GlassMelts

Interesting Reading

2012-03-08T08:13:00.003-08:00

Very interesting article I read today. Love it. Who cares if you are a women in business. Can you do the job? That's what really counts.

http://www.inc.com/vanessa-nornberg/were-a-women-owned-business-so-what.html

Spring

2012-03-07T07:13:00.004-08:00

So for the valley of the sun this is the busy event time of year. The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past few weeks. I have been working quite a bit, but it's been fun for the most part. Still trying to find a cleaning lady. Made a couple of calls but believe it or not I'm not getting a response back. It's weird. Going to try a different approach today and make a Facebook post. We have events almost every weekend this month and Jeff's band is playing St. Patrick's Day at a new place. That should be so much fun! Once April hits it will slow down significantly so I'm not stressing over it. Just going to try to go with the flow.
I figured out two days ago that I had been filling my pill case (yes I'm old and need a pill case) with an old dosage of my Synthroid. I have been under-medicating myself for weeks it seems. Might explain a lot of the cranky, tired, overwhelming feelings I have been having. Back on track now and hoping the moods improve. I have also distanced myself from a friend who has a very negative personality. She has a good life and is never happy. Constantly finding faults with everything and everyone. Although I love her dearly, I am finding I just can't be around the negativity so much. Life is good, for her and me and I don't want to get sucked into that.

Event Planner Paradox

2012-02-27T19:48:00.005-08:00

As an event planner, I am often overwhelmed by the to do list and wish for competent help. A fellow planner wrote a recent blog post that struck me as funny and so very true.
We want to do a good job which usually involves other people and yet at the same time we want to do it all and know we are needed. It's something I had never really thought about. The job is sometimes frustrating and crazy, but when it goes well, there is no better feeling!

http://katiecharland.com/event-planner-paradox/

Overwhelmed

2012-02-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

I am feeling very overwhelmed at the moment. Had a bit of a meltdown last night and not even sure why. It's not like life is bad. It's great right now. I am just feeling very frustrated by my kids. Not sure how they got to the point that they feel they do not need to do basic things around the house. They have stopped putting dishes in the dishwasher, won't empty it without being told, I am finding their junk all over the house, no respect for anyone else's stuff. It's crazy. I can't keep up. I did not raise them this way and I am not sure how to fix it. When I try to talk to them about it they look at me like I've lost my mind, tell me they will do better and then do absolutely nothing different. I have a busy couple of month's coming up, we are refinancing the house which means tons of paperwork and I feel like I am living in a disaster zone. No, I have not called a cleaning lady yet, although I think today may be the day! I am tired of feeling like this all the time.

Not enough time in a day

2012-01-31T15:10:00.000-08:00

It sure seems like lately there is just not enough time or energy in a day to get everything I want to done. Work has been busy and it's fun so I do enjoy it most of the time. We are looking at refinancing the house to get a better interest rate and the paper work involved is crazy. 36 pages later, I still have to scan it in and send it back. I still have a couple of custom orders I need to get to. One of those I'm planning on working on tonight. I finally took a time out last night and went for a decent walk with Randy. It felt so good to be out in the cool air and not worry about anything but spending time with the kiddo. We have the best talks when we walk like that.

Presidential Visit

2012-01-26T08:00:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. I headed out for a much needed massage appointment in the afternoon. The President of the United States came to town at about the same time I headed out. Needless to say they were all roads closed off and I could not cross the one intersection closest to the salon. I sat in traffic for just a few minutes and there went the Presidential motorcade. About a block in front of me. I thought that was pretty cool but inconvenient. So I get to my appointment about 5 minutes late, not a big deal since my massage therapist, Denise knew what was going on. Great massage. But now the parking lot is closed again, I can't get out. So Denise and I walked out to the corner and watched the proceedings. Took them about 15-20 minutes to go by, again very cool. Unfortunately all I could think about were how many people had been inconvenienced, the amount of money it cost to put on the visit and all of the work and trouble for something that just didn't seem that important to me. People on our side of the street were not allowed to cross over to get their kids from the daycare, contract workers at the plant the President visited had to take the day off without pay, many of the hair dressers at the salon had cancelled their afternoon appointments, streets were closed, air traffic was delayed and rerouted and there had to have been several hundred police officers involved in the procession alone! And the thing I noticed the most was that as he drove by only a small group of about 4 or 5 clapped and cheered, everyone else was very quiet. There were very few flags, no posters or signs, I think it was more people like me who kind of got stuck in the mess and decided to watch. All for a 45 minute speech. My boss was invited along with our council members and Mayor. The top photo was her view. She was not sure she would go since she is also not a huge fan, but we talked about it and decided it was a once in a lifetime opportunity if nothing else.My brother in law was called in to help guard Air Force One, which is cool, but again, was it really necessary or worth it. Not in my book.

