Wanna See Something "Really" Scary?!

Gettin' Ready for HalloWEEN!!!

Me and Spike, my mummy dog! After coveting him for weeks, he finally went on sale @ Michaels. So I bot, I mean "adopted" him. He's completely house-trained and hypo-allergenic! The perfect pet!!!
I just LOVE him!!!

Spike really digs his Starbucks, just like his master! He gets all glow-y eyed!

Where's the Tooth Fairy When You Need Her?

I cracked a tooth. Guess how I did it...Recall my pez story ??? This particular tooth had already had a triple root canal. And then had the roots capped from the top because they were leaking. (That's when the golf ball sized cyst was sucked out of my sinus. Did you know that approximately 10% of the population has cysts in their sinuses that don't affect anything? But a golf ball sized cyst? Oh-kaaaay.)

The cracked tooth caused an infection that Dr. Chang tried to treat with antibiotics. They didn't touch it. Dr. Chang decided that he had to pull my tooth. But what was to replace it? A bridge or a titanium implant which also required a bone graft. Did you know that they use bovine, cadaver, or tricalcium phosphate to replace bone? Did you know that insurance does not cover titanium implants, nor bone grafts? Did you know that particular treatment costs around $6000? Phew!

So the tooth was removed on Wednesday. I got 6 anesthetic shots. Dr. Chang couldn't pull the tooth, so he drilled out the roots. I lost too much bone from the infection so I needed the bone graft. I'm happy to say that I didn't get any dead people or cows put in my mouth. I got stitches. I can't have dairy, refined sugar, or wine for two weeks. (So much for that wine tasting trip to Napa I was supposed to take today.) I'm taking antibiotics (again) and pain killers, and have to use a antibiotic mouthwash. Its a pretty bleu color. That's as nice as it gets. (Yicky taste!) To add insult to injury, I had to miss a couple of days of workouts!!! Sheesh!!!

I've been going to the dentist since I was 2. I've had caps, fillings, 5 teeth pulled, braces, 9 root canals, 6 crowns, not to mention the sucking of the cyst, the bone graft, two septorhinoplasties, turbinate reduction, and I wear contacts/glasses. I have the 6 million dollar head.

Can I stop having "NOs" and have a few "Yeses"? Can I stop taking pills? Can the rest of the year fly by uneventfully? What's the lesson here? Yeah, don't eat pez! LOL!!!

I did get the cool 360 degree x-ray of my head out of it. Pretty trippy! So appropriate and a perfect lead in to Halloween.

Party Like a RockStar!

Its 1:27 am. I am still awake. All because I just had to Party Like a Rockstar. 80 mg of caffeine per serving. Guess how many servings are in a 16 oz can? TWO. Supposedly one of the ingredients in the drink, Guarana Seed Extract, has 3X's more caffeine than coffee beans. I would ask "how many coffee beans." I may be awake all night. I've been awake since Sunday pretty much. All because of this...

Flew the friendly skies recently. Very stressful. Obviously I survived or else I wouldn't be typing, or awake right now.

I finished this from the Jenni-Jenni bebe shoot on Sunday:







Some pictures are blurry, but I'm too tired to care. Oh, and don't you just love my toe, tee hee hee! The second to the last picture is actually the last page. It has this excerpt from Mary Poppins Comes Back, the second in the Mary Poppins series by P.L. Travers.

I am earth and air and fire and water,
I come from the Dark
where all things have their beginning.

I come from the sea and its tides,
I come from the sky and its stars;
I come from the sun and its brightness –

And I come from the forests of earth.

Slowly I moved at first, always sleeping and dreaming.
I remembered all I had been, and I thought of all I shall be.
And when I had dreamed my dream,
I awoke and came swiftly.

I heard the stars singing as I came and
I felt warm wings about me.
I passed the beasts of the jungle and
came through the dark, deep waters.
It was a long journey.

My sis wanted to paint this on a nursery wall, but alas, she hasn't had any kids. It works on cards and photo albums and such doncha think? Annabel tells this story of her birth to a starling that alights on the window sill of the Banks children's nursery. Didya know that there were 5 Banks children, not just Jane and Michael?

