I'm starting to come up with new ideas for my shop and I want to start making samples...and since I'll have sample pieces of jewelry or key chains lying around, I might as well put them to good use and promote my blog. This blog is obviously a bit unconventional, considering I write about so many different topics (writing, breastfeeding, parenting, jewelry, even weight loss), so I don't know if I'll ever have a real audience, but it can't hurt to try, right?
So, in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to post photos and info about some sample products. At some point, I'll start a contest that if people follow my blog, or comment on a post, they'll be entered to win the sample jewelry.
Sound good? I've never done this before, and I'm too lazy (busy?) to really look into the proper way of going about it, but if you comment as yourself, or 'follow' my blog, it's easy for me to keep track and I can use the profile you comment with to contact you when you win. There will probably be other ways to enter the contest (like sharing the blog on facebook, or liking my jewelry shop on facebook, I'll have to figure out the logistics before the contests really start).
Just wanted to plant the seed, since I've been considering this for a while.
Who knows, the odds will probably be pretty good that you'll win! :)
Showing posts with label jewelry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jewelry. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
White COPPRclay!!!
I LOVE it! I don't have a ton of experience with it yet but the little experience I've had was excellent. The clay right out of the bag has a bronze clay color (don't let it deceive you, the final fired product is deceivingly silver). It has a good consistency, not as crumbly as the bronze right out of the bag, but not as soft and pliable as silver. It didn't seem to dry out very fast either, but I only made flat keychains with imprints, so I didn't work with it long enough to have a reliable opinion.
So the reason I bought this clay in the first place was in hopes that it'll be a better medium to make sturdy silver colored keychains without breaking from the slightest tap against another hard surface like Hadar's White Bronze Clay (terrible excuse for a metal...I never had a good experience firing it, it's a waste of money, in my opinion).
In the clay form, White COPPRclay is just fine. I didn't really care how it handled the clay form though, I was more interested in how it'd turn out after being fired. I found a couple of sites instructing to fire it in two phases (ramp to 500 to 600 degrees and hold for 10 minutes...the only thing I changed here was having it hold for 15 minutes because my keychains were thick and I worried the binder wouldn't burn off...it probably would have been fine at 10 minutes).
The second phase instructs you to ramp full to 1850 and hold for 2 hours. And it specifies that temperature regardless of the size of the piece. This gave me a glimmer of hope that it would turn out okay. The other thing that made me confident was the fact that this metal is supposed to be able to bend after it's fired. White Bronze specifically instructs the fired piece not to be hammered or bent (um, because the tiniest impact with this 'metal' breaks it into several pieces). I found another article describing alternate firing times here. So I went with a higher temperature (I'm jaded from all the problems with the White Bronze not sintering). I set the kiln to full ramp to 1925 degrees for 2 hours, but I turned off the kiln at 1 hr 15 min because it started to smell like it was on fire. Aside from the terrible fear that either a.) my house was doomed to burn to the ground, or b.) my kiln was ruined, I waited several hours (about 8, to be honest) for the kiln to cool to room temperature (which is actually instructed with White COPPRclay, but I also was afraid I'd open the kiln to find a flaming melted steel box). When it was all cooled off, I pulled out the three keychains I had fired...all three looked lovely. A beautiful silver color straight out of the carbon. And after carefully tapping the keychain I made for my husband on the dryer, I heard the sweet sound of the jingle of metal against metal. I got brave and dropped it on the floor (basically cement with linoleum over it). Not only did it stay intact, it actually bounced, like when you drop a coin and have to chase it across the room. Success!! On the FIRST try!!!
So, I'm hooked. Bring on the sales! I guess to have sales, I'll need to make more samples to post. And I'll need to actually renew items in my shop. Currently, nothing is for sale. Everything in good time. I'm glad I wrote my previous post...it helped me overcome some of the anxieties I had in the process of making these keychains.
So the reason I bought this clay in the first place was in hopes that it'll be a better medium to make sturdy silver colored keychains without breaking from the slightest tap against another hard surface like Hadar's White Bronze Clay (terrible excuse for a metal...I never had a good experience firing it, it's a waste of money, in my opinion).
In the clay form, White COPPRclay is just fine. I didn't really care how it handled the clay form though, I was more interested in how it'd turn out after being fired. I found a couple of sites instructing to fire it in two phases (ramp to 500 to 600 degrees and hold for 10 minutes...the only thing I changed here was having it hold for 15 minutes because my keychains were thick and I worried the binder wouldn't burn off...it probably would have been fine at 10 minutes).
