MOVED.... REDIRECT...

Please come check my new blog out at The Crazy Creative Corner as I won't be blogging here anymore.  This will be the last notice for anyone checking this site.  I'll leave it up, but please redirect to the new one.

Thanks,
The Crazier Sister

NEW BLOG

I've started a new blog this past week called The Crazy Creative Corner and I'm going to be using it to post pics of beading & crocheting projects (and a little bit of "etc.") that The Squirt & I will be making with the idea of selling them.  There will be necklaces, bracelets, bracelet watches, earrings, crocheted scarves, possibly some baby blankets (that will be negotiable and up to The Squirt since she is the Crochet Queen, not I) and some beads made of clay and coated in resin (possibly even some resin projects).  Like the name says, Crazy Creative! :-D

Anyway,  because of the effort we're going to be putting into making crafts, especially with an eye towards the upcoming Christmas holiday (plus, you know, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) it's unlikely I'll be posting on the Herbals & Hobbies site anymore.  I've been letting it go for several months, now, for various reasons and I don't see it being picked back up in the near future (don't think I can juggle THREE blogs!), so this particular account will be closing down.  Please, feel free to become a follower on my newest site, especially if you're looking to buy hand-crafted gifts (or know someone who is).  You can find it here.


The Crazier Sister!

The Contest

~~~~UPDATE!~~~~
Well, it turns out that, in spite of my best efforts at a get-out-the-vote drive, I have failed to win 1st or 2nd place... Ahh, well. That's what happens when you don't find out about a contest until a week before it's ended and don't get out a "PLEASE VOTE" plea until 2 1/2 DAYS before it's ended.  Thanks to everyone who voted and tried to help me win. I promise that I'll make sure there's plenty of vote time next contest I enter!



Whelp! I've done it. I entered some of my craftiness in a contest (re-)designing lanyards (you know, those things folks - mostly dr's and nurses - wear around their necks with an i.d. tag on the end?).  I'm not sure how it's going to go since I only submitted it tonight and the voting closes Friday morning. Long story short, I procrastinated about taking the photos until last night, then worked for nearly 30 minutes trying to get the site to accept them. I tho't it had, but when I checked with them this morning, they informed me they hadn't received anything and if it had gone through, I would have been redirected to a "Thank You For Your Submission" page. Which I wasn't. Which meant I had to resubmit tonight. THIS time I got the thank you page... which then informed me it might take 2 business days for my picture to even show up. Which means it might not be there until Thursday. The day beFORE the voting closes.

Lovely.

(sigh)

Well, God's in control, even of silly contests and submitting things on the computer, so I'm not going to worry or be upset. Anyway, here's the pics of what I entered;

Full View

Detail Close Up

  

So, if you'd like to go vote, the voting will be open until Friday the 13th at 11:59am (so the rules say) and here's the link:

 http://www.idwholesaler.com/lanyard-design-contest/

(UP DATE: the photos are up on the site as of today, 5/11, so voting is available. You can only vote once per day, per computer... so... y'know... if you have access to computers with different ISP addresses... ~heee~)

Her Hero ~ Short Story Practice

I know, I know, it's been since December that I've done anything on either of my blogs. Part of that is business, part of that is there's a lot I could write about and I'm not sure I should (I'd go off like a Tomahawk missile on most of it!) and part of it is pure laziness. (but I don't waaaaanna write anything!) So, what I've decided is two-fold... today's will be lazy. This is a short story I wrote some time ago as practice. Part of this is getting me off my... tushie... to exercise my creativity.  This blog is dedicated to hobbies and creativeness, after all!  Those of you who read my blog(s) know I'm a poet (and, according to one source, something of an apologist... Look it up, I had to!) and I'm not half bad at getting my point across. Okay... now it's time to work the Creative Genius side of my brain!  I've set myself a goal of writing 10 short stories all under the limit of 1,000 words.  This one doesn't count toward the goal since, as already stated, it's one I wrote some time back (tho' it is less than 1,000 words!).  We'll see how well this goes, eh?
Enjoy

HER HERO

"Why can't I ever have a real adventure or meet a dashing hero?" Jill exclaimed.

"Gee, thanks a lot!" retorted Scott, Jill's best friend since grade school. He followed her gaze to the poster in the bookstore window, promoting the newest romance novel, and snorted.

"That is totally unrealistic!" he gestured at the cover art. "No fireman in his right mind would be that deep in flames without his helmet and oxygen!"

"There speaks the safety-conscious captain of Station 10." Jill rolled her eyes. "It's just art, Scott."

"It's unrealistic!" he insisted. "And it creates a false impression of heroism for gullible females."

"Are you saying I'm gullible?" Jill blinked, confused by Scott's irritation. He was always even tempered and easy going to the point of absurd. Whenever she wanted to go on an adventure, he was usually there to make sure she did things as safely as possible and didn't hurt herself. She teased him mercilessly about his safety issues telling him that he'd be staid, boring and unadventurous without her. He'd grin that lazy, easy going grin of his and reply that she was enough adventure for both of them.

"Well, are you?" she demanded when he didn't answer right away.

Scott's hazel eyes darkened to moss green as he stared at her a long moment before he shook his dark head and rose. "No, but you have unrealistic expectations about the guy you think you're looking for. I have to get back to work. Thanks for the coffee, Jill."

                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jill avoided Scott for a week, which wasn't hard to do since he didn't seek her out, either. He didn't even call to make sure the brief storm the city experienced hadn't knocked out her power and he always checked on her after a storm.

By the end of the week Jill was miserable and lonely. Hurt from Scott's comments combined with the knowledge that maybe, just maybe, he was right made her want to cry. They'd been friends forever. She'd always shared her thoughts and dreams with him and he'd always been there to support and encourage her. Now he wasn't. It felt as if a part of her had withered.
 
Back in her favorite bookstore Jill sank down onto one of several strategically placed couches and looked at the book she clutched. "Out Of The Flames", the book whose poster she'd been admiring a week ago, was on the best seller list this week. Staring at the cover art that Scott had objected to Jill couldn't bring herself to open the book. The art was ridiculous from a firefighter's perspective and, yes, Scott would know.

As she sat staring at the cover art, wishing she knew how to bridge the gap between her and Scott, Jill grew sleepy. Deciding she was well enough hidden from the casual browser she pulled her legs up beside her, laid her head on her arm and closed her eyes. Moments later, the book she'd held slipped from her fingers.

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"C'mon, Jill, you have to wake up!"

Scott's voice sounded muffled in Jill's ears and she wondered if she were dreaming. She took a deep breath and started coughing. Suddenly, strong arms lifted her and she was carried into sunshine and chaos. Someone put an oxygen mask over her face even as she felt cold metal under her backside.

Blinking as she continued coughing, she found a worried Scott, in full fire fighting gear, kneeling in front of where she sat on the ambulance bumper.

"What -?" she gasped and coughed again.

Scott guided the oxygen mask back over her nose even as he answered. "Gas leak. The store owner called it in. I knew you had to be inside because I saw your car and not you. No more scaring me for at least a month, okay?"

Not too excited about starting another coughing fit Jill simply nodded. Then Scott handed her a book. The book. "You... might want this. It was on the floor next to you."

Pulling away the oxygen mask she shook her head. "No, I don't. It creates unrealistic expectations. I like the real thing so much more."

Scott's eyes lit up and a hopeful smile tilted his lips. "Are you sure? I've been told I'm staid, boring and unadventurous."

With a combined laugh-cough Jill stroked his cheek. "Whoever told you that was an idiot. Besides, I happen to know for a fact that I'm enough adventure for both of us."

© Copyright 2007 Pam Sears (UN: condorsfan at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Hyper-Holidays

Ahhh, the holidays. A time to remember others, to be thankful for what we have and to promote peace and love for our fellow man.


Yee-ah, right!

If all of that is the object of the holidays, can someone explain, please, the "Day After"?  You know, the "Day After" is when every store in the entire world suddenly must have a sale of gi-normous proportions. A One-Day-Only, 10-50% off sale with an extra 20% off that if you have the coupon in the flyer from your local paper.

The same paper your neighbor stole because she's too cheap to buy her own so she hid in your bushes and waited 'til the paper boy let fly then, making a dive Greg Loughainis would've been proud of, she snatched it from mid-air and scuttled back to her house, slamming her door and thereby robbing you of that extra 20% off the 50% off sale!

Yep, love for our fellow man just permeates the air.

Personally, I blame the department stores.  They are so bent on getting more sales than their rivals that they've turned the holidays into a huge competition.  A rather fierce one, at that. Why, just the other day in our mall, as I was resting my weary, sale-battered body, I witnessed a horrific sight.

A man who had obviously finished his shopping early was innocently walking past a JC Penney store when, like one of those trap-door spiders you see on the Discovery Channel, a store worker leapt from behind a rack of 10% off Christmas sweaters. Knocking the poor, confused man down, she proceeded to drag her stunned victim toward a 75% off Summer-wear rack. The mans' terrified wails for help echoed from the walls, unheeded by the dedicated Safari Bargain Hunters around him.

Now, I ask you, is there a more horrendous sight than that of a man who's gotten all his shopping done...early!?

As for the stores, they push the holidays earlier every year, urging the consumer to buy now, hinting that waiting will not only be detrimental to the pocket book but that (horrors) there might not be anything left to purchase at some later date. A terrifying thought that can bring the strongest woman to her knees.

Now, I don't mind a little hard selling, it's the basis of free commerce. I do tend to get a little testy, though, when they're promoting Thanksgiving and Christmas at Easter time. I suppose it is easier to just leave the decorations up year round. I mean, all that fuss to take them down and pack them carefully away when they're going right back up in only three months? Really!

And what about us? Some of you people start stringing lights and setting out Santa, Frosty and Nativities almost before Halloween. If the Christmas tree were available, you would have it up November 1st. As it is, the tree gets left up 'til it's so dry that the Fire Department declares your living room a national fire hazard and brings in a back hoe to dig a fire-break around your home.

And, I'm sorry, but people who leave Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations up in their yards until July need to be smacked and forced to stand on their front lawns flapping and hooting like owls (well, the police tend to frown on tar-n-feathering).

I suppose my point of view regarding the holidays is slightly warped, but one can only take so many repeats of Burl Ives singing "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas" before turning psychotic. I think that, this year, humanity should slow down, take a deep breath and attempt to focus on what the holidays are really all about.

Uh... does anyone remember what that is?

© Copyright 2003 Pam Sears (UN: condorsfan at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Stop The Madness, Part II

So, I went and got my hair cut a few weeks ago, along with a deep moisturizing treatment.  My hair dresser, a younger woman, had already been told I was planning to grow my gray out. I was pretty sure she was going to try to talk me out of it when I got there.  I was right.  But, I didn't really give her the chance.  Knowing she's a good sport and has a really sweet and helpful personality, I simply told her "The decision's already been made. I'm going to grow out my gray.  You only get to be supportive about it."  She laughed and agreed (and later told me she loved my "you have to be supportive" speech).  So, she washed my hair first, took a good hunk off the ends to get rid of the dead parts, then put a hair mask by Enjoy Hair Care on my hair and stuck me under the dryer.

Now, I bought a book called "Going Gray, Looking Great" by Diana Jewell and it's got all sorts of wonderful tips and suggestions for your hair, your skin, your clothes, your makeup.... everything that's needed for a woman with a full head of silver.  I had shown it to my hair dresser, but was reading it as I waited for my hair mask treatment to finish.  When it was done and I was back in her chair she said "Oh! My friend wanted to see your book. This is the book I was telling you about!(to her friend/co-worker)" and pointed to my GGLG book. Asking permission, her friend picked it up and thumbed through it to the part where it talks about what hair dressers can do to assist silver ladies in keeping the shine and good look to their hair.  Apparently these two had already had a few Silvers come in and ask for this sort of treatment but they neither of them had any idea what to do.  Well, now they do!  They can buy this WONderful book and study what the Minardi's of Minardi Hair Salon in New York have to teach them!  The girls were quite excited by this (and so was I since MY hair is on it's way to silver.... I hope it's silver!)

