Angelique's Creations Blog

Hey all,

Well, I am back at school again. Just finishing up my last week of this class and starting the next class on Monday. In my spare time (when I actually have spare time) I have been working on my daughter’s computer, checking out my other laptop, and helping my Mom with her beading.

I had tried and tried to fix my daughter’s desktop for a while and could not get it to work. I tried reloading Windows XP, and it would start up and stay on, but everything on the screen was in zoom mode. I tried resetting the screen resolution by going into the display options and changing it, but it wouldn’t let me go above the settings they were on. So after messing with that for about a couple of weeks, I gave up. I put the computer away in the closet and decided it would be easier and more probable to fix my other laptop and let her use it since I couldn’t find the original software for her computer. Then, after I had decided to do that and had taken steps toward it, I found the package with all the paperwork for her computer!!!! So I decided I would give it a go one more time…..I reloaded the software that was in the package and it started working beautifully! I was so happy. Then, after I had already been working away for a few hours, I realized it wasn’t XP on the screen, but Vista……..I grabbed the software and looked at it more closely and it turned out that it wasn’t the software for that particular computer, but for a different laptop. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, so I went ahead and ran the verification and it let it go through. I don’t know why it worked, but it did. So I decided to leave it that way rather than mess up her computer again. Since then, we have not had any issues with her computer. She is not happy that I took her RAM down to 1GB instead of 1 1/2, but it is an old computer and originally only came with 512 mb, so it is more than what it had to begin with. I’m just glad it is working and she is able to browse the web and write her stories with no issues once again.

Her computer was a big pain, but as I mentioned, I had already decided to fix my other laptop before I found the software that I put on hers. At first I thought my laptop was overheating due to the heatsink needing regreasing, but then my Mom suggested that I check the fan. So I did because my Mom is pretty good with computers herself…..well…..between the two of us we can usually figure things out. lol. Anyway, I checked the fan when I got home and found it wouldn’t turn on. So she was right. Well, at the beginning of this month after deciding that my daughter’s computer couldn’t be fixed, I went ahead and ordered the part I needed to fix the computer, paid for it, and had it on its way. That is when I found the other software. However, I look at it this way, things happen for a reason, so maybe my finding the software to repair the desktop after ordering the part was a blessing because this computer needed to be fixed as well. Who knows? Nevertheless, I received the part in the mail last week. So I put in in the laptop and tested it and it worked perfectly. The computer is still getting hot when I run it, but I will get some heatsink grease when I go into town this weekend and get it running properly.

So that’s that. All the computers in the house are running smoothly again.

In the rest of my spare time, when I haven’t been trying to sleep off allergy problems, I have been helping my Mom bead her designs. I was working on one that has a flower and butterfly, but one of the colors was wrong, so she had to reorder the color so I can finish it. She also gave me a princess pattern for a dog collar and I am going to work on that one as well as soon as this week is finished probably….or maybe not….I looked at my study load for the next class and it is crazy busy. But I will take time out every day, at least a bit, to help work on her beadwork. I like beading, I really do, just like I like working on my embroidery, however, my school keeps me amazingly busy and it is hard to find time to work on other projects.

The good news is that my spare time will pick up when I finish my Bachelor’s degree in the last half of the winter quarter. YAY!!! Three more classes once I finish this week and I will have earned my degree. Of course, I won’t receive it until I pay off this year, which should be in July, but I am still happy I will have finished the actual classes for it. Then the plan is to start my Master’s program in the fall quarter. I am looking forward to it and I really enjoy learning about psychology.

Well, I think I have actually used up my spare time for today, so I will talk to everyone later.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Hey All,

Been working on getting started on my writing stuff lately. My Mom finally talked me into getting onto Squidoo, Redgage, and Wizzley. They are sites that let you write, post pictures, add links, etc. and get paid for it. They don’t pay much, only so many cents for each unique view and sometimes other special monetary prizes, but any little bit helps.

I have yet to write or post anything, but I have been doing research trying to get an idea of where to start. I have to admit though, it is a bit intimidating at first. I look at the blogs and lenses that others make and I feel as though I know nothing about what I am supposed to do. My Mom says that once you get the first one done and get used to everything it is not as overwhelming. Her page is really good. So, I will take her word for it. I have been researching things I might want to write about and looking through my photos to see what I would like to post. I have to set up my watermarks and all before I put the pictures up, but other than that, I shouldn’t have to do much. But I am getting there.

So far, I have one post already written and my Mom says that she will help me set it up. Maybe soon I will be able to say I have something for you to read!

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Hey all,

I finally get a chance to relax a bit today…..sorta.

