Some Days, It All Just Works

[I edited this post; initially I posted a photo that didn't include the pig. I reposted the picture with the pig and added the paragraph about the pig.]

There are some days when I can't make a decent bead to save my life.

And then there are days like yesterday, when all is right with the world, birds are singing, not a cloud in the sky, and my output looks like this:

Now, I recognize I'm my own worst critic. I can tell you where the flaws are in each of these beads (although I find most people don't want to listen). But I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with this batch.

The top, darkest bead is one I've made several times before -- and sold each time. I made this one too big (forgot how much glass is added in the process), but I like it and hope to keep it this time.

The white bead on the left was made for a friend to match her new skirt. Hope she likes it! She's helped to bead a bunch of stuff for the women's retreat silent auction coming up in 2.5 weeks, so I'll pretty much make her anything she wants.

The two beads with orange in them (not a favorite color of mine) were made for another friend. She gets her choice, and I'll probably make the other into a pendant for the silent auction. Confession: I didn't make the clear one last night -- it's a couple of days older, but it's the only one -- and when I took it to the retreat meeting at church on Saturday, several people offered to take it off my hands. Maybe I should work with orange more often...

The pig at the top was made for a kid named Dylan. You can read his story here. I'll warn you that Dylan's story may make you cry. You have been warned. (I don't know Dylan personally, only through this link.)

The two pairs of smaller beads will be made into earrings for an "earring wardrobe" for the silent auction. The idea is that if you buy these 3-5 pairs of earrings, you should have a pair to match virtually anything.

The gray and blue bead on the upper right is the retreat logo. I'm frankly sick of making that bead, but I suspect I'll make a half dozen more in the next couple of weeks. That particular bead proved difficult -- it broke loose and was moving around as I was trying to finish it -- but I'm just that good. Snort.

The pastel-swirly-organic bead just right of center was an experiment with a new color of glass. Y'all can Indian leg wrestle me for that one; it's MINE.

Popinjay: PERFECT

My bloggy friend Michelle issued a photography / blogging challenge last week... the fact that I didn't see it until today is irrelevant, right?

Her challenge? Post a picture that shows the word PERFECT. (Click on the pic for a bigger version.)

This photo, taken from the top of Mount Haleakala in Hawaii, is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. The feeling of being above the clouds, and the play of the light on the clouds, was just surreal. I got several amazing photos, but this was my favorite. I don't know if angels hang out on clouds with harps, but I could almost picture it up there! Plus, the trip -- and this side trip -- was made with friends whose company I enjoy, plus my sweet husband, and it's hard to get more perfect than that.

Go to Michelle's entry on PERFECT and you can read what everyone else has to say!

Since you asked

I'll admit it, I talk a lot. On twitter, on Facebook, in person.

Yeah, not so much on the blog lately. Weird how I don't seem to have much to say.

One thing I've talked a lot about lately is this funky 12-day weight loss thing I found. I got it free on Kindle right after the first of the year, but right now the bargain paperback is a sweet $6.

I downloaded two or three diet and weight loss type books, and for some reason, this is the one I ended up reading. I never got around to reading the other two. I looked at the reviews on this one, and they all said you'd lose between five and ten pounds in 12 days. Which is great if it's true, but really? There's gotta be something wrong with that. So I put on my hip waders and prepared to slog through some major, er, stuff I didn't believe.

Oddly enough, I not only believed it, but I tried it... and it worked!

He starts by saying you should read the whole book before you do anything, which I recommend. I bookmarked a lot of pages I came back to later.

At the beginning of the book, you take a quiz to determine your body type. Everything else (diet and exercise) is determined by what body type you are. There are three basic body types -- endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph -- but he says most people are a mix of two types. So far so good. I'm a meso-endo, which both shocked me and made me really happy. It means I make new muscle easily and burn fat readily. Not the way I would have bet, but I'll take it!

You eat 5-6 small meals a day -- again, what you eat depends on what body type you are. Here's what I eat for 12 days at a time:

Breakfast: oatmeal, medium fruit, 2 egg whites

Morning snack: 2 oz protein, 1-2 cups greens

Lunch: 2 oz protein, 1/2 cup brown or long-grain rice, 1-2 cups veggies

Afternoon snack: same as morning

Dinner: same as lunch

Evening snack (optional, but I always eat it): medium piece of fruit

He gives you a long list of fruits and veggies that are good (no high-sugar fruits), and protein refers to chicken or fish unless you're an ecto, in which case you can occasionally eat beef.

Now, exercise? This is where it gets "fun."

