The Shire Medal Will Be Fantastic, Clothing Shopping and Etsy Stage 2 Once Again

The Conqueror Challenge is really pulling the Lord of the Rings quest out - but it's going to be magnificent. Yesterday they released the first views of The Shire portion of the Quest. The quests must be performed in order:  to get to Stage 2, Stage 1 must be completed. The Shire quest is 145 miles. The next stage will be announced at 9:00 am CDT today. Here's a photo of the front of The Shire medal. Looking at the progress screen on the right, I assume that the end of Stage 1 is Bree. 

I know most of you aren't familiar with the Conqueror 
Challenge, but the medals are beautifully designed. 
They are heavy, solid, and perfect for each quest. The 
medal for the Shire has a map of Middle Earth on 
the strap, The front is Bag End, and the back is 
the fireplace mantle with the envelope Bilbo left
for Frodo, containing the Ring. And sure enough,
it actually contains a ring! Too kewl!!! 

The back, which unfortunately I can't grab a photo of, has a flip-open envelope labelled "Keep it secret, keep it safe". Inside the envelope is a removable golden ring which, they say, will be needed for the Mordor segment of the Challenge. So exciting! I'm thrilled already. This will be the Conqueror Challenge to beat all challenges, and I can hardly wait! I'm SO grateful that it wasn't an April Fool's Day joke. This challenge will be HUGE! 

I'm spoiled and I fully admit it. My favorite Target is 
right next door to my YMCA, approximately three 
miles north of my home. It's a large store, and has 
practically anything I need. But, if I can't find something 
here, I have a second Target approximately three 
miles south of my home, which is the first Target 
store ever built. It's a bit smaller, but still very 
nice. I shop at Target a lot, although I don't like 
their produce very much. I stick to my local 
grocer and my co-op (and occasionally Whole 
Foods) for my fruits and veggies. 

I took time out early in the morning and went to Target. We needed some basics - Kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels, and a few other things. While there, I thought I'd take a second look at pants - the size 4's I purchased a week or so ago, fit well, but they're a bit large. I thought "I'm going to try on a few size 2 pairs of pants and see if they fit". And they actually did! I was totally shocked. I'm wearing a set of size 2 jeans today, and I bought two sets of light-weight pants for the summer. They'll be perfect for the State Fair, on those muggy, 80-90 degree days that we can sometimes get in the summer months. I also bought three tops - small and extra small. They fit me really well, and it'll be nice to have clothes that actually fit properly, just for a change of pace. 

Of course, I'm also well aware that sizes on 
clothing actually mean nothing. Marilyn Monroe 
would fit clothing between sizes 2 and 12 
today, and so would I. I'm actually 
operating on the assumption that if it is 
comfortable and fits well, it's a great size 
for me. So, I now have several sets 
of pants that are labelled Size 2. I very 
much doubt I've shrunk quite that much, 
but it is a boost to the ego. 

I settled down and wrote the first draft of the current weekly challenge story. This week's theme is "Kuchisabishii". Where G comes up with these themes is a mystery to me, but I think I came up with something that will work. It needs serious editing, but the premise is strong. I also settled down at the laptop and did several hours of work, getting the 8mm Swarovski crystal cubes onto my Etsy page. I want to proofread through once more and double-check my pricing before going live with them, but I'm pretty happy with what I accomplished. Now to start work on the 6mm and 4mm cubes. Maybe I can do some photographs next week. 

I have a lot of 8mm Swarovski crystal cubes. Although 
I have to refer to them as Austrian Crystal (Swarovski 
doesn't allow their name used for their old product lines 
any more), they are lovely and I want to sell them. I'm 
hoping to nail the pricing and have them up on my Etsy 
page within the week. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with joy and love and some laughs, and I'll be back on Monday to tell you about Stage 2 of the LOTR Conqueror Challenge. Be good (but not TOO good).