The second phase instructs you to ramp full to 1850 and hold for 2 hours. And it specifies that temperature regardless of the size of the piece. This gave me a glimmer of hope that it would turn out okay. The other thing that made me confident was the fact that this metal is supposed to be able to bend after it's fired. White Bronze specifically instructs the fired piece not to be hammered or bent (um, because the tiniest impact with this 'metal' breaks it into several pieces). I found another article describing alternate firing times here. So I went with a higher temperature (I'm jaded from all the problems with the White Bronze not sintering). I set the kiln to full ramp to 1925 degrees for 2 hours, but I turned off the kiln at 1 hr 15 min because it started to smell like it was on fire. Aside from the terrible fear that either a.) my house was doomed to burn to the ground, or b.) my kiln was ruined, I waited several hours (about 8, to be honest) for the kiln to cool to room temperature (which is actually instructed with White COPPRclay, but I also was afraid I'd open the kiln to find a flaming melted steel box). When it was all cooled off, I pulled out the three keychains I had fired...all three looked lovely. A beautiful silver color straight out of the carbon. And after carefully tapping the keychain I made for my husband on the dryer, I heard the sweet sound of the jingle of metal against metal. I got brave and dropped it on the floor (basically cement with linoleum over it). Not only did it stay intact, it actually bounced, like when you drop a coin and have to chase it across the room. Success!! On the FIRST try!!!
So, I'm hooked. Bring on the sales! I guess to have sales, I'll need to make more samples to post. And I'll need to actually renew items in my shop. Currently, nothing is for sale. Everything in good time. I'm glad I wrote my previous post...it helped me overcome some of the anxieties I had in the process of making these keychains.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Procrastinating
I have a serious issue with this. I mean, serious enough that I start to dread the easiest, most basic tasks that I know will only take a few minutes to complete. If there's anything about the task that I'm uncomfortable with or anxious about (a piece of jewelry coming out less than par, a task I'm not 1,000% sure how to do, etc.) I put it off for days...even weeks sometimes. And it gets to the point where I start feeling slightly sick when I think about it. So that's a problem. Sometimes I don't even realize it's something I'm procrastinating until it's already delayed or ridiculously close to the deadline. Why can't I just get things done? I know how much I hate worrying about them and putting things off will only make me feel worse.
__________________________________
So starting this week:
I'll get the things I need to do DONE by the end of the week.
and
I'll start recognizing things I'm putting off before I let them go too long and I'll complete them as soon as I can.
__________________________________
There's no way I'll automatically stop procrastinating, but if I make a habit of this, maybe I won't feel so uncomfortable about things like this anymore. Seriously, just thinking about some of the things I have to do right now makes my arms go a little numb...how awful is that? I should probably seek professional help about this, ha. No, but seriously, I probably should.
So tonight, I'll start one of the jewelry tasks I've been putting off and I'll finish the other jewelry task I've had ready to finish for a few days now. Both things have aspects about them that make me nervous (I'm afraid they won't turn out as good as I want them to so I'm avoiding them...which isn't helping the situation at all...it is what it is, putting them off won't change that).
On a brighter note, I started writing a short story when I got that Asus t100 and I'm really happy with it so far. It's giving me the chance to work on the voice I want my writing to have.
__________________________________
So starting this week:
I'll get the things I need to do DONE by the end of the week.
and
I'll start recognizing things I'm putting off before I let them go too long and I'll complete them as soon as I can.
__________________________________
There's no way I'll automatically stop procrastinating, but if I make a habit of this, maybe I won't feel so uncomfortable about things like this anymore. Seriously, just thinking about some of the things I have to do right now makes my arms go a little numb...how awful is that? I should probably seek professional help about this, ha. No, but seriously, I probably should.
So tonight, I'll start one of the jewelry tasks I've been putting off and I'll finish the other jewelry task I've had ready to finish for a few days now. Both things have aspects about them that make me nervous (I'm afraid they won't turn out as good as I want them to so I'm avoiding them...which isn't helping the situation at all...it is what it is, putting them off won't change that).
On a brighter note, I started writing a short story when I got that Asus t100 and I'm really happy with it so far. It's giving me the chance to work on the voice I want my writing to have.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
The Jewelry Shop
I'm getting really anxious (a sort of good kind of anxious) to open my jewelry shop again. There's a new type of metal clay I've ordered that I look forward to trying out this week, and that, along with catching up on a couple of projects I needed to do, has been making me feel confident that I can do this again. Even with the full time job and the fact that I have twice as many children now as I did when I started the shop, I still think I can spare the time to work on the jewelry shop again. I've thought about it and this time of year especially is usually slow in orders, so it'll give me a chance to ease back into it (and if I have an influx of orders, it's never a bad thing).
