Back in the Saddle Again-A New Direction for the New Year

Frost Grape Scarfette - $22.00

15 1/4" Long X 4 1/4" Wide

6mm thick

I was able to get my pictures to upload on this laptop and have been thinking about ways that I can sell more frequently, and I noticed that items such as hats, scarves, and scarfettes seem to be selling very well on Etsy.

Although Christmas has passed the cold weather will be around for several more months, so I figured I'd make use of it and make some of these wearable items and list them in my shop. I used to knit and crochet years ago but then didn't continue with it once I chose jewelry as my main medium to make and sell for my business.

If it's one thing I know it's that you never can be too sure of your product, as alot of the reasons that dictate marketability are out of an artist's control. You can make the most beautiful, unique, and even affordable product and today it might be hot and tomorrow in an instant the bottom could fall out and it will just sit there collecting dust.

In this depressed economy especially, business owners must adjust and adapt their business plans in order to survive.

I have learned a few useful pieces of information in the past few months.

1) The more necessary a product is the more likely it is to sell in a bad economy

2) Those supply stores that are continuing to do well despite the bad economy are those selling transparent faceted stones, diamond beads, and rough stones.

The agate and Jaspers in my supply store did not do near as well as I expected. Probably if I'd had Ocean Jasper that would move, but this seems to be one of the few exceptions to the rule. Finding a ready source however, has proved problematic. For those of you interested in Ocean Jasper I am working on getting one of my wholesale suppliers to work something out with a cutting plant in Madagascar where it is mined along the shoreline at low-tide.

Selling diamond beads is a longer-term goal, but carrying some of the other blingy stuff is feasible in the near future.

Carmella is almost out of her non-allergenic prescription dog food and the total vet bill seems to be hovering around $3,000 regardless of what I do. Donations for her expenses have completely come to a standstill as well in recent months, as have the blog ads.

If you are looking for a good inexpensive way to advertise these are $5.00 each and your little banner stays on my sidebar until it gets bumped by overflow (and those whose ads are there now have gotten quite alot of bang for their buck!)

If you are not in themarket for advertising please give this link to others you know who might be and suggest it to them. One thing I can say is that the number of followers and the traffic to this blog has really grown! That means you or others who advertise on it will be very visible!

If you read this blog please leave a comment at least every once in awhile. I always appreciate knowing that people are interested in the content and enjoy reading here, if they've seen my shop, like an item, what they like about it, etc. It is an artist's life-blood to know that their work is bringing others joy and that they have touched the viewer.

My free gift to the 90th buyer in my finished jewelry shop is still available and if you purchase my outerwear that counts as well. I just heard on the evening news that despite the economy online sales have increased 15.5%, so maybe that's a sign that things will start improving for me and other artists.

How about a warm hat or neck warmer? If you prefer a different color I have more to come, but this color is quite versatile with all the earthtones. I wanted something neutral but something more exciting than just a cream or brown.

Moss Hat - $40.00

Circumference 22"

6 1/4" high

features a lovely textured band

I am even considering making some leg warmers and knee warmers. I don't know if your knees get cold easily, but mine do. It's the strangest thing. Sometimes the rest of me will be warm enough but my knees and just above them are completely cold and I often wish I had something just to cover that part. As far as I know there is nothing commercially available just to cover the knees. Who knows, maybe more people have this problem than realize and I'll find a nitch market. If you are interested in some of these I would sure love to hear from you.

Wishing all my readers a happy and prosperous New Year!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

http://GiftbearerSupply.etsy.com

On The Bench-The Effects of the Economy on an Artist

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I don't have access to my pictures and cannot list anythng on etsy now because yesterday my computer started to turn on and then promptly turned off. This is a disaster right before the holidays and at a time when I'm trying to get expenses paid down.

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On top of all of this I have not been feeling well but have just been trying to get over this hump, thinking things would be better tomorrow. I guess I was wrong about that.

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Now I'm going to have to figure out a way to pay to get my computer fixed and hope that it's not way above my head. This laptop is not completely set up to do all that my desktop was doing. It doesn't have micosoft Word and will probably have to have some software loaded on it so that I can put photos on it.

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I may have to just get this set up as the main one. The problem still remains to be no money.

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I'm going to have to pull back on all my activities until this is solved. Paying down Carmella's vet bill and getting this fixed will have to take precedence.

