It’s available on my website, along with all the relevant details – if you’re interested click on My Website on the right hand side……the link will take you straight there!  Hope you like it….

Footnote:-  Bracelet is now SOLD!

Lampwork Bead & Brass Bracelet

Lampwork Bead & Brass Bracelet

My teenage son has Tourette Syndrome.  Of course, we have known this for quite some years.  He hates it.  I hate it…..more so ‘cos he hates it.  If I could take it off him and carry the burden myself, I would do it in less than a heartbeat.  And it is a burden.  Can you even imagine how incredibly irritating and disturbing it must be to be shaking and twitching and flicking and clicking and snorting and sniffing and blinking rapidly and having to make all sorts of  facial, neck and limb movements all of the time?  Every waking moment.  No respite.  It only stops when he sleeps.

That has gotta SUCK – BIG TIME!!!!!!

I tried to imitate him once.  Just to try and walk in his shoes for a while and gain some understanding of what he was going through.  I shook my head. Twitched my eyebrows. Flicked my head. Blinked rapidly.  Wiggled my mouth.  Snorted.  Made faces. Tried to do all of this while watching TV and reading a book.  I lasted 12 minutes.  Longest 12 minutes of my life!  Had a splitting headache and a crook neck afterwards.  But my boy does this – all day, every day.  He even manages to play computer games, watch the telly AND read his books. How GOOD is HE!!!

But here’s one of the down sides of Tourettes.  People can be cruel.  Children and teenagers can be cruel.  Even their mums and dads can be cruel.  I gotta tell ya that  I expected a whole lot better than sarcastic remarks and horrible facial expressions from some of the adults in our community.  These people stare and point or nudge their companion and whisper and  make fun of someone else’s disability or disorder.  And when I see this happening or my son tells me that kids have been chucking off at him at school – it breaks my heart.

And then it makes me REAL MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I have to believe that, in general, most people are not horrible, nasty to the core, goblins and instead are just ignorant and uneducated about Tourette Syndrome.

So, I’ve put pen to paper in the hope that every person that happens to read this will find the motivation to become educated -  along with their wives, husbands, partners, their children, their neighbours, their friends, their school-mates, their work colleagues – about Tourette  Syndrome.   The people who suffer from this disorder are NOT mentally handicapped and while some may learn to suppress the symptoms for a short period, they’re certainly NOT able to stop it from happening indefinitely!

I ask, plead, beg – whatever – you to become more informed about Tourette Syndrome.   Make my son’s life a little easier by telling your kids or students (if you’re a teacher) that he’s not a “retard” and that it’s totally unacceptable to call him one!  My son looks “different” and that makes him a target for all sorts of nasty school yard pranksters.  I know it upsets him. It upsets me enough.

Will you pass this on?

I hope so.

Sandy

For more information on Tourette Syndrome, copy and paste this link into your browser…..

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tourette/detail_tourette.htm

You know…”THAT” time of year?   When the world runs out of flowers and chocolates and wimpy, slobbery, gushy cards with big, red love hearts all over them……Yep – more commonly known as Valentines Day – the day for lovers.

So what’s expected of you guys on the most romantic day of the year?

Roses – preferably red and the bigger the bunch means the more you adore your sweetheart…..apparently.  (Hmmm – so I’m guessing that the yellow weeds that my son pulls from the garden don’t count, huh?  But I love yellow…and they’re the only flowers I ever get).

Chocolates – the most humungous box of which your loved one will scoff and then have to spend the next year hitting the gym trying to take all that extra weight off.  And don’t you dare mention the slightest weight gain either – or you will be TOAST!  Me personally – I loooove Ferrero Rochers……closely followed by Pineapple Lumps (but that’s just me…lol)

Poetry – even the most blokey of blokes are expected to become poetic geniuses on this day.  And if you don’t know where to start – Google it!  And don’t you DARE start your gushy glibness with “Roses are red,  Violets are blue”!!  No points at all for that effort!

Dinner – at an expensive restaurant, complete with candles and lobster.  McDonald’s doesn’t count.  Neither does Subway, KFC, Wok Me Noodles or any other such establishment that does not require you to a).  wear footwear other than thongs or b). get out of the car to eat!

