Persistence

Persistence does pay off!  I finally found a great source for rose cut stones after hours and hours of searching the web!  Now if all of my time (what probably amounts to weeks) searching for rose gold filled bulk chain could pay off, I'd be golden.
Update, I figured out how to afford the purchases I need to make to get these new design ideas going    : D YAY!!!  Ordering today, assuming silver and gold don't go up again : p 
And please learn for my mistake and always do your research first!  I've decided to build my own website and I am not tech savvy, I know just enough to get by.  So I had to do a lot of reading before and during the process of creating this blog, so I know the same is going to be true for the website.  If you are considering your own blog and/or website, believe me when I say cutting corners is not beneficial, your time is better spent once you've learned the ins and outs.  I thought I had made a decision on the site I would use to build my ecommerce shop.  However, yesterday morning I discovered a company whose prices where less than half those of the company I've been reading such glowing testimonials about and being the frugal person that I am, my interest was peaked.  I got so excited by all of their exuberant claims and flashy tricks that I jumped right in and started creating without a second thought!  Basically, I wasted a whole lot of time yesterday by not checking reviews on them before I began!!!  Because after reading reviews, it sounds like their service and ethical practices leave a lot to be desired : (  Guess, I'll have to bite the bullet and pay the extra cash for a reputable company!  Back to the drawing board...

Ranting and Raving

***Warning ~ I'm about to go off!!!***
I am a pretty passionate person and while some view it as endearing character trait of mine, some see it an annoyance!  Again, I am who I am, so with that said...  every day I scour the web in search of the gemstones and findings for this project I have in my head that's just clawing to get and out and be "real"!  I am so inspired by what I find!  I've been jabbering on about it for some time now to anyone who would listen, when what I really want to do less talking and more doing!  But where do I find all of this money!?!  The saying goes, if you build it they will come, well the plans are drawn and the permits are secured, so to speak, but I just need the capital to start!  I search, and I search, and I search, for grants any kind of help that doesn't have interest, but the road blocks are everywhere!  Just when I think I've found it, the deadline for submissions has already passed (in most cases by only days or weeks,  it's so infinitely frustrating)!  But I'll find the money somewhere, I won't stop 'til I do!  I just truly hope it's sooner, oh please make it sooner!?!

I am quite the conundrum...

and always have been!  When I was a child, I can't say little as I've never been a very large person standing only 5'2",  I liked to play dress-up.  I'd put on my frilly fluffy Easter dress, add my mom's Candies and grandmother's old fashion jewelery making myself look as glamorous as possible. Then I'd prance around the neighborhood inviting everyone I could to the back porch for a play I'd put on with my younger sister and next door neighbors, dancing around to Madonna's Like a Virgin record (and yes, they were actually vinyl in those days).  But looking back, I think it was more about the drama and spectacle of it all rather than the clothes.  Most days you'd find me playing in the ditch behind the house fishing for crawdads, climbing the neighbors giant weeping willow to see just high I could climb (I did make it all the way to the top eventually), or hiking through "private property" to monkey island always sporting the little rompers my mom so lovingly handmade.  These days I'm pretty darn girly, always!  I adore pink and flourishes, I don't like to be hot, I don't really like to get dirty but will if it's for a good cause, and I love to get dressed up both for the way it makes me feel and for the spectacle : ) However, if I thought I wouldn't get arrested, I would climb the huge banyan trees at my favorite place in Sarasota, the Ca' d'Zan!  I imagine most people are like this too, but would never admit it, not out loud anyway.  But I don't care who knows, I am what I am, and I only aspire to be the best version of me I can be!!!

Getting to know me better : )

So this weeks posts will be a series of snippets on getting to know me better.  I have added Pandora (in the sidebar, lower left) so you can sample the music I'm listening to as I'm creating.  I've also added a video section, so you can enjoy the antics of my silly kitties.  Hula, the baby is a purebred blue point ragdoll we adopted at only 4 months old (now 11 months and growing fast with the sweetest demeanor) and Kona a 6 year old chocolate bi-color ragdoll (spastic and slightly schizophrenic, but a love when the mood strikes).  Both are rescues from a local shelter where I volunteer http://www.stfrancisarfl.org/  I strongly support adopting from a local non-profit shelter.  You'll not only be gaining a fabulous new member of the family, but helping your local community/economy as well!  They have animals of all ages, breeds, and personalities, even pure breeds and all have incredible stories to tell : )  Clearly from their names I adore Hawaii!  My husband and I took our 10 year anniversary vacation there and I fell instantly head-over-heels in love!  We explored The Big Island's coffee plantations and Kilauea, Maui's road to Hana, and lush wild chicken inhabited Kauai each is very different and extraordinary in its beauty.  I am captivated by every facet and will live there, at least part of the year, as soon as I can figure out how to swing it!

Fishing for Hula Monsters