How Glass Saved My Life

This is what happens....

2009-02-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

When you leave to go to the grocery store on Super Bowl Sunday

and you leave your husband to supervise your two year old.......

The funny thing about this story is that Kris doesn't even really like football

His comment to me when I discovered this upon my return was, "she was being awfully quiet". The lipstick was murdered. Also ruined in the process was a spongebob shirt, an alligator purse, a side table and a boquet of flowers. Able to be saved: a daughter and a playhouse.

Breathe and don't overthink.....

2009-01-13T10:25:00.000-08:00

So, as I sit here-I need to remind myself that I cannot, cannot, cannot put the cart before the horse. We were at the pediatric opthomalogist's office last week for follow up on Keelin's lazy eyes and this rockstar doctor went through Keelin's history again trying to pinpoint an underlying cause for Keelin's obviously related neurological issues. The hypotonia, the Apraxia of Speech, the lazy eyes.......To make a long story short, she suspects there may be a metabolic disorder along the lines of L-carnitine deficiency. I thought this was funny becasue when we did all the genetic testing with Keelin at 15 months, Keelin's bloodwork came back deficient for L-carnitine both times. It was attributed to the GERD, though. Keelin's doctor has a call into her geneticist to explore this possibility further as she presents with other symptoms of this deficiency.

When I came home from that appointment, of course I consulted Dr. Google. Bad idea. L-carn deficiency is manageable, not curable and puts her at risk for all kinds of awful things (stroke, heart problems, sudden death.......ummm yeah-that's what you want to hear). I felt a very familiar sense of doom that I had not felt in months (which is a long time around here). That doom came rushing back to me and I was instantly reminded of the last two years that we have spent in hospitals, specialists offices, operating rooms, getting brain MRI's and wondering what's next with our girl.

I have been thinking alot about the return of that familiar dread and reminding myself again that I have to live in the moment and not in the "what if". It is counterproductive in life and especially in Keelin's case. I could make myself CRAZY!

What also sits with me lately is that it was so nice to be just her MOTHER. Not her medical detective. Things seemed to be settling down on the medical front and the anxiousness replaced by a feeling of acceptance. But new answers or potential answers bring new concerns. Her life so far has been measured procedure to procedure. Kris and I reference the passing of time in her life by what specialist she was seeing, what procedure she was having. I suppose it happens this way for some other folks, too. It seems both natural and unnatural at the same time. My son's life has not been measured this way.

So for now, we wait and I put the potential pitfalls in the back of my mind. They are only potentials-not absolutes. I won't let an errant mind trample my sense of well being. It isn't worth it. One foot in front of the other, dilligent steps and an observant eye for what is good in this world. There is a LOT of good in this world, this life- my daughter's smile being pretty far up the list. No carts, no horses.......only patience.

Charity Glass

2009-01-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

OK-so I couldn't sleep last night regardless of how hard I tried. Agh. I knew I had to cut and fire a 16" by 16" platter for Congregation Beth Shalom today. I donated last year and the piece I made sold for 425.00-all of it going to build their new temple. I scaled back the wildness of the piece this year, hoping it will go with more decor.

So the glass DID NOT WANT TO COOPERATE! @#$*!%! I hate it when that happens. I was having trouble cutting the large french vanilla pieces. The second half of that glass split on the diagonal for no good reason, rendering it useless. That's how I ended up using the wavy edge glass that occurs when the glass is produced. I think it is better than what I originally had planned so we will see.

It's firing as we speak-will take about 18 hours in the kiln and then I will form it into it's platter shape on the second firing. These pics are of it pre fired and raw. The colors will change. I used tranparents for the colorful stripe down the missle and opaque french vanilla for the main body of the platter.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

We have all decided that this is the best Christmas ever. We hope that it will be a great 2009. Bless all of you. Kris, Laura, Jared and Keelin send you all great wishes for a wonderful New Year.

A kiln full of stars.....

2008-11-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

There are some really good stars in here! I fired them last night and opened up the kiln this morning. Also a prototype for a wreath and a snowflake...we'll see if they are any good. These stars are a labor of love, for sure. We'll see if I get any faster at them. I can cut and prep about 7-8 an hour-not very many if you ask me, but they are soooooooooo pretty!

Gotta run, Keelin's speech therapist is here!

Laura

Let it snow!

2008-11-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

A pretty card from a new Etsian......you can purchase this card at http://thecardbasket.etsy.com All the items are handmade. And if you like the snowflake, let me know and I will make you one in glass!

Hope you all are well-it's lots of glasswork over here!

Laura

p.s. Keelin's speech therapy is going very well. She continues to use new words and be more understandable every day. Go Keelin!

Funny Faces.....

2008-11-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

OK, total post and run-we are all still recovering from the stomach flu.ugh. These pics were taken Monday, pre-sickness. Keelin wanted to make all kinds of faces for the camera-here are a few of the many I took. She wanted to see each one on the monitor after I took the pic. She got a great kick out of that!

Enjoy!

A tree is born

2008-11-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest endeavor, a sculptural tree....this guy is the prototype and I like it! THe tree measures a full 15" from base to top. Wood construction on the base and the tree attached with a metal rod. The glass is latticed Bullseye and Uroboros COE 90 opaques and transparents. There will only be a total of 11 in this series once all is said and done, and two to three are staying with me-it looks great on my mantle.

So 9 for sale. I am planning on doing reds, greens, oranges, and possibly some blue....will see what mood strikes me when I lay down the glass!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Oh My-the kids are getting big! Jared went with his friend Daniel to scour the neighborhood. Keelin went with me while Kris manned the posts at the house.

Jared was a sorcerer(no picture of him in costume to prove it though!). Keelin was a pumpkin princess. The witch was the witch(Sams club purchase this morning for 34.98!!! What a deal!)

