1000th Post!

Well I thought I had one more post to the 1000th but no, this is it!

So I'm having a few giveaways to celebrate that AND my birthday which happens to be today.  How cool is that?

To get a chance to win, you need to choose one or as many of the following as you'd like to do, and then make a comment below to tell me what you did.  Each thing gets you a virtual raffle ticket....

* Be a blog follower or become a new follower (just click on Follow over there on the right)

* Blog or twitter about this post

That's it!  Then make a comment and tell me what you did and which you'd rather win -- beads or jewelry.  If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave an email or some other way for me to get in touch with you should you win.

Winners will be announced next Monday, April 5th.



Here are the prizes!

"Shake Your Head" earrings  -- shown here about 2" in length but I can make them a little longer or shorter if you like

"Chocolate Brandy" earrings, lampwork glass with Swarovski crystals, about 1.25" in length.

OR, for you bead lovers, a bead grab bag in your favorite colors.

I hope you'll join me in the celebration!



Lori Anderson's work can be seen at www.lorianderson.net.  She also writes a blog at www.AnArtistsYearOff.com.

Two posts to 1000! And giveaways!

I have two posts until my 1000th post -- can you believe it?????

To celebrate, I'll be giving away some goodies, so stay tuned!

Dropped Another Dress Size!

I dropped another dress size and I have no intention of picking it back up.

This is the second dress size I've dropped this year in my serious attempt to lose weight and I'm thrilled. Yesterday I went on a rather frightening-to-the-credit-card shopping spree at J.Jill to find new things to wear. I'd gotten rid of anything that I used to be able to wear at this size because it was boring, dated, and I figured if I ever got back to this size, I could certainly celebrate with a shopping spree! I have to admit, shopping for pretty things was a thrill, because it was awesome that everything fit, and there were no tears and no extra large sizes involved.

(Photo by J.Jill.com)

What's frustrating is that when you're going from big to less big, no one really sees a thing. There's no dramatic "OH MY GOSH, have you lost WEIGHT?". No. None of that. I don't even see it. I constantly have to check my pants size. I could have cried the other morning when my hair stylist made a comment about it -- she had no way of knowing how much that meant to me.

Not seeing the weight loss, even though I'm buying smaller clothes, is tough. It makes me want to quit. There are many days when I want to throw in the towel. But like everything good, it doesn't come quickly, or easily.

So I'll keep at it, enjoy my new closet of clothes, and hope that the NEXT size will be the size that causes people (and me!) to see the change. If nothing else, I'm healthier, and definitely showing my son a good example.



Lori Anderson designs jewelry for www.lorianderson.net and also writes for www.AnArtistsYearOff.com.

I wonder.....

I wonder if he'll remember the fun things, and not the arguments over bed times.

I wonder if he'll remember the "cool mommy" and not the mommy that makes him do his homework.

I wonder if he'll ever know just how much he is loved and wanted.

And I hope he has the best the world can offer him, the minimum of pain, and the maximum of joy.

Added some new things to Lori2.com

STILL no web site. Grumblegrumbledoashotgrumblegrumble.

So I added more to www.lori2.com.

Enjoy.

Random Thoughts By the Numbers

1. I've been up and dressed since 4am.

2. "House of Leaves" is a strange book.

3. The weather could stay this way forever and I'd be happy.

4. I think I'm going to camp out in my studio this afternoon.

5. If #1 doesn't kick in.

6. Where are all my sandals?

7. #6 is a good reason to go shoe shopping.

8. Who wants to go with me re: #7?

Web Site Update

I'm still (STILL) having issues with my web site. Apparently, the web host can't replicate the problem on their end which makes it difficult to fix. So in the meantime, I'm moving some things to an Etsy shop.

www.lori2.etsy.com

This won't be permanent, but it's driving me crazy not having my jewelry out there.

An Early Birthday Present -- A Kindle!

I am a bookaholic. I love books. I have books all over the house -- bookcases in the living room, the kitchen, the office, the studio, the bedroom -- everywhere. Books stacked double-deep and books wedged in tightly, books reverently allowed their own special shelves and books stacked in baskets waiting to be passed on to friends and family.

So I've been going through some angst about whether or not to Kindle.

(photo by Amazon.com)

Part of me felt like I'd be betraying books. There's something about holding a book in my hands -- the heft of it, the feel of the paper. I love paper, the promise of the story when I turn the first page. How was I going to get that with an electronic device?

But there were some pretty good reasons for having the best of both worlds. With a Kindle, I could download (free of charge in many cases) a lot of classics that I've always wanted to read. I got all 51 of Charles Dickens books for .99, for example -- where would I STORE those in this house that has become overrun with books?

I also like that should I need to, I can adjust the font size. Some days my eyes will not hold up, and knowing I can bump up the font is pretty awesome.

The price put me off for a while until I mentally added up how much I spend in a couple months on books and I solved that issue right then. And finally, my favorite ten or fifteen books are all in the 800-1000 page category, so having them as autographed books rocks, but being able to cart them to the gym without dislocating my shoulder seriously rocks.

Anyone have one of these? Anyone very much pro (or con) Kindle? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

EDITED: I'm editing this to say I will never quit buying regular books --- I just can't give that up. Kindle is a cool convenience but nothing can replace a book.

Beading in the Rain

I went to Zack's Book Fair on Monday and had a thoroughly good time. I mean, it's books. What's not to love?

