1st Round

So, here's the 1st design from all those stones. This is my favorite kind of bracelet to make - all sorts of colors and shapes mixed up together! Here's we have some fluorite, tagua nut, fresh water pearl, forged silver, stamped brass, and some quartz. Whew! That's a lot of elements!!
http://www.mjanedesigns.com/

What Will It Be

See all these beautiful blue, brown and silver beads? I bought these when I was in Santa Fe. How many months ago was that? They've been laying on my work table begging to become something lovely & I going to give them their wish. I haven't made any bracelets in a while, & that's what I had in mind when I selected these. I'll let you know what they become!
http://www.mjanedesigns.com/

You Are Enough

I'm going to start off by saying that I'm pretty whiny today. I have a little bit of a cold and my muscles ache and my head hurts. Also, just coming off of a stressful weekend full of company, activity and family drama. I'm sure this adds to my general feeling of exhaustion and strong desire to lay in bed with a box of cookies and watch reruns of The OC. But I'm trying to fight it and add something of value to the world, so here goes.

I drug myself out for a run yesterday and had a couple of Oprah ah-ha moments. The first was regarding company coming. I wonder why it is that many of us, myself included, feel the need to completely redo the outward appearance of our lives when company comes? I cleaned and organized and rearranged till midnight! Granted, it did look damn good when I was done. But what was so wrong with everything that I felt the need to change it? Answer? Nothing! My house is not perfect on a daily basis, but it does look OK.

I have 3 kids who are all home for summer vacation. There are toys in the family room. There is sand by the patio. If you look closely there is probably a Popsicle wrapper and a couple of cheerios under the couch. So what? Things are generally clean. The dishes are done and the counters are wiped everyday. Most of the clothes are washed and at least on their way to being hung up. It's all OK. The next time we have company, I'm going to try to resist the urge to think that I have to change to present the perfect image that is in my head. Let you know how that goes.

The other revelation of sorts is a little harder to completely wrap my head around. We've all heard the phrase "you are enough". I think yesterday it actually resonated and sunk into my consciousness a bit. As I was running (awkwardly & slowly btw) I thought, "why not me"? There is no magic that anyone else has that I do not posses within myself as well. The only thing that stands in my way is the limitations that I put on myself. This is true of running, true of work, true of relationships. It is true for all of us. Get out of your own way and see where you can go...
www.mjanedesigns.com

All This Beauty

Snapped this day lilly in the front garden this morning. I'm so thankful for the beauty that is all around us.
http://www.mjanedesigns.com/

A thought for the day

What is your hope?

"A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without vision is drudgery, a vision with a task is the hope of the world."
What is your hope for your world? Today is June 1st and it strikes me that 5 months of 2010 have already passed. Summer is just around the corner and before we know it the air will start to get cool again. Each and every day is such an opportunity to take a small step towards your dream life. The days sometimes seems long, but the years fly by. 1% improvement everyday is all it takes.

Is it really the end already??

Is it really the end of the school year already? Well, it is here in Colorado, although not for a few weeks in other parts of the country. How was it snowing 2 weeks ago and summer break now? Regardless of my questions, my kids are out of school for the next 12 weeks & we'll have to figure out a whole new set of routines. On one hand, it will be a joy to skip the morning rush to get them up, fed and off to school. Not to mention carpool. I'm also happy to have a break from nagging about homework and bedtimes. On the other (more experienced and cynical) hand, there will be sibling fighting, constant foot traffic in and out, much begging for sprinkers and lemonade stands, and little time for me to get any work done. On the 3rd hand (huh?), it's great to have everyone a little more relaxed and to see the kids become "rebonded" with each other after a long year of school. Little man is actually potty trained and much more self sufficient this summer. That will be a huge help!

I made jewelry for the kids' teacher gifts this year, as I have every school end for a while. I hear through the grapevine that the teachers are pretty excited at this prospect. My oldest has been at the school for 6 years - so there is a lot of my jewelry hanging around teacher's necks to compare. I also do a nice little business making teacher's gifts for other friends whose kids are at different schools. Everyone is always looking for something new to give on the last day of class. The necklace above is a new design this year and I'll have it up on the website soon. http://www.mjanedesigns.com/