I'm back! :)

After a looooong absence, I am back to blogging! There has been so much going on in life and such that I just haven't had time to update anything really but I am starting to realize that it isn't something that is destined to change anytime soon, so I may as well just "make time" for the things I want to do! Since I last wrote, I now have a new job that I am really happy with; working as a home health nurse at the local hospital. This is a "specialty" that I hadn't really considered before until someone suggested I give it try and I am really glad that I did. We are a very small agency with only a few nurses and most days we all get along great and that just makes for a much nicer working environment than where I was before. Plus now I get to work "normal hours" most of the time.
I wrote before about being part of a dachshund rescue group; for reasons I won't get into here, we have decided to no longer participate with them, however we have added two more doxies to our family....these will be the last as this puts us up to four! :)
I still make and sell beads via Etsy; and I still LOVE it! I have a few new listings up and more to follow soon!

New way to raise money

As I was looking around the web yesterday for new ways to help raise money for the two doxies that we will be taking in that I spoke of yesterday, I stumbled across a website called fundable. It is an online fundraiser website! Very cool indeed! You simply pledge the amount you wish to donate and if the target amount isn't reached in a certain time frame, you pay nothing! I set up an account for our two doggies in need who we have learned are named Crystal and Holly. We get to bring one of them home on Monday so I will try to keep updating as I can as to their condition. In the meantime, if you would like to help please visit their fundable account here. :)

Knew it was comming.

Apparently my whole family did anyway. I talked before about the two foster dogs that we got from AADR about a month ago and last week we were due to have their bios and pictures up on the site for them to be made available for adoption. Well, we were having a really difficult time with Chance. We were very afraid that if we were to let him go to another home that it would literally break his heart. He has "grown" so much in the short amount of time he has been with us, not only by putting on weight and gaining his strength; but also in that he is much more trusting of humans in general now. He is still very timid and hides when other people are around, but if it is just my husband and I at home, he is just as playful as the others. He grew just as attached to us as we did to him, so of course we came to the conclusion that the only choice we had left to make was to adopt him ourselves. :) My husband said he knew it was coming from the moment they handed him to me in the parking lot in Arkansas and his parents said the same thing so maybe it was just meant to be. He has put on about 4 pounds and has much more energy now than he did to start with, but he is still just as content to spend time napping on the couch with someone. I will try to get some updated pictures posted soon.

Pictures as promised!

Here are a few pics of the first few days with Zoie and Chance. Chance has filled out a bit, but still has a few pounds to gain. He is learning to play with the others and learning how nice it is to have his belly full! I will try to get a few more pics up in the next week or so. Anyway, here they are, Zoie is the red one, Chance is the darker one with the white "mask" and the smaller dark brown one in one of the pics is my Bobo.

Remember, if you are interested in adopting, check out the AADR website!

Finally Something NEW!

Yep, you read right! I finally got some new things listed in my Etsy shop! I have had a few custom orders over the past couple of weeks, one a very large one. That, along with my full time job has made getting new beads done to list a bit difficult. Not that I'm complaining at all, the custom orders were fun and turned out nice. But sometimes it's nice to not have any clue what I will be making when I sit down at the torch! Over the past few days I have managed to create a new frog bead (see below) as well as an elephant and a pig which have yet to be cleaned or have pictures taken yet.

I have also been looking at going back to school to get my bachelors and then masters in nursing with the ultimate goal being getting my family nurse practitioner licence. I know that will take a lot of time and effort, actually it kind of already has just looking at programs and pass rates and tuition and scholarships and all that goes along with that, but it will be worth it in the end. If I can't be a full time lampworker, this will be second best. :)

My husband and I have also applied to become foster parents (insert look of shock here for all who know us and are saying "Why don't you just try and have your own kid?!")....and the rest of that sentence is for dachshunds. Yep, you read right, foster parents of dachshunds. We have been approved with the All American Dachshund rescue! As some of you may have read from previous posts, we have a mini dachshund named Bobo, and we just fell in love with the breed when we got him so we wanted to be able to help out where we can. These dogs come from kill shelters, or abusive home environments or puppy mills and the like for the most part. I'll keep you updated on how that goes and if/when we get a foster pup I'm sure there will be plenty of pics to post!

Ok, now on with the beads! You can find all of these in my Etsy shop! :)