room to bloom

An Ode to my Best Friend

2008-09-02T09:47:00.003-04:00

Oh glorious monkey friend
who brings me bagfuls of fashion
to stymie my shopping bug
I think you shrink them on purpose

(This would have been haiku
but you are too awesome
for so few syllab--)

Houdini

2008-08-28T16:43:00.002-04:00

I just came across this fascinating story about Harry Houdini. It may be truth or legend, even the author wasn't sure, but either way it illustrates an important lesson about perception and expectations. Exactly what I needed today.

I'm It

2008-08-26T10:33:00.005-04:00

I'm apparently required to respond to a blog-tag, thanks to the superb tag-strategy of Suburban Kamikaze. And of course, now I have to do a meme. *sigh* Can you tell how wearily taxed I am by all of this?

What is it about these stupid lists that is just so darned appealing? Is it the desire to tell the world Who You Are? To call attention to your individuality? To shock or surprise people who thought they knew you? Is it just plain narcissism?

I'm going to ignore all of those theories and go with "it's better than spending the next 15 minutes up to my eyeballs in the excel spreadsheet of statistics that I can't seem to finish."

Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

1. I love to get my hands dirty. I guess that's why I love pottery and gardening and painting and cleaning so much - I get the most satisfaction that I have accomplished something when I have gotten dirty in the doing.

2. I love to sleep. And no, it's not just because I don't really get to anymore - two restless kids, two very nocturnal cats, and a husband that sleeps like the dead makes me the official night watchman (watchwoman?) in our house. But really, I love to sleep, especially catnaps.

3. In 5 years of marriage I have earned somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 "geek points" from my husband for independently coming up with quips or references to video games, comic books, computer gizmos, etc. of which I knew absolutely NOTHING before he began "training" me. At 1000 points I supposedly win a toaster.

4. I'm a closet hypochondriac. Every time I feel a twinge or quirk in the functioning of any of my bodily systems, my mind immediately jumps to the worst possible conclusion and I work my way back to something reasonable from there. I do not voice these concerns to anyone, but someday I am pretty sure I will stub my toe and announce to some unsuspecting soul that I'm sure it's due to loss of coordination from early on-set dementia. The end is definitely near.

5. I write in my books. Yes, even the "fluff". If there's a quip or a perspective that I really like or really hate, I underline it and comment in the margin. That way when I read the book again, as I typically do, I can see what I was thinking about the last time I read it. My husband hates this.

6. I want to quit my job and go back to school. Forever. If I won the lottery today, I would pay off our debt, set up a killer investment portfolio, and enroll in a class. Any class. I want to learn about everything. If anyone has any strategies for making this happen, or winning lottery numbers, please let me know.

7. I am the only person I know who drinks whiskey straight up. Other than Mr. Lady. Although I have yet to try her patented sippy cup method.

Girl Scout Camp Songs

2008-08-18T12:25:00.002-04:00

"I love the mountains
I love the rolling hills
I love the flowers
I love the daffodils
I love the fireside
When all the lights are low
Boom de yada, boom de yada...."

Come on everyone, sing along!
Even if the words you know are slightly different...

Wisdom

2008-08-13T10:25:00.004-04:00

Sunshine: Mommy! I see the moon!
Me: Yep, there it is!
Sunshine: I'm going to climb up to the moon.
Me: Really? How are you going to do that?
Sunshine: I'm going to get a BIG ladder.
Me: That sounds like a good idea. What will you do when you get all the way up there?
Sunshine: Hold on.

Movin' Right Along

2008-08-12T14:49:00.013-04:00

My family is about to make an epochal shift from life in an Apartment to life in a House. And, to my cramped and crowded self, it can't happen too soon!

We have spent the last five years in a third story walk-up that, when Hubby and I moved into it, felt nearly cavernous, the essence of opulence for our newlywed selves. Two bedrooms (a vast improvement from the 1BR we had been in before), TWO bathrooms (luxury!), full sized washer and dryer, lots of roomy closets, spacious living room/dining room, a fireplace, and joy-of-all-joys a balcony! THIS was living!

In the five years since, we have added two darling and much-loved children to the household, and with them came all the accoutrement that two small children need. Now that once-huge apartment has somehow become exceedingly tiny. In addition to my concerns over one very stifled and somewhat panicky gypsy spirit (before this five-year stint, the longest I had lived in one place since I've been on my own was 15 months), the walls have been closing in on me, the closets and cabinets are overflowing, and the walkways are dwindling. Despite my vicious purging raids on all things superfluous, our Stuff can no longer be contained in this space.

