Ferocious looking male deer

On Tuesday in my town of Morristown NJ,we were getting back home and we saw a massive male deer, its body was the size and build of a buffalo and it snorted like a bull. We saw the deer while we were in our car near our home and it was kind of scary. It had a giant rack! I had never seen one so solid looking before. It didnt seem to be too bothered with us though, it walked around on the road and grass for about 5 minutes while we were looking at it from our car with the windows open. I wished that I had bought my camera that day, my husband Randy said that maybe we should bring it with us everytime we go out. Hopefully I will see it again and then I will be able to get a photo of it.

Sunny day on Thursday in NJ

So the weather forecast says that its going to reach 75 degrees tomorrow (Thursday) in Morristown, NJ yeyy! I hope we get another warm day soon.

I will be trying to post some healthy low-carb food recipes that are easy to make, because healthy food should be easy to make and not expensive either. I like to test the recipe out before I post it on here, sometimes when you think of something in your head, it doesn't turn out as good as you thought it would lol.

Taking photos

Its been increasingly harder to take pictures of my jewelry because the afternoons are getting darker which has been rather annoying and its been so gloomy because it has been raining a lot. I think I will try and take some of my jewelry with me to Florida when I go in December, however I will have to try and get started again taking photos earlier in the day if its not raining. I think I will ask for an OTT light for Christmas :)

Recipe: Bacon and Eggs Supreme

Bacon and Eggs Supreme (my own recipe)
Serves 4 - 6 people






Ingredients

1 packet of turkey bacon (4 slices of chicken or turkey lunch-meat optional depending how many people you are cooking for)
6 Eggs (you can easily add more depending how many people you are cooking for)
1/2 packet/bag of peas, frozen
Kalamata olives, 15
Dill; 1 heaped tablespoon
Lemon pepper & salt seasoning; 1 teaspoon
Cumin; 1 tablespoon
Season all seasoning 2 teaspoons (I use 21 seasoning salute from Trader Joe's)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Juice of 2 lemons (optional)

I served my bacon and eggs with green and yellow beans that I marinated in lemon juice and with a small side salad, but you could serve it with any vegetables that you desire.

Instructions

1. Take a large frying pan or saucepan.

2. Cut the bacon (and lunchmeat) up into strips and place in pan. Add olive oil and saute until it slightly browns.

3.Take a bowl and whisk up the eggs and add the lemon salt seasoning to them. Pour the eggs in the pan with the bacon and mix them up; you may need more oil.

4. Add the other seasonings and spices. When the eggs have cooked, add the peas and cook them until they are warmed through and defrosted. Taste one of the peas to see if they are warmed through enough.

5. Add 15 kalamata olives and then squeeze the juice of 2 lemons on top.

6. Taste some of the eggs and meat to check on the seasoning level. When you are happy with it, it is ready.

You can always put the herbs and seasonings on the table so that who you are cooking for can help themselves if you would like more.

Rock Hounds - Hunting for Carnelian in NJ

We have been wanting to go and find Carnelian for a while and we finally did it on the 28 th of June. We went again on the 12 th of July and we found bigger pieces of Carnelian.

The Carnelian is located down Stirling Road in Watchung, near the town of Millington in a river. The river is known as Carnelian Creek or Stirling Brook and is situated near some power lines (pylons).

If you go there you have to be careful of the massive holes that people have dug in an effort to obtain the Carnelian. We like to find it directly in the brook and along the muddy banks. In my opinion, digging those holes is not a good idea because they are becoming dangerous, one slight slip and down you would go and possible that you could break your ankle or something. I don't know what its doing to the land in the terms of the environment and water logging but it cant be good, that's why we only stay in the brook and not in the holes.

On the other hand, several places in NJ where you could collect crystals from have been sadly closed off from the public and collectors of gemstones so its no wonder why people are desperate to get the Carnelian from this place. I heard that this place is endangered of being closed down to the public, however if you join a rock hound club, its possible that they might know of newly found locations to find gemstones.

If somebody was to go and dig in the holes, you should not go near the houses nearby because you could get in trouble for trespassing on private property, so be careful.

I have to get round to taking pictures of the Carnelian that we found. I properly cleaned some up yesterday, (July 14th) and I have to clean the rest.

I am looking forward to going again soon, we found a spot in the brook where we found 2 nice pieces of Red Carnelian measuring just over an inch long.

NJ is not widely known as a state where there are plenty of gemstone digging locations but if you look around (not on private property of course) you might be lucky enough to find some.

Gift box that I designed

This is a gift box that I designed but I am not sure if I should secure the box flap lid with small velcro rounds or put hole punch holes in the lid and thread ribbon around it. I would like to make more of these so I can mail my jewelry in. What do you think?

Gem and Mineral Show, Franklin NJ

I will hopefully be at the 37th annual NJ Earth Science Association Gem and Mineral Show on April 25th or the 26th of 2009 <--- I put the year so that people could find it if they were looking for when it is in a search engine. I say hopefully because if it rains or if windy, I will not go. If it is scheduled to rain or be windy on one day, I will go on the better day. The show will be at Franklin school, on Washington Avenue, off Buckwheat Road by way of Franklin Avenue. Zip code: 07416. You will be required to pay a $5.00 donation per person, it is well worth it though. If you go they will put your name and address on their mailing list and they will send you a postcard every year which provides $1.00 off the donation and has details about the dates of the show etc. The coupon is limited to 2 people. The times of the show are:

• April 25, 2009, Sat. 9 am-5.30 pm
• April 26, 2009, Sun. 10 am-5 pm

I hope I will see you there!

Super warm day in NJ today!

Yeyy, the weather is nice and warm today, that means I have to get outside and take loads of pictures or I will be beating myself up and saying that I should have gone outside! You should see lots more items in my shop next week; more earrings too!

What I have been doing lately

I have been working hard on my shop lately, taking more pictures of my jewelry inside by the window and outside whenever I have a chance to. I can't wait until the real spring weather comes. I want to make more items that are cheaper but still of good quality to sell in my Etsy shop. Can I just say though, just because some of my items are cheaper than others, it doesnt mean that they are not good, I simply would like items at all different price points, especially with the economy being so bad.