Lost Luggage

Chris and I arrived safely home in Tucson. Our luggage, however, stayed in Atlanta. They were supposed to put it on the second Atlanta-Tucson flight and get it to us tonight, but here it is 9:30pm and no luggage yet.

I'm really fed up with airlines, as there were other small problems before we even got onto the plane this morning. After my trip to Tahoe in October, it's going to be a long time until I fly again. This is ridiculous.

Home tomorrow

Today was utterly and completely awesome -- except the parts where we drove through New Jersey -- but I just spent the past 1 1/2 hours packing, and I have to be up in 5 hours to fly home, so you'll have to wait to hear about it.

In the air, hopefully

Because I will probably be too tired today to blog after I land in NY, I am pre-writing this post and scheduling it to show up while I'm either in a plane or in an airport. I'll be spending at least 11 hours of my day tomorrow in planes and airports, and that's assuming they actually give me a seat in Atlanta, which they're trying not to do.

So check in Monday for the harrowing details of my two-layover trip from AZ to NY via GA and VA!

Too much to do!

Hello, internet. I'm so busy right now that I don't even have time to edit a cute puppy picture for this post. Despite getting up hours earlier than I normally do, I'm still behind on all I wanted to do today, and it's less than two hours before I have to take the dogs to the kennel. So I hope you'll forgive me if I'm not too chatty.

I'll be trying to keep up my daily blog schedule while I'm in NY, and this time I remembered to pack my camera, so there should be pictures, too!

Daydreams for 2009.

Well, so much for Thursday Thirteen. I went to their site today and I got a Godaddy page instead. Looks like someone forgot to renew their domain or hosting (then, the pot proceeded to call the kettle black). I'll still stick with the theme that I had in mind for today, however!

I've never been a New Year's Resolutions kind of gal. My family didn't do them growing up, and while there's a lot of things that I do differently than my parents do, resolutions were never something that I felt like adding to my holiday celebrations. But I do like to start the year off by thinking about things that I want to do in the following year. Today, I'd like to talk about fun things that I'd like to do this year.

1. I'd like to go to the San Diego Comic-Con again. I had so much fun in 2008, that I really want to go back. Besides, my little brother is getting a fan booth for the Toy Soldiers (the fan club of the musician/performing artist Dr. Steel), and I want to be there to offer him a little support and help if he needs it.

2. I'd like to go to the Faerie convention in Phoenix. I wanted to go in 2008, but then I got corgis, and I didn't want to leave them home alone. This year, they should be settled in and able to go to a boarding kennel for the day.

3. I definitely need/want to go to NY this year! 2008 was too chaotic, so we didn't go visit Chris's family, and I feel bad about it. I missed them, and I missed all of the fun things that we do together while we're out there. His Mom and Stepdad are coming to visit next month, but let's face it, Tucson just isn't as exciting to visit as NY!

4. There's a bead retreat in Tahoe in October that I'd like to go to, if time and money allow. I really enjoyed the Vegas retreat that I went to a few years ago. Bead retreats are just a great way to meet new people, learn new skills, and also hang out with old beady friends that are spread out across the country.

5. I'd like to bead at least one coin bra for belly dancing. I'm terribly unhappy with the selection on-line, and I've got the skills to make my own... and I bought the right coins at the September gem show, too. Now it's just a matter of buying a bra that will be able to support their weight, and deciding what else to add to the mix.

6. I have this necklace planned, called Bioluminescence, and I want to finally make it. It's going to be a very large project, but I need to do more large projects.

7. I'd like to have a short story published somewhere in 2009, even if it's in a very small magazine.

8. I'd like to get my corgis well-trained enough that I feel like they can go places with us. Right now they're kind of bratty, but they're such sweet, friendly girls. I think they deserve to be out in the world, meeting new people and experiencing new things.

There's more, but I'm starting to drift into goals instead of daydreams. I'll discuss goals in another day or two.

I've got corgis!

I have two corgis, and they are beyond cute! I'm in love! Chris adores them, too. While I was sitting here doing my e-mail, he had both in his lap :)

Crazy long day today, I've been up since before 6am. No Etsy update today, but hey, it's a holiday. Hopefully I'll have the energy to list an item tomorrow after our 8.5 hour drive.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the girls and share our fun on Route 66 -- and it was real fun, not the sarcastic "oh great, it's pouring rain again" sort of fun.

Meanwhile, I'm off to enjoy my doggies :D

Scariest Drive Ever!

Hi Everybody! I'm in Flagstaff! It was one crazy drive. Tucson-Phoenix was fine, and the first 20 miles or so out of Phoenix were great... until we hit crawling traffic, due to a 3-car pile-up in the middle of nowhere. Once we got past that, we were having a great time, cruising through beautiful country and jamming to Corvus Corax, and then the rain started. Pouring rain, so heavy we could barely see the highway. The guy ahead of us didn't bother to put on his lights, and there was no center line. UGH!

But we're here, and let me tell you, Flagstaff is beautiful! It's so green, with beautiful trees and grass. I love it here. I want to come back sometime and go hiking.

Tomorrow, I'll have dogs :)

Storming Again, also, Leaving Tomorrow!

Just as I was sitting here reading my message boards, a thunderstorm started up, so I said to myself "I'd better blog before I have to shut down!" And here I am. The rain smell is wonderful. Mmmm. So refreshing and inspiring!

We're going to try to leave town at around 10am tomorrow. I plan to blog from the hotel room, but I may not. Depends on what else we are up to in Flagstaff and how tired I am. The forecast for Flagstaff is highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Yikes! Maybe this is why I never go there... I had to retrieve a sweater from the depths of the closet to make sure I won't freeze.

I've got a lot of things to do before we go, including packing the rest of the stuff we need to take and printing up directions to the hotels, and all that fun stuff. I was hoping to make a necklace tonight, but at this rate it probably won't happen. The important thing is getting ready to go get my lovely dogs! Hurray!

Artsy Photography and Travel Plans

The verdict is in! Beaded jewelry does photograph well outdoors on a cloudy day. With another storm blowing in, I took these earrings outside, hung them from a little branch on one of my young mesquite trees, and snapped some shots! I like how the opal glass of the leaves glows slightly in the diffused sunlight.

The earrings, by the way, are called Eternal Spring and they're today's Daily Design Challenge item! I had started working on a necklace, but it grew out of control and by 3pm I realized there was no way I was going to have time to finish it and get it on Etsy today. I'll try to finish it tomorrow.

Now for my travel plans, and how they'll affect the Daily Design Challenge. We're going to leave Tucson Sunday morning and get home Tuesday evening. Obviously, if I'm gone on Monday and most of Tuesday, it will be pretty hard to make, photograph, and list jewelry. But fear not! I have a plan! I shall... cheat! I have two pieces of jewelry made already, one of which is already photographed. Ideally, I will list one from the hotel room Monday night, and the other one from home after I roll back into town. That way I'll at least keep up with my quota of listing items.

Granted, I may not end up listing an item at all on Monday. I may be too busy playing with my new dogs at the hotel. But if that's the case, we'll just have a Twofer Tuesday, and everyone will be happy.

I'm really looking forward to the trip. Not only will I be adopting two adorable little corgi girls, but I'll be spending a night in Flagstaff, a place I've never been. I've never been to Farmington, NM either, but I hear it's kind of boring, so I'm not as excited about that.