SoftFlex samples, etc.

Some days, it’s great to get the mail! Today is one of those great mail days. Not only did I not get any bills, but I got my free SoftFlex samples and my new coffee pod machine.

A week or so ago, I posted about how to get free samples of the various kinds of SoftFlex. That was the day that I ordered my own free samples. Well, good old SoftFlex company, they didn’t waste any time sending them out. I know that in the past when I’ve ordered samples, catalogs, etc. it could take a month or more for them to show up…sometimes I forget that I even ordered them until they actually arrive. Not so with the SoftFlex samples! They sent bracelet-sized samples of seven different kinds of their beading wire with a lot of information about when to use each for the best results.  Good Stuff!

Be sure to go order yours here!

And to top it all off, I got the coffee pod maker that I ordered. It’s mango colored (matches my kitchen) and makes a mean cup of java! In fact, as I write, I’m wired for sound. You can check out the one that I ordered here.

I hope all of you have an equally great day for the mail!

Technorati tags: jewelry design, jewelry, beading

Need some inspiration?

Lapidary Journal has announced their winners of their 2006 Bead Arts Awards and their 2006 Jewelry Arts Awards. The winners are so cool and should provide some great inspiration for the rest of us.

Be sure to check out the rules for entering your items in the 2007 contests here.

Technorati tags: jewelry design, jewelry, metal clay, beading

Language learning at an early age

I just ran across a great blog for moms with new babies, called Rookie Moms. Just so no one gets the wrong idea, I have no announcements to make.  😉  However, since the site has ideas for activities that moms and babies can do in the first year of life, I browsed a bit. After all, my daughter has a three-month-old and a nearly-three-year-old. It never hurts to find new ideas that could help her out.

 One of the entries suggests that one play a radio station for the baby in a language different than is spoken in the home. I thought this was a wonderful idea because children learn so languages so easily at such a young age.

I also felt good about something I did when I was visiting my daughter and her family earlier this month. My oldest granddaughter, Gracie, and I woke up before anyone else one day and Gracie asked to watch cartoons. Since I don’t know the channel line-up for the Dallas area, I started flipping through the channels. When we came to a Spanish-language cartoon, Gracie was intrigued. Of course, we stopped there and began to watch the show together. My thinking was that as long as it has her interest, there’s nothing wrong with letting her enjoy it…and maybe even learn a few Spanish words in the process.

Now, I can’t claim that Gracie is now a bi-lingual child, or that she will even remember the day we watched the cartoon in Spanish, but I do feel that exposing her to another language is never a bad thing. If done now and then, it might even lead her to be more comfortable with learning to speak another language one of these days. Who knows?

This was just one of the fun suggestions that the two new moms make on their blog. I suggest that anyone with a new baby could find a couple of suggestions to help them out. Check it out.