Anywhoo, check out my sidebar on the right for my new blog where I'm posting my card a day, or reasonable facsimile. I guess I've got to get back to creating!

P.S. MadRetz, I used the stamp already!!!

Happy Friday!!!

8675309

So, my friend Jenni-Jenni may kill me for posting these on my blog, but I couldn't resist. I think these photos turned out fabulously. Jenni and her hubby Mike are totally photogenic subjects and I have to say, I think I'm getting good at this portrait stuff. They were so sweet and flexible to all my demands, "turn your head like this!" "stand here!" "contort your body like this!"

The love projects, doncha think?!

Crafty Women!

I took a mini book class called "Why I Scrapbook" this weekend with one of my favorite scrap artists, Kristi Contes. She's so creative and she doesn't measure!!! Gotta love her free spirit, artistic and otherwise.

Aren't we just too cute! Well, she's way cuter than me, but... hee!!!

Outside view of the mini book. We used legal sized string closure envelopes, acetate, rocked the Heidi Swapp stickers, decorative papers, overlays, photos, staples, stamps, a jump ring, and rub-ons.

Here are some of the internal pages. The words are supposed to describe why I scrapbook. I loved how I didn't have to make everything perfect and I also really liked that we used random bits to embellish the pages. Tres cool!!! It was worth the hour long drive to get to the scrapbook store!

Man Who Can Catch Tea with Chopstick Can Accomplish Anything

Bill sent this to me. You'll need Quicktime to view the videos, they're pretty cool!

You win a prize if you can tell me what movie I plagiarized in the title : .)

Unidentified Blobs and Sea Gull Guano

My trip to Morro Bay, California

First of all, isn't this photo collage too cool for words? Go here and play.

Self portrait of me with "The Rock" from the top of Black Hill (eek, a volcanic peak rising 664') 664' of hiking, sweat, drugs and rock and roll, without the drugs and roll. There were a lot of rocks!

I took 374 photos, a record for me. You'd be bored looking at 374 photos, right? Okay, so I won't post them all here. Just highlights : .)

View from the top of Black Hill.

Morro Rock from the Embarcadero (Bay side).

View from my hotel room. Not exactly...okay not at all the view advertised on the hotel's website, but I didn't spend much time in my room anyway, so there!!!

I know what you're thinking, "Just how many photos can you take of a rock?" Well, a lot. It changes, seriously. Sometimes it even sneaks up on you and looms over your shoulder. It changes moods. It changes colors. Its amazing!!!

Fah-resh oysters on the half shell, home made clam chowder, boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!
I had crab legs with drawn butter too, but didn't take a picture of that. Oh, and I had a fantastic glass of 2005 Talbotts Kali Hart Chard. Oh yum!

These guys were actually fighting. The sea lions (Zalophus californianus californianus, I had to look that one up. Note the external ear flaps? Seals don't have these, that's how you tell the difference.) were very territorial and if another tried to usurp its spot...WATCH OUT! Lots of barkin' and bitin' goin' on!

No commentary necessary. Taken at the beach on the ocean side of the rock.

Swell shark case. (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum. The embryo lives here until its ready to hatch.) Foot for size comparison.

One of six (?) local sea otters (Enhydris lutris), so cute! They spend a lot of time grooming their 1000 hairs per square inch, I believe the most of any mammal. They need to use air as insulation since they don't have much body fat. They also eat a lot and roll over and over in the water to wrap themselves with kelp so they don't drift off. They hang in groups, hence the term "otter rafts."

Long-Billed Curlew (Numenius americanus). Long beak makes it easier to dig up sand crabs (Emerita).

Sweet escape!

Unidentified blob. (Some kind of jellyfish)

Other highlights...Hanging with the docents at the Natural History Museum. Bob gave me a rattle he made out of Pismo clam shells with BBs inside. Friendly people and dogs. Lots of shopping (tourista style). Feeding rescued harbor seals and sea lions at the aquarium. Chatting it up with the locals...Susan at the bead shop, Mary at the state campground, Randylee and her husband who work at a local gallery. Just enjoying the sun, ocean breezes, salty sea air scents, sea lion barking and various sea birds communicating about their day.