The creativity is flowing!

2012-01-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

I have been in a very creative mood lately. The list of things I want to do keeps getting longer and longer. The kiln is running for the third day in a row. I had a few custom requests and I hate having those hanging over my head, so I try to get those done first. Right now there are two picture frames, two bottles, a cross and 12 night lights melting away. Can't wait to see how they come out tomorrow! These photos are from the last go around.

New Year, New Ideas.

2012-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at how quickly time flies by. We are already 12 days into the new year and I feel like I am behind already! I had thought January would be a little slow for the glass business. After all, the holidays are over and people tend to minimize their shopping to make up for what they did in December. Evidently this is not going to be the case this year. My main gallery and main store both put in requests for items. It is a great way to start of the new year. It did start me thinking though. If this is the way things are going to be for a while, then I need to rethink my day to day routine. I just don't have time to accomplish everything I need to and be happy, healthy and sane. I work at the DCCP about 25 hours a week and I am putting in about that many hours at home on glass a lot of the time. That's a 50 hour work week not counting laundry, vacuuming, bathrooms, dusting, yard work, etc. It's just not working for me and the family doesn't seem to understand I can't do it all. So I have decided to find a cleaning lady to come in at least once a month to help me from getting so far behind. I did not want to spend the money since I do try to live frugally as much as I can and it seems like a silly expense, but I'm going crazy trying to keep up. So that's my new idea. Not sure how it will work out, but I am going to give it a shot.

Trying Something New

2011-12-27T19:47:00.001-08:00

I have decided to try something new with the business. I have opened an Etsy shop. It will have a limited stock of unique items. I plan to start with just the night lights and see how it goes. I may move on to some larger items shortly. Although business has been very good, I don't like having all of my work in one or two places. If something happens to any of them it would take a big chunk out of my business. So, I decided to try Etsy. Friends have had good luck with it and the investment is pretty minimal. Over time I would like to expand into new areas and this could be a great option for doing that.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GlassMelts

I am also anxious to get started on some new things for the new year. First things first though. A major clean up of my studio area is in order. With as crazy as things get in December, only the bare minimum of organization and cleaning up went on. That's my goal for tomorrow. Clean the studio!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight we are heading over to my mom and dad's for Christmas Eve dinner. Ricky worked today so we are waiting for him to come home first. I am really looking forward to getting together. It's usually so much fun. Dad will have a fire lit in the fireplace which is so special. We have a gas fireplace and although very convenient and easy is just not the same as a real, log fire. It is kind of weird not cooking anymore. We do Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's and Christmas Day at Shenta and Scott's. Scott makes the best prime rib dinner. It makes for a very relaxing couple of days and I still get left overs! I even managed to get a nap in today. The neighbor brought over a great plate of cookies so we have sweets to share and I bought a maple, walnut, cinnamon pull apart for breakfast. I am feeling very well taken care of and blessed this year again. It's been a good one.

Happy 20th Anniversary!

2011-12-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

Shenta and Scott celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary today. A lot has happened in the last 20 years. We celebrated Max's adoption anniversary on Monday. Miss hurricane Tola arrived almost two years ago now and I think they are pretty grateful for everything. Congratulations are in order.

Someone send out a memo?

2011-12-19T15:15:00.001-08:00

We laughed so hard when we got into work today. This is at least the 4th or 5th time we have managed to dress almost exactly alike. This was not planned in any way. There are only 4 of us that work in the office and our 4th person is out of town until January 5th. So I guess we are all on the same wavelength somehow, because we keep doing this. Last week is was red sweater and black pants day and often we do black and white dresses that are similar. Too funny. They are a great group of girls and I am so happy to have such a great environment to work in!

Happy 24th Birthday Rick!

2011-12-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Happy 24th Birthday Rick. He's off on a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise with his girlfriend Janae and we are really missing him this week. It's kind of quiet around the house. First time we have not seen him on his birthday and it's kind of hard. I know he's having a blast though. See you Sunday.

