I SHOULD HAVE NEVER TRUSTED YOU RED 40!

Well well well.
Apparently one of the top news stories is the supposed link between Artificial Dyes and ADHD.
That's just lovely.
I stuff my face with artificial colors every day, and I scored nearly 4x the minimum requirement to be diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type, not the jumping-up-the-walls type) 5 years ago.
HOORAY FOR CHEMICALS.

Annoying concentration issues aside, I just filmed two little segments on Creatures 3 on Livestream.
Click here to watch it.

In other news I just started playing Borderlands the other day, beat Mass Effect 2 on Sunday, and I have 4 clay pieces made and ready to bake.
Look out for more additions to the shop this April!

April's Army

Taking a moment to tell everyone about a little slice of Etsy that's definitely worth taking a gander at.

Regretsy.com has been one of my favorite websites to visit on an (almost) daily basis. The snark, hilarity, and great community there had been a constant source of entertainment and a good way to learn what NOT to do on Etsy.
The site itself is run by April Winchell who goes by the moniker "Helen Killer." She's a spectacular woman who has a mouth like a sailor (a drunken, angry sailor), but deep down inside she has a heart of gold. Her Regretsy Fund has donated thousands of dollars to charities and people in desperate need of aid, whether it be cancer, being on the verge of homelessness, among other things.

Needless to say, it's pathetic when people whine that her site is "mean-spirited" and "horrible." She showcases tragically awful items with a load of snark, and the people deserve it. She doesn't leave any room for excuses, and will be as blunt as possible.
She's also helping people out, more so than any of the whiners probably have in their life.

As April has once said, "I'd rather talk shit and do good, than talk good and do shit."

So on the subject of doing good, there's a new Etsy team in town... April's Army.
This team is made up of Regretsy fans, but they are also real crafters with real talent.
Many of these sellers are unemployed, in financial trouble, or trying to kickstart their business, but have been having a tough time due to the large number of Chinese resellers on Etsy claiming that their cheap items are "vintage" and "original."
...thus their love for Regretsy's snark, and an appreciation of April's hatred for these fakes.

Though April's Army was created by a seller, April has addressed the group and has announced a voluntary charity project for any members willing to participate. Yes, that's right... Hundreds of sellers will soon be featuring items to help someone in need.
To believe that some people are trying to shut this group down... jeesh.

So I urge all of you to check out the sellers who are a part of April's Army.
All of these people truly make handmade pieces of art, not mass-produced items made in sweatshops and incorrectly labeled as genuine. I've been posting and reading the forums there, and it is incredible how many talented people have joined the army's ranks. Every seller also has a story... whether they're a student straight out of college, an unemployed single mom, or someone suffering from a medical condition they can't afford to treat, these are all very real people. They could use the support.

Click here to visit the group... and join if you'd like!

"Find Something to Believe In...."

Being in college has taught me a lot. I've learned better time management, how to live on my own and be self-supportive, how to be more responsible, and I think its safe to say my social skills have improved a little bit. I've grown as a person. But I've been starting to think to myself, and I'm sure others have at some point "Am I making the right choice?". This can apply to damn near anything but first I mean it in the career aspect. Do I really want to be a CJ major? Do I really want to work in law enforcement? Back in high school I had a few options for careers: being something CJ-related, a doctor, musician, an actor....blah blah. I sort of felt like I just chose to be a CJ because it was thrust upon me and it seemed like a good idea at the time; basically I'm trying to say that I feel like the decision wasn't really mine, that my parents thought I had an heightened interest in it and just assumed I wanted to pursue that and egged me on, when really I had no damn clue what I wanted to do/be. We're still trying to find our real identity and trying to be happy with who we are during that time.

So now to try to help all of you. I'm going to tell you what I did. Think and ask yourself, and dig deep, "Can I see myself doing this? What do I see myself doing with my life?" I did a lot of self-analyzing, and I still do. Now, I have my own spiritual beliefs, and my own theory on the universe, but I do like to think that there may be hidden signs that you're on the right "path". Take a step back from your life. And see if there is something hidden that you're missing. I really don't want to go into detail about the things in my life, at least not yet anyway, but these "signs" have the meaning you give them. So far, I think I'm making the right choice in my life and I'm going to stick with it, because I don't see a reason not to. I have a feeling deep down that it will be worth it, partly because I've seen a few signs along the way. But the key to this is finding out who you are, because then you can decide what you want to be.

