy. I suspect that I may actually be a cold-blooded creature, as I become unbelievably sluggish when winter rolls around. I sleep for 11 hours some days! Ok, so only about 8-9 of that is sleep, and the rest of it is me going "Bed so warm... world so cold..." and snuggling deeper into my coccoon of flannel sheets and fuzzy blankets.

I have not been idle, though, even if I do spend half the day in bed! This week I'll be posting a pic every day to show you all what I've been up to. The above actually predates my sudden hiatus. I'd like you all to say hello to Mr. Crimson, the dragon I made for my friend and D&D GM Rene. Basically I blended some crimson and gold clay to make my MIL's present (which I forgot to photograph, DOH!) and said "Wow, this would make a cool dragon" so I used the leftovers to decorate Mr. Crimson. His body and wings are black swirled with gold, and the other accents are straight gold. Because he's designed to just hang around (reportedly he spent Christmas on Rene's tree), I was able to do things that I couldn't do on a bead, like make a delicate crest and gigantic but thin wings. He is without a doubt my best dragon to date!

One of my New Year's presents from my undeniably cool parents was the set of tools I've been wanting for clay work, so I will be able to do even better things in 2007. I'm really looking forward to that, especially since there's all kinds of things I've been wanting to try in Christi Friesen's "Under The Sea" book. I might even get bold and do one of those wall hanging with lots of sea critters on it.

My family came over on Christmas Eve and I finally danced for them -- that's one of the really big things I did last month. It was my first time ever dancing for more than one person, which made for an interesting challenge since they were sitting at two couches which are at 90 degree angles from each other. Also, my living room is already small, and when you factor in leg room for 4 people (my dad and brother both being in the 6 foot range), I had less room than usual to dance. Nonetheless, I feel that I did pretty well and everyone had a good time. It was a great feeling! Of course, because of said sluggishness, I haven't danced since...

But that's all going to change, oh yes! My wonderful husband Chris gifted me with a pair of fire fans for the New Year! Yes, FANS that you light on FIRE! Ok, so you light the wicks on the ends on fire, but still. There is fire involved! What, did I forget to mention that I am a (socially responsible) pyromaniac? I love fire. And I love fans. And these particular fans are designed to be held while one is dancing. So now I must practice dancing and practice with my fans (they are kind of heavy) so that someday I may do awesome fire dancing. I did just a little bit in my parents' front yard last night (don't worry, it's all dry gravel and we had a fire extinguisher on hand) and cars who were driving by slowed to nearly a stop trying to figure out what was going on. Good times, good times!

Anyway, now on to some business-related stuff, since that's really what this blog is supposed to be about. You may have noticed that my website hasn't been updated since about the 15th. That's because Chris is still working on the new version, and I can't currently easily access my editting features. The site is almost done, or so he keeps telling me, and when it is finally up, there will be nifty new options for you, the shopper, and me, the content creator.

Ok, so maybe nifty new options aren't quite enough to pique your interest, so I'll say this as well: Once the new site is up, I will be having a SALE! Discounts will abound! Out with the old, in with the new! I love sales and I'm pretty sure that you do, too, so watch this blog for a big announcement when it happens. I'm hoping for sometime this week, but I can't pin down a definite date.

Today's Cool Thing absolutely has to be a video of fire fans in action, so here you go! I really like this one because the interplay between the two dancers is wonderful. Enjoy!