Keelin really did well tonight. She got over her initial fear of all the masked people and went door to door on FOUR STREETS! Holy cow!

THis is what she said in her apraxia speak. "Happy Hadoween" "Tik oh trt"(trick or treat) and "Tayt-too"(Thank You). I asked her if she wanted to go home or do one more street and she said "wan mo teet-chokut nanyee". One more street-chocolate candy. She is trying much more these days and while not all of it is correct(ok not most of it) once we figure out what she is trying to say we can usually get it again.

Speech therapy is still twice a week and group activity once a week. She sees the eye doctor for her Amblyopia next week.

HAPPY HADOWEEN!

Seeing Stars

2008-10-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Per several requests, here is an example of what the stars look like. I can do them in any color you want!! I made 32 of them for my show and I have a feeling they will be popular. Several neighbors and friends have asked for me to make some for them. Which I think is wonderful! I like that people are willing to support handmade!!!

Email me at talisman@ca.rr.com with any questions, comments, tidings of comfort and joy-which is funny as it isn't even Halloween yet and I have to be in Christmas mode!
I will absolutely give a volume discount!

XO

Laura

Success!!!!!

2008-10-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Much to my happiness, I was able to locate MORE of these frames. I did a nationwide search through the retailer and got a total of 12 more frames of various sizes.Ask me how happy I am!

Here are the last three styles of the flowers for your viewing enjoyment. I expect that I will do well with them at the show-the response has been very positive!

XO

Laura

Alittle something....

2008-10-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

So, I was at the outdoor mall near our house and one of the homefurnishing stores had these FABULOUS wall frames.....I saw them and immediately knew what I was going to do with them. Well almost immediately---

I thought I was going to do some glass landscape panels and affix them to the frames. I did one landscape and decided it was too busy for the frames and made some flower panels instead. I didn't post them all up, but here are two of the five I made. I am trying to get some more of these frames-they are so awesome. I LOVE THEM!!!! I think they turned out super!

I made some star ornaments which are cool too-I will have to post a pic, as well. Those are TIME CONSUMING as they involve eight cuts of glass per piece. And assembling that!

Wish me luck at my show!

Laura

It was a glass day, all day

2008-10-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well-

let me start by saying hello to all. Just a quick post and run. I have been buried with work for my upcoming show Artistc License in Costa Mesa, CA. It's in two weeks and I am cranking out inventory. Bowls, plates, ornaments. The ornaments are new-I don't usually do them, but with the economy being so bad, I need to have some lower price points in stock. This is a juried show, and I did not jury with jewelry so I can't bring any of my jewelry items...... you see my problem!

I will post pictures soon!

Be good to each other!

Laura

The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Conference

2008-09-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well-back to the real world! While I was gone at the conference, Keelin was sick-ugh. As in "exorcist" style barf that required our car to be steam cleaned and detailed on the inside. Kris was a real hero and survived great-but boy, was he happy to see me when I got back from the conference!

The conference was really great. It was lead by Dr. AmySkinder-Meredith who is an Apraxia heavyweight. Definitely the real deal!Great presentation skills.

The conference confirmed the validity of Keelin's diagnosis. Her huge gap between her receptive language skill(understanding) and her expressive language skills (talking) is one of the primary hallmarks of Apraxia. The language that she does have is very short in it's presentation-in that she speaks in mostly two word or single word utterances as she "breaks down" in to unintelligble sounds, also known as "glottal stopping", when she tries to put together more words. There was a parent roundtable with Dr. Skinder Meredith after the first day and it was really interesting to hear how others are coping with this diagnosis. Most of the parents had kids with additional problems-sensory issues, genetic issues. Keelin has the reflux but that's nothing compared to what some parents are dealing with.

We learned some really helpful therapy techniques that I will share with Keelin's new therapist-her old one moved out of state, which makes me sad.

The fact that floored me most about apraxia kids vs. kids with other speech issues is the amount of time it takes therapy to work. A child with a phonological delay will take an average of 29 speech therapy sessions to be understood 75% of the time by a stranger. The child with apraxia will take an average of 151 speech therapy sessions to be understood by a stranger 75% of the time. The typical therapy treatment of apraxic kids is 4 times a week for several YEARS. And Apraxic kids are at a greater risk for literacy problems, also. Dr. Skinder Meredith is conducting clinical research in this area of study, and I will be following her results, I am sure.

I know this is alot of information-and if you have read this far, bless you. We continue to work day by day with Keelin and try hard to understand her and help ease her frustrations. She is a hard worker and a sweet girl and we love her so much.

CASANA conference on Childhood Apraxia of Speech

2008-09-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

I wrote this on my hand on the plane -a return trip from Napa and the CAS workshop...........the meaning? The folks at CASANA who run this website, http://apraxia-kids.org are here to help. To lend a hand of support to children and parents that face this challenging diagnosis. This was a fabulous workshop up in Napa-and I literally just got home, but wanted to reprt that I received some excellent information from this workshop. I will put a higlight post together later-but in the meantime, suffice it to say I learned MUCH about my daughter's condition and what we can expect over the next couple of years. We have so much to be hopeful about!

Cheers to all-

Laura

Don't you monkey with the monkies..

2008-09-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

How is that for your obscure Peter Gabriel reference? We just got back from our 6 day vacation in San Diego. We had a wonderful time! Jared and I rented wet suits and rode our boogie boards on the beach every day. We also went to the San Diego Zoo-which was a blast, and checked out a couple of museums at Balboa Park. I leave Thursday for the Apraxia of Speech conference. And I have been making GLASS! Yes, remember glass? I have a couple of shows coming up and my inventory is sad, but I have been getting my "mojo" back, which makes me happy.
After the Keelin brain MRI in may and then my medical issues right after, I was feeling pretty drained. That's an understatement, by the way. So I am happy to b back in the saddle again and will post pics of my new work...it rocks, btw

Ciao! Laura

Clothes basket diva!

