tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6082902109607310792024-03-13T12:29:30.620-05:00 Rocco's Rants and RavesMartie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-85800640099497415072020-11-25T16:30:00.000-06:002020-11-25T16:30:13.882-06:00Make friends with Freedom and Uncertainty<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"></span>~ Make Friends With Freedom and Uncertainty ~</b></span></div>
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<b>More from my interpretations on "How to Be an Artist" by Sark</b></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><b>republished on 11/25/2020</b></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">How do we conquer the day ahead of us? How do we step out of the house in the morning, push the shopping cart through the grocery store, step onto a stage and sing, walk into a class room, pick up a paint brush, choose to do the right thing? With Freedom and Uncertainty of course. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There is no way to have one without the other. We may have an innate understanding of the feeling that freedom brings but the fortitude it takes to follow through and accept what ever consequences arise from that decision are unknown mostly and thus you are presented with the uncertainty of any wisdom that will be gained. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Freedom allows you to set yourself apart, or not. It gives you the opportunity to manifest a life or moment of your choosing. It brings forth a strength that unites an idea or a thread that spins off something unique and new. It allows you to walk to your own drum beat or be a part of a collective. Uncertainty, however, can bring about questions and thus allowing a choice to be made. Therein lies freedom too. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It wouldn’t be very much fun if we always knew what was going to happen next. It can be unnerving and cause hesitation in our actions because we do not know but can only imagine or speculate an outcome. Even Physics has its grey areas but scientists still jump into the chaos of an experiment or theory because it uncertain sometimes. But, just think what wonders may come out of it!! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">What wonders may come from when you shake hands with the awareness of your own ability to define your day in what ever shape or form you want. What a relationship you can have with that understanding of the depth of that spirit and the excitement and anticipation it issues forth. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So step forward into the day with Freedom and Uncertainty by your side, a smile on your face, and celebrate every gorgeous moment.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Nancy</span></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-55345003000141010242016-02-13T17:41:00.000-06:002016-02-13T17:41:24.603-06:00The Weed That Can Change The World<div style="text-align: -webkit-center;">
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Here is an article I found that does a nice summary on the history of Hemp and its uses.<br />
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<b style="background-color: #e3d194; text-align: -webkit-center;">Hemp - Could Save AmericaThe Weed That Can Change The World</b><span style="background-color: #e3d194; text-align: -webkit-center;"><br />From Varied Sources<br />2-25-4</span><br />
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captured and shared here from http://www.rense.com/general49/could.htm<br />
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<dt>HEMP FACTS</dt>
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<dt>1) Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.</dt>
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<dt>2) Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.</dt>
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<dt>3) Hemp Seed is far more nutritious than even soybean, contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is 35% dietary fiber. Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug. See TestPledge.com</dt>
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<dt><img align="RIGHT" src="http://www.rense.com/1.imagesF/hemp.gif" height="311" naturalsizeflag="3" width="323" />4) The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers which are among the Earth's longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose; the cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.</dt>
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<dt>5) According to the Department of Energy, hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of biofuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.</dt>
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<dt>6) Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on US crops are applied to cotton.</dt>
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<dt>7) Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and it's creamy color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical byproducts.</dt>
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<dt>8) Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition, and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. It can also be recycled more times.</dt>
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<dt>9) Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard.</dt>
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<dt>10) Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to name just a very few examples.</dt>
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<dt><b>Hemp History</b></dt>
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<dt>Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.</dt>
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<dt>Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic.</dt>
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<dt>In 1937 Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act which effectively began the era of hemp prohibition. The tax and licensing regulations of the act made hemp cultivation unfeasable for American farmers. The chief promoter of the Tax Act, Harry Anslinger, began promoting anti-marijuana legislation around the world. To learn more about hemp prohibition visit http://www.JackHerer.com or check out "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer</dt>
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<dt>Then came World War II. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shut off foreign supplies of "manilla hemp" fiber from the Phillipines. The USDA produced a film called Hemp For Victory to encourage US farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. The US government formed War Hemp Industries and subsidized hemp cultivation. During the War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp across the midwest as part of that program.</dt>
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<dt>After the war ended, the government quietly shut down all the hemp processing plants and the industry faded away again.</dt>
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<dt>During the period from 1937 to the late 60's the US government understood and acknowledged that Industrial Hemp and marijuana were distinct varieties of the cannabis plant. Hemp is no longer recognized as distinct from marijuana since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. This is despite the fact that a specific exemption for hemp was included in the CSA under the definition of marijuana.</dt>
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<dt>The United States government has published numerous reports and other documents on hemp dating back to the beginnings of our country. Below is a list of some of the documents that have been discovered:</dt>
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<dt>* 1797: SECRETARY OF WAR: U.S.S. CONSTITUTION'S HEMP</dt>
<dt>* 1810: JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - RUSSIAN HEMP CULTIVATION</dt>
<dt>* 1827: U.S. NAVY COMMISSIONER - WATER-ROTTED HEMP</dt>
<dt>* 1873: HEMP CULTURE IN JAPAN</dt>
<dt>* 1895: USDA - HEMP SEED</dt>
<dt>* 1899: USDA SECRETARY - HEMP</dt>
<dt>* 1901: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; HEMP & FLAX SEED</dt>
<dt>* 1901: USDA LYSTER DEWEY 13 PAGE ARTICLE ON HEMP</dt>
<dt>* 1903: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL PLANT FIBERS</dt>
<dt>* 1909: USDA SECRETARY - FIBER INVESTIGATIONS: HEMP/FLAX</dt>
<dt>* 1913: USDA LYSTER DEWEY - HEMP SOILS, YIELD, ECONOMICS</dt>
<dt>* 1913: USDA LYSTER DEWEY - TESTS FOR HEMP, LIST OF PRODUCTS</dt>
<dt>* 1916: USDA BULLETIN 404 - HEMP HURDS AS A PAPER MAKING MATERIAL</dt>
<dt>* 1917: USDA - HEMP SEED SUPPLY OF THE NATION</dt>
<dt>* 1917: USDA - CANNABIS</dt>
<dt>* 1927: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; HEMP VARIETIES</dt>
<dt>* 1931: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; HEMP FIBER LOSING GROUND</dt>
<dt>* 1943: USDA - HEMP FOR VICTORY - DOCUMENTARY FILM</dt>
<dt>* 1947: USDA - HEMP DAY LENGTH & FLOWERING</dt>
<dt>* 1956: USDA - MONOECIOUS HEMP BREEDING IN THE U.S.</dt>
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<dt>These documentes and many more are published online by USA hemp historian extraordinaire, John E. Dvorak. His Digital Hemp History Library is the most complete source for historical hemp documents and data anwhere. To visit the Library click here.</dt>
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<dt>You can also check out literary references to Industrial Hemp from Aesop's Fables to the present:<a href="http://www.ofields.com/OFIELDS_HEMP_HISTORY.html">http://www.ofields.com/OFIELDS_HEMP_HISTORY.html</a><br /><br />http://www.thehia.org/hempfacts.htm</dt>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-87529583946990026852015-12-16T20:08:00.000-06:002015-12-16T20:18:20.241-06:00Things Highly Confident People Don’t Do<br />
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We're always being told what <i>to</i> do to achieve success and be happy. Well, I came across this article on what really confident people <i>don't</i> do. </h3>
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<span style="color: inherit; font-size: x-large;">15 Things Highly Confident People Don’t Do</span></h1>
<span class="meta" style="color: #999998; display: block; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="info" style="display: inline-block; padding: 0px 5px 14px 0px;"><span class="category"><a class="tracker-binded" href="http://www.lifehack.org/communication" rel="category tag" style="background-color: #23b49d; color: white; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 4px 2px 0px; padding: 2px 7px; text-decoration: none;">COMMUNICATION</a> <a class="tracker-binded" href="http://www.lifehack.org/communication/motivation" rel="category tag" style="background-color: #23b49d; color: white; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 4px 2px 0px; padding: 2px 7px; text-decoration: none;">MOTIVATION</a></span> BY <a class="tracker-binded" href="http://www.lifehack.org/author/daniel-wallen" rel="author" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by Daniel Wallen">DANIEL WALLEN</a></span></span></header><br />
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Highly confident people believe in their ability to achieve. If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else put their faith in you? To walk with swagger and improve your self-confidence, watch out for these fifteen things highly confident people don’t do.<br />
