Mimmsical Creations

I've seen this on a couple other blogs, and liked the idea. You are to take the first sentence from your first blog post in every month and compile them here! I started this blog in January of 2006, and only had one post in that month! I skipped February altogether, but from there, I got going pretty good! Here's what my bloggy year looked like:




January: This is my inspiration for my new blog! (photo to the right - first one posted... go here to read my first post!)

February: No blogging done in this month...

March: It has been too long since I thought to start this blog ... and I haven't posted since!

April: Whew! We made it home! {from our trip to Texas to visit Mike's family and friends}

May: I had a pretty quiet weekend, but I didn't create much art.

June: I missed the previous week's challenge at the Weekly Photoshop Challenge Blog because I ran out of time being sick and all. {the weekly photoshop blog no longer exists, and I'm sad! I loved the challenges...}

July: Mike and I went to South Dakota over the long holiday weekend (we both took Monday off!)

August: Well, signing up for swaps is one way to kick my creativity in the butt!

September: Unconscious Mutterings

Wiggle :: Room
Face :: the music
Adjustable :: changeable
Room :: space
Easy :: simple
Store :: Barnes & Noble
Maid :: luxury
9 pm :: bedtime
Challenge :: Hard
Debt :: YUCKY

October: My Sharpie Group is hosting a creative challenge in the month of October. The challenge is to create numbers of ATC cards - 30, 90, 150, or 300 cards. {card #1 to the right}

November: I made it to 90 ATCs created in the month of October.

December: We are having cat troubles at home this week. {and they continue...}



As this year went on, I got more into blogging, both writing and reading blogs! I hope to continue next year! I love connecting with all of you fellow bloggers out there. I look forward to your new posts so much! Blogging has challenged me - to write, to share, to create new art. It's a good challenge and one that I'm going to hold myself to in the coming new year! Happy last post of 2006! (I think anyway!) Be happy and safe on this new year's eve!

I realized I hadn't done this in several weeks! So here is the last one of the year...

1. Resolution :: Not for me, I don't keep them anyway
2. Happy :: Feet
3. Bubbly :: Champagne
4. Kiss :: Under the mistletoe
5. Leather :: boots
6. Fancy :: pants
7. Pages :: morning
8. Stupid :: mistake
9. Apologize :: make good
10. Secrets :: my own to keep
    
    

Well, our Internet is working this morning... but it has been down since Christmas morning. We've got a technician scheduled, but not until Friday. So, I may get this post up!

Mike gave me a gift certificate to Target so I could get my digital camera - which I promptly went out and did yesterday!! I don't have it loaded up so I can share any pictures yet, but I will soon! I've taken a lot of test pictures of our cats! (All of whom are in hot water this morning for various reasons... five cats... who thought THAT was a good idea?!) I also want to go out today and take some pictures of our house which is still quite deep in snow drifts! And, they are predicting we could get another foot of snow starting tomorrow! Yikes! We're not unburied from the 2 feet last week yet!

We were able to finally get out of the house on Christmas Eve morning. We raced to the grocery store to get some appetizers and made it to Mike's family get-together. I was so happy to be out of the house! We had a nice time. Mike's step-mom had my name in the drawing and gave me a GC to Borders. I'll be shopping again today!! Books!!! We don't have a Borders in Fort Collins, so I'm going to trek to Greeley - about a half hour drive. Not bad - for money to spend on books - no problem!

On the way home, we stopped at the grocery store again to get the ingredients for the food for our Christmas day. I made a breakfast casserole with bread, eggs, sausage and cheese. And for dinner I made Ropa Vieja - a Cuban dish. It was so fragrant and turned out quite yummy, in spite of the fact it had no green pepper in it because the store had NO produce! Trucks weren't able to get through because of the storm, so the shelves were quite bare...

Mike had to wait until yesterday for some of his presents. I'd left them at my office because of our rush to get home before the blizzard really took hold. All in all though - we had a nice Christmas in spite of the bad weather. I'm glad we hadn't planned to fly anywhere!

I'm off now to buy new Glasses!! Yay! I've had the same ones for more than 2 years. I know I need a new prescription, but it's always fun to get a new look! I'll hopefully be able to post some self-portraits soon! :)

It's been a while since I posted. The reason - a BLIZZARD. We have more than 2 feet of snow at our house. We're safe and tucked in, but still stuck. Our Internet connection has been spotty, so that's why no posts!

