I'm Richard Simmons ovah he-yah

I look like Richard Simmons Ovah He-yah. The humidity 

is much higher than normal here due to some unusual rain...I think I will be wearing my hat for the rest of my visit here.  (Scroll down for a shot that kinda shows how curly my hair is.)

Our plane was over booked.  I’m not very fond of United...paying for checked baggage is a notion that doesn’t go over very well for me at all.  I find it (as the professor would say) PREPOSTEROUS.  Let’s put on top of that that Smarty Pants (that’s me) chose two seats:  window (for Milind, he LOVES the window) and middle (for me, I HATE the middle) in the very last row of the airplane, and there we sat for 5 hours behind a very rambunctious 2 year old with a faux hawk and a dirty diaper that his parents didn’t change.  I had had it by the time the flight was over.  The only thing that got me through the flight was this AWESOME little book about Pomeranians that I had brought with me.  I was entranced for at least 3 hours with that book.  

When we got to Kauai, as I said, it was very humid.  Our bags were the last off the conveyer...and we got to the Alamo rental car LINE and we were kinda LAST.   We were standing right behind this well-traveled couple who were a bit excessive with their PDA.  Get a room!  Well, it turned out we had to wait like 20-30 minutes for these shuttle buses to pick us up and take us to the rental facility.  It was so anticlimactic.  We just wanted to go eat some lunch and get to the hotel!  We were pretty hungry and tired.  

At Alamo, even though we signed up for an economy car, they upgraded us to a bigger car....oooh!  A Buick!  As we drove down the Highway, Milind noticed a red car in the rearview and the guy driving it was wearing a beret.  The PDA couple was right behind us!   It was more and more funny as we got closer to our hotel, and became HILARIOUS when they pulled in behind us at our same hotel.  

Now I want to tell you about this AMAZING hotel.  The people who work here are like sweeter than honey.  The first time we came here, for our wedding, I remember that they upgraded our room and sent us champagne when they found out that we were getting married at the hotel.  So when I went up to the counter and we were getting our room, I told the lady that we got married here 2 years ago, right on the beach and that we are here for our anniversary, and what does she do?  She upgrades our room and sends us champagne.  Of course, I don’t drink champagne, but that’s beside the point. We now have an awesome Ocean View room just steps away from the beach.  

Speaking of the beach.  We went to the beach almost as soon as we got here.   This is the beach where we got married.  It was surreal being back in the same spot.  It was really beautiful.  When we got married, I made the decision in my mind (a bad decision, it turned out) that I was going to be respectful of my new mother and father in law and make the kiss at the end of the ceremony very unemotional...just a peck.  (Because I have been told that public displays of affection in India are offensive.)  I have regretted that since the moment it happened.  I have felt cheated for basically 2 years.  Well, when I went to that beach and I kissed my husband again, the way I wanted to kiss him, it made me feel a little better.  

We went back to the Olympic Cafe, and we were STARVING.  It was one of our FAVORITE restaurants from when we were here before.  To be honest, I couldn’t wait to go.  For me, though, it was quite a let down.  They had maybe one gluten free item on their menu.  I ordered it (it had to be modified to be gluten free) and it suh-ucked.  Here’s the problem.  Milind ordered fish tacos.  I ordered chicken tacos.  My chicken tacos came back tasting exactly like a fish taco.  Inedible.  And I was starving.  Not a good situation.  

Luckily there was Lappert’s! If you’ve been to Hawaii you know Lappert’s.  We went over to the Coconut Marketplace, which is a rundown strip mall kinda place, which is oddly filled with some high-end stores, and we got some of that amazing ice cream.  Milind got his usual strawberry.  I, on the other hand, had to go “island” and got Passion Fruit, Raspberry Sorbet and Coconut with Macadamia Nut.  Mmmmmmmmmm.  Gimme anything coconut.  

After that we went for a drive...and let me just say, fatique had set in.  I was really feeling run down.  We went back to the room for awhile, watched the news about Trooper Gate and then decided to have some dinner.  I wanted a burger.  

We headed down to the bar and I got a burger.  No bun, of course.  :)  I attempted to blog when we got back to the room, but the internet suck-eth here.  I am currently typing this off-line and am hoping to get the internet to work SOON. 

If it does, you can look for another update again in the very near future.  Good day!  OH BTW, the weather is great! 

