Invictus ~ Etsybloggers Blog Carnival

Mrs. Walters was a legend. She was our 9th grade English teacher; we believed she had been teaching 9th grade English since the building had been built. Her classroom was on the second floor, and there was the rumor - well, not so much rumor as unquestionable myth - that she had once held an unruly student upside down by the ankles out one of the classroom windows.

Yes, Mrs. Walters was a legend. She had a cat named "Cat" and a dog named "Dog." You did not question why. And it was in Mrs. Walters' 9th grade English class that I memorized the only poem that I still recall completely today...memorizing this poem was a requirement for passing the class. I seem to remember her explaining something about the poem speaking to us about life, but in 9th grade, I just remember the challenge of memorizing and reciting. It is now that the poem speaks to me. Thank you, Mrs. Walters.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever Gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of Circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of Chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley

PICK YOUR FAVORITE ~ WIN A PRIZE!

Today's the day! Don't forget to stop by the Creative Minds for Charity site for the "poll link" and vote for your favorite design (I know - it's so hard to pick just one - they're all so gorgeous!!)....all the pics are there (and there are more pics of the designs if you need to see more available at the CMC Flickr Pool). Once you vote, you'll need to enter either your Etsy ID or your email address (no worries - this is ONLY to contact if you are the winner of a great prize - no email addresses will be sold or shared & no one will be contacting you for any reason after the challenge is completed :-)).

The poll is open until 11:59 PM EST TODAY ONLY so don't delay - vote now! You could be the winner of a terrific prize donated by etsyBEAD, CGGE (Creative Glass Guild of Etsy), and HOST (Helping Others Street Team)! See a design you'd like to purchase? Be sure to check back with the HOST shop to see when the items are listed (some are already available!) as they are currently being added with ALL proceeds going to the mission of HOST (be sure to check the shop profile about the great work this team does!).

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!....And...more SOCCER Pics!

Yes! It's finally almost time for the Creative Minds for Charity Challenge ~ so mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 23rd, when the polls will be open ALL DAY for YOU to vote for your favorite collaboration piece (and get a chance to win a prize basket full of goodies, too! whatta deal!). You can see ALL of the gorgeous pieces right now at the CMC website, but remember the link to the poll will not be open until Wednesday so be sure to check back then and cast your vote! Every item will then be available for purchase in the Etsy HOST shop with all monies donated to the HOST mission (see the HOST shop profile for more details - a great cause!). Naturally, I'm partial to the "Spring Reflections" creation, but you can see that your decision on Wednesday will be difficult choice - everyone's pieces are truly OOAK and absolutely stunning! What a talented group of artisans! :-)

And, of course, spring soccer has begun ~ whatever the weather! Here are some favorite pics from our first few games...

SHOP-WIDE SALE TODAY!

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Happy April 15th! $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

15% OFF EVERYTHING in the shop (excluding gift certificates) through midnight EST tonight. Be sure to put "HAPPY15" in your "notes to seller" at checkout and WAIT for a revised invoice before making payment. One discount code per transaction.

"Spring Reflections" CMC Submission

You may recall that a couple of months ago I mentioned a collaboration activity I was going to participate in ~ Creative Minds for Charity ~ artisans from CGGE (Creative Glass Guild of Etsy) and etsyBEAD (one of my groups) partnering to support HOST (Helping Others Street Team of Etsy).

I was so fortunate to be paired with the very talented lampwork artist, Laurie, of Glassbead (Isinglass Design) who donated these beautiful blues for me to work with and the "playing with beads" began...

The finished piece, called "Spring Reflections," is double-strand elegance in blues and creamy white. The artisan lampwork focals by Glassbead are accented with Swarovski pearls in white and Tahitian blue and Swarovski crystals in capri blue, Indian sapphire, and white opal. Sterling silver rounds and spacers throughout add beautiful light-catching highlights.

Beading is done on professional grade stringing wire and all findings, including the toggle closure, are sterling silver. Necklace is approx. 23" in length.

This necklace will soon be available for purchase, along with the other beautiful CMC submissions, in the HOST Etsy shop, with ALL proceeds going toward the mission of HOST ~ as described by one HOST member "Our goal is to give unconditional support to any fellow Estian in their time of need - Support being prayers, thoughts, hugs; a shoulder to cry and lean on; money; sales. We only care about the person, not their race, religion, or nationality... We are a community here of caring hand made artisans who just want to extend a helping hand all year long." (You can read more about HOST on their shop profile page and their blog.)

