So, I slipped away again. Work was really kicking my butt, which should improve here now that things were a little more evenly distributed.

Well, last time I posted anything substantial was in October for my birthday.

( cut for length )

Well, I guess I should get back to work.
This was your latest update into the world of Sparkleyturtle. Have fun!

(editted for length - sorry, I didn't see how long this was.)

So here I sit- 30. I think it is kind of awesome. People should take me more seriously now. Well, when I am being serious, then they should take me more seriously. None of that being discounted due to not having my age start with a three.

I have disappeared from everything lately. They did this restructuring thing at work, which made things very, very crazy. I kind of disappeared. Ok, for the most part, I did disappear. When I had free time, I didn't want to think. Going online was hard. Heck, I even cut back on killings things online.

I had the audacity to take a little more than a week off of work, while it was busy. This only made me even more freaked out when I got back. People that were supposed to be covering for me weren't doing much, so I come back and my name is on crap work that is only half done. Then they had the whim of filing folders that weren't completed, so when I am going through things, it isn't done and it has my name on it. Six months down the line, someone is going to look at one of these deals and say, 'What the fuck was she doing?' Then I have to explain that it wasn't me and I wasn't here. Yeah, that is going to be great. The one reassurance on all this is that my boss's assure me that they will never believe it was my work. I guess I can only hope.

So, yeah.. that's that.

I finally listed everything I have made that I had pictures of on www.sparklyturtle.etsy.com. That is good. Since I am doing a craft show with Vencap in November, and I am looking into some other craft shows to do, I have been making a lot of new things that now need pictures. It would be awesome to make some money off of my work. I certainly put the money into it. I sometimes get a little jealous when I read about people putting thier things on etsy and almost within a month having multiple sales. Then again, they aren't doing jewelry. I am not exactly sure how to boost sales there, but maybe once people have some of my creations and a card with my info on it, things will increase. I hope, I hope, I hope. I did have a friend offer to sell my items, but his ideas were turning my art into more mass market. That seems less than fun. I don't want to hate my craftiness.

I am dedicated to moving out next year. I have to make it happen. I am 30 now. I don't feel I can actually have a life living at home. Why is it, though, that now all of this possible travel is coming up? I have plans to go to AZ around July 4th for the Grand Rodeo and the Market of the Nations. Then I am also going to Boston in June for Mandy Pandy's wedding. Johnny wants to get together in Feburary in Las Vegas, and I still haven't had the chance or the funds to go to ME to see Josh. I am going to DC in November, since we are crashing at someone's house, and I got tickets for $150. I think I should see where the ultimate good and evil starts for this country. Sometimes I feel less than American for not seeing it. The question is, though, why does all of this keep coming up when I have dedicated myself to moving out? I seriously need a raise to be able to handle all of this. I know it may get a little easier when my grandfather's estate is completed, but I know that takes time too.

What else?
-There are no boys in my life.
-There are two great dogs in my life.
-The latest movie that I saw and loved was the Jane Austin Book Club.
-I was flipping through flickr and realizing that people have babies and are married and I didn't know. Guess I have to read the blogs more. It also made me sentimental for my friends. Miss you, guys. I also realize how limiting being broke is. That sucks. I need to come into some serious cash, and then all will be well.
-I am thirty, which is awesome.
-I need to exercise more, since I am becoming a stressed out slug, whose weight keeps going back up.
-I put some pictures on Flickr awhile back of my bellydance group at Greek Fest. Just in case you don't believe that I do it.
-I am finally on the fourth book of George R.R. Martin's Songs of Ice and Fire. I didn't think that going through the previous three again would be such a daunting task.

Wow... I guess that is about all I can think of that has any meaning since June. I am probably missing something, but in times of things being crazy, time just flies down the drain.

Guess I will get back to work now (I have been writing this in the periods that it takes screens to load and files to print).

Homemade ice cream works much better when you remember the sugar.

That is all.