This is the first big snow we've had living in this house. I used to live in the country. It was never a problem to get out because we lived on a main county road which got plowed soon. And my landlord would plow the driveway with a tractor. Here - no snow plows... and if/when they do plow - it is apparently one strip up the middle and if they block your driveway, oh well... So we'll have more digging to do. We've already cleared snow from our driveway. Haven't even started on sidewalks yet. It's hard work!

I'm very tired of being stuck. I have plenty to do, but I'm very sad about Christmas. I had a wonderful, fun menu planned for us, and I have none of the ingredients. We may have a frozen pizza tomorrow... We're supposed to go to Mike's family get together today, and we won't be able to go. I left many of my presents for Mike in my desk drawer at work (I was having stuff shipped there) so I won't be able to give them to him on Christmas.

Our 2 year anniversary was Friday and we weren't able to go to Rasta Pasta for dinner - where we met 2 years ago... Blah! I like snow, but I don't like Blizzards - this is ridiculous!

I hope all of you are well and happy - celebrating the holidays! I'll be back with more cheerful posts again soon!

Well, then you're in luck! I played along at Red Shoe Ramblings to get a piece of Deb aRt and now I'm offering the same here!

The deal is this:

For the first five people who leave me a comment saying "I want a Mimmsical Creation" (or along those lines) AND a way to contact you via email, will get a one of a kind creation from me. (It's almost a sure bet that it will have Sharpie markers somewhere in the art!)

The only catch is this:

Not only do you have to tell me you want the art, but you then have to turn around and make this same offer on your blog! It's a cool pass it along or pay it forward game! :) I'm getting some Deb aRt, you can get some of my art, and then someone else benefits by getting your art! It's a cool thing!

Leave me your comment and I'll contact the first five of you (if there are that many!) and we'll go from there! I won't get any art mailed out until after the first of the year, but that's not so far away now is it??! Yikes!! OK - ready? go!

Janet at Just Bee-Cause borrowed the game from a friend, and I'm borrowing it from her! The deal is this:

Google the word "Christmas" and the year of your birth and add photos that you find associated! It was fun to do this - I found a few good photos of 1974 Christmas that I'll share with you!

First:
The holiday stamp from 1974 - 10 cents! Wow!

Second:
A Disney movie poster - Winnie the Pooh and Christmas too - a new feature for ABC TV in 1974.

And Last:
An ad for a James Bond (Roger Moore) Pen that looks like a gun... who would actually want this?!

I just left a comment the other day on Potato Prints about thinking I should write in a journal. I've never been good at writing a journal, but have always thought it was something I wanted to do!

I got in to work today to find a package on my chair. It was a thank you gift from my boss, Debby. I had helped her out a couple weeks ago with a last minute gift need. She bought me a journal! And not just any journal - this is called Sojourn. It comes with 8 dice. One is a topic die - you roll it and that is your topic (they include: family, work, love, soul, money, and play) Next, you choose three of seven dice that will give you keywords to think about in conjunction with your topic. These words range all over the place from action to home to fear, imagine, inspire, laugh, care, etc. After you roll the dice, you write based on the words that come up - in any format you choose.

It is truly a cool concept. Sometimes for me, the idea of writing in a journal is daunting because "I don't know what to write". This idea takes that fear away! Thanks Debby! Great timing! :) A new journal for an upcoming new year!

We've been hit with the flu bug this week. Mike wasn't feeling good overnight on Monday night, and woke up feeling quite rotten on Tuesday morning. I woke up with a headache, but I attributed my other icky feelings to that. I came to work, but soon realized I had stomach issues too.

We slept much of the day yesterday and I started feeling better last night. Mike wasn't feeling at all well still, but woke up a bit better this morning. I'm doing OK today - still a bit off, but WAY better.

Vicki - if you're reading - your Christmas package is delayed, but I'll mail it tomorrow! All my good intentions went down the drain when I got sick!

I added new, cheery music - Glenn Miller with Jingle Bells!

About 5 months ago, one of the Sharpie Scouts came up with an idea to create a chunky book of original sharpie art for our fearless leader Diabla! We each contributed one page (or more) to the book and ANg put it together.

I wanted to post my page, but had to keep it a secret in case D was reading my blog on the sly! So, now that the book has been delivered in all it's sharpie-istic glory - I can post my page finally!!

