Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Changes...

Since so many people have so kindly been inquiring about my life and/or wondering if I will be making beads again soon, I thought I'd update my blog with what's been happening in my little part of the universe.

Firstly, sometime soon (very soon), my website will be going offline - in case you haven't read past posts, it's because my ISP is terminating all free websites shortly, and since I haven't been making beads with anywhere near regularity for well over 12 months, I've decided to let it slide. So shortly (ie. whenever I get off my butt to make the necessary change), my URL of http://2cats.cjb.net should bring you directly here to my blog. If (or when) I make beads again, you'll see it here first.

So, anyway, that should answer one of the questions - no, I haven't made any beads. I'm not even going to bother saying the usual of "soon" as I'm sure by now, you're sick to death of 'hearing' me say that. Suffice to say at some point, hopefully in the not too distant future, I hope to fire up the torch again.

However, there have been some major changes in my life the past few months - particularly since mid August. I made the decision mid August to suddenly (or what may have appeared to be suddenly) leave my job. As many of you know, I'm a self-employed medical transcriptionist and with Russ out of work for almost 2 yrs now, I've been (and still am) the breadwinner - hence the reason I've spent so little time making beads. I spent the past 2.5+ yrs concentrating so hard on my MT work pretty much 24/7 that I had reached the point where something had to give. Although it wasn't an easy decision to leave, it wasn't really a spur of the moment one, but it *was*, I felt, a necessary one. I loved my job, I loved the work, and even now around 6 weeks' later, I still miss it.. Hey ho ...

However, life goes on, and as the saying goes "when one door shuts, another one opens". I'm back to working as a transcriptionist, and alternating between picking up a little work here and there from an interstate transcription company (located in Qld) and starting my own business. It's 'slowly slowly' at the moment, but I'm hopeful of bigger and better things. Ultimately though, I have no intention (or desire) to run a huge company - just enough clients to keep the work steadily rolling in is enough for me. I left the corporate world 100 years ago to get away from too much pressure, I lapsed for 2.5+ yrs in my last job, and ultimately paid the price, particularly emotionally. I'm not going to put myself in that situation again any time soon.

So yep, things aren't perfect, but they're not all bad either. I'm no longer having to work weekends or be on-call 24/7, and although I'm still a little lost at times, ultimately I think I'm a happier person for the decisions I've made. I'm going to take each day as it comes. I'm also hoping that this arrangement will give me enough time (and thereby encourage my muse to return) to start thinking about making beads again soon. I'm not going to push myself, I'll just let it happen - or not happen, as the case may be. I've put too much pressure on myself for too long, and I'm now going to spend a little while enjoying some "me" time. Whatever will be, will be.

So, that's the state of play at the moment. Keep checking the blog every now & then in case I do start melting glass again - as I say, you'll see it here first! In the meantime, thanks again to all of you who have taken the time to send me emails of encouragement - you know who you are, and you KNOW how much I appreciate your kind thoughts.

Ciao for now - Sue.

Checking In. . .

Don't really know just why I'm bothering to update my blog, as I'm sure any customers I once had have long since given up on me. Oh well, for anyone who may be interested, here's what's been happening.

Absolutely nothing to chat about bead-wise. I haven't fired up the torch since my last set of beads on Feebay (and when *was* that? I can't even remember myself - 2, 3, 4 months ago? Whatever). Any time I do have off (which is very rare as I spend just about every waking moment working in my day job since Russ is still not working) I spend playing games, reading or relaxing. I do have a friend in NZ (hi Lea!) who I have promised I am going to make a bracelet for - free of charge as I want to use it as an excuse to give myself the kick up the you-know-where to melt glass again, but apart from that, I haven't even thought of melting glass.