2008-08-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

OK-so this post is a TOTAL drive by. I am surprised any of you read this, because my blogging skills have been non existant lately.
But I digress...................Keelin decided she was queen of the laundy and that our dog Skippy had to do her bidding-as in "GET IN THIS BASKET!!!!" All is sunshine and light until he decided to bolt. SHe had a few choice words for him in the second picture. I think she might be a sailor! If I could understand what she was saying.

In apraxia news, Keelin continues her speech therapy twice a week. She is trying SO MANY words, but as it is with apraxia, the more she tries, the more garbled she becomes. I ****think****I am getting a handle on some of her speech, but she is hard to understand and I am with her 24/7. I will be attending a 2 day conference in Napa for Apraxia. It is geared towards SLP's but parents are allowed to attend, and I think I know enough to get by. Plus Keelin's SLP is coming, too and will be a great filter and resource!

Cheers to all---
XOXO

Laura

Summer Fun

2008-05-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well-we had some fun today! Keelin went to a "pool party"! Her little friend, Caiya turned 2 today and they had a blast playing outside and running around. I love this picture of her-it has a very "action-y" feel to it.

Just thought I would share! Cheers all!

Benignly Big Head

2008-05-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well-the Brain MRI verdict is in. Keeling has enlarged anterior cortical areas and fissures consistent with a benignly large head. No water on the brain, no tumor, no cyst. We are so thankful. A;; nrain structures are normal.

We are still working through the immunology stuff and she has ANOTHER sinus infection. 8th one since November. About 2 weeks after going off antibiotics, she gets sick again. We are going to run another round of blood and see what the results bring us. I will keep you posted.

In Apraxia of Speech news, Keelin continues to do well with her Speech Therapist (SLP), Mimi and is starting to consistently use two word phrases if asked and will sometimes do so with words she knows without us providing the model for her. It's really excellent-

Thanks for all of your prayers for our family-it means alot to us.

Laura

Into the unknown

2008-05-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well-long time no post....we got kind of thrown for a loop at Keelin's two year check up. Keelin has ALWAYS had a large head. When she had her brain MRI at 2.5 months we were told her head was larger than usual with enlarged anterior cortical areas consistent with "benign head enlargement" but we needed to keep an eye on it. So far her head has been off the charts but developing at the same curve as the rest of her. That was until April 29th, 4 days after her birthday. We went in for her well-check and her head has deviated substantially from her growth curve. Keelin will be having another brain MRI this Tuesday to see what's going on. This will be under general anesthesia (her 6th general in her short life). We are hoping for nothing scary. Her doctor want to know why her head has taken such a big jump. I hope it goes well.

Unfortunately, Keelin is also seeing a pediatric allergist/immunologist. She keeps getting sinus infections and when he ran her blood work he did titers on some of her things she had been immunized against via vaccine. She is not developing appropriate antibody levels at all. We have more blood work in about 3 weeks and then we go from there depending upon what the bloodwork shows.

In Apraxia news, Keelin is doing great. She is still seeing "miss Mimi" 2x aweek and making progress. She can use some simple two word phrases if they are modeled for her. Her ability to repeat is getting better and she is starting to try new sound combos. Her vocabulary is still pretty liited but she really wants to tell us what's going on. Sign language is slow going but she has learned some new things.

In glass news.............well there is no glass news> When do I have time to make glass? In my dreams.

In Jared news-his baseball team is going to win the division They are 13-1-1. Wow! He is really doing well as the starting pitcher. His team mates are all good kids.

That's the update-

XOXO

Laura

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, Keelin!

2008-04-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

My little girl turned two today!!! I am so behind in posting-there is SOOOOOO much going on. I am a bad blogger these fays. Too much real life infringeing on my virtual blogging life. WHATEVER!

She had a fun day and she is too cute! We love you, miss Keelin!

Has it REALLY been that long? YIKES!!!

2008-03-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize I hadn't posted in ages! OK-so a quick update-the day of my last post, Keelin ended up in the Emergency ROom with a dislocated elbow. She was just walking along holding my hand and fell down. She put no resistance in her muscles and I heard her elbow go "pop". She screamed bloody murder and I knew we were on our wayto the e/r. Apparently her low muscle tone leaves her prone to these types of injuries. Great..........

In apraxia news, Keelin's SLP has decided that Keelin would benefit greatly from learning sign language. Keelin's brain keeps learning new things, but her ability to communicate these new things is still waaaay behind. She is becoming very frustrated so we need to find a way to help her "speak" to us. In therapy land, this is called AAC (augmentive and/or alternate communication). So we are ordering some Signing Times DVDs and flash cards. I will let you know how it goes. She is also sick with a sinus infection that turns out is resistant to the antibiotic she was on. So she started a new one and we will see how it goes. Cultures from her sinus will be back on Monday. She also has her Gastric Endoscopy this coming Friday at CHOC. It's a general anesthesia procedure so wish us luck!

In Baseball news, Jared's team is 4-0. He is their starting pitcher and he is a rock star! Incredibly athletic and talented. He has a big game against the Yankees tonight.

In glass news....I haven't had alot of time to do glass or update my website. I am working on a large custom order currently. That's always nice-I like those. I am leaving after Keelin's procedure on Friday for a glass and bead expo in Las Vegas. Two days with my glass friend Jen. No hsuband, no kids. Me, glass and gambling! OMG!!!!!!!! ummmmm WOW!!!! I am really looking forward to the break. It's been a long time!