So we began hunting for a house. Sunshine was remarkably excited about the prospect, although her stipulations for acceptable housing do not exactly reflect mine:

Sunshine: Mama, are we going to the park?
Me: No love, today we are going to go look at some houses - we need to find a new house to live in so we can have more space to play! (putting it in terms she can relate to, you know?)
Sunshine: Oh. [pause] Can Baby Bear sleep in my room in the new house?
Me: Sure! You two will have a room just for Sisters! (marveling at how easy this seems to be.)
Sunshine: Okay. [another pause] What color is our new house?
Me: I don't know yet. It could be white, or red, or green...
Sunshine: I want polka-dots.
Me: Polka-dots? (Did I say easy?)
Sunshine: Yes. Pink ones. And blue and yellow ones. And maybe green.
Me: Polka-dots. (Crap.)
Sunshine: Uh-huh.
Me: Sweetheart, I don't know if we'll be able to find a house with polka-dots....
Sunshine: Wellllll, maaaaybe we can find one. (She says this with her best "mother placating her small child" voice - hmmm, wonder where she learned that.)

And, Heaven help me, maybe she's right, maybe we can. But one way or another, solid or polka-dotted or striped or whatever comes our way, we will in fact be moving into a House. We will breathe deeply in the vast openness and stretch our souls into the near-infinite spaces. And then we will slowly begin the process of filling up every nook and cranny. Again.

Things You Should Know

2008-08-06T11:03:00.004-04:00

I recently came across this website through a link on a blog somewhere....sorry, I've been reading and linking so much lately that I can't figure out exactly how I came across this site. Trust me, it made sense at the time.

Anyway...being the list-maker that I am, I have really been enjoying the posts of Marc and Angel Hack Life. This particular list, 50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do, really struck a cord with me. I'd like to believe that I can do at least half of these with some measure of competence, but I think I'll go read the instruction links to confirm this before I start making any claims. This one I know I've got down pat. This one I've done...once...half a lifetime ago....

For the Love of Moose

2008-07-30T13:43:00.006-04:00

Everyone who knows me knows that I have a completely inexplicable softspot for moose. They are so huge and ungainly and ridiculous looking, but I react to them just like I would to a baby bunny - they just make my heartstrings strum. And as justification for my insistence that they deserve a greater "awww" factor, check out this video of a Mama Moose sending her twin baby moose to play in the sprinkler left on in someone's backyard. This is sweetness in its essence.

random note: Sunshine would say the moose are playing in the "sprinkles" which always makes me think of diving into a big colorful ice cream sundae.

Anne Geddes, eat your heart out

2008-07-22T16:55:00.006-04:00

Yes, this really is my daughter, not just a model standing in as one of my off-spring.

Seriously, does it get any cuter than this????

This is one of about a million amazing portraits we just had done at Portrait Innovations, I happily recommend them to anyone looking for a good photo studio.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Fascist

2008-07-17T14:10:00.005-04:00

So one of the perks of my job is that I get to coordinate and stage manage a talent show every summer for our annual event. We work with students with an amazing array of "talents" so I get proposals for all kinds of acts. Everything from world-class musicians and dancers to a guy who wants to recite from his doctoral thesis on tree shrews. I kid you not.

So as part of trying to figure out which proposals will actually be entertaining, which is the point, and also because the company is ultimately responsible for anything we put on stage, I asked everyone to submit the text or lyrics for anything they were reading, singing, dancing to, or otherwise using in their act. A reasonable request? I thought so. All my colleagues thought so (besides the fact that it's policy). And all 38 people who had signed up for the talent show thought so - except for one guy.

THIS guy, who is a very talented professional poet, someone who I was over the moon about getting to have read for the talent show because of the caliber of his writing, decided that having to submit his writing for "approval" was offensive and "smacks of fascism and is anathema to free speech." Um, HELLO??? Are you telling me that of all the works you've published, your editors just have your poems printed up without looking at them first because, well you know, free speech and all. They wouldn't want to censor anyone.

So if anyone out there is looking for an authority on how to make people think you're a fascist, let me know - I'm out to clean up the lack of morals of our declining society, one grumpy poet at a time.