And don’t forget the massage, candles, satin sheets, yada, yada, yada……yeah, yeah we get the message…..lol….

Bleh. Meh. Whateva.  Never could get into Valentine’s Day.

Now ME – I just LOVE a man who knows how to wield  a mop and a broom!!  And that’s about as romantic as it gets!!!  Ha ha 

Hope you have a good one!  Till next time…..

Anne's Bracelet

pics of a bracelet that I’ve just finished for one of my customers. It’s solid brass – hand cut, formed, hammered & polished to a beautiful shine. No beadies in this one – just metal. I’m sure my customer will love it – and if by some small chance she does not, then I might just have to wear it myself….lol.

UPDATE TO POST:-  Customer just LOVED her bracelet!!  Yay!  I loved it too – might just have to make one for me…..lol

It’s almost the end of 2011.

I’m sure I won’t be alone in wondering where on earth the last 12 months went…hmmm?  Under the bed?  Swept away with the spiders?  In the broom cupboard?  It’s all just a blur really and what did I achieve this year, I ask myself?

Big Fat Diddly Squat!  That’s what!  In Aussie language (in case you’re not familiar with our sometimes strange way of expressing ourselves here in the land downunder) that means very little, almost nothing – at least nothing worth putting up in neon lights proclaiming to the world how jolly good you are.

And it’s been almost a whole year since I wrote this post   What’s In A Resolution??  – which you can read here – if you’re the slightest bit interested of course…lol.  So I thought I would re-visit the “non-resolutions” list I “didn’t” make just for fun to see how many things I managed to “not” do during the year – ha ha!   Here they are:-

1. Lose 15 kilos (ok, I weighed myself again and discovered 10 kilos was a little on the low side…lol) – preferably before I am 60 and my cholesterol reaches 9.3.  Start Date – NOT the 1st January, 2011!!

Oh dear…..this can only be described as a MEGA FAIL!!!!!!  Not only did I NOT lose 15 kilos…..I think I managed to add a few to the total excess pounds of flesh that I actually need to lose.  I take small comfort in knowing that I am not alone in my quest.  (Somehow…that does not make me feel a whole lot better).  Although on a positive note:-  I DID manage to reduce my cholesterol by a full 10%!!

2. Plan more enticing and exciting ways to serve salad. Note to self: canned vegetables are not considered useful in aiding weight loss due to their high levels of sugar…even though they taste nice!  I intend to be able to do 12 different things with lettuce by 28th March, 2011.

Ok – this wasn’t a total failure.  I managed to do salads a couple of different ways  AND without canned vegetables all the time.  And let’s face it – who on this earth can do 12 different things with lettuce anyway??? HUH??

3. Attempt to eat lettuce.  Without vomiting.  By the 28th March, 2011.  (Not sure how I’ll go with this one peeps!!  I absolutely loathe and detest lettuce!!!!!  Sorry to all the Lactuca sativa lovers out there!).

Woohoo!! MEGA SUCCESS!!!  I now eat lettuce!!!  Wasn’t quite by the 28th March though – more like 12th July when I was flying home from Alice Springs on Qantas and they served this totally yummy chicken & pesto sandwich for lunch that had all this lettuce chopped through it.  Well I couldn’t take the green leafy stuff  out without destroying the sanga (sandwich) and I was starving so I had to eat it.  Surprisingly….I didn’t drop dead and I now eat small portions of lettuce on my sandwiches and even sometimes in a salad (only very small portions though lol)

4. Get a new hairstyle.  Oh no – wait!!  I did that last year!  Cross that one off…..he he.

Meh.  Been there done that.  Do slight variations on usual hairstyle count?  Oh no – wait!  I did change it a bit – I used to only curl one side under like a bob but now I curl both sides….when I can be bothered to curl at all, that is.

5. Sell more beads.  Well I can’t buy my own, now can I????  So that resolution will be up to you guys!  Now don’t make me beg!  Start date: Tomorrow!!

