That Random Post With Jewelry Photos

"April Showers Bring May Flowers", $98, click here

The Random Post Part One:


The State of the Body


This week has been a whirlwind.  I'm recovering from migraine-unrelated surgery so days have kind of blended together and my head is still fuzzy.  Not from pain killers, though, as they make my headaches worse.  So do I feel kicked by a horse?  Check.  Run over by a truck?  Check.  Mashed by a lead balloon that fell out of the sky in the middle of a hail storm?  Check, check, AND check.

However, laughter is indeed the best medicine.  So I giggle and then hold my sides.

"Coastline", $30, click here

The Random Post Part Two:

The Beauty of Beads and Business

I'm looking forward to relaxing this weekend, and I hope that relaxing will include beads.  Before surgery, I dug into the deep depths of my bead cabinets to pull together possible combinations for future pieces.  There's some neat stuff back there I forgot I had.

There's a difference between designing with a show deadline and designing with other deadlines.  When I'm designing for shows, I'm constantly wondering, "Am I making the right thing?  Am I on the right track?  Is this what they'll really like?".  I'm sure most of you feel that way when preparing for a craft show -- the thing you didn't make is the one thing everyone will want.

But preparing for tutorials or Cup of Bead Soup or other blog hops feels ... lighter.  Or at the very least, a different sort of stress.  I'm pushing myself creatively, rather than thinking with the business side of my brain.

"Tibetan Rose", $32, click here

The Random Post Part Three:

Sharing a Funny (and pie)

Erin Prais-Hintz recently shared some her favorite blogs and I have to share this one, which isn't really a blog but a collection of web sites -- Lileks.com.  I am particularly partial to The Institute of Official Cheer, which includes such gems as The Gallery of Regrettable Food.  Regrettable Food showcases vintage cookbooks from the 40's, 50's, and 60's, and boy-o boy, are there some doozies!  I'm amazed at how far photography and culinary expertise has advanced, because I do like to eat, and after looking through these gastronomic treasures -- I'd be on a permanent saltine-and-water diet.

Which, on second thought, wouldn't be so bad.  

But then, there wouldn't be pie.

"Breast Cancer Awareness - Free Spirit", $98, click here

The Random Blog Post Part Four:  

Taxes

And my last thought for the afternoon (I did tell you this was a totally random post, didn't I?) it feels totally weird not to have Tax Day fall on April 15th but on Monday the whatever-it-is.   I wish I could earmark the taxes I'm paying toward specific things, like schools, but that's an entirely different blog post.


Paying taxes is a fact of life.  If you're in business for yourself, I'd highly recommend (highly, highly, SKY highly recommend) getting a small business accountant.  Someone who specializes in small businesses is much more in tune to what deductions you can take, the ways inventory can be calculated, and will have solid tips for how to keep your records in following years.  The relatively minor amount of money I pay my guy is worth every single penny ten times over in one, the advice he's given me, and two, the TIME he's saved me.


And the best thing about having an accountant -- if you ever have the bad luck to get audited, your accountant will be right there by your side.  But that will never happen to you.  Nope.  Not you.

"Eiffel Tower", $15, click here

I hope you got something out of this really random, off-the-wall post.  I almost deleted it twice but figured, what the heck, why not.  I like random, after all.

So give me some randomness!

Lori Anderson creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs, and wrote the blog An Artist's Year Off.  She's also a contributor to Art Bead Scene.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.