Someone new? Yep, ME!

Ok, so months have gone by again but I DO have a little bit of an excuse (but not really). Other people manage to keep their blogs up to date despite the busiest of circumstances.

Life has just been motoring along and I've just been trying to keep up with it. The biggest news I have is that Rich and I GOT MARRIED. So, while of course, I'm still the same person, my new name is Janelle Zorko Schultz (or it will be after I do all those paperwork things).

We had a lovely and very small wedding in Pensacola, Florida on May 7th. Are you wondering why you weren't invited? Well, actually no one was! We chose to make it small (the person marrying us and his wife, plus two witnesses). You see, our family is scattered, there were cost concerns and the boat we were on only held so many people. We were married on Gulf Islands National Seashore in a short and sweet ceremony. I feel that life is short and sweet and so it was perfect!

In other news, I continue to make beads, create and update websites, garden (Rich and I put in a really nice one, pictures soon), experiment with fiber and tend to our ever-aging pet herd. Speaking of which, we lost one of them to kidney failure. So sad that kittehs and puppehs can't live as long as we do!

In Rememberance - Miss Mia Maria

Weekends are for fun

My idea of a fun weekend may not mesh with your idea a fun weekend - but then again it might, if you're so busy during the week that staying in and making things makes you happy.

That's exactly what I did. I squeezed in some web and other work but when I wasn't doing that, I was MAKING STUFF and I love it! Saturday into today, it was Purim - a Jewish holiday I mentioned last year. Purim is traditionally a fun holiday that commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination. I won't go into it here but if you want to read more about it - here's a link to some info - Purim. I am not Jewish - but since Rich is, I'm learning and since I love baking, I made the customary "Hamantaschen" cookies again. This time I didn't have to send them clear across the country so that my guy could enjoy them.



Since I was on a "make it from scratch" streak, I decided to haul out my seldom-used Salton yogurt maker. Have you tried Greek yogurt? Rich and I have been buying the Chobani brand - and we love it. What we don't love is paying upwards of $2 per small container of the stuff. So I started reading up on it and interestingly, all it is, is regular yogurt with some of the whey strained out. So, as I said, I made some yogurt (pretty economical) and then I set it in some cheesecloth to strain out a lot of the whey. I mixed it with some fresh kiwi and honey - nummy!



What a nice weekend! Now, it would have been perfect if the US hockey team could have pulled out that last point, but hey, I didn't even know I was a hockey fan...until today!

Getting Out There

Yesterday was a long day. I spent the morning preparing for the afternoon - which included an eye opening meeting with two lovely ladies at University of Alabama's Children's Hospital so that I could see the oncology and hematology clinics. I will be demoing at their Beads of Courage Hope and Cope event on April 25th. In case you're not familiar with Beads of Courage, you should check it out. Such a great cause. At the meeting and tour of the hospital, I learned just how important this program is to kids of all ages taking part in the program. The kids get a bead for various milestones in their treatment. Guess what? They need beads! Please check out the site to learn how to donate.

Then, later in the afternoon, I met with a gallery owner and her intake person. I was honored that they like my work and will be carrying it in their gallery. I have a few more of these somewhat nervewracking meetings this week as well. I need to get my work out there - well, for financial reasons, but also for the satisifaction and maybe a little validation that others like what I create when I'm in front of the torch. The gallery carrying my work is JenniferHarwellArt. You can click on the link to go to their page.

Here are a few items you can find in their gallery -

So many things to blog about - and so little time...

More than a month has passed and time just gets away. I've been at the torch, out there marketing my work, planning my schedule and of course, continuing on the eternal search for a full time job. I love my life, my schedule, etc. but there's something to be said for the security of working for someone else and the mental stimulation that working with actual PEOPLE provides.

At times, my main conversations are with this guy -

And he just doesn't talk much!

It's ok though. All this solitude is giving me a chance to think...design...enjoy, well, everything. I'm designing today as a matter of fact and will return with some photos of the results.

A New Year

Happy New Year!

Hard to believe it's 2010 - that sounded so futuristic a few short years ago. Since the last time I wrote, I slowly recovered from the pneumonia, only to be hit by a nasty cold. What doesn't kill ya (and I was never in any danger) makes you stonger...

I'm not normally one for new year's resolutions but I'll make some now. I resolve to be happy, creative, productive, thinner (couldn't leave that one out) and healthy!

I wanted to show you some things I've been making that I plan to market, and hopefully get accepted, into a few retail locations.
Tiger Cufflinks (for all those LSU and Auburn fans)

Beadable Tableware

A plethora of bead pens

I hope that 2010 is everything you want and need it to be and especially, I wish you love and happiness!