This book is truly an amazing, collective work of art. The personality of each person who participated comes shining through in their page. (Size is 4" x 4") I believe you can see the pages by visiting flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/25943881@N00/sets/72157594407177930/.

You will quickly understand why I'm addicted to Sharpie art! Amazing stuff, Really!! My page is below! :)




I'm working on that whole digital camera idea! I hope to have one soon so I can post photos too! I got a nice Christmas bonus from work and I think I'll go spend a bit on myself!!

Ok - Sap alert!

I have to just share this. The blogging community is just so full of wonderful women (men too I'm sure, but I don't read your blogs - sorry!) I am amazed every day by the depth of feeling, emotion, and thought that goes into so many blog posts all over the country, and world!

I want to be like all of you! (I'm not going to name specific bloggers here... I don't want to inadvertantly leave someone out... and the list is quite long! There are at least a dozen {probably more like 2 dozen!} blogs I read daily and each one has it's own impact! I hope you all know who you are!) I don't write in a journal, and I feel like I'm not very good at being open with myself, let alone writing out feelings here for you all to read. I long to do just that though. I'm learning from all of you that it is OK to do that - more than OK - good, cathartic, cleansing, freeing...

Your amazing posts inspire me, make me look at my own life in a different light, learn new things, laugh, cry, dream, create, and the list goes on! You remind me to see magic in every day life, to not stress over little stuff (i.e. the broken glass, Mike!) I am learning, slowly, but you all help me through the learning curve!

I appreciate not only the posts but the dialogue that happens in the comments - both here on my blog, and on yours! I read the comments from others. It helps SO much to see and hear other perspectives on life. I can see that this blogging community is one of strong, proud, learning, magical, very special, and creative women. I'm glad to be a tiny part of this group. Thank you for all of your honest and open posts! They're all helping me in my own journey!!

Last night, I wished for all the world that I had a digital camera! I have been thinking over the last couple weeks - that I'd love to be able to capture images like so many other wonderful bloggers do... and share them with you! (Deb, Suzie, Melba!)

As I was leaving work last night to drive to my bank, there was the most beautiful sky. It wasn't a spectacular sunset with the bright colors. It was a very muted wintery sky. The full moon was just rising and was bright white against a light blue darkening to purple and pinks. With the bare tree limbs in front - it really was an enchanting. I wish I could have a permanent snap of that moment! My drive to the bank was all the more pleasant because of the beautiful sky!

I didn't even notice the bad drivers around me as much as usual. (I know they were still there, I just wasn't as bugged as normal! And that's a good thing! I get quite bugged when driving usually!) Happy full moon! :)

Wow, can you believe it!? And I'm behind...

Chel took on the project of making a calendar for the Sharpie Scouts. 13 of us scouts are contributing one card - one ATC for each month and a cover and Chel will put them all together into a Sharpie-rific calendar! My month was December. Now, when I think of December, I think of Christmas.



But, I wanted to try to be inclusive of everyone, so I tried to stay a little generic and not totally Christmas-y. I used traditional Christmas colors, but used Holly which to me, is just wintery. And the songs I used... a little more holiday, a little less Christmas - Deck the Halls, Silver Bells (my favorite!) and A Few of My Favorite Things.

I like the simplicity of this card. I wasn't sure where I would go because it could have been totally over the top. But I kept it fairly simple. I didn't even add glitter since it will be a copy that everyone gets - not the original. (although - in the scan there are bits of glitter... from the scanner bed... wonder how that happened?!)

Chel - it's on the way! My next project - framing a few of my ATCs from the October SAC challenge for holiday gifts!

1. Hello :: darkness, my old friend (Yep - we've been listening to lots of Simon and Garfunkel lately! This is a fantastic song! {and come to find out, Mike thinks the lyrics are "Silence like a casserole", NOT what they really are... Silence like a cancer grows...})
2. Flinstone :: Yabba-dabba Doo!
3. Corn :: Salsa
4. Interview :: Questions
5. Deviant :: Art
6. Concept :: Idea
7. Bridge :: Over Troubled Water
8. Karen :: Carpenter
9. Encounter :: Aliens
10. Biological :: Clock (and mine is most definitely NOT ticking! No kiddies for me!)

I signed up at the beginning of this year to do a challenge - Read 50 books by the end of 2006. I didn't think this would be a problem for me because I love to read and always have at least 2 books going!

