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)

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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On the 7th Day of Holiday Deals 2009... · 11/17/2009

On the 7th day of holiday deals, A Pretty Rock offered me…The Peach Holiday Garland Earrings at $23.00!

For the 12 Days of Holiday Deals, I’m offering one item on my site at a discount of 30% – 50% off the original price of the item. You only have until midnight EST to make your purchase on my limited edition pieces the day I post them on my blog. So if you want this item, don’t delay. Tomorrow, this deal will be gone!

And as a little extra to everyone who stops by during my 12 Days of Holiday Deals, for each item purchased or each comment left (1 each a day), you’ll get entered to win a $50 gift certificate to my shop! That’s 24 chances to win over the course of 12 days!

On the 4th Day of Holiday Deals 2009... · 11/14/2009

On the 4th day of holiday deals, A Pretty Rock offered me…The Green Holiday Garland Earrings at $23.00!

For the 12 Days of Holiday Deals, I’m offering one item on my site at a discount of 30% – 50% off the original price of the item. You only have until midnight EST to make your purchase on my limited edition pieces the day I post them on my blog. So if you want this item, don’t delay. Tomorrow, this deal will be gone!

And as a little extra to everyone who stops by during my 12 Days of Holiday Deals, for each item purchased or each comment left (1 each a day), you’ll get entered to win a $50 gift certificate to my shop! That’s 24 chances to win over the course of 12 days!

$34.00 – $23.00

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tags: 12 days of holiday deals, brown, earrings, garnet, green, jewelry, keishe pearls, smoky quartz, vermeil, wirewrap

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Picking the Right Stone for Birthstone Jewelry · 07/25/2009

With so many variations on the birthstone jewelry chart, I’m sure it’s hard to decide what stone to select when purchasing birthstone jewelry. I get asked quite often what the appropriate stones are for birthdays. So let me share the chart I use when suggesting birthstone jewelry and the meanings behind the stones:

January

Garnet (deep red in color) – Symbolizing love & passion.

February

Amethyst (purple in color) – Symbolizing luck & good health.

March

Aquamarine (pale aqua in color) – Symbolizing happiness & understanding. An alternate birthstone for June is Bloodstone.

These pieces were made by Katja of Katja Adams Design, Debbie
of Crysallis Creations and Holly of Bijoux d’Odalisque, respectively.

April

Diamond (clear in color) – Symbolizing eternal love. For a less expensive piece, you can look for jewelry created with rock quartz.

These pieces were made by Ginger of MsBellee, Sheela of
Eclettica The Atêlier and Holly of Bijoux d’Odalisque, respectively.

May

Emerald (deep green in color) – Symbolizing love, fidelity & goodness.

These pieces were made by Asta of Anastassias Atelier,
Heather & Mel of Heather & Mel and Jo of Gemheaven, respectively.

June

Pearl (lustrous white in color) – Symbolizing peace, beauty, nobility & purity. An alternate birthstone for June is Moonstone.

July

Ruby (red in color) – Symbolizing love, strength & devotion.

The second and third pieces were made by Anna-Karin of små blå
and Holly of Bijoux d’Odalisque, respectively.

August

Peridot (pale green in color) – Symbolizing success, dignity & protection. An alternate birthstone for August is Sardonyx.

These pieces were made by Amy of Amy Olson Jewelry,
Catherine Marche Jewellery and Susanna of Suzy Q Jewelry, respectively.

September

Sapphire (blue in color) – Symbolizing purity, truth & sincerity. An alternate birthstone for September is Lapis Lazuli.

These pieces were made by Anna-Karin of små blå,
Catherine of Modeste Parisienne and Lotta of Silverknuten, respectively.

October

Opal (rainbow in color, but also found in blues and pinks) – Symbolizing beauty, success & happiness. An alternate birthstone for October is Pink Tourmaline.

November

Citrine (yellow in color) – Symbolizing hope, fidelity & health. An alternate birthstone for November is yellow Topaz.

The second and third pieces were made by Ann of Beadiful Things
and Jennifer of Lee Ohio Designs, respectively.

December

Topaz (orange/brown/blue in color) – Symbolizing wisdom and courage. For a less expensive piece, you can look for jewelry created with Whiskey Quartz stones. Sometimes they are the same as jewelers may not know the difference between the quartz and topaz stones as seen with the naked eye. An alternate birthstone for December is Turquoise.

From traditional to modern, ancient to mystical, there are sure to be numerous variations in charts. Ultimately, the best stone selection is one that has meaning to the recipient, whether that happens to be their birthstone or not.

Are there any differences in lists that you use for selecting birthday stone jewelry? Let me know!

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tags: amethyst, aquamarine, birthday, bracelets, clusters, diamond, earrings, emerald, etsy, garnet, gemstones, hoops, jewelry, love, necklaces, pearl, purple, rings, sterling silver, swirls

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