Oh No!  Another Mega Fail!!  My fault – I  was really slack at updating my website and stores…..I’m such a norty girl and I’m gonna make sure I stick with this “non-resolution” this year.  I will!  I promise!  Otherwise I will have to put “non-resolution” number 6 into practice……

6. If I can’t sell more beads – get a real job!  By 20th December 2015…..Yes – I AM being realistic here!

I don’t have to answer this one ‘cos it isn’t 20th December 2015…so there!

7. No more white Tim Tams!  I promise by 31st October, 2011 – no more!  Of course, in the meantime, I may eat as many as can be stuffed  in my mouth in the one sitting…… (NOT THAT I WOULD – OK!!!!!)

MEGA SUCCESS!!!  I have now beaten my addiction to white Tim Tams!  Unfortunately I have replaced it with an addiction to Pineapple Lumps.  (Ok…so I’m not perfect and I don’t drink, smoke or gamble – so there…again!)

8. Ok, Ok – I will start exercising!  In June, 2011.  It’s nice and cool then.  And I will exercise in July and August as well – because it’s cool then too.  Then I will stop my exercise routine in preparation for the hot weather which will last from September right through until May the following year.  See – I have a plan and I am organised!!

Nuh!  Awesome MEGA FAIL!!!  Didn’t even exercise in June.  Well, this one was always gonna be touch and go – I don’t even need an excuse not to exercise…. Although  I did walk part of the way around Ayers Rock (Uluru) and did the short walk through The Olgas – so I did actually exercise (a bit) in July.  I thought about exercising….does that count???

9. I don’t like crossword puzzles – can I do Sudoku instead??  I will do at least one per day.  Start date:  That’ll be now  ‘cos I already do that!  he he

MEGA SUCCESS!!  Not only do I do one Sudoku – I do several!!!!  I love Sudoku!

10. I will learn to meditate.  Starting from next week.

Ummm -sorry.  I completely forgot about this one, so I guess that’s a FAIL.

11. I will “encourage” my son to wash up every second night (at least!).  This will leave me more time to meditate in the lounge chair in front of the telly.  Starting from next week too.

Well….man-child does wash up.  Not every second night, but a couple of times a week -  a huge improvement on his previous washing up endeavours which he used to do – oh I don’t know, like – NEVER!  That leaves me with ” Meditating in front of the telly” – FAIL!  Reason – read the answer to “Non-resolution” number 10……lol.   So this one was a Part Fail although I prefer to be positive and think of it as Part Success!!  (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

12. I will try a different brand of tea other than Bushells. Nothing fancy though.  And definitely not one of those chamomile and pansy petal blendy things that smells like crushed dandelions and parrot droppings!  (Please don’t take offense if you happen to like this sort of fancy tea!).  Start date -  April 1st, 2011.

MEGA FAIL!!  Let’s face it – when you have the best why bother trying anything else.  And I was fooling anyway (look at the date….lol).

13. De-clutter.  Or finish de-cluttering, should I say.  Start date:  Ummmm – I’ll have to get back to you on that!

MEGA – sort of – Success!!!  Well, I did de-clutter.  To an extent.  Well, I didn’t NOT do it.  I did throw out a pile of stuff in my shed, to make room for more stuff from the house.  Then hubby went and filled MY shed up with stuff from HIS shed (and yes we do have his and hers matching sheds….sort of).  Funny thing about cleaning up – somehow it all manages to become messed up all over again.  Anyway – I have determined that the only way to successfully de-clutter is to NOT buy anything else to put in the spot vacated by the original clutter. A feat I have not yet mastered……

Sooooo – how did I do?  5 x Fails. 3 x Successes.   4 x could go either way  and  1 x I didn’t have to answer yet ‘cos it’s not 2015.  All up not too bad, I thought – could have been worse.  Anyway, I don’t have to do another list ‘cos I’ve obviously got work to do on the last one! LOL

How did you score on your resolutions this last year?

Gotta go help the boys unpack from their camping trip.  Have fun for the last couple of days left in 2011.  See you in 2012!

Cheers for now…..

Sandy

Poor baby.

