Here are a few pieces of jewelry I made yesterday. They're not meant to be a set; they're just displayed that way to conserve space. The necklace is for my stepfather (and will be given to him later today), while the other is an anklet pour moi. My mom said that they looked like devil jewerly...harumph! The charm on the necklace is one I got cheap on clearance from Joann's awhile ago. It's a black metal ball with a silver cross on the front and back. I used black hemp and a clasp I had and just did some knotting...easy cheesy. I made one with natural hemp, small purpley beads all along, and a silver cow skull charm for him before. He really liked it, except for the purpley beads...said they were too girly. But he liked purple and I wanted to snazz it up, so that's why I put them in. I may make another necklace before I meet up with him, after I finish a few cleaning things. Here is a link I used to find out about the basic knots, instructions, and how much hemp to cut.

I spent my late morning washing, waxing, windexing, and vacuuming my car. It looks spiffy, but I look beat. The only bad part is now all the scratches and such are really noticeable. I may have to go buy some touch up paint. Nothing else much going on...time to do more cleaning before I head out to do something.

Yesterday was my stepfather's birthday. We had tickets to see Stevie Nicks that we got for free from my brother (that he got for free), but decided at the last minute not to go because of traffic, lack of enthusiasm, and possible rain. Instead, we went to see Bewitched, with Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman. And let me say, this movie was soooooooooooooo funny. I loved Ferrell in both Zoolander and Elf, and he did not disappoint here. There were parts where I was just rolling with laughter, and it wasn't just me (as it sometimes is). It was a bit on the short side though; I expect the DVD release to have some additional scenes and an alternate ending (since there were some plot points left unresolved). All in all a great date or family movie, as there was lots of funniness, some romanticness, but no sexiness.

It's been a long time coming and it's good to be back!

I am going to attempt to resume blogging. I'm not sure my life is very exciting, and I don't have a webhost for pics or anything left, so we'll see how this goes. I was surprised to find that I still had all my old posts....so while pics are gone, the text is still here. That's kinda nice.

A lot has changed in my life that I haven't blogged about. I've become single, moved to a different state (back home), got a new job at Progressive Insurance, and started a self-improvement kick which includes lots of reading, exercising, and eatting better. Oh yeah, and I got a tattoo for my 25th birthday earlier this month.

My job just started this week. It's just entry level for now, but it's so hard to get into this company that that's what you start at. Most of the people in my training class have college degrees or lots of experience, and this is a just-out-of-high-school job. So far it's easy and I get paid vacations right from the start, benefits after 30 days, profit sharing in december, etc.

I haven't been crafting as much since I have so much more going on in my life (and I'm not very bored). I'm working on the tennis sweater (from Vogue knitting? Knitter's? Not sure and too lazy to check) and am on the first sleeve. Already have the fronts and backs done, but not collar yet.

I also recently aqcuired a LOT of yarn and beads at the jo-ann firefly sale. And I was doing so well not buying. I need to stop though because I don't have the TIME to work all of it up, and seeing it sitting there kinda causes little stress/panic/anxiety attack.

And since it's summer, I've started Xmas crafting! I think the "generic" gift this year will be homemade soap and knit washcloths. I call it generic cause it's something I have to make a lot of...this year 13. So 26 bars of soap have already been dyed, scented, molded, and packaged (tied up with coordinating ribbon in muslin). One washcloth down and 12 more to go! If I do about one a week I should be good, maybe more when I am done with the sweater I haven't been working on.

That's about all, not sure if anyone will wander back this way, but that's my life now if anyone does :)