May and June squashed me like a bug, an itty-bitty bug with goo that comes out along with the popping noise when you squash it. It wasn't pretty, but I am coming back now. Happily, they took the extra rep that was burying me at work and gave it to a co-worker that is back from maternity leave. With his slamming me along with some of my other reps, I just couldn't handle it. Ugh... but as William Wallace screamed, "FREEDOM!" Okay, so that was Mel Gibson, but I was still listening to that music in my car.

What have I been up to:
1. Crafty goodness. I am enjoying making cards. I just sold a bracelet today and fixed a coworkers necklace for pay. Sure the repair work was only $2, and one of those was for the clasp. The repair only took me a minute though, so that is $36/hr or so.

2. Current series of interest have been:


3. Current time wasters (thanks to my brother paying the bill):
World of Warcraft

4. Current movie in my DVD player:


5. Current audiobook on my iPod:

I need to download the second book to it. I absolutely love this book and am excited about the movie coming up.

6. Movies seen this past weekend: Live Free and Die Hard & Transformers. Both are awesome, but I think I liked Die Hard just a touch more.

That is all I can think of right now.

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi 70% Beverly Crusher 65% James T. Kirk (Captain) 50% Chekov 50% Uhura 50% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 45% Will Riker 45% Spock 44% Jean-Luc Picard 35% Geordi LaForge 35% Mr. Scott 30% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 30% Data 27% Worf 25% Mr. Sulu 10%

You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people's emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character am I?" quiz...

I have started to list some of my beloved creations on my Etsy Shop Sparkly Turtle Creations. Check it out and tell me what you think. There is still more to go in, but I need to take some more photos.

Well, the belly dance recital went really well. It was actually a lot of fun, and I wasn't that nervous about the choli. Of course, let me tell you - a velvet choli, with a black rayon skirt, and two belts on top worn under stage lights gets a little bit warm. Then add to it that the only cover up I have is a fleece duster, and that adds to a lot of warmth after dancing. Luckily, I didn't have to stay in that too long. So, beyond the extreme warmth, everything went great.

The work week wasn't bad. It started out really slow, but of course, that seemed to stop on Thursday. Once that hit, there wasn't a lot of time for hanging out online, which is okay. The day does really go faster when there is stuff to do. Go figure.

I have found something that I like to flip through now. There are these oodles of crafty blogs. They deal with sewing and card making and crocheting and... it is awesome. Then, thanks to one of the blogs, I have found Google Reader, which lets me place these blogs into it and read when there is a new post. I love it. The only negative part is that I can't link up my friends listing from these. Oh well. Guess I just need to continue to check those sites. Of course, with all of these thoughts on crafty blogs, I really need to list my items on etsy. I know. I keep saying it, but I need to do it. I made two more items this past week. A necklace that looks like a vine of cherries for a friend and a crystal bracelet.

Also, as I am sitting outside here typing this (gotta love DSL and a laptop), I have been watching the ordeal of a mother absolutely freaking out about her missing kids. There are this group of kids that are always out and about around here. They ride their bikes and scooters and roller blades. It is good to see kids being active, even if I do occasionally want to hurt them, when they don't get the hell out of the road when they see a car coming. Anyway, I guess they didn't go to the usual hangouts. The mom was growing more frantic and asking around, and finally the cops were called. Can you imagine how frantic she must be? I heard her crying, and the obvious statements by the police officer telling her to calm down (yeah, right). Your heart just goes out to her. They started collecting some of the kids that they could find to ask where they might be. I guess in the end, this finally worked and they were located. Sheesh. I don't remember ever making Mom frantic like that, but she did remind me of one instance of apple picking, where we were actually taken over state borders. Sure, now I know that is illegal, but that day was just nice out. I guess I always feared Mom's wrath if I disappeared like these kids did. It is just another reason to put one of those kiddie cellphones on your kids with the lovely lariat to hang it around there necks. They can receive calls from you and make only six kind of calls. Definitely a purchase I could see making.

Oh! One last thing before I sign off of this. Goo goo juice = 1 part orange juice, 1 part cranberry juice, and 1 part Malibu Rum (coconut flavor). Ohmigod, that was yummy. It sneaks up on you. Nice and smooth, and by the third glass, you are really feeling the effects of the first two. They sneak up on you and then all is well.

