Hi, everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted, but I swear I had a good reason. . .at the time. . . Anyways.....

I posted a short little blob--I mean, blog; a while ago about quitting my job at the portrait studio. I quit it without anything else to go to, but I really just could NOT handle one more second, let alone one more day. So, while it made Christmas a little more stressful than it may have been otherwise, I was at least able to be with Brad and his family at their cabin this year in Island Park. The previous year was forgettable merely because of work. Too tired to enjoy it. Well--now I am working at "my" bead shop that I've gone to since they opened almost four years ago. It's less hours and less pay, but there's something to be said for not hating your job and not wanting to cry because you have to go to work. Plus, it's allowing me to actually use my brain again and be creative.

A lot of you know that I've been making and trying to sell my jewelry for a while now without much success. Well, I've started an Etsy account that I'll be using now and hope everyone will check it out. I did have to change my name though so I am NO LONGER Whitewave Designs. It was actually already taken (in various forms and variations) so I figured there was no point in doing something like this if I'm not going to stand out. So, after putting a lot of thought in to it, I am now....*drum roll, please*.......Deep Blue Notions. I'm still waiting on my sister-in-law, Kimberly to make my new logo for me, but in the meantime I've created a temporary logo where I can still use part of my old logo. The new, official one will hopefully have the celtic dolphin incorporated into it as well so there hopefully, won't be too much of a change for people. I only have two items up right now, but I'm working at getting more up every day. Anyway, here is the link for anyone who wants to check it out. :)

www.deepbluenotions.etsy.com

I QUIT MY JOB ON FRIDAY AND FEEL SO GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a few leads on some new jobs but as of yet, I am unemployed. I just could NOT handle that place any longer!!!!

Phew!!!!

Below are some other random pictures from our July Arizona trip. I do hope you enjoy my commentary. :) I think these are enough to satisfy ones appetite for our vacation photos. :) If you thirst for more, let me know. lol

*NOTE: You can click on any of my images to enjoy a larger view. This may be particularly helpful to find Yurtle the Turtle in the photo below. * :)

It may be hard for you to tell, but those small (ish) turtles in the front there...one of them made it home with me. I like to refer to him as Yurtle. Yurtle, the turtle. :)

Man, I wish that some of these large pots could have come home with us. :( Another time perhaps. :)

My mom, Beth, and Cassidy in Tubac, AZ scopin' out some pottery to take home with us. I heart Tubac. :) I have to go there every time I visit my sister. This time around I didn't quite satisfy my personal desire for Mexican pottery, but I didn't come home empty handed either. And I did get some Mexican pottery--just not the style I was after. There is a certain style that I must say--I heart it the most. :) lol

Cactus Barrel Blossoms.

Cactus Barrel Blossoms.

Cactus Barrel Blossoms.

Prickly Pear Cactus.

A few photos of my niece, Cassidy. We went to see my little sister, Beth and her fam, in Arizona in July. My mom and I had not seen them since Cassidy was fresh out of the oven, and Brad had never seen her. It was so great to see her and see what a terrific job her parents are doing with her. She was so well-behaved and such a happy child. She loves to color in her coloring book and wants you to color too. She also likes to "read" her books and have you sit in her very own special chair with her (The chair--really not meant for an adult's behind if you know what I mean. lol Of course we all humored her though). I hope you enjoy the pictures below as much as I do. :)

My lil' sister, Beth and my niece, Cassidy. Very stinkin' cute!

One of my favorite outdoor shots I got while we vacationed in AZ this summer.

Such a cute girl. :)

Another shot of my cutie pie. :)

Cassidy Ann

Cassidy and her "baby" in one hand and her duckie in the other.

Cassidy sportin' her hat.

What you lookin' at?

"Where's your Mouth?"

Too stinkin' cute for words.

"Where's your teeth?"

I finally managed to talk Brad into taking advantage of my employee discount. I think he even managed to have a little bit of fun! These are some of my favorites! Enjoy!

Brad and I being silly.

Loungin' on the beach.

Me being goofy.

Brad being goofy.

One of my favs.

Another one of my favs.

Brad and I.

Hand in Hand.

Being goofy--again. . .

Brad and I.

Brad and I.

On the beach--again. . .