I've met and exceeded my goal! Looking at the list of books I've read this year was interesting (I'm not done reading for the year by any means! I'm sure I'll have at least a few more titles to add!) I got stuck on several authors and read numerous titles by them.

I thought it might be fun to share my list here with you all! Some of these books are favorites that I've read more than once - others are new authors/titles!


1. Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

2. Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts

3. Declassified (Alias TV Series) by Mark Cotta Vox

4. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

5. Wilderness Venture by Elizabeth Howard (this is an older title - not readily available unless you can find it used. I bought my copy on Ebay!)

6. Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes

7. Red Lily by Nora Roberts

8. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

9. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

10. On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks (I love this author! One of my favorite books is Charlotte Grey by him. There is also a movie - Charlotte Grey - starring Cate Blanchett, that is fantastic!)

11. The Wind Singer by William Nicholson

12. Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman

13. The Camino by Shirley MacLaine

14. Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn by Kris Radish (This book really inspired me the first time I read it more than a year ago. It is the story of a woman's journey of self-discovery. I made the painting at the right to remind myself!)

15. Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts

16. Cabin on the Silver Tongue by... (This is a really old title. I have an old, battered library copy that my mom read to me many times when I was a kid. I still love the story!)

17. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling

18. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

19. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

20. The Changeling by Kate Horsely

21. Floor Sample by Julia Cameron

22. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (I did see the movie based on this book - but the book FAR outweighs the Hollywood version in this case! And the recipes... yum!)

23. Alias: Recruited by Lynn Mason (I am an Alias addict - since the end of the show, I had to do something to keep getting my fix. These novels are for young adults - pretty cheesy, but fun!)

24. Alias: A Secret Life by Laura Roberts

25. Alias: Disappeared by Lynn Mason

26. Alias: The Pursuit by Elizabeth Skurnick

28. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

29. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

30. Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert (When I was a kid, the Laura Ingalls stories were some of my favorites. I read, and re-read her books many times!)

31. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

32. Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts

33. Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts

34. Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

35. Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

36. Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

37. Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd (This is a life-changer! Her novels are also fantastic!)

38. True Balance by Sonia Choquette (Still working on this one!)

39. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (This is one of Mike's favorite books - he recommended I read it. It was difficult in spots, but oh, so wonderful! Her storytelling is superb. And she gives you so much to think about. The characters were delightful too!)

40. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling

41. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (Of all of the books I read this year by Jodi Picoult, this was my favorite!)

42. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by E.G. Speare (A perennial favorite!)

43. A Break with Charity (A Story about the Salem Witch Trials) by Ann Rinaldi

44. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (And now we wait for book 7)

45. The Pact by Jodi Picoult

46. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

47. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

48. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon by Diana Paxson

49. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

50. The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living by Natasha Kogan (I need to keep this book with me all the time to remind myself of the things the author puts forth! Very fun and also very useful!)

51. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

52. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

Next on the list... 53. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (I LOVE this series - I've read all of them but this one before. The characters are great - and don't let the size of the novels {1000 pages or more} put you off!)

1. Rhyme :: "No more rhymes now, and I mean it!" .... "Anybody want a peanut?" Name that movie line! :)



2. Substantial :: Enough



3. Instant :: Gratification (I like small art for this very fact - ATC size is great because I don't have to wait very long to see the finished product!)



4. Greed :: Avarice - one of the seven deadly sins
   
   
5. Brad :: Pitt (who else?!)



6. Season :: Autumn!! (My favorite!)



7. Accomplished :: Pianist - not sure where this came from.



8. Invite :: to a party



9. Sparkle :: Glitter - of course!!



10. Rainbow :: Somewhere over the....

Well, this has been a pretty nice, calm Thanksgiving! Mike and I spent Thanksgiving day at our friends Rod and Rebecca's house. Her parents, Bob and Fran were also there. A fun day - spent with fun people! And yummy food of course! I made some pretty great mashed potatoes! I took your advice, Suzie! Letting the water all cook off before mashing helped keep them from getting gummy as I mashed them!

I used red skin potatoes (skin on), added a little butter, a little garlic, and one bunch of scallions. Then I mixed in one package of herb Boursin cheese. They were quite tasty, without gravy added! :)

I was off yesterday, but Mike had to work. I didn't do much, but I did get some needed housecleaning done. I also made a pot of wonderful (if I do say so myself) Chicken noodle soup. (using a bit of the leavings from the turkey that Rod cooked!) Yummy - the house smelled so good after it was boiling!!

