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)

Falling in love with crafting · 02/11/2010

Can you remember your first crafting love? Remember the first thing you made with your own two hands? I can.

An army of hearts! by Pavoreal, on Flickr

No, this isn’t a picture of my first love. (But a very cute picture of “love” by my ever fantastic online friend Angela of PavoReal fame, who by the way just had her baby last month named….Jazmin! You know she totally named her after me! ;) )

My first love had nothing to do with jewelry. I never had a Bedazzler. (Fess up…you know most of you out there did.) I never owned the jewelry bake oven. My first love? A can of spray paint and an old pair of jeans. Sounds silly, right?

I loved those jeans, though, and I remember having them for a very, very, VERY long time. I also remember my mom threatening me to stop me from spray painting all my clothing, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post.

If you’re not participating in the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion group, let me know what was your first love…If you’re part of the group, I’ll find it on your blog! ;)

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tags: 52 weeks

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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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Lofty Goals · 01/27/2010

I have goals. I have LOTS of goals. You have seen my list to the right, right? When I started my list almost 2 1/2 years ago, I had every intention of marking off all of those items. Not surprisingly, lots of things can happen in the span of 2 1/2 years and they have. When you take the time to write down goals, you learn a lot about yourself in the process of attempting to cross them off.

So simply, I’ve learned that goals are nice to have, but life happens and really you have to learn to roll with the punches…or hugs…or whatever. Which is why it’s high time I sat down and revised my 101 list. That’s my main goal for next week. I’ll make sure to let you know how I do.

If you’re taking part in the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion, you’re probably already sharing your goal on your own blog. If not, let me know what your latest goal is…and even if you are part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion group, share with me anyway. It’s nice to chat on the blog. :)

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tags: 52 weeks, 101 list, goals

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Overcoming Obstacles · 01/20/2010

I have never seen myself as a spend-a-holic. Running my own web development business, I’ve gotten into the routine of only buying those things that are more of a need than a want. You never really know if you will have all the money you need to pay unexpected bills in coming months, so why spend money when it’s better to have a cushion?

However, when I initially found my love for jewelry and gemstones, I went overboard from the get-go. My husband, God bless him, gave me a little bit of leeway (and rope) and I found a way to hang myself with it! Within 6 months of starting my new venture, I was well over $3,000 worth in debt. If you’ve read any business books, you’ll know the smart ones tell you it’s best to always strive to stay in the black.

So for the next 2 years, I ran my business in the red, going from craft show to gem show, almost always spending as quickly as I made it. It wasn’t until the 3rd year in business that I realized I wanted to get out of debt and I really didn’t want to run a business in the red. I was making enough money to pay off those bills I had accumulated, but I was choosing to add more supplies to my stash instead of being responsible.

In that moment, I realized that I was really purchasing new gemstones not so much because I needed them, but more out of a place of insecurity. Spending a ton of time browsing jewelry on Flickr, I started feeling like my designs were less and less original, less and less eyecatching, and therefore, less and less special. That defeatist voice inside of me really started getting to me. My solution of spending to make myself feel better was not working…at all.

Right then, I knew it was time to bring this business back in the black. It was time to take a step back, remind myself of my talent, find a way to channel my insecurities (I recommend God and exercise) and then move forward. Some days are good, others are bad, but we are always a work in progress. And for now, it makes me happy to know that my business operates in the black, even thought I can’t run out and buy gems just to make myself feel better. hehe

It’s hard to admit it when you are your own obstacle. To even see that can be a huge accomplishment. The thing you need to know is that you are not alone. It’s the rare person that is self-confident enough to not give in to the voices regularly. The funny thing is that I think all artists go through the same issue…maybe not manifested the same way.

Out of the 6 or so blogs I’ve read this week so far for the topic of overcoming obstacles as part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion, I realize that most of us are not blogging about developing a technique or opening a shop or choosing supplies, but we are blogging about the same obstacle…ourselves!

I suspect that will be the norm. So how were you able to overcome yourself?

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tags: 52 weeks, business

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Piece in Progress · 01/13/2010

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! It made me take a look through my shop and realize that I didn’t have very many jewelry pieces with red, garnets, or hearts.

Browsing through the gallery, I thought I would recreate one of my favorite Valentine’s Day themed pieces with an additional flourish. I just finished and posted them on the site today, so here are a few pictures of the earrings in process:

My tools and the jewelry components needed to create the earrings.

Sometimes, stones look great until you get them under the light…that’s where you can really see the flaws and cracks which make some stones unusable. Most wire work starts with a base frame. Depending on how much tugging and pulling you may do to create the piece, some jewelry frames need a little hammering or chasing to give them additional strength.

The dowel helps me create the original circular frame and aids me in keeping the design’s shape as I guide and tug the wire. Other tools have their jobs, too.

Once I’m satisfied with a design, I’ll find a place out of the way to clip and secure my wire. Otherwise, I work the tails into the designs until they disappear.

These earrings are the final result. You can find them here.

So, did you like my additional flourish?

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tags: 52 weeks, earrings, garnet, heart, red, sterling silver, wirewrap

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The Day I Returned... · 01/06/2010

…Is today! Let’s be real – We all know it’s been a while since I’ve really worked on the business. With the closing of my Etsy shop at the beginning of last year and the subsequent decision to start the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover, A Pretty Rock took a back seat to other priorities. That meant very little creation from me in regards to jewelry or blogging.

As the year went on, I heard less and less from you all. Less blog comments, less Flickr comments, less of everything. I have to say I’ve missed you…and I hope you’ve missed me too.

But with the new year, I am back and with a new focus! If you haven’t heard, Tara of Scoutie Girl fame has created a great e-book titled 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion. I thought it would be a great way for me to kick start the blog again. (If you’re thinking about this, it doesn’t matter if you start at the beginning of the year or in the middle…that’s the great part about this program!)

The first week involves sitting down to develop a mission statement for the blog. If you’re like me, your probably thinking, “A blog needs a mission statement?” Well yes, it does! And Tara made a great case for one in her e-book. So that’s what I’ve done today and I’d like to share it with you:

A Pretty Rock is a shop/blog with an inside look at the process of designing and creating handcrafted wire-wrapped jewelry. It features piece profiles and inspiration, with information on what it takes to bring a creation alive from start to finish. A Pretty Rock desires to grow your appreciation of the skill and technique behind creating heirloom quality jewelry.

So here’s to the start of the new year! I’m hoping my mission will give me the focus I need for the blog and eventually for my style. What do you think?

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tags: 52 weeks, information

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