4-6 times a week I do cardio. 45-60 minutes of it. Now, it's easy cardio -- walking on a treadmill or pedaling a recumbent bike usually -- he specifically forbids anything that gets your heart rate up too high. Ellipticals? Not on this plan! Stair climbers? Not on your life! Apparently you don't burn fat until you've been working for 20-30 minutes, so once I hit the 25 minute mark I'm pretty motivated to stay put because I'M BURNING FAT, BABY! Just try to get me off that bike!

In addition to burning fat though, you have to make new muscle. That means you do muscle building exercise 2/3 of the days. On days 1,4,7, and 10 you do lower and midbody workout; days 2, 5, 8, and 11 are for upper body; and the other days are rest days. Days 3 and 9 are do-nothing rest days; on days 6 and 12 you can do optional cardio (*ahem*fat-burn*ahem*).

You weigh yourself on days 1, 6, and 12. Since your weight can fluctuate from day to day, it's a bad idea to weigh yourself every day. I would think it would be better to weigh yourself on day 13, but what do I know?

I'm now on day 4 of my third iteration through the 12-day plan. The first time I lost 7 pounds, and the second time I lost 8 pounds. Each time, I took some time off in between before starting again, but I've maintained an 11 pound weight loss overall before starting on this round. I'm at a lower weight than I've been for a while, and I hope to eventually get to a much lower weight and lower size, although it's more of a look than a particular number I'm going for.

What's interesting to me is how fast everything changes. Within a few days, I can see a difference in how my clothes fit, and how almost every part of my body looks (lifted, toned, tighter, less cellulite). I've never been motivated to stay on a diet and exercise plan before because I'm impatient and things simply take too long, but that's not the case here.

What about you? Do you have a goal in mind for yourself? Would this be helpful for you? I'm not being paid for my endorsement or anything -- just talking about what's worked best for me.

Going Old School

I'm gonna go ahead and steal a blogging idea from my friend Becky. Lent isn't a super popular idea in our culture, or in most of the circles I run in, but I think it's helpful to focus on spiritual things in the season just before Easter.

Incidentally, I have a good reason for stealing. It's because Vista sucks.

I suppose you want an explanation? I'll try, even though I'm a little grumpy.

I went snuffling around in my photo files today, looking for my pictures from my latest trip to Taiwan. I went the last week in January, so I'm way overdue to blog it, but I figured I could do one giant post and maybe y'all (all 2 of you still reading -- pretty sure that's my dad and my sister) would forgive me.

So I head off to my monster D: drive, and I look in the "Taiwan" folder, inside the "Photos" folder, which is clearly where the Taiwan photos go, since I'm an organized sorta gal, and I find... all the photos from the other trips to Taiwan, but not this one.

You might not think that's odd, but I do. I only started using my monster D: drive recently. Previously, everything went on the much-smaller C: drive. Then it filled up, and I started putting stuff on the D: drive.

Then C: REALLY filled up, and I had to move some stuff from C: to D:... and apparently, that's what made me take the name of a large Washington software company in vain. Loudly. When I moved my "Personal" folder, which included a folder called "Taiwan," chock full of photos from previous trips, it moved to D: just fine.

And then it also overwrote my other Taiwan folder with the same, older photos.

Now, I don't need two copies of the same photos. I want the copies of the newer photos, including the company Chinese New Year party and the pictures we took of us with my boss, who left the company (that was his last day).

Therefore, today's post won't feature a bunch of fun Taiwan pictures. Instead, I'll piggyback Becky's latest post and talk about what I'd like to do for Lent.

Becky is going to do a two-week -- or maybe even a 40-day -- water fast, meaning that she will drink nothing other than tap water. In at least one of the challenges she cites, you can donate the savings from the coffee, sodas, etc. that you don't drink to provide clean water to those who don't have it. It's a great idea, and I'd encourage anyone interested to do so.

However, I'm currently halfway through the second cycle of a 12-day diet plan that's fairly restrictive in terms of what I can eat and drink. (I've lost 7 lb in the first half of the second cycle; thanks for asking!) For that reason, I think I'll take one of Becky's other Lenten suggestions and do some Scripture memorization.

Memorizing one verse a week seems sort of lame, so I am going to try for her larger challenge and attempt to memorize an entire chapter, something I've always wanted to do anyway.

Becky's favorite chapter is Isaiah 6, which admittedly is pretty awesome. Since I just read her blog post a few minutes ago, I haven't decided what to read. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

Flubbed Texts

I got permission to use this, although I won't identify the participants.