2008-07-14T10:31:00.004-04:00

I picked up a tag-by-default from RPH Mommy, one of my favorite bloggers, to do a current favorite music list. Here are the "rules":

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Since no one has left any comments at all and I must therefore assume that no one is reading my poor sad little blog (boo), if you want to play just leave me a comment. PLEASE. :-)

1. Love Song, Sara Bareilles. I cannot get over how catchy and clever this song is. When I learned that it was written TO the recording studio because they insisted that she write a love song because "that's what sells," it just made me love it more. The rest of this album is awesome too, but I think I would be missing the point if I just listed 7 of her songs here.

2. anything played by Django Reinhardt. I've loved this music forever and just recently discovered who and what it really is, thanks to my brilliant and generous friend Robin. It is the soundtrack of my happy busy summer.

3. This Side, Nickel Creek. "It's foreign on this side..." Married half a decade, 2 kids, who knew?

4. Everyday, Dave Matthews Band. A little nostalgia, but I also sing "Pick me up, love!" everytime I pick up my 3-year-old Sunshine and swing her up in the air, so it's in my head a lot.

5. I See the Moon, traditional. I picked it up from watching the movie Evening. This somehow became the default baby song for Baby Bear, so we all sing it all the time for her. Sunshine really likes it too, especially when we spot the moon each night.

6. Fly Me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra. Don't know why, it's just been stuck in my head a lot lately. Guess I'm feeling the need to travel.

7. ummmmm...can't believe I'm having trouble coming up with another song. Comedown by Bush? It popped up on iTunes shuffle last night and both Sunshine and Baby Bear really liked dancing to it. Weird the things your kids will decide they like.

Okay, so that's my list. What's on yours?

Backhand like Seles

2008-07-09T08:24:00.005-04:00

(I don't actually know anything about professional tennis, so if Monica Seles ha a terrible backhand, just pretend I picked someone who has an incredible and deadly backhand instead. That's the point.)

Yesterday, our CFO and a couple other finance folks called to ask if I could put together some data for them. It wasn't a huge deal, but I talked it through with them to make sure I knew exactly what they wanted, and said I could squeeze the extra task in and have it to them by Monday morning. No biggie.

So I stop at my local coffee spot this morning for a nice dose of java and some pastry accompaniment, and I happened to run into the aforementioned CFO. He greets me pleasantly, we chat for a moment about coffee, and then he launches into this:
Him: "I was really impressed by your calm response yesterday!"
Me: "...."
Him: "You really took it in stride."
Me: ".......ummm, did you think I would....panic?"
Him: "No, I just mean, it was the perfect corporate response."
Me: ".......uh, thank you?"
[pause]
Him: "So now tell me, who exactly do you work with again?"

Are you serious? "Perfect corporate response"? What am I, an intern? "Who do you work with"? I HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 4 YEARS AND THERE ARE ONLY 38 PEOPLE IN OUR OFFICE. Do you seriously not know???

It coulda been me

2008-07-03T09:55:00.006-04:00

I have become addicted to a new (to me) webcomic called Questionable Content by J. Jacques. Other than the terrific artwork and the snappy and often hilarious script, I think it appeals to me so much because the characters are terrific compilations of some of my favorite real-life people and situations. Plus the fact that my best friend from college and I daydreamed about opening our own coffee shop, and I like to think it would have been at least as much fun as Coffee of Doom

Make sure you pay attention to all the stuff in the background. It's also fun to just skim through the archives and read the titles - they don't always have anything to do with the comic, but they are another string of humor adorning the rest of the laughs.

You should really start at the beginning - the artwork isn't as great at first but it matures pretty quickly, and it's totally worth it to get the background on the characters and all the inside jokes.

Joy is Peace Dancing

2008-06-25T08:49:00.004-04:00

I have permanently added the link to this video to my bookmarks. I will watch it whenever I am sad, and it will undoubtedly make me happy again. There is so much joy in the world that often gets overlooked or drowned out by the "news". Thanks, Matt, for doing what you do.

Joss Whedon does it again

2008-06-25T08:35:00.004-04:00

My big find of the day (and it's not even 9am yet!) is this portal to glorious anticipation.

I'm sad to report that it's only going to be three 10-minute episodes, but I do not doubt that anyone who watches will count that a half hour very, very well spent. I will be waiting with baited breath!

Yes, yes, almost a year, whatever....

