capturing the minute.

i am not bragging and not gloating.  i am documenting this minute because it probably will not happen again for some time.  right now, like RIGHT this minute, all of my bills are paid, i have no credit card debt, my kid is sleeping, the husband is not complaining, and i am watching grey's anatomy on demand (why the heck didn't they have it on demand last season?).  see sandra oh in the picture above?  yeah, that's me RIGHT NOW.  without the scrubs.  and the superstar status.  and the hit tv show. 

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landslide.

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john.

today we are going to bury one of my favorite clients, who passed away on monday after a long fight with cancer.  when i met him years ago to do an intake assessment for our program, he had told me that he had only a year to live, but was undergoing experimental treatment to see what happened.  well, that treatment gave him almost another 6 years with us.  6 years that were full of joyous and happy moments, extra large coffees with cream, and amazingly wonderful conversations.

john, i am so sad that you are gone.  your smile and shining wit will be very missed.  rest in peace.

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going postal.

but not in the way you might think.  (although, some days, quite tempting...)  i've been wanting to make earrings with posts FOREVER, but was afraid that my soldering technique and tendency to be heavy handed with the torch would just melt the fragile little slivers of silver and become merely an exercise in frustration.  however i had some leftover bezel posts that i realized i was never going to use so i snipped them off and soldered them onto these free form oversized sterling hoops.  there was no melting!  just a little struggling to make sure the placement of the posts were correct and voila!   after a couple of hours in the tumbler and with the addition of some sweet sterling butterfly backings and they were done.  i am going to test-drive them today and see how they hold up to the rigors of court and a team meeting at the office.

hmmmm... the design possibilities are endless...

(postscript 7:24am - okay, seriously, these look WAY better on than in the pictures. plus they are light and easy to wear!!!!)

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changing my name.

no, not my REAL name - but my etsy shop name.  for a while now, i've been kicking around the idea of renaming my store.  while sweet and cute, "muffintopdesigns" probably fit me when i was making bright beaded jewelry and sewing sock monkeys, but, alas, i no longer do that.  (seriously, i barely ever touch my beads anymore.  sigh.)  one of the biggest reasons that i haven't done that - and honestly, probably the ONLY one - is because i didn't want to have to give up my sales stats and feedback to start a brand new shop, which was the only way i would have been able to do it before.  (and admittedly, i think it's kind of neat that people refer to me as "muffin".)

but now, etsy has made it possible for me to change my shop name, while redirecting my old URL to my storefront.  it's all outlined in this article here, and i'm kind of excited.   (sidenote - of course i just ordered 500 business cards from vistaprint, isn't that always the way it goes?) so i have about a week to think about whether or not i want to change things up, or let them remain the same. 

not that i'm a lemming, but i would love your honest feedback about whether or not a name change would be good.  i'm really torn and could use some insight.  i would be changing it to some variant of my real name or something along the lines of "solder & flux designs" (as long as it isn't taken). 

anyways.  thoughts?

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green eyes.

woke up with this song running through my head. so i'm posting it. thank you, chris martin and your sparsely beautiful lyrics. i'm actually surprised that after the day i had - i returned to the office after being off for almost 3 weeks - i was even able to sleep last night. and this song is one of my favorites. maybe my inner DJ is trying to soothe me?

(love the cute little dedication at the beginning of this homemade video - seriously, broadcasting your love via youtube? love it!)

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brand new love.

can't help but love this song. i know that death cab for cutie does a partial cover (on their john byrd ep), and deadsy does a pretty awesome electro-core version but i definitely don't love them as much as the original.

it reminds me of the days we used to wear vintage fine wale corduroys with simples and soft cardigans. indie love, much?

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giving thanks.

apparently, the history of canadian thanksgiving can be traced back to 1578, when explorer Martin Frobisher set sail from England with 15 ships laden with supplies and people to establish a settlement in what is now known as Frobisher Bay near Baffin Island.  however, the quest was plagued by disaster and the minister on hand, Robert Wolfall, suggested that they break to give thanks and take communion.

subsequent quests to canada by the english and the french followed the tradition of giving thanks by holding huge feasts and sharing their bounty with their first nations friends.  american refugees from the civil war added an americana slant to the holiday, and the rest, they say, is history.

while life is not perfect, there are a great many things to be thankful for in my life - and i am very thankful today.  happy turkey day, everyone!

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