Some of the things I'm going to do when I open the shop (my ETA at the moment is around mid-April)...
1. Go through all the processing times, shipping information, pricing, etc.
I'd like to believe I can still get things ready to ship between 2-3 weeks but that isn't realistic now, and I don't want to add that unneeded extra stress. I'm going to go through the listings I want to activate and make sure each one has an updated description with something that says 'read the shop banner for processing time' so I don't have to worry about changing each one in the future. I want to make sure all my pricing makes sense for the time put into the piece, the product itself, and the supplies needed to create it. Some prices may go up, some may go down.
2. I'm only going to activate a limited amount of items to start.
Some of my more popular items will be back, for sure. A lot of the less popular items won't be reappearing, and one or two of the most popular things won't be back just yet (one of my most popular, the men's fingerprint band, won't be back until I have enough supplies to make it a less challenging piece...with the techniques I was using before the holidays, it was the most stressful item in my shop and also the most popular).
3. I'm going to try narrowing down my niche.
Fixing up my categories is long overdue and I'll work on making the shop easier to navigate overall. I feel like it was just a mix of several types of jewelry before. When I reopen, I want to focus on meaningful pieces, like fingerprint jewelry, puzzle jewelry, and handwriting jewelry.
4. I want to look into adding new pieces (ones that fit into said niche)
More keychains with white copprclay (depending on how hard it is to fire the new metal clay, which worries me). I also want to figure out a way to make charms for the pandora bracelets.
I want to come up with another way to make jewelry with a lot of personalized meaning. One of the only souvenirs I get when I travel is jewelry; it makes it easier for me to be reminded of the fun times I have, even if it doesn't necessarily represent the place I'm visiting. I know I purchased that item in that place and I remember most of the important parts of that moment...like the weather outside, how I felt on that particular day, who I was with, etc. But I haven't been able to narrow these thoughts down to anything I can represent in a piece of jewelry.
5. Add to the puzzle jewelry line.
_____________________________
And that's about it. So there are things I look forward to doing with the shop, I just want to take it slow and make sure I can offer quality items. There is nothing worse in the whole world than having an unsatisfied customer. I mean, obviously there are worse things in the world...but I guess when it comes to things that aren't earth shattering (something to do with family/friends...job loss...illnesses...things like that would be worse).
Anyway..I'm excited, but also very anxious. I didn't know if I'd want to reopen after having been closed as long as I have been, but I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I really, really miss that creative part of my life. My husband has been urging me to reopen often (the extra $ never hurt) but I wanted to wait to see when I was ready. And I'm almost there.
Off to make a few charms.
Some of the things I'm going to do when I open the shop (my ETA at the moment is around mid-April)...
1. Go through all the processing times, shipping information, pricing, etc.
I'd like to believe I can still get things ready to ship between 2-3 weeks but that isn't realistic now, and I don't want to add that unneeded extra stress. I'm going to go through the listings I want to activate and make sure each one has an updated description with something that says 'read the shop banner for processing time' so I don't have to worry about changing each one in the future. I want to make sure all my pricing makes sense for the time put into the piece, the product itself, and the supplies needed to create it. Some prices may go up, some may go down.
2. I'm only going to activate a limited amount of items to start.
Some of my more popular items will be back, for sure. A lot of the less popular items won't be reappearing, and one or two of the most popular things won't be back just yet (one of my most popular, the men's fingerprint band, won't be back until I have enough supplies to make it a less challenging piece...with the techniques I was using before the holidays, it was the most stressful item in my shop and also the most popular).
3. I'm going to try narrowing down my niche.
Fixing up my categories is long overdue and I'll work on making the shop easier to navigate overall. I feel like it was just a mix of several types of jewelry before. When I reopen, I want to focus on meaningful pieces, like fingerprint jewelry, puzzle jewelry, and handwriting jewelry.
4. I want to look into adding new pieces (ones that fit into said niche)
More keychains with white copprclay (depending on how hard it is to fire the new metal clay, which worries me). I also want to figure out a way to make charms for the pandora bracelets.
I want to come up with another way to make jewelry with a lot of personalized meaning. One of the only souvenirs I get when I travel is jewelry; it makes it easier for me to be reminded of the fun times I have, even if it doesn't necessarily represent the place I'm visiting. I know I purchased that item in that place and I remember most of the important parts of that moment...like the weather outside, how I felt on that particular day, who I was with, etc. But I haven't been able to narrow these thoughts down to anything I can represent in a piece of jewelry.
