New Beads on Etsy

Another Finished Work

I am enjoying getting these photos from Lesley of YaYa Beads, so much! This lovely necklace was created by Dorothy Crawford, of Georgia. It features one of my most favorite Tiger beads, and I think she did a fantastic job showing it off. A great mix of Swarovski crystals, tons of copper, lots of Czech glass, and some very pretty gemstones. I love it! Thanks Lesley and Dorothy!

My New Favorite Bag

There are just some things you can't ever have enough of. Obviously, beads are at the top of that list... but also, for me, are books, shoes and... bags.

And *this* is a cool bag. My friend Kristin posted a picture of it on her facebook page, and I had to have it.

I believe this is the first of it's kind, though she says there are more coming. She has them made for her in Bali. It's an original process of smoking the pattern on to the bag - I guess it takes a lot of time. But it's worth it, because it's gorgeous. Don't you think?

Still Researching.... another health post.

This is me: I don't want no stinkin' bandaid. I want it healed up and fixed for good.

This is also me: I don't want to go gluten free.

And this is also me: Life isn't fair.

Stubborn, it's true, should have been my middle name. Just ask my mother. Or my husband. But it's not a bad thing, necessarily. It's what keeps me going and searching and learning. Right?

It's what keeps me going back to here: it's not the thyroid, it's the immune system. I know this for a fact. It's how I got out of Grave's Disease the first time around. It's how I was in remission for awhile. It's how I'm going to get out of this Hashimotos mess too. Even if it kills me.

Because that's what it feels like to think about going gluten free. Over my dead body. Same thing with coffee and dairy. I don't wanna. If that sounds like a temper tantrum, it's because it is. I don't wanna.

But if you read the book "Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?" by Dr. Datis Kharrazian, you might just wanna. It's the first book I've read that really goes in depth into what is going on with the immune system. How the immune system is attacking the thyroid. What you can do about it. How it is all a big jumble of connections between blood sugar and adrenals and gut health and all the other hormones in your body. And what you can do about it. If you wanna.

Reading this book is kind of alarming. Even if you are not normally a hypochondriac, it might just get your stress hormones all in a tither. It does mine. Blood sugar! Oh no! Leaky gut! Oh no! Gluten so similar to TPO binding hormone, oh NO!

But, there is also a lot of fascinating information in there, much of it goes against the grain of traditional thyroid disease treatment. Things you may want to try. Or not. Like that gluten thing. I'm not. I did it before without going gluten free, I can do it again. Unless it starts to kill me, I guess then I might just be stubborn enough to try it.

Tales from Africa

Sarah Hickey Jewellery of Etsy included my bead in her African themed treasury. It's beautiful, and so are Sarah's earrings - you should check them out if you like big dangley earrings!

Farmer Pam

So... I must be feeling better! I got my garden in, lots of hauling bags of dirt and compost and stuff, but the hard part is done - now all I have to do it watch it grow, right? This year: lots of strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, cukes, zucchini, basil, lettuce, spinach, green beans, purple carrots, a row of corn for Luke, and an artichoke. Still to go... mini watermelon, cantaloup, pumpkins. Except, I'm all out of room... and I'm really tired!

A Blue Tiger Necklace

Mary Dell is at it again! Remember the topaz tiger necklace from last week or so? Well, here is the blue one. Lesley of YaYa Beads tells me that she hosts a "Just Bead it" day in her shop on Wednesdays, where customers shop around for just the perfect beads and findings to make their designs work, and Mary Dell was in there working on this piece. I LOVE it - it's perfect, don't you think? Thanks for sharing, Lesley and Mary Dell!

Stopping the Madness

Another health post. This one is for all of the women (and men, though there are fewer of them for some reason) with thyroid disease who have been trying and trying to feel better on the synthetic T4 (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, etc.) but just don't ever quite get there.

Stop the Thyroid Madness: This website and book is based on the observations, experiences and research of many people who have found that natural desiccated thyroid hormones works better for them than the synthetic hormones. They also talk a lot about adrenal issues and iron deficiency; two big issues that can make or break thyroid treatment success.

The website has just about all the information you need, and the blog is current with real issues and up to the minute discoveries.

The book is good though, if you want information at your fingertips, or if you want to take it with you to the doctors office to make your case. It lists all the tests really necessary for proper treatment, all the fillers in each of the different brands of thyroid hormone, which is really important when your body views just about everything your put into it as a potential threat, and information on finding a good doctor who will really help you to get better.



