So much to write about! SO little TIME!!!

I am thrilled to announce today that I won an AWARD for this BLOG!!!!  Really, how exciting is that?  I feel so special! :)  It's really nice to know that someone appreciates the hard work that it takes to publicly rant about my life and business.  :)  I was given this wonderful honor by fellow blogger and Etsian, Heather Everson, of heversonart!  She makes beautiful jewelry and has a lovely blog entitled "A Mom, a Kid, and Art"-cute right!?  Part of the privilege and responsibility of accepting this award is that I, myself, get to bestow this honorific title upon the blogs of 15 other worthy recipients.  I already have a few bloggers in mind that I like and admire.  However, I will be giving my self AMPLE time to ruminate about my choices, so I don't make any rash decisions...LOL

Another part of the process of accepting this award is that now I have to share 7 interesting facts about myself with my blog readers.  Thinking of one interesting thing about myself  is hard enough...let alone 7.  Especially if you have read this blog before, you already know anything and everything semi-interesting but mostly MUNDANE about my little life.  So, I tried REALLY HARD to drudge up some new and obscure factoids about myself for anyone who may be interested! :)

STUFF ABOUT ME 

I mean...7 intriguing tidbits about your FAVORITE, AWARD WINNING blogger

(Yeah, right!)

NUMBER 1.  I AM DETERMINED to have my motorcycle license BEFORE I die, which may mean that I will be zipping down the road on a Ducati Monster at the age of 91.  It may also mean that that will be THE WAY I DIE, since I am a horrible driver, which is currently the reason why my husband DOES NOT want me to be on the roads driving a bike! :0

NUMBER 2.  My favorite color is COBALT BLUE, which is the color I painted my bedroom as a teenager, before my sister painted over it with MAGENTA PINK (her favorite color).  My poor parents...if only they would've had nice girls who liked pastels they wouldn't still be trying to get those shocking paint colors off the beautiful wood trim in their house!!!

NUMBER 3.  Ever since I was a child, I have ALWAYS wanted to be an artist.  Although I did considering being a ballerina, a news anchor, an architect, a teacher, a construction worker, a receptionist, and a translator, all before comfortably settling into jewelry making.  I still secretly want to be a ballerina...

NUMBER 4.  If our house were to burn down tomorrow with EVERYTHING that we own in it, I would miss our BEAUTIFUL HOUSE, all my pretty SHOES, and our big RED comfy couch...in that order.  Oh, and maybe my giant BEAD STASH too.   :)

NUMBER 5.  My nickname has always been Ben or Benny...I'm still trying to pinpoint WHY on earth that is, and more importantly, WHY I find it endearing when people call me by this strangely masculine name!

NUMBER 6.  I only have ONE dimple.  NO JOKE.  Apparently, they do NOT always come as a set...Bummer on that.

AND FINALLY...NUMBER 7.  For the longest time, I made my parents call me Michelle as a child, after the little girl on Full House.  I also named ALL  my dolls Michelle...EVERY SINGLE ONE!

So,NOW let's talk LESS about me and MORE about someone else!  Check out this great Etsy shop that I discovered lately, BLANCHEB.   I mentioned this shop in my last post, because I bought a gorgeous vintage brooch from here.  The creator of this brand explains how she got her start and inspiration: "Blanche [her dog]  was my love, my muse and fierce spirited fur baby for 12 years. In trying to find a way to pay for mounting vet bills, I discovered my passion for beading. I have always loved jewelry and treasured pieces from my grandma. Now I make things I enjoy and others do too. I like being part of a community that treasures hand-crafted and vintage items."  Isn't that wonderful?  She has a FANTASTIC assortment of vintage items, beautiful handmade jewelry, and photography note cards.  She also has another Etsy shop that sells FABULOUS jewelry making supplies, LittleFishSupplies.  Please check out this wonderful seller's shops!

GOOD NEWS, I finally listed some new items in my Etsy Shop yesterday. I managed to list 2 new things! Yippee!  I would really like to get back up to having at least 50 items for sale in my shop...preferably 65 I think.  My meager inventory definitely could use a pep up.  One cool thing is that one of my new listings, I made in my METALSMITHING class!!!! The folded copper cuff with a fire patina on it is just so cool looking in person.   I started making that piece after I TORCHED my bezel settings that I had been working hard on for making rings/earrings.  I was so bummed out when I melted my cute little bezels!  Those things take a while to fabricate by hand...Yikes!  It was definitely better that I decided to CHANGE what I was working that day instead of trying to go ahead and work on more bezel settings.  I was so loopy from having a cold (AGAIN!) that less intricate work was the only thing I could really manage!

AND... there was such a bad blizzard today in my hometown that it was WHITE OUT conditions at some points during the day!  My parents didn't have to work due to the horrible weather, so all three of us decided to go out for lunch together instead.  NOT THE BRIGHTEST IDEA EVER!  Let's just say that there was a clear reason why there were not many people on the roads today. Going out for a bite to eat in the middle of a blizzard turned out to be quite the little adventure!  We got stuck at least 3 times in the snow, in the middle of a main road, blocking traffic, and once even with a GIANT PLOW TRUCK behind us!  Here is a cute little picture of my parents trying to shovel their way out of my driveway!  And there I was, snuggley and warm inside, taking pictures of them... NAUGHTY!

SOOOO... stay tuned for my list of 15 blogs that deserve the STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD, and please leave comments if you would like to bring a blog to my attention that you might think is worthy of this honor! :)