A little chilly around here.

2011-12-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been remarkably cold for us. This is unusual although I remember days like this last winter too. We have lit the fireplace the last three nights in a row and tonight Jeff even laid on the floor in front of it. He is never cold. It was his idea to turn it on all three nights. Does this mean we are getting old? Even the dogs are cuddling up on the couch to stay warm. I have been running around with a long sleeved top and either a sweater or sweatshirt on over that. Very unusual for me. Usually one layer is plenty. It's been a challenge finding warm clothes to wear to work. I'm sure it won't last long and we will be back in the 70's before I know it. In the meantime, the fire is pretty and we are enjoying snuggling up at night!

Ornaments galore!

2011-12-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

At this time of year we are so busy mostly with ornaments and night lights. For the first time ever we had both kilns running at the same time last night. We had things that needed to run on different cycles and time is of the essence right now. Although it is only December 2nd, the push to have enough inventory in the galleries and stores is on. Our main gallery had already sold over half of what I had stocked them up on and is well over double the sales of last year at the same time. Needless to say I was not expecting that. Jeff made a run in there today at lunch with a load and they have requested that we just keep making them for a bit. My other store requested 40 ornaments so we came home tonight and loaded up the big kiln again. I also ran out of night light parts and ended up taking apart some old ones I have had for a while and didn't like or didn't sell to salvage parts. I ordered more, but they might not be in for a week or so, and I needed to get some special orders done this week. I love this time of year. There is so much to do and keep me busy and I love to make Christmas themed things. Tomorrow we will be decorating the house and working on more ornaments. I have a good start on my shopping so I feel calm and under control. Let's see how long that lasts!!

So much to be Thankful for!

2011-11-29T16:41:00.000-08:00

I have so very much to be thankful for. We spent our first night in our new cabin in Pine on Friday night. It was so cold! There is no central heat and we had mattresses on the floor. We found out that the wiring in the place needs some serious attention. We can't run the space heaters and just about anything else at the same time. It flipped the breaker several times. It got to be pretty funny. Shut the space heater off to make toast. Shut the space heater off to curl my hair. Forget running the vacuum! We are going back up tomorrow with a couch, recliner and another mattress. A bed is next on my list of things to find!

This is also the season when I do the most glass. I had stocked up on the two main stores/galleries and stopped in one today with a couple of things. They are already running low on ornaments and asked for 30 more. I came home from work today and started another load right away. I also picked up 4 wine bottles for a custom order. And when I went through the drive through at the bank, the teller asked me for some night lights. She bought a few from me at the last art walk and decided she needs a couple more. Busy, busy, busy. It gets a little stressful, but I am so very grateful to have the business.

The kids are healthy, the dogs are healthy, mom and dad are doing well, we are secure and comfortable, we have jobs that pay well and cars to drive, and I am grateful!

New Art Work

2011-11-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

I also bought a new piece of art work on Friday night at our monthly Downtown Chandler Art Walk. This piece is called "Crazy Hearts" by Debbie Hirsh. I love her work and had been eyeing several pieces for a while. This one just jumped out at me and I got it on Friday. I am thinking I might take it to the cabin to hang.

Chandler Block Party

2011-11-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

We survived! Yesterday was the second annual Chandler Block Party. This year I was very involved with the planning and execution of the event. What a project. It went off without any major issues and I think everyone had fun. We think there were around 10,000+ people that attended. It meant a 16 hour day and my feet are killing me today, but I am pleased overall with how it went. Learned a lot! I am very grateful to have the experience and although I now know I never want to be a full time event planner for this kind of thing, I did learn so much. I can hopefully use some of this experience in other events we do.

Now that this is behind me, I can focus on some other things I have been putting off and neglecting. We are hoping to go up to the cabin overnight for the first time this weekend. I refuse to do any Black Friday shopping, although we will need to hit the grocery store in Payson on the way in. We will also probably need to go to Home Depot since we don't have the measurements for several areas and need to get some heaters and nails, screws, mollys, etc to hand some things. I also need to do some major house cleaning and cooking for Thanksgiving. Looking forward to a much less stressful week!