Rick's oldest and oldest's girlfriend and spent the weekend with us, so when I got home, I was surprised to see that they hadn't already left. I was also surprised to see the furniture all moved around. "Oh, they're vacuuming really well for me!" I thought.

Then something about the stricken look in Jessica's eyes told me, "Wait. Somethin' ain't right."

"Is something wrong?" I asked?
"Um, yeah," Ryan said, and pointed up.

Not just drops. Or drips. But water POURING out of the ceiling. And not just in one place. Several. Many. As in more than one.

This is a good time to remind you that my husband works an hour away. And that our contractors are in Alabama this week. And that the plumber couldn't get there until 10 minutes after Rick got home. And that we couldn't get to the water shut-off valve because it's literally all the way under the house, or up to the elbow in the ground down the street.

It's also a good time to say we have excellent neighbors, and our friend George rescued us by turning off the water pipe with a wrench, keeping us all calm, and waiting with us until Rick arrived. Ryan, Jessica, and I just sat and watched the ceiling and poked holes as necessary so the ceiling wouldn't kerchunk down on our heads and I kept going for buckets and bowls as a new leak would spring.

So what caused it?

The world's worst contractor. The. Worst. He reverse threaded a pipe, never strapped it, and the pipe fell off. So while someone was in the shower, all the water went through the floor.

And it all started over my bead table.

Now this is what I see when I look up while making pretty things.



Not quite sure how that will inspire me.

Web Site and Email Woes

I am having trouble with my email and web site, and it is getting fixed, but I don't know how long it will take. I'm getting Facebook and other communications from many of you asking what's up, and frankly -- I don't know. I'm waiting for it to be fixed, and but until then, you can contact me by clicking here, contacting me via this blog, via Facebook, or by carrier pigeon.

Abject apologies, and everyone please take a deep cleansing breath for me as I sit in a corner and have a freak out.

Today's Program Brought To You by the Letter "C"

Color

Copper

Cupid

Carts

Cat

Confusion


(Weren't expecting that last one, were you?)


(Brought to you by the web site www.lorianderson.net)

Book Review -- "The Pillars of the Earth"

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT **** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS *****

OK, now that we've got that out of the way, on to the review!

Because I love period books ("Outlander", anything by Sharon Kay Penman), this book came highly recommended by more than a few of my friends. Set in the time of 12th century when King Stephen and Queen Maud were rivals for the throne, it's a story about the building of a cathedral. But it's so much more than that. It's about love, loss, redemption, evil, intrigue, dastardly deeds, suspense, and the murder of Thomas Becket.

Utterly amazing in its ambitiousness, I did find that I had not a whit of interest in the technical aspects of how cathedrals were built and skimmed over those sections. Follett didn't dwell for pages and pages on these bits, though, even though the book was ABOUT the building of cathedrals, and why this will work while that will not. Architects will love this part of the book. Others an easily give it a pass because the rest of the story is so heart-wrenchingly, intensely, suspensefully good.

It's a long book, so give yourself some time to enjoy the ride. It's worth your time.

And for those who didn't know, the mini-series is almost here!!!! Click here for more information.

The Pillars of the Earth cast

Ian McShane as 'Waleran Bigod'				Hayley Atwell as 'Aliena'		Eddie Redmayne as 'Jack'

Anatole Taubman as 'Remigius'

David Oakes as 'William'

Matthew Macfadyen as 'Prior Philip'

Rufus Sewell as 'Tom'

Natalia Wörner as 'Ellen'

(Photos from www.ken-follett.com)

(When Lori isn't reading, she's making jewelry. You can see her work at www.lorianderson.net)

Craft Book Review -- Sherri Haab's "Jewelry Inspirations -- Techniques and Designs From the Artist's Studio"

I was thrilled to be asked to review this book and when I got it into my greedy little hands, oh dear oh dear -- time stopped a bit because there was no way you could put it down once you started flipping through the pages.

Let me explain something -- I'm a very visual person, and I'm tired of beading how-to books. Let's tackle the second issue first.

Haab COMPLETELY bursts through the ceiling like Willy Wonka and the Glass Elevator through the Chocolate Factory with this new hit. It covers everything from polymer clay, vintage lucite, shrink plastic, doming resin, fiber, and spool knitting with wire. That's just to mention a few. Trust me -- if you think you've done it all, you are still going to find something to do in this book. Creative, innovative, and easy to understand, her projects are divine. I'm going to have to buy some of the materials and try out the projects ASAP!

Now on to the visual.

Is this collage of Haab's childhood memories, not the cutest? With this adorable set-up, she opens a section of the book on plastics. Each section of her book has a collage, and throughout the book you get snippets of Sherri's life, what it was like growing up, what she collects, what her studio looks like, and what makes her tick.

This, to me, is what makes the book super-duper ultra special, and worth buying even if you are a wizard and can do every single tutorial in the book. Every time you open the book, you'll never see the same thing twice.

In short -- buy this book. I am a HUGE critic and don't often buy jewelry tutorial books, but this one -- oh yes, it's a keeper. It hits the stands on March 9th, and you can preorder at Amazon.com by clicking here.

Once you get the book, I'd love to hear your thoughts!



Disclaimer -- the opinions are my own, and I am not affiliated with Sherri Haab or Watson-Guptill Publications.


(And kudos and a big back slap to Sherri Haab!)