<span style="color: #353535; line-height: 40px;"><b>1. They don’t make excuses.</b></span><br />
Highly confident people take ownership of their thoughts and actions. They don’t blame the traffic for being tardy at work; they were <em>late</em>. They don’t excuse their short-comings with excuses like “I don’t have the time” or “I’m just not good enough”; they <em>make </em>the time and they keep on improving until they <em>are </em>good enough.</div>
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2. They don’t avoid doing the scary thing.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people don’t let fear dominate their lives. They know that the things they are afraid of doing are often the very same things that they <em>need </em>to do in order to evolve into the person they are meant to be.</div>
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3. They don’t live in a bubble of comfort.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people avoid the comfort zone, because they know this is a place where dreams die. They actively pursue a feeling of discomfort, because they know stretching themselves is mandatory for their success.</div>
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4. They don’t put things off until next week.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people know that a good plan executed <em>today </em>is better than a great plan executed <em>someday</em>. They don’t wait for the “right time” or the “right circumstances”, because they know these reactions are based on a fear of change. They <a class="tracker-binded" href="http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/less-thinking-more-doing-develop-the-action-habit-today.html" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Less Thinking, More Doing: Develop the Action Habit Today">take action</a> here, now, today – because that’s where progress happens.</div>
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5. They don’t obsess over the opinions of others.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people don’t get caught up in negative feedback. While they <em>do </em>care about the well-being of others and aim to make a positive impact in the world, they <em>don’t </em>get caught up in negative opinions that they can’t do anything about. They know that their true friends will accept them as they are, and they don’t concern themselves with the rest.</div>
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6. They don’t judge people.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people have no tolerance for unnecessary, self-inflicted drama. They don’t feel the need to insult friends behind their backs, participate in gossip about fellow co-workers or lash out at folks with different opinions. They are so comfortable in who they are that they feel no need to look down on other people.</div>
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7. They don’t let lack of resources stop them.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people can make use of whatever resources they have, no matter how big or small. They know that all things are possible with creativity and a refusal to quit. They don’t agonize over setbacks, but rather focus on finding a solution.</div>
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8. They don’t make comparisons.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people know that they are not competing with any other person. They compete with no other individual except the person they were yesterday. They know that every person is living a story so unique that drawing comparisons would be an absurd and simplistic exercise in futility.</div>
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9. They don’t find joy in people-pleasing.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people have no interest in pleasing every person they meet. They are aware that not all people get along, and that’s just how life works. They focus on the quality of their relationships, instead of the quantity of them.</div>
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10. They don’t need constant reassurance.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people aren’t in need of hand-holding. They know that life isn’t fair and things won’t always go their way. While they can’t control every event in their life, they focus on their power to react in a positive way that moves them forward.</div>
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11. They don’t avoid life’s inconvenient truths.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people confront life’s issues at the root before the disease can spread any farther. They know that problems left unaddressed have a way of multiplying as the days, weeks and months go by. They would rather have an uncomfortable conversation with their partner today than sweep an inconvenient truth under the rug, putting trust at risk.</div>
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12. They don’t quit because of minor set-backs.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people get back up every time they fall down. They know that failure is an unavoidable part of the growth process. They are like a detective, searching for clues that reveal why this approach didn’t work. After modifying their plan, they try again (<em>but better this time)</em>.</div>
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13. They don’t require anyone’s permission to act.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people <a class="tracker-binded" href="http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/less-thinking-more-doing-develop-the-action-habit-today.html" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Less Thinking, More Doing: Develop the Action Habit Today">take action</a> without hesitation. Every day, they remind themselves, “If not me, who?”</div>
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14. They don’t limit themselves to a small toolbox.</b></span><br />
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Highly confident people don’t limit themselves to Plan A. They make use of any and all weapons that are at their disposal, relentlessly testing the effectiveness of every approach, until they identify the strategies that offer the most results for the least cost in time and effort.</div>
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15. They don’t blindly accept what they read on the Internet as “truth” without thinking about it.</b><br />
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Highly confident people don’t accept articles on the Internet as truth just because some author “said so”. They look at every how-to article from the lens of their unique perspective. They maintain a healthy skepticism, making use of any material that is relevant to their lives, and forgetting about the rest. While articles like this are a fun and interesting thought-exercise, highly confident people know that they are the only person with the power to decide what “confidence” means.</div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-50461316732985033382015-10-30T20:53:00.002-05:002015-10-30T20:53:25.402-05:00Have wild imaginings, transformative dreams, and perfect calm.<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Another post on my interpretive series on “How to be an Artist” by Sark</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>~ Have Wild Imaginings, Transformative Dreams, and Perfect Calm ~</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When I was seven my friend and I were sitting on the steps of my grade school one day at recess and singing “Hello Dolly”. I looked over at her and said, “Ya know, one day I’m gonna be a singer, I’m gonna be a Rock Star!” We laughed and went off to play tag with some of our school chums. That feeling though never left me. I would dream at night of performing in front of hundreds of people. Taught myself how to play piano too. That really got me through those tough teenage years. I’d just play and play and not care that I felt like I didn’t fit in. I was at home with my music and it completed me. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Well, not that I’m a rock star but I did become a performer and have sung in front of hundreds of people. It may have been my destiny because my Mom was a singer and I always loved going to hear her. Later in my life, when I was of age, we would go to this one piano bar and sing all the classics and big band stuff. That’s where I learned to be a song stylist. I would imagine myself back in time during that era singing with all those great bands. We had a ball. I miss those days. I still listen to Sinatra and Ella, Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughn. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Even though I played keys I got tired of needing someone else to accompany me when I went to the open mic nights because there wasn't always a keyboard set up and it was a pain in the butt to hail a 60 pound keyboard around. So at forty I learned to play the guitar. That was frightening at first but I did it and it was very freeing because I didn’t need to rely on anyone but myself. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In High School I had a folk group with some friends and was in some of the musicals. Never a lead but had a great time being in the chorus, dancing and building sets. I joined a country band in my early twenties, then a wedding band, a couple of classic rock bands along the way and now I'm still working on getting my own original music band. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Through all of this - all the years, all the songs, all the performances, the nerves, the criticism and the praise - I really discovered my sense of self. I put aside the judgements and the “why can’t you be like...” suggestions and I made each song my own. I learned my limits and my strengths vocally and instrumentally. I transformed myself with each new band, honed my skills, developed my own style. I can walk onto a stage now no matter what kind of venue and feel totally confident about who I am and what I’m doing. I don’t care if I might make a mistake, I’ll find my way through it and keep going. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I may not be the rock star that that little girl imagined so many years ago but I am a pretty good musician and vocalist, with a super family, lot’s of friends, a wonderful husband, an awesome garden, a growing jewelry business. I wake up every day and go to sleep every night feeling so blessed and at peace with the life I have created and look forward to new dreams and adventures. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Blessings to All</span></div>
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Martie<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><img alt="image" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/photo-full.jpg?t=1307134501" height="425" width="282" /></span></div>
Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-71462076055574305652015-09-14T11:12:00.002-05:002015-09-14T11:12:37.540-05:0010 PARADOXICAL TRAITS OF CREATIVE PEOPLE<header style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: FCKaiserCond, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; padding-bottom: 24px; padding-top: 24px;">Finally an article that really clarifies a lot things for me as a creative soul. I understand now a lot better why I do the things I do. <br />
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10 PARADOXICAL TRAITS OF CREATIVE PEOPLE</h1>