This is about all I can stand. Not a thing has sold in my Etsy shops for over a month, I have to keep changing my plans, and my entire life has come to a grinding halt.

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Last night I started a necklace. I don't know that it was because I was inspired to do it but just because there's nothing else I can do. I find it ironic because it is going to be quite elaborate but what's the point because I can't list it and people won't even buy my $8.50 earrings, so I must be out of my mind to think they'd buy that piece. I don't really. It's just my nature to keep putting one foot in front of the other even as tears are streaming down my face because I see no solution anywhere on the horizon. Even so, I am wearing out fast.

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I can't even sell my hair until I have somewhere to upload pictures.

I'm sure that other artists are going through similar upheavels but too much of this for too long can't be good for a person.

Would You Like A Free Gift???

Who wouldn't! I am at 88 sales in my etsy jewelry shop and to get things moving I have decided to offer the 90th buyer a free gift in their package! You could guarantee the 90th customer to be YOU if you buy just 2 items from my store. (Two sales in one transaction also counts!) Please take a look at the variety of jewelry I have available and match them to the people on your list.

I will be making something special as a surprise just for this lucky buyer. (If you have an etsy account be sure to leave your favorites visible so that I can get an idea of the style you would like).

This is not going to be some two-cent promo gift that nobody wants, but something that you will really enjoy! I'll even wrap it and you can put it under the tree (or open it then when you get your package if the curiosity is killing you).

OK, ready...set...GO!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

Eye Candy Interlude - Sneak Preview!

Silver and Gold and Sugarplums!

Glow from a Distant Fire (bracelet)

7 1/4" (with additional ring to expand to 7 3/4")

9mm faceted black Onyx rondelles, wine freshwater pearls, black frosted glass rondelles, flat Moukaite pebbles, facetted Brecciated Jasper rondelles, and red garnet with sterling silver beads and findings.

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I made the two bracelets while watching Obama's speech on TV last night and realized only later that I was using some beads I had bought from a vendor at a bead show who was from Afghanistan. He had some of the most gorgeous Lapis, but also some material of other stones in shapes I'd never seen before. The brown (what is referred to as Blonde Onyx) came in alternating slender tubes, tiny rondelles, and flat round disks drilled through very thin pieces! The man told me all the strands were hand-made by the Afghani people. He also had all kinds of unusual natural jade that came in shades of green more like Peridot than what one usually sees. I'm not sure if it's in the category of Jadeite or Nephrite, but I find it much prettier than the Chinese material the industry is saturated with. I bought several strands of the most beautiful spring green tubes!

Check out the photo at the bottom to see both of these close-up.

Oxidized Twist Pattern Sterling Stacker Ring $20.00

Size 7 1/2

This ring is another very reasonably priced piece with a lovely twist pattern; simple but elegant.

Smoke The Peacepipe (bracelet)

7 1/4", Gold-filled, vermeil, 22 Kt. lined glass beads, frosted Blonde Onyx and Jade from Afghanistan, pale peach Moonstone, 22Kt. Delica beads, faceted Brecciated Jasper rondelles, Moukaite, and Aventurine.

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As I worked on the bracelets and watched the Presidential speech I was really disappointed in what was about to happen right before the holidays. The old, tired arguments of the Bush era were revived and paraded for all to see, meant to convince us that we are not safe unless millions more are pumped into a war that never seems to end. I wasn't convinced. If the past year hasn't moved us closer to a resolution than I doubt that another 6 months will, and meanwhile that money could be spent on jobs and assistance for the people here.

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The lives lost chasing the elusive Al Kaida spread out into too many countries to keep track of should be saved instead, and as much as he tried to pretend that all this would achieve a positive outcome I really don't see how anything good could come of it; our people dying, their people dying (and not just military people, civilians. Perhaps even some of those who made the very beads I was using to make my bracelets).
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Injecting ourselves into the war in the middle-east which has been ongoing since the beginning of history and being naaiive enough to believe that we can do something to stop it by being a part of it can only further entangle us further and earn us more enemies, some we probably never anticipated and never intended.