That's all the news that's fit to print. Be good people!

CIAO!

Entirely gorgeous!!!

2008-03-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

OK-so Keelin has been a mess today. Speech therapy for her Apraxia was a mess, she was very whiney and not herself. I guess everyone has one of those days..........Mondays-Argh.
These are the pictures from the five good minutes she had today. She NEVER lets me do her hair, but I caught her in a distracted mood and put a super style on her! A bow in her hair and everything!

Then, I got out the camera and caught some amazing candid shots. I love these pics. Star quality for sure. My totally biased opinion!!!

Of course, the hairstyle lasted about three minutes before she asked me to take it down-you know-by yanking it out and grunting at me (uh-uh-uh!). A very insestent grunt. So while my attempt at Keelin Super Model was short lived, I got some great memories!

Everyone, have a super day

Laura

What's happening?

2008-03-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well-here's a quick update from our incredibly busy lives. Keelin had a CT scan last week, no anesthesia and no restraints. She did it like a big girl and even though she was scared, she stayed still while I sang twinkle, twinkle little star to her. I was SO PROUD of her!

This Tuesday, Keelin has a visit with Dr. Tournay-the pediatric neurologist. We need an update on her head size(as it is too large in comparison to the rest of her) and need to discuss her apraxia dx. Don't know if she will order a repeat MRI. I was surfing the web and ran across a study indicating that large cortical areas are a sign of apraxia. Don't know if it's causal, but if I recall from Keelin's Brain MRI at two months-she had very large cortical areas noted as abnormality by the radiologist. Tournay has the records.

Jared is rocking it out in baseball, He is the starting pitcher and they are 2-0. GO Angels!!!!!!

Keelin's having a cow so that's all for now!

Toooooo Cute

2008-03-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

ok-love this picture and blogger lost my original post about it. Damn you Blogger!

Old and Improved

2008-03-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

I just listed this Key pendant in my Etsy shop. Love it, love it, love it. I have a had a fascination with recycling old objects into wearable items. Keys and watch faces,,,and soon to be more.

March Madness!!

2008-03-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

Hello from Insanity central........

DId I tell you how crazy it is over here? Did I? Just a check in and maybe some new pics soon.....

I did the first show I have done in a looooong time-Dana Point Festival of the Whales........quieter than I would have liked-but sales were OK and I met some VERY NICE people. The total upside is that my Mom, Pauline, watched Keelin for us OVERNIGHT!!! This is the first time the husband abd I have been away over night since Kee has been born. Almost two years. By Mom's account, she did great. Non was worried that she wouldn't be able to tell what Keelin needed because she doesn't really speak but they got along great and all went smoothly. One night away felt like a whole vacation for us!

On the Apraxia front, Keelin is working hard in speech therapy. She gets a bit overwhelmed at times, but tries to find a way to bounce back and finish the tasks asked of her.

I have been wrangling insurance companies and logging too much time on the phone trying to sort out billing messes and get approvals for procedures. Keelin is supposed to have a CT scan this week. We are going to try it w/out a general anesthesia if I can ever get the radiology department and the allergist to quit crossing wires and get her on schedule. Trying to get this done for over a week now! ARgggh!

Jared is doing fantabulous! It looks like he will be his baseball teams "go to" guy for pitching. He is going to be their starter. He is so fearless up on the mound. It makes me happy to watch how he has matured up there and how much he loves the game. With so much going on in our lives, I am glad for some spot of normalcy. It's nice to just watch your kids have fun once in a while! His first game is a week from today.

I am going to be revamping my online store. Just need to get the pictures taken........I know people are looking for new stuff. Sorry!!! I will get there! I miss my glass!

So much more going on-but my world is calling me.....drop me a line, send me a letter, throw me a life ring, I have fallen and I can't get up. Just kidding-I can get up! (obscure commercial reference).

Have a great one all-

Laura

Apraxia of Speech

2008-02-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been thinking about this for a long time-trying to settle in to what this feels like. Trying to wrap my head around what our day to day is going to /does look like and what the next few years will hold for our family and our little girl, Keelin.

A short history...........Keelin was born in 2006 after several years of infertility and six In Vitro Fertilizations. It was a long road but we thought the hard part was basically over. At 9 weeks of age, Keelin stopped breathing. Long story short, after a brain and spine MRI, a diagnostic surgery and seeing many specialists (pediatric ENT, pediatric gastroenterologist and pediatric neurologist) Keelin was ruled out for brain and lung tumors and was determined to have low muscle tone, requiring physical therpay and GERD, requiring medicines 8 times a day. Her life was not threatened and we were very happy!

At 12 months of age, while still in physical therapy we noticed Keelin was not hitting her language milestones. We were referred out to a pediatric geneticist for more test. Crazy tests. 17 vials of blood drawn at one time. Scary possibilities. The tests took two months to get back and good news-all was normal. But why couldn't she speak? We then were sent to a speech therapist.

The speech therapist confirmed that Keelin had a significant expressive speech delay. Her receptive skills-what she understood- at 17 months were that of an 18-21 month old. Her expressive skills-what she could say-were that of a 3-6month old baby. We were told to get her into speech therpay right away. Our insurance only allowed a minimal amount of coverage and we had eaten that up on the inital evaluation. We had to see if we could qualify through the state. The state came in and did an evaluation-Keelin qualified as she was definitely behind, but no speech therapists would be available for three months. Keelin would have to wait.

As we waited, Keelin fell more and more behind and grew more frustrated. We knew she could understand us-she just couldn't tell us what she needed. She had some words, but not nearly enough to make her basic needs known. Finally we got referred out to a program with a speech therapist that would come to the house. Earlier this month, Megan-our fab Speech Language Pathologist- or SLP for short-did another round of testing on Keelin. Her receptive language at 21 months of age was now up to that of a 27-30 month old but her expressive language was still at 3-6 months with some skills in the 6-9 month and 9-15 month ranges. Drastically and severely speech delayed.