5. Add to the puzzle jewelry line.
_____________________________
And that's about it. So there are things I look forward to doing with the shop, I just want to take it slow and make sure I can offer quality items. There is nothing worse in the whole world than having an unsatisfied customer. I mean, obviously there are worse things in the world...but I guess when it comes to things that aren't earth shattering (something to do with family/friends...job loss...illnesses...things like that would be worse).
Anyway..I'm excited, but also very anxious. I didn't know if I'd want to reopen after having been closed as long as I have been, but I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I really, really miss that creative part of my life. My husband has been urging me to reopen often (the extra $ never hurt) but I wanted to wait to see when I was ready. And I'm almost there.
Off to make a few charms.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Fall Days...I'm missing out
We've been here in Phoenix for a month shy of a year and this is the only time I'm really wishing I were in PA. I miss Fall...I LOVE Fall. Like LOVE. I know we'll get cooler weather soon, but it just isn't the same. It's making me really look forward to the trip I'm taking back to PA in a couple of weeks. Fall will be in full force then. Maybe I should laminate a couple of colorful leaves to bring back and hang on the walls of my house in the desert.
We're watching the Steelers game, which is probably what's triggering this strong desire for Fall weather. It also inspired me to get a head start on some of the insane amount of jewelry I have to make today. I used to knit or crochet through entire seasons of football, but since I started the jewelry shop I haven't picked up a piece of yarn, which I'm okay with...I'm much better at making jewelry than I am at making blankets. Plus, I like seeing results in days rather than weeks or months. So I made a few of the stamps I need from images of fingerprints and footprints and they're all ready now to be pressed into clay. I have 6 necklaces to make today and 4 keychains. That's a lot. It's just going to be the metal clay part, I'll sand them and fire them over the next couple of days, then make the chains and such on Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We're driving to California Thursday afternoon, so I have to have all of these orders ready by then, otherwise I'd be able to spread it out a little longer. With the trip this week, followed almost immediately by my trip to PA, I'm going to be really rushed on orders...Eh, it's worth it...I'll get time to relax with my family, least I can do is work extra hard while I'm here, and I'll make sure to do it after the little girl goes to bed, so I won't miss family time here either.
Speaking of her, gotta go get lunch ready.
We're watching the Steelers game, which is probably what's triggering this strong desire for Fall weather. It also inspired me to get a head start on some of the insane amount of jewelry I have to make today. I used to knit or crochet through entire seasons of football, but since I started the jewelry shop I haven't picked up a piece of yarn, which I'm okay with...I'm much better at making jewelry than I am at making blankets. Plus, I like seeing results in days rather than weeks or months. So I made a few of the stamps I need from images of fingerprints and footprints and they're all ready now to be pressed into clay. I have 6 necklaces to make today and 4 keychains. That's a lot. It's just going to be the metal clay part, I'll sand them and fire them over the next couple of days, then make the chains and such on Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We're driving to California Thursday afternoon, so I have to have all of these orders ready by then, otherwise I'd be able to spread it out a little longer. With the trip this week, followed almost immediately by my trip to PA, I'm going to be really rushed on orders...Eh, it's worth it...I'll get time to relax with my family, least I can do is work extra hard while I'm here, and I'll make sure to do it after the little girl goes to bed, so I won't miss family time here either.
Speaking of her, gotta go get lunch ready.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Edited a lot
I didn't really have a surge of inspiration tonight but I did force myself to do the things I should have done last night. I posted two new rings to my jewelry shop. One of them is two fingerprints forming a heart on a ring and the other is an infinity symbol ring.
So I was happy to have gotten them listed.
I also edited more than normal. I did a chapter and started the next chapter (worked as far as a page into the next chapter). The reason for my overachieving was because I saw that I only have two more chapters (now one chapter and about 2/3rds of another chapter) before I catch up with where I made notes on my PDF version. So when I catch up, I can recompress the manuscript with all the updated edits and start from there on my iPad again with a stylus and my Goodreader app. I'm just looking forward to the change. It has felt good to have a mixing up of editing methods. Keeps me looking forward to shorter term goals instead of just the overall goal.
So I'm at...
Page 65 of 155
Yay...Getting this thing polished up...FINALLY.
Infinity
Two Fingerprints Form a Heart
I also edited more than normal. I did a chapter and started the next chapter (worked as far as a page into the next chapter). The reason for my overachieving was because I saw that I only have two more chapters (now one chapter and about 2/3rds of another chapter) before I catch up with where I made notes on my PDF version. So when I catch up, I can recompress the manuscript with all the updated edits and start from there on my iPad again with a stylus and my Goodreader app. I'm just looking forward to the change. It has felt good to have a mixing up of editing methods. Keeps me looking forward to shorter term goals instead of just the overall goal.
