I Think I Just Saw Timothy Leary

Todd and I went to see Men Who Stare At Goats tonight, and it was absolutely hilarious. It is a tad unsettling, because you know some of the craziness depicted is true. One example: testing LSD on soldiers.

The only negative thing I can say about it is it had a good bit of foul language.

It's not getting very good reviews, but I think people are morons. It's got a wonderful cast, and it's just downright funny in that bluntly honest sort of way.

Love it.

Best line ever given by an overly trippy Jeff Bridges: "I think I just saw Timothy Leary..." I almost died laughing.

Go see it.

All Things Yellow

I'm currently on a mission to redeem things that I loathe for no apparent reason. It's all part of my "Save Your Negativity For A Deserving Cause" campaign. I started it yesterday. ^_^ If I can't specify why I hate something, I'm going to make a list of reasons to like it.

Today I shall be redeeming the color Yellow. It's always made me gag a little, but I don't know why.

So, without further adieu...6 reasons (can't think of 10) to like, or things that I like that are the color yellow:

1. Rubber Ducks

2. A lot of baby ducks/chicks

3. Some cheeses

4. Fire

5. Fuzzy Bumbles

6. Butterscotch Candy. Mmm.

That's all I can muster. Oh! Mustard! I don't like mustard, though. What pleasant yellow things can you think of?

NaBloPoMo Hitch

Sometimes I just take things for granted. I thought there would be free Wifi in my hotel room. WRONG.

Oh, you don't know where I am! I'm on a fun-filled (not being sarcastic) business trip in Orlando. A whole heck of a lot of child care workers, from the South East United States, have gathered here to share and learn how to better serve youth and families. It's really pretty great.

Wifi? $9.95 for 24 hours. I can do this, but not so great. Supervisory Companion and I didn't get in from the airport until late last night, and had training all day today. We didn't even get the luxury of the two hour lunch break. We had a meeting. An awesome meeting, but a meeting.

So...here I am. All paid up for 24 hours, and posting TWO posts tonight. Though, I will post one of them dated as November 4th, because I'm awesome like that. I have not given up on NaBloPoMo! I will prevail! ^_^

Absence Makes...

*Us. In all our glory. Todd's hair is chopped off now, and he has a full beard, but I like this pic.

...the heart grow fonder, right? Now, when used as one of those pseudo positive/encouraging statements, I pretty much hate that phrase. However, right now? It works.

I've only been away from home one night, and I flippin' miss my husband! I can't even think of anything sassy to say to him when he calls. I'm being sweet as pie, and that's it! Seriously, I'm on the verge of being all mushy here, people.

I adore my husband and all, but I'm just not one of those lovey dovey chicks. More often than not, I'm sarcastic and clumsy-flirty with him. By clumsy flirty, well, that doesn't really need an explanation, does it? I'm am NOT smooth, and I've never really known how to flirt properly, but it works.

I figure my only hope is to get back home before this sticks! :P I hop on a plane tomorrow afternoon, and will be back in good old Alabama before sundown. My adorable huzbun will be waiting at the Birmingham airport for me, and I'm hoping by the time we get home I'll be able to muster some sarcasm.

Wish me luck. And pray! Supervisory Companion is staying here until Saturday, so I have to navigate my way to the airport and fly home alone! Traveling inept and unsarcastic?! I might not make it, people.

P.S. This counts as Nov. 4th's post, so I'm dating it as such. NaBloPoMo!!! ^_^

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Let me introduce you to Julien. Well, a watercolor of him anyway. He's is one of my best friend's munchkins, and a favorite little person of mine. I like to hang out with him, talk to him and paint him. His little sister's not too shabby, either.

Anyhow, this has always been my favorite painting-of all the paintings I've done. It's called "Any Face You Want", and I just love it. I paint kids and animals a lot, but for some reason this one just stands out.

Wait. Have I mentioned why I paint what I paint in another post? I don't remember, so maybe you don't either.

I usually paint portraits of Respect, Resilience and Strength. So, it's not necessarily a painting of a kid, or critter. It's more an abstracted documentation of the respect that life has for life, and the resilience and strength that I believe all creatures possess to overcome the various forms of disrespect that they have or will most likely be subjected to. Just so happens I see these things in young children and animals.

Okay. Back to Ju-Ju. He has the most interesting ideas, and a very different way of thinking than most little guys. He's been through a lot of change that, like most children, was beyond his control, but he just keeps on truckin'. Quirky and awesome as usual. Personally, I think he's a genius. Though, maybe I'm partial because I've known him since he was born.

Normally, I don't know the kids or animals I paint quite as well as I know him. Maybe that's why it's my favorite?

Networking Fiend

This whole NaBloPoMo thing is paying off, and it's only day two. I've already got some of my readers back! I just LOVE you guys! ^_^

My little blog has been lonely for too long, and my little Etsy shop is still lonely, so I've decided to introduce both of them to The Book of Face! Hopefully Mimsy and MadShiny will make some new friends out there. ^_^

Here's hoping bloggy therapy and handmade goodness are contagious!

Not This Year

It's National Blog Posting Month, folks! You know what that means? A blog post every single day for the month of November. That's what. You in on this?! It's not too late. Go sign up now. Here.

Now, I didn't take part last year, because...well, I had no idea what it was. My dear friend and cohort, Ariana (from The Happy Cactus) was all about it, but I just kept my distance. I wasn't so sure about all that fraternization amongst bloggers, at the time, either. So, even if I'd fully comprehended, I'd have steered clear.

