You know it's been a long time since you blogged when....

....you realize that you can't remember your blogger password. We've been super busy with new events in our life. We are in the process of buying our first house and are supposed to close around the end of April. I have also been working part time at my husband's dental practice. As such, I haven't painted or made any new accessories in weeks. I am having creative withdrawal. I have a ton of ideas to explore, but they may have to wait until we are moved into our new home. I will finally have a large, tiled room on the first floor to paint in. For the past few years, I have been sequestered to my tiny little corner of our kitchen. I hope everyone is enjoying the arrival of spring! I will check in again....hopefully SOON!

I'm not sleeping...I'm just resting my eyes!

I haven't blogged in a while, and thought I would start my newest post with one of my favorite "Mom-isms." Did your mom every say this to you when you were little? I find myself using this phrase myself. Life has become pretty busy lately and naps are sounding like something that once existed in some far off fairytale land. I will be working part time at my husband's dental practice, still running my Etsy stores (which entails finding time to create...that's the hard part), house hunting, and attending meetings in various towns for a new church calling I just received that involves working with our Young Women's group (the teen girls age 12-18). I hope that I can do a good job of juggling everything and do well with the new journey I've been given. I will close with a common "Teen-ism." I have to laugh whenever I hear a teenager complain, "I'm bored!" Just wait a few more years and you will never utter that phrase again! Hope everyone has a fabulous week! I will do my best to pop in again soon. I am working on finishing a 3 part painting and will have some more brooches and hair accessories in my Etsy store soon!

Happy New Year!

I can hardly believe that today is the last day of 2010! It flew by in the blink of an eye, it seems. After a computer crash, lots of errands, and hours of creating & photographing, I was finally able to add a load of new items to my Etsy store, TheRoyalBead. I will be getting back to doing some more painting and jewelry making soon too. I've been pondering goals for 2011 during the past few weeks, and I hope to press forward and succeed. I wish you all a safe & happy New Year!

A Special Thank You...

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have offered kind words, deeds, and prayers for me. I really appreciate it. My medicine dosage increased today, but it can still take a while, or a higher dosage for me to get relief for my nerve pain. So far, there's no change for the better. I have some days where I can do more and drive short distances, and then have parts of the day with horrible flare ups. The nerve pain in my arms is running a bit past my elbows now. I was told that iron has nothing to do with it, so it is still a mystery. As soon as I have more "better" days, I will open my Etsy stores back up. I hope I can soon return to painting...even if it is looser, more abstract work. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks again for caring.

Diagnosis

So, this will be short, but just wanted to update. I had a Nerve Conduction Study and an EMG done on Tuesday. It turns out that I still may have carpal tunnel, but in addition, I've been told I have Peripheral Neuropathy. It is affecting both my arms now and after testing my legs and feet, it is there too. My nerves aren't firing as fast as they should for someone my age. So, I started on Cymbalta for the nerve pain in my arms, but it could take about 2 weeks for it to start to improve that. In the mean time, they will try to find the cause. More tests for me. I will still be meeting with a hand surgeon in August, but they want to do more tests first. I will keep you updated. I am itching to paint! I sadly, will not be going back to doing any of my metal work jewelry. The hammering and cutting of metal is just too much on my arms. Any pieces left in my jewelry store on Etsy that are this style, will be the last ones ever. Once it's gone, it's gone.
Hope everyone else had a nice 4th. Thanks for stopping by!

The descent into insanity....

Want to know how to push a creative person over the edge? Take away the use of both arms. Instead of getting better, I now have flare ups in both arms. I'm wearing a splint on each one. Tasks as simple as opening my toothpaste cap are becoming painful. I am typing this with one finger. Next week, I am being hooked up to Electrodes and having a nerve conduction test that lasts 1 1/2 hrs. I can't get a consult with a hand surgeon until August 4th. I don't know how I will last over a month like this. I am sorry to be a "Debbie Downer" but this just plain sucks. I am a busy body by nature, and not being able to use my computer much, write, paint, draw, do my hair, drive very far, etc is making me nutty. I feel like a prisoner in my own house. If it wasn't 95 degrees out, I could at least go for walks. I don't handle heat well, nor do my swollen arms. A lot of people seem to think that carpal tunnel is just numbness and some stiffness in the fingers. It can be that, but it can also be nerve pain in your forearms that feels similar to when you hit your "funny bone" on a wood table. I won't be doing much blog updating for a while, and have stopped using twitter. I will keep my Etsy stores open ( going to need surgery money!), but won't be adding new things anytime soon. I have some finished paintings, but don't think I can handle all the typing needed to do the Ebay listings. Too many pictured to resize, and html to write.
Thanks for listening. I hope you'll start visiting my blog again when my hands/arms are better and my creative life can resume. Take care friends!

The verdict...

I got back from the doctor today with a diagnosis of carpal tunnel AND tendonitis. I wasn't expecting both. He thinks I already had the carpal tunnel for a while and the tendonitis is making it worse, and most likely occurred from lifting heavy items (i.e luggage) while I was on vacation. That's when the pain started. So for now, he has me on a super-pack, one week dosage of Prednisone, Aleve for pain, and if that doesn't take care of it...off to the occupational therapist for shots or surgery. If I can get rid of the tendonitis and do the suggested exercises for the carpal tunnel, maybe I won't need surgery. I worry because my husband works long hours, and we don't have any family nearby to help me with daily stuff that requires 2 hands/my right hand. Right now, I am off to ice my arm and relax a bit. Have a nice weekend! I will check in next week.

Ebay Auctions Ending Tonight!