Today, we are headed to Mike's dad's house for a Thanksgiving dinner with his step-siblings. I'm in the process of making my "famous" corn casserole. (This has been a cooking blog the last couple of posts! Fall weather makes me want to stay home and be domestic!) It's not healthy at all, but it sure is yummy. Basic ingredients - corn, cream corn, jiffy mix corn bread, melted butter, sour cream (with chives), and lots of cheese. Mix all together and bake! (If you want the "real" recipe, let me know!) It's starting to smell good! We'll head out as soon as it is done baking.

We don't see Mike's family very often. We're going down a bit early so he can visit with his dad. His real brother won't be there, just step-brothers and sisters and their kids. His brother, Jeff, will be visiting around Christmas this year.

I hope you're all enjoying your time with families! Can you believe it's the holiday season already? Pshew!!

Ok - this isn't a cooking blog, but cooking is like art, right?

Well, last night's dinner was truly inspired! And totally yummy!! Mike and I had purchased this strange sausage at Whole Foods a month or so ago and never figured out what to do with it. It was chipotle cherry sausage... kind of a mystery how to fix it!

Well, I decided to just experiment! And it was a success!

I sauteed onion with garlic in olive oil. Then I added in some chopped red and yellow bell pepper. To that mix I added chopped crimini mushrooms. Then I crumbled in the sausage. I let that all simmer and cook for a while. After the sausage had fully cooked, I diced in two tomatoes. I let it all simmer for a bit more, then I added a couple tablespoons of cream cheese, and a handful of asiago, parmesan mix. It cooked up into a nice sauce that was creamy and cheesy!
I added this to penne noodles, and it was dinner! The combination worked! The sausage had a bit of a spicy kick with a sweet cherry here and there. The veggies always work together and complimented the sausage. The cream cheese made it nice and creamy, with the bite from the stronger cheese.

I don't cook every night by any means, but I do love it. I love experimenting like this - especially when my experiments are successful!! Art in its own right! :)

And now, I'm off to find the perfect mashed potato recipe (I'm thinking I will include some boursin cheese to fancy them up!)

Well, can you believe it is Thanksgiving week already?! Good grief! I can't believe how this particular year has flown! And I need to Christmas shop and create!! Yikes!

I had a bit more creativity flowing this weekend. Mary Ann over at Follow Your Bliss hosted a cookie recipe swap this year that I'm participating in. You'll see in a previous post that my industrious partner Suzie already got my package to me, but that I am a procrastinator and am just now finishing up her package! (Suzie - if you're reading this - it really, truly is in the works. I'm trying for Friday to get it mailed off to you!)

I don't want to post any pictures of my project until Suzie receives her package - don't want to spoil the surprise, but it has been FUN to work on! Cookies, recipes, and glitter - what could be more fun than that?! (although my first attempts at glitter didn't work out so well... we'll see what happens next!)

I have a few ideas to work on for Christmas presents for friends and family. I'm looking forward to Friday because I'm off from work for the holiday. Mike has to work though, so I'll have the day to myself - can you say holiday shopping?! I don't have much to do, I don't buy too many presents, but I like to shop and don't very often. (which is a good thing for my checkbook!)

I'm wondering about putting up a Christmas tree this year. I haven't done so in a LONG time. When I had first moved into my own place, I put up a tree. But, Lissy and Oscar - as young cats, decided that climbing it was the thing to do. Now, knocking it down wouldn't have been ALL bad, but I collect antique shiny bright bulbs... they are fragile... a lot of them got busted... therefore, no tree in subsequent Christmases. I'm wondering what our clan would do with a tree. Luna is the youngest of the bunch at 2 years old... But, we do have Henry - curiousity definitely kills this cat. (who spent much of last night locked in the cat food closet... he sneaks in and gets locked in! This is not the first time... dork!) Hmmm.... I have BOXES of Christmas decor in the basement... maybe we should have a tree. I can't decide! What do you all think?!

Well, this was a ramblin' post. I'm thinking I'll have more art to TALK about, but not a lot to post coming up on Christmas because I don't want to give away my presents to recipients...

So, I've been wanting to do this since the end of the Sharpie Art by the Card challenge! And now I have!