"Not this year!" I say. I am on a mission to get my vast array of readers back, and I'm going to do it one post at a time! You hear me, bloggers? I'm coming to get all *counts on fingers determinedly* 5 of you.

Thick As Thieves

Just a short post, bloggers! I'm waiting on a hot date, and my gorgeous escort, Debra, will be here to pick me up any minute. (Yes, I'm happily married, and no I'm not homosexual, but she's still a hot date.)

Anyhow, I met Debra when I was fourteen years old. My family (of gypsies) had just moved (again). I didn't know a soul in Mountain Heights Estate, and the only kids I saw were like 5. Quite certain my life was doomed, I spent a lot of time riding my bike round and round the block, hoping one of the kindergartners would magically sprout into puberty or something.

Then I saw them. Debra and her sister, struttin' down the road as if it were a runway.

And we've been friends ever since. Debra's sister (Dana) and I aren't so close, but she's a sweetie. Debra and I just clicked. No matter how much time we spend apart, the moment we're back together, we're thick as thieves again.

So, I'm off on a hot date with my dear friend of 13 YEARS! *gag* Having a friend for that long is definitely something I'm grateful for, but it makes me a little nauseous. OLDNESS!

So Much

I have been up to so much lately, it's ridiculous. And since So Much is the reason I've been neglecting my blog, I thought it only fitting that I dedicate a post to it.

First up were the Where The Wild Things Are birthday posters:

I promised some friends of mine that I'd do posters for their munchkin's third birthday. So, I whipped out my copy of Where The Wild Things Are, my watercolors, and voila! Said munchkin dressed up as Max for his party and everything. SO adorable.

And what better gift can you give for a Wild Rumpus party...than a monster?! It took me a few more non-blogging hours to hand-sew this little guy, but I think it was worth it. He turned out pretty fun.

And then there's the cake decorating class that my friend, Annie, and I have undertaken. This coming Wednesday is our last class. We've learned a lot, but we're pretty transport-a-gazillion-things-and-bake-cakes-for-no-apparent-reasoned out right about now.

These guys are the little cupcake toppers I made us as an alternative to the dreaded CLOWN HEADS everyone else gave in to. NO CLOWN HEADS FOR ME, THANKS.

We had to ice little bodies for them. My vampire was a little funky with a ruffly iced bod, but Annie's chicken turned out pretty darn cute. He kind of looked drunk after a while, cause our icing wasn't quite stiff enough to hold up. It was quite entertaining.

And these are the roses (on a lovely beach towel that I brought to cover that germ ridden cake class table) that made it quite obvious that I didn't make my icing the right consistency. They kept sort of morphing into little wilted blobs. :( Practice makes perfect, right?

I've also got a photo of my first cake, but blogger doesn't seem to want me to upload it. Huff. Anyhow, I put a green and orange owlie on it. ^_^

Aaaaaand I made three separate Homecoming shirts for a few of my favorite teenagers. We tie-dyed them, and then I used a textile marker to draw an image on them, and fabric paints to color them in. It was fun, but time consuming. I also have pics of those that this flippin' Mac won't let me upload right now.

So, there you have it-my legitimate excuse for neglecting my blog...this time. Hopefully I'll manage to get those other photos uploaded someday, for your viewing pleasure.

That is all. I've got brownies cooling in the kitchen. They're begging to be decorated.

Story Time!

I'm in the mood to tell a story to all my faithful followers. All *counts on fingers* two of you (Seriously, since I quit blogging/commenting regularly my vast array of readers have given up on me.). :(

So, as I was saying...a story.

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a beautiful curly haired queen. Let's call her Heather, shall we? Okay! So, Queen Heather lived in her humbler-than-most-castles castle, with her handsome king. His name was Todd. King Todd.

Well, one day Queen Heather was running late for a very important meeting with her dear friend Princess Ari! Queen Heather should have hopped on her trusty steed, and been on her way to The Land of Hunts like a fortnight ago, but the evil King made her late! He forced her to sleep in, to finish the second to last Harry Potter book, and refused to help her be on time! Forced and refused, I say!

Despite her extremely agreeable nature, the queen decided to challenge the king. Outraged at this, the king threw a sock at her head! Yes, a sock! It hit her hard, but she managed to drag her half-conscious self to the bathroom, and dispose of the sock in the water closet forthright.

This angered the king even more, and he threatened to dispose of one of the queen's most prized possessions-her flesh colored brazier! :O This frightened the fair queen something awful, so she begged the king to have mercy, and he did.

Then the king locked himself away in his study, refusing to see the queen off for her outing. He knew everything was really all his fault, but he was a stubborn king, and slow to accept due blame.

The poor mistreated queen had no choice but to leave without a proper farewell. She bid no one adieu, and parted to The Land of Hunts.

Upon arriving at her destination, the queen sent the king a telegraph. He responded promptly with an apology, and all was well again.

Queen Heather and the fair Princess Ari were then free to be jovial and celebratory, and they all lived happily ever after.

The End

Temporary Insanity

Things are just a bit psychotic, as of late, but I have every intentions of posting/commenting regularly again. Between work and art and guitar and blah de blah de blah I've been having trouble finding the time, but I will...soon. I love you beautimus bloggers!

For now, follow me on Facebook, if you aren't already. Oh, and go check out my Etsy shop, MadShiny. I finally added some more handmade goodness!

See?

I uploaded this sleepy fellow a while back, but for some reason Blogger doesn't like the pics of my newest items. Ho-hum. He'll do for now.