Please Vote No on Prop 8

Yes, I've already written more than I intended to write, but there are still words in me, so what can I do?  I've got to write more.  

The following is intended to be read by my heterosexual readers:

Do you know someone who is gay?  Do you love someone who is gay?  Seriously.  I'm asking you if they are your friend or if they are your family.  It's very simple.  Don't they have the right to love someone and honor someone as an equal the same way you will/did when you got married?  How can your answer be no?  How can you POSSIBLY take the fundamental right to love and honor away from another person (and to be loved and honored in return)?  

Prop 8 doesn't remove any of your rights.  Read the facts yourself on the website I've put on my list to the right.  Gay people aren't different from you...they have families, too- and it's about time that they are granted the equality to make their families complete with the bond of marriage. Overturning this decision and making marriage impossible for uncountable California gays is sending the wrong message.  We need to foster equality and inclusion.  I understand that some people, maybe a lot of people are more conservative in their beliefs than me.  To them, I have to reiterate that you need to get the facts.  Prop 8 doesn't mean that gay people are going to take over the world and your children are going to all turn gay (which is a silly notion, but one which I've heard people admit).  Being gay isn't a religion, and they're not actively looking for converts.  And think about it.  Just because you deny a right to a person doesn't make them any less of who they are, does it?  

Voting NO on Prop 8 is the right thing to do.  

To finish, I will just share one thing.  There are a few people, though very precious, that I know who are directly affected by this Proposition.  I'd like to think I would care as much even if it weren't for them, but regardless, I'm very passionate about this.  These are LOVELY people.  The kind of people who make the world a better place on a daily basis.  They MORE than deserve the equality they've been given since being afforded the right to gay marriage, and they MORE than deserve to maintain that right.  If you were gay, wouldn't YOU want and deserve the right to marry the person you love?  Really read that question again.  Ask yourself seriously.  

Please Vote No on Prop 8.  It's about equality, not about being gay.

Here we go!

The trip is just a day away now and we are so looking forward to it.  I may even go a little crazy and eat something that's not Gluten Free...but I'll only do it once, so I'm going to make it good.  It's almost been a year since I was diagnosed, and since then I have never (knowingly) eaten anything that was not GF and my life is, I would say, 10 times better because of it.  

I don't want to go off on a tangent, because I was talking about the trip, but I do think people generally have the question, "How could your life possibly be 10 times better just because you went off wheat?!".  I really do get asked that a lot.  And the answer is two-fold.  First of all, my tummy thanks me.  I went probably 2 to 3 years undiagnosed, and I had serious stomach issues.  So that speaks for itself.   And second of all, like as soon as I went off wheat, probably within a week- I started to feel WAY more energetic.  I was getting NOTHING done when I was eating gluten.  Celiac kinda sucks, but I won't go back to wheat (nor the long list of other things I can't eat).

On the same topic, I was thinking of starting maybe a list of places (restaurants) in my area where I've eaten and not gotten a bad reaction.  But would that make this more of a Celiac blog than a Bead blog?  I guess I can call it whatever I want to call it.  It's my blog and I can write about whatever I want.   And it's up to you whether you want to read it.  (Suddenly, they all rushed for the door...)

So with that said, the first place I would like to recommend is a place that my husband and I go to ALL the time, and we've gone there for years.  I know a lot of things on the menu are safe, but to be honest, I've never tried the thing they're probably famous for.  It's House of Falafel on Stevens Creek (Cupertino-there's one on Lawrence as well).  I've had the Kebabs and the rice and the hummus-all SUPER delicious, but I've never tried a falafel...I don't know if they use actual flour in them, or just chickpeas.  Obviously, you have to use your Celiac discretion there; for instance, you couldn't have a wrap.  Stick with the Kebabs and I would say you're safe.  And if you're going with your non-GF friend, have them order the DELICIOUS baklava, which I tasted before I was diagnosed, and I miss very much.  Also, I've never had the Shawerma, but I would vouch for that, too.  It looks okay...but once again, use your judgment.

Now that I've broken through the wall, you can look forward to more GF restaurant recos as the blog trudges forward.  We tend to eat out a lot.  That's not to say I don't cook!  I cook like every night!  But a girl likes to go out!  (and so does her husband)

So look forward (on Friday-or Saturday morning) to a new post on our first day in Hawaii, hopefully with some pictures.  And of course, in the days following that, there will be updated posts on a (anticipated) daily basis.  