But with this bad news, was also an answer. Keelin was diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech. Turns out, she has almost all the hallmarks of this disorder. Apraxia is a neuro-processing disorder. Keelin's brain cannot pull up the "files" or "neural pathways" to make her muscles in her mouth and tongue to produce sound consistently. She doesn't imitate sounds unless she has heard them many, many, many times before. She also uses the same sounds to mean multpile things and often times her sounds come out stilted or slurred.

What causes Apraxia is not understood-and Keelin continues to have other issues that complicate her progress. You can see more about Apraxia Of Speech in children at http://apraxia-kids.org . There is such good information on this site! For now-Keelin receives Speech Therapy 2 times a week and occupational therpay 1 time a week. The insurance company is trying to deny continued occupational therapy and I am working hard to get approval for services. Keelin's therapy will be ongoing for several years.

WE are happy to have an aswer and are slowly starting to get into the new routine of our lives. Therapy is alot of work for her and me. I try to teach Kris and Jared what we learned and they are GREAT helpers. Keelin's long term prognosis seems to be good and hopefully she will be able to attend a regular mainstream school when the time comes.

In the meantime- we keep on working, keep on living and keep on finding the things in life that are beautiful. Oh yeah-and I could sure use a vacation!!!!!

Thanks for reading-

Laura

SALE! SALE!SALE!!!!

2008-02-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends, blog readers, miscellaneous cyber-stumblers,

I want to take the time to direct you to my Etsy site. I am having a HUGE HUGE HUGE sale until the end of February. Without going into too many gory details-as the details are always rididculous around here-our family finds itself in a position to raise funds quickly for our daughter's medical care.

I will be composing a more detailed post about her recent diagnosis and links to sites with information about her condition. I just don't have the brain power right now. Her condition is in no way life threatening and her long term prognosis is good. SO don't worry-just SHOP!!!!

Please visit me at http://talisman.etsy.com

I thank you.

Laura

Work,work,work

2008-02-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

A little preview for you....I am working on a line of glass for a very high end gallery that has multiple locations. Got the hook up from a friend. Nothings set in stone yet, but this is the 16" by 16" platter blank that I am getting ready to fire. So excited by it that I had to share it........It will be in the kiln all day and night and then go through a second firing, but oh will it be worth it!!! It's sooooooo stinking GORGEOUS!

Glass goes Harley!!!!!!

2008-02-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

It's really interesting who you meet in the course of a day. Most often, you remember no-one. Anonymous faces passing you by. Every once in awhile you meet a super nice person that totally makes your day. And that's what happened to me the other day on my Etsy site. I got a convo (Etsy's version of email) regarding a piece of jewelry I had made. I have recently started using vintage items to bail my pieces and this particular item was a key with a star in it and a lovely glass cabachon affixed to it. She wanted to know if I had one without the glass. As a glass artist, I generally have nothing without glass but wanted to see if I could help her. I ran a couple of online searches and couldn't locate the old vintage key, but she decided to buy it anyways-glass and all.

The ultra fabulous use she had for it? A stunning neck bauble? A gift for some one special? Better than that!!! She used the piece as a charm on her Harley Davidson gas tank pouch! See the picture-it totally rocks! I have never had a piece used in that fashion before and let me tell you, I am honored. I know Harley owners LOVE their bikes and for me to have a piece of glass on something so special to a person makes me proud!

And-I met a nice person in the process! Her name is Jody and as you can tell by the pictures, she is an avid Harley enthusiast ( and a bit of a flower child-which I totally appreciate being a little bit of a hippie throwback myself). She has an Etsy shop and I encourage you to take a look!!! You can find her shop at http://swett.etsy.com. She specializes in vintage jewelry and I think she rocks!

How could she not? She has excellent taste in bikes and glass!

Recycled and wonderful

2008-01-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

I am really getting into repurposing vintage items in conjunction with my glass. I think this piece is very interesting. I like the black watch dial! I have some other items on my Etsy shop, so check it out-

BTW-my breast tumor was benign. Get your mammograms ladies. I feel like I dodged a bullet!

Aquarium of the Pacific

2008-01-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of the kiddos at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We used to go all the time when Jared was a little boy. Now it's time to start taking Keelin. You can see her impression of the lorikeets! WE had an excellent time!!!!

In other news, Keelin has been the girl with all the doctors appointments this week. She is undergoing allergy tests, has a huge evil sinus infection and had to have some blood work drawn. It's been a long week! Jared has gone with us to all the docotrs appointments and has been SO PATIENT.

I will have to give you an update on the breast situation when I have more information. I have my aspiration on Monday and hopefully all is OK. I hope I get good drugs!

I have posted a few new things in ETSY so, feel free to look around!

Laura

EGA spring color challenge

2008-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

So we were given a color pallete to chose from and then challenged ourselves to create glass items from the color pallete. I made this cantaloupe and dusty lilac 6" by 6" plate with a stripe of clear going down the middle. I also did up a little pendant that will end up in my shop......

The cantaloupe glass is really "salmon" officially but it matched very well......

Hope you are all having a good day. We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach this morning. Keelin's first time there.........

Pics to follow!

Laura

Take a load off

2008-01-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share this huge platter I did for an upcoming charity auction. It's a 16" by 16" platter with a 2 and 1/2" curve. Really lovely!

Still trying to figure out what to title it. It's very modern, obviously. Any suggestions, feel free!!! I will be listing it on Etsy in a naming contest- too so that's probably the place to go.

Gymboree addicts in solidarity!!!

