Merry Christmas To All

Hi friends! Tis the season to be merry, fa la la la la, la la la la.

As we come to the close of yet another year and I slightly cringe at the thought of another year closer to wrinkling and drooping, I would like to take this moment to say Merry Christmas and Thank You to all of my friends and family.

I look forward to many years to come with all of you and I truly treasure all the joy and happiness you bring into my life.

Nestled in wrapping paper, bows, hugs & kisses,

XoXo

Day 2/3-Experimenting

December 02/03~

Second day and I'm already cheating. Lol.

As you can tell, I didn't do a post last nite. My lil best buddy was just way too warm and cuddly cozy, so I fell asleep instead of being productive- ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

But, **drumroll**, I did wake up this morning @ 3am to make up for it. I brewed myself a monster pot of coffee and got to it.

So, yes, I cheated, but technically, I was only 3 hrs late, haha.

Ironically, once I was able to crawl to the bathroom and splash some water on my face, the time zoomed by!! Before I knew it, it was 6 am and I was waking the kids up and getting ready to head out the door.

My project for the morning was to make a very special bday present for a very special young lady that is having her sweet 16 party tonite. And I am soooo nervous! I always worry when I make gifts. Will they like it? Will they not wear it? Oh well, I guess it's the thought that counts.

It is now almost 830 am, and I am exhausted!! Seriously falling asleep driving to work. :(

So I don't know what's going to work for me. Stay up late or wake up early? Plus, my body isn't used to doing either!!

I'll be posting pics of the bday present later, so I don't ruin the surprise :)

Signing off, headed to grouchyland......oh wait, I'm already there,

XoXo

Day 1- Accomplished

December 01, 2010: Day 1.

Mission: Do one thing for Zaia jewelry, if not more.

Status:Accomplished

:)

My mission for today was to get some holiday necklaces made with some super special Swarovski focals that I've been eyeing.

Sparkly Snowflake Swarovski.............say that five times fast, lol.
Bonus: I also made some super cute Swarovski shell necklaces with a Swarovski crystallized pearl.
I was also able to edit and touch up some of my listings on Etsy, hoping to establish the right selling groove.

Landmines & ambushes:
I miss lying in bed with my lil best buddy. He is so warm and cuddly and laying with him is probably the best part of my day. Plus, I love how he cuddles up to me when he falls asleep.
It is now 11:05 pm.............way past my normal bed time, and I'm tired. I pity my co-workers tomorrow, because I am sure to have my grumpy face on.
How long did I say I was going to keep this pre-New Year resolution up?
Accomplished, tired, and sleepwalking to my bed and best buddy,
XoXo

I love the Holidays!!

YEAH!! I've been waiting to say that since the beginning of November. Don't get me wrong-I love Thanksgiving. The gathering of the fam bam, the food, the extra days off from work :0)

But to me, once Black Friday hits, that officially marks the beginning of Christmas.

Speaking of Black Friday, I dragged my sleepy lil butt (and my brother's and his gf's) all around town from 10pm to 8am the next morning, all in a futile attempt @ getting the best deals.
I did manage to get some super duper deals, but I also missed out on a lot too. Oh well, you can't get it all. Plus, I would've ran out of $$$$$ if I did manage to get everything on my list, haha.

Other than that, we've still been working on the bathroom.

I never realized how long it actually takes when you do it yourself. I mean, you see the shows on HGTV, and the magic of television allows you to be fooled to believe it is possible to get it all done in a weeks time.
Life lesson learned, lol.
But, the patience is paying off. This is what the bathroom looks like now, and I have to say that I am so proud and thankful for my bf and father in law. They both tackled this project with 110% and the enthusiasm hasn't faded yet.

It just needs some finishing touches and we'll be back in business.

Did I mention I love it? Well, I do!!! Love, Love, Love it! It is a huge improvement from the "bathroom before" and I can't wait to be able to use it!

Work has been busy, busy, busy. And, as you can see, I've got the Etsy site up and running. Let me tell you, it is not at all as easy as I thought it was going to be. In fact, it is the total opposite!
So, I am constantly struggling with balancing time between the kids, work, Etsy, designing, and just life in general.