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CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE HUMBLE AND PROUD. CREATIVE PEOPLE TEND TO BE BOTH EXTROVERTED AND INTROVERTED. CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE REBELLIOUS AND CONSERVATIVE. HOW CREATIVE ARE YOU?</div>
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BY <a class="navigate" data-resource-type="user" href="http://www.fastcompany.com/user/faisal-hoque" itemprop="byline" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">FAISAL HOQUE</a></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Editor's Note: This is one of the most-read leadership articles of 2013. Click <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3023510/the-most-read-leadership-stories-of-2013" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">here to see the full list</a>.</em></div>
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I frequently find myself thinking about whether I am <a href="http://www.faisalhoque.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">an artist or an entrepreneur</a>.</div>
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I am simply trying my best to <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3004785/self-improvement-strategies-becoming-more-authentic-leader" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">create my own unique path</a>.</div>
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It is safe to say that more and more entrepreneurs are artists, and artists of all kinds are entrepreneurs. And the trend is only on the rise as all things (art, science, technology, business, culture, spirituality) are increasingly converging.</div>
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Creativity is the common theme that drives both entrepreneurs and artists alike. But creative people are often also paradoxical.</div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">The Paradox Dept.</strong></div>
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<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3021513/leadership-now/the-paradoxical-traits-of-resilient-people" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">The Paradoxical Traits Of Resilient People</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3018821/leadership-now/the-paradox-of-doing-more" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">The Paradox of Doing More</a></div>
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Over this past Labor Day weekend, I found myself reading excerpts from distinguished <a href="http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">professor of psychology and management Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s</a>(pronounced me-HIGH chick-sent-me-HIGH-ee) seminal book <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Flow-Psychology-Discovery-Invention/dp/0060928204" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People</a></strong></em> (HarperCollins, 1996).</div>
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He writes:</div>
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"I have devoted 30 years of research to how creative people live and work, to make more understandable the mysterious process by which they come up with new ideas and new things. If I had to express in one word what makes their personalities different from others, it's complexity. They show tendencies of thought and action that in most people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an individual, each of them is a multitude."</div>
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Mihaly describes <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199607/the-creative-personality" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 224, 38); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ten traits often contradictory in nature</a>, that are frequently present in creative people. In <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Creativity,</em> Mihaly outlines these:</div>
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<a href="" name="1_Creative_people_have_a_great_deal_of_physical_energy_but_theyre_also_often_quiet_and_at_rest" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">1. Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and at rest.</a></h2>
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They work long hours, with great concentration, while projecting an aura of freshness and enthusiasm.</div>
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<a href="" name="2_Creative_people_tend_to_be_smart_yet_naive_at_the_same_time_" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">2. Creative people tend to be smart yet naive at the same time.</a></h2>
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"It involves fluency, or the ability to generate a great quantity of ideas; flexibility, or the ability to switch from one perspective to another; and originality in picking unusual associations of ideas. These are the dimensions of thinking that most creativity tests measure and that most workshops try to enhance."</div>
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<a href="" name="3_Creative_people_combine_playfulness_and_discipline_or_responsibility_and_irresponsibility" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">3. Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility.</a></h2>
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But this playfulness doesn't go very far without its antithesis, a quality of doggedness, endurance, and perseverance.</div>
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"Despite the carefree air that many creative people affect, most of them work late into the night and persist when less driven individuals would not. Vasari wrote in 1550 that when Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello was working out the laws of visual perspective, he would walk back and forth all night, muttering to himself: "What a beautiful thing is this perspective!" while his wife called him back to bed with no success."</div>
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<a href="" name="4_Creative_people_alternate_between_imagination_and_fantasy_and_a_rooted_sense_of_reality" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">4.Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality.</a></h2>
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Great art and great science involve a leap of imagination into a world that is different from the present.</div>
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<a href="" name="5_Creative_people_tend_to_be_both_extroverted_and_introverted" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">5. Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted.</a></h2>
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We're usually one or the other, either preferring to be in the thick of crowds or sitting on the sidelines and observing the passing show. Creative individuals, on the other hand, seem to exhibit both traits simultaneously.</div>
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<a href="" name="6_Creative_people_are_humble_and_proud_at_the_same_time" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">6. Creative people are humble and proud at the same time.</a></h2>
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It is remarkable to meet a famous person who you expect to be arrogant or supercilious, only to encounter self-deprecation and shyness instead.</div>
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<a href="" name="7_Creative_people_to_an_extent_escape_rigid_gender_role_stereotyping" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">7. Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping.</a></h2>
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When tests of masculinity and femininity are given to young people, over and over one finds that creative and talented girls are more dominant and tough than other girls, and creative boys are more sensitive and less aggressive than their male peers.</div>
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<a href="" name="8_Creative_people_are_both_rebellious_and_conservative" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">8. Creative people are both rebellious and conservative.</a></h2>
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It is impossible to be creative without having first internalized an area of culture. So it's difficult to see how a person can be creative without being both traditional and conservative and at the same time rebellious and iconoclastic.</div>
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<a href="" name="9_Most_creative_people_are_very_passionate_about_their_work_yet_they_can_be_extremely_objective_about_it_as_well" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">9.Most creative people are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.</a></h2>
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Without the passion, we soon lose interest in a difficult task. Yet without being objective about it, our work is not very good and lacks credibility. Here is how the historian Natalie Davis puts it:</div>
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"I think it is very important to find a way to be detached from what you write, so that you can't be so identified with your work that you can't accept criticism and response, and that is the danger of having as much affect as I do. But I am aware of that and of when I think it is particularly important to detach oneself from the work, and that is something where age really does help."</div>
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<a href="" name="10_Creative_peoples_openness_and_sensitivity_often_exposes_them_to_suffering_and_pain_yet_also_to_a_great_deal_of_enjoyment" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">10. Creative people's openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment.</a></h2>
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"Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake. Without this trait, poets would give up striving for perfection and would write commercial jingles, economists would work for banks where they would earn at least twice as much as they do at universities, and physicists would stop doing basic research and join industrial laboratories where the conditions are better and the expectations more predictable."</div>
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Paradoxical or not, what I have learned most is that there is no formula for individual creation. As Mihay says, "creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and to make do with whatever is at hand to reach their goals." So, more than anything else, what it takes to be creative is resourcefulness and the courage not to give up.</div>