I took the digital scans of all 90 ATC cards that I completed in the month of October and made one big, digital collage of them!! Pshew - there is a lot of color on this collage!

It's pretty impressive (even if I do say so myself) to see them all together. I never did see them ALL together in "real life" because numerous cards had to be mailed off for swaps before the end of the month! Thank goodness for technology so I still have my scans of every card!

What do you think?! Fun, huh? :) (you can see it a bit larger by going to my flickr page)

Well, I have been quite procrastinational (yes, I know - it's a made up word!) in reading True Balance. I have SO enjoyed reading posts about the 4th and 5th chakras from various bloggers such as Suzie, Caroline, Shannon and Melba!

What I haven't done is to delve into these particular chakras for myself. And I've realized why.

When I was regularly going to art therapy groups, our therapist Andrea used Chakra cards to get us warmed up for our sessions. We would each close our eyes and intuitively draw a color card corresponding with the chakras.

Without fail, each time I drew a card, it was either the green or blue card - corresponding with the heart chakra or the throat chakra. More often than not, it was blue. This made sense to me at the time, and still does. I was in art therapy because I needed to learn about my true self, but more than that, I needed to learn to EXPRESS my true self. My voice had been buried, and I wasn't speaking my truth very often.

Each time we did this exercise, I would sit with the color and I would theme whatever piece I did in that group using the color. I don't have any of these works scanned in to share with you, but suffice it to say, the process of doing this bit of chakra work was quite powerful. I learned, even in small part, that by expressing my own creativity, I was speaking my truth.

The reason I have been less than ready to read these chapters is that I know I haven't been speaking my truth as often of late. I hold a lot back, I don't create when I know I need to (yes, NEED!) This isn't good for me (or anyone) and subconciously, I know that if I do read and delve into these chapters, I'll need to make some changes. I may not be ready to make them right now, but I am at least aware that I need to make them!

For myself, I promise that I will read these chapters. I just have to get myself in the right frame of mind to do so! I have a long weekend coming up with Thanksgiving. Mike has to work on Friday, so I'll have all day at home by myself. Maybe that will be the day!

Thanks to all of you other bloggers who have stuck with this book and have posted such open, honest writings! The picture I've included is a collage I did a couple of years ago. It wasn't specifically for chakra work, but the color theme fits the throat chakra. To me - this collage is quite peaceful and serene - something I need! I did it in the middle of the night when I was having trouble sleeping.

I have not disappeared into thin air, although my theoretical posts have! My energy and brain level this week has been appalingly low - therefore, no posts! No art, no creativity, etc...

I have been fighting headaches, but more specifically migraines, for about 10 years now. I go for periods of time where they aren't too bad, and then I get stuck in a period where they ARE too bad! These past 2-3 weeks have been bad. Very bad. I have a hard time functioning when I have a migraine. (as you can imagine) I've tried every medication around to prevent them from happening. I have medications that do help stop them, but I try to use it sparingly as it is EXPENSIVE!

I wake up with them, but the only thing that takes them away for good is sleep... how much sense does that make? I have a few food-triggers that I know of: peanuts, aged cheese, red wine, citrus. I avoid these things almost completely. (Peanut butter is the hardest to avoid!) Weather changes get me too. I can't control the weather! And I live in Colorado, where the weather changes at the drop of a hat - several times a day sometimes! Yikes!

My neck bothers me from an old, scary injury. (I fell down my parents' stairs when I was a jr in high school - landed square on my neck. It's a wonder I didn't break it! I've had a lot of trouble since and go to the chiropractor regularly.) And my hormones are always all out of whack - so fluctuations there cause headaches too!

My current doctor (nurse practitioner actually) has been wonderful. She has migraines herself, so she is empathetic and more than willing to try things. She gives me samples before prescribing these expensive meds. Yesterday, she had some new ideas for me. I'm already taking a blood pressure med indicated for migraines, and a birth control also indicated to help with hormonal migraines. She suggested that I add a calcium/magnesium regimen and also to take ginger pills. Apparently ginger is an anti-inflammatory. I knew it was good stuff, but didn't know that!

So, I've added these things. She also gave me samples of an epilepsy med called Topamax. I've taken it before, but this was before it was indicated for migraines. It had some positive affect, but then my insurance quit covering it. I just couldn't afford the $300+ a month for it. So... we'll see if the cal and ginger works before starting that!

