Friday - Woo Hoo!

I'm so glad - it's been a long week.

I've been a jewelry making fool - finished a custom request, made two pairs of earrings for my brother's fiance, and even created a necklace for my etsy store. Oh, and got my stepdaughter started on a bracelet for her mom.

I've also been busy with ebay - buying items, taking pictures, listing...and thankfully, shipping out sold stuff too. A good 'problem' to have, and I'm very glad the sales seem to be picking back up after a DRY April.

Still, I'm glad for the weekend...could use some rest! But first, I must survive...

BUNCO NIGHT

How do I wind up in this predicament? I'm not on the normal monthly roster of players, rather I'm more like a sub they call every other month. It's usually 3 or 4 days ahead, and it always sounds good at the time. (Girls only time, oh yeah!)

But then the Friday arrives...and I'm exhausted. Or I have my CSI recorded from the night before, and really want to see it. Or maybe I'm just feeling antisocial. It just seems inevitable that I wake up Friday going "man, I have Bunco tonight" instead of "I'm so excited about Bunco tonight."

Maybe it's the people I play with. Mostly housewives from our neighborhood, with a few ladies from the outskirts of town. It's a mix of ages, with many my own age, but ranging up to late 50s (and the occasional 70-yr-old)...but I'm certainly not the only early-30s person. Is it because I *don't* stay home with the kids? That I'm a science geek who spent the 9 hours before the game talking engineer-speak?

The jewelry designer in me should be gleeful - I should be decking myself out in my latest creations, and handing out business cards. Just can't seem to manage it....

Thankfully, Bunco night always includes cocktails and chocolate. Nothing like a glass of wine or pina colada to loosen me up, and make the evening go by.

Which reminds me...I need to call my house-hubby and have him get MY finger food for tonight!

What Fun!

We had such a blast with Rachel's party yesterday. Messy cupcakes, presents, dancing game with our friends, and of course swimming!

I've uploaded some of the photos to flickr to share, but here's a small sample too. I'm not in any of them...between coordinating and taking most of these pictures, it just didn't happen. Oh well. :-)


Rachel loves this hula skirt from her new swimsuit

















Cupcake messiness! That blue icing took forever to wash off. Thank goodness we went swimming after!

Birthday Fun

Perhaps I'm insane, but I kind-of like planning kid's birthday parties.

My youngest is having her birthday party tomorrow, and we are (gasp) pretty much ready. Her initial request for a party was "Enchanted Princess" (she saw the recent movie, and loves all things princess). However, with extra family coming in and a preschool full of new friends, we decided to forego the usual at-home party this time. Instead, we're having a "Little Mermaid" (still a princess!) Pool Party. Cake, presents, and splashing kids - should be great.

One of the best parts of my kids' parties is the planning. With my husband a stay-at-home dad for now, we live on a tight budget. Most parties are at home, with a theme, games, friends - but not a lot of fancy or store-bought items. Oh, we do get the fancy napkins and plates, maybe a tablecloth or banner - but beyond that, it's usually handmade by me. And that's a lot of fun.

Admittedly, a lot of work too - not nearly as much as the post-party clean up though!

Still, I'm rather proud of my creations for previous parties. I've hand-drawn The Mystery Machine (Scooby-Doo) and Darth Vadar - both on posterboard, both later hung in the birthday-kid's room. When our youngest son turned 6, we did Jedi Training School...and I created capes for everyone out of some thrift-store salvaged sheets. Those silly things are still wandering around our house!

I've baked and decorated more cakes than I can count - but some stand out, like the Spiderman (with great webs) and the Batman car cake. Do you know how hard it is to get icing to turn dark gray? Somehow, I managed to turn a cake into a road, with grass on the sides, and plant a LARGE BatMobile on it for the birthday boy. Still patting myself on the back for that one.

This party is different...our entertainment and 'decorating' is pretty much already done - we're in a big pool after all. So what's a crafty mom to do, creative skills thwarted for once. Ahhh...the glimmering of an idea...

A Princess Theme Songs CD! iTunes, here I come - at least the computer-geek side of me is happy now.

Kids jewelry kits - giving it a try

Everybody I talk to seems to think it's a good idea....kits of beads (and stretchy string) that let them create their own bracelets yet still be creative.

Hit the store and picked up some unique beads in kid-friendly material and colors. Also some blank beads and paint so I can add a few handmade touches. Keep an eye on my etsy store (http://texastesla.etsy.com) for my first few kits to arrive!