I appreciate the patience as I took weeks to update my blog, and I hope I can be disciplined enough not to let the time lag like that again.
My early New Year resolution starting December 1st, is to write down and accomplish one Zaia related goal everyday. Hmmmm........maybe I can keep track of that here, like the Julia Childs movie.............

Here's to trying!

XoXo

This is for my sister

Here are my little angels:

Can't you just tell from their smiles that they're already plotting something?

Here is the reason why this post is dedicated to my sister:

My sister is currently battling the trials and tribulations of being a new mother to a 3 month old beautiful baby boy, and a 2 year old diva of a daughter.

I can remember these days, and I think to myself: WHAT WAS I THINKING??!!

(Which I'm sure has run through my sis's head a few times)

So, to cheer her up, I am showing her what I go through with 3 children all 2 years apart..........and what she has to look forward to :)

Luv u sis!

Here's our dinner on the stormy, windy cold thursday nite.

Of course everyone wanted different soups.

I omitted the pic of all the dishes piled in the sink, because I thought it was overkill, lol.

Then, after dinner, they settle down with a nice book, and quietly entertain themselves...........NOT!!!

Out come the guns.

And more guns. Or would these be considered missile launchers??

Oh, did I mention the trucks?

(sidenote: don't mind the pics of the messy house. It's usually always in some state of messy, so why fight it?)

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a life-size CAT bulldozer sitting in my living room. And by life-size I mean 2 year old sized. Not only does he have hundreds of other CAT trucks that you buy from the store, but he has a CAT bulldozer costume that the bf and papa made for him for Halloween.

So, dear sister, I hope this helps to @ least give you a chuckle, and lighten the load for a second. We miss you and would love for you to come home soon!

Headed into the danger zone,

XoXo

Update status

Bathroom remodel status:

NOT FINISHED!!

This is currently the state of our bathroom:walls primed, floor and walls ready to be tiled and painted, bathtub in.

Everything demo'd and ready to be glamorized!

Naked and bare

Original bathroom

We have overshot our finished eta by a week so far. **Crossing my fingers that by the end of next week I will be soaking in my tub in my newly finished abode with a nice glass of wine by my side!

ETSY STATUS: COMPLETE!!

Yes, ladies and gents, we are up and running. Well, up and crawling. It is a lot of work to make jewelry, take pics, edit, upload, blah blah blah. So, I only have a handful of items up for sale right now but working on it everyday. Slowly adding more and more and hoping I will get some sales under my belt soon :)

Here I go, off and running into crazyland again.

With a quick note to the lovelies............

XoXo

Blogging.......or the lack thereof......

I know that Halloween is over. But yet, this is what my face looks like.

Or, like this. It tends to constantly switch back and forth between the two, somehow conveniently passing over the "normal" face that USED to belong to me.

Why, you ask????

Well, grab your super size glass of wine (don't forget mine), and prop your feet up. Because for the next 5 minutes, you will be entertained with a non-stop rant about the goings on that currently dominate my crazy life. And if nothing else, you should get a really good buzz from drinking all that wine in that short amount of time :)


First off: DEMOLITION
We have begun the remodeling of our main bathroom-WOOHOOO!!
And by "we", I mean my bf and the in-laws do all the hard labor while I'm @ work, and I have the tedious job of color coordinating/bathroom accessorizing/and constantly running to lowes and home depot for more supplies.

*Did I mention the kids are still in soccer and judo?*
Lol. I will have pics posted soon with the current naked/demo'd bathroom.
*Did I mention we're trying to do it all in a week?*
I'm starting to think that we self-inflict a lot of the craziness, haha. But, there really is never a "good time" for these kinds of things, so we figured the faster the better.
We are currently making do with the laundry/utility room bath and half bath we have in our bedroom. Trust me, 5 people trying to brush their teeth over 1 sink is a bit tricky. But it's definetely always an adventure!!
Needless to say, I am so excited for it to be finished! And I can't wait to see everything come together.