He’ll get over it.  (Not sure his mother will…he he).  His host Mum sounds wonderful and will take really good care of him. And he will be kept soooo busy that I will be surprised if he has any energy left to feel anything but exhausted at the end of each day!  Anyway, will keep you posted on news from Japan.  I think his school group was going to the Big Buddha today……among other things.

Other news is the Annual Jewellery Party that was held just over a week ago.  Thought I would let you know that it went really well!  Thanks to everyone that came and made it so memorable – I hope you all enjoyed yourselves.  I shifted most of the furniture out of my open plan lounge/dining area and my little house was transformed into a makeshift “gallery” of sorts.  Mum & I worked hard to put all of our boards up on various walls and windows and arrange gazillions of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, bookmarks, keyrings, blah, blah, etc, etc and I think it all looked pretty good.  I should have taken pics but in the rush/hurry to try and get everything done before the “Grand Opening”  I completely forgot to check that my camera batteries had charge – consequently a big fat red flashy thingy showed up on my camera screen mocking me with words to this effect…..”IDIOT – YOUR BATTERIES ARE FLAT”.  Never mind – next time…..you’ll just have to take my word for it that it looked pretty good.

Well we sold a fair bit – had heaps of bargains.  But having said that we had an awful lot of stock (and we were worried that we might not have enough stuff!!  HAH!) and still had lots left over…….so now it has to be photographed and put on the Website, Etsy & Artfire.  I will let you know when the listings start……just in case you want to have a little lookie.

Time to push off.  Hope you all are having an awesome day wherever you may be!

Cheers ’til next time…..

Sandy

Well….we get to hang out AFTER he gets back from Japan, that is.  Did I mention that he’s going to Japan soon with the school…. for 20 days?

Without me?

Or his father?

Overseas!!!!!  A world traveller at 15!  I still haven’t been overseas…….   No fair!  He will have a brilliant time – and I can’t wait ’til he’s safely home…….he he.

Now back to the jewellery party……My mum and I make lots of jewellery and have a big party at the end of the year.  I’ve handed out heaps of invitations and hope to get a good turnout – never can tell how these things are gonna work out until the day dawns.  I’m just struggling a little to get everything finished on my list – had a few little hiccups but everything will work out on the day I’m sure (fingers crossed!)  I’ve been keeping things under wraps so we have some exclusive goodies for the party goers and I  haven’t updated my website for a little while but that will change when the party is over because I will start photographing and listing what’s left.  IF there’s anything left!!  Now that’s positive thinking for ya! LOL

Best get back to work……so many ideas to work with – it’s wonderful to have the creative juices flowing again!  Looking forward to getting back on my torch and melting some glass……next month!!  Hope you’re all having a good one!

Cheers for now…..Sandy

A great big, awesome GIRL’S  SHED!

Yeah!  Somewhere I can put all my precious lovelies and not trip over them on the floor.  I would have loads of cupboards.  Floor to ceiling.  A great big workbench for my torch.  And my workbench would be high enough for my oxycon to fit underneath.  Along with my gas bottle and my stash of recycled bottles that I’m gonna smash up…..one day (probably around 2043, at the rate I’m going with my “gonna do that one day” projects…lol) and the big box of my paper, plastic, organza and all sorts of other bags, jewellery stands,  photo props, boxes of spare business cards (that I splurge on whenever Vistaprint has a “freebie” sale), cardboard, tags etc etc.  And that’s just the stuff UNDER the table!

I would need a whole cupboard just for my sterling and gold filled stuff.  Three cupboards for the recycled bubble wrap – no make that 4 cupboards, ‘cos that stuff breeds baby bubbles when you leave it alone!  (I always have more of it than I remember last time I looked….lol).  Six cupboards for my jewellery and metal smithing tools.  Nine cupboards for my own lampwork beads that need photographing and uploading.  Sixteen cupboards for other  beads and findings.  And twenty-two cupboards for my glass rods and lampworking stuff.  Whew!  That’s gonna be SOME shed!  Probably bigger than my house….

*Sigh*

Guess I will just dream on then, shall I??

Hubby tells me I just need less stuff…..

Yeah RIGHT!!!  I don’t think so!!