These past several days have been busy, busy. On Friday, I went into town with my Mom and did the shopping and all for the month, then that night I took the kids into San Antonio to visit our family over there (a two hour drive from Freer). We didn’t get there until almost 11:30pm. While we were there, we visited my Grandma and Aunt on Saturday; and on Sunday, we went out for breakfast, did some shopping, and then visited Tom (the kids father) for a couple of hours before going back, packing up and heading back to Freer…..I get exhausted just thinking about it.

That night we went straight home, around midnight, and went to bed. On Monday the rushing began all over again. We got up around 8:00 and ate before we headed into Alice for Tommy’s monthly appointment at 10:00am. Everything went well and we got his prescriptions. After that, we went to Wal-mart (of course) and got my prescription that was waiting for me and some Melatonin (sleep aid) for Anna (as per the doc’s orders…he said to start with the 1mg pills, but we couldn’t find them because they were always sold out, but we found them this time…YAY!!!). We also found the wonton wraps….FINALLY….We had been looking for them for over a month already and couldn’t find them anywhere either. Then, during this visit, my Aunt told me that she had seen them in the veggie section over at H.E.B. So, we decided to check at Wal-mart to see if they might be in that section there as well….And they were!!!!

It seems funny to get so excited about something so small, but I wanted to experiment making homemade raviolis and we really coulda used the wonton wraps for that. So now we know where to find them. lol. (Needless to say, we made the raviolis ASAP and they were good, but I found that I needed to boil them just a bit longer…but that info is for another post)

After a trip to H.E.B. to buy tortillas and fruit in the bottom yogurts (which, by the way, the H.E.B. brand is the only one we like) we headed home and then to my Mom’s house to pick up the dogs and do some chores.

While there, I tried to fix my Dad’s internet on his computer with yet another wifi adapter (this was the fourth by then) that I had bought. This one wouldn’t work either. It was getting very frustrating trying to fix it because the computer just kept saying that it was a hardware or driver problem, but the device manager said the driver was up to date and we had a brand new adapter!!!!!

grrrr!!!

So, as a last ditch effort, my Mom and I decided to do a clean install of the Windows Vista software and take the computer back to factory settings. Good thing is that Dad didn’t have much on the computer that needed to be saved, so it all went pretty quickly. After that, we went home and had the before-mentioned raviolis.

Took us about an hour or so, but it was worth it. Then, soon after eating, I took the old wifi adapter that we had at our house and went back to Mom’s to give it a try……Turns out that the wifi adapter was never the problem. Once Vista was reloaded it worked beautifully. So we figure it was probably an update issue because we had run all the virus and malware scans on the computer and never could find anything. So this time, while we are running the updates, I am going to go little by little and make sure that if it is an update issue I can make sure to single out which update caused the problem. But for now, it is fixed and working properly again……Sigh…….I can breathe again. lol.

After fixing Dad’s computer, I came home and began cleaning because the Housing people were coming to do an inspection on our house the next day. Not that the house wasn’t clean already, but there were a few things that needed to be done before the inspection like moving a few boxes and doing a little dusting, sweeping, and mopping just to spruce up the house. Not to mention it was the day we clean the fish tanks and the turtle tank as well. So we stayed up late to get most of it done, and then I got up early the next morning to finish up the mopping and dusting while Tommy put the dishes away. It all worked out fine though, because everything was finished before the deadline (10:00am) and we were already relaxed and eating before the people came by.

Then, after relaxing a bit, we were on our way to Mom’s house again for chores and updating Dad’s computer. Unfortunately, when a clean install is done with Vista, there are a ton of updates that are required, so I’m thinking it might take a while for everything to get finished. lol. However, at least he can go on the internet now without worry.

Unfortunately, Anna’s computer decided that it did not want to go past the Dell screen around the same time Dad’s computer quit working. So, I have been trying to get it working again as well. I have figured out that it is not the detachable hardware parts that are broken and it is not the hard drive itself, so it is either the motherboard or a software issue. Either way, I have tried putting her drive in a different computer and it works on my son’s but it did not want to work in the replacement computer. So, I am going to try and do a clean install on hers too to see if that will work. If not, I am going to have to make the kids share a computer until I can get her another one. Then I also have to mess with my other laptop and see if I can fix it as well. That one has been turning off on me before an hour, so I figure it is either an over-heating problem or a software conflict as well. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

They all seem to be going down at the same time. I’m just lucky that I have others we can use in the meantime while I try and fix them……sigh……as is my life as the family techie.

Anyway, that is why I say I can take a “sorta” breather. There is still so much to do, but not as much as before. Okay, well, I am off to Mom’s house in a bit to do more updating then I will come home and work on the computers here after we eat dinner (which tonight will be chicken teriyaki with white rice…..mmmmm)

Hope everyone is happy and healthy! and see you again soon.

