My Solo Trip

Back in April, my friend had her 40th birthday, and invited me to her crafty weekend party..  The problem is that she lives in California; I'm in Missouri.

But after the year I had last year - with moving, and my husband's aortic dissection, etc., we decided I needed a getaway.  My husband and son were very good to me - I didn't get just the weekend, but 10 whole days! :)

I arrived in San Diego, as the party was in Solana Beach.  I was looking forward to sunny skies and a walk on the beach, however I forgot how fickle beach weather can be.. This is what it was like all weekend:

We had a blast anyway, and even though I didn't get much jewelry made, it was very nice to reconnect with my friends!

And might I recommend staying at Holiday Inn Express, for the sole reason of the incredible pancake machine!  We all wanted one of these for our homes..

Once back from the weekend, I actually got to see a movie that wasn't rated G! :)  And a trip to California wouldn't be complete without a trip to In-N-Out..

I had a couple of relaxing days, then it was off to Hollywood to see John Cusack on the Jimmy Kimmel Show!  Hollywood is just so... interesting.  I miss it!

A couple of days later I headed to California Adventure ever so briefly.. I got a nice tease for our next visit later this summer.

That evening I went with a friend to the Pechanga Casino in Temecula to see our pals the 80z All Stars.  I've mentioned them before on my blog - they are some of the nicest guys you'll ever meet!  We had so much fun!

After a late night, the next day we had lots planned - we were going to visit famous dead people at Hollywood Forever Cemetery before heading over to a D23 event at the Walt Disney Studios.

I got chased my an attack duck..

My friend wanted to go to the Federal Bar in North Hollywood for dinner.. Cool place and good food.. I had the Greco burger - lamb with feta and tzatiki, and the garlic parmesan fries were so incredibly yummy!!

The D23 Fanniversary event was great!  I was a tad disappointed that this event didn't leave time for exploring a bit and shopping like some of their other events, but they did have 2 events that night, plus it was dark.  I managed a few pictures..

The next day was pretty easy going.  I went to a kid's soccer game, Ikea, and saw yet another movie not rated G..  Good thing I rested up a bit, as the next day was...

DISNEYLAND!

It was a very fun trip!  Maybe I'll get to take another one without my husband and son again some time.. Until then, I have my memories!

I should add that I really do enjoy going on trips with my boys, and we are planning a big one later this summer, so you have that blog post to look forward to.. lol!  At the rate I'm going, it will probably post in November... ;)

No Big Deal or Creepy?

I've recently been going through an interesting situation.  About a month ago, someone from my past contacted me through my Etsy shop. 

At first, I replied back with a "hi, how are you, and btw however did you find me here?"

After I hit send, I got a bad feeling.  I started wondering why an acquaintance from 20+ years ago would have my maiden name and associate it with my shop.

Here's the background info:
A long time ago, 1989 to be exact, I was on my first job out of college.  I was new, as was someone else in the office.  Naturally we struck up a friendship.  She was married at the time to the guy who contacted me.  We hung out occasionally, even after I moved to another city.  Right before I moved out of state, the woman told me she was divorcing her husband, and that was the last contact I had with either of them.

Until last month.

He contacted me with my maiden name.  He said he wanted me to call or e-mail him so I could tell him what I'm doing now. 

Um... I think that's clear that if you find my shop, you'll find this blog and you can see what I'm up to.  But that's just how I think, I guess.

I decided to ignore his convo, thinking he would get the hint.  He never replied how he found me, btw.  But every week I would get another convo saying "are you ok?" or "has anything happened to you?"  One line convos - every week.  Very creepy.  Still no reply on how he found me. 

I took to the Etsy forums with the question of how to handle this, and the consensus was that before I reported him to Etsy, I had to reply asking him to cease communications.  Next time he sent me a convo, I did reply.

I told him he was making me very uncomfortable and to please cease communications.  I then reported him to Etsy. 

He replied back - he stated how he found me.  He also came up with some story about how I was supposed to introduce him to my parents at dinner one night, and he waited 2 hours in the snow.  WTF?  Wishful thinking on his part?  Mistaken identity?  That really creeped me out..

He did say he would quit contacting me however, BUT

Etsy contacted him.  Told him to leave me alone.

I got another convo.  It came across as very angry, and this time he told a DIFFERENT story of how he found me.  He didn't understand how I wasn't welcoming his overtures.  He also claimed he was shutting down his account, but it's still there.  I will be reporting his latest convo - even though he told me not to - so his account should be shut down.

Now you know the story.   Isn't it weird?  I had people on the forums saying it was no big deal or whatever, but it wasn't really a friend getting back in touch after many years. He also mentioned he'd been looking for me for years. 

