Archive for May, 2007

Someone on a forum I’m on asked what our favorite passages of scripture are. I have a few that have meant a lot to me lately, so I thought I’d share here too.

This has been a favorite since the Lord showed me in a mighty way a few years ago how full and unconditional His love really is. I wrote a song based on this passage.

This one is special to me just because of what I’ve been going through in life right now. It helps me to remember where my strength comes from and that even all of this stuff is not going right, YET I am to rejoice in him.

Of course, I already blogged on this one here. But it’s still a favorite, because I’m still living it!

And finally…

… because I know I won’t be in this tough place forever.

So do you have favorites? What are they and why?

So tonight the man went to a co-worker’s birthday bash and I decided to stay home and nurse my sore throat/achy body. I also took the opportunity to learn a new jewelry skill! The art of chain maille is ancient and frustrating beautiful. It’s done by weaving little bitty rings together in a certain pattern. There are as many patterns to choose from as there are stars in the sky. Ok, so maybe not THAT many… but more than I could ever learn.

I decided to try one out. Of course, anytime I try something new with wire, I have to try it on my copper wire first because the sterling is so much more expensive. If I mess up with the copper, it’s no big deal. If I mess up with the sterling, that kinda hurts! (Of course, messing up with the copper tonight hurt too, since I sliced my finger open… but that’s neither here nor there.)

So here it is… a pair of earrings with a mother of pearl focal hanging from a chain maille weave. (Click for slightly larger photos.) I’m not entirely happy with it and might later on destroy it and use the mother of pearl pieces for something I like better. But for now, I’m happy and proud because I learned something new and (said in as corny a voice as I can muster) I’ve got maille!

Once upon a time a fellow blogger and I (you KNOW who you are… *giggle*) talked about starting a new blog where we’d choose products to review and then blog about them. Somehow that never happened (yet! Are you still with me??) but once in a while I come across something I love love love and feel the need to share that love love love with you you you. (Wow, that was annoying. Sorry, sometimes I just can’t help myself.)

A few weeks ago, mom and I were at World Market and I picked up a tin of some tea made by The Republic of Tea. I have tried a few of their flavors already and liked them, but this one jumped out at me particularly because of what it supports.

The Republic of Tea donates a portion of profits to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for every tin of their Pink Grapefruit Green Tea it sells. Sure, 75 cents may not sound like much, but every little bit helps and to date, The Republic of Tea has donated over $550,000 to the Foundation through their Sip for the Cure program. Wow, that gets me all teary eyed. Since we just lost my granny to breast cancer, and I adore tea, I couldn’t say no. I paid about $9 for my tin, which sounds pretty steep. However, the tin has 50 unbleached bags, so it’s not too bad a deal.

I must say that not only does this tea support a good cause, it supports good flavor as well! The first sip I took, I thought, “hmm… this is alright.” But the more I drank it, the more I loved it. I found a healthy light flavor (it’s not bitter, like some green teas can be) with just the perfect hint of grapefruit. I honestly never thought grapefruit flavored tea could be good, but this really is.

I was drinking it last weekend while the man and I were watching a movie. I couldn’t stop drinking it, and we all know what that leads too. Poor hubby had to keep pausing the movie. *grin*

So if you like tea, and more specifically like green tea, go out and give this one a try! Maybe you you you will love love love it too.

“If you spend half an hour trying to perfect a blog post about how much you love your big, ugly mole…. youuuuuu might be a redneck.”

I have a doctor’s appointment coming up on Tuesday. I haven’t had a regular old checkup in, oh, well it’s been so long I can’t even remember. It’s no secret… I’m not a big fan of the doctors unless I’m sick. I only take medicine when it’s absolutely necessary (or I’m getting a migraine, which if you’ve ever had one – or been near someone who had one and you realized your life was on the line if you stepped too close – you know that’s pretty necessary!). But it’s time I guess, and I need one of those well women’s exams (which I’ve been avoiding because the last one I had a few years ago left me feeling like I had been violated and traumatized me so badly I haven’t had one since) and I haven’t built a relationship with our family doctor yet, so *sigh* off I go.

The main reason I’m going, however, is because I have some moles that are suspicious and scary. I’ve been avoiding them for years now, but I read an article on melanoma the other day and it got my rear into gear. I have two that have me worried. One HUGE one on my leg and one small one on my belly. The huge one is worrisome just because it’s huge and apparently that’s bad. The one on my belly is small, but has changed colors (from a nice honey brown to a pale tan/pinkish with a nice honey brown ring on the outside of half of it – just thought you’d enjoy the visual!) and apparently that’s really bad.