Must put pen to paper and fill you all in on our Epic Outback Adventure aka Simpson Desert Trip.  Sorry to be so slack….. have had a whole lot going on here!  Hope you are having a good one, whatever you’re up to!

Cheers

Sandy

Oh boy!  I’ve just realised how long it has been since I have popped on here to pen my thoughts!  Wayyyy too long.  And I’ve got a whole pile of news to tell too!  Been to the Simpson Desert and the middle of Australia and back – and got the photographic evidence to prove it!

Alas…..the tale of my adventures will just have to wait to be told, I’m afraid.  Got stuff to do…things that just won’t wait. In the meantime……..me and left-brain got work to do!

Hope to be back soon…….real soon….

Clutterer.

That’s me.  Although not to the extent that you would call it a “disorder” or “syndrome” ….. as such.  Well my poor long suffering hubby might disagree slightly with that statement!

Well, I’m happy to throw stuff out…..eventually.  Like after about 20 years…..or so. (She says sheepishly)

But, believe it or not – I hate my own clutter.  It’s like self-loathing.  I’ve already done two sweeps of my house to de-clutter it – and it’s still bursting at the seams!  I seriously do NOT know where I managed to stash the stuff that I got rid of during those de-clutter sessions.  And I don’t recall replacing it with other stuff either!

I have numerous clean-outs/ups etc and each time I have one, I find new places to put things.  And then I can’t find them!  So I can feel the need for Sweep Number Three coming on!

And to help me (and all you other Closet Clutterers out there bemoaning the fact that you never have enough storage space…yes, you know who you are…),  I found this wonderful little gem on the inter-web-net-thingy……

Nine Quick Tips to Identify Clutter

‘How many things are there which I do not want.’ ~Socrates

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project.

Lately, I’ve been on a clutter-clearing frenzy. For me, as for most people, outer order contributes to inner calm, and sweeping away a bunch of unloved, unused stuff has given me a huge happiness boost.

As I sifted through our possessions, I identified nine questions to ask myself when I was confronted with a questionable object. This list helped me decide what to keep and what to toss, recycle, or give away.

1. Does this thing work? I was surprised by how hard it was to admit that something was broken and couldn’t be fixed—say, our dud toaster or my daughter’s frog clock. Why was I hanging on to these things?
2. Would I replace it if it were broken or lost? If not, I must not really need it.
3. Does it seem potentially useful—but never actually gets used? Something like an oversized water-bottle, a corkscrew with an exotic mechanism, or a tiny vase. Or duplicates. How many spare glass jars did I need to keep on hand?
4. Was I “saving” it? Leaving bath gel in the tube, or hoarding my favorite stationery in a desk drawer, was as wasteful as never using these things. Spend out!
5. Does it serve its purpose well? For example, we have a lot of “cute” kitchen objects that don’t really work.
6. Has it been replaced by a better model? Inexplicably, I’m in the habit of keeping a broken or outmoded version of tech gadgets, even after they’ve been replaced. Pointless.
7. Is it nicely put away in an out-of-the-way place? One of my Secrets of Adulthood is: Just because things are nicely organized doesn’t mean they’re not clutter. No matter how tidily a thing is stored, if I never use it, why keep it?
8. Does this memento actually prompt any memories? Sometimes I automatically keep things that fall into the category of “mementos,” assuming that they’d set off some sort of response, but they don’t. The attendance trophy from my daughter’s pre-school sports class—out.
9. Have I ever used this thing? I was absolutely shocked to find, when I started looking, how many things we owned that we had never once used. Many were gifts, true, but I promised myself we’d either put these things into use within a few weeks or give them away.

Please note:- These are not my words (although I would have been very pleased with myself had I thought of them!) and this is the website I got them from.  Some cool words of wisdom and I hope you enjoy reading his blogs!  Just copy and paste into your browser…..(Sorry, I haven’t worked out how to make a proper link yet, so if you know how – I’d be much obliged if you would tell me….)

http://zenhabits.net/identify-clutter/

And with that – I will leave blogland and go do something constructive…..like de-clutter my house……

Have a happy day!