12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 10

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to my teenage self.

Dear Lizard (as that is what your nick name was in account of that super ugly two toned green unitard you decided to wear to a gym one day),

Here is some advice from your future self.

1. Don't wear that unitard. It was ugly.
2. Don't fall in love with that douchbag Danny Rodriguez. He will break your heart.
3. Do better in school. Good grades are important.
4. Do get involved with extra curricular activities in school.
5. Wear Suncreen when you are at the beach. You are prone to skin cancers.
6. Help your mom more. She is really not as strong as she seems.
7. Keep having fun, you have that handled.

To see some of the beautiful beach inspired jewelry that I make now while wearing sunscreen, visit Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy page here.

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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 9

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to your significant other.

Dear John,

(No, his name really IS John)
I want to tell you how special these last few years have been for me and the kids. You have brought something to our family that I honestly never thought I would have. A wonderful,

caring, considerate, thoughtful man that loves my children as if they were his own. You have shown my daughter how loving a man can be and you have shown my son this also....which is something that is important for a young man. I hope he will treat his wife, someday, the way you treat me. I want to thank you for showing me that I can trust again. You are my rock. I love the way you support and encouraged me to start making jewelry again. I love the way you make me feel like the most important person in your life. 
I want to tell you that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and, most importantly, that I love you. Forever and completely.

To see some of the beautiful jewelry that John has inspired me to make, visit Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy Page Here.

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I will visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!


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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 8

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to say 'I'm Sorry'.

For those of you that don't really know me, I will tell you that I have always been a 'live by the moment' person. Very spontaneous. Some call me very reckless. Sometimes doing very stupid things. I can't say that I regret a lot as, to live by the moment means to accept that you sometimes make foolish mistakes. I own them. 
There is one however, that I regret severely. It was not so much the action itself, which really did not mean much to me at the time, however, I regret how it made you feel. 
I let you down. I betrayed your trust. It was a very stupid mistake. 
You were one of my best friends and I have always lived by the rule that, best friends (or husbands and wives for that matter) should not mess with the others 'significant other'. 
It was a rule I had lived by for all of my life. Except this time.
Looking back now, almost 35 years later, I really don't know if I justified what I did by saying that 'he was mine first anyway, so I have a right to be with him again if I want', or maybe, deep down, I was jealous of how beautiful you were, how easily you could make friends, how you could speak to anyone, and how smart you were. Maybe I just wanted to 'take' something from you. He really wasn't important at the moment. It just happened and it was wrong. Eventually you forgave me, however, things were never the way they were before. We were never close again. Then of course, after high school, we just drifted completely apart. 
We did eventually catch up again on Facebook, and I smile when I see what a proud mom you had become and how you finally found love again after beating insurmountable obsticles, and it brings me back to when we were girls in school, just beginning life and taking it by the horns. 
However, to this day, it was my one true regret. Losing my friend. I am sorry.

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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 7

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to my favorite teacher.

Dear Mr Blackmon,

In the 35 years since I was in your class, I have thought of you often. With your small, wirey frame and thinning hair, your collared dress shirts that the sleeves were just a bit too long and your dress pants just a tad too baggy. And that scraggly, half trimmed beard! 
Anyone would not have given you a second look in the street. But I think of you often.

As for myself, I was a skinny, pimply faced teen who hadn't found her looks yet. My hair was often unkempt, my clothes never matched as I had NO sense of fashion. I just barely scraped by each year with 'just passing' grades. No...I was no one to judge. I hated school and it hated me back! 
From the very begining, being a small girl, always getting pushed around in grade school, I had learned to keep my head down, my eyes averted and my mouth shut. Not very productive behaviour for a student. 
But then their was your 10th grade American History class. God I dreaded it. As I walked in and sized you up, I thought that this could possibly be the most boring class yet.
But I was sadly mistaken.
From the very begining when you started your lectures on the American Indians, you would tell the most descriptive tales on exactly what the procedure was for scalping someone properly. Not omitting one grusome detail. I was hooked. I would show up on time to get a desk up front. I started to ACE tests for the first time. Truely this was the first class that I pulled first a 'B' then up to an 'A' that was not Art or Music. 
You taught me that teachers didn't have to read verbatum out of a text book. You taught me that sometimes, it IS better to color outside of the box. You taught me to experiment with things that I would normally not have strayed outside of my safe zone to do. In many ways you taught me how to live. You will never know how I grew into an adventurous young lady that never said the word 'No' again. In fact, that I would eliminate that word out of my vocabulary.
Someday, I would love to get the chance to thank you in person, however I think sadly that it will never happen. So I will do it here. Thank You Mr Blackmon for being the BEST TEACHER EVER!

Post Log: As an afterthought, I decided to Google you and there you were on LinkedIn! Your hair is now mostly gone, but you still have your beard, and you are still involved in the learning system! Good for you Mr Blackmon. Maybe I will send you a link to this post and get to say, 'thank you', after all.

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I eventually WILL visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!