All that said, it's really too early to say if natural thyroid hormone is helping me. Or, maybe it's not. My eyes feel so much better now that I'm not taking a drug with fillers I'm allergic to, so yes, that's huge. And my eyebrows are growing back in... that's great news too, right? And I'm sleeping better than I have in YEARS... which is also huge. I get thirsty and hungry, which I hadn't realized I wasn't feeling before... which makes me feel like my body is trying to LIVE again, instead of trying to die, which is also HUGE. So, I guess it's working. It's a start anyway.

Etching Uglies

Luke stayed home sick from school today and he helped me go through my ugly box to see if there were any beads to salvage with etching. We found a few, even some that made me wonder why I put them in the ugly box in the first place. The ugliest one (in my opinion) was certainly made nicer, so much so that Luke asked me if he could keep it. I think he was just enchanted with the transformation. Of course I let him keep it. Etching does sometimes change the personality of a bead, not always for the better, but often enough. So far, I've only ruined a couple of beads that were nicer before etching, and have only had a few that were still too ugly for words after etching.

Here are some of the ones we saved today:

Dazzling

On the health front.... I'm feeling a little better and a little better and a little better each day... and I even made a few beads yesterday for the first time in a long time.

So what have I been doing with myself if I haven't been working/playing? I have been doing research. SO much research... and I've run into a few things that could possibly help a lot of people, so I wanted to share. Today's item is a book.

This is a book that is for anyone who just feels like something isn't right. Perhaps you've been to the doctor and they say you are fine. Maybe you should just drink more water. Get more rest. Have you ever heard that? I heard that for years. I heard that throughout my pregnancy with my son and look what happened, he was born 2 months early, and still, they couldn't figure out why. In my experience, doctors don't know what the heck is going on with a body until it's a crises or an emergency. Anyway...

This book not only helps you to figure out what might be going on, it gives you some tools to help convince your doctor to test and treat you correctly. There are also lots of do-it-yourself supplements and tests and I found it very interesting and helpful. Don't let the title put you off. Luke was reading over my shoulder and he said to me: "I feel Fuzzy". I answered: "You look fuzzy too." He looks at the book some more and then says, "But I Dazzle, not Frazzle."

Here's to Dazzling:

Tiger Love!

You know I love to find out what happens to all my beadie babies once they go out into the world, right? Most of the time... I never find out. But! Sometimes I do and it makes my day.

And today is one of those days! Mary Dell Telander bought one of my very fist tiger beads from Lesley at YaYa Beads in Augusta, Georgia. Actually, I hear she bought two of them and there is another necklace coming! Anyway... this is the topaz tiger bead, made into a beautiful long necklace with... what, is that tiger's eye? And copper and oh, I have no idea, but a great selection of stones from cream to caramel to chocolate - perfect! Thanks for sharing, Lesley and Mary Dell!

This Pesky Thyroid Business

A girl can only stay in denial so long... at least, that's true if the old "fake it 'til you make it" deal isn't working.

So yeah. I am sick. Again and still. It gets better and worse, of course, and when it's better, I try to pretend I'm just perfectly fine. And I try to catch up on all the things I sit around wishing I could do during the times when I can't move much. It lasts for a little while and then... I crash.

I've crashed. Hard this time.

If you've been around here long, you know it's thyroid disease I'm talking about. Specifically, autoimmune Hashimoto's, which is the hypo kind - the slow kind. The cold and brain foggy kind. The fat kind. I had the other one too, Graves', I'd take that over this any day... sort of. At least I was hyper and skinny and got lots done. That one's good until you worry about your heart and your eyes start popping out. And you get kind of shaky like a drug addict. It's not pretty either. They both really suck.

Anyway... it seems like I crash every spring. Maybe it's all those pretty flowers out there spewing pollen everywhere. Maybe it's all those months of rain and no sun catching up with me. Maybe it's that last flu/cold virus that goes around right before Summer comes and clears out all the germs... I don't know, but there's a pattern. My body gets heavy and it's hard to move. Hard to think. Hard to live. And I'm sick of it.