The other night I went online to look for resources for someone whose husband has been unemployed for a year and found websites on which people were posting their stories, desperate for help; people without healthcare, people whose utilities were about to be cut off, and people in foreclosure. People with several school-age children who literally didn't know how much longer their little bit of assets saved would hold out and then not be able to feed them.
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The dispair and level of hopelessness and malaise out there is deafening, and NOW we're sending more troops to Afghanistan (talk about living above our means), now THAT gives new meaning to the term!
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If the American people become so depleted and so impoverished that they cannot function then I ask the President how does that in any way strengthen our nation?
Now should be the time for peace, not war. Americans have in many respects lost their soft place to fall, and before we should even think about solving problems "out there" we need to solve the ones we have here at home.
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An over-stressed, under-funded country is fertile ground for the very elements feared, so I believe Obama's decision is a big mistake.
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Perhaps we just don't have that kind of power to achieve peace in the middle-east and that may be something that has to be worked out between the various factions there.
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What we do have the power to do is to take care of our own, build them up, and fix some of the problems that have been put off for far too long in our own country. Only when our own people are properly provided for can we expect to have any real impact on others outside our borders.

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Not to engage in war is often the strongest example of all.

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Peace!

Pass The Turkey and the Stuffing, Celebrate The Ones Still With Us, and Remember the Ones We've Lost

Thanksgiving is both a joyous time and a time of reflection.

This year the effort to save dogs from distemper has been a big success wherever those striving to help these dogs in a number of different venues, connecting with owners wherever they are found; on various messageboards, dog-related forums, websites, and blogs, both on the internet, and in the community.

One by one more and more dogs that once would have been considered hopeless will now spend the holidays, happy and healthy with their families.

More vets have begun to venture out and try the body and/or the CSF treatment, and are happy and intrigued with the results.

The broader the base of support for this cure becomes, the bigger its impact. There are many people who have made this possible, some who are highly visible and others working behind the scenes to bring about change, hope, and health, and working to educate the public, each in his or her own way, advancing science in a very tangible way.

Because of all of you who've contributed in one way or another more dogs this year will curl up by the fire, sit next to the table tomorrow night when the big feast is served, and will live to see the lights on the Christmas tree, play in the snow, and sleep securely in the knowledge that they're home with people who love them and will be for a long time.

At the same time though, there is much work ahead of us, and there are dogs and owners that will not spend the holidays together because they didn't know about the treatment until too late.

For the owners of these dogs the holidays this year will be a time of mourning, a reminder that although a cure now exists the vast majority of vets still do not make use of it and many have not even heard of it.

To many dogs and their owners in many parts of the world Dr. Sears' treatment is still out of their reach. They must travel great distances to get to a location in which a vet can perform that more invasive CSF procedure many of these animals need to fully rid them of the virus after it's reached the brain and spinal cord.

Many still have no way to travel these distances, or they do not have the money to pay what it costs to save their dog's life, and/or cannot do it soon enough.

This beautiful black brindle puppy is one of those who didn't make it. He was only 11 weeks old. By the time his owner found out that there was a cure his pneumonia had severely compromised his breathing. No serum was available where he lived, and antibiotics could not knock back the pneumonia enough for him to wait to reach a vet in another state.

Unfortunately, he did not make it through the weekend.

This next puppy in India died despite her owner and vet's best efforts to save her life, but her immune system was too weak and she got the treatment too late. The CSF procedure was performed 5 days after she was diagnosed, but what happens too often is that dogs aren't diagnosed before the disease has taken too much of a toll.

Her littermate survived and seems to be returning to health.

To those of you who have been reading and wondering how you can help, go to the links of the distemper projects on your right and donate, talk to your vet about this cure, send them the link to this blog and the other informational websites, talk to shelters, rescues, the Humane Society, and other dog-related groups and encourage them to get involved too, volunteer to make serum if you're a vet or an owner whose vet is open to this, print fliers, business cards or other written material and hand it out, set up a fundraiser benefit, or if you have the connections see if you can arrange speaking opportunities with Dr. Sears and Dr. Muller someplace where it will really have some impact, pull strings with news media, medical journals, etc. Be creative. There are all kinds of ways to move this forward.

I look forward to the day when a dog is diagnosed and the same day it can be treated with the serum or NDV; a day when no dog has to wait and decline because he or she can't access the care needed, a day when no dog is left with seizures, with myoclonus, with paralysis, or with blindness, a day when this cure is first line for the treatment of canine distemper in every shelter, clinic, and country.