I haven’t posted in awhile, but I haven’t felt that too much has happened.

I have been plugging along at work and doing just fine, so there is no real news here other than my occasional bout of irritation with stupidity, but how is that not new?

My first belly dance recital is creeping closer. I hope it will go well. I like the dance and think I will do fine with that, as long as I don’t lose my balance on the turn and fall on my face, but I wish I was more comfortable in a choli. It is that whole showing your midriff that I have a problem with. I am comfortable with many parts of my body, except my stomach. Yes, this is belly dancing. The belly is important, but does everyone have to see it? I guess I can be grateful that we aren’t wearing those coin bikinis or anything.

I have been craft lately. With the help of Vencap and Craftster.com, I have gotten into even more crafts. I think I love embossing powder for rubber stamps. With just a little heat, things become so professional looking. I need to get some of that foam tape to lift things up and give them more texture. Now, I just need to get things to inspire me. More books and magazines, here I come.

I was impressed with myself. My brother purchased the bracelet his girlfriend liked (and pretty much picked out) to surprise her, and I made this cute little box for it. I even embellished it with another flower and sparkly rhinestone. I know… I am a geek, and I am okay with that. It was cute box, and I can wait to make more and maybe add something to them.

I have also been working on my crocheting and am in the process of making a bag. Now, my stitches are off, which bothers me a bit. The question remains, if it all ends up okay and doesn’t look awkward, does it matter? Probably not.

Easter weekend was good. Started it out by getting out of work an hour early (thanks, boss) and went shopping. You have to love the sales that happen around holidays. There were uber amounts of notions to be had at 50% off at Joanne’s, and there was a 30% off your entire regular priced purchase at Michaels. I stocked up on some things. You have to love sales.

The food was ample this past weekend. On Saturday, I ate at a neighbor’s for her father’s 94th birthday. Yummy Portobello lasagna was consumed, which didn’t even bother me that Mom made regular lasagna on Easter. Did I mention I like lasagna, just as long as you leave out the icky Ricotta cheese. Mom uses cottage cheese, so it is very yummy.

The family was in good spirits. Heck, even my mom’s cousin, who is usually in the dumps a bit, was in a cheery mood. Then again, sitting next to me, who wouldn’t be? Okay, there are a few, but I was giving myself an ego boost. Someone has to.

So, back to work I went on Monday. Yup. If it wasn’t for food and crafts, I would be bored. Okay, add to that the gym, which I am trying to get more in the rhythm of my life to compensate for the food.
Okay, back to work.

Well, after pouting/sulking for a day and a half, my friend and I had dinner on Thursday. Things are better now. We both thought things through, and when I shared the thing about my dad, she admitted that wasn’t what she meant and also understood my statement that if you don’t want to tell me something, just don’t tell me. Don’t tell me that you aren’t going to tell me.

She does still trust me, though. There was never anything malicious in my statements. I was never out to get her or ruin anything. Somebody slap me if I do that to a friend.

I did tell her that she does sometimes piss me off on how she deals with her relationship. Her deception is possibly ruining a good thing, and I was even further pissed off that this whole thing started because she wasn’t telling the truth to the man she loves. She understood. Yeah!

So the weekend continued as planned – I worked on my crocheting for class on Friday night, as I needed to do 6” of single, 6” of double, 6” of half double, and 6” of seed pattern. I made it through to the seed pattern and am working along. I have until Wednesday to finish it, so I think I will be fine. I wonder what my project is going to be? My ultimate goal is a belly dance hip scarf. How hard can that be?

Saturday was pretty relaxed. After belly dance class, I headed into the city with Mom to drop off her taxes with her accountant. I was able purchase my full black skirt for the recital at a dance store that I kept missing when it was open. It closes at 5, and I was there two or three times with Vencap just after 5. Finally, my feet went through the door and I purchased. Yeah, economics!

