Happy Thanksgiving!

 One thing I am seriously thankful for this year is the ability to be part of not one, but two great dance communities! Here's my beloved Anaya Tribe in the Phoenix area...

And my wonderful friends and classmates here in Tucson! (Also photographic proof that I wore red and didn't look horrible).

It's hard to believe that we're near the end of November already. This year has flown by in a flurry of activity, and there are certainly things I planned to do and never got around to. But over all I'm feeling pretty happy and accomplished.

But I really should be making potatoes right now, so I'll cut this short. Before I go, let me mention that all this weekend you can use code "thxabunch" for 15% off of your entire purchase of Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

Free shipping this weekend!

In recognition of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and those nameless days between them, I'm offering free shipping this weekend on all purchases of $25 or more. This applies to US and International orders. Simply make your purchase, pay, and I will refund those pesky shipping fees. This sale is good until noon MST on Tuesday!

Now is also a good time to mention that my store will be closed for most of Sunday, as I will be at a bazaar, and it would be truly embarrassing to sell the same item twice! So if there's something you really want, make sure to buy it before Sunday morning.

All business stuff aside, I had a nice Thanksgiving with my family, ate a lot of tasty food, and now I'm in a bit of a food coma. Time to shake this fog off with a little tea.

Quiet night

Usually Wednesdays are gaming night at our house, but due to the holiday, only two players were going to show up, so we decided to cancel it tonight. I do enjoy gaming, but with all the work Chris has been doing, it's nice to just have a quiet night at home with him. Of course, he's currently in the kitchen baking a pie, but we'll have time together as soon as said pie goes into the oven.

I'm way behind on prep for the gift bazaar. I should probably find my tags and start pricing things in these spare moments.

Unstoppable!

Yesterday was a really good day. Not only did we get the "all clean" on Daisy's mystery lump, but I then proceeded to go to the MVD and pass my road test. I'm a licensed driver! Armed with this license, I drove myself to the gym and lifted 115lbs, a new record for me.

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty good about life right now. I'm in the perfect frame of mind for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, as the proud owners of a large, sturdy dining room table, Chris and I get to host for the second year in a row. I spent today driving around town getting things for Thanksgiving, though I was thwarted in my quest for a few key ingredients, which means a trip to another grocery store later tonight.

Tomorrow I get to clean the house, and make some preparations for the little gift bazaar I'm doing on Sunday. Never a dull moment!

Thursday Thirteen, Volume Three -- Thanksgiving!

Thirteen Things That I Am Thankful For The other day I was in the post office, and the radio was on, and the DJs were talking about a study that was done recently which said that gratitude and giving thanks were good for your health. I can see the sense in that. If you're being grateful, then you're being positive, and if you're being positive, you're not stressing, and stress is bad for your health. So for me, I want this Thanksgiving to mark the start of being more thankful and showing more gratitude, every day. I want to look at this list frequently, and remind myself of all the things I should be thankful for. So in no particular order, here are thirteen things that I'm thankful for, today and every day. 1. My husband. I probably don't tell Chris enough how much I appreciate all that he does for me. He works hard to pay all the bills, never tells me "no" when I want more beads, or boots, or books, or whatever catches my eye. He puts up with my myriad flaws, supports me in all I do, and basically rocks. 2. My family, in-laws included. They're a pretty good bunch all-around. 3. My health. I've got a couple of small problems, but compared to some people, I am sitting easy. I don't live with chronic pain, I don't have to take any meds, and my health doesn't stand in the way of anything that I do. 4. My dogs. I knew that I wanted a dog (and somehow I ended up with two), but I had no idea how much Daisy and Maggie would add to my life. They're so much fun. 5. My cats. Sometimes they get lost in the shadow of the dogs, but there are still few things nicer than waking up in the morning to find Topher curled up next to me. He has the best little contented look when he sleeps. And Lira, well, she's a cranky old kitty who spends most of her time hiding, but I still love her. 6. My friends. They're funny, supportive, generous, fun to talk to, and awesome. 7. My gaming group, an off-shoot of my friends. Sure, I kvetch about the guys, but they're good guys. They're fun to play with, fun to talk with, come up with some unique characters, and they don't have most of the flaws that people associate with gamers. And they're all very good to my dogs! 8. My house. I'm already starting to take it for granted, and I shouldn't. Living here is such a step up from apartment life, and I'm so much more at ease here. I sleep better, I feel less cluttered and less frazzled, and it's so much easier to have friends over now. 9. Dancing! I don't do it enough, but when I do, it's such a transcendant experience. 10. Writing. Another thing that I don't do enough, but I like having the ability to put words to virtual paper and have it be something that people enjoy reading -- even if sometimes, the only person who reads it is whoever's running the game with the character who I'm writing the story for. 11. Beads. Without them, what else would I be addicted to? 12. The internet. I've connected to so many people here, including Chris and most of my friends. It's more than a tool now, it's a community, and one I'm glad to be thankful for. 13. Books. After too long of not reading regularly, I'm rediscovering the joy of getting lost in a story, whether it's a novel or a short story. There are many more things I could be thankful for, but this is T13, not Twholelots, and I have to go finish getting things ready for my family to come over for dinner. So to all my readers, a happy Thanksgiving, and may you find things to be grateful for, no matter the day.