Apart from finding out who you are, there is also finding out what makes you not just happy, but a whole person. These two things are connected: the person you are and what makes you feel fulfilled. So me pursuing a CJ major will make me happy and is some-what related to who I am, but that doesn't necessarily make me fulfilled. This is where things like hobbies come in and things like that, etc. An example: I'll admit I starting watching Man vs Wild from the start and I love watching it. I like how Bear goes into these situations with nothing but a knife, a flask, and the clothes on his back and shows you how to survive with just that. But I really love the outdoors, nature, solitude, etc; its sort of a secret little joy of mine. But I'd never really have the time or money or skill to just throw myself into the wild and have some epic self-revealing journey back to civilization. But I do enjoy the outdoors. A lot. Over this past Spring Break I went on a hike with some friends and I loved it. I did learn a few things about myself too. I'd like to go on more and in new locations, but there is more. I want to give back. That is where fulfillment comes in.

Find something that makes you happy and that you enjoy doing, but share your enjoyment somehow with someone. If I show a picture of a bird I saw on some hike to my girlfriend and just as long as she doesn't shrug it off like "Whatever...that's lame....", somewhere inside me that would make me happy because I'm sharing my experience with her. With all that said....I'll leave this here and let you mull over this. This isn't a clear cut guide to happiness or anything, but it may help you. Take from this what you will.

"Find something to believe in, and find it for yourself. When you do, pass it on to the future."
"Believe in what?"
"That's your problem."

I Should Be Sleeping

I really should be sleeping, but I feel way too restless...
...not just in a "I can't sleep!" sort of way, but also a "what should I do with my life?" sort of sense.

Things have changed a lot.

For one, I am most likely not returning to college.
Before you judge me and label me as a college dropout, that's really not the case.
Originally, I left college because of my anemia and planned to return once I got better. It took about a month for me to realize that I really didn't want to go back. It wasn't that I wanted to laze around at home all day and leech off of my parents. It was that I really wasn't me anymore, and I wasn't truly happy.
Let's face it... School is one extremely long journey that ultimately leads to a college degree.
Not a job... a degree. The degree is a tool that is used to get a job, and usually you get a degree so you can get the job of your choosing.
The thing is, college only complicated my ideas of the future instead of condensing it into a decision.
I really became lost in all the possibilities, and though some classes were incredibly enjoyable, others were pain-staking and annoying. All of the work and stress really made me wonder what I was really working for.

The truth is, I don't know what I want to major in.
I don't know what kind of job I want.
I don't know what I'd like to train to become, and I don't know what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.
Stress to do well, stress due to my health, stress of the future... it all adds up.
It also really detracted from my life.

Without college, I realized, I was nothing.
I was nothing but a student, but when that's stripped away, I'm nobody.
I don't have any real hobbies, goals, ambitions, or anything else.
My one goal in life was only to graduate college for a degree... but that's an empty goal, and that's really no way to live.

Taking this time to recover from my health issues has really helped me realize what in life I actually value.
With all the stress from college gone, I've gotten a lot more in tune with what I actually want in life as well... not just what is wanted from me.
I've come to the conclusion that I want to get a real job. I want to have something to be proud of, I want to bring home a paycheck. I want the satisfaction of knowing that I am capable of doing something out in the real world.
I want to further expand my art. Since my recovery from depression almost 3 years back, I've barely drawn anything, let alone actually worked on art. Of course, I've done some polymer clay work for Etsy, but definitely not enough. I want to try to get back into drawing, digital art, maybe even perler beads... those look like a lot of fun. Either way, I want to produce. I want to share my work, sell my work, whatever. As long as it isn't just sitting in my mind somewhere, that's fine with me.

Do I really want to never go back to college?
No, not really.
I'd like to go back someday. My credits are good for the next 8 years, so there's always the option to go back.
For now though, I feel like I need to prove to myself that I can self-provide and that I'm capable of... well, living.
I need the success that I stressed so much over... because honestly, it's 4 years to get a degree, and that's kind of disheartening and discouraging at times. But a week for a paycheck... that's almost instant gratification in comparison, and right now I need that.

So why am I so restless?
I'm brainstorming all of these things I should do.
I want to try out perler bead art.
I'm thinking of all the things I can draw when I get my new tablet.
I'm planning new things to make out of clay.
I'm mulling over job possibilities.

Now that I've written this though, I'm finally getting sleepy...
That's a good thing, I think.

Even More Etsy Additions!

I've just added more items to the Etsy store!

This time around we have more food designs and even a bit of geekery!

Mario, anyone?

This and more at our Etsy Shop!

New Items Finally Up!

Well, I finally got off my rear and put together all of my clay earrings, photographed my items, cropped the images, and posted them on Etsy.

Today we have 7 new items, including... -drumroll- ...lots of earrings!

Watermelon, eggplant, lime, grapes, and corn. More clay foodstuffs!
Check them out!

Visit the Etsy Store!