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<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3016689/leadership-now/10-paradoxical-traits-of-creative-people?utm_source=facebook" target="_blank">http://www.fastcompany.com/3016689/leadership-now/10-paradoxical-traits-of-creative-people?utm_source=facebook</a></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-75186895080574217042015-03-21T16:17:00.000-05:002015-03-21T16:56:12.999-05:00Plant Impossible Gardens (2.0)<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">More thoughts in my interpretive series on “How to be an Artist” by Sark</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ <b>Plant Impossible Gardens 2.0</b> ~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">We moved into a new construction house last summer so this is Impossible Garden 2.0 for me. We have a blank pallet to work with so I'm thinking it will take years of playing in the dirt to fill all the spaces I want to fill. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zz4LdY50U-E/VQ3O9zm0YpI/AAAAAAAAFp0/k4E8EkVYBec/s1600/P1080878.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zz4LdY50U-E/VQ3O9zm0YpI/AAAAAAAAFp0/k4E8EkVYBec/s1600/P1080878.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The landscaping and flower beds will start along the </span>parameter<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> of the </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> for now, then here and there and then spread to everywhere as plants will be split and shared with friends and they in turn will share some of their overages with me. As the garden thrives I will keep making more little areas at the corners, by the mailbox, </span>wherever<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> nature and my budget take me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">The only shady spot I have now is along the north side of the house which borders a 1 acre retention pond we lovingly call The Bog. It is filled with sweet grass and cattails, willows and goodness knows what else. The rest of the yard is sun sun sun until all the trees grow up. So, as my former house was mostly shade, my thought process and research has now shifted to drought resistant, critter resistant and native plants and shrubs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The soil is good ol' Wisconsin clay, oh yay, so my veggie garden will be large and small raised beds, a lot of them. And </span>because we now live in an area where the wild life is abundant, including a wonderful herd of deer, we'll be building<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> a 6 foot fence around it, with a lovely trellised garden gate, and a sweet pathway to a magical spot under one of two</span> original trees left standing after all the crazy construction, right by the edge of the The Bog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">So why go into all this about my garden? It’s life. We start off with just a bunch of dirt and then slowly add to the landscape of our lives. What gets overgrown we trim, we share what we don’t need, take chances and expand our spiritual acreage so that we may learn more and grow in self awareness. Sometimes we have to switch things around as we change with our own seasons and alter what feeds us to get ourselves back into the sunlight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">We constantly evolve and change and grow. Though some things will remain the same about you, your heritage and upbringing, those are the seeds of your garden and what you do with it is all up to you. That knowledge and the experiences you gain on your life path is the freedom, joy and uncertainty of planting an Impossible Garden. One that is never done<b>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Blessings to All</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Martie</span></div>
Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-81954807727075198262013-11-21T16:33:00.002-06:002013-11-24T18:42:56.891-06:00Railroad Tracks - Past, Present and Future<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">This article was shared with me by a friend. Thought I'd pass it along. It's informative, funny, and head scratching. You'll understand why as you read on......</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The U.S. Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England , and English expatriates designed the U.S. Railroads.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why did the English build them like that?</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why did 'they' use that gauge then?</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Why did the wagons have that particular Odd wheel spacing?</span></b><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England , because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, who built those old rutted roads?</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="font-size: 14pt;">Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b style="font-size: 14pt;">And the ruts in the roads?</b></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore, the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. In other words, bureaucracies live forever.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">So the next time you are handed a specification, procedure, or process, and wonder, 'What horse's ass came up with this?', you may be exactly right.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now,</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">the twist to the story:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b>When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, you will notice that there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah.</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit larger, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined over <u>two thousand years ago</u> by the width of a horse's ass.</b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important!</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now you know, horses' asses control almost everything...explains a whole lot of stuff, doesn't it?</b></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-4289241025721941432013-09-25T13:50:00.000-05:002013-09-26T13:02:53.273-05:00Protect Your Peace<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QW7Q-gNPGq4/UkM6aOSI_FI/AAAAAAAAFWE/LHVJlN_EXVU/s1600/sandswept-jason-naudi-photography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QW7Q-gNPGq4/UkM6aOSI_FI/AAAAAAAAFWE/LHVJlN_EXVU/s1600/sandswept-jason-naudi-photography.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by<a href="https://www.facebook.com/jasonnaudiphotography" target="_blank"> Jason Naudi Photography</a> </td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333233; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">“Have the clarity and courage to not enter every door and to not accept every invitation. Protect your peace.” ~ Thema Davis</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>Thema Bryant-Davis is a licensed psychologist, poet, dancer, and minister. Dr. Bryant-Davis, an Associate Professor at Pepperdine University, is Past-President of the Society for the Psychology of Women. The North Carolina Arts Council named her Emerging Artist of the Year.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">When I first read this quote my initial reaction was "Wow, she summed up in one sentence what others have written entire books about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Here's my take. I don't know about you but saying 'No' is not always the easiest thing to do. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Following your instincts, that gut feeling, is not always simple either. </span>Sometimes disappointing your family and friends is ugly. But it has to be done in order to 'Protect your peace'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some of those situations are as simple as not going out on a Saturday night because you're just too tired and just want to be home because you've been working long hours all week and on the go and just have to stop, even though your friends are all gonna be there and it would be a total blast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Others are not so simple when you have to weigh the pros and cons and ask yourself if the risk is worth taking and at what cost to your health or livelihood. Will the long term end result be worth that effort and risk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a business person and musician there have been dozens of opportunities that were offered to me quite often over the years. Some I took and regretted, some I didn't take and regretted. Some I took and they turned out fabulously, the ones I didn't and now wished I had, oh well, can't go back and get a redo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I first decided to go into business for myself after I retired from my regular job I had no idea that it would take up this much time and this much energy. But I jumped in and said what the heck, I've got nothing to lose really. I'm glad I did because it's been fun "energy spent and time invested". I've met amazing people and found out so much more about myself. It has not sucked anything out of my life, it has only enhanced it in so many ways. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My regular job was just that, regular. I had no ambitions to move up in the company with all the added responsibilities and time that I did not want. I had too many other things going on in my life outside of work that meant way more to me. So when I was offered promotions, some I took because it didn't require anything life changing, others I turned down because they would have disrupted too much and infringed on my 'outside of work' life. And to be honest, I didn't mind being a worker bee in that situation. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333233; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In the music industry sometimes it's hard to know who to trust. Even at the local level people will say things and make promises that are only designed for their good not yours. I learned that the hard way. I'm sure youth and dreams had a lot to do with those choices. So it was, for a long time, "Once bitten, twice shy". And I'm sure looking back now that there were legitimate and honest </span>opportunities<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> I missed because I didn't believe in myself and my own ability to </span>discern fact from fiction. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> But once I learned to pay attention to my gut feeling I was able to deem an event or an offer good or bad for me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Clarity and Courage come with time. Once you get through all the youthful emotional characteristics of your personality and realize the world will not come to an end if you decide not to rush around all over because you don't want to miss this or that event, or take a job or band offer every time one is presented only to realize that that job sucks just as much as the last one, and heavy metal music really isn't your thing, or </span>follow your friends off that bridge just because they're your friends (Hmmm...maybe not the best analogy LOL). But you know what I mean. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333233;">If you are feeling uneasy, exhausted, or feel you are missing </span><span style="color: #333233;">something maybe it is your life that is un-easy, your desire to be all and do all that is making you feel exhausted, and maybe it is YOU that you are missing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333233;">Blessings to All</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333233; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Martie</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- I want to thank my friend JBH for sharing this quote - </span></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-24468222404749792692013-05-08T12:54:00.003-05:002013-05-08T12:55:56.223-05:00Furniture Made From Car Parts<br />
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25 Creative Examples of Furniture Made From Car Parts</h1>
