My 101 List

My 1001 Day Project ends on Friday, October 1, 2010 in .

• Main Goal
• Do something towards my goals every week (1/104)
• Cooking
• Catalog all my stray recipes
• Grow an herb garden
• Grow an organic garden in a pot
• Learn to cook fish
• Learn to cook flan
• Learn to cook my dad's garlic chicken
• Learn to cook pastelles
• Learn to cook piononos
• Declutter
• Clean out garage
• Declutter house
• Photograph and post at least 10 ebay or craigslist items for destashing 1x month (1/34)
• Photograph and post at least 10 supply items for destashing 1x month (2/34)
• Scan and shred all household documents
• Financial
• Create a budget
• Establish a $1000 emergency fund
• Inventory household items for insurance purposes
• Pay off all credit cards
• Health
• Establish an exercise habit
• Get hair trimmed 3x year (1/9)
• Get a real hairstyle…and not just a trim
• Grow my Kickboxing skills
• Lose 80 pounds
• Plan my meals out and shop for them 1x week (1/143)
• Start mountain biking again
• Start rollerblading again
• Test for brown belt
• Visit dentist 2x year (2/6)
• Household
• Buy/make non-disposable shopping bags
• Finish our living room curtains
• Fold laundry 1x quarter (4/12)
• Landscape yard 2x year (0/6)
• Paint our bedroom
• Setup memory board/mirror display in living room
• Vaccuum house 1x week (0/143)
• Wax truck 2x year (0/6)
• Jewelry
• Buy a tumbler and shot
• Establish a blogging schedule for A Pretty Rock
• Learn Chinese knotting
• Learn silver wire fusing
• Pay off A Pretty Rock debt
• Redesign website
• Submit website for write up to 4 blogs 1x month (3/34)
• Knowledge
• Learn to type Spanish language characters on keyboard
• Read 3 books in Spanish (0/3)
• Read Boriquas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings -- An Anthology
• Refresh my Arabic language knowledge
• Loving my dog
• Brush Snickers 1x week (0/143)
• Take Snickers for walk around block 5x week (0/143)
• Personal
• Create a family tree book
• Create an "in event of our deaths" list for both our moms
• Help our mom's fill out their own lists (0/2)
• Give blood (hate needles)
• Have a baby (again...hate needles...and pain)
• Create a book from my Grateful 365 project
• Take my mom to see The Nutcracker
• Recreational
• Attend a USPS dead letter auction
• Create website for my WoW guild
• Create wedding scrapbook (been 9 years…about time!)
• Finish baby blanket cross-stitch (started for my godson who is now 2)
• Go hiking in the Appalachians (I live so close!)
• Go horseback riding
• Learn how to handbind a book
• Learn to alter/customize clothing for myself
• Learn to rock climb
• Learn to snowboard
• Participate in project 365
• Purchase a dSLR
• Read all the Chronicles of Narnia books
• Read my lapsed comic book series
• Visit a corn maze
• Wear a costume to DragonCon
• Relationships
• Buy/make everyone's Christmas gifts before November each year (0/3)
• Host get-together 3x year (1/9)
• Keep track of birthdays and anniversaries (and addresses) and send a card on each one.
• Write thank you notes every time I receive a gift
• Spiritual
• Go on a missions trip
• Memorize a bible verse 1x month (1/34)
• Read bible 5x week (2/143)
• Travel
• Go back home to Puerto Rico with husband
• Take Jason to La Palguera
• Visit St. Thomas/Virgin Islands
• Visit New York
• Go to the top of the Empire State Building
• Go to the top of the Statue of Liberty
• See a musical on Broadway
• Visit Europe
• Visit Las Vegas
• Take a weekend getaway with my husband 1x year (0/3)
• Work
• Back up my computers 1x week (0/143)
• Create a program to serve a useful purpose for others
• Grow my business so my husband can stay home and work with me
• Join a networking group
• Learn a new programming language 1x year (0/3)
• Learn to expertly analyze web traffic tracking results
• Organize files on computers (0/3)
• Read a technical book 4x year (1/12)
• Setup landing pages for all my registered domain names
• Update paperwork for taxes 4x year (0/12)
• Write a blog post 1x week for Turtletopia (2/143)
• Write a blog post 1x week for YazminMedia (1/143)

Illusion Necklace - Take 1 · 02/05/2010

Whew! This week has been backloaded with posts! But when you have a lot to say… ;)

Word of mouth is amazing. I still consider it – hands down – the best method of marketing. I wouldn’t have a web development business if it wasn’t for word of mouth. The same goes for my jewelry business…

Recently, thanks to “word of mouth”, I was recommended by one of my friends to one of her soon-to-be-married friends to get custom necklaces created for the bridesmaid party. There’s something about making bridal jewelry that I find puts me in a good mood. I guess it’s the thought of the celebration. How can you not be happy when two people are committing themselves to true love?