Lets make that day soon! With all of you pitching in we can get there.

This ground-breaking treatment for distemper is really something to be thankful for.

Eye Candy Interlude-Sneak Preview of New Gemstone Beads!

6mm Faceted African Sodalite Beads - $18.00

7 inch strand

I've never been a big fan of Sodalite but these African Sodalite beads are not like any Sodalite I've ever seen before! These are beautifully faceted and have peach or salmon here and there, and some of these beads are semi-translucent. This gives the strand a warmer look and also makes the beads easier to combine with earthtones. This strand goes great with jeans and it really sparkles!

10 X 18mm Apple Jasper Ovals - $24.00

16" strand

What a wonderful stone for the holiday season; these Apple Jasper ovals are the color of chocolate mixed with cherries! I had originally ordered some rondelles to go with these but Apple Jasper was flying off the shelf and my supplier couldn't keep it in stock. All of the red Jaspers were selling like crazy, so since this seems to be the next hot thing you should head over like a stanpede of wild horses and grab these while you can!

10 X 14mm Teardrop Imperial Jasper - $27.00

drilled vertically

In rich and creamy fall colors, these Imperial Jasper beads will coincide with the clothing colors that are in style right now. These drops are extremely uniform and the polish is as smooth as silk! On this strand is a variety of greens, mauve, wine, tan, and chocolate cherry

15 X 18mm Moukeite Briolettes - $33.00

16" strand.

6mm thick!

These chunky briolettes will make wonderful focals or you could combine several with other beads for a more weighty design.

Rainbow Brecciated Jasper Assorted Freeform Geometric Slabs- $24.00

24" Strand (graduated)

Deep red, terra cotta, and green with an excellent polish these beads are an absolute steal! The strand is tapered and would make a gorgeous necklace all by itself with just some spacers in between, or you could use it for something more involved.

10 X 30mm faceted tapered oval Lemon Quartz - $8.00

This bead is just gorgeous! The faceting is stellar; a sort of long honeycomb pattern cut.

35 X 35mm Zebra Jasper pendant #1 - $9.00

The colors in this soothing material are tan, salmon, and brown, and it has a nice smooth polish.

Zebra Jasper Pendant #2 - $9.00

Most Zebra Jasper comes in black and white but these in lovely earthtones.

Here's your chance to reserve one of more of these strands or focals. If you see something you want please convo me on Etsy and ask me to list it with your name on it. Later on today I will list these in my etsy supply shop. Don't miss out on these.

http://GiftbearerSupply.etsy.com

Yay! Save Dogs From Canine Distemper is in America's Giving Challenge!

Save Dogs From Canine Distemper under Kind Hearts in Action http://kindheartsinaction.com/ , a non-profit organization in Southern California is raising funds to cover the costs of coordination, research, documentation, and serum production with the goal of publishing in veterinary journals the revolutionary new cure for neurological distemper discovered by Alson W. Sears DVM. Such research will get this treatment recognized through the necessary channels and used by more vets, thus easier for owners to obtain for their dogs when swift action is critical; http://www.edbond.com/distemper/

The challenge involves getting the highest number of donations by November 7th, and the winning organization will receive an additional $50,000! Just think, that would save a lot of dogs’ lives!

Daily awards of $1,000 and $500 are also given for the organization that has the most people donate in any 24-hour period.

Please spread the word to all your friends and contacts in your life and on social networking sites, tweet about it, blog about it, and e-mail the dog-related people, businesses, and organizations you know to ask that they help. No amount is too small or too large!

Kind Hearts in Action has a Facebook cause here; http://apps.facebook.com/causes/375267/21547541?m=1a240be5.

To learn more about the Giving Challenge ( http://www.causes.com/), then visit our cause to see how we're doing so far and get involved.

If you love dogs and have been trying to decide how best to make a difference, save the life of a dog with canine distemper today. There are few animal causes in which your dollars would save lives so directly. This is one of the rare opportunities you get to take a dog off the terminal list!

There are only 6 days left in the challenge so please don’t delay.

Go here to make your donation; http://www.causes.com/donations/select_donation_method?cause_id=176113

Thanks for your generosity!

Like I always say...

With Love and Action All Things Are Possible!