So bizarre - I had even forgotten his existence!  I guess I'm a memorable person.. lol.. except it's not a laughing matter.  I consider it stalking, and it's not a good feeling.  My husband thinks the situation is strange, and I have a son to protect as well.

 It has left me with a general feeling of ick.  I'm taking some time off from my shop, and will be spending time with family and friends for a couple of weeks til I can shake this feeling.  My shop will remain open, but I will just glance at it once a day and I will not ship anything til later this month.   Thanks for your understanding.. :)

Maker Faire KC!!!

This weekend is Maker Faire KC!

I'm so excited - I can't wait!  I wasn't able to go last year, as we were busy unpacking.  Yes, it's been a year since we left California..

This year I'll be attending Maker Faire - I'll be doing chainmaille demos all weekend, as well as selling some finished pieces.  My demo hours for Saturday are 9:30-10:30, 11-noon, 1-2, 2:30-3:30, 4-5, and 6-7.  The hours are the same on Sunday, except for the 6-7 time slot.  I will have some extra rings and pliers available if you want to give it a try!

If you're in the area, please stop by!  The weekend should be a blast - check out their website here

Golf?

A few months ago my son told me he wanted to play golf.

Golf?

Really?

We signed him up for a 4 day introductory course, and he loved it.  We found some used clubs, because with kids you just never know how long the obsession will last... and if we had spent $150, he'd probably be done by now! :)

Since that class, he's practiced almost every day, and even went to the driving range with his grandpa twice. He's now in a more advanced golf camp - and he's loving it!   Even though my husband and I know nothing about golf and have never played, it is good to see our son enjoying something so much.

I guess it's even worth it to sit in the hot sun for an hour and a half at a picnic table... I even bought a big floppy straw hat to wear for shade -- I'm sure I look ridiculous!

Unfortunately, there is rain in the forecast for Friday.  Friday is the day they are supposed to play the 4 hole academy course.  I hope the forecast is wrong, because he is so excited... 

Here's my little golfer at the first camp..

I really need to blog more...

It's been forever since I've posted!

Much has been going on here..

Right now I am getting ready for Maker Faire KC at Union Station in two weeks.. I can't wait! It should be lots of fun! Stop by and see me if you're in the area - it's June 23rd and 24th.

 It's been almost a year since we moved, and I'm still not unpacked. I miss California very much - it's so different here. Or maybe I'm different - I did live here for a while back in the 90's, and it didn't seem so bad then.

My husband is doing better, but still has some issues. Hopefully they will work out eventually. Aortic dissection and open heart surgery are a lot for a body to recover from.

My son is doing well. He's decided to take up golf, so he starts round 2 of golf camp next week. He gets to go to a brand new school this fall - I mean really brand new... they are finishing it up, and we get to have a sneak peek in a few weeks. He's very excited, as it's a LEED certified school. He loves being green!

I've visited some of my friends in California already.. next week I'll post pictures.

I know I've made this promise before, but I will continue blogging on a regular basis. I plan on adding time to my daily schedule for it.. :)

Life in Kansas City

It's been almost 3 months now since my husband had his aortic dissection. He's doing very well, and has just gone back to work full time. I do think we still have a long road ahead with recovery, but hopefully everything will be grand by next summer.

I also want to send our heartfelt thanks to Regretsy, April and all the CF4L members who have been so awesome to us through this difficult time. YOU ROCK!

I'm currently planning a trip to California. Actually, planning 2 trips, one by myself and one with the family. My son really misses his friends and can't wait til summer to visit them. Until then he gets to experience a whole different life than we had in California. He met Father Christmas over the weekend...



Happy Thanksgiving!

Scary times..

As I stated in my last blog post, this move has not been easy.

It got worse.

Much worse.

On August 21st, my husband and son went to a cub scout info meeting. On the way home, my husband began to experience possible heart attack symptoms. I rushed him to the hospital, where they determined it wasn't a heart attack.

Instead it was something uncommon - a dissected aorta. He had to have immediate surgery, as a dissected aorta can be fatal - in fact it is most of the time. He was very lucky.

He is currently recovering at the hospital. He's had a couple of setbacks this week, but continues to work towards the goal of coming home and getting back to work.

Since he just started work, he has no vacation or sick pay built up, and we have no income for a while. I had planned to reopen my shop when I had time to retake my photos, change up descriptions and play with SEO stuff. I've decided now is a good time, in case I can make gas or grocery money from my shop. Please share this post with others to help me provide for my son during this very stressful time.

And remember to give extra hugs to your loved ones - you never know what's going to happen.

p.s. I apologize if I don't make much sense - I'm in a state of perpetual exhaustion right now.