So I'm at...
Page 65 of 155
Yay...Getting this thing polished up...FINALLY.
Monday, July 1, 2013
8/9/96 and Jewelry
8/9/96
Diary, This is what happened today. I didn't get to run cause it rained! I still haven't gotten a letter from Kathy!!! ************** I learned a new card trick, but it screwed up until I did it my way. And I got all this feelings that my family loves my sister more than me! I still think its true.
Diary do you think I'm dumb to have those feelings?
Gotta go, sorry I didn't write a lot.
Millie
I'm pretty surprised at how censored I made myself back then when I was feeling emotional. I had absolutely no problem writing about my ridiculous fantasized crushes, but when it came to being upset that my friends were making fun of me or my family made me feel sad, I just glossed over the info. And I don't remember being the type to bottle up my feelings like that as a kid. I'm certainly not that type today...if I'm upset about something, I cry. I cry a lot. I'm surprised I was so interested in sounding like someone I wasn't. What a weird form of therapy this is becoming for me. It's really making me reevaluate why I am who I am today.
As far as jewelry goes, I listed a new item last week that I was really excited about. I was excited because it was a mostly original idea (I'll explain more later) and the 'sample' one I made was a gift for a friend who recently got married. It was sent the Monday before her wedding but unfortunately, it didn't make it to her in time for the ceremony. I was so sad my gift turned out to be so useless...
The reason I say it was mostly original was because I wanted to make the charm itself...had the design already ready with the date and the Swarovski crystal all added in my mind's eye...but I didn't know what to do with the charm. So I looked around online and saw suggestions of adding it with a bow to the bouquet for the wedding day, so it's not flashy or obvious, but it's still 'with' the bride. Then, when she transfers it to a chain after the wedding day, she can always have a reminder of such a great moment in her life.
So, I'm sorry, good friend of mine in PA...I should have used a faster shipping method.
:'(
She has it now, and says she loves it. She's one of the people who helped inspire a few different popular items I sell in my shop...like the fingerprint heart charm...the one photographed was the one I made from the prints of her and her boyfriend (now husband :)
I'm glad it did end up getting to her. And she saw a photo of this charm on her wedding day (through a text I sent), so in her mind, she can remember it from that day, I guess?
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Break and Day 3 of Journal (8/3/96)
I'm taking a short, rare break from my tasks. I just needed a breather from the task I'm working on, so I figured I'd use the moment here. Also, I'm eating lunch and there's no one here to take an official break with.
I still haven't made a new game plan on how I'm going to approach the last edits on my manuscript. After which I need to write a good synopsis and send out more queries. I figure this time away from the book is only going to help. Diving back in with a fresh outlook is usually recommended, so aside from the fact that I don't want to put it off so long that I just never get around to it, I'm not beating myself up over this time not editing.
The jewelry is going well. I've been busy to the point where I'm making something or polishing and finishing something on a nightly basis. That's all fine except for the fact that I really want a break from everything once in a while and it has been a few days since I've felt like I've been able to have that. I get home from work after picking up the kiddo from daycare, then she and I watch a cartoon, play, eat dinner, she goes to bed and I start working on jewelry. I get done by 9:30 and I'm too tired to read or do anything much for myself.
On Sunday, I made time for myself (even during Father's Day, haha) to go to the Central Library in Phoenix during the kiddo's nap. It was GORGEOUS. Five floors!!
I checked out a bunch of kids' books and two books for myself. Every time I go to the library I have a mental battle over whether I should get myself a book. I always break down and check one or two out but I usually never end up reading them or even opening them.
The first of the two I checked out is Tenth of December by George Saunders. I had heard a lot about it when it was first released, and since it was available and I knew it was a compilation of short stories, I didn't feel bad about checking it out. I've already read a couple of the short stories and I'm really enjoying it. The second is a full novel but it looked like a light read so I'm hoping I can start it in a week or so and actually have it done before they're due back.
Now on to my journal entry from August of 1996...
Diary 8/3/96
Forget those first pages! That was a while ago and now I am not who I was!
The other day I went for a run and on my way home I was walking up a hill and (I was too tierd to run!) I saw a huming bird! It was as big as a wasp! The thing that was so great about it is that I touched it!
I'm crying now because I think, I don't know how to put this in words so I'll explain. Never Mind!
I still HATE Jessica and Sarah! Their both BITCHES! (excuse my french) I'm trying to make new friends but that's hard to do during the summer!
I haven't done much during the summer, just stuff with Rose and Jeanette.
On the 22nd My family and me are going to Hershey park.
Why is my handwriting so bad?!?! It gets worse every day! I guess I'll just have to live with it!
