Journey & Adventure

I’m sure my tune will change when I’m finally relocated to Ecuador, Bonaire or some other southerly destination, but right now at this moment in time, here is a list of things I won’t miss… 1. My alarm clock. Waking up on my own will be a blessing. I should have all of the time in the world to do what I want, when I want, so my alarm clock won’t be a necessity any longer. 2. My commute. I can think of so many things I can do with an additional 2 hours every day. 3. The daily grind of a 9-5 job and all of the office politics that go along with said job. I know I’ll miss the paycheck but I think all the negatives outweigh that one positive. 4. Fast food restaurants. Yes, I know they are convenient and I am not one to frown upon their usefulness, but I’ll be glad when they are no longer an option for me. 5. Big box stores. Convenient? Yes. Cheap? Yes. Soul sucking? Absolutely! I can’t even put into words the despair I feel

I have found the absolute perfect solution to many of my work woes.  Incentive travel.  Yes, instead of a monetary bonus, companies actually provide their employees with travel rewards. Incentive travel programs allow employees to work towards a tangible reward. Also, a program such as this offers the possibility to satisfy each human being’s inherit desire to see and travel the world. As an innovative way to motivate employees, the positive impact an incentive travel program within a company can bring is worth looking into. The following three steps will help you in launching an incentive program which can potentially show an increase in business, employee retention, and office place morale. I intend on putting this little tidbit into the "Suggestion Box"...

Good news (I think). I’ve received confirmation that my jewelry has now been juried and I have been accepted to participate in the craft show I was telling you about last week. So with that, I’m revving up production.  I'm exhausted from just thinking about all the work and it hasn't even started yet. It’s exciting to know that my stuff will be getting a lot of exposure at that show, but at the same time, it’s frightening to think about the “what ifs”. What if I don’t have enough inventory to last the entire 4 day show? What if I have enough inventory because absolutely no one buys a thing? What if I don’t make enough money to pay for the show entrance fees? What if I lose my mind because the eccentrics at the show drive me over the edge? You know who I’m talking about – those over-the-top “crafty” people. What if there is a home-baked goods booth set up beside me? I’m doomed to lose my mind and all my money for sure. Now that think abou

Up and down like a see-saw… Round and round like a merry-go-round… Back and forth like a ping-pong ball… Do you get the picture? No? Me neither. Indecisiveness is the name of the game at the moment. I’m not typically an indecisive person, but when it comes to this 5 Year Plan, I can decide which end is up. Those of you that have been around long enough know the story. Before we decided to put the 5 year plan in motion, we had always talked about “wouldn’t it be nice to win the lottery and move to Bonaire”. Then when we heard about how economically one could live in Ecuador, we realized we wouldn’t need to win the lottery to make our dreams come true, but instead we would just need to focus our energy into paying off our debts within the next 5 years and with that “The 5 Year Plan” was born. When started looking into Ecuador in greater detail, we were excited about all of the opportunities that would be available to us like cheap real estate, cheap cost of living,

When I was a lot younger, I had dreams of becoming a stage actor, but even back then, I had the nagging need to make ends meet instead of throwing caution to the wind and following my dreams.    The closest I get to those dreams of magic and whimsy now are watching as an audience member.   I have an ever-growing wish list of performances I would love to see one day – even a couple of operas too.   La Cage Aux Folles – A story of two gay men, a straight son about to be married and the introduction of the soon to be conservative in-laws.  It’s all about remaining true to themselves, regardless of what others may think.   La Traviata – A story of a woman, gone astray, living the life of wild indulgences until she meets a true gentleman, but their relationship is bound to disgrace his well-to-do family.  Can they find true love or will it come too late?   La Boheme – Another story of love, lust, despair and jealousy.  What more could you want?  True lov

I’m feeling out of sorts this Monday. I don’t know why, I just know that something’s not right with my world at the moment. Probably, just the Monday blues. I should start feel better by 5:00 pm - I usually do. My boss is on holidays this week. Thank goodness for small miracles. Another week like last week and I might not have been able to contain myself or the rage he creates within me. I had dinner with an old co-worker last week. Our meeting reminded me of how much I miss working with her. We could be silly together, laughing about anything, everything and everyone that crossed our paths throughout the day. It was nice to have a funny, carefree co-worker. I don’t have that here and I miss it. I wish I could go barefoot in the office. I hate wearing shoes. I’m constantly kicking them off under my desk only to have to scramble to put them back on when I need to go to meetings, the printer, supply room or the restroom. This morning I was reflecting upon “what I did th

Summer is still upon us and I’m loving every extreme heat moment of it, but my thoughts have slowly been turning to the holiday season that’s not too far around the corner. I know – it’s a sure sign of insanity. Believe me, I’m not wishing the next 3.5 months away; however I’ve had a dose of reality in that I’m not remotely prepared. You see, I sort of diddle-farted around and didn’t get my application in for participation in my usual November craft show and now, I find out there is no more room. Eeek! Flamingo Tongue Designs has done well this year overall, but I relied on that craft show to increase my sales into the “almost break-even” range.   Shame on me for procrastinating.  What am I going to do now? Well, after some scrambling, I found a bigger and better show to participate in – if I’m accepted. It’s a juried show and my work will be judged before I’m accepted, so you never know which way it might go. The entrance fees are twice as much to participate in it, but

I realize it’s already Wednesday and I’m just now getting around to telling you about my weekend, but things have been busy. Well, maybe not so much busy, as I’ve been lazy and I've been competing in the new Olympic event of "couch-surfing". Anyhow, it was a long weekend in Canada. It was one of those holidays that you get, but you don’t really understand its purpose. I’m okay with that – it was a holiday and I am thankful for it nonetheless. So, part of doing nothing exciting all weekend involved yet another couple of long walks on the beach on both Saturday and Monday. Once again, it was peaceful. After the wind and rain we had on Sunday, the beach was full of glass treasures on Monday, so I was in my glory. Apart from all of the beach glass, shells and driftwood we find, we also find lots of other junk that’s floated away – plastic bottles, old hats, beach balls, sand pails, sunglasses and garbage. This weekend, I found something I’ve never found before…my

I’ve never considered myself a crafter. I don’t like felt, craft foam, glitter or sequins, BUT I do love my glue gun. It’s a heavy duty industrial model – not one of those wimpy crafty ones. It’s a manly glue gun (if there is such a thing) and I have the burn marks and blisters on my fingers to prove it. Anyhow, I’ve taken a bit of a break from the jewelry side of things to explore my other creative side – the one where I get to use the glue gun. Soooo, here is what I’ve created with some picture frames from the dollar store, some white spray paint, some glue and of course, some of my sea glass treasures.  The photos in the frames are courtesy of J.  I think I’ve found another excuse to go on vacation…I need more glass and J needs more photos! You would not believe what sea glass picture frames have been selling for on Etsy by other artists. Let’s just say, I could quit my day job if I sold enough of them.