I've tried massage, acupuncture, reiki (which Mike does for me - it relaxes me at the very least!) and other natural remedies... Anyone have any new ideas for me?! I'm very frustrated to say the least. But, I'm trying to get to the root of the problem. That's all I can do. And just hang on hoping for headache free days!!

1. Nick :: of Time - a great Bonnie Raitt album


2. Focus :: Lacking - many days!


3. Police :: Protectors


4. Miles :: Frequent Flier


5. Earn :: Work


6. Twice :: absolutely nothing comes to mind... blank!


7. Razor :: shaving - blech!


8. Personality :: Test - INFP on the Meyers Briggs version


9. Dumped :: Yep, I have been...


10. Reliable :: Trustworthy

Hmmm, I think I'm having a case of the blahs! I have nothing interesting to say. My mind is just fuzzy-muzzy, and I think I'm catching a fall cold.

Blah! Do you ever get into a place where you just feel sort of off? Not bad, just off?! That's me this week. Work has been busy, so my mind races during the day to keep up with it all. I go home at night and just want to crash! But, I'm also not sleeping well this week. What is up with that?!

My cat, Henry, has a cold. Did you know cats could get colds? I sure didn't. But, he's congested, sneezing, wheezing - which all put together makes him barf... frequently... at 2:30, 3:45, 4:15 a.m..... I swear, I know just a tiny bit what it's like to have a child now - I jump at the first hint of a kitty barf noise and try to get him to linoleum instead of carpet... not that it ever works...

And, to top it off, Mike had the day off today, for Veteran's Day. But, I had to work. Blah! Let me tell you how hard it was to leave the house this morning, when I just wanted to stay home and play!

Well, I guess I needed to rant for a few minutes. This isn't a very pleasant post, but I needed to vent my blahs! Hopefully, this will be a good weekend to relax, hopefully feel better, and maybe, just maybe create some new art. I'm in a slump after my Sharpie-fied October! Hope all of you have a great weekend too - and here's hoping for a Blah-Free next week!

I voted this morning! I hope all of you did as well. We need some change in this country and being able to "speak our minds" with our votes is a way to start. We were given the option of touch screen or paper ballots at our polling places. I chose paper... I guess I'm interested in the paper trail. Here's hope for some welcome and much needed changes this election day!

1. Theft :: Violated


2. Storage :: Basement (which I have for the first time ever!!)


3. Pick :: and Grin (yes, I was raised around country musicians!)


4. Los Angeles :: California ... hmmm, not very creative on this one!


5. The one :: Mike


6. Accent :: Fun - I'm from Colorado, a native, but I have a "Boston" sort of accent on many words (like order, water, drawer, and soda! {which everyone from Colorado calls Pop})


7. Rivalry :: Sibling


8. Process :: Think through


9. Streets :: of Laredo


10. Museum :: Metropolitan (of art) - where the Starry Night hangs!

1. Stuff :: Way too much of it!
2. Block :: No art
3. Ingredient :: Cooking
4. Flagrant :: Disregard
5. Dandruff :: Flakey
6. Betty :: Apple Brown
7. Tide :: Pools
8. Judges :: Supreme Court
9. Take it easy :: Chill
10. Chef :: Gourmet
    
    
    

Well, I have a BUSY weekend ahead. And I have (still) 19 cards to finish to hit my goal! (Nothing new yesterday - I was fighting a migraine last night.) I have to work tomorrow (NEVER work on Saturdays...) but this is the exception. We have a booth at a Pet Health Fair and I'm manning the booth with our pet loss counselor, Dana. I have to leave my house at 6:30 a.m. to get to Denver on time (YIKES!) I'm bringing my Sharpies with me, but am not counting on time to get anything done. Sunday will be catch up on housework, shopping, laundry, etc. day. We usually do this on Saturdays.

So, I won't be blogging until probably Monday evening or Tuesday, but I sure hope at that time I have a BUNCH of artwork to post!! See you all then! :)

I wasn't overly inspired last night - I only created one card - #71! I was caught up in the drama of Dancing with the Stars - Yes, I'm hooked! Jerry Springer went home last night - what a class act he was! He tried very hard in spite of the fact he can't dance and went out very elegantly. Almost made me cry! He did make me cry the week he waltzed for his daughter.