Sarah would have made a good friend but she hung out with Jessica too much!
Oh Well!
Millie
Why do the French get all the blame for bad language?
I still haven't made a new game plan on how I'm going to approach the last edits on my manuscript. After which I need to write a good synopsis and send out more queries. I figure this time away from the book is only going to help. Diving back in with a fresh outlook is usually recommended, so aside from the fact that I don't want to put it off so long that I just never get around to it, I'm not beating myself up over this time not editing.
The jewelry is going well. I've been busy to the point where I'm making something or polishing and finishing something on a nightly basis. That's all fine except for the fact that I really want a break from everything once in a while and it has been a few days since I've felt like I've been able to have that. I get home from work after picking up the kiddo from daycare, then she and I watch a cartoon, play, eat dinner, she goes to bed and I start working on jewelry. I get done by 9:30 and I'm too tired to read or do anything much for myself.
On Sunday, I made time for myself (even during Father's Day, haha) to go to the Central Library in Phoenix during the kiddo's nap. It was GORGEOUS. Five floors!!
I checked out a bunch of kids' books and two books for myself. Every time I go to the library I have a mental battle over whether I should get myself a book. I always break down and check one or two out but I usually never end up reading them or even opening them.
The first of the two I checked out is Tenth of December by George Saunders. I had heard a lot about it when it was first released, and since it was available and I knew it was a compilation of short stories, I didn't feel bad about checking it out. I've already read a couple of the short stories and I'm really enjoying it. The second is a full novel but it looked like a light read so I'm hoping I can start it in a week or so and actually have it done before they're due back.
Now on to my journal entry from August of 1996...
Diary 8/3/96
The other day I went for a run and on my way home I was walking up a hill and (I was too tierd to run!) I saw a huming bird! It was as big as a wasp! The thing that was so great about it is that I touched it!
I'm crying now because I think, I don't know how to put this in words so I'll explain. Never Mind!
I still HATE Jessica and Sarah! Their both BITCHES! (excuse my french) I'm trying to make new friends but that's hard to do during the summer!
I haven't done much during the summer, just stuff with Rose and Jeanette.
On the 22nd My family and me are going to Hershey park.
Why is my handwriting so bad?!?! It gets worse every day! I guess I'll just have to live with it!
Sarah would have made a good friend but she hung out with Jessica too much!
Oh Well!
Millie
Why do the French get all the blame for bad language?
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
It's back...hopefully it sticks around.
I don't know if it's because I was finally invited back for the second interview of that job I interviewed for a few weeks ago, or because I had such a ridiculously lazy weekend, but I'm feeling much more motivated again. I got up (super early with the toddler who can't seem to sleep past 6:30 in her new big-girl toddler bed), made coffee (after laying on the couch for cartoon hour), cleaned up, put a load of laundry in, emptied the dishwasher, did some potty training (we'll get there), worked on some jewelry, then at 10 AM I threw on workout clothes and we went to the gym (they have a fun daycare there). I did the stair-climbing machine for 20 minutes (actual stairs that revolve and you walk up...it's the most hardcore I can get aside from going for a run), chatted with a friend, then did an hour of Hatha Yoga.
Back home, we had lunch, I finished a ring and three necklaces, showered, and took the kiddo after her nap to the post office so I could mail out the finished jewelry (it's super annoying that I have to drive to the post office if I have outgoing mail...I can't wait to live somewhere that I can just walk to the end of the driveway). We went to the park after that little trip, then daddy got home and took her to the grocery store with him so I could get started on another ring. I finished that while he was out so I sat down to edit for a little while (a very short while...but I got over a hump in the story, so I still feel good about it). After they got back, I filled out a questionnaire for a life insurance application my husband signed me up for (yea...so keep that in mind if I suddenly have a mortal accident in the next few months). Now I'm blogging and looking forward to the kiddo's bedtime. I'll hopefully do some more editing and I really want to take the doggy for a walk.
I'm sad that all this motivation returned the day before a cold spell in Arizona that's bringing a very rainy Wednesday, followed by highs in the 50s for the next few days. Couldn't it have shown up a few days ago, so I could have really made the most of the mid 70s and sun? Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, and I live in Arizona now...so if there's one thing I can count on, it's that the sun and heat will return.