The huge one on my leg is so huge it has its own freckles. Shoot, it probably has its own zip code. Got mail, mole? I’m thinking it will have to be removed. I’m thinking the small one will definitely be removed, so they can test it and make sure it’s not going to kill me. But the big one, even if it isn’t cancerous now, I guess is a risk and will probably have to go. I’m a little saddened by this. Huh? Losing a big, ugly mole is sad? Maybe I should back up. I’ve had this thing for as long as I can remember. Mom says I wasn’t born with it, but I got it really soon after I was born. I’ve always called it my “birth mark” anyway, because, well, it’s close enough and “birth mark” sounds SO much better than “ugly mole the size of your rear end”. Granny tried to wipe it off of me one day because she thought it was chocolate. *giggle* Too bad she wasn’t right! Chocolate is always good, whether it be on the leg or in the mouth. So anyway, I’ve had this thing forever, and I guess my childhood doctors were never concerned enough about it to remove it. If I could go back in time, and talk to them about it, I’d demand they remove it. It has given me nothing but grief!

I never felt pretty growing up. I was the only stick skinny, short, fair skinned, freckled faced redhead within a 200 mile radius and that combined with crooked teeth (which I still have, btw) and huge glasses (which I DON’T still have, btw) and being the “smart one” in my small private school made me feel like a freak. I was teased and never liked how I looked. The “birth mark” didn’t help that at all. Plus, my mom used it as some weird marker to determine how short my shorts could be. If they were too much shorter than the mole, they were a no go! Maybe I should market that idea… “Need to teach your child modesty? Buy them a Texas-sized mole!” Sounds like a solid business plan, no?

So back to the feeling not pretty. The first time I felt even remotely attractive was when I met my first boyfriend, at age 17. Until he dumped me, he made me feel beautiful. I’ll never forget him telling me how beautiful I was, (and he SPECIFICALLY mentioned my red hair – which was huge to me since I hated it so much back then) because it was the first time someone confirmed what my parents had been telling me all along – I was indeed pretty no matter how my idiot stuck up “friends” made me feel. It wasn’t until we got out of that horrid little town and I went to college that I really started to appreciate how God made me and accept what I had and had not. Including the mole. Now, even though it is still ugly and still huge (and even though I no longer use it to determine the modesty of my clothes *giggle*) it’s a part of me and I have learned to accept me, mole and all. So I’m a little sad to see it go. I’ve come to embrace it and even enjoy it for its uniqueness. The crooked teeth I’d love to change, but the mole? As much as I thought I’d jump at the chance to remove it, I really think I wouldn’t mind keeping it… provided it won’t kill me. But alas, I’m sure it will be removed. It’s too much of a future risk if it isn’t dangerous already.

If you’d like to remember me and my mole for our doctor appointment on Tuesday, prayers would be appreciated. The little multi-colored one really has me worried. Plus, I’m not looking forward to having ANY part of me cut off, whether I’ve come to embrace it or not. lol

You remember the copper heart set I made a couple of weeks ago? Well, someone ordered it in sterling, so I thought I’d snap a photo and share before it’s gone today. ) Personally, I think I prefer the copper! Not only is the copper easier to work with, it stands out more. I do think the sterling would be fabulous with a colored stone though, such as jade, aventurine, RED jade (oooh… ok, I’m making myself one with those), turquoise, or even some kind of jasper. Anything that will stand out. The clear beads sort of get lost.

I learned a few things by making this sterling set. One, thick guages of sterling silver wire are great for making your hands sore. Two, I’m selling this set for WAY too little and my price will definitely go up when it’s offered on our website. Three, electrical tape on the pliers works great for preventing tool marks for a little while, but then it just gets gummy. And four, don’t try to learn your new hammer and anvil on a new and not yet perfected product. lol

Ok, now that it’s all done and ready to go, and I have stayed up all night… I’m going to bed.

So you think I’m itty bitty, huh? Yeah, I guess I am. I’m just barely 5 ft tall and weigh quite a bit less than 100 lbs. I’m tiiiiny and always have been. Or have I?

I was actually a big baby!! 8 lbs, 7 oz and 21 inches long. I was also two weeks late. My poor momma. I don’t think I’ve stopped tormenting her since then. ;o)

Here’s itty bitty me back when I was chubby wubby!

I just wanted to say that even in the face of all I haven’t been blessed with, I am truly blessed by what I do have… namely, my husband.

He’s so wonderful and I love him dearly.*

Thank you Lord, for bringing him into my life.
And thank you honey, for choosing to share it with me.

*Plus, he’s such a cutie! ;o)