Beads, Words and Cabana Boys - What's Not to Like?

I'm flying by the seat of my pants on my challenge beading project, but I'm also recognizing that many years of working within this media (and a fair amount of basic luck) are allowing the pieces to fall together beautifully at this stage. I'm joining three independently made beaded cords together into a larger one. Each cord uses a different stitch, the third one a stitch of my own device, and somehow, with some miracle, they actually are lining up and are easy to join together. I'm breathing a serious sigh of relief here. My clock is ticking and I haven't even started the much more difficult and challenging dimensional sculptural piece that will be added to these cords.

I love working with small seed beads. This lovely little beaded
hummingbird would be fun to make and not very time consuming. 

Every night I'm getting home from work and pulling out my beadwork. I won't be doing that tonight because the Face Off Finale will be tonight, so I won't get anything beaded. But as I mentioned above, the deadline is breathing down my neck. I might bring my work to the shop with me today and push for a couple of hours of work before I start the day.

I wear CraftOptics magnifiers when I bead. I call them my alien eyes. I blame the
purchase directly on my friend Lisa Pavelka (left) who caught my arm at the Bead & Button
show two years ago and told me that I had to get myself a pair because she loved hers
so much. When I found that they work on top of your personal prescription lenses, I was
sold. My health insurance paid for them and I was seeing the beads again. I treated myself
to the "Dream Beam" light last year. It attaches to the bridge and shines directly
on the beadwork. Heaven! However, I lay all blame totally at Lisa's feet. Thanks Lisa! 

Also, NaNo starts on Saturday and I'm going to be diving into my daily word count with a vengeance since I know my time will be pulled in so many directions. So here's the deal with my NaNo schedule...

NaNo is the only time I allow word count to take over my life. In order
to write 50,000 words on my schedule in less than a month, I have
to be very conscious of my word count. I have learned, however, some
very basic rules: (1) DON"T EDIT and (2) JUST WRITE. Revisions, polishing,
etc all come later. It actually works, and I'm always amazed at
what I've written when I look it over in December. 

As in previous years, my word count comes first. I'll be putting on my headphones and working on my novel as soon as I get up in the morning. That will leave my blog for second and catching up on my emails (with the exception of product orders that HAVE to come first) after that. There will probably be some days when I either don't have a blog post or only have a single picture and a quick sentence. Other days will fall into place beautifully. I've walked this road before and I know how I have to make it work, but rest assured, I'll be trying my very best to have something up on my blog every day, even it if is minimal.

I'll be chasing goals all November and trying to get a lot done. Blog posts, although
important, have to come third on my morning list. I'll still be posting, though.
Don't give up on me. 

Other things will be pushed aside, however. But ... this beadwork challenge comes due in early November and can't be pushed at all. So, I have to get as much of this completed by Saturday as I possibly can. I need more hours in my days!

Cabana boy, drinks with tropical fruits and small umbrellas, a beach...
maybe I could write there instead on here where I need to rake leaves and
winterize my home? 

That said, I hope everyone reading has a great Tuesday. Know of a nice beach where I can hide out for a year? Or two? Or many - LOL? Cabana boys and tropical drinks are mandatory...