Not much else happening. The only other thing I can report on is come mid/late September my website will be no more. I've been hosting it for years on the free website my ISP has provided me with, however, they've made the decision that they'll no longer be offering free web hosting. As I don't think I can justify the expense of moving my website elsewhere (or paying my ISP to keep it going) as I hardly ever (never?) make beads these days, I've decided that I'm just going to let it die. I will keep the blog going and when the website goes offline my url of http://2cats.cjb.net will bring you directly here, so if I ever *do* start making beads again, you'll be able to find out by visiting my blog. If or when I begin making beads again on a regular basis, I'll consider bringing the website back, but at the moment, it's not high on my list of priorities.

So, that's really about it for the moment! See you later ;)

Makeup Madness. . .

Still no beads for sale. Maybe next weekend (isn't that what I'm always saying lately?).

Anyhoo, as you may (or may not) know, I'm a make-up and skincare junkie. Whenever I like something, I tend to go a little mad and purchase about 10 of the same item and never get around to using the extras I bought. So I've decided to start clearing out my overflowing bathroom cupboards and sell off a few items. Most of them (if not all!) are at bargain basement prices. So far I've listed items from Redpoint, Mirenesse, Joey NY, Revlon, Dermacia, Principal Secret, Pur Minerals and Avon - and there's probably more to come!

So, if you're in the market for some good deals on make-up and/or skin care, then stop by my auctions - you never know, you might find something that appeals to you! Oh, and apologies to my international friends - these are only available to Aussie buyers. With the constant price hikes in postage (and with little time to spare nowadays), I just can't be bothered to muck around with international shipping.

Makeup Madness Auctions on eBay

PS. There's also still 5 copies of 'Creating Lampwork Beads for Jewelry' for sale on eBay too!

Catch you next time! :)

(And yes, I know my website is down - I have no idea why, but can only assume that there's an 'issue' with my website host. Hopefully it will come back online shortly!)

Venezio. . .

Venezio
Originally uploaded by thatgirl1269

Well, here they are - my first set of beads for sale since August last year. Although I've missed beadmaking, I most certainly HAVEN'T missed FeeBay. What a nightmare. Since I haven't sold anything on there since last year, I didn't realise the changes they've made - it took me over an hour and a half to list the auction. Almost more trouble than it was worth!

Anyway, enough moaning out of me for one day. If you feel so inclined, click here to visit the auction. Thanks for stopping by!

New Beads! . . .

Yep, you read that right. I *finally* made a set of beads. Well actually, I made 2 beads back in late Feb (my last blog post) but made the rest of them today. DH Russ cleaned my studio for me last weekend and I think it gave me the kick up the bum I needed to start melting glass again.

So, if you want to see them - then check back sometime tomorrow. I should have them up on FeeBay mid morning. Hopefully this will be the first of many sets in the near future (no promises though!).

Stay tuned. . .

Amazing as it may seem, I actually spent a few hours in the studio yesterday. I won't get a chance to finish this set of beads today (my oxy concentrator still hates the heat), but come next weekend/early the following week, I may finally have a new set of beads up on FeeBay. Stay tuned. . .

Australian Bushfires. . .

You would have to be living on another planet not to have seen the effect of the Victorian bushfires. Very few things move me to donate money, but this is one of those things that has affected me more than I expected. So, I beg of you, no matter what country you are from, please consider donating a small amount to those who have been affected. We can bitch and moan about how difficult our lives are, but I can only imagine how horrific this situation is for those people who have lost everything. As a matter of fact, my best friend, Yvonne, has lost 3 family members in this tragedy. This really puts things into perspective.

Here's a few links for those of you who would like to contribute - the first is for donations to the Australian Red Cross, and the second is for donations to the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). As most of you would know, animals are a huge part of my life, and I think many of us often forget the effects of these disasters on both native and domestic animals.

Thanks a bunch - Sue xx

Red Cross Australia
RSPCA

Kill Me Now. . .

Am I the only person that hates Iron Chef America? Russ & I love watching the Food Channel, but when Iron Chef America comes on, I swear to God we would rather watch paint drying. I doubt there are enough adjectives in the English language to fully describe my hatred of this show.

Absolute crap.