Well now I've written more than I intended to write.  :)  Bonus!  TTFN!

More Beads, Please!

Just a short post to say that I have been working on some special orders lately and that I haven't posted new items on Etsy.com in about a week and a half...but don't worry!  There will be a couple new items posted very soon, and until then you can enjoy the very cute stuff that is already there.  Here's a quick link--and there's one to the right, as well.  I also wanted to remind new readers that you can read old posts by going to the bottom of the page and clicking on "Older Posts", or by directly clicking on the date of the post on the right side of your screen.  TTFN!

New Look

I've got a new look going on, you probably noticed if you're a regular reader here on my blog. The light blue color of the banner is part of an overall color scheme I'm using with all of my Boogdoodle "stuff", so I thought I should bring it to the blog as well.  I think it's a nice clean look, although I really loved the other pretty pink and purple one.  Blue's cute, too.  What am I saying?  I love every color!  But brown's still my favorite.  :)

Anyway, I have some pretty good news.  I will be able to do a tiny travel blog in a few weeks, which is really wonderful, because it's something I love to do.  My husband and I will be going back to the place where we got married in Hawai'i and I will be able to blog everything about it.  It will definitely be a lot of fun.  You can look forward to that, right here, in just a few weeks.  This is where we're going:

View Larger Map 

I'll be adding a few more rings to my etsy shop in the next day or so.  My rings are really meant to be customized, so if you see anything you like, for you or for someone else, let me know and we can work on something together.  It's a fun, easy process....and you get a pretty ring in the end!

TTFN!

Work Strategies- Locking Boxes

Having two mischievous cats in the house is a real cause for concern for a beader.  There are always at least two projects going on and who 

knows how many pieces of tantalizing string trailing from their tails.  And because I'm also weaving, I've got sharp 

needles thrown into the mix as well.  

Several years 

ago (it must've been in one of my grandmother's old craft magazines), I read about a cat who had gotten into her owner's needlepoint project.  To make a long story short, the string got stuck in his throat and his mouth was pinned open by the needle.  The poor cat lived through it, but his veterinary experience must've been extremely painful!

I would hate for that, or anything like it to happen to my crazy cats, so I take every precaution.  I have project boxes that fully close and lock, and I didn't have to spend a fortune on them.  Hopefully my project box solution can help you- here's what I did:

I was browsing the aisles at Michael's and I found (in their unfinished wood section) a cigar box that is the perfect size and shape for small bead projects like mine.  It was only about 5 dollars.  They also have bead mats that fit almost perfectly inside the box.  I just cut them to size and use one to line the bottom of the box and I also put one in the top of the box to cover my work.  For awhile my boxes were plain, but then I got some acrylic paint and painted on the outside of my boxes and added some decoupage elements.  They're really cute.  

With boxes like these I find that I can just lock up my projects every night and not worry myself to sleep about what my kitties might be getting themselves into.  These boxes are perfect for small beading projects and because they lock, they provide peace of mind for pet owners as well.  

Beads of Courage

I heard about Beads of Courage during my Beadmaking class at BAGI.  My instructor, Shirley Cook, would demonstrate beadmaking techniques to us while making actual glass beads, and she would laugh to us that she wanted to make the beads in "funky" colors "for the kids".  Of course, we HAD to ask about the kids!  What kids?

Shirley told us that every demo bead she makes is donated to an organization called Beads of Courage.  The way I understand it, when a child with cancer starts in the Beads of Courage program, they get beads that spell out their name.  Then, with each procedure, they get a bead in a color (chart can be found here) corresponding to the treatment they are receiving.  When a child finishes their treatment, they are given a purple heart bead.  

Then there are the butterflies.  Shirley couldn't continue without getting a little misty-eyed when she told us that butterfly beads are given to the parents of the children who pass away and don't make it through treatment.  

Any beadmaker can contribute to Beads of Courage. I've heard that they especially need purple hearts and, sadly, glass butterflies.  Even polymer bead makers can make and donate beads to the cause.  Specifications for bead donations can be found here, and are really only limited to the size of the mandrel.   Let the color wheel inspire you.