Back home, we had lunch, I finished a ring and three necklaces, showered, and took the kiddo after her nap to the post office so I could mail out the finished jewelry (it's super annoying that I have to drive to the post office if I have outgoing mail...I can't wait to live somewhere that I can just walk to the end of the driveway). We went to the park after that little trip, then daddy got home and took her to the grocery store with him so I could get started on another ring. I finished that while he was out so I sat down to edit for a little while (a very short while...but I got over a hump in the story, so I still feel good about it). After they got back, I filled out a questionnaire for a life insurance application my husband signed me up for (yea...so keep that in mind if I suddenly have a mortal accident in the next few months). Now I'm blogging and looking forward to the kiddo's bedtime. I'll hopefully do some more editing and I really want to take the doggy for a walk.
I'm sad that all this motivation returned the day before a cold spell in Arizona that's bringing a very rainy Wednesday, followed by highs in the 50s for the next few days. Couldn't it have shown up a few days ago, so I could have really made the most of the mid 70s and sun? Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, and I live in Arizona now...so if there's one thing I can count on, it's that the sun and heat will return.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
50,030
Ahhhh! At the start of November, I decided that in honor of NaNoWriMo, I would use the writing vibes from the thousands of writers in the world to get my book to 50,000 words. I was at somewhere around 30,000 words at the start of the month (keep in mind, that's a little over 3 months worth of work on this project). Tonight, as I'm sure you have guessed, I made it past my goal!! YAYYYYY!!!! And not only that, but I'm a whole crapload closer to finishing my first ever full-length novel!!!
So yea, lots of !!! these in this post. SOOO...I wrote a whole bunch of stuff right here...well, about two longer sentences that made up a paragraph...and they're all gone because I wrote some dashes that looked like an arrow pointing at those explanation points in the beginning of this paragraph and it turned the whole paragraph into a weird internet code that I had to delete. Whoops! Moving on...
Now that I'm this far into the book --and I'm just repeating myself here-- I'm worried it'll be awful. Then I'm worried that it'll be amazing. Then I'm worried again (and most often) that it will be just terrible.
I have a friend who is all willing and eager to read it. I'm going to go through and do one edit before I let him though, but it has been really nice this whole time knowing that someone is going to give me real live feedback before I send it off to agents.
Once the manuscript does hit either the digital mailboxes or the physical snail-mail versions, I'm going to expect some heart break and humility. It's hearing about books like 'The Help' that gives people like me fairy-tail type dreams though. The common theme in this type of business is that it's totally normal to get rejections left and right until someone finally bites. That could be after the 50th rewrite, but it doesn't mean I ever really have to give up on this particular story that I've had my heart set on for nearly a decade. Persistence. It's the motto I've used for my jewelry business, which has seen a real boost in sales lately (thank you Christmas). And it's the motto I'll definitely use for this, which has been a dream of mine for at least 10 times longer than the jewelry business.
Either way, I need to get to bed now. I wasn't even supposed to finish this many words today. I ended up writing about twice my average because I couldn't sleep. The story itself is really developing perfectly though and I think it's about to get even more fast paced. I might see more late night writing sessions in the future?
New goal....
FINISH it before 2013...because 13 is a super unlucky number. Hopefully that doesn't affect me getting someone to buy this thing but I don't want to take the chances that it'll affect me finishing it.... :-/
So yea, lots of !!! these in this post. SOOO...I wrote a whole bunch of stuff right here...well, about two longer sentences that made up a paragraph...and they're all gone because I wrote some dashes that looked like an arrow pointing at those explanation points in the beginning of this paragraph and it turned the whole paragraph into a weird internet code that I had to delete. Whoops! Moving on...
Now that I'm this far into the book --and I'm just repeating myself here-- I'm worried it'll be awful. Then I'm worried that it'll be amazing. Then I'm worried again (and most often) that it will be just terrible.
I have a friend who is all willing and eager to read it. I'm going to go through and do one edit before I let him though, but it has been really nice this whole time knowing that someone is going to give me real live feedback before I send it off to agents.
Once the manuscript does hit either the digital mailboxes or the physical snail-mail versions, I'm going to expect some heart break and humility. It's hearing about books like 'The Help' that gives people like me fairy-tail type dreams though. The common theme in this type of business is that it's totally normal to get rejections left and right until someone finally bites. That could be after the 50th rewrite, but it doesn't mean I ever really have to give up on this particular story that I've had my heart set on for nearly a decade. Persistence. It's the motto I've used for my jewelry business, which has seen a real boost in sales lately (thank you Christmas). And it's the motto I'll definitely use for this, which has been a dream of mine for at least 10 times longer than the jewelry business.
Either way, I need to get to bed now. I wasn't even supposed to finish this many words today. I ended up writing about twice my average because I couldn't sleep. The story itself is really developing perfectly though and I think it's about to get even more fast paced. I might see more late night writing sessions in the future?
New goal....