Syd in Sepia

Art Gallery in Colonia, turned Sepia, May 2008

My attempt at Bizcochos from a recipe I found online. The dough was a bit Crisco-y tasting. . .

Brad and I are tentatively planning a trip to Arizona this summer to visit my sister and my niece and hopefully see my brother and his daughter (who I've never met and she's like 6 or so). We are really hoping we will be able to go. Brad has never been to Arizona and I haven't seen my niece since she was 2 weeks old. :( We/I had some car trouble last week so it set the Arizona trip fund back almost $400. Brad has picked up a second shift on Sundays though with the hopes of saving up for the trip. My mom will be going with us, and she's really looking forward to it too. Keep your fingers crossed for us! Tentative dates for trip: July 25th-Aug. 1st. . .

Winter Snow

Just a bit o' Mornin' Frost outside of work this winter. Yes I was stalling punching the clock. :D

The now "bad" eye is his right eye

I will admit--Syd got the special treatment whilst the cone was on.

So....Yeah, ummm.....long time since anyone has heard from me. As anyone who really and truly knows me can tell you; I really and do have nothing but the bestest of intentions in my heart! It's just that.....well....I'm easily distracted!!! And, oh--I have a hard time managing to remember that while I personally prefer to use MySpace to keep in touch and share my photos--everyone else I know is either into Facebook or strictly e-mailing/phone calls, and oh, yeah, a few of you are into Blogging!!! Can't keep up?! Me either!!! It was brought to my attention tonight though with a phone call to Brad from his sister, Becky, that I do have this thing and some of you out there actually do want to hear what's new with us and see my new photos!! Oh, wait--back that up a minute--I have two of these dang things!! I know, I know....I am the one who set both of them up. What WAS I thinking? Well, as Brad would point out--I wasn't. I could very easily have combined the two blogs, but thought that I needed to have our travels documented separately for some reason. And while it might be a cool idea for someone who actually gets to travel frequently--we unfortunately do not have the necessary funds to travel even close to as much as we would like to. So, yeah, I should have just had one dang blog and kept everything together...whatever. lol

SO, what's new with us you ask? Well, to be honest....not too terribly much, but here are a few things that you perhaps aren't aware of:

1. In January my baby Syd dog was attacked by a cat in the eye and we nearly had to have it surgically removed! Not joking! The stupid cat (not ours btw...and oh, btw we hate cats..especially now) ruptured Syd's retna which caused fluid to leak out of it and his eye was actually hemorrhaging out of the hole caused by said stupid cat. Poor Syd had to wear one of those silly looking cones for a month and had to have antibiotic drops every 6 (or was it every 8) hours, and when we took him back to the doggy eye specialist she was simply amazed at his recovery. However, we're still not out of the woods just yet. He had some pressure variance in his eyes and so now we are worried about that extra pressure causing glaucoma. Now we (Syd) are on different drops every 6 hours, and we're supposed to go back to the dr this month to see how the eye is progressing.

2. I've decided that I am going back to school! A lot of you may know that I am very interested in Eating Disorders, but few of you may know that I have a strong desire to work in an Eating Disorder Clinic as an Art Therapist. I already have a huge chunk of the school required for a degree in Art Therapy. I just need to go back to get a Psych Minor and then I can go to Grad school and get a Master's in Art Therapy. However, before I can go back to school to get my minor; I have to find a new job that will allow me some flexibility in my schedule. I had hoped to get a new job in time to start back to school this summer, but as you all know--the economy is in the pooper right now. lol Yeah, so wish me luck with that one. :)

3. This is probably OLD news to most, but not necessarily to all, so it's worth noting...I've been working in a portrait studio since last September--and I hate it! lol The taking pictures part is fine and I enjoy that aspect of the job on most days, but the sales average/selling the pictures part--well--it blows really. lol....This company (which must remain nameless in a mass publication sort of way....I can tell you personally, just not on here publicly) is not a good company to work for. They care about nothing more than how MUCH you sell! Some weeks I do really well, but others....well--I mentioned the part about the economy being in the pooper, didn't I?

Um.....Hmmmm.....I'm not really sure if there is anything else noteworthy right now, but I always welcome comments and questions, so feel free! :D Oh, and I will try to get some new, albeit random, pics up. :D