Ok, first off I have to say, holy crap, was I really away for like, two years?! I really dropped off the face of the planet, there....

I haven't really been GONE gone... just lurking.  I've really had next to no time to do anything on here, or anywhere, since my hands have been so full all the time!  I've seen so many wonderful pieces of art go through my inbox and said to myself 'i'm going to go look at those today...' only to be stolen away from my keyboard a half minute later to keep the boy from doing his latest Evil Knievel impression.

Anyways, I'm trying to slowly get back into it.  Jewelry, and dA, and everything else! balancing baby life and personal life is very difficult! A lot harder than I remembered!! I'm still alive, still around, still taking custom orders, and slowly trying to get back into the business full swing.  

Here starts the TL;DR section, where I'm going to ramble on about things in my personal life for a while! You've been warned!

  I literally could not work on my wires while I was pregnant. I was so sick I carried around a bucket, everytime I left the house.  You know how tactical training involves locating exits?? well I was the expert on locating garbage cans.  I scared most of my co-workers off of having kids, and even met one of my managers with my head in a trash can!  It was quite a rough nine months.  And yeah, I'm totally serious.  I was sick the WHOLE NINE MONTHS.  

Whew.  I think I had some repressed something that needed venting about that damn bucket!

But getting back to work on my jewelry has been tough since then, and combine that with the fact that my main source of business income started ripping off my designs and selling her own right next to mine, passing her shoddy work off as my own? that was a rough birthday.  So I'm still recovering from that, haven't had the balls to go out and look for any more places to sell cause i'm really shy and feel so underprepared.  and pretty broke, with the new boy outgrowing all his clothes all the time!!

still don't have a social life since the bug was born, though. I'm slowly learning to not always put everything else before myself, and not feel guilty when i actually DO put myself first.  i'm really bad about feeling guilty about things. i manufacture it where it doesn't exist! cause my brain is silly like that.  But as I slowly figure it out, I'm realizing that hey, I actually  DO feel better when I worry about myself sometimes.  it's not ALWAYS about what others want or need.

I say all this, but I know in a few weeks (heck, days)  I'll probably start sliding back into the old habits. they are so hard to break.

In more recent news, my face hurts. TMI warning...  I had a wisdom tooth removed.... two weeks ago?? and have 'dry socket'.  not horrible, but it's definitely not a picnic.  mouth pain sucks. I had to go back to the dentist and have some clove packing stuffed in the hole... have just gotten to wash it all out, and hoping that it won't get infected before it heals up.  ugh.


I'm testing out some new photo styles, for my pendants, and hoping to have a chance to take some shots of me *wearing* some. but the latter may take quite a while.  it's an ordeal just taking out the tripod, let alone setting up (or figuring out!) a whole 'studio' area. little hands are quite good at getting places they shouldn't, especially when my camera is involved! my daughter is actually really good with the camera, though, and i hope she sticks with it.  Her brother needs a few more years first, though!

Anyhow, I think I've rambled long enough. I was supposed to be working on product verbage....