Afterwards, we went to a rock shop in Evanston and a bead store. I got this gorgeous little, glass pendant at the bead store that has a butterfly sitting on a flower all in blown glass. Of course, when I was home and in the bathroom the pendant slipped and hit the tile. Needless to say, I was upset. I am hoping that I can repair it. The main part with the butterfly is fine; it is just the bail area that I hope to glue together. Man… it would be expensive to have something you wear for only an hour before it breaks.

Sunday included seeing 300 on IMAX. Holy crap! That was cool. I am in love with Gerard Butler. He is sexy, can sing, and can sculpt his body into this magnificent work of art. Plus he has that accent. Yup, I could be a happy gal. Anyway, the movie was beautifully shot and will be mine. Oh yes, my precious. If I didn’t have puppy class, I would be seeing it again tomorrow night. Oh well, I am sure I will see it again.

Finished the night with Battlestar Galactica and just couldn’t get out of the bed this morning. The beginning of daylight savings time just isn’t a good time for non-morning people. Waking up an hour earlier is just a little bit of torture. Yes, I love it being light out later, but it is that damn period of waking up.

Well, that is what I have got. Guess I should get back to my day. One hour left to go.

I feel horrible when I take teasing someone too far. Okay, so it wasn't really me, but I was there and someone got a little too much of it.

I would never mean to hurt someone's feelings.

I hear she gets overly sensitive sometimes, but it still doesn't usually happen in conjunction with me laughing too.

Grr....

I used to really like Alias. There were plot turns, interesting gadgets and a usual good story. This last season (finally saw season 5) was decent, but I know why it ended. Sooner or later, there are no plot turns that don't take you right back to where you were a little before. It gets old. There end up only being a few people I still like (Jack and Sark) and the others are just getting boring.

Here is the big question, though. Do they not know how to end a series? The wrapping things up into pretty pictures or lines to continue things with... usually boring. The way they ended Alias was about the same as the final line of Angel. I know it is hard to close the door on things, but does it have to be so lame? Buffy had a good ending as did ST:TNG and DS9, but... sheesh. It makes you almost want things to just be canceled, so you can be left with 'I wonder where they would have taken that' instead of 'what the hell did they do?'.

Anyway, that is just my 2 cents.

Ok, so it has been awhile since I have updated anything. I would say that I have been busy, but I can't really think of what has been filling my time. I know it was something but what it is, I have no clue.


It was a weekend of firsts. I went to the SciFi meetup crafty goodness day without any intention of meeting Vencap there, which I was a little proud of, since I was nervous as hell. I also signed up to perform in my dance recital (this is not an invitation just information). So, while the nerves of the first have passed (had a great time by the way - Xanadu rocks), the second is the starting of nervousness for a couple of months.

I am still in that constant struggle not to look in the mirror and scrunch up my face when thinking of how my body looks, which was one of the reasons I got into belly dance. Women of all ages, shapes and sizes learn to love themselves while learning to dance. It is that form that you really can't be a rock and dance, if there is no softness, then there is no shimmy. Well, I have plenty of softness. I am not comparing myself to anyone in particular, I am just looking at myself in the mirror. So, the idea of wearing a choli (I think that is how you spell the shirt that shows your belly) in front of a crowd is a little unnerving. Then, to add to this, my mother keeps telling people about it. Yes, I am mentioning it here, but not with the intention to invite. It freaks me out, and we just learned the first three moves to the dance. Sheesh. I don't even think she means it, it just comes out of her.

I have gotten better at going to the gym. I decided to save my money and not join up with my pilates class again. I need the money, and it was starting to get ho-hum. Now, I try and get on the elliptical. Hell, I have even found that I can kind of read while on one. That is nice. It helps the time pass. Instead of watching the time trickle by, I put my book in front of me and check occasionally. Now, if only the wait would start to come off. I demand immediate results, and I have been disappointed. Of course, I am not going to stop - just maybe up the resistance.

Speaking of books - don't you just hate it when you are so close to finishing, but you have to go back to work? I am reading the Kite Runner. Everyone said that it was good, just also a bit depressing. Well, they are right on. I would recommend it, but just be prepared for when it is heavy. I hope it ends happy. Of course, I can't read it here. Boo.