Also on the to-do list..........ETSY site coming soon!!
(Well, I hope)
I am working on getting an Etsy site up and running, but oh the leg work. Pictures to be taken. New products to be made. Packaging. A never ending list. But I'm hoping it will totally be worth it.
*If any of you have experience with Etsy, I would love to hear your feedback, pointers, don't dos, etc*

From crazyland,
XoXo

Another Sephora Love Story

Welcome to: A moisturizing dream come true!!

I got this lil baby as a sample with my last Sephora order. And I have to admit, my first reaction was....... Shiseido=my grandma. I don't know why, but when I think of Shiseido I think of older, grandma type ladies :}

Well, the lil old ladies got it right, cause this stuff is AWESOME!!

It is super silky and lightweight, not greasy, and has a nose-friendly light powder smell.

Yeah!! So after about a week of using this oh-so-wonderful product, I headed to Sephora.com to order boxes and boxes of this good stuff. Holy jawdropper-this stuff is expensive!! $72 for the smaller bottle and $92 for the bigger bottle.

O-M-G!!

I mean, I luv my skin, but do I luv it that much??!! Well, the obvious answer is YES. So what did I do?????

I sparingly scraped and stretched my little sample as far as it would go, and when I had about four days worth left in the bottle, I caved and ordered my fountain of youth in a bottle.

**SIDE NOTE INTERJECTION**

This is the expensive time of the year for us. Holidays, birthdays, special occasions all seem to come crashing down in a consecutive 6-month period. For example:HALLOWEEN.

HALLOWEEN X 3 KIDS X 3 SOCCER TEAM GOODIE BAGS X 3 CLASSROOM GOODIE BAGS X ENDLESS COUSINS X COSTUMES.......you get the picture.

So, this wonderful moisturizer really is a splurge. And, it has been my experience that you really do get more for your dollar when you purchase bigger sizes from Sephora. So, I splurged the $92, but got free shipping!

And, you can't put a price on beauty, right??!!

The next item up on my wish list is the Sexy Little Things perfume from VS. I bought a little travel size solid stick and I luv it. Luckily, my mom just left for vegas, so she is bringing me back my scented little gift in a weeks time........(yeah for my wallet).

Skin moisturized- check.

Body smelling good and yummy- check.

Everything else- working on it (lol).

XoXo

Orange-u-glad it's almost Halloween!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Well, almost anyway :)

And what better way to seal the halloween deal, than with a pair of *BOOM*, fabulous earrings??!!

(14k gold-filled dyed orange wooden bead hoops)

(Literally, "Boom" is the name of this pair)

Super lightweight and fun, adding just the right pizzazz to your everyday fabulous!

I even got compliments while in the grocery store buying milk, eggs, and oh yeah-pizza for dinner, lol!


****CAUTION::little side note of personal history about to surface..........
So, for those of you who either followed me from the the very first blog post, or for those of you who were interested enough to look @ prior blogs, you will know that my intention for this blog site was to send out a worldwide flyer, available to the masses, that I am here to provide YOU with uberly cute handmade jewelry @ super good, I can buy more than one pair, prices.
However, I got caught up in the blogging haze of personal madness, and decided some ORDER is needed!!
So, I am back with the first pair of uberly cute earrings!

**FURTHER CAUTION:: 2 pairs left****NO TAX, $2.00 FLAT RATE SHIPPING ANYWHERE**
Happy shopping!!

XoXo

My Love for Red

Anyone for some LV?
Ooooh glamorous oooh. An LV luv, that I can't believe I ever lived without. This shiny little number can double as a wallet or a clutch, and just like the perfect pair of red lips, it adds just enough sexy confidence to your step, that any hollywood director would be LUCKY to have YOU!!

(Thank you mama for the half down payment/gift card that gave me this beautiful baby)

Ladies and gentleman, may I present:

THE DIET BREAKER!!!!

(Crowd breaks into applause)

Red Velvet, Red Velvet, oh how I heart you!! Ok, I know it's really just chocolate cake @ the core, but honestly, what is sexier...........the idea of plain brown (but still yummy) chocolate cake crumbs being eaten off your half naked body (WHOA-PG 13 alert), OR, deliciously scrumptious, sensual Red Velvet crumbs making every bodily sense tingle??