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<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #191919; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.complexmag.ca/rides/2013/05/25-inventive-examples-of-furniture-made-from-car-parts/" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">ComplexMag</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Talk about Up-cycling........I thought these were very cool</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Furniture for the man cave LOL</strong></em></span></div>
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outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/qvcgo_clock_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12932" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/qvcgo_clock_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/xxadx_entertainmentsystem_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12933" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/xxadx_entertainmentsystem_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/kacuw_bookends_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12934" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/kacuw_bookends_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/wucwu_shelving_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12935" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/wucwu_shelving_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; 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border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/eazrx_carseatchairs_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12943" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/eazrx_carseatchairs_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/hlxlm_shocks_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12944" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/hlxlm_shocks_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/jmjdb_carbq_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12945" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/jmjdb_carbq_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure><figure class="full-width-mobile thin" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px auto 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="fancybox" href="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/qfxet_enginetable_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-12946" src="http://fbtrouble.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/qfxet_enginetable_567537.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(220, 220, 220); box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;" /></a></figure></blockquote>
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Source: <a href="http://www.complexmag.ca/rides/2013/05/25-inventive-examples-of-furniture-made-from-car-parts/" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(8, 155, 195); color: #089bc3; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">ComplexMag</a></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-78438052294497166192013-05-07T15:54:00.001-05:002013-05-07T15:54:05.541-05:00A quiet moment at the beach<iframe frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10200729661758354" width="568"></iframe><br />
<br />
If you need a little get away and a quiet moment..........<br />
<br />
courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MariannesPeaceoftheBeach" target="_blank">Mariannes Peace of the Beach</a>Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-18443431794553273942013-03-22T20:52:00.002-05:002013-03-22T20:55:15.032-05:00Bangle sizing guide<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">BANGLE SIZING GUIDE</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">This is a quick and easy process, I promise. I've gathered up some info and taken a picture to help you through it. Because I sell quite a few different types and sizes of bangles in my shop I thought it would be a really good idea to help you all figure out which size your lovely hands will fit.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eYnsNSRJGBo/UU0H6nt216I/AAAAAAAAE8E/YPAXAqhwIZk/s1600/x+Bangle+measuring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eYnsNSRJGBo/UU0H6nt216I/AAAAAAAAE8E/YPAXAqhwIZk/s320/x+Bangle+measuring.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Make your hand as small as possible bringing </b></span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>your thumb and little finger together. </b></span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Using the tape measure (or string), measure around your hand and across your </b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>knuckles at the widest point (the tape measure should be pulled tight, not loose). Make note of the actual circumference of your hand (if you used string, make a mark where the string meets, then measure the length with your ruler to get your hand circumference). </b></span></span></li>
<li style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Compare your hand circumference to the bangle circumference in the below chart. </b></span></li>
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<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span>These measurements are approximate but it gives you a good idea on where you stand as far as sizing. I always give the circumference in my </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">descriptions in my shop and also explain how to do this. </span></div>
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<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 58.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 78.3px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
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<div style="font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Bangle Size</span></div>
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<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 58.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 93.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Diameter in inches</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 58.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 77.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Diameter in mm</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 58.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Circumference in inches</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 58.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 13.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Circumference in mm</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 78.3px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2-4 (XS)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 93.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2.25</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 77.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">57</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">7.06</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">179.6</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 78.3px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2-6 (S)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 93.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2.375</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 77.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">60</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">7.46</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">189.5</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 78.3px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2-8 (M)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 93.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2.5</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 77.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">64</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">7.85</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">199.4</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 78.3px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2-10 (L)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 93.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2.625</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 77.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">67</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">8.24</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">209.3</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 78.3px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2-12 (XL)</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 93.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2.75</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 77.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">70</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 16.0px 'American Typewriter'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">8.6</span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: white; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 46.0px; padding: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; width: 101.5px;" valign="top"><div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">220</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Good luck and Happy shopping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blessings</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Martie</span><br />
<div style="font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;">
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<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Tahoma; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-24707981397087635962013-02-09T22:45:00.001-06:002013-02-09T22:45:03.620-06:00Georgia Mountain Arts: Creative Styles by Peggy Gabrielson 2nd edition<a href="http://georgiamountainarts.blogspot.com/2013/02/creative-styles-by-peggy-gabrielson-2nd.html?spref=bl">Georgia Mountain Arts: Creative Styles by Peggy Gabrielson 2nd edition</a>: Click to view Creative Styles featuring Martie Rocco Jewelry on GLOSSI.COMMartie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-7530059459641475172012-12-20T13:36:00.004-06:002013-09-04T11:25:50.794-05:00How My Guitar String Jewelry is madeSince half of my handmade jewelry is made with guitar strings, donated by my husband and a few awesome musician friends, I thought I'd share the process of how it all happens. <br />
<br />
First I want to share a cool video from the show "<a href="http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made" target="_blank">How it's made</a>" on the making of guitar strings. I was pretty fascinated by the process myself.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rMaVPN_E_iY" width="459"></iframe><br />
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Then........... step two. Music is made and the magic begins.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FUF08MaBpWc/UidfBmaB4SI/AAAAAAAAFR0/PmuoeijvDiE/s1600/1043961_10200701749800013_917056100_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FUF08MaBpWc/UidfBmaB4SI/AAAAAAAAFR0/PmuoeijvDiE/s320/1043961_10200701749800013_917056100_n.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joe Barborich and Scott Walters of The Katz Sass Blues Band (my hubby is the cute one on the left)</span></td></tr>
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Then......... step three. The used strings are gently placed into my super special "Guitar String Box"</div>
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<a href="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/P1030139.jpg?t=1313883623" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/P1030139.jpg?t=1313883623" /></a></div>