Video By Ed Bond on Cure for Canine Distemper Now on YouTube!

Dr. Sears Gives A Lecture in Houston Tomorrow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqeLrXH19g4

An updated version of the first video is now posted on YouTube. This one has some additional video of Galen, Ed's former dog who was treated in the body in February 1977 with Dr. Sears NDV treatment.

What can you do to help bring this treatment to more dogs?

Share this video with your vet and everyone you can, even blog about it, and be sure to leave comments on YouTube.

Thank, everyone!

Special Announcement:

Dr. Al Sears will be giving a lecture on the new treatment for canine distemper from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, in Houston, Texas.

E-mail savedistemperdogs@yahoo.com for more info.

If you love dogs and will be in the Houston area I encourage you to attend.

Distemper Activism Continues- New Video Produced By Ed Bond

I want to share with you a wonderful public service message that Ed Bond wrote regarding the new cure for canine distemper discovered by Alson Sears DVM.

It's in the rough draft stage but you have got to see this! It will definitely move you, (and keep your eye out for Carmella; she's included in it!)

Be sure to listen closely to the perfect lyrics of the two songs in the background.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=156398649871

Songs by Margaret Owens

"Tryin"

"Keep The Faith"

The full lyrics can be found on her website:

"Tryin"

http://www.margaretowens.com/newsite/site4/third_web_project/clip_Tryin.html

"Keep The Faith"

http://www.margaretowens.com/newsite/third_web_project/clip_Keep_the_Faith.html

Eye Candy Interlude-Sneak Preview!

Design Featured in Step-by Step Beads

Peace and Love, and all that Jazz
$190
18" long (not including 2" leaf pendant)
4-strand necklace including, Carnelian, Faceted Amethyst, green Freshwater Pearls, Aventurine, brass beads, copper beads, seedbeads, artisan-made Raku ceramic leaf pendant, and hand-crafted clasp made with copper wire and chain links.

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This necklace made the top 10 in the Colorworks Tertiary Colors Challenge sponsored by Interweave Press's Step by Step Beads in which participants were asked to create a piece of jewelry including primarily green, purple, and orange together.

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It took me several attempts to come up with something I was happy with, and finally I had a design that I felt brought these colors together in a subtle enough way so that they wouldn't clash, while still maintaining enough of an edge to be fresh and exciting.

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This design reminds me of those "psychadelic" color schemes that were popular during the late 60s and early 70s, and with the revitalization of that era in this years' clothing styles, it seems it's right on time.

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Be sure to pick up a copy of the November/December issue of Step By Step Beads and take a look at the gallery section for the featured top 10 designs. The magazine issue is on news stands as of October 20th.

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Here's your chance to own it. Convo me on Etsy and I can reserve it in your name when I list it on Etsy tomorrow (well, technically later today). If you're purchasing it as a gift please let me know in "notes to seller" if you'd like it gift-wrapped. Those of you reading my blog are getting earlybird notice before it shows up in the category pages!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Eye Candy Interlude- Sneak Preview!

Zinuki Fine and Sterling Silver Necklace

16", set with 5mm. Chrysoprase Cab

$165.00

Each link of this was handmade and the whole thing took many hours to shape, assemble, and put the brushed finish on after the focal piece was soldered and the stone set.

Please feel free to convo me on Etsy if you would like to reserve this piece for when I list it tomorrow.

The Navajo Blanket Ring is listed on Etsy now in case you have not already checked and seen it there.

Happy shopping!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

Eye Candy Interlude-Today's Sneak Preview!

Navajo Blanket Ring

Size 7: Made from PMC fine silver with fine silver bezel

and Australian Opal- $250

Sometimes you create one of those pieces that seems to get even more exciting as you go, and this was one of them! I knew as soon as I made the impression in clay that things were going to turn out the way I envisioned them in my head.

I wanted to make something powerful and at the same time intricate using the traditional chevron shape but with a twist, so I decided on a repeating and interlocking pattern on either side that mirrored the point at each end of the central pattern.

The mazelike focal area at the top of this ring reminded me of a Navajo blanket like the one that used to hang on the wall at the top of the stairs in the Baltimore rowhouse where I grew up.

This ring measures 7/8" at the widest point and is nice and weighty at approximately 2mm. thick!

I was tempted to keep it, but knew that there would be somebody out there who would want it just as much.

