For the first time in a very long time, I have the best excuse in the world, y’all.

I have not posted in over a week because I have had a long string of very good, very busy days.

That’s not to say there haven’t been headaches, backaches, hip pain and various and sundry other indignities. Y’all know this girl could come up with complaints even in Nathan Fillion‘s bed.

Ok, maybe not there, but that’s as close as I can imagine to heaven. Oh, Captain, my Captain, indeed.

But they’ve been small moments; they have not defined my life.

Any of you with chronic pain or another overwhelming worry know: this is what you pray for, a way to take ‘what’s wrong’ and make it little, insignificant, a minor irritant, not a major force that flavors every decision and every step.

I made dinner for eight, while friends worker-bee-ed themselves a beeeautiful new office for me, complete with my own personal logo on the wall and cherry red doorknobs, to go with my new Russian Spy look.

Just call me Natasha.

I interviewed for a (maybe) new job where I could play with Robbie all day, became a lady who lunches with the lovely Ms. Jana and lost, dismally, at trivia with my bestie Kazz. But damn it, we’ll win next week.

And we will. I will.

God, that’s good.

Howdy, y’all! It’s Mer’s intern, taking over for Mer, who has gotten increasingly whiny. Seriously. Someone needs to buy her some of the things she’s blabbering on about for More For Mer!* if only to shut her up.

Just kidding, all her whinging is endearing.

Not really.

Anyways.

Speaking of More For Mer!*, she has tasked me with writing tonight’s producty-reviewy-promoty-thingy. This time, it’s for a company know as Epheriell Designs. This is what she has to say about herself, with sidenotes by me in bold.

Hi all, I’m Jess, and I hail from the countryside about an hour north of Brisbane(Australia – the backwards cousin of the backwards cousin of America). My husband Nick and I are currently living with my parents while we subdivide their acreage – then we’ll be building our own home here, too! We love living in the country, it’s so quiet, with birds and animals all around. We’ll often take our cat for a walk around the property of an afternoon (no, not on a leash – he’s just very much a people-cat and will follow you around everywhere when he’s awake!).

Once upon a time I was going to be a research scientist. Then I was a teacher. Now? I run my business full-time, making jewellery, blogging, and launching a new Aussie zine called *bespoke*, all about handmade, vintage, photography, art, micro-business, eco-friendly goodness and much more – all in a sweet little A5 sized package that you can take anywhere(…wow. That actually sounds really cool)! I also build the odd website for fellow crafters. In short, I’m amazingly busy, all the time, and love, love, love it!

Until September 2008, I didn’t think of myself as a creative person at all! I was a scientist, a teacher – a logical, rational person… and I never felt totally fulfilled(I was going to write something controversial, but I figured that saying “BEARS” would be good enough. BEARS.).

Then, I went to Fiji. My boyfriend (now husband) Nick and I met a lovely fellow Aussie family. We became friends, and the day we left, the mother of the family gave me a novel to read – she’d read it, and decided to pass it on. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was a story about a woman who owned a yarn store in New York. When I finished that book, I decided to try knitting… and that’s where it all began(I should have read this beforehand. She seems awesome! I want to knit. I want that to be where it all began.)!

I discovered that I LOVED creating, making, working with my hands. The previously empty part of my ‘self’ was filled, and I finally became a whole person. I went from knitting to crochet to beads to resin to metal… and fell in love with metalworking(I know what she’s talking about, but it just seems like she should be making swords.). The Epheriell style as it exists now really started to come into being in mid-2009.

I love twitter, and it’s the best marketing tool out there! I have made so many friends (and sales) through twitter, and there is no way I could have launched *bespoke* so successfully if it wasn’t for the power of twitter and the connections I’ve made. It even landed me a radio interview (http://epherielldesigns.com/hello-radio )! (I have put 3 links to her Twitter – @jessvanden – in this post. Because Twitter is fun. And you guys might know that. So follow her. I guess?)