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Then......... step four. Ta Da!!!!!! After hours and hours of contemplation and pilot programs and test driving :D............</div>
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<a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/3/813/49813/5549813/5549813/large/guitar_string_bangle_steel_wound_antique_brass_music_charm_gs87_9ab0d199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/3/813/49813/5549813/5549813/large/guitar_string_bangle_steel_wound_antique_brass_music_charm_gs87_9ab0d199.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/2/592/58592/5358592/5358592/large/guitar_string_bangle_bracelet_purple_wire_wrap_hook_clasp_gsb11_264402c9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/2/592/58592/5358592/5358592/large/guitar_string_bangle_bracelet_purple_wire_wrap_hook_clasp_gsb11_264402c9.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/3/883/51883/5551883/5551883/large/guitar_string_medium_hoop_earrings_with_blue_wire_wrap_gs45_e2570f04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/3/883/51883/5551883/5551883/large/guitar_string_medium_hoop_earrings_with_blue_wire_wrap_gs45_e2570f04.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/8/608/58608/5358608/5358608/large/guitar_string_bangle_bracelet_orange_wire_wrap_hook_clasp_gsb14_a1392859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/8/608/58608/5358608/5358608/large/guitar_string_bangle_bracelet_orange_wire_wrap_hook_clasp_gsb14_a1392859.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/6/986/55986/5555986/5555986/large/long_straight_guitar_string_drop_earring_with_antique_copper_end_gs99_e7b72a3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/6/986/55986/5555986/5555986/large/long_straight_guitar_string_drop_earring_with_antique_copper_end_gs99_e7b72a3a.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/3/173/70173/5670173/5670173/large/guitar_string_bangle_bracelet_music_charm_bead_brass_wire_wrap_gs12-80_c215708c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/3/173/70173/5670173/5670173/large/guitar_string_bangle_bracelet_music_charm_bead_brass_wire_wrap_gs12-80_c215708c.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/4/294/41294/3941294/3941294/large/guitar_string_pendant_with_brass_wire_wrap_on_leather_chord_gs11-23_594288b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.artfire.com/uploads/product/4/294/41294/3941294/3941294/large/guitar_string_pendant_with_brass_wire_wrap_on_leather_chord_gs11-23_594288b1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Then........ step five. To the shipping department to be packed up and out the door for speedy delivery to a very happy customer</div>
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<img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SqhhJb_P3Kk/SM3Prl5JFUI/AAAAAAAAB_8/CAFwdUnXZno/s320/Macy's+shipping+dept.jpg" width="320" /><a href="http://www.old-picture.com/american-legacy/008/pictures/Delivery-Postal-Truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://www.old-picture.com/american-legacy/008/pictures/Delivery-Postal-Truck.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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So there you have. From womb to tomb as they say in the manufacturing business. Hope you enjoyed this demonstration of a very complex and logistically complicated process. </div>
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Blessings to All</div>
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Martie</div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-31701378351593120612012-10-06T20:55:00.001-05:002012-10-06T21:03:09.646-05:00What do you hear when you see colors?<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Assortedcrayolas.png/220px-Assortedcrayolas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Assortedcrayolas.png/220px-Assortedcrayolas.png" width="274" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Trying to describe color is, I think, one of the hardest parts of writing descriptions for my jewelry. It's easy to write about the kinds of materials you used and what colors and size they are, but how do you explain a color. Now, I'm a song writer and am usually pretty good with words and putting my thoughts on paper (yes, I still use paper and pencil). But this is so totally baffling to me. I read other artisans descriptions and they are lovely. They really paint a true picture and emotion of the piece. Why can't I do that? And how many ways can you compose an embellishing dissertation of 250 plus words about a guitar pick earring so Google will like you?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The SEO gurus say that you should describe your items as if you are explaining them to some one who is blind. Well, since I have been seeing my whole life I cannot imagine not seeing color so how do you interpret it and translate it in a way that someone who is without sight can understand. OK, so red is hot, like fire. Blue is cold like reaching into the freezer and pulling out a frozen bag of corn, grey is that feeling you get on a damp day. Orange and yellow are like the feeling of sunshine on your face. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All these are well and good but how about pale green and turquoise, burgundy could be referenced against the smell of a wine, and rose of course to the flower, but there again you have different colors of roses. Copper, and purple. You could pick up a hand full of dirt and say this is what brown feels like but who wants to describe a lovely stone like a brown Labradorite as dirt. And pink, it's such a soft visual color, is it soft like the fur on my kitty? But she's a ginger color, so ginger is soft to me. Ach!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here-in lies the problem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But wait...... I remember my friend Mike saying one time after a particularly rough gig, "don't worry" he says, "most of the time people hear music with their eyes" Meaning that if you put on a great performance visually, the music then becomes sort of secondary in their heads. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK. So. Spin it a bit. Ask myself - what do <b><i>I</i> <i>hear </i></b>when I see a color. Now I have Diana Ross in my head singing " I hear a symmmmmphony...." OK, back on point. But that is the point. If red is hot and fiery, then it's a screaming lead on a guitar like Steve Vie in Crossroads, if it's blue then Eric Clapton comes to mind, cause he is the coolest ya know. Lavender is Stan Getz playing the sax. Magenta is Cristine Aguilera, green is ....... Kermit The Frog. I couldn't resist that one. But I guess I'm getting the picture at last. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Note to self - have pad and paper handy when listening to radio in car in case the color Cyber Grape comes on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have a bright, bright, bright, sunshiney day!!!! :)</span></div>
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-71122396501020706792012-10-04T08:42:00.000-05:002012-10-04T08:42:10.392-05:00It's all about planning.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 20px;">Plan your hours to be productive;</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 20px;">Plan your weeks to be educational;</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Plan your years to be purposeful;</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Plan your life to be an experience of growth;</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Plan to change;</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Plan to grow.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4a494f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 20px;"><em>- Iyanla Vanzant -</em></span></div>
Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-82399331248239744922012-08-28T08:34:00.000-05:002012-08-28T08:34:44.765-05:00From Rockets to Chocolate - Finding your passion<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My husband and I took a little vacation like we do every year to N. Carolina to visit his daughters. They are both grown and in college and both are doing amazing things with their lives. They are finding their way through this crazy world we live in and although it has not been easy at times, they have muddled through and are shining examples of what hard work and a little sacrifice will get you. One will graduate next spring the other has three years to go, but will also being doing a 4 month study in Italy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On this particular trip we just happened to stop in at a shop called Mountainside Chocolates that was on our way back to our hotel and just off the road. Well, I've got to tell ya, it was one of the funnest places. Not only were the chocolate creations and ice cream super yummy but the owners were super nice and such congenial people. We ended up hanging out and talking with them for quite a while. Ric, had his guitar leaning on a shelf by the door and of course we started talking about music, do you play, we play, my step-daughter plays and the other sings and we started jamming right there in the shop, each taking turns. It was a hoot. </span><br />
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<a href="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/N%20Carolina%20trip%202012/2012-08-11161737.jpg?t=1346160451" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/N%20Carolina%20trip%202012/2012-08-11161737.jpg?t=1346160451" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We asked how he got into the chocolate business and he proceeded to tell us with gusto and great enthusiasm about his journey from being an engineer at Lockheed, to his retirement and how he came upon this shop through a friend of his. How he met his girlfriend who also works in the shop. It had all come about so naturally that it appeared to be destiny. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He shared his recent experiment with us and explained some things about how chocolate really doesn't go bad, but the white substance that forms on it is not mold but it is its reversion back to sugar. That's my simple synopses. He went into much more detail than that I just can't remember it all. He talked about how everything is handmade right there, how he learned the skill, showed us the master recipe book. Oh it was so informative and fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An interesting lesson in life. Back around 2005 when we learned that our company had declared bankruptcy and they were going to close our factory a lot of folks were in a panic as to what the next phase of their lives would be. I was fortunate that I could retire and I had my music and my jewelry to fall back to. I just kept telling everyone that this was a golden opportunity to find that one thing that you'd always wanted to do but never had time. Turn your craft into a business, go back to school, learn something totally new. Find your passion. A few of my work mates have and Bravo to them. I didn't have to find mine, I already had it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ric, too, is an example of life after your corporate job. Who would have ever thought that a rocket scientist would end up making chocolate delicacies in a little shop in Silva North Carolina and loving every scrumptious minute of it. </span><br />