2008-06-20T15:33:00.006-04:00

Right, my last post was August 2007, and there's a darned good reason for that. I've had a baby since then. Ta-da! So as of last August, I was dealing with 24-hour-morning sickness, exhaustion, and all the other "joys" of pregnancy. And in March I gave birth to my second daughter, and since then I have been enjoying her and my 3 year old and The Boy every second I can. Hence, less blogging.

But recently I've been reading a lot of other people's blogs, and realizing that I had some fun tidbits of my own life to share again, plus I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of my favorite things to read with the rest of you. So, in case anyone out there has faithfully continued checking this site for the last year in hopes that I might one day get back around to it, your faithfulness has been rewarded.

Congratulations - you now have something better to do than looking at last summer's gardening duck post.

Gardening Duck

2007-08-09T09:01:00.002-04:00

Local news channel WTOP has to come up with 24 hours worth of news all the time, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it literally includes all the news that's fit to print. Which honestly isn't much these days. But thankfully there are still enough quirky duck stories left to fill the headlines and keep us all from plunging into the depths of despair.

Super Villian Quiz

2007-05-23T15:09:00.004-04:00

Guess who suggested I take this quiz???

You are Dark Phoenix
A prime example of emotional extremes: Passion and fury incarnate.

Dark Phoenix 65%
Mr. Freeze 64%
The Joker 54%
Mystique 53%
Venom 52%
Poison Ivy 51%
Apocalypse 50%

My new favorite blog

2007-04-24T11:11:00.003-04:00

Buddhist Monk Garden
by Natalie Roberts

If you don’t regularly go to this blog, you should. I love the stuff that gets posted here, both art and musings. The two people who run this site have some winderful insights, plus they tend to find and post some really cool stuff (i.e. Mute Math). The point being that I really liked the entry this week about what art really is, what it holds, what it brings. And I especially like the idea that art doesn't have to be an earth-shattering revelation to the whole world to mean something to any one person.

I have a little painting that I got at some big box store probably a decade ago. It's about 4" x 3" and of an orange slice and a little floating trail of orange blossoms on a blue background. It doesn't reveal any great depth of human understanding to me, but it makes me feel both peacful and energetic every time I look at it. That's what I want to do - create peace and energy and thoughtfulness, both for myself and for whoever sees what I make.

Maybe someday I'll manage it.

IF - I Spy

2007-03-28T11:38:00.003-04:00

Every morning my daughter and I check the branches of the apple tree in front of our house for the first leaves of spring. Despite the warm weather, we haven't seen anything but buds so far, but we keep looking.

IMT - Feminine Art

2007-03-16T09:22:00.002-04:00

Life, soft pastels on paper, 6x9

This week's Inspire Me Thursday theme is Women's History Month, so they asked us to be inspired by the feminine in art, either female artists or art with a feminine spirit.

This is an image I've had floating in my head for a few months now, waiting for a good reason to be committed to paper. So, thanks IMT!

This didn't scan as well as I'd like, and my digital camera doesn't do it justice at all. I'll try to scan it again later and see if I can brighten it up some more.

IF - Wired

2007-03-14T09:11:00.001-04:00

Wired

No. 2 pencil on laser jet printer paper.

The things you can accomplish while at work.

:-)

Now, if I had the pictured items, I might actually have the motivation to get something work-related done at work....

Maybe.

A dream come true...

2007-03-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while, when the mood strikes me, I check my horoscope at www.freewillastrology.com because Rob Breszny has a wonderful way of making the mundane profound, and of making a horoscope seem completely not ridiculous. This week (beginning March 8) my Piscean prediction reads:

Molecular scientist Robert Bohannon knows a way to cram even more obscene gratification into a doughnut. He has discovered the secret to infusing pastries with a non-bitter version of caffeine. If his innovation is adopted by bakers, a doughnut would not only be able to have its usual sugary kick, but could also deliver the punch of two cups of coffee. Judging from the current astrological omens, Pisces, I'd say you'll soon be able to find a healthy metaphorical equivalent to this pathological marvel for your own use. In other words, you'll intensify your enjoyment of an already fine pleasure.

I fully intend to use this as my inspiration for this week's Illustration Friday theme, "Wired." Personally, I have no interest in a caffeinated doughnut. I enjoy coffee too much, and frankly a cup of coffee with a double whammy of doughnut caffeine sounds dangerous. But this just goes
to show that nothing is impossible....