It's a fun show that makes me happy! I've been rooting for Emmitt Smith all along and he remains my favorite! His Mambo was absolutely the best!! (My co-worker, Marti, is rooting for Joey - we discuss every week the day after!)

But - on to art! I have been thinking hard on homophone ideas. I have a few more, but this is what materialized last night. I did take a bit of artistic license ...

This is "Flocks of Phlox". I know - the flowers aren't really phlox, but the size and bright colors worked better! (I couldn't find the seed/flower catalog I KNOW I have squirrelled away somewhere!) This was fun - it is collaged with the flowers cut from magazines and the wings/background are done with Staedtler fineliners. This homophone swap is proving to be quite a challenge, but very fun! I have several more ideas I hope to get done. But, I need 19 more cards before next Tuesday. We shall see what happens!!

Well, I've found that I miscounted somewhere along the line and I truly am at 70, even though my cards show only 69! (Somewhere out there are two cards with the same number!) Since I have sent off some of these cards for swaps, I may never figure out my error! Oh, well - I have created 70 out of 90 none-the-less!!




This first set is for the Don't Fear the Sharpie Swap which I'm mailing off tomorrow! I have created 10 cards for this swap. These are two of my favorites from last night's cards - possibly even overall!







These next cards are just random stuff - not for any particular swap. Just playing with ideas and designs. The flower in the upper left corner was inspired by a fellow Sharpie Scout who does amazing, lovely things with flowers - very simple, but elegant and lovely.

The last card I did is actually oil pastels not Sharpie (gasp!) I have always loved oil pastels, but haven't used them much lately. I LOVE the feeling of smudging them and the way the colors combine and run together. This is one of my favorite cards. I'm unsure of how to seal it though to keep the colors from smudging. I've made the colors quite a lot heavier than I usually do with the pastels... Any ideas?!

I'm getting closer to my goal. 6 days, 20 cards to go!! Shouldn't be a problem with a couple more productive nights like last night. Maybe I'll even exceed my 90!! Thanks for all of your positive comments and support! It helps!!

I've also added a guest map to my sidebar. If you're so inclined, I'd love to have you add yourself! I am curious by nature and love to know where you all are from!! (the collective you... or all y'all!)

Well, I didn't get quite as far as I wanted this weekend, but I did create a lot of cards for my challenge!! I am up to 59 out of 90!! Yay!! I think I'm going to make my goal - I have until next Tuesday to complete 31 more ATC cards!!

This first set is for the "Don't Fear the Sharpie" Swap - using Sharpies you haven't tried before. They use the Sharpie paint pens and the Sharpie highlighters. I had a load of fun making all four of these. The metallic silver doesn't scan real well, so they are prettier in real life!

The next cards I did were total randomness (again!) and not for any specific swaps. I found myself just doodling and making patterns - that actually turned into pretty cool cards! The top two on this next set are after the style of Mondrian. I've done cards like this before and I really do like the result. Each one is unique. The top left card just about did my eyes in - very crazy details! The bottom two are my "signature" squiggle doodles. I like the left one though because I used angular lines instead of swirly.

This last set were the most fun to make! On the top two I combined my Sharpies with oil pastels - my favorite new combo! The smudginess of the pastels with the sharpness of the Sharpies (tee-hee) just works for me! Plus, using oil pastels - I get my hands dirty which I love doing in making art!

The middle two are more randomness... just playing with color and design. The bottom one was fun to make and I'm pleased with the end result. I just used turquoise and purple and switched the two and had them meet in the middle. It's a cool effect! (if you ask me anyway!)

Well, I haven't done Booking through in a couple weeks, so decided, since I had no new art for today, that I would! :) More art hopefully tomorrow!! I'm gonna have to work like a demon over the weekend to catch myself up!


Booking Through Thursday

1. Do you read in bed? For how long? Do you fall asleep reading? Will a good book keep you up all night?

I love to read in bed! I find that if I can read for a little bit before sleeping, I fall asleep quicker. I tend to lay there for a while before sleep hits anyway, so why not read?! It is usually only for a few minutes though. I never fall asleep while reading. But, a good book can keep me up longer than intended (less now though because I don't want to keep Mike up... although I think he could sleep through an earthquake!)

I do have to be careful of my subject matter though. If I am reading a mystery or thriller (such as Patricia Cornwell books) I can't read it in bed - I get too keyed up and a little paranoid!