Pine, AZ

2011-11-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

So... last year we started hunting for a small cabin up north. We hate the summers here and wanted to find someplace quiet to get away for weekends. We found it. A small 1100sq ft "cabin" in Pine, AZ. It is a bank owned property and we put an offer in back in August. It has taken quite a lot of back and forth and having some repairs done by the bank, but we are supposed to go on Friday to sign the papers. We should close escrow then early next week. It is tiny, funny, quirky, cute, quiet and only about 2 hours away. There is no heat except a gas fireplace, the decks will need to be replaced and a few other small issues will need to be worked on, but over all it's in decent shape. It was a good deal and has the potential to increase in value too. It's on about 1/3 of an acre in a very quiet area. They tell us the deer and elk will be all over the place and we have seen deer both times we have been there. It's close enough to go for one night and big enough we can spend a week there without getting on one another's nerves. :-) Someday our goal is to do a major remodel, but that is a long way off. In the meantime, we are excited to spend some quiet time away from tv's, computers, phones, etc.

WOW!

2011-11-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Pretty much all we can say is wow! What a trip. We had a fantastic time and so many wonderful places. Everywhere was gorgeous and the whole experience was great. We are so very grateful for the opportunity to visit such historic places.

The Vatican

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Pompeii and Sorento

Spanish Steps

Rialto Bridge

St. Mark's Basilica

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Trevi Fountain

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

Marseille

Notre Dame de la Guarde

Murano

Pantheon

St. Peter's Basilica

The Gothic Quarter in Barcelona

Las Ramblas

La Sagrada Famila

Justin Pierce

2011-10-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

So I bought some original artwork from a new artist. His name is Justin Pierce. This is so not my usual style, but I fell in love with his stuff and bought this one at the last Downtown Chandler Art Walk. It's about 20x24 I think and I just love it.

My goal for a while now has been to only purchase art work from artists I have met and are local. There is tons of cheap, made in China, mass produced stuff out there and I just don't want to support that. I want to spend my money with those I know. Often we think that we can't afford original art work or that stuff made in other countries is going to be cheaper when in fact the opposite is often true. If we would just take a few extra moments to look at the tags in items we buy at the store, we would all be better off. I am renewing my commitment to spend that extra five minutes at the clothing store or grocery store and make a difference.

World Trade Center

2011-09-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

I had to stop by the Chandler Fire Dept. for work earlier this week. As my boss and I walked into the lobby there sits a beam from the World Trade Center. I was kind of in awe. It was a bit emotional too. Rather amazing to think that a piece of those buildings was just sitting there in the crate. The Fire Dept. doesn't know yet where they are going to put it on display so it is just sitting there for a while.

Art Walk Tonight

2011-09-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready for the Downtown Chandler Art Walk tonight. The weather here is cooling off nicely finally and I am really looking forward to it. The musician playing is a friend of ours, so I know the music will be good. We have 47 artists signed up to participate so the crowd should be good too. Jeff and I did up a few more bottles for tonight. He had the idea of doing a red, white and blue theme with them. They came out really cool. Can't wait to see what everyone thinks of them. We have another Art Walk next Friday night too and then I am off until November when things really pick up and life will be even more crazy than the usual. It's all good and I can't complain. The shows we have been doing have been pretty decent and life is good. Knock on wood!

Surprise!

2011-09-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.gogilbert.com/ See page 49!

Had an interesting e-mail pop up today. It was from Rick's girlfriend's mom. She is walking in the Susan G. Komen 3 day walk and I had made a donation to her fundraising page. She sent me a thank you e-mail and mentioned she was reading the Go Gilbert Magazine and came across and article that I was mentioned in. I found the online version and was surprised to find my glass splashed across a two page spread! I am helping sponsor a new art walk in Gilbert and they quoted me and used a couple of photos of my glass. Don't remember sending in those particular photos but I have done some stuff with them in the past and they must have pulled them from their archives. I was so excited. It's great press!

Snowman

2011-09-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

So I'm still wishing for cooler weather obviously. Although the high today is only supposed to be 100. Only. I had a very productive weekend with glass. A couple of new ideas surfaced. This snow man is one of them. Simple and easy and yet I think he's quite cute. We are also firing up our new baby kiln for it's first real fire today. Had to read the instructions and turned out to be a lot easier than we thought it would be. Now we just have to wait and see how the stuff comes out to know if we have it programmed correctly. It should make things a lot easier for me. I never run my big kiln unless it's completely full. It takes too much electricity to run any other way and be worth it. It can also take me hours and hours to make enough stuff to fill and I don't always have a lot of time. Sometimes I just want to do a couple of small things and the new kiln should do that nicely.