A friend was out to dinner recently. He was at an Italian place. His wife thought he was at Chuy's, since that was his original plan. She has a new cell phone and was having a little trouble with the texting feature. She couldn't call him since he was in the middle of a business dinner. He got these texts in quick succession:

"Your mom"

"Called and I talked to her"

"Hate"

"Should just give up texting, but maybe you could bring creamy?"

Of course, "hate" has become our new in-joke. She intended to say that she hates texting on the new phone, but "hate" was all she got out before accidentally hitting send. It came out sounding like a slam on her mother-in-law -- definitely not intended.

The last text, for those familiar with Chuy's, is a reference to the magical creamy jalapeño dipping sauce for chips. She was requesting that he bring some home because YUM. Out of context it sounds a little, um, strange.

So there's your Monday giggle. What else has made you smile today?

Sunday Strollin' in Chicago

This is my third visit to the Windy City, but it's really my first chance to explore the place. I'm enjoying it a lot.

We got here on Saturday, collapsed in our hotel for a two-hour nap, and took a train ride to Wheaton to visit friends that evening. I failed to take any pictures, but I'm kicking myself now. Their girls are adorable, and we had a great time hanging out with them. It was also my first time on a "real" train, as opposed to a subway. It took two subways and a commuter train to get us there.

On Sunday, we took the advice of my friend Heather, a Chicago native, and went for some real Chicago stuffed pizza.

This location was only one stop away on the El. Unfortunately, our El stop isn't exactly conveniently located. You get used to the cold and the long walk though. I bet I wouldn't have a gym membership if I lived here. Not a lot of really overweight people here, I'm finding. Even though they eat this.

This is quite possibly the best garlic cheese toast I've ever put in my mouth. Flaky bread, melted cheese, perfect marinara... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

And that was just the prelude to this.

Yeah. They have to cut around the edge of your plate to separate the cheese from the rest of the pizza. This is my kind of meal.

This was when I started to understand what my Chicago friends mean when they tell me the Austin-located "Chicago style pizza" places aren't the real thing, that they're pale imitations. I din't want to believe them, but I have to say they're right. The flaky crust, the sauce... Giordano's is the place. Yum.

After we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant, we headed to the Belmont subway station to find this funky little tile mural. I had to capture it since it was so fun.

We headed to the State Street shopping district. Macy's here, like in NYC, takes up an entire city block. Also like in NYC, they take their window decorations seriously. I won't bore you with all of them, but there were several places where the scene was reminiscent of "A Christmas Story" with the kids pressed against the glass.

There was also a group of several guys playing percussion on five-gallon drums that were very talented. My new camera takes video and I captured it, but I am having technical difficulties getting it onto youtube. I'll leave that on the to-do list and hope I can manage it soon.

We headed inside Macy's -- the biggest department store I've ever seen. If you're an escalator fan, this is the place for you! I really just liked the lines of this shot.

Once we got near the top, we looked out a window and saw this. The architecture was really beautiful throughout the store.

On the 7th and 8th floors was the Great Tree. You can tell how tiny the people are in this shot; the tree is just enormous.

Once outside, the city was dressed in its Christmas best, breathtaking in the twilight.

This was taken near where we ate dinner. I don't know the name of the building, but I loved looking up through the Christmas-lit branches.

We passed a plaza where there were dozens of trees lit up in front of a Christmas tree.

This is the same plaza, shot from the side.

We walked down Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River, to get to a reputed John Cusack hangout. Sadly, there was no Cusack joy to be found. On the bright side, we met a fascinating lawyer from Houston, a fellow who played football for Texas in the Earl Campbell days. I think I may have had a better time talking to him than I would have to Johnny himself!

Nahhhhh.

Anyway, on the way to the hangout we passed the Wrigley building, which is beautiful at night.

These are their Christmas trees, above the main entrance.

And back at our hotel that night, these are the decorations there. Home sweet home-away-from-home!

I've loved exploring a new place this December. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? What is your favorite new thing this year?

Got My P-Dub On Last Night

Don't be afraid; this is still a family blog.

For the uninitiated, P-Dub is one of the many nicknames for The Pioneer Woman, a popular multi-blog covering life, love, cooking, photography, homeschooling, cattle... I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Ree, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, published a cookbook. I can hear my friends laughing that I would buy (or use) a cookbook, but stick with me here. I've been reading PW for a while and love her sense of humor and her "keep it real" tenet. She's now criss-crossing the country on what must be an exhausting book tour, in December no less. So last night, I headed down to Book People, a great independent Austin book store.

