The Secret

I just checked out "The Secret" from the Bellingham Public Library. I read only a couple of chapters, but so far, I am very intrigued. I totally believe in the law of attraction. I hate to think I attracted the ovarian cyst that I am in pain for right now. But the lack of creative activities in the last few weeks were mainly due to the fact that I was feeling sick and, worse, feeling sorry for myself for having to wait to see a specialist and needing to have a surgery to remove the cyst.

Kumo is curled up next to me on the couch and snoozing. He had a long day at the doggie daycare and he is totally "zonked". I think he has mastered the law of attraction. He wants to love. He wants to be loved. He wants to get treat. He wants to go for a nice little stroll around the neighborhood. And, he gets all that! (No wonder he can sleep so well!!)

I used to be more in tune with my thoughts. I used to be able to catch of myself thinking what I didn't want or what I was afraid of happening to my life. I used to be able to shift that to more positive thoughts. But then I am feeling pretty confused as to what I want in my life at the moment anyway. I need to search my heart what I truly desire from my life.

Self pity is a dangerous thing

For almost 3 weeks, I've been waiting to see a gynecologyst who, hopefully, can remove an ovarian cyst which has been bothering me last six months. Did you know there is usually 4-6 weeks to see a gynecologist in our little town of Bellingham, WA? When I heard that, I felt like packing up and moving back to Boston. Maybe there is a similar wait in the Boston area, but then I think I have more than two phone numbers to call to find out how long the wait is going to be. Yes, my primary care physician gave me only two phone numbers to call. Those were the ones who were within my health insurance in this area. Anyway, I was sick feeling feverish and nausiated last night like many times in the past 30 days or so. My husband called around 8PM to remind me that he won't be home until almost 11PM because of his Judo practice. I was lying on a sofa with Kumo and was feeling really sorry for myself. I know self pity is a very dangerous thing. And it was a very dangerous thing last night indeed. I came across Amazon.com while surfing online mindlessly. I was looking at some nutrition books (nutrition is one of my new found interest) and somehow ended up looking at iPod Touch. Next thing I knew (I swear) I was ordering iPod Touch. Self pity got to my weakness of loving small electronic gadgets. But, I blame for the gynecologist who is making me wait to see her for such a long time. But, there is good news. I am seeing her on Thursday! I think I can control my little self pity for 48 hours!

News fast

I decied to news-fast for a while. I heard on NPR this morning that financial systems of the world were reviewed for its soundness and that the US was at 40th place (better than the UK's 50th!) That is when I decided that I am going to news-fast. I can't do anything about the situation; they are way beyond my control. Did you know that these news about bad economy are making 80% of Americans unhappy? I refused to be in that 80% of the US population.

I see my 2-year-old Bichon Frise Kumo, who truly lives a life one day at a time without worrying about a thing in life, how happy he is every day. He doesn't know that the US national debt is some trillion dollars or the government is using 700 billion dollars of our tax money in attempting to fix this hedious financial crisis. Even if he knew about the crisis, he couldn't do anything about it. That means he is as much out of control as I am. Then why don't I live like him? He doesn't listen to news and he is happy. Do you see the connection?

Let's learn from our dogs and live without worries. Can you see how happy Kumo is in this photo? He was running around the beautiful sandy beach of the Oregon Coast this summer. I think we should all run around and declair our freedom; we are free to be happy! We don't need a zen monk, shrink or motivational speaker to teach us how to be happy.

Baobab Tree

My sister-in-law, Kari, works for World Vision, an organization that provides global relief programs. When she returned from her business trip in Senegal, a small country on the West Coast of Africa, and saw me wearing this necklace, she exclaimed "Baobab Tree!" She told me that the locals called the Baobab Tree "the upside down tree" because the tree branches look like roots, as though God had dropped them from the sky upside down. I saw the Babobab Tree on one of the episodes of "Planet Earth" and absolutely loved it. To me it looks like it is raising its hands up in the air to praise God. So, I decided to call this piece the Baobab Tree necklace and donate 10% from the sale of this necklace to World Vision in honor of Kari and the people of Senegal. To find out more about World Vision, please go to http://www.worldvision.org/.

You can purchase the Baobab Tree necklace and support World Vision at my Etsy store:

http://www.shizendesigns.etsy.com/

Time flies when having fun

It does. Time flies when you are having fun. Time still flies even if it's not all fun. I am very happy to report that I now have 33 items for sale on my Etsy store. There have been 3 sales. Yay! Thank you everyone of those who "heart" my Etsy store. I am very flattered.

Here is a phot of a pair of "Cherry Blossom Earrings". This is one of my most favorite piece I make. They are delicate like the real cherry blossoms. I miss cherry blossoms that I used to see every year in my old neighborhood in the east end of Tokyo. If you ever plan to go to Japan, I recommend the end of March to the beginninf of April so that you can see the cherry in full blossom. I promise you will never regret.

New items on Etsy

Today I celebrate (again!) I posted two new items on my Etsy store. I love the Cherry Blossom earrings. I etched the flowers on fine silver medals.

To view other earrings "Plum flowers" and other photos of Cherry Blossom earrings, please go to:

http://www.shizendesigns.etsy.com/

I hope someone else love them too.

Shizen Designs Etsy Store Open!

Today, I celebrate. I finally posted my jewelry (OK, just one, but) on my Etsy store!!! Yahoo!!!!! You can check out my store at:

http://www.shizendesigns.etsy.com/

I posted a necklace made with the metal clay painting technique I learned from my jewelry teacher, Terry Kovalcik. He is one of the master instructors of the Precious Metal Clay Teacher Certificate Program offerred by Rio Grande. I took his PMC Teacher Certificate Program in Portland, Oregon last month. I have been very excited about the new possibilities I now see after taking his class. You can check out his awesome work at:

http://www.terrykovalcik.com/

I will continue to add more jewelry to my Etsy store, so please check back again.

Happy July 2nd! (Hey, you say Happy July 4th, why not 2nd??)