Hey everyone,

Sorry, it’s been a while since I have been on here. I transferred to an online school, Walden University, a couple of years ago and it’s crazy busy with six week courses.  So, while I am in school I focus on school, then when I am out of school my brain and body seem to shut down for a while. But, I only have four more classes and I will graduate with my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. YAY!

As for my grand-puppy, we decided to keep her. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of her…..I’m such a sucker for a cute face. So I renamed her Peanut (because when she curled up to go to sleep she tucked her head and legs in and looked like a peanut) and she is now two years and a half years old and soooooo cute!

Here are a couple of recent pictures of her:

In other news, I have been working on my photography to put online for sale as well as to put on items. This is difficult for me though, because I have a tendency to be very critical of my own work. It is hard to decide which pictures are good enough when you don’t think that many are good to begin with. But I’ve been trying to get a better attitude about that.

Also, my Mom has gotten me interested in writing online. I have always loved researching and writing about different subjects. It allows me to learn about all sorts of stuff. So I have been looking into PLR (private label rights) and blogging on different websites, as well as possibly publishing my work on amazon and other venues. You never know what will and won’t work for you, right?

As for the kids, Tommy is still having some problems, but nothing we can’t handle. The doctors diagnosed him with autism this year, but we already kind of figured that due to his behaviors. But thanks to us living in a small town, he is able to attend public school and is also being integrated into the regular classes little by little. I am very happy about that. He will start tenth grade this year and in a few years he will be able to graduate with his high school diploma!

Anna’s epilepsy has stabilized due to her medication, and although she still has chronic pain (mostly in her back, legs, and hands), she is trying to do all she can without taking pain relievers.

So, all in all, aside from the normal teenager attitude issues (which lead me to pull my hair out–like most parents), they are both doing great!

Till next time, I hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Now that I have started making jewelry, I have been trying to make as many as I can. I made ten bracelets total in December, but as I mentioned in the last blog, one of my aunts bought five of them and the other four were given as gifts for Christmas. So at the end of December I was left with one. An alexanderite bead set. I don’t have a good picture of that one yet, still trying to figure out what color background is best so that the alexanderite beads will show up as their true color in the picture. When I figure it out, I will let you know. But for now, here are a few pictures of some of the ones that sold:

This first one is 6mm black cube beads with (I think) 3mm hematite cubes and 2mm crimper beads in between to give it a little bit of silver shine to match the clasp and chain. I found I like to work with spacers, crimper beads, and head pins when making these sets. I prefer not to do necklaces because they are too long, but eventually when we put my stuff on etsy or other sites, I will make them as special order if we have the beads available. My Mom is helping put my site together. I don’t think I could do any of this without her; she really is a huge help.

 This second set is made with 6mm hematite beads and metal tube spacers with 3mm round spacer beads in between each. So far, I have stuck with metal spacers because I like the way they look in the jewelry. My Mom keeps trying to get me to branch out into other avenues, but since I have just begun making jewelry, and I can only work in my spare time between school, kids, and studying, I haven’t felt up to experimenting. Maybe during the summer when I have more time I will give it a try.

This is the last good picture I have so far. I was supposed to take pictures this weekend of the three bracelets that have homes with my Grandma and Aunt in San Antonio, but I forgot my camera at home in Freer….I remembered the charger for the batteries, but it doesn’t do a whole heck of a lot of good without the batteries or the camera they are in.   Ah, well, I will get the pics next time I am in town (Tuesday), and maybe I will even remember the camera.

We can hope anyway. Now, where was I? Oh yes, the last bracelet. This one was made with 4mm fire polished violet AB beads with 2mm crimper beads in between. I like the purple color, and it shines so pretty. The only problem with this one is that if you look really close, I didn’t loosen it enough. The bracelet is a little too tight and zig-zaggy. That’s the best way to describe it. I have started pulling the bracelets after they are knotted so that they aren’t so tight anymore. It pulls the knots further into the other beads and gets rid of that not-so-pretty zig-zag look. As for this bracelet, I guess it slipped through my web of inexperience. It’s okay though. I’m learning as I go. I think that’s the best way.

Aside from the ten bracelets in December I have since made three others, but my Grandma bought one of those already, so I am down to three now. If I can ever get enough bracelet sets made, I will put them for sale online. They have been selling before I even have a chance to get pictures, but I am not complaining by any means, I am very happy I have sold as many as I did. I honestly didn’t think anyone would want them. So I am thrilled that everyone likes them so far. I just hope they keep liking them and continue to buy them. Once school is over I will really be able to put some time into this. So I’ll be asking for you to wish me luck when that time comes. (*fingers crossed*) 

Hope everyone is healthy and happy!