Date: 5/11/2008 Title: Happy Mother's Day
Hello! Long time, no blog!! Well, I am glad you are still visiting me, even though my blog has been boooooring! I hope at least you find the jewelry exciting ;-)
Today is Mother's Day, and I hope you all are having just as nice a day as I am. It is only 10:30 a.m. here, and I have lots of wonderfulness still coming.
John made coffee, eggs and bacon for breakfast.
Neil sewed a purple pillow for me. I am proud! He even picked out & purchased the fabric himself. God bless him.
John gave me the Flip recorder I have been pining for. YAY!!! Do you know why I have wanted that thing?? You might think "to get the kids in action? To capture special events? To capture your gardens? To show off your children?"
No. Because I want to record winipoo jewelry being crafted. *snort*
But, that is how my brain is wired right now.
Anyway...
Later today, we are taking the in-laws out to the China Buffet.
Then we are heading up to Reading to The Goggleworks. Today is their Second Sunday event, and I am anxious to check it out. I was invited to be their feature artist on the second Sunday in September (YAY!) so I want to scope out the scene. They have lots of great activities for the whole family, so I think we will all enjoy it.
Then to my parent's for dinner - always a pleasant event.
:-)
Here is an inspirational story that I just love. I read it on Lovelyn's blog a while ago, and now I will share it here for you to also enjoy.
~Kirsten
I'M INVISIBLE
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated< BR>summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean.
My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , withadmiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte . I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Date: 3/28/2008 Title: winner: winipoo jewelry
Yay winipoo jewelry!! Urban Rose won the Modie Award for best 2007 jewelry design. Thank you for your votes :-)
I am away to the Big Apple for the weekend. Going to the Whole Bead Show. I'm taking all of your fabrics along to purchase the best beads for your themes. I am so excited!! Check back Monday for pictures of my treasures... soon to be your treasures ;-)
Date: 3/20/2008 Title: Modie Award
Hello! I forgot to ask you to vote! LOL! Ugh...
Journal Modiste is a website that features handcrafters in children's boutique. I entered Urban Rose in their annual Modie Awards. I'd love for winipoo jewelry to get the recognition from this fun bragging rights award. Would you please vote? THANK YOU!!!!! *hugs*
Date: 2/19/2008 Title: funny email joke
This was forwarded to me today. I have probably received the same email a million times before, but for some reason, today, it made me laugh out loud. Here 'tis:
'THE WORLD'S SHORTEST FAIRY TALE!'
Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?' The girl said: 'NO!'
And the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, dancing, drank martinis, always had a clean house, never had to cook, did whatever the hell she wanted, never argued, didn't get fat, traveled more, had many lovers, didn't save money, and had all the hot water to herself. She went to the theater, never watched sports, never wore friggin' lacy lingerie that went up her ass, had high self esteem, never cried or yelled, felt and looked fabulous in sweat pants and was pleasant all the time.
Date: 2/6/2008 Title: It's Wednesday... this Week's VIP :-)
"If your child craves and pleads to march to his own drummer, support and celebrate his efforts. A child willing to paddle against the tides of social conformity can grow up to become a brilliant entrepreneur or a courageous force in reform." -- Mel Levine, M.D. (Author: A Mind at a Time)
Hello! Welcome to what's new at winipoo!! The VIP this week is Sherrie T! Congrats!! Please drop me an email at winipoo@aol.com, for your discount code and your free custom earrings.
I have a charity auction on eBay this week. Starting at 99 cents, and no reserve, 100% of this auction will benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Date: 1/17/2008 Title: New England Beaches
I'm sorry for no blog updates. I have so much to write about. But business is so crazy busy, with jewelry, my photo editing business, and with my work at the church... I have not had a single spare moment to type and post. I really miss it!
I will have a huge update soon though, as I will be unveiling my new Spring/Summer 2008 line of jewelry. This is the first time I have designed an entire line, and I am very excited to show you! Here is a hint... think 'New England Beaches'.
From now until Wednesday December 19th, everyone is a VIP. With any order, you will receive a custom pair of winipoo earrings! All you need to do is tell me your FAVORITE colors in the order notes section, or if you are buying winipoo jewelry on ebay or etsy, send me an email. I will create a custom pair of earrings just for YOU!
Did you see my new ebay auctions? Look at this gorgeous outfit!!
This week brings holiday happenings into full swing here at the Slichter house. Tuesday is Johnathan's orchestra concert, and I am really looking forward to that. The cleaning people come on Wednesday, yay, and then we will bust out all the holiday decorations. I just last week took down the ghost that was in my front yard. Well, actually, my mom took it down. She came for a visit, and plucked it out of the ground saying "I think we can take this down now, don't you?" Um... hehehe. I just didn't see that ghost, ya know? I walked by it several times a day. Never saw it. Some people can see ghosts, and some people can't, I guess ;-)
Date: 12/3/2007 Title: LCM Designer of the Year
Hello, and happy Monday! I had a nice surprise waiting for me when I logged in this morning. I was awarded Designer of the Year at Le Chic Madmoiselle! To read about all of the awards, check out the LCM Blog at http://lcmboutique.blogspot.com. Thank you, LCM, for the awesome recognition!!
Date: 11/29/2007 Title: Just Another Day
Busy times here at winipoojewelry. Because of the sale items here on the site, I don't currently have ebay auctions running, though I do have some listings on Etsy at http://winipoo.etsy.com
I will have some fun auctions for the first week of December. This will be the first time I'll be listing this type of auction, and I am excited about it. I won't tell you what it is, but I will tell you that the auction will begin at 99 cents with no reserve :-)
Check out this CUTE slide show I created at photobucket. I love how it turned out, and will be creating a new slideshow every month. I would LOVE to have pictures of your little ladies to include in the shows! Please email me pictures to winipoo@aol.com.
Enjoy :-)
Some more news to share...
My email newsletter is not being delivered to Comcast subscribers. Comcast recently updated it's email filters, and it is rejecting the system I use, which is Bravenet. Last week, I sent my newsletter on Wednesday, and had a low response to it. Which concerned me because it was a great newsletter with a 20% coupon code in it! LOL!! But I found out why Monday morning when all of a sudden my email box was flooded with bounced emails from Comcast! About 40 emails were rejected :-(
I am currently looking for another mailing list provider. I have used Vertical Response in the past, and I do like them, but I think many of my newsletters ended up in Spam folders. I've had the best response using Bravenet.
Anyway blah blah blah, business talk! But I wanted to let you know, in case you are one of those Comcast subscribers!
More news... exciting things happening here in Royersford! They are filming The Lovely Bones right here! Mark Wahlberg and Susan Sarandon star, and Peter Jackson is directing. It is soooooo exciting! I dressed 70s today, and am heading down to the set to possibly be an "extra" :-)
Here is a news clip about the event. Exciting stuff!
And finally... THIS WEEK'S VIP here at winipoo jewelry is Aida P.!!! 10% off and free shipping all this week with winipoo jewelry! Plus, email me your FAVORITE colors, and I will create a free pair of custom earrings just for YOU!