2008-01-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!

This is a post and run, but for all of you Gymboree addicts out there-I wanted you to know YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I was cruising Etsy when I found the most amazing metal artist. Her work is fantastic and I have added a link to her site, which you can find on the right side of the page. Her name is Jewelbabe. I convo'ed her to tell her howmuch I liked her stuff and also looked at her blog. She has the most beautiful grandbaby. Turns out she too, is addicted to Gymboree! She sends bags of stuff to her wee one.

The fact is, when I get in Gymboree, something comes over me. I am still about a good 15lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight(yeah, yeah I know). And besides that, Keelin pukes on me still and as a glass artist I would only RUIN nice clothes. Most days you will find me in jeans and a t-shirt. But I can live vicariously through Keelin in terms of my inner fashionista. She can be the best dressed kidlet on the block. I can exercise my sense of personal style through that little girl. I can go broke doing it!!!!!!

Fact of the matter is that she would have more clothes if she had less doctor appointments!!! SO for now-we buy Gymboree on sale only!!!!

Oh-btw, I have my surgical consult with the breast doctor today. Suspicious lump. Fingers crossed.

Work,work,work

2008-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

Good morning to all......just adding a few new pieces to my store and also working on a 16 inch by 16 inch platter for a charity auction I am doing at the end of the month.......been up since 5 a.m. Oh the joys of babies who wake up and Mommies who are generally insomniacs......(that would be Keelin and me, respectively)

Back to the grind........

XO

Laura

I love candy....

2008-01-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

When I saw these jammies in Gymboree, they remind me of that song " I want Candy" in the early 80's. Bow Wow Wow, was the group-I think.

The day of this pic was the day she had her probe removed and the day after her gastric endoscopy. She was SOOOOOOO happpy that day. For some odd reason, she wanted Scooby-Doo bandaids. SHe had them on her hands and her feet. And these eyes!!! Holy cow, batman. SHe is such a pretty, bright girl.

Speaking of bright, she started actually repeating back a few words to us when we ask her. She has NEVER done this before in any fashion (not even repeating babbling). So this is a huge step for her to be able to repeat on command. She is not consistent but as I told her brother "She is not a trained parrot!!"

We are all happy. Going to visit their Aunt Joanie for xmas, part 50. Considering it it supposed to storm today that is unwise due to traffic. But alas ,a California storm involves three drops of rain, wind knocking over a patio chair..... 50 reporters with "storm coverage 2008" breathlessly talking to pedestrians in Hollywood about how bad the rain is. Yup. And the rumors are true. Californians can't drive in the rain.

No offense. Really-

Laura

Funny Girl-great world!

2008-01-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

Good Morning all! Just a quick post to say when I look at this picture, I see all the possibilities the world has to offer if you really take the time to look. And sometimes you just have to stick your tongue out at the world and take the occasional bad days and irony with a grain of salt. Or a salt lick. Or sometimes a salt quarry.

You get my drift........

Jared is off track until February. A good time will be had by all and no children will be harmed in the living of this off track. Heh-heh! He has been in a really good mood lately so that is helpful! Maybe he is maturing.

There will be some big goings on in glass on saturday. My IRL glass friend of mine is bequeathing me 80 lbs of bullseye scrap! You rock Jen! She has good scrap. We are going to hang out in Santa Monica-catch some tea and check out some galleries. I love it whne I get "Laura" time.

SPeaking of which-I hear children disagreeing (one is screeching)

Gotta run!

Laura

Did you miss me?

2008-01-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Has it really been that long since I posted? Good lord-what a slacker. Finally living up to my GenX status. At least on my blog. Well there has been so much going on, I can't even begin to tell you. Seriously!!!!

Glass-glass is good! I am working on a wholesale line that seriously rocks (thanks to the prodding of my most excellent glass frined and artist extraordinaire, Jen.) YOu can all say "I knew her when....." I will have to post pics when I get a chance.

Kids-Jared and Keelin are great. Here is a pic of them a xmas. SOOOO cute. IT was a really great day-we did nothing but open presents and hang at the house.

Keelin's health has been interesting. She is in speech therapy now and had her gastric endoscopy last week as well as her 24 hour ph study for her ucky reflux. Turns out she has I small hiatal hernia that is causing some problems. Will know more on the 7th what the pediatric gastro wants to do and will have test and biopsy results back.

Me? All kinds of health drama-but why bore you with the details. The waiting is the hardest part. Go get your mammograms, please.

Happy new year to all-may it be prosperous, healthy, and filled with good things for you and your family. Sorry for being guilty of blog neglect. Don't turn me in!!!!!

XO

Laura

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

2007-09-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a few big shout outs to some of my IVF (invitro fertilization-a medical procedure for those of us who are fertility challenged) buddies who recently had their babies!!!

Congratulations to Laura D on the birth of her baby boy(baby #2 after I think 8 or 9 IVFs)

Congratulations to Leslie on the birth of her girl (a fortunate freebie and we still adore her, lucky duck!)

Congratulations to Lisa on the birth of her girl (ivf #5?)

And Margie-congratulations on the birth of your twin boys who are almost six months old now! This was IVF#7 for Margie.

My daughter Keelin was IVF#6 for us...........

I keep threatening to tell you the story of the CLAMS. We are a group of women who started doing IVF together in 2004. These women SAVED MY LIFE! We are from all over the country and we have kept in close touch with one another for three years now while struggling with infertility. It is such a blessing to get "take home" babies and we all know it. Here is a group of women who take nothing for granted and count blessings EVERY DAY.