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Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-32819750614899366192012-07-14T12:07:00.000-05:002012-08-13T15:46:38.213-05:00Making it happen, Keeping it happening.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;"><b> "Either you're working hard trying to make it happen, or you're working three times as hard trying to keep it happening. There's a difference between lifting something up and holding something up. There's two different degrees of strength.” - CeeLo Green</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Some of you are familiar with CeeLo Green from the TV show "The Voice" and from the group <a href="http://www.gnarlsbarkley.com/" target="_blank">"Gnarls Barkley"</a> and maybe all kinds of other musical endeavors this talented music artist has been involved with. I only knew of him from the show and the group myself. However I just finished reading an <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2012/ceelo-green" target="_blank">article</a> from the website <a href="http://Fastcompany.com/">Fastcompany.com</a> with their picks of the 100 most creative people in business in 2012. Being a musician and artist I like reading about what inspires people and what keeps them going creatively. This was a very inspiring article for me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">That whole article and a few of the others in that list got me thinking a lot about innovation and the proverbial box that needs to be thought outside of. I have struggled with this my whole life trying to balance practicality with expressing what is truly <a href="http://martierocco.blogspot.com/2012/06/creativity-running-amok.html" target="_blank">running amok</a> in my being. There came a point where I said screw the practicality and just go for what is driving you <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzV9QExGFQs&feature=related" target="_blank">Crazy</a></i> ( that song by Gnarls Barkley is one that I can totally relate too) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">I am not having much luck on the musical front, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">mainly finding other musicians who want to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;"> perform music that says something meaningful, matters, and is entertaining too. I can make music happen but a lot of folks are pretty much stuck in the mainstream rut of "if it ain't played on the radio 40 times a day I don't want to hear it". Really??? What a shame. There is so much amazing music out there that unfortunately falls on very few ears, even with the influx of internet and phone apps that cater to personalizing a persons listening enjoyment. So I guess that's where the <i>keeping it happening</i> part comes in. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">And then there is the jewelry design side of me. Just like the music business it is very competitive and saturated with expectations on the latest trends and flavors and I've asked myself too many times, " so how do I <i>keep </i>my voice in that genre too". I'm doing well, reaching out and continuing to travel down new roads. Building a business takes time. The learning curve, the world wide web, fan bases, web sites, SEO.........</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">In re-reading my last two paragraphs I have to ask myself, "Are music and jewelry design that much the same?" </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">The point I am trying to get to is one of perseverance and fortitude, experimenting with different mediums, and stretching the thought processes beyond what is immediately in front of your face. What about branding and getting yourself out there not just in your designated circles but grabbing on to the fringes and tugging at them too. That's what I've started to do and will see where it all takes me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">I'm OK with the lifting and holding up part of both my creative out-of-the-boxes. I believe that what I've started can only expand and grow because that is the nature of energy. Keeping everything fresh, constantly, and being aware of my own consciousness and following that spark of an idea that takes me in another direction, again, is what keeps me strong and celebrating my creativity. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Does that make me Crazy.......... possibly. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Thanks for visiting my blog</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Blessings </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Martie</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: FCZizouSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span>Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-73492063702513104042012-07-09T16:55:00.001-05:002012-07-09T16:55:34.697-05:00A cluttered desk.........<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-40971687167586614542012-06-27T10:13:00.000-05:002012-06-28T16:04:50.686-05:00Creativity Running Amok<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">In an article from Flavorpill - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flavorwire.com/303590/15-famous-authors-on-why-they-write" target="_blank">15 famous authors on why they write</a>, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><strong>Don DeLillo said "</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture, but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.” This struck me hard as I believe this to be true for any artistic medium. There is something in us artistic types that needs to do what we do. It is not a choice. It is innate. Creativity runs amok in our blood and the only way to tame it is to get it on paper, canvas, music notation, strung on beading wire, wrapped around a crocket hook........ etc. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--90000--66078_product_2065152797_thumb_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/--90000--66078_product_2065152797_thumb_large.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without our craft we are simply blobs unable to function properly in our everyday lives. It is our dissatisfaction with the mundane, the conformity, the everybody must be and do what some media or social device tells us is the cool thing to be doing at this moment. This may work, and obviously does, for so many people. But for others, not so much. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't tell you how many times people ask me, as a jewelry designer, if I make 'such and such' a thing. You know, the latest trendy trinket that Everybody is wearing. I say No. Because to be honest, when I've done that, I've been so miserable because I felt I 'sold out' and compromised <i>my</i> creative process. And because my spirit wasn't into the thing, they never sold well. Lesson learned quickly and I'll never do it again. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm not saying this to dis anyone. We all have to make a living and if one enjoys and is completely content and satisfied with what they are doing then more power to them. I respect that whole heartedly. I believe in and have become intimate friends with what runs amok in me. I can see no other way. I can find no other relationship that quells that stirring. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Being an individual in this world is vital to my survival as a human be-ing. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">To tap into the 'amok' is the most freeing thing I've ever done.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for visiting my blog</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blessings</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martie </span></span>Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-32083267984306020492012-06-04T09:33:00.002-05:002012-06-04T09:33:29.431-05:00My First Festival Show - Things I learned<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/2012-06-02121701.jpg?t=1338735423" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/2012-06-02121701.jpg?t=1338735423" width="320" /></a>Woohoo!!!!! Just did my first festival show this past weekend. I had blast. Did quite well on sales too :) I was very proud of myself at how prepared I was but I also learned a lot. I had read quite a few blogs on tips for craft/art shows, the 'to do' and 'not to do' lists, how they set up their tables, yadayada. I didn't know what to expect and went in with eyes wide open. </div>
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Should not have left the tarp in the car. Yup, had a cloud burst and it rained for about 20 minutes which to a degree was good because when it rains folks look for shelter, and I had a canopy. The ends of my tables got wet but nothing a little time, wind, and sun wouldn't take care of. </div>
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The breeze was gusty and blew over one of my earring spinners and most of my necklace displays so I will try the rolled up packing tape under the base of the displays procedure to secure them to the table, and someone suggested to place a rock on the inside of the earring spinners. We'll see how all that works next time. </div>
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I think I still need a little more height, a couple more platforms to put the earring spinners on maybe. I'll figure something out.</div>
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I need to iron my table skirts, although once then get packed up they may get all wrinkly again but maybe not as wrinkly as they were. </div>
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I need to make more signs to advertise and draw people into my booth. Big ones that people can read as they pass by. Especially for my Guitar String Jewelry, after all, most of the shows I have lined up this year are at music festivals. </div>
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I should have brought paper clips to show how to easily latch your bracelets. Its in my <a href="http://martierocco.blogspot.com/p/helpful-hints.html" target="_blank">Helpful Hints</a> section. </div>
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<b>The best part</b> - seeing my customers face to face. Not that online selling is bad, not by any means, but you don't get that organic rapport. You don't get to see a customers reaction to a piece - "OMG this bracelet will go perfectly with that dress I just bought", or see the look on their face when they hold a pair of earrings up to their ears and say "I really like these, don't they look great with my hair?" Or being able to help a Dad pick something out for his daughter, help a customer decide which blue work best with their outfit. I had a friend purposely come with no jewelry on because she wanted to adorn herself with something from me. How sweet was that!!!!! </div>
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<a href="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/2012-06-02121646.jpg?t=1338735404" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee516/MartieRocco/2012-06-02121646.jpg?t=1338735404" width="320" /></a>I've been selling online for over two years but have been designing for over 15. I've been selling in consignment shops and before I "retired" I sold a lot at work. But this, well, it was quite validating. I love every piece that I make and have a so much fun doing what I do. </div>
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I'm constantly trying to come up with new creations, designing pieces that are different than what you see elsewhere. I heard that a lot, "Your stuff is really unique" "What a cool idea......." "Oh, these are fun.....". I'm not making this up. I purposely listened to what shoppers were saying, there comments about any aspect be it pricing or design, negative and positive, taking notes because there's always something to learn, some thing that I could do better or make more of, like necklaces, and anklets. </div>