Ok, I think you get my picture, lol!! I heart me some Red Velvet. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is one wedding decision that is set in stone!! Red Velvet wedding cake it is!!

Next up;

Strawberry Margies with a bestie. Need I say more?

Seriously, margies with a bestie= CURE ALL!!

Another home remedy cure all is FAMILY. For those of you with kiddos, you know how those precious little unscripted moments just make your day??!! This is one of those. My little casanova rockin' the flaming red (he gets his style from his mama) "I am a chick magnet" glasses, equals an ooberly huge melted heart!!

And even though I could go on and on and on, about all the red things I love (did I mention its my fave color), I will take all of these yummy delish red love memories, and head into happyland.

*Omg, side note: Red velvet margies............wouldn't that be delish??**

Lovely Red Wonders

XoXo

Iphone Cult...........I am a Follower

I am a hypocrite. But, the first step to absolution is admittal (and acceptance).

I am using this very public portal of infinite depths to confess...........I was a devout Blackberry lover. To the core. No IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS.

And, I am asking for forgiveness. Please Iphone Gods.......forgive me.

Lol, CHEESEBALL=ME!!

Ok, so I really just want to rant about how cool the Iphone is, specifically related to pics.

This is a pic, totally altered by one of my vast array of Iphone applications, of the super duper cutey bracelet I got last week while on my Ironman excursion with the kiddos. It's a multi-strand layered bead bracelet/cuff, that I heart. And as a jewelry maker, it was heart wrenching for me to part with the horrendously ridiculous $6, but alas, it was totally worth it.

Next up, a plain jane picture of my oooberly cutie patoootie, little one.

BAM!!

Altered Iphone version:
How can you not love it?? It just makes the oooberly cutie patoootie that much more delicious, right??!!

And please do not forget all the cartoon extras available............
(I am taking this moment to add that all of these apps I am using are FREE!!!)

Seriously people. Total random pics taken @ the local Sports Authority + 5 minutes on the Iphone= christmas card perspective. Haha, ok, maybe not. But still super cool. And the boys luved it!!

Did I mention the grandmas eat this sh****(shugar) up??!!

Giddy cartoon dreams and sweet angelic kiddo faces

XoXo

**IRONMAN IN HAWAII**

This past weekend was the annual Ironman triathalon here in Hawaii. Usually we stay out of town, which gets super congested with traffic and people and is just mad craziness.


But this year, my girlfriend and I, loaded up the kiddos and braved the madness. And I am super glad we did. It was an amazing experience for myself (triathalon newbie) as well as the kids.
They were amazed to learn what the Ironman actually involved (swim/bike/run), and that people start @ 63o in the morning and are still running @ 12 at night. Yikes!!

While we were down at the festivities we HAD to get something to cool us off...........

Can you see how hot is was?? Poor kid was trying his damndest to eat as much of that ice cream cone as he could before it melted clear down his arm, lol.
I didn't get a pic of Kekama with his ice cream because he inhaled that bad boy in like 2 gulps.

And don't forget the shave ice!! Lucky Keau was the only one with a spoon and bowl.

After we cooled off, we walked around and found some of the cutest accessories, which I will show you in a later post.

Then we walked around some more while waiting for our party of 7 + 1 highchair, dinner table to open up. We were trying to get a primo spot @ a super duper yummy mexican restaurant.............but so was everyone else, haha!

So, a very hungry (and super thirsty) hour later, we were seated......YEAH!!

This restaurant has the best prices, biggest portions, yummiest food and margies ever!!

So me and my girlfriend each had one scrumptious margie, super yummy food, and a great time with the kiddos! They were super excited to have an elevated, clear view of the street below where all the triathletes were finishing the race. And once it got dark, which it was by the time we got seated, the glow sticks came out too!!

Then, we packed everyone up and headed to the fire station for a quick daddy visit before heading home. But daddy was so busy with Ironman calls, that we ended up visiting with the rest of the crew while the kids gobbled up some yummy Hagen Dazs ice cream that their fireman uncles like to keep in stock just to torture us mommies.

By the time we got home it was almost 10pm, and the kiddos were konked out drooling in the car, while mama was dragging everyone in the house looking forward to the very hott steamy yummmy shower that was waiting.