Just a heads up, if you haven't seen them yet, or are planning on putting in a bid....my painting auctions on Ebay end late tonight. Click HERE to see them.
The weekend was not that great. I got up early at 5 am to do a community garage sale. The PTO running it didn't do much for advertising, to not many people came. By the time I got home and put everything away, I was too tired to go to the art group later that night. Instead, I spent the rest of the day sleeping, eating soup, and watching chic flicks. Sunday involved more napping and today I went and got my bloodwork done. I've not been feeling like myself lately, and think that either I have low iron problems again, or my thyroid levels have changed. Whatever it is, I hope they can figure it out and come up with a solution. I am tired of my body feeling 20 yrs. older than I am. My energy level is practically non-existent. Well, sorry for the pity party. I haven't gotten much painting done because of this, so that's why I haven't been posting much. I hope I can get back to feeling like my normal self....energetic, happy, and excited to create.

Sharing time

It's Monday sharing time! I have 9 pieces of new jewelry to list in my Etsy store tonight so I thought I would share a pic of one of the necklaces I am diggin' right now. Some of you know I am obsessed with birds. I often find ways to add them to my paintings and jewelry. So, here's a happy yellow birdie necklace, and a pic of my two kitties (who normally despise each other) sharing a "blanket fort" in the recliner last night. ( : Snuggly kitties always bring a smile to my face! Check out my store later tonight...there's still plenty of time to pick up some online Christmas gifts! All the new pieces will be under $35!

Holiday Deals and Black Friday Sales!

Just a quick post to let you know that I am offering FREE SHIPPING & A FREE GIFT with each order from my The Royal Bead jewelry store on Etsy!

Also, in my Artwork By Lori store on Etsy, all my prints are BUY 2, GET ONE FREE WITH FREE SHIPPING! These sales will end Tuesday, Dec. 1st.

New Jewelry Monday!

I started adding new jewelry to my The Royal Bead Etsy Store last night, and just finished this morning. I'll share a few pieces with you. Mondays are busy days as always, so I have to post and run. I'd love to stay and chat, but the clock is ticking! Have a super Monday! I'll check in later when I have slowed down a bit. ( :

Where has the week gone?

My goodness this week has gone by fast! We were out of town from Sat. morning till late Monday afternoon, and I've been catching up on housework, laundry, cleaning the car, emails, and creative time. Tomorrow is Friday already, and there are so many things I need to do yet. I am sure a lot of other people are feeling the same.
I extended my BOGO sale and will do so through this weekend, then it will end. I still need to transfer over some of the prints of my paintings into my new Etsy store. I have been steadily adding new illustration prints, so my customers will have a variety to choose from. Unlike painting, I am able to work on my illustrations later at night, so when I don't have the opportunity to paint I work on those. I usually only paint in natural light, which obviously isn't available at night. If I turn lights on in my painting area at night, my husband complains because it keeps him up. I hope someday, when we have our own home, I have my own studio on a far end of the house. Then I can paint whenever I want. I can get one of those Ott-Lights to supply the lighting I need.
Anyways, here are some new prints I have listed in my NEW ETSY STORE. Hope you like them!

Doodle - E - Doo

I was in a bit of a funk today, and couldn't decide on what to paint, so I sat down with my new Pitt art pen, my drawing pad, and some cookies and enjoyed an afternoon of doodling. It helped me get out of my funk, get my mind off of things, and relax. I have been wanting to do some drawings and/or doodles and color them digitally, so I went crazy with Photoshop, and here is my colorful doodle of the day. There will probably be more in the future, as I really enjoyed doing this. I felt like I could "channel" the style I used to use when I made lampwork glass beads, and put it on paper. I finished a painting yesterday, that ended up looking like a self portrait. I will share more about that later. It's kind of a funny story! Anywho, here's my doodle-e-doo!

Ebay auctions ending late tonight!

Morning everyone! I just woke up, and can finally smell today. This is the first night I have slept straight through too. We are both slowly getting better, though I just heard Rob have a sneezing fit from the other room. Progress!

Just wanted to remind anyone watching my auctions (and planning on some last minute bidding) that they end late tonight. I don't have as many to list, but do have some new ones to put up tonight.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY AUCTIONS!

Hope everyone has a good start to their week...I'll check in later. Monday is the announcement of who wins the FREE ART PRINT! SEE PREVIOUS POST BELOW FOR DETAILS!

New listings of my Folk Art Primitive paintings on Ebay starting tonight!

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping in. Hope everyone's weekend was enjoyable. Both my husband and I weren't feeling very well, so after we did the activities we had to do, we spent the night vegging on the couch watching the old Albert Brook's and Meryl Streep movie "Defending Your Life." If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest it. Tonight, Rob is making supper and then we might watch Coraline.
Also, a heads up...I will be having some new auctions starting tonight and ending next Sunday evening for 5-7 of my new paintings I have been showing recently. Due to a change, I will no longer be sending them in to the gallery, as I had planned. So, you can have a chance to own them! Later today, I will post pics of all of them and link them to my Ebay auction for each one.
Well, better go and get ready to head to church. I have two lessons to give for the kiddos today. Have a restful Sunday, and thanks again for stopping by!

HUGE 25% OFF SALE OF ALL MY JEWELRY & PAINTINGS IN MY ETSY STORE!

I am running a 25% off sale in my Etsy store starting today, March 13th and running through March 20th. My jewelry and artwork is on sale. Please wait for me to send you a revised invoice once you have checked out at Etsy. If you see something in my Artfire store that you like that isn't in my Etsy store, let me know and I will honor the 25% off sale there too! Click on the red "Big Sale" pic to go there!