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



Housework, I hate it

Spent the day doing housework, and I still have to sweep and mop the floors and wash a bunch of dishes and cook some potatoes. All of which will happen tomorrow, because it's almost gaming time, and besides, I am desperately in need of dinner, which makes me light-headed.

I'm happy to say that although I didn't get all of the things done that I wanted to before tomorrow's dinner, I did get a lot done. The house is a lot cleaner than it usually is (or will be, once I sweep and mop) because I got to several of the jobs that I usually ignore. I'm really excited about tomorrow. My parents are supplying the turkey and some of the sides, and Chris and I will provide the relish tray, potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, and hot and cold drinks. This is a big step up from previous years, where we only provided the relish tray. I feel like such a grown-up!

Last night I finished the bezel around the faerie button for my Thanksgiving necklace (which will not be finished in time to wear tomorrow, I fear). Tonight during the game, I'll be bezeling the rivoli and maybe joining them and starting on the embellishing. I think it's going to be very cute. I love how the bezel frames the faerie image, so I'll probably do the same thing for the 5 other buttons.

So to all of my American readers, happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday Thirteen, Volume 2

Thirteen Things about AJ This week, it's Thirteen Things I Need or Want To Do Before I Host Thanksgiving For The First Time. 1. Actually finalize plans with my family, as to when they'll come over and who is making and providing what. 2. Buy the things that we are providing. 3. Seriously clean the house. While doing a basic cleaning yesterday, I noticed a lot of oft-ignored jobs that need doing. 4. Wash all the fancy plates. Some people have China. I have heavy pottery dishes with brown and glowing turquoise glaze. 5. Wash the new silverware. We got the style with bamboo-shaped handles. 6. Decide if I want any fancy platters or bowls to hold things in, and if so, purchase them. 7. Come up with an attractive way to cover the hole that one of the dogs chewed in the couch last night. Seriously dogs, we were gone for 15 minutes. What is up with destroying the couch? 8. Design and bead a new necklace to wear, because I haven't made anything for myself for a while! Maybe something involving one of the adorable vintage faerie buttons that arrived in yesterday's mail (goodness, I love Etsy), or a green rivoli. Or both! 9. Make sure that all holiday presents already procured for the family are safely hidden away in the guest room closet. 10. Give the dogs a bath, because no one is ever thankful for stinky, dusty dogs. 11. Figure out where we are going to put all of that food, and more importantly, how to keep the cats out of it. 12. Go buy more olives, because no matter how many we have, it's never enough for my husband and my brother, who will nosh on them constantly while the rest of the meal is cooking, and yet somehow still have room for a gigantic dinner. 13. Pre-write next week's T13 post, because I know I won't have time to blog!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



The Giving of the Thanks.

Ah, Thanksgiving. A day to spend with your loved ones, enjoying a feast, and thinking on what we're thankful for. For some it's also a day for football, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a family more apathetic about sports than mine. If the TV gets turned on at all today, it'll probably be to watch a DVD. Our holiday gatherings are small. Just my parents, my brother, Chris and myself.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. This month especially has been good to me: The Collaboration Exploration, the Art Bead Scene interview, the Anime NebrasKon auction. I feel like a lot of opportunities are opening up to me. In the meantime, Chris has taken his lay-off as a chance to pursue his dream of running a business with his best friend, and opportunities also abound for them. If there's one thing to be thankful for this year, that's it.

But there are lots of other little things to be thankful for! I found a great new finding supplier at the start of the year (thank you, Lois! I never would have checked them out without you!). Art Bead Scene has rekindled my love of designing with art beads, instead of hoarding them. Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure raised more money than ever this year. I read a lot of good books, played a lot of good games, and saw a lot of good movies. And there's still a little more than a month left in the year for further excitement. Best of all, I've been blessed with the good health to get out there and really enjoy my life.

I hope that this post finds all of you, whether you're reading it today, tomorrow, or sometime in the future, happy and blessed with a number of things to be thankful for.