If you are that person please convo me on Etsy before I list it tomorrow and ask that I reserve it for you and I'll put your name on the listing, then contact you back to let you know it is ready for purchase.

This is a very special one-of-a-kind ring, so don't let it get away! You might have someone on your holiday shopping list who would enjoy it (or you might want to keep it for yourself).

I am on a roll with lots more exciting metalwork to come, so stay tuned to my shop and if you aren't yet following my blog please do so that you will get up to the minute notice of new designs as they're completed. As always your comments are welcome.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

My Dog Recycles! See How!

It's been awhile since I updated readers about Carmella and it's been a whole year (October 1st) now since she had the rare procedure to cure her from Distemper, and I am happy to report that she's doing great! I took some unusual "Fall photos" of her against the new flooring in the kitchen while she was eating a melon rind (well actually four halves from a honeydew and a canteloup).

Those of you who have been reading reliably since the beginning when I first got her will remember that she loves apples, but did you know she loves melon rind?

Talk about recycling! Now that takes "green" to a whole new level!

This is one unusual dog, for sure!

She certainly is determined...

to get every last bite of melon she can out of this thing!

I have to take it away from her when she reduces it to a mere shell

or she'd eat that too!

Once she completely guts one half, she moves onto another!

Now that's one way to get your RDA of antioxidants!

Eye Candy Interlude- Sneak Preview!

Dark'N Sultry Petals (Earrings)

2" Long X 1/2" Wide set with 5mm Rainbow Moostone cabs

$40.00

Tiny Half-Bead Stacker Ring (Fine Silver) Size 8

2.5mm wide

$20.00

Be there first and reserve these now on Etsy before they're listed and shown to everyone tomorrow!

Go to http://giftbearer.etsy.com/ and send me a convo asking me to put "reserved for" (your name) on the listing.

If you're not following my blog yet you might want to do that so you'll be notified of future sneak previews!

Happy Shopping!

Eye Candy Interlude-Fall Colors in Jewelry-Accessory Must-Haves!

LIMITED EDITION Amber-colored Japanese Lantern Earrings with Facetted Citrine Rhondelles and Round Peach Moonstone Beads
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=48194

Jungle Love Three Leaf Necklace

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=228931

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Tomatos On The Vine (earrings)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6306962

Harvest of Plenty Bracelet

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=140394

Warmly Glowing -necklace

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12208920

Gifts From The Sugar Maple Softies Crocheted Cuff Bracelet

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=633201

Ice is Nice Flawless Lemon Quartz Dangling Stud Earrings

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=18748314

Fine Silver Blackberry Leaf Necklace with Citrine Cabochon

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23748009

Facets that will knock your eyes out-Ice is Nice Beer Quartz Dangling Stud Earrings
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18752215

Copper Poppy (bracelet)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16896352

Afterglow of Pink Zinfindel and Merlot (bracelet)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16771882

Remember; when you buy handmade jewelry everybody wins!

Happy Holidays from Giftbearer!

A Better Healthcare System-In The Business of Caring

Despite the Whitehouse's new focus on the Middle East, people here at home are still waiting to see what Congress is going to do to make sure that their medical needs will be covered.

My own appeal for my medication still sits on the sidelines. A form was supposed to be mailed out for me to pursue my next level appeal and two weeks later I still have not received it. Things just don't tend to get lost in the mail here and it is about as unlikely as winning the lottery that they would have been lost twice in a row.

My pain level has been worse lately, but I wanted to get another article on healthcare written before going back to bed. This issue is too important to let fade into obscurity. Please keep up the pressure on your elected officials and on the Whitehouse to keep this front and center on their agenda.

If you have a healthcare story you'd like me to cover, please contact me on Etsy or leave me an e-mail address so that I can get it from you in its entirety, and I'll publish it in an upcoming article.

I found several more good videos on YouTube today. You will find alot of this information appalling, but please forward the link to your friends and family, even your elected officials;

Cigna’s annual report for 2008:
Revenue $19.1 Billion dollars
Net income: $292 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4TsaHmtgfA&annotation_id=annotation_881627&feature=iv

Private Healthcare are the true DEATH PANELS - Denying Claims for Paying Customers (Cigna)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_vQHJ2H1wI

This woman in the next video was an attorney who used to work for the Federal government authorizing benefits for people with disabilities and Social Security. Now she herself is sick with Dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease and was just told her insurance company will not pay for her care.