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I know every show may not be as delightful and fulfilling as this one, although I hope they will be. My next one is in three weeks. I've got a lot to do. </div>
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Thanks for visiting my blog.</div>
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Blessings to All</div>
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<br />Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-222672322494159032012-05-29T22:19:00.003-05:002012-05-29T22:19:48.861-05:0050 ways to Cope with Stress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Love This............... It's not that hard really. You don't have to do all of them but if you can attempt at least half of them then I think you're on the right track. </div>
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<br />Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-61957727695049723822012-05-07T21:09:00.000-05:002012-05-08T08:23:50.312-05:00My Mothers Voice<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A couple of weeks ago my husband found a box in the basement containing old reel to reel tapes. Holy cow, I hadn't thought about those old tapes in a long time (Some of us over 40 remember what those are right?) Anyway, we had them dumped on to CDs.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">A lot of what was on the tapes were recordings my Mom had done off the radio or from her albums by placing the microphone in front of the speakers of our Hi-Fi stereo. I remember her doing this. This was pre-everything we know today about home recording. Pre-cassettes, pre-CDs, pre-cell phones, pre-digital anything. So I suspected as I inserted the CDs into the player that the quality was going to be less than what I was used to with a lot of hissing and tape noise. Plus understand that these tapes were over 40 years old. Well, much to my surprise a lot of the recordings were clean with very little hiss. Some not so much. But all in all, according to the gentleman that did the work for us, in wonderful condition.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My Mom loved the saxophone so it was no surprise that a lot of the music was sax music. I recognized several recordings as that of a friend of hers. The other discs had just a whole bunch of different music. Some show tunes and some big band. Plus there were recordings of my bother reciting the nativity and he and my sister singing Christmas carols. Way cute!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Disc 2 was the one that brought me to tears. What my Mom had done was tape herself singing along to albums. I hadn't heard her sing in over 20 years. And this was the voice I remember growing up. Warm, deep, full of passion and youth. She sounded like Rosemary Clooney but with Sinatra-esque phrasing. She used to sing a lot locally with all the bands in the area and did all the variety shows, back in the day. When I was old enough we used to go to piano bars together and sing, especially this one that had Sam the piano man. He was amazing and just a lot of fun. We'd wait there for my Dad to get off of second shift. Looking back on that now it was really cool to be able to sing all those old songs with my Mom.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The reason that this means so much to me is that my Mom has Alzheimer's (she was diagnosed about 7 years ago) and she suffered a stroke last November. Although I know she still remembers all those old tunes as that is the nature of the disease, her experience of that music in her mind only happened yesterday. She is now in a memory care assisted living community. She seems happier than I've seen her in years. She's laughing more and her sense of humor has come back. They do all kinds of wonderful activities and the "characters" in that place make me smile. But that's another blog post.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Just hearing her voice on those recordings filled me with so much joy, yet immense sadness. My mind drifted back and I heard her calling us all in for supper from the back porch, talking in Italian on the phone with her sister, singing with us in the kitchen after supper as we did the dishes and cleaned up, and hanging out with her at the piano bar. I also remember the family reunions in Connecticut where most of my uncles were musicians and they would jam in the garage and my Mom would sing with them. We've talk about those times a lot when I've visited.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Those recordings and my memories are all I have left of the Mom of my youth. She doesn't remember what she had for breakfast now and that's OK, because when I look into her eyes I see the stories in the years that have passed, the experiences of our lives, and all the fun we had together as a family even if she has a harder time recollecting those days. I love her as deeply today as I ever did, and the woman I see in that wheel chair is still that same sweet, funny, beautiful woman I remember. What's even more awesome is that I not only have her voice on tape but in me, and I will always treasure that gift she passed on to me.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Happy Mothers Day Mom.</span></div>
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<span id="goog_159977973"></span><span id="goog_159977974"></span>Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-6521586615439582822012-05-04T20:35:00.001-05:002012-05-04T20:35:17.267-05:00Plant Impossible Gardens<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">More thoughts in my interpretive series on “How to be an Artist” by Sark</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~ <b>Plant Impossible Gardens</b> ~</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">An Impossible Garden will never be <i>done</i>. Since I bought my house in 1995 I have been expanding and expanding my garden. I have a pretty good size city lot so it was easy. I had to take down a bunch of Boxelder trees, they were icky anyway, to let some sun onto the yard. The soil was clay so it literally took years to amend in order for most plants to grow. A friend helped me build a vegetable bed behind my garage but that moved 12 years ago because the maple tree which I refused to take down got big and beautiful and completely shaded that area. I moved the veggies to the back of the lot where there is sun all day and lots of room to cultivate a great crop. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The flower beds started here and there and then spread to everywhere as plants were split and shared with friends and they in turn shared some of there overages with me. As the garden thrived I kept making more room for it by replacing areas of lawn. Every year I buy one perennial along with some annuals to change the texture and color for that year. I put the annuals in pots and just move them around as the flowering season changes so there is always color in those areas where the blossoms fade and are done blooming. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My trouble spot is in the front of the house which faces north. It gets early morning sun on half and evening sun on the other half. It has been a challenge even with the part sun plants. The shade ones do just fine but they don’t provide enough color for me so I have chanced it with the part sun varieties. I’ve lost a few along the way but I think I finally got it down now. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The flower beds around the patio probably won’t change too much. Those were the first areas I planted. I may shift things but I’m pretty comfortable with them.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So why go into all this about my garden? It’s life. We start off with a little bit and then slowly add to the landscape of our lives. What gets overgrown we trim, we share what we don’t need, take chances and expand our spiritual acreage so that we may learn more and grow in self awareness. Sometimes we have to switch things around as we change with our own seasons and alter what feeds us to get ourselves back into the sunlight. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We constantly evolve and change and grow. Though some things will remain the same about you, your heritage and upbringing, those are the seeds of your garden and what you do with it is all up to you. That knowledge and the experiences you gain on your life path is the freedom, joy and uncertainty of planting an Impossible Garden. One that is never <i>done</i><b>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Blessings to All</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Nancy</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-39826275715337786342012-04-05T17:40:00.002-05:002012-04-05T17:40:36.912-05:00Just for Giggles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-608290210960731079.post-66616792792954879422012-03-30T21:49:00.000-05:002012-04-01T19:48:49.984-05:00Repurposed and Redesigned :)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes I look at some of my older designs and ask myself, "What were you thinking?" Not that those pieces are ugly or anything, it's just that they stop speaking to me. So I end up pulling them out of stores and put them in the 'someday I'll figure out something else to do with these' box.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Well, this is that moment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I decided to try something a little different and I absolutely love the results. I was browsing around the bead store last week and saw these bags full of ribbons of cut up saris. AHA!!!!!! Bought some. I ran home, well, drove home, and ran up the stairs to my studio, pulled out some of those older pieces out of that box and just started going crazy. I have brought new life into them and am just ecstatic.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">These are coiled guitar strings from my Guitar String Jewelry line that I wrapped with the sari ribbons.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> I can't wait to make more of these in different colors.</span></span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-size: large;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> These guys are pieces that I wove, wrapped and knotted ribbon around and through to give them a whole new and unique, unboring look. I also added some bobbles and charms. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The crazier part of all this is that I had a skirt hanging in my closet that is made of recycled saris. Boing went my brain again. Out came the scissors. Now all I have to do is wait for the strips to dry because I have them "crinkling" on my shelf. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, another project, another creative adventure, another reason to get my butt out of bed in the morning. And most importantly, another awesome collection of cool jewelry designs. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Blessings to you all and thanks for stopping by and reading my blog</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Martie</span></div>
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</div>Martie Roccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396922010257254884noreply@blogger.com1