So yes, of course, I've dragged myself back to the doctor for a full run of tests. What to do? What to try? What else to look at? It seems that, really, there is a lot of new info these days, after all. So I'm trying new things. Terms like "Hypothyroidism Type 2" and "Adrenal Fatigue" and "natural desiccated thyroid" and the discovery that the medicine I've been taking for more than a year contains a filler that I'm allergic too (which pisses me off, seriously, as it's caused my antibodies to skyrocket, stupid stupid stupid medicine, but explains a lot) - all give me hope that there are answers and solutions, some information to work with. Some new things to try. Some old things to toss in the garbage.

But still. It's autoimmune. There is no cure. No one knows why. It's not a matter of "here, take this little pill for the rest of your life and you'll be fine." - they say that... but it's not true.

I read an article this morning by a woman with Lupus, another autoimmune disorder. She explained the struggle of living with a chronic condition in such a brilliant way: The Spoon Theory. Yes, it's like that. Exactly like that. Right now I have very little spoons. I am hopeful that I'll have more, and soon.

Just thought I'd share. I've crashed, yes, but I'm picking myself back up. I'll be around again in a little while... one way or another.

A Whole Litter of Kittens

No, not really, but wouldn't that be fun? What I really have is 13 wild tiger beads, all listed on Etsy. Here are a couple of them - check out the store to see the rest! Thanks for looking. xoxo

Wearing the Photographer Hat

It's true, I love taking pictures. Of flowers, and water, and mountains, and my cat, the dog... anything colorful, yes. And I especially love taking pictures of my kid. But taking pictures of beads? Well, I can only think of one thing that is worse - taking pictures of finished jewelry. Seriously. It's not that fun. Sitting there, bead after bead, getting a crick in your neck, hoping that they are going to turn out and you don't have to do them again. Trying to get the light right, trying to avoid the glare. Getting just the right angle... stretching out your neck so it doesn't stick crooked. Trying to make sure there are no fingerprints. No cat hairs. No dust. You know the drill.

Well, several weeks ago I broke down and bought an EZcube kit. Yes, it's very expensive. It took me seven years to get around to caving to this want, to decide it was really a need. Seven years of trying to make my Tupperware box studio work. And then? I let it sit in a box for a month! I know, I know, crazy. It's not that it's hard to set up - it's Very Easy (or Very EZ), in fact. Part of it was I had nothing to photograph, and part of it was, it's very expensive, and what if my pictures were no better than before? What if it wasn't the miracle I was looking for?

So...today was the day, for some reason, I was ready to test it all out. Here it is - isn't it overkill? Apparently the smaller cube is on back order... so I set up the monster one. Look at how little my big bead looks!



And here are two photos of my latest bead. One with the gradient background setup and one with the black.





The glare is gone, yes. I'm happy about that for sure. But. They are still missing something. The magic. Where is the magic? I hold my bead, and it's there. I look at the picture, it's missing. Am I asking too much? Perhaps it's a lesson in letting go of the inner perfectionist? I don't know. I *think* it's possible, because I see other bead artists with magical photos. But maybe their beads are even MORE magical than the photos, maybe they are still wishing for more too? Maybe.

I'm going to figure it out though. Because it's not the day to tell that inner perfectionist to take a hike - she's been with me way too long to just walk away now. She's never given up without a fight before, so there's my hope. I'll find the magic one of these days. You'll know when I do, too!

The Good Stuff

OK, OK, I can do good stuff too.

First of all, there is this "April" Treasury that Patty Lakinsmith put together - she included my bird egg necklace. April is one of my favorite months, probably because it's my birthday month, and this treasury really does make you *feel* April, doesn't it? See, that's a good thing.

Visit Patty's Store to see her great beads, if you like my beads, you'll love hers! And don't miss her "Meanie" series - those things are so cool!



What else? I have a ton of good stuff about my kiddo. You should see what a great reader he's turned into! All that hard work, and now he's just zipping through chapter books, reading some of the good parts out loud to me because he thinks I'll like the good parts too... and planning what he's going to read when he's done with the series he's on now. And you should see him crack the ball in baseball! Batting lessons are paying off. And you should hear him play the recorder! The kid can read music and really has an ear for which note is which. He did NOT get that from me! And... yeah, I could go on for ever about him, but I won't, because I'm sure you don't want to hear me braggin' on my kid for an hour.