AND...there's MORE! YOU can also vote for your favorite CMC piece and win a terrific prize - watch for details on the Creative Minds for Charity blog - this will be coming up SOON (I'll be sure to update you here as well!).

Want to see more pics of "Spring Reflections"? Check out all the pics at flickr (CMC Submission Set). And again, many, many thanks to Laurie of Glassbead for sharing her inspirational and beautiful "blues" with me! :-)

Where It All Began!

Spring break was this week...and it was time for a road trip ~ sandy beaches, Florida sunshine, you say? Oh, no, not us! We headed north for an awesome time in the great city of Toronto (thanks so much, Anne & Mike!! :-)) It really was a terrific trip ~ and I had a chance to visit the great bead shop "where it all started" ~ "The Sassy Bead Co.". Yep, this is where I made my very first pair of earrings just over 2 1/2 years ago, and I'm still convinced "Sassy" has some of the best beads around ~ so you know I didn't come home empty handed!

Hannah was really impressed with how "green-minded" Toronto was ~ emphasis on recycling everything, heavy participation and publicity for the Earth Hour Lights Out event (our first night there)....we ate by candlelight that first night in a great pub for the "Lights Out" event and the city newspaper was still publishing articles concerning the impact for several days following the event.


The CN Tower, of course, rises above the skyline as you enter the city, and we had a beautiful, sunny early spring day to visit it while we were there ~ so clear for a wonderful view all around!

Our last evening in the city we saw a great show ~ Dirty Dancing, the Musical. It was wonderful! If you know Hannah, be sure to ask her what she thought of the lead who played Johnny Castle! :-) It was the perfect end to an awesome "alternative" spring break. We also highly recommend the shops on Bloor, Yonge, and Queen St. West and the terrific dining experiences ~ Hannah now loves Thai and Greek food, thanks to this trip! She is also trying to figure out how to make University of Toronto a viable post-high school option - go figure!

Where in the WORLD is Andrew GOING????

If you've been following our Peace Corps-bound saga with son, Andrew, you know we've been waiting anxiously for the "official" invitation and assignment....as promised, they arrived this past week (while said son was enjoying a well-deserved spring break Caribbean cruise - a special senior "gift" to him and a friend from his friend's very wonderful parents). So.....drum roll, please......yes, his first choice actually (well, after Kenya - which actually, I think should have been "off the table" since I think the Corps removed everyone from there a couple of months ago!) -- TANZANIA! He's very excited - graduation is Mother's Day weekend -- then June 8th he heads to Philadelphia for 2 days of orientation before flying to Tanzania for a couple of months training at a "Peace Corps hub". Then it's off to his assigned "village" where he will serve from Aug. 24th through 2010 as the "Village-Based Extension Facilitator" (project has to do with crop expansion in the village). Hmmm....wonder how they will feel about pumpkins and gladiolas? LOL! Soccer girl and I are already trying to figure out how we can "swing" a visit sometime in his 2+ years over there (cha-ching! Of course, soccer girl thinks the biggest hurdle is all the shots she would need to get!).

If you want to see exactly where Tanzania is located, there is a map of Africa/Subsaharan Africa posted on the right column of the blog. Tanzania is on the eastern coast, just south of Kenya, and is home to Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Welcome, Terrelle Pryor! Can't Wait for OSU Football 2008!

With yesterday's big announcement, we look forward to "double trouble" (good news!) from the OSU offense this fall!

2008 OSU Football Schedule....never too early to get ready!

• Aug. 30: Youngstown State
• Sept. 6: Ohio University
• Sept. 13: at Southern California
• Sept. 20: Troy
• Sept. 27: Minnesota
• Oct. 4: at Wisconsin
• Oct. 11: Purdue
• Oct. 18: at Michigan State
• Oct. 25: Penn State
• Nov. 1: Bye
• Nov. 8: at Northwestern
• Nov. 15: at Illinois
• Nov. 22: Michigan

BOGO EXTENDED!

Shop-wide BOGO has been extended until 10 PM, EST, TONIGHT (SUNDAY) - buy one, get one free (higher price applies) throughout ENTIRE shop (gift certificates excluded). Just put "BOGO" in "Notes to Seller" at checkout and WAIT for a revised invoice before making payment. One discount code per purchase. Great sale to pick up some items for Easter!

SignatureSterling

THE MORNING ZOO and a BIG SALE at the SHOP!

Congrats, ladies on a great indoor season - I've been remiss at posting pics here, but you know you can always catch them all over at flickr. Here are some of my faves from the last game - including our "attempt" at a team picture - gee, whose daughter is that who keeps throwing her thumbs up in the air when the camera clicks?? Hmmm.....

And....BIG SALE at the SHOP beginning at 5PM today for 24 hours - BOGO! Yep, Buy One, Get One Free (higher price applies) on EVERYTHING (except gift certificates!) in the shop -- did I say "EVERYTHING"? Yep, EVERYTHING - call it the "Blizzard Blowout" or "Clear the Fog" Sale or "Here Comes Spring" but we are clearing the shelves with this one! Start checking your lists (what's in your Easter basket this year??), check out the shop shelves, and set your watches for 5:00pm today! Just put "BOGO" in the the "Notes to Seller" at checkout and wait for a revised invoice before making payment. Only one discount code may be used per purchase.

The Blizzard of '08

Yes, we've survived the "Blizzard of '08" or as I jokingly have called it the last few days....(drumroll please)...."The Storm of the Century" (I kept waiting for some newstation to come out with that one ~ no one did)....I think our "official" snow total is around 20" although it is very hard to tell with all the drifting. It's just a lot of snow -- haven't seen this much since our upstate NY days!

Being about 2 miles out of town and down a very long gravel drive, we were very much housebound until a good friend came to plow us out this morning (thanks, Dave!). And then, the shoveling began (thanks, Hannah!).

Not everyone was disappointed by the snowfall as you can see by the "thumbs up" picture and the romping in the drifts. Fun, fun, fun!

Is it spring yet?

P.S. Ooh....a local weathercaster just referred to our blizzard as "a storm for the ages" (that's almost "The Storm of the Century") LOL!!

Playing with the Beads....

Got some time to "play with the beads" today as yes, another snow day here PLUS Hannah was still recovering from the stomach flu (yuck!)...nice day for settling inside, and yes, "playing with the beads" - and as Laurie's lovely creations had arrived for our CGGE/etsyBEAD project, I was more than ready to play! Now, remember, this is a work in progress ~ who knows what twists and turns "Spring Reflections" may take before it is completed, but here is a pic of how my mind was working today with it. Stay tuned...

Hitting the "Boards"....and We've Picked Our Beads!

The "Morning Zoo" continues to "hit the boards" (indoor soccer amazes me with its fast-pace and the way the ball not only richochets off the players' feet, but also off the sides of the wall at such force -- and as a goalie mom....aagh! so many places for that ball to "boomerang" from! But, that's why our goalie loves the game so much, so I have to get used to it, I guess!)....here are some favorite pics from the last couple of games...great job, ladies!!

Laura, of Isinglass Design, and I have decided on the focal lampwork beads she has created which I will be using in our Creative Minds for Charity (CGGE/etsyBEAD Challenge). They are the gorgeous blues which I featured earlier when I introduced Laura to you, and I am so looking forward to designing something wonderful around them.

Meet Isinglass Design!

Meet my partner in the CGGE/etsyBEAD Challenge (“Creative Minds for Charity”) ~ the talented Laura of Isinglass Design! A self-taught lampwork glass bead maker, Laura has been at the art for about eight years and has taught glass beadmaking at the Arkansas Arts Center, Chameleon Art Glass,and a high school in Little Rock. She has demonstrated her work at The Meadows Museum in Shreveport, The Historic Arkansas Museum, local schools, and her local farmer's market. You can see Laura’s beautiful work in her Etsy shop: glassbead.etsy.com ~ at an online gallery: glassartists.org ~ and in the Dallas area at Kittrell-Riffkind art glass.

Check in here to see what Laura and I decide on as the inspiration for this challenge’s design. More to come as our project progresses! Complete details on the CGGE/etsyBEAD Challenge/Collaboration and how YOU can be a part of it are available at “Creative Minds for Charity.”

MAKE ROOM FOR SPRING!

It's time to "MAKE ROOM FOR SPRING" in the shop so be sure to check out the special sale section for great savings! All items in this section are now available at 30% off LIST price ~ just be sure to put "SPRING" in "Notes to Seller" at checkout and WAIT for a revised invoice before making payment. One discount code per transaction, BUT you may purchase more than one "Spring item" and receive 30% off each item - whatta deal! This great offer is going on NOW until ??? so don't wait for best selection!