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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 6

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to a stranger who was nice to me.

Truth be told, I almost did not make it to this blog post today. You see, this weekend, I found out that my sister is terminally ill and, naturally, that threw me for a loop. 
Anyway. I am determined to forge on as I am not really ready to put these swirling emotions on virtual paper yet.

So, this is a pretty easy one.

Dear Stranger,

It was in the late eighties that I worked for the commuter airline for Eastern Airline - boy am I dating myself here!! It was called Eastern Express. It operated out of a satelite terminal located smack dab next to the main runway at Miami International Airport. You had to take a big city bus from the main terminal to get to our small building that housed about four

Beech C99

gates. As is normal practice in the airline world, the flights were frequently overbooked. However, being a 'commuter' airline, we had very small aircraft ranging from a 15 passenger, unpressurized Beech C99 to the 50 passenger Saab 2000 Turboprop. My point being, they filled up FAST. Rarely was there a flight that didn't have double the amount of passengers show up. Often, because of our strange location, and extra time it took to get there, we had many no-shows. Having a passenger (who had been drinking at the local watering hole in the main terminal) scream at you because the plane was pulling away, was frequent. All this for the whooping sum of $6.50 an hour folks!!
Anyway...
One day, you showed up at my counter. You were a weathered older gent that had been around the block (at least twice). Your hair was a mess, you had a GREAT tan, and you wore a lot of gold. Not unusual at the time. You had missed an earlier flight, but instead of being a jerk, you were so polite and spoke in such a low voice, asking me if you could stand by for this flight. Well, unfortunately, this flight was TRIPLE booked! There was no possible way you were getting on this flight, and I advised you of that, but, you decided to wait it out. We did have five more flights going to Key West that night. That flight came and went and so did the next, but you waited. You finally got your break when we were 20 mins from closing the doors to the next flight, and there was one no show. I made the announcement that the flight was closed and that we would be calling standbys when, lo and behold, the last passenger runs up to the counter, smelling strongly of alcohol and wants his seat. I calmly advised him that there were no more seats and he had missed the check in and would have to wait until the next flight, 30 mins later. Well, Johnny Walker didn't like that one bit and proceeded to hurl such a string of expletives at me that I told him that now, he would be waiting until tomorrow to catch a flight! Somehow, he got it in his head that it would be a good idea to pick up an 8 foot potted palm and throw it over the counter at me, at which I ducked into the back office and told them to 'CALL THE COPS! QUICK!!'. Lucky for me, they only took 15 mins to show up and cart the guy off but during that time I quietly filled out that boarding pass and called Mr. Oro (that means Gold in Spanish) up to the

counter, handed him the pass and ushered him outside to the waiting plane. Naturally he profusely thanked me as he knew I could have gotten PalmTree onto that plane. But it was because of his patience and politeness that got him home that night.
About a week later a letter arrived at the office addressed to me. It turns out he was a jeweler, and he made me a gold necklace with the word 'Lisa' and a tiny diamond dotting the 'i'. I still have the necklace and I never forgot him. It reinforced in me that you can always attract more bees with honey.  And its true!

To see some of my jewelry creations, visit Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy Page here.

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I eventually WILL visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!


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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 5

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to someone who has hurt me.

I was tired of always sitting at home alone on Saturday nights. My friends were all on dates with their boyfriends, and the ones that weren't had invited me over to spend time with them.
But I never did. I didn't because I always was hoping that you would call me so we could go out. But you didn't. You would call me the next day, or maybe I wouldn't see you until Monday, in school, where the excuse was always the same. You stayed home because you were sick, or your friend Mike came over and you spent time with him, or your father asked you to do something with him. 
When one of our favorite bands was in town for a concert, you always had an excuse on why you couldn't take me....and then the next day you always had a tale on how your friends and you 'hopped the fence' to get in. Always without me.
Well. I was tired of waiting. 
This time when the band came, I asked you once if you would take me. When I got another excuse, I went instead with my friends. It was a great concert. We all had such a good time, laughing and enjoying being there.
When we ran into one another during a break, you shoved me in the shoulder and gave me the middle finger and walked away. 
You broke my heart again and all I could do was cry and cry.

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I eventually WILL visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!


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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 4

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to my ex,

Dear Cesar,

I wanted to take some time to tell you a few things that I haven't been able to since our divorce. So I am going to now.
Being married to you for 13 years had it's up's and down's, like all marriages, I suppose, but I wanted to tell you some words of appreciation.
I want to thank you for loving me during some of the most difficult times of my life, my first divorce, the death of my favorite dog and the death of my father.
You were strong when I couldn't be.  
I want to thank you for giving me the best kids on the planet.
I want to thank you for standing by me on discipline issues when they have come up.
I want to thank you for being my rock when I did really stupid things like locking Bella in the car. 
I want to thank you for making me laugh when you would talk to the kitties, or making babies laugh in restaurants.
I want to thank you for making me feel safe when we were in bad parts of town.
I want to thank you for showing me how strong I can be and not to be afraid to start over.