FINISH it before 2013...because 13 is a super unlucky number. Hopefully that doesn't affect me getting someone to buy this thing but I don't want to take the chances that it'll affect me finishing it.... :-/
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Still Thanksgiving
So, I went back a few blog posts (which was about how long it took me to get to the beginning of this blog...this year anyway) and I sort of regret not keeping up with you. I am currently at 64% with my book (Holy S****, right? compared to the last time I updated you) and on Chapter Twenty Two (is there supposed to be a hyphen between Twenty and Two? Shouldn't I know this?!).
My story is moving along pretty much exactly how I want it to. Somedays I feel awesome about it, and others I'm overwhelmed with fear that it'll be a flop when I'm all done and finally doing my first read-through.
I listened to that whole Audible book about the 'Successful Novelist' and loved it. I might re-listen to it soon. I then listened to Stephen King's 'On Writing', which was also a great motivator. Now I'm on to 'Stein's On Writing', which is so far my least favorite of the three, but I can't tell if it's because of the narrator or the book itself. Either way, the fact that I'm listening to audiobooks about writing, reading a book in my genre ('Matched' by Ally Condie, totally addictive and I'm loving it), still unemployed (not proud, just finding it helpful for the book), and able to drive 10 minutes to the nearest Barnes N Noble.. have all been adding to the recipe that is me finishing my first ever book.
It's not like I got to this point without a lot of dedication and struggling. Like I said a few months ago, I was a damn busy woman when I started writing this book. For example, the first two weeks of writing this involved a full-time job, a ridiculously busy two weeks of two summer courses in grad school (basically a full semester crammed into 4 weeks), Jane, selling a house, and I think there was a bout of strep throat in there too. Then, when school was done, I still had the job, the house selling, Jane having strep and me getting it AGAIN, and then actually moving to the other side of the country.
Right now, I'm getting about 750 (average) words written a day but I'm still in school and my jewelry shop had a crazy busy spurt. Plus, no more daycare (we miss them soo much! Hardest part about leaving dubois...saying goodbye to Jane's first friends :( ) ...so yea, lots more time now, but still really busy. I think all of that helps in getting me to write when I do finally have time. Then again, on some days it's definitely placed on the back burner in order to really shut off for a bit.
I guess right now I'm sort of giving myself a shout out for how far I've gotten. 64%. Damn. Obviously if I don't reach the story's end by 70,000 I'll keep going. But for all intents and purposes (I suck at common phrases..is that even right?), I'm gonna finish it if I get that far, you know? And if I go past 70,000 words, I'll be at 105%, 110%, etc. :)
64%!!!!!!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
My story is moving along pretty much exactly how I want it to. Somedays I feel awesome about it, and others I'm overwhelmed with fear that it'll be a flop when I'm all done and finally doing my first read-through.
I listened to that whole Audible book about the 'Successful Novelist' and loved it. I might re-listen to it soon. I then listened to Stephen King's 'On Writing', which was also a great motivator. Now I'm on to 'Stein's On Writing', which is so far my least favorite of the three, but I can't tell if it's because of the narrator or the book itself. Either way, the fact that I'm listening to audiobooks about writing, reading a book in my genre ('Matched' by Ally Condie, totally addictive and I'm loving it), still unemployed (not proud, just finding it helpful for the book), and able to drive 10 minutes to the nearest Barnes N Noble.. have all been adding to the recipe that is me finishing my first ever book.
It's not like I got to this point without a lot of dedication and struggling. Like I said a few months ago, I was a damn busy woman when I started writing this book. For example, the first two weeks of writing this involved a full-time job, a ridiculously busy two weeks of two summer courses in grad school (basically a full semester crammed into 4 weeks), Jane, selling a house, and I think there was a bout of strep throat in there too. Then, when school was done, I still had the job, the house selling, Jane having strep and me getting it AGAIN, and then actually moving to the other side of the country.
Right now, I'm getting about 750 (average) words written a day but I'm still in school and my jewelry shop had a crazy busy spurt. Plus, no more daycare (we miss them soo much! Hardest part about leaving dubois...saying goodbye to Jane's first friends :( ) ...so yea, lots more time now, but still really busy. I think all of that helps in getting me to write when I do finally have time. Then again, on some days it's definitely placed on the back burner in order to really shut off for a bit.
I guess right now I'm sort of giving myself a shout out for how far I've gotten. 64%. Damn. Obviously if I don't reach the story's end by 70,000 I'll keep going. But for all intents and purposes (I suck at common phrases..is that even right?), I'm gonna finish it if I get that far, you know? And if I go past 70,000 words, I'll be at 105%, 110%, etc. :)
64%!!!!!!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Litchfield Park, AZ
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