Bloody Jack Continues

Many of you know that I am completely obsessed with Louis A. Meyer's (aka L.A. Meyer) "Bloody Jack" series. I am very excited to report that the ninth book in the series, "The Mark of the Golden Dragon" is coming out this October! I'm curious as to whether this will be that last installment of the series or not. Every time a new book comes out I think, "Okay this is it!" and it never is. I've said that for the last 3 books and now this one. On one hand, I have been waiting years for it to end and for Jacky to finally be with Jaimy once and for all and for everything to get wrapped up. On the other hand, I love these books to pieces and don't want the story to ever end. The author is not very young and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about him dying before he finishes the story. I would be devastated if that happened. I've already preordered the book on Amazon, hey I said I was obsessed, and I cannot wait to read it!

I PASSED!!!

I went online today on the off chance that my test results might be up. Not only were they up, but I passed! I am now officially a certified coder. This is what I have been working toward for almost two years! I am so excited! Now, the job hunt begins. I hope I find a job soon because I cannot wait to get started!

Mini Cherry Purse

I'm starting to work on purses and bags for my Scarlet Harpy shop on Etsy. If you're familiar with many girls' clothing lines you know that a lot of them use girl names to separate styles. For example, Maurice's uses different girls' names for the different styles of jeans they have and you can get each style in different washes (ex. the Molly in a dark wash or a light wash). So, I've decided to implement the same type of system for the different bags on my website. To add a twist and to go along with the theme of my shop I'm going to use girl names from bands I like, names mentioned in songs from bands I like, horror movies, pin up girls, famous actresses, etc. A couple examples would be Patricia, is the lead singer from the band The Horrorpops, Darcy, is mentioned in the Dropkick Murphys' song "The Dirty Glass", Lily is the name of the mom on the show The Munsters, etc. I know that not many people will get a lot of the references and to them it will just be like every other clothing line that uses this format, but to the crowd that gets the reference I think they will really dig it. The first one (prototype) that I've made is the Kamilla. (For those of you who don't recognize the name I named it after Kamilla Vanilla who was one of the dancers for the Horrorpops and she is married to Geoff Kresge, the bass player from Tiger Army.)

The Kamila Cherry Bag

This is the front, it's hard to see in the picture but there are two small pockets on either side that the handles come out of.

The lining and the inside of the pockets are black with white polka dots.

I haven't decided yet but this print will either be the "Very Cherry" or the "Cherry Bomb".

Finished With My Coding Test

I just got home from taking my Coding Certification test. I think it went well. It only took me 4 hours and 20 minutes to finish the test. (They give you 5 hours and 40 minutes). I was a little upset when I first got there and they informed us that because of the conference going on downstairs, we had to remain upstairs the whole. My plan was to just buying a soda from the vending machine downstairs so I didn't bring a drink with me. Also, our teacher told us when she took her test she brought her iPod to help stay focused. So, I spent some time and made a great playlist of all my favorite music to help me get through the test. Apparently they've changed the rules within the last few months because today we were not allowed to have our iPods.
I'm so glad to finally be done with it. I hope I pass this time because I really really do not want to have to take this test again. The results will come in the mail within the next two weeks. I'll be sure to post my results.

Coding Boot Camp

I made it out alive. Two days of sitting in a hotel conference room from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm studying coding. I feel a lot more comfortable with the format of the certification test, that's for sure.
We went through all the different sections that will be on the certification test ex. anatomy, medical terminology, radiology, anesthesia, medicine, pathology/lab, digestion, modifiers, etc, etc. I know, it's a lot. For the most part I did really well on the practice questions during boot camp. I hope that is a sign of how I might do on the test. However, there were three or four sections that I bombed in class, hopefully a quick review tonight will be able to adequately prepare for those sections on the test.
I have to be at the school tomorrow morning at 9:30 am for the "book check". We are only allowed our 3 Coding books: CPT, ICD-9, and HCPCS. No text book, no medical dictionary, nothing. And, they go through the books to make sure there is nothing inside. Every note has to physically be written in the "notes" section of a coding book. Post-its? No way! Bookmarks? Not a chance! (Perhaps they called it "boot camp" for a reason.) The exam itself starts at 10:00 and we get 5 hours and 40 minutes to complete 150 multiple choice questions. Seems like a lot right? If you break it down that only gives you 2 minutes per question. Ouch.
I have to get at least a 70% in all 3 sections in order to pass and get certified. If I don't pass, I get one more try before I have to pay the $300 fee again. Wish me luck!

