Taking a Moment to be Thankful

For my US of A friends, today is Thanksgiving. A national holiday in which we all celebrate our blessings by manner of spending time with family and gorging ourselves on mashed potatoes. (I highly recommend it.)

The main purpose of this holiday is to remind us of all of the things we ought to be thankful for, and give us a nudge to reflect on them. So, in addition to the paid day off from work, here are just a few other things I’d like to add to the list of I-am-grateful-fors…

A loving husband who is not only drop-dead gorgeous, but also enjoys watching Spongebob with me and doesn’t mind the Barbie dolls that decorate much of our home interior.

Rocking friends who, after a few bottles of Mike’s Hard, often end up telling each other how much love we have for one another at our gatherings. (“You’re awesome.” “No, YOU’RE awesome!”)

Family, (duh), including all in-laws and the people I have known long enough that they freaking might as well be included in this too.

My day job (giving me this paid day off). Not only does it pay the bills and provide the health insurance, but I actually don’t dread going to it. (yay!)

My house. Being a home-owner (even if it’s really the bank that technically owns it) feels soooooooo good.

My business. (And, in turn, my customers, followers, and fans. All of which I am eternally grateful for.) It’s pretty sweet that people actually wanna pay me money for the crap I make and read this shyte I write. THANK YOU!

Caffeine: thanks for making life possible.

Melissa Etheridge, for recording the ultimate sing-along catharsis with her hit, “I’m the Only One.”

Stephen King, for providing me with enough entertaining reading material to last me the rest of my lifetime. Or at least close to it.

The internet, for allowing me to connect with fabulous peeps from all over the world and share my handmade goodies with them.

And, finally (although there is really so, so much more), for my good health. Knock on wood.

What’s on YOUR thankful list today?

Your Chance to Save BIG on Unique Handmade Jewelry

Have you had your eye on something in one of my Etsy shops for awhile now? With so much unique, awesome crap to choose from, I’ve no doubt that you have.

Well NOW I’m going to tell you that this coming weekend, you won’t be able to wait any longer. Starting Black Friday through the end of Cyber Monday, all of the items in MegansBeadedDesigns and Glamour365 will be marked down by a whopping 30%.

So if you’re feeling guilty for having eaten a little too much pumpkin pie the day before… here are just a few examples of the unique, handmade treasures you can purchase to make yourself feel better…

NOW $6 – Black Friday Price $4.20

NOW $19 – Black Friday Price $13.30

NOW $26 – Black Friday Price $18.20

NOW $7.00 – Black Friday Price $4.90

NOW $3.95 – Black Friday price $2.77

NOW $16 – Black Friday Price $11.20

So synchronize those watched ladies and germs – because starting first thing Friday morning (quite literally, at 12:01 a.m.), these deals BEGIN. Many of the items are one-of-a-kinds, so the first to nab ’em gets dibs!

Grasping for the Halloween Spirit

I don’t know why, but I’m having trouble getting into the Halloween spirit. This is usually not that difficult for me, Halloween is easily the most fun holiday to decorate for (and dress up for). Not being allowed to celebrate it growing up due to my parents’ over-bearing religious tendencies, I’ve embraced the October festivities with full-force since departing from the household I grew up in. Maybe the rebelliousness is just starting to wear off?

Drop of Blood Necklace - $18.00

Or maybe working for a costume store last year ruined it for me. It did last year, I’ll tell you that right now. I was working at this Halloween store every day after getting off work from my day job at 4. We would close at midnight or later the closer it got to Halloween, and all of the last-minute costume shoppers would squeeze themselves into stripper outfits three-times too small and fling the closest pumpkin outfit on their child to call it good. Needless to say chasing down the shop lifters and helping to zip-up one too many skimpy outfits at the fitting rooms was a bit much. I came home exhausted, with the Monster Ball jingle stuck in my head. I was Halloweened-out. I did not attend a single Halloween party, so it didn’t matter that I got that awesome 25% employee discount on costumes, I sure as hell wasn’t going to get the chance to wear any of them.

Spider Necklace - $11.95

So needless to say, when the manager of said Halloween shop asked me if I would work for him again this year, I politely turned him down. I wanted to have fun with Halloween this year. Working at a Halloween store was too much of a Halloween overload, and not in a good way. Now I just need to get out of the funk and get excited about the fact that I’ll actually have the time to attend some events and parties in costume and everything. My husband is already there. He’s been slaving away making a costume replica of his character in the Fallout 3 video game. He’s gone so far as burying articles of clothing underground and digging them up days later–so they look good and weathered. He’s painted a Nerf

Halloween Beading Pattern - $3.95

gun and filled it with weights so it’s good and heavy, and sliced up bits of tire to use as armor. Needless to say, I feel pretty lame when people ask me, “Who are you gonna be?” and I respond, “Uhm, well, I have an Eve costume I’m thinking of using for a Poison Ivy costume…” Pretty lame, right?

Well this week I’m going to Scarywood over at Silverwood theme park in Idaho, and hitting up my first Halloween party on Friday night. Hopefully between those two events, the fact that my husband has put up our outdoor decorations, I’ll manage to get into the spirit. We’ll also be carving our our pumpkins this week. Now… just what to carve…