IF - Communication

2007-03-01T12:17:00.001-05:00

"So Much to Say"

Work in Progress, 2007

It won't be done by the time the new topic is posted tomorrow morning, but at least I'm posting something!

And the lion shall lie down with the lamb...

2007-03-01T09:46:00.001-05:00

Can you imagine anything sweeter than two children, both rejected by their mothers, finding love and comfort from the most unlikely of friends?

From http://abcnews.go.com/International/popup?id=2911566&content=&page=1

Learning

2007-02-15T15:02:00.001-05:00

Skyholder, by Marvin Bartel

I am trying to figure out how to be an artist. I'm pretty sure it's there, somewhere inside, but I've never had any clue how to get it out where I can use it. I've never had an art class that was more than 4 weeks, and the three 4-week courses I've had didn't teach me anything except the basic use of a new medium, they didn't teach me about making Art.

I came across the website of Marvin Bartel that has some seemingly-useful insights on how to teach creative thinking, how to really draw out Art, but it seems that it could pretty easily be applied to self as well. http://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/creativitykillers.html Now I just need to make the time to really do it.....

Now that's Winter

2007-02-12T12:43:00.001-05:00

Wow, 100 inches of snow in Oswego, NY and more to come. I mean, I've been pining for snow, but I'm thinking more like 3 feet, not 11. Actually, I'd happily take 3 inches at this point.

Ahh, Irony

2007-02-12T12:35:00.001-05:00

Dixie Chicks score 5, count 'em FIVE, Grammys, including Best Song for "Not Ready to Make Nice." They win the top music industry award for a song that refuses to apologise for saying the things that got them almost completely ostracized by the music industry just a couple of years ago. Now, I'm not a huge DC fan, but as one of the apparently few people who was appalled by the response of the music industry and the public when they retaliated against an artist for expressing her opinion, I am so completely gratified by this whole situation. Congratulations, Chicks, for not backing down!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/11/AR2007021101680.html

2007-02-09T15:48:00.001-05:00

HI! Yeah, it's been eight months since my last post, so sue me. I've had a few thoughts that I felt were worthy of sharing as of late, so it seemed to make sense to revisit the blog idea. I added a few new links, changed my pallatte again, and here I am.

So my thought for the day - WHY is Anna Nicole Smith's death a front-page headline EVERYWHERE?

CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/09/smith.dies/index.html

NPR - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7309890

Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802435.html

even the BBC! - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6346201.stm

How is it that the reason for her celebrity is that she is a celebrity? Isn't that some sort of catch-22-like logic? I heard a sound bite of her this morning where she said, "It's just so expensive being me!" Being what??? She was famous for being famous. I just don't get it.

Dance

2006-06-16T16:09:00.002-04:00

I did this about 4 years ago, maybe longer, but it continues to be one of my favorites. Pastels on paper, 6" x 10"

Diet Coke and Mentos

2006-06-10T12:26:00.001-04:00

If you haven't seen this yet, be prepared to be impressed!

http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html

Be sure to scroll down below the video afterwards and follow the How does it work? link to see the Super Burp girl.

Angels and Devils

2006-05-18T23:01:00.001-04:00

Angels and Devils

pastels on paper

Better late than never.....

Fat

2006-05-07T21:50:00.001-04:00

My husband nicknamed this one "the Soap-Bubble Buddha Lady" when I was about half way done with her. She makes me giggle. :-)

If anyone else works with soft pastels and can give me some suggestions on getting deeper color saturation, please do!!!

Robot

2006-04-25T08:16:00.001-04:00

Robots aren't so much my thing, but I really wanted to submit something this week. So I doodled this little guy when I was up late last night and wishing I had someone to keep me caffeinated. If anyone knows where I can get an interactive coffeemaker to follow me around, let me know!

Spotted

2006-04-22T14:36:00.000-04:00

The Illustration Friday theme of "spotted" really had me stumped, until after the new topic came out, of course. So it wasn't posted with the other spotted-s, but feel free to comment on it now if you'd like!

Spring

2006-04-22T14:24:00.000-04:00

This was my first posting for Illustration Friday. As I've recreated my blog since then, I wanted to re-post the picture and say thanks to those of you who commented when it was first up. I appreciate the feedback!

In explanation, my response to the topic "spring" was less along the lines of flowers and bunnies or slinky-like images, and more the thought of that first day when you can open your window and air all the wintery greyness out of your home or studio or whatever space you inhabit. That is the moment I know it's finally Spring.