Nick 13's Solo Album

Nick 13, the lead singer from my favorite band Tiger Army has recently finished his much anticipated solo album. Today I preordered the album online and I cannot wait to listen to it! When I preordered the album they included a free download of one of the songs titled "All Alone". After all these years his voice still gives me chills.
Allow me to elaborate how much I love this artist. I went to my first concert when I was 13; the lineup was F Minus, Tiger Army and Rancid. That was the first time I saw Tiger Army. Since then I have seen them 8 more times. Yes, 8. The most I have seen any other band is twice. The first band tee I ever bought was a Tiger Army one. I have driven 16 hours road trip just to see Tiger Army. As you can, I am very VERY excited to get this CD!

My First Custom Order Is Complete

This lady, Claudine, found me on Etsy a few months ago and requested a custom rag quilt made out of baby clothes that she had saved from when her daughter was little. I told her I had tons of leftover flannel squares from other quilts I had made and could use those to supplement the baby clothes. It was so fun for me to be able to put my own creativity into the project. I was able to match up almost all the baby clothes she sent me and out of 24 blocks (9 x9) only four of them didn't have any baby clothes. (I didn't have to buy any extra fabric for the front side of the quilt.)
To keep the combinations from getting mixed up I stacked them in a box with a piece of copy paper between them and any notes if I needed them. (Like a drawing showing how many squares I needed of each pattern. It was a life saver!).
I asked her a couple times if there was anything specific she wanted for the back of the quilt and every time the only definite thing she wanted was pastel colors. When I went to Joann's I found several patterns that featured one pastel. Green with white polka dots, white with pink flowers but I just wasn't sold on any of them. I just kept thinking it was way too much of whatever color it was. On my way up to the cutting counter I found a flannel with a floral pattern with green, blue, pink and off white! It was kind of a risk but I was super pleased when she emailed me back saying they loved it!
After I got all the squares into blocks I worked on the layout. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, thank goodness. I notice things that a lot of people wouldn't so I thought it would be challenge. (For example, I have to blocks that are safari theme, they can't be together. Vertical stripes and horizontal stripes can't be together. The only two red blocks in the quilt, can't be together.)
I put the finished product on Etsy last night and the client emailed me to say she loves it and can't wait to see it in person. I will be mailing it to her tomorrow and I hope it's everything she wanted. She also said she would give my name to some friends who are looking for something similar!

Here is the finished product!

I got a job!

I didn't want to say anything until I had gotten the job because I didn't want to jinx it. I applied for a job at the Shopko Optical center here in Helena. I know a few of the opticians that work there and one of them, Melissa, told me about a position opening up. At first I wasn't really interested but when Home Depot continued to cut my hours I decided to at least apply. I didn't think the cut hours would be an ongoing thing but so far it has been. Unlike some other jobs I've looked into around town this one actually starts out at a pretty decent wage which is another selling point for me.
I was nervous for the interview because I haven't had to do one in so long. I felt like it had gone well and it seemed like the manager had responded well to my answers; so I was feeling pretty good about my chances. She liked the fact that I had taken some medical based classes in school such as Medical Terminology. Then I found out it was only between me and one other applicant so I was feeling even more confident.
I was so excited when I got the call saying I got the job Matt and I jumped and danced around the kitchen for a while singing, "I got a job! J-O-B!" The manager is still trying to work out a time with the main store for me to do my orientation and then I can start training!

Mother's Day Present

After I finished my photo star for our apartment I got the idea to make one for my mom with pictures of all her grandkids on it. I managed to get at least one picture of every grandchild. I wished I could have had two of each but 6 grandkids and 10 sides of the star doesn't really work out. I picked out the supplies weeks ago and got the pictures from the printer but just didn't have time to put it together. When I found out she was coming to visit at the end of April I really wanted to get it done so she could take it home with her and I wouldn't have to mail it. (The tin star is pretty big and awkward).
It was so funny. When she came over to see my new apartment she kept staring at the star I have in my living room and dropping hints. "Oh it's just so cute" and "That would make a great gift" and "maybe I'll have to go to Ben Franklin and pick one up." I tried so hard not to laugh since I already had the stuff for hers stashed in the next room.
I had SO much going on in April I didn't even get it started until the day before she left to go back home. Somehow, someway I was able to get it all done for her! Then we had to try to wrap it which was an adventure all it's own. We did end up finding a bag that was just barely big enough and we had to go with it even though it was a baby shower gift bag. Oh well! She was so excited when she opened it that it made all the work worth it. I can't wait to see it in her house the next time we go visit her.


This is what the finished product looks like. (I had to take a picture of it outside my car before we wrapped it on our way to dinner.)