The dishwasher is fine.

It's not actually broken. I had accidentally pressed the cancel/drain button and you have to press it again to turn it off ... so, everytime I turned on the dishwasher it was just trying to drain instead of wash. Hooray!! Of course I didn't figure this out until I had handwashed every single dish we own.

I am pretty proud of my poker game

Omg, poker was SO much fun last night! I did not expect to have that much fun. I finished in second place. I had a huge stack by the end. I am pretty proud of my game. It was pretty tight for a beginner! I practiced before we left on James' computer game. James has been reading all these books and gave me some pointers on strategy. I have to say though, all that strategy just confuses me in the end. I am excited to go back and play again. Okay enough poker talk.

I watched Project Runway on the tivo when I got home. I can't believe that curly-headed lady is still in the running! Someone told me about Tim Gun podcasts or blogs or something where he talks about all this extra stuff that happens on the show. Who told me that and where do I find it? Anyone?

Our new dishwasher is already broken. Should I return it? It has a year warranty but what if we got a dud?

The Birds Are Learning to Fly!

The baby birds are learning to fly! The mother and father are hanging around watching out for them and feeding them. They are so cute! I looked it up and with cardinals both parents look after the nest and the young (maybe all birds do that, I don't know). The website said that the baby birds should leave the nest within 9 to 10 days of being born. They grow up so fast. ;)
Here are some pictures:

This one hasn't ventured from the nest yet: This is the brave one:

He or she climbs up the screen and starts falling backward and flapping her wings and then lands on the window sill and starts all over again.

The mama bird:

Okay, I should seriously get back to work now.

oh my goodness

We went to DK Sushi (our quiet little neighborhood sushi joint) last night for Karaoke night and -oh my goodness - it was bawdy! We were celebrating my friend Jim's birthday. The owner dresses up in an afro wig and a 70's disco suit and calls himself the sushi pimp. It was so funny! If you haven't gone, I recommend it. Just hang back and get the lay of the land before you call attention to your table or volunteer to sing. The sushi pimp makes dirty jokes and slaps women on the ass. It's pretty funny. It is quite an experience.

This morning I got to see the mother bird feeding the little baby birds. The male bird also came up to the nest, it seemed like he was bringing more food. It made me wonder if male birds also take care of the babies. I saw him protecting the nest last week. I would have taken a picture this morning but Forest had borrowed my camera and I couldn't find it. I did manage to get this picture this afternoon. These pictures are making me realize how horrible my windows are!

My sticks came out great in jewelry class yesterday. Some of the little buds even came out. I am so proud! I am casting two more rings on Wednesday and then the class is over for the summer. I am really happy with what I have accomplished! Note: they are still that white color because they haven't been polished yet.

funny bumper sticker

James saw a funny bumper sticker yesterday. It said: 78745 - when you've been priced out of 78704. That made me laugh and also gave me a good feeling that people are looking to buy in our zip code!

There is this little bird's nest in the shrub outside my studio window. I watched the mother bird build the nest, then I saw the eggs and yesterday I realized that the babies had been born. I didn't want to disturb them but I did manage to get this picture through my dirty window:


Also, the cats are still living in our backyard so if anyone knows of someone who wants a cat, please send them my way. We found a bunch of information on the internet about finding a home for them but I appreciate advice. They are really sweet cats. Very good natured. And, the kittens are so curious and playful.

Have just been busy making a bunch of charm bracelets with vintage materials and finishing up with my casting class. I put some pictures on my website blog. I have so many ideas of things I want to create but it will just take time to make it happen. Perhaps there will be a silver line in the Spring? Here's hoping! I am casting more sticks on Monday. I am so glad the class is ending next week though. Jeez, my time! I am going to take the Special Projects class in the fall to keep me focused. I am going to go into the class with several designs I want to complete. I feel like if I don't continue, I will never find time to work at home and end up putting all these ideas off and getting further behind in my goals. It will definitely be better because it will be less hours per week in the workshop at school.

I have not really lost any more weight but I have been able to maintain the 15 pounds already lost. I have not had as much time to make it to the gym because of jewelry class but I am really proud of the maintenance.

Forest has been at my Mom's house for the past couple of weeks. He is coming home this weekend. We have enjoyed our parenting vacation but I have missed him!