You all rock-

Laura

Skeleton Head

2007-08-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi to all-this guy was done as part of the Etsy Glass Artist's "GOTH CHALLENGE"-create something goth out of glass. He is goth all right. I decided he looks hungry! Beware! He is 5" by 5" art plaque on a wrought iron candle stand. He is available in my etsy shop currently. Perfect for Halloween or if this is your every day decor.............heh-heh!

In other news, Keelin was at CHOC Emergency room on Sunday night/Monday morning. SOme kind of virus causing profuse barf and a 104 degree fever. With her history we can't take chances. We were there for 9 hours trying to get her fever down. They got it down to 102.8 and sent her home after a bunch of blood work and IV fluids. Poor thing. She has a cold now and is running me ragged.............but hey! It is what it is!

Jared is off track for a month so that ought to be fun. Entertaining a 4th grader and a toddler. TOo bad he doesn't like Go Diego Go. I could kill to birds with one stone-

XOXOXO

Laura

The boy genius!

2007-08-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Here's my other part of the duo, Jared. Yes he is fabulously funny and amsuing as the picture notes! He just got his state testing back and scored crazy high in Math. Looks like he is in the top 5% of math students in the entire country(grade level). GO JARED!!!!

Also-Jared is starting winter baseball and has his first game this Saturday. He is on the Angels. Wish him luck. And for all of you Pokemon fans(and there are lots of you) Jared would like you to know that he caught a Giratina-which is a legendary Pokemon. Did you hear me??? I said LEGENDARY! heh-heh!

In terms of glass-I missed the deadline to enter a local one day show-oh well. I have the Great Women's Expo in a few weeks at the Anaheim Conventon Center and als Artistic License in October(so jazzed about that one). I have had bronchitis and miss K has been sick to so I have been out of the loop for a bit.

As Boy George would say-"I know you miss me, I know you miss me, I know you miss me bli-i-ind!"

I promise to be better!

Laura

Have a nice day!!!!

2007-08-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say to all of you, if you are having a rough day (and I am and have been the last couple of days)-find someone to give you a smile like this. It will fix almost everything. I promise.

And if you can't find someone to give you a smile like that-come here and I will.

Peace to all-

Laura

2007-08-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Butterflies are free........

2007-08-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

and so am I!!!! At least free of most of my surgery pain. Almost! It's been awhile since I posted-I know you have all missed me terribly (admit it). So I am still bleeding through my nose every once in awhile but that has slowed down majorly! Think about that---ewwww! The kids are well. The pets are well. The husband is fabulous (as always)!

This pretty butterfly will soon be up in my Etsy shop. If you like it, I can do it in almost any color-so contact me and let me know what you want!

I was VERY busy in the studio today and will be posting some of the newer stuff I did once I slump it. I picked up some really cool slumping molds and should have some interesting plates and bowls out of the kiln by the end of tomorrow!

Well-it's late, and I am tired! XOXOXO

I survived the Surgery

2007-08-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know why people would elect to have a nose job. I had a septoplasty to correct a deviated septum and the recovery SUUUUUUUUCKS! Can you say suck? I knew you could.

SO, my best friend Sherri was driving me home from the surgery center-all a bloody mess. and in pain. I kept thinking to myself "can I take it back?" " this hurts-I shouldn't have done it". And thgen I thought about how many actors and actresses do this electively.

CRAZY! NUTTY! WHY??????? I can't tell you how much this thing hurts all so I can breathe through my nose again(deviated septum). And these people do it "just because". Ummmm yeah-sign me up! NOT!

Sorry to post and run. My days have consisited of nausea, bleeding, not sleeping, being in pain and oh yeah-posting this blog!

XO

Designed with a friend in mind

2007-08-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

I have an IVF friend (go clams!) that is madly in love with lime. I have a lime plate set in my etsy store-http://talisman.etsy.com , but it might be too big for her. So Anjie, here is a smaller gem for you. This is a lovely 4" by 4" candle holder. It is in a streaky lime glass and has the kelly green stripes for drama. I will be listing it in my shop later, but you know you want it so email me!

Or as they say in Hollywood-"Call me-we'll do lunch". Of course, everyone does lunch these days so why does Hollywood think it's so special?

In other news....I am having surgery for a deviated septum tomorrow! Tomorrow? YIKES! Fairly routine so all should be fine. I hope!

Be good, people!

one half of the duo!

2007-07-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is one half of the duo that keeps my occupied outside of my glass life. This was taken today-before she had a major melt down-someting about how I wouldn't let her out past curfew and why won't I let her borrow the car? Look how happy she is. She is our IVF miracle-adored by her father, her brother and me. Not to mention the grandparents, aunts and uncles! And all of my IVF buddies!

She turned 15 months old yesterday! What a doll!

2007-07-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Dresser disaster!!!!!!

2007-07-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

OK-so on top of my already hectic week (don't ask), my cat inadvertently almost committed kitty suicide. For those of you who don't know, my cat Tana is a black and white Tom cat that weights 21.5 lbs. He is HUGE. So, Mr. Wide Load decides that he doesn't like his normal day, which consists of sleeping and sleeping-and maybe some eating(ok- lot's of eating, but I digress). My son left the second to top drawer of his dresser open yesterday.

Tana thought that it would make a lovely place to hang out. The dresser disagreed with him. When Tana jumped up, his massive weight landing on the edge of the dresser drawer tipped the whole thing.ALl the drawers out and the dresser face down like a drunken sailor. I am lucky I didn't have a smushed cat! That would have been terribly tragic. Tana needs to go on a diet. Tried 'em. They don't work for him. He is going to be "big boned".

Now-in terms of glass, I made this fabulous bowl titled "in the city". It is a 12" by 12" and 3" deep. It has great weight to it and is GORGEOUS in person! I hope you get a good sense of it from the photo!

More great glass to come!
Less almost dead cats!

Laura

2007-07-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

The "LOVE" is back!