Back to the jewelry…the bride requested I make illusion necklaces. I can’t remember the last time I made illusion necklaces…mainly because once I worked with wire, I never looked back. I still had tons of the illusion cord and other components. All I needed to purchase were the large quantity of crystals and pearls. After a quick trip to the local bead store (researching colors for future wholesale purchases is a must), I sat down to the task.

As I worked the individual pieces of this initial necklace, I was reminded how much fun they were to make. It also made me think that I would like to get back into pearl knotting. I enjoyed that a lot as well, but I think I’d like to take it into a different direction other than the traditional pearl knotting you think of when someone mentions Akoya pearls and the sorts.

Maybe I’ll sit down this weekend and create a new pearl knotted piece. Time to find my silk cards!

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tags: beads, bridal, custom, jewelry, necklace, swarovski

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Should I go back to Etsy? · 02/05/2010

My post yesterday was part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion. We were meant to ask a question and while I am sincere in wanting to hear your opinions on yesterday’s question, another one came to mind today. (And for those looking for the Color Theory Friday post, I’ll be postponing it until next week.)

As you may know, I decided to close my Etsy shop last year. The tasks of maintaining the shop and participating in teams and the forums really left me stretched thin. However, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe it’s time to open shop again.

I have no plans to join a team or to even peruse the forums. If you’ve ever been part of the forums, you’ll know that it seems there are too many who don’t search for their answers and tons of bitter trolls ruining the fun for everyone. Most of us probably have better things to do with our day than be someone else’s entertainment, so I’m sure you’ll understand why I wouldn’t visit.

Despite all that, I realize without a team to help me promote and without popping my head up in the forums, I’m wondering if it is really worth it. Would it even make up for the time suck of posting on Etsy…

So this is where you come in. My question to you: should I…would you…go back to Etsy and why?

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tags: 52 weeks, business, etsy, jewelry

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What do you want in my shop? · 02/04/2010

Ever been to the Tuscon gem shows? Me neither. It would have been on my 101 list, but I’m a realistic gal. I knew there was no way I was making it to a gem show anytime in the next three years.

However, there is a gemshow in town this weekend. And I aim to misbehave. ;)

“Freshwater pearl strands” by Helmetti, on Flickr

I have a list of gems and pearls I want to look at, but I’m curious…what gemstones would you like to see more of in my shop?

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tags: 52 weeks, gemstones, pearls, untitled

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January & February 2010 Newsletter Winners · 02/04/2010

Congratulations Renee (thecasualgal@…) & Sarah (texan_michael@…)! You've all won a $25 gift certificate to A Pretty Rock!

Please contact me so I can forward you the gift certificate.

Interested in winning a gift certificate from A Pretty Rock? Sign up for the newsletter to be eligible to win!

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tags: newsletter

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Color Theory Friday: Analogous · 01/29/2010

Last week, we talked a little about the Color Theory Craft Flickr group. As promised, I'll be reviewing the three color theories showcased in the group. Before I get started, though, I think it's important to make sure we're all on the same page...which means knowing the same information in regards to the color wheel.

My assumption is that you have probably already learned these color basics way back in elementary school, but I'll throw them out there just as a review:

• Primary colors are red, yellow and blue.
• The primary colors are the base of every other color on the color wheel.
• When you mix two primary colors together, you get a secondary color.
• Secondary colors are orange, green and purple.
• Secondary colors can be found on the color wheel in-between the two primary colors used to create them. For example, purple is found between red and blue.

Still with me so far? Good! Now, what you may not have learned were the more complex relations, such as the analogous, complementary and monochromatic that I mentioned in last Friday's "Color Theory Fridays" post. Today we'll go over analogous.

Analogous matches on the color wheel are pairs like purple and red, yellow and green, blue and purple...basically, colors found side-by-side on the color wheel:

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tags: color theory

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