I got there later than I wanted (6:30 for the 7pm event) and found a couple hundred people waiting -- and no chairs. Now, I have plenty of padding, but I really don't enjoy sitting on the floor for long periods of time. Call me a grump. But I found a friend and settled in.

Marlboro Man (the widely accepted name for Mr. PW) and all four of the pioneer kids (called "punks" on the blog) appeared around 7, and Ree made her appearance at 7:15. Unfortunately, my video didn't work out sound-wise, but here are my first glimpses of MM and PW:

You may be able to tell in MM's pic that he's signing a cookbook; he had his very own line. He's such a quiet man. I'm sure he's ready to head back to the ranch and leave the hundreds of women behind. Or maybe he enjoys the attention just a little. After all, PW's adoring posts have caused women all over the country to swoon when MM walks in the room.

For anyone who may be curious, I took notes on the Q&A. Here is what I wrote down, with quotes for what she actually said and no quotes when I wasn't fast enough to keep up with it.

• Q: Will you publish "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" (the love story of PW and MM)? PW: Yes, she's working on part 2, and it's due to be published on Valentines Day 2011.
• PW on Bonnie Hunt (PW was recently on her talk show): "She has cute hair. I'm shallow."
• PW accidentally bought Spanx in a size too small for her: "I'm finding it hard to breathe. If I turn blue, call 911."
• Q: Does she like photography or cooking more? PW: They're so intertwined now it's hard to know, but probably cooking since it's done to please others.
• Q: How does she get everything done? PW: "I don't get everything done. I do what's fun for me." She went on to talk about how she doesn't have to start school at 8:30 and how her closet is a mess.
• Q: Where do you go for groceries? For other stuff? PW: Ponca City for groceries, milk and butter. Tulsa for a serious run into town or "to see the picture show."
• Q: Do you read all your comments? PW: Yes, all of them. Well, not the contest ones. Then her closet would be an even bigger mess!
• Q: Is Ree your real name? PW: "My name is Anne Marie. Mike called me Wee Wee." It was later shortened to Ree, and she was thankful.
• Q: Why do you pots always look so clean in the pictures? Do you buy new ones for shoots? PW: laughed, said they're just scrubbed. She does not photoshop her pots.
• Q: Who would you cast as yourself in the movie of your life? PW: Elle Macpherson. Q: What about MM? PW: "Let me think about that..." (never answered)
• Q: Do you have new [photoshop] actions planned? PW: Yes, in about 6 weeks.
• Q: How much butter do you use? PW: "That's a personal question. I don't have to answer that!" [pause] "Pounds and pounds."
• Q: How is your family handling being on the road? PW: "I'm in denial; we all agreed to meet here."
• Q: Has Oprah called? PW: "No, but Bonnie called!"

How much fun is she? The rest of her family is probably ready to get back to the quiet of the ranch (and she may be too, for all I know), but she handled the crowd with grace and humor.

She called an end to the questions so the line for signing could begin. We were all given colored bracelets, and the line was in rainbow order -- ROYGBIV. Red and orange bracelets could get in line first. Since I was so late, my bracelet was blue.

While I was waiting, I got in the shorter line to have MM sign my book. Here is his signature:

There is also a picture of his famous Wranglers on the last page of the cookbook, with the notation, "The End." When people asked him to sign, MM would inquire, "front or back?" Ha!

I told him I'd like to give his lovely wife a gift and asked what colors she likes and/or wears a lot. He said bright colors, especially red and turquoise. Hmmmm, didn't have anything that color with me. But since I had so long to wait, I whipped up a selection of single beads on cords for her to choose from:

At the insistence of the women behind me in line, I gave her a business card as well. She chose the purple-red heart on the right and asked if I have an Etsy store. (I didn't then, but now I do.) She said I really should. I then gave Betsy, PW's sister, her choice of the remaining beads. She chose the next one on the right, the one with multi-colored stripes.

Here are the lovely ladies behind me in the line, who really wanted to be on PW's blog and who graciously let me do bead market research on them:

And this is the biggest reason I'm still cursing myself for forgetting my new camera last night. The BookPeople folks were taking photos of people with Ree as the line moved along... but my camera phone did not cooperate on the most important pic of the night. Here is my very blurry photo with the Pioneer Woman:

Still, a great night and some fun memories. Thanks, Ree!

I failed to blog seeing Don Miller on his book tour (I didn't wait around to meet him), but that was a great night as well. His partner in crime did a monologue, and he talked about a mishmash of his books.

If you've hung in this far, a few questions: have you ever been to a book signing / reading? Did you hang out to meet the author? Was it worth it?