Let's see, about the garden, you know, the weed jungle out there... well there are also tulips popping up in places I didn't plant them. I like that. And my Madrona tree is almost as tall as my house now, I bet she gets there this summer. I love that tree. And the magnolia tree has put on the best show this year, and now is sprouting leaves. And the rhodies are about to explode too. All kinds of good stuff out there beside weeds, it's true.

The diet thing. Eh. What can I say about gaining weight? Not much. But I don't really think it's the diet, because Frank and Luke both seem to be slimming down since I've been doubling up on the veggies and backing off on the starches. And I've been learning some tricks to make the veggies taste better, so people are actually eating them instead of pushing them around on their plates. So that's a good thing.

The technology bit? I love my iphone. That thing is the best thing since sliced bread. And my computer works great as long as all Apple programs are deleted... a working-great computer is nothing to sneeze at, right? I'm thinking of giving this one to Frank, and buying myself a mac book. That would be a Very Good Thing, don't you think?

Oh and speaking of buying things, I love my new Italian espresso maker! That thing makes the smoothest, yummiest coffee ever. And my new shoes, even though they are not flip flops, they are making my feet happy. And the new bag I got to go with them - love! (It's my birthday month, didn't I just tell you that? I go a little crazy spending in April. I'm not going to feel bad about it either, so there.)

Ok, that's enough good for now, I don't want go all Pollyanna on you or anything... besides, I need to go try to find that Muse of mine. She needs to get to work so I can start saving up for that new computer.

In Case You Were Wondering

I haven't been around because I don't have anything good to share. Everything right now is a big fat fail. For example:

My beads are not going into space. Space Bead Fail.

My muse has deserted me and there are no new beads to show off. Creativity Fail.

My bead sent to Germany never arrived. Mail Service Fail.

My first ever non-payment sale happened. Etsy Buyer Fail.

My computer and iTunes hate each other. Technology Fail.

Every time I put on flip flops, it gets cold again. Weather Fail.

The weeds are choking out my flowers, and the moss is taking over. Gardening Fail.

I started my first ever diet and get this, gained weight. Body Image Fail.

I colored my hair to hide the gray and the gray is still there. Hair Dye Fail.

My *oh so new and exciting* retail display is spread all over my house and should have been done two weeks ago. House Cleaning Fail, but also Big Time Procrastination Success. Oh wait, that means FAIL too.

So, as you can see... it's probably better off that I stay away from blogger until things improve... because who wants to read about these kinds of things? Which means I can add another: Blog Post Fail.

Beads in Space!

I'm so excited about this! How cool would it be to get your beads out into space and back? And even cooler for the lucky kids who get one of these special beads that they can say went to space? Of course I'm talking about Beads of Courage - the program that rewards kids with special beads for things like going through tough cancer treatments and procedures and the like.



So here's the deal: Beads in Space in case you also make beads and want to get in on it. The deadline is SOON, so check it out right away.

I'm heading out to the studio now to try and make some Keith Graves inspired alien pet beads. I think I'm going to have fun with eyeballs. Wish me luck!

Size Matters

I've been getting a lot of "Wow, that's a BIG bead!" and "Whoa, that is HUGE!", and "Holy Moley, Girl, how much glass is in this thing?" and not enough, "Oh, how beautiful!" lately. I think I've been handed a sign, what do you think? I love making them big... though they have been getting bigger and bigger on me, and I realize, not everyone wants a big honkin' paperweight to wear around their neck. So, I've decided to try to work a little smaller. Sometimes. Not as a rule, but as an option.

This morning I was cleaning my new "little" beads, and Luke came up to see what I had going on.. and he was all excited: "Hey Mom! Your bead had babies!!!", And he went and got one of my big beads and brought it back to show me. He said he really liked these sizes, they were more "portable". Isn't that funny? Portable. I love his vocabulary. He also said he didn't love the rounder fat one as much as the thinner squished one. (One is made with a Zoozi press and one with a masher). I have to agree. He has good taste.

Here you can see what I'm talking about, with a quarter even for reference. How clever! Yes, they are still big, but not BIG. What do you think - are they more "portable"?

Photo Friday: Children

This week's Photo Friday is Children and for once I have the perfect shot for it. I love this, cheesy as it is. Done with one of my iphone apps.

For a Good Cause

The Historic Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle is putting on another one of their great silent auctions and art shows to benefit the Haas Foundation. If you are in the area, you should RSVP - it's a nice night out and lots of great items to bid on.



This year I'm donating three pendant necklaces: