I have a good attitude.

I have been totally engrossed in my business this week with some fun along the way. I worked all day today with a brief break to run out for supplies and a quick coffee/laughing break with Melissa! It's weird though - I think I get the most done on the weekend days sometimes. I got so much done today! I have been working on my plan to start soliciting more stores. The line sheet is really coming along and with any luck I will be sending it out to a small number of stores early this week. I am excited and scared! Also, I have come to the realization that I have got to get every single one of my designs re-produced and ready to go. It takes me twice as long to get an order out when I have to make things to order. This week that is going to be my other big goal! I am standing on the precipice of getting organized! Yay!

Getting back into jewelry class was great. Since it is summer the classes are so much longer and I almost finished carving my first class project in the first class. My goal in there is to knock out the required class projects and have time do work on some of my own little projects. I want to really explore wax carving for casting in sterling silver. Here is a picture of what I did on Wednesday:

This is a project from a book, someone else's design. My teacher was pretty impressed with what I accomplished in the first class. I felt like I was back home sitting at my grimy work bench in the smelly jewelry lab, filing away at wax. My neighbor introduced me to some new tools to help me work faster. That was so cool! Sometimes I can be so intimidated in there with all the other jewelers who are working away on these really amazing pieces. It is nice when you meet someone and they want to help you along! I appreciate the kindness.

Swimming last week at Barton Springs was another wonderful experience. The smell and the cold clear water, lying in the grass drying off and looking up at the trees, I love it all! I always forget how beautiful it is there. The water was very cold and invigorating. we swam across and back to warm up. James and Forest jumped off the diving board. Then we ate hamburgers at the snack bar up on the hill. Very relaxing day!

That night I met Sarah for coffee. She had been sick a few days before and wasn't up to Hatha Flow yoga that night. We looked at fashion magazines and talked about jewelry and other fun stuff. Then I stayed a little while after she left, listening to the musician who was playing and planning out my week.

Thursday I met Jennifer P. for lunch at dk sushi and came away super energized about business. There are some people in life who just give off good energy!

Thursday night I went to a meeting for a new feminist critique group that is forming. It is mostly made up of other women around my age who are graduating art students from UT. All the women were so nice and I found we had very similar thoughts on the subject of feminism. They would like for the group to meet every couple of weeks and alternate a sort of feminist book club and an opportunity to show their work and receive feedback. I am excited to go to more of the meetings and see how it works out. I got a lot of great feelings at the first meeting. A weird coincidence happened too - one of the women had just moved into a new house the night before and as we were talking I realized it was the house I used to live in on 51st Street between '93 and '96. Gave me chill bumps!

On the weight loss front, the exercise is still going very well. I am so close to being in the 180's I can taste it. Just gotta keep plugging away. I just try to concentrate on the fact that I am stronger and that I am strengthening my heart muscle and that every time I get on the elliptical or treadmill for 30 minutes I am working off another smidgen of fat around my waist! Persistence.

Speaking of persistence, here is a cool quote that James was reminding me of last night as we plotted out how to achieve our goals:

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
-Calvin Coolidge