Real People DENIED Real Healthcare: Bonnie Drew (Blue Cross/Blue Shield)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4kEvdyIcBk&feature=PlayList&p=CE06D0FE2CFE6960&index=2

There is a practice among insurance companies called rescission which means that the company sets up potential patients who file initial applications by asking them confusing and deceptive questions and later removing them from coverage claiming they “lied” on the application. Rescinded patients are routinely blacklisted with other insurance companies. This woman was rescinded merely for taking a medication in the past that she was no longer taking simply because she did not know the reason the doctor had charted in her medical records. She became the lead plaintiff against Blue Cross/Blue Shield in a class action suit. She spoke before a US Congressional Subcomittee about the need to outlaw such discriminatory practices.

Jennifer Wittney Horton: Make Them Keep That Promise (Blue Cross/Blue Shield)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCYPC2BMmB8&feature=related

The president of United Healthcare Steven Helmsley gets a salary of 3.2 million dollars! Every day in 2009 he makes $819, 363.10. They have a pattern of telling people that their treatment is “medically unnecessary”. You can do the math as to why they’re really denying so many claims.

You might remember if you’ve been reading my blog that I covered the story of Isabella, a little girl who was unable to eat on her own. In this video her struggle to have her treatment covered continues, as does a little boy’s with a Plagiocephalic condition, and a woman with a necrotic colon. The insurance companies in these cases also claimed these treatments were “medically unnecessary”. Oh, yeah, and I guess their private jets were necessary that they used to shuttle top level executives around, or the gold-plated silverwear provided travelers on that plane. Give me a break!

Fight back against health insurance lies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKI9be55N00

There's something intrinsically and morally wrong when people are living high on the hog at the expense of human lives. I mean who in the world needs that kind of excess?

Don't believe for a minute that the government would commit that level of unethical fraud and medical neglect against the American people. Pencil pushers they may be and of course the current government-run systems need to be improved as well, but at least nobody's getting filthy rich on the deaths of it's recipients.

The level of direct reward these HMOs are receiving by denying claims is exactly what makes privatization so dangerous. Something needs to be done to place limits on these private companies whether they like it or not, whether it's popular or not. If politicians have to forgo a few campaigne contributions then so be it. Other industries have state or federally mandated requirements, so the insurance industry should not be exempt from regulation either. It is high time for that, and the sooner the better. If they don't like it then maybe they need to go into another line of work.

I don't believe that private enterprise comes without responsability and neither should money. That is not the kind of freedom this country should become known for. Freedom without responsability is just anarchy, and that's not a good thing, not for us, not for our children, and not for society in the long-term for generations to come. Along with teaching our children to support themselves and achieve the American dream we should also be teaching them to have compassion for their fellow man, and to recognize that nobody "makes it" in a vaccuum. Those successes we achieve are not ours alone, but a conglomeration of hard work, being at the right place at the right time, and of help from others outside ourselves. We often forget just how many factors got us where we are today, how we landed a good job, what brought us to where we found that great partner, or who all the people were who contributed to our achieving some other good fortune. Sometimes we might not even know the answer to that question, but it is important that we know that man is not an island, and that our many collaborations in life are instrumental to our success.

In many ways the key to our success lies in our acknowledgement that we are in fact "our brother's keeper", and our lack thereof, may lead to our extinction. We alone can prevent it by creating a kinder and gentler society now. That energy and intention will bounce back and forth between ourselves and everyone we touch in the process of living our lives.

America should maintain citizens' individuality, but not to the extent that it steps on the rights of others or takes advantage of people less powerful.

It's clear that these insurance companies cannot be trusted to police themselves and that left to their own devices they won't do the right thing.

When an entire industry raises the bar on its own moral turpitude and it becomes industry standard then people working within that framework begin to become desensitized toward those they are harming in the course of their work, and it becomes generally acceptable. This should bother anyone and everyone when they see these practices in motion because anybody could end up on the bad end of a very sharp stick! If things have become so bad out there that "everybody does it" then who do you have left to turn to? Rather than to scale down our expectations to live within a cage of our society's own design, why not design something the way we want it, and then make our own expectations the new industry standard?

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