Info about Epheriell

I make sleek, contemporary jewellery using predominately recycled sterling silver – silver that is sourced from industrial processes and refined again to make eco-friendly metal! I love that I can use recycled materials in my designs. My work is modern yet fun – I want my jewellery to become people’s ‘go-to’ jewellery – something you love to wear every day, not just put away for a special occasion. I’ve had many people tell me that their pair of Urban Eco earrings have become the pair they wear every day, which is fantastic! (http://epheriell.com)

So that was barely altered. Anyways. I have no experience picking jewelery at all. Dangly bits for me are just zombie bait. So I had Mer choose her 3 favourite pieces of jewelery from Epheriell Designs. These are they.

So there. And turns out I do appreciate some jewelery. Here is my favourite.

Click on the pictures to be taken to their entries in Epheriell Design’s shop. Tech wizardry right there.

And to end this post, everyone got a lil’ crazy. Here are some questions Jessica answered for us here at Oh, THAT Meredith.

Oh, THAT Meredith: Is it too late to ‘pologize?

Jess Van Den: Never, but that’s not something I’m very good at!

OTM: Is this the real life?

JVD: Or is this just fantasy?

OTM: Favorite superpower?

JVD: Flight, totally! How cool would it be to soar up above it all…

OTM: What is your opinion on Nathan Fillion?

JVD: *fans self…*

On that last one, I can’t blame her.

Until next time.

Hello, all you happy peppy people of Mer’s readership! It’s me, Mer’s intern. I’m back… don’t be mad. I’m entertaining too. I’m from Canada, it’s a given.

As you probably know, Mer has been covered in headaches for almost a full month now. As of the last week, she’s also been doped out of her skull on painkillers. And while you might be congratulating her, NO. Don’t. It, from what I can tell through her barely concious rambles, sucks harder than a vacuum cleaner attached to a black hole. She is not enjoying it. But I’m not ashamed to say that I am.

First of all, this cocktail of narcotics has reduced Mer’s long-term memory to zero. This has given me psychic powers, pertaining to Gatorade flavours(orange, in case you wanted to send her some), topics of future blogs, and her reccomended dosage. I am like unto a god to doped-up Mer, what with the mind-reading and the future-knowing.

Second of all, her voice goes up by at least an octave, and she loses the ability to type words. As we know from countless televisions shows and, in some cases, our drunken uncles (drunkles?), incoherence is funny. So that’s #2.

Anyways, Mer and I were talking. Actually, I can show you exactly what slightly-doped-up-Mer looks like. Here:

Confession: I wrote this months ago but never published it. In my pain + lortab + wine – pants equation, however, it really fits the bill tonight. Enjoy.

It’s a strange place to be, where I am right now. In my head, of course. This chair is quite nice and quite familiar.

It’s as though my funny and irreverent self is sitting on the couch, watching beloved NCIS reruns and stuffing her face with delicious salty goodness.

I’m sitting here watching her, giggling a bit in my heart, but I don’t join in, because this mood – this sweet, sentimental, sappily alliterative mood – is simply too delightful to leave.

I have too much to do today: work and obligations I needed to do yesterday and the day before but was unable to do for frustratingly mundane reasons. I anticipated a panic attack, a hormonal freakout, a desperate desire for sedatives.

Don’t worry; there’s always time for that later.

But I can’t bear to let this go just yet.

Goodness, it’s silly. This warmth I feel from tips of my paint-chipped toenails to the muscles in my cheeks that I just now realize are achy from smiles. I awoke with a smile in my eyebrows, on my lips, in the hollow of my neck, far more easily than my usual bout of grumbles and stumbles and crusty eyelashes.

I could blame one of my very favorite writers for sucking me in with her words this morning and then encouraging me to wallow, responsibility-free.

I take direction well.

I could also blame the very decorative man I dreamt about last night in wonderfully graphic detail.

It was a good dream.

Or the four-legged beasts who all wanted to love on me at the same time first thing this morning, all 150 pounds of combined snuggin’.

I do love a good snugg.

But really, I think it’s your fault. Yes, you.

Yeah, I know, I’m writing again for me; it’s what I’ve always loved; I’m finally back here; and every other touchy-feely phrase that fits. And many fit.

But you know, I’m writing to be read, to be heard, to create this wonderful community I’m madly in love with. Grammar be damned.

And you read. And you hear. And I’m reduced to this sloppy, gooey mess of OMFG INTERNET LOVE.

Even if I haven’t published this yet. You will. YOU WILL, DAMN IT.

And that? Is grand.