Anyway, I love my new cut but I'm a little bummed because with the weight being off the ends, my hair has "lifted" a bit and the new-growth silver is once more in hiding.  But, that's okay. My hair dresser and I have agreed to keep it this length and I'll be getting a deep moisturizing treatment about once a month (or so... as finances allow) to keep it healthy while it transitions to silver.  Now that I know she's in my corner, and willing to learn all she can to keep it looking it's silvery best, I'm secure and happy to keep going to  her.  It's always best to have a hair dresser you can trust who also WANTS to learn new hair therapy and treatments!

 Anyway, I've taken so long to update my blog (sorry, folks!) that my hair's grown and it's time for another trim. I'm thinking of going even shorter this time, we'll see what my hairstylist says. I'll try to update the blog sooner, this time. Especially because my silver/gray/pewter/mist(?which?) is starting to show more!  Yes, it can actually be seen! Woo HOO!
(more to come!)

Perfect Imperfections

My friend, Scasmflop, came to me a little while back and asked me to employ my creative jewelry making abilities to help her with a gift for some new friends she was going to meet for the first time.  You see, they were a group of mothers who had something in common, a difficulty not many women (or men) are called upon to deal with.  They're all parents to a child with Spina Bifida and they've been supporting one another on-line for ..... well  .... quite a while now.  They were meeting for the first time since their separate yet similar journeys began and Scasmflop wanted to make it as special and meaningful as possible.

And that's where I came in.  She told me she wanted a necklace that would represent Spina Bifida, with a Remembrance Ribbon as a dangle attached.  As if God leaned over and whispered in my ear, the name for the necklaces came to mind... Perfect Imperfections.

These women are raising children gifted to them by God, yet they are children a number of people in the world would see as useless or not worth the effort it will take to give them a good life.  During Hitler's reign, these children would have been killed at birth and their mothers told they were stillborn or had died of complications.  They were imperfect humans.  But, that's not how God sees them and He has given these gifts to parents who see what God does. 

The necklaces were long chains with yellow agates to represent the Remembrance Ribbon for Spina Bifida, except for the main bead.  It was red with a discolored stripe through it....  the "Imperfection", if you will.  The ribbon dangles from the end of a bent wire that goes across the face of the stone, representative of the difficulties of their journey through life.  I'm told the ladies loved them, but judge for yourselves!





I did one other thing, I wrote a couple things to go with these necklaces. One, Scasmflop knows about, the other she doesn't.  They're both called "Perfect Imperfections".  Here's the one she knows:

PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS

Man says "They're broken, throw them away."
God says "I can use them, give them to me."
Man says "What can they do? They're useless."
God says "What can't they do? I will use them!"
Man says "Don't bother, they're imperfect!"
God says "for my strength is made perfect in [their imperfections]."
   "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my [imperfections], that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
II Corinthians 12:9

.....  and this is the one Scasmflop doesn't know about, but I hope she'll still like:

Perfect Imperfections

God gave me a gift from His mercy and grace,
A new life to add to this great human race.

But to this great gift He added a string
And when I was told I tho't "What can it mean?

"Why did God ask you this burden to bear?
And why did He think I could handle your care?"

So heavy my heart, so frightened my mind,
The way out of fear I just couldn't find.

For Satan would whisper "Your failure is set.
"The needs of your child will never be met."

I cried out to God for His great healing touch.
"Let my child be whole, I'm not asking too much."

I felt my God's love as He cradled my heart
And He told me my child, in His plan, had a part.

His plan for my child means he comes with a flaw
But others to God, with his life, he will draw.

It's not sin in my life or God's lack of love
That caused imperfection in my gift from above.

God's strength is made great in our weakness of life.
Imperfections made perfect when backed by His might.

He can use for His glory the imperfect and flawed.
All it takes is surrender to the mercy of God.


We are all imperfect sinners in God's sight. Only by His mercy, and acceptance of the Gift of His Son, are we made Perfect, indeed.