For other things, I had my second crush in three months. It's over now, as I won't compete with a friend over a guy. I am just impressed with myself. I get crushes so rarely that it must mean that I am at least looking a little. It seems strange that I haven't had a relationship in two (or is it more - math sucks) years. Only occasionally do I miss it, but for a long time, I wouldn't even look. Go me! Now, if I have more than one date this year, I am really moving ahead. Yes, I am weird. Anyway, when I found out that my friend here at work liked this guy, I decided that I was done. I may not be able to stop liking him, but I can certainly change the way I look at him. Heck, it will probably make me feel better. I was doing that whole little freak out thing when he was around. I don't like that feeling. I like being certain of myself or at least feigning it.

Well, guess I should get back to being temporarily bored here at work.

With the ongoing trend of people's stories designating the name of the person plus something about what the make, I decided to continue with who I am, but spelled correctly - Sparkly Turtle Creations. This represents me, but doesn't necessarily keep me just to sparkles or beading. I think it is better, and my grandmother loved it. That is what matters, right? I figured that there could be a bi-line of 'everyone's shell needs some sparkle', but that is up for later. Next step, pictures....

Thanks for helping me figure all of this out.

Happy holidays everyone.

I have been hiding out from the personal computing - well, the things I can't really spend time on at work.

I ended up getting the sister to the order that I call, "the monster," on the Thursday before Christmas. Everyone's nose gets so out of joint when an order goes into the millions. Go figure. Then you have the big wigs hanging over my shoulders stalking me - yes, this adds to the pressure. Then, I absolutely hate it when the only way to submit an order isn't working. When I find a way around it, then the big wigs that own the broken system aren't happy with it and want me to wait while they fix their broken system. So, I wait. I ended up completing the order at 9, when I was finally trying to start enter it at 11 a.m.. Does this say how frustrated I was?

Well, I caught the last hour of a Christmas party, but got extremely ill that evening. It has been awhile since my body decided to turn itself inside out. Mom was making cookies that I couldn't eat, planning a menu of my favorite foods that I couldn't eat, I was a bit upset. Of course, I was so nervous that anything I ate would make me more ill that I was hardly eating anything. Great - happy holidays to me.

The gifts were nice, though. Mom got me tuition into puppy class for Zoey. We laughed that it was a little self-serving but totally appreciated. I also got some RAM so that I can continue playing Civ IV. There are too many things on the screen, and my lacking of RAM is having my computer freak out. I got all of the Harry Potter movies available and Aeon Flux. I know there were some other things, but it was just nice. I think people have been pretty happy with what I picked up for them too, so that is always nice. I love that face people get when you got the right thing.

Saw Pursuit of Happyness on Friday before New Years. I thought it was good, but Mom thought it was too long. Good acting, just long. Then it basically came down to this fact - if you have ever lived the life where you are going hand to mouth and scraping by for anything you can get, this is a movie that is good acting, but takes people back to something that people that have gotten out of the situation don't really want to revisit. For those that haven't been in that situation, then it is a good movie to see and kind of know what that life can be like. Now, while we were never sleeping in a public bathroom or shelter, we did live in an apartment above a drug dealer that had the police visit occasionally. Anyway, good acting and makes me proud of what my mom overcame with two kids in tow.

Ok, so New Year's comes around. I didn't really feel like doing anything, so I was just going to stay home. Mom was all concerned about me being home alone, so I finally was going to join her for this performance thing, but since it was outside and going to rain and be cold, plans changed. Instead, we saw Pan's Labyrinth. I thought it was a really nice story, but geez, the violence. I had to look away from the subtitles sometimes, because I couldn't watch what was on the screen. It was a pretty story, though. The only reason I was awake at midnight was because Mom and our friend were there. If not, I could have totally went to sleep at about 11. Does this mean I am getting old? Who knows...

What I do know is that I am doing well. I am keeping with my resolution of keeping up with what works and getting rid of what doesn't. Oh, and I am going to try and call some people that I meant to call last year. Ooh, and I want to travel more and maybe go on more than two dates this year. Of course, that means I have to find someone to date - everything has a little bit of a challenge. What's new?