Although we are apart now, I will always remember these things and reflect back on them for the rest of my life.

To see how I a starting over my business, come visit Handmade Jewelry Haven's Etsy page here.

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I eventually WILL visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!


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12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge - Week 3

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to my favorite aunts,

Dear Aunt Margaret and Aunt Doris,

You both have been major influences in my life while growing up. I remember when I was very young, going to visit you aunt Margaret when you would winter in south Florida. We would drive up to Ft Lauderdale from Miami to spend every Easter with you. We would spend the morning at your pool or the beach collecting shells, then come upstairs to your

Lil Miss Queen E

condo to change for an early 'dinner'. Your place settings were always a marvel to me with your beautiful bone china and your Waterford crystal glasses, and the piece de resistance was the chocolate Godiva bunnies gracing every place setting! My holiday tables are dressed similarly because of you. Afterwards, the adults would retire to the 'den' to watch football and have 'highball's and I would wander around the apartment, eventually ending up in your closet, where I would find the most beautiful furs, wigs, Jackie-O sunglasses and silver high heels and matching purses. I would dress up in these and prance around feeling much like Queen E at royal events! 
You passed away on Christmas Day seven years ago, and I was so glad that I had visited you not too long before and had spoken to you a few months earlier. It was truly a sad day for me. 

Aunt Doris still kickin' it at 94

The memories of aunt Doris are equally fond if not quite as extravagant. These comprised of yearly visits to the Jersey Shore in my early teens with my dad. We would visit the tiny garage apartment you rented for a millennium and we would sit on a bench on the front stoop and you would tell me about your garden or the upstairs neighbors cats. I would marvel at the fact that you never had a car and that you could walk to the store to buy your groceries and to the library were you worked for so many years. You always had great stories about the family history and you remembered EVERYTHING, from first loves, birth and wedding dates, to the different churches that the family attended throughout the years, and you always had the kindest smile and a nice word to say about everyone. And how we loved the beach! We would sit for hours by the shore listening to the waves crash and I would always fall asleep. You would exclaim, "Its the good sea air! It relaxes you!". I drove the kids up to meet you last year as you are well into your nineties and I wanted them to get to know you, and you them. I do hope we have a little more time with you! 
I love you both - Lisa

As you can see, both of these ladies inspired my love for the beach. Come and see some of my ocean inspired and sea glass jewelry on Handmade Jewelry's Etsy page here.

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I eventually WILL visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!


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12 Weeks of Letter Writing Challenge

Today's post is participating in the 12 Weeks Of Letter Writing Challenge that I was invited to by Mrs. Dash Say's....blog here.

This weeks letter is to my best friend Kathy Wheeler.

Dear Kat,

It has been a long time that I have actually written to you. Like...I can't even remember that far back, but I am sure it must have been when you lived in St Augustine or maybe even when you lived in Arizona. Before the advent of email or 'The Internet' even...lol...ok, not quite that long ago.

We met in preschool and I remember when someone ran my finger over in the playground with some wooden wagon thing when you and I were crawling around on all fours playing Simba. I remember the wood shavings they would spread on the ground so we wouldn't get dirty.
I remember silly little things of our childhood like the time I barfed my breakfast of cereal and milk in kindergarten and all you could say was, 'Cottage Cheese!! It looks like Cottage Cheese!!'.

I remember us going to the beach every Saturday and how we used to roam as far as we could go in one direction and then do the same in the other direction, 'discovering' 'Blood River' at Cape Florida and climbing the lighthouse. I remember our moms taking us to the Key Hole bar afterward where they would have 'giraffe' beers (draft) and you and I would have vanilla ice cream because that was the only flavor they had.
God those were good times.
Probably the source of my many sea glass musings on this blog.

I remember when our moms stopped speaking and we weren't allowed to see each other anymore and we would sneak midnight phone calls and you would read Stephen King books to me until I fell asleep. We never could figure out how to pronounce the northeast slang-ism of 'ayuh'.

Me and Kat circa 1983

I remember when we got our first cars and would drive down to the Keys and lament over old and current boyfriends. 
I remember taking a 10 day camping trip all along the west coast of Florida and how on the 9th day we finally caved and got the last hotel room in Panama City. We dragged our bikes up 2 flights of stairs and slept for 10 hours until we finally fessed up that we both wanted to go home and so we drove 13 hours straight to get there.

I remember you being my maid of honor at my first wedding...and my second. You looked so beautiful at both.

Now you are raising your two beautiful boys in California and, although I know our life will never be what it once was, it will always be filled we these memories and many many more.
No matter how far apart we are, you will always be on the top of my 'Bestie List'.

PS. Kathy was one of my main inspirations when I started beading. 
You can see my jewelry on my Handmade Jewelry Haven Etsy page here.

Next weeks letter will be to my Mom and/or Dad..(this should be good ;)

I love to read comments so please, leave one here! I eventually WILL visit your blog (if you have one) and love to comment too!


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