2007-07-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

OK-glass addicts-and I know who you are-well most of you, at any rate.

My limited edition love series from last year is back. I know I have had lots of requests and these are in process, as we speak! Last year's series "Love 2006" was an ediiton of 20. Because of popular demand I am doing a series of 35, titled "Love 2007". All will be dated and signed. I am anticipating a late august release date. I have 7 completed so far, but these things take a long time! Detail intensive and ohhh there's a lot of life thrown in there, too. Hopefully the picture I posted shows up!

Speaking of life-Our little miss Keelin decided that it's ok to sleep. We hold our breath every night but she has managed about 5 good nights of sleep in a row. GO to bed at 9-wake up at 5:30. I know it sounds harsh-but it is such an improvement. THings continue to progress on the medical front for her. Will write when I have news.

Jared is enjoying 4th grade. He says it's lots of work. Ahhhh-the innocence of youth

And on that note, I am a slave to glass this weekend. Although my good friend Debbie is coming ot watch Keelin this afternoon so I can go see Hairspray with my husband! YES DEBBIE!

The Plane is DONE!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Yahoo-got my Dad's plane finished. What a learning experience. If you look at the Flickr mini to the right, it should pop up in there! I will let you know how much it was loved and adored!

(as soon as I find out myself)

Remind me to tell you of the birthday party gone bad----my poor boy.

Our daughter still thiks sleep is anathema!HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone with good sleep suggestions feel free to comment.......no bourbon, though. We like to keep her off the sauce!

Will write more later!

Laura(queen of glass)

2007-07-14T06:31:00.000-07:00

I just published a picture of a lime bowl set. The bottom platter is 9" by 9" and the little top platter is 4.5" by 4.5". Check it out on my website at http://talisman.etsy.com. Today is the day that I assemble my Dad's plane and fire it up! Yeah baby!

Have I mentioned that my daughter doesn't sleep and my son-the birthday boy-has a fever now. He is doing "cosmic bowling" this year for his party. Fevers on the day of your party stink!

Note to children: Quit passing around your germs!
Note to Parents: This too shall pass, you can sleep when you're 60

Have a great day, y'all!

New Lime Goodness

2007-07-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Birthdays and Blood

2007-07-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

Hello from the edge of insanity! Really crazy? Nope-just crazy busy!

Today is my son's 9th b-day! Happy B-day Jared! That would account for the "birthday".

My little miss Keelin(14 months old) is having some testing done that involves bloodwork. That's fine excpet they took THIRTEEN vials. How do you get THIRTEEN vials from a baby? Lots of screaming and tears, though I will say that once they found the vein-she is a hard stick- and got the needle in, she was a champ. She was interested in how the shook the vials to mix it with the preservative. Remind me to avoid blood draws for her in the future-

GLASS-I am working on a new line, please tell me what you think. Glass butterfly pendants. I have some done in several colors and the one I am posting a pic of is already sold. I think they are pretty groovy! These are cut out by hand on my ring saw and then fired with frits and rods to get the look. I can do almost any color you need!

Thanks for stopping by-check the link down at the bottom to my etsy store!

2007-07-08T20:10:00.001-07:00

Hello from the land of better sleep!! SOme of you must have been sending some sleep vibes to our little girl because she is sleeping marginally better.........

So, I won't throw myself in front of train and I won't steal Ambien from a pharmacy-I almost feel like a real human again!

Work on my Dad's plane is going at a steady clip-I did the majority of the cutting and grinding on the body of the plane today. That was good. I tried to tell him he wants a lot of detail work. He told me that artists usually have tortured souls and the more difficult a project is, the better for their pained humanity(or something along those lines.......) Thanks, Dad!

After this, I have to get back to some special orders and the limited edition Love series (pictures forthcoming), as well as some of this juciness.... the face down firings! There's a picture of some cypress trees I did in a class. Roger Thomas is my hero!

OK you fabulous people-gotta run!

2007-07-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

WHHHHHHY? Oh the humanity!

My lovely little girl has been on a bender lately. Swilling milk with great disregard for her health? Refusing to have a diaper changed when the surgeon general insists that it's better for her health if she does?

I WISH!

No.........Sleep........til Brooklyn!

I don't know what it is with missy, but let me tell you sleep is not in her vocabulary lately (nor any other word for that matter!).Ugh.

This does not bode well for glass! How can I be uber creative when I am barely functioning? How?

Speaking of uber creative-I am working on a project for a dear man-My Dad. He has commissioned a fused glass replica of a friend's airplane! It's a 15" by 15" project and it's a time eater, for sure! But ohh it will be so gorgeous! Did the test fire on the colors to make sure they fire correctly and don't shift. They don't! They are perfect!

So-to all of you in internet land.......say a collective prayer for sleep!

TIA and I mean it!

Welcome to my Blog

2007-07-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow, Batman! I have a blog! It's titled " How Glass Saved My Life" for a reason. No, I wasn't walking down a street when a big piece of dichroic jumped in front of a stolen SUV barreling down the side walk to save me. That wasn't it-

I found glass during a time in my life where I needed a focus other than infertility and the extreme lengths we were going through to try and get pregnant. Glass became an outlet for the creative side of me that was dormant through the years of shots, surgeries and five failed In Vitro Fertilization attempts. Count 'em.............five.

We got lucky on cycle # 6 and have our little girl who is 14 months old. She has her own medical challenges that tie me up pretty often, but I digress. This is about glass!

I love glass, I adore glass and I will write about glass and my life-

I am interesting and funny, I swear! Ask anyone! It will be a good read!

So the basics-my glass company is Talisman Art Glass and I will link you to my Etsy site. I started Talisman when I needed some luck. And Talisman has been lucky for me-

Thank God