2009 Top Ten #6: Tom Design, a jewelry business

Most people know that I make jewelry. That's all it used to be, just making jewelry on the side and kind of selling it wherever. 2009 brought in a whole new side to this jewelry making, it turned into an actual business! Late nights, wholesale orders, stores and customers wanting it, internet sales, weekend craft shows. Crazy! I really can't believe it's turned out the way it has. It actually supplements our income and has provided many opportunities for us. Not to mention the fact that I LOVE shopping and don't feel guilty spending jewelry money.

Tom Design did pretty well in the spring and summer of 2009 and I projected that it would do better in the fall and winter. With this in mind, I decided that I would work 3/4 time as an elementary art teacher and that would give me more time for jewelry. So that's what I did. It was bold and scary, but I did it and it has worked out great. I love going home early from teaching and having time for jewelry.

I'm so grateful that my little business has done so well. It definitely has been a testimony of prayer. I know Heavenly Father hears every word of my prayers and answers them. I feel so much closwer to Him. If you want to gain a stronger testimony, start a business!

By the way, I should mention that having your own business will sometimes rule your life. It's hard work, especially if you already have a job and this is your "second job". Mark will testify that sometimes the dishes don't get done, we sometimes eat cereal for dinner, laundry piles up, the apartment looks like a bomb hit it, and this blog is way overdue for some posts! This is hard work, but I'm still grateful. It was my plan from the beginning to start something that would help us out while Mark was in law school, me home with a baby, and neither of us working. So thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me during all this. Thank you for your purchases and spreading the word. I couldn't do it without you.

2009 Top Ten #7: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always a great time. We get to be with family, eat food, look at ads, shop, realx, sleep, and of course count our blessings. I love it whether we spend it with my family or Mark's family. 2009 was a Thompson year and Marcie wanted to start a new tradition: Pie and Game Night, where we eat pie and play games the night before Thanksgiving. This way we can fully enjoy the goodness of pie instead of trying to cram it in on Thanksgiving day. So that's what we did. I made a snack tray with pumpkin dip and pumpkin pies, we played games and ate all night long.

Marcie got thirsty. That's a huge measuring cup.

The next day we had a plethora of good food!

Looking through the ads for Black Friday

Mark's family got me into shopping on Black Friday, I had never done it before until Thanksgiving 2008. I really didn't want to this year, but I couldn't resist a good deal on a rocker/recliner for the baby's room, a 47'' LCD TV, and a great shopvac. Needless to say, we got up at 5:30 and got our deals. We did save quite a bit of money!

We ended Thanksgiving playing a game where you hold up an animal picture to your face and try to guess what you are. It was for the kids, but the adults had a good time with it too!

Marcie as a hippo

Debbie as a snake

 Carrie as a crab

Callie as an elephant

Mark as a dog, this makes me laugh out loud EVERY time!

2009 Top Ten: #8: Home Ec. 101

This is just a little post about my "free time" in 2009. If I wasn't teaching art, preparing a Sunbeam lesson, or making jewelry, I was trying to do something you would find in Home Ec. class.

I learned how to can/bottle fruit, I did peaches, pears, and freezer jam.

These pears made my hands and nails brown for days.

Mark surprised me with a sewing maching for my birthday. He knew I wanted one and how much it cost. One day he called me from work and said, "Look in the pockets of my pants that are on the floor. (of course) There's some pieces of paper I want you have in there." I said okay and looked in the pockets. There was just enough money in bills for the sewing machine! I'm so lucky to have such a great husband!

So far I've made a baby dress, quilt top, baby blankets, a stuffed animal for baby, pillows are in the works, and I've hemmed about a dozen pairs of pants. Mark and I will always need our pants hemmed, and now I can even do a blind hem! So great!

This is the sewing machine, it's considered a "quilter"so it has an extension table and some neato decorative stitches.

Mark uses it sometimes too.

Thanks Marky, I love you!

Of course I also spent my free time making baked goods, treats, and fun cakes. Here's a few.

Pie shells for Pumpkin Pie! mmmmCheckerboard cake

Cake stencils from Ikea make decorating the cake tops so quick and easy!

I also found one of the best recipes for wheat bread thanks to my landlord. Mark prefers it to the store bought kind.

I hope I get an A in Home Ec.!

2009 Top Ten #9: Jake's Graduation in Arizona

Congratulations Jake!

Notice how the cactus is like the palm tree in Rick's photo

Mark's brother, Jake, graduated from medical school from a school in Arizona (sorry don't remember what school exactly), so what do the Thompson's do? We all get into vans and road trip again! This was the second road trip within a month. This time the Sly's didn't come and Rick was still wrapping things up in San Jose.

This time we stopped in St. George for a few nights and swam in the pool at the Walsh condo. Then we headed on to Arizona where there was MORE swimming! We were happy that Jake graduated from a school where it was warm and sunny.

How do you make a kiddie pool into a lazy river? All the adults run around the kiddie pool as fast as you can for about a minute. Then grab your floaties and let the water carry you around. Make sure no one else is at the pool besides your crazy family!

My brother Mike also lives in Arizona, so Mark and I took the van and drove over to the University of Phoenix where he works. We got to see his cubicle and infamous motorcycle in which he got valley fever from driving and later crashed on - I wonder if he would have purchased it if he had known those things would happen. We also went out to eat and walked around an outdoor mall. It was fun to see Mikey!

It's a good thing I like or should I say love my in-laws, or this would have been awkward.

The next day we went to the graduation ceremony and ate at KFC. We were so hungry - well at least I was! KFC never tasted so good.

"We did it." ~Camille

Thank you General for satisfying my hunger!

We then headed off to a Scout ceremony for Jake, I'm still not quite sure what it was, and I forgot the name of the badge...but it was important to Jake so we all went.

After a good night's sleep we caravanned through some famous sites and the Grand Canyon. I've never actually been to the Grand Canyon, I've just seen pictures and my dad's paintings. It was HUGE and FREEZING cold! Also amazing.

Addie

I'm soooo strong!

Eliza kept going further and further into the freezing river water, she eventually tripped and went all the way under. That girl is crazy! She also will not wear anything but dresses!

Grand Canyon: cold, windy, but beautiful!

This looks exactly like my dad's painting in our basement! Good job dad!

Then we headed home. Another great trip, but Mark and I both agreed that we needed a break from the road for a while. So we flew to 2009 Top Ten #2: Hawaii! But that won't be posted for a while...