All in all, a great day, with a great friend, and a definite must-do for next year!!

Yummy margie dreams!!

XoXo

Clean sheets & Roses

Two of my most favorite things in the whole wide world............clean sheets and roses.

For the past month, work has been super duper crazy hectic and STRESSFUL!! It has taken over my life in every way, shape and form, which finally resulted in a semi-nervous breakdown and crying bout. But like a good rain, those tears washed and rinsed my worries away.

And of course my super amazing bf, who is always supportive (and sometimes gets that "caged animal in a corner PANIC" look) when I hop onto my crazy crying train, sent me the most beautiful flowers to cheer me up. Isn't he the sweetest??!! I heart him soooo much! And I heart him even more for letting me ride that crazy train every once in a while. I like to tell myself that as a working mother of three with a fireman bf and kids that are involved in what seems like every activity imaginable..............its bound to happen :)

Anyway, now that that little rant and rave is over.............CLEAN SHEETS are here to further brighten your day.

Seriously, is there anything better than crisp, clean, I just want to lay in my bed and read all day, sheets?? I think not.

I have probably been OCD about the sheet thing for about the last 6 months. Usually, mornings are a hectic time for us and I am usually running out of the house (late) with my crazy lady face on while my kids pile into the car. So, the bed-making chore that we were all taught so well @ such a young age, gets neglected. But, I have been on a mission to set a good example for my kids, and their non-made beds, to dutifully do my chore every morning and get er done! Plus, there's nothing like coming home to a well made bed after our usually loooong days!! It helps me to relax and ahhhhhhh, let a breath out.

And super cute bedding makes it even that much funner!

Super shopper score of the month. Well, actually I scored this last month, but it's a score non the less!!

5-piece King size bedding set for like $60!! And the comforter is actually G-R-E-A-T!! I luv it.

You know how sometimes you think you're getting a super score like this and then you go home only to find out that the comforter is super itchy and you'll never really use it again?? I've had me a few of those, but not this time, YEAH!!

On that note, I bid you farewell from my super comfy clean sheet bed, dreaming of roses and love thanks to a wonderful bf!

XoXo

Soccer Saturdays

Now that Keau is playing U5 soccer, we officially have 3 boys in soccer in 3 different age brackets. The boys love it!!

Unfortunately, that also means three different game times. Last weekend we had a game @ 8am, 9am, and 3pm :(

But this weekend, we were lucky enough to be off the soccer field by 1-SUPER YEAH! So we headed out for a super delish late lunch.

Me and the bf usually don't eat breakfast on soccer saturdays just because we are caught up in the shinguard/soccer ball/fruits/snacks/waterjugs cyclone that is always present on this manic day of the week.

Did I mention the bf also coaches our oldest, who is now in the U10 division??!!

So after a long morning of super hot, muggy soccer madness, we stuff our faces with yummy goodness.

There isn't a picture of me or my food, but I had a gooey cheesy calzone with a slice of red velvet for dessert. Actually, that's not true. I attempted to have the above mentioned sinful goodies, but was able to only get about 4 bites of each before the pack barged in and ate the rest :)

Oh well, as long as it gets eaten!!

Can somebody please tell me how I am supposed to feed these lil monsters when they turn into famished teenagers that will probably also be bringing their friends home to eat all of my food too??!!

Planning my garden/farm now!

XoXo

The Power of Pink

Even though things have been really crazy for me recently, I was still able to take some time out for some fun with friends for a really good cause:

Locks of Love

In case you're not familiar with this, its a donation of your real hair, that usually involves a complimentary cut by participating salons, that then gets made into wigs for people that have cancer.

Here's the bestie and I sporting headbands by Zaia. Mine was pink in honor of the special event. And all my fav girls @ Josie's Salon had the same pink headbands.

The outcome was superb, with lots of generous people giving up long lengths of beautiful hair.

Here are just some of the fab stylists @ Josie's Salon,

(From left to right: Josie, Shauna & Shyla)

looking super cute & fab as always!!

Thank you ladies for allowing me to be a part of such an awesome event!!

Lots of Locks of Love

XoXo