I was sad when the trip was over, but planning another in the near future to see the migrating Monarch butterflies : .)

Sugar Coma

I found these baby packages of Pez at Cost Plus World Market.

I.can't.stop.eating.them.

There are 6 Pez per package, 35 calories for 2 packages. This is 1 Weight Watchers point. If you eat them in small increments, you know, 6 Pez tablets at a time, they total close to zero calories, right?

They haunt me all day at work. They speak to me when I go to bed. They constantly call my name, Linnnnnnduhhhhhhhhh.

I think orange is my favorite, no graple. No lemon, uh maybe strawberry.

Who am I trying to kid?

I Love Pez. All of 'em!

Retail and Art Therapy

Solitude breeds art...




Happiness can be bot (well, it felt that way for a mo)...

(I got this bag, but with different graphics, and in black & white.)

And exercise is gud...



I am constantly reminded of the lessons I am supposed to be learning. Specifically, that I can't eat away my problems (I ended up feeling worse than when I started, what am I talking about, I'm not finished yet!); the universe (GOD) doesn't give me more than I can handle; that nonattachment is important to staying in the moment; and that my reliance and expectation of the status quo is not the best way to move thru life.

I get to choose how to feel, how to react, how to handle diverse and complicated situations, and to validate myself.

I just wish it was easier.

I gotta Mann

Not one to pass up an opportunity for conspicuous consumption, I went to the American Craft Council show in SF today. Its a juried art show with the most fantabulous art you could ever imagine: mixed media, jewelry, wood works, metal works, clothing, knit products, home decor.

I love what people make, hearing the passion in their voices when they talk about their art, the attention to detail, trying to figure out what motivates them to create what they do create.

I just had to see one of my fav artist first, so I rocketed to her booth. Sharon is one of those artists filled with passion for her art, which is organic and textured and filled with deep meaning. If you recall, Mad and I went to her house/studio awhile back and played and created.

I had already decided to splurge and zipped right over to my fav jewelry artist's booth. Thomas Mann. He calls his art techno romantic and uses a lot of metal and found objects. Its heavy, chunky, industrial jewelry. I had originally picked a flaming heart milagro necklace from his website, but decided on the one above instead.

Over ate at a BBQ on Saturday after chatting with friends and playing with their kids. Oh, and also blew major ducats at the Scrapbook Expo that I went to with Mad, but I really didn't do as much damage as I thot.

So happy to be home last nite. Dr. Steve gave me the next progression in exercises to prep me for running and I did those, made a thank you card (thanks Ragged for the inspiration...it was an Elvis card), and watched some tv.

Looking forward to next weekend (already you say?), off to the cabin with the Retz's, the anticipation will get me thru the work week.

Happy Monday!!! : .)

Ripples

Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah, blah blah blah-blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Habla blah, blah.

I finally did the ripple challenge! (I used the color wheel too!!!) The first part of the quote is from the Joan of Arcadia where God tells Joan to ask the high school bully to homecoming. The rest I wrote.


Does this guy look familiar? Maker Faire flyer for the scary/cute dolls. I pierced Punk's ear, tee hee hee! But in this day and age, the cool piercing would be somewhere unobvious, ewwww!

Monster!!!

Aside from these two pieces, this weekend I ran around with Mad in search of those silver balls they used to sell for decorating cakes. We ended up with colored sugar, confetti, and tiny white sprinkles for cupcakes. A trip to the local scrapbook store was not fruitful. Bummer. Tonite I made jerked-turkey (jerkey turkey) burgers with papaya/mango salsa and low-fat, low-cal red velvet cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting. A mucho tasty meal! I should cook more often, but its such a huge production and can you believe it, I have to clean up after myself!

Soooo, yeah...Life is life and so it goes. Running? Nope. However, I did my first spin class last Tuesday and didn't suffer strong aftereffects. My core must be getting stronger. I'm still Aquajoggerdeathgirlsuperpowerwaternymph and not RG, also doing step, but I am nowhere near the cardiovascular capacity I was at when I had to quit running. H-h-h-h-h-h!!!

The local community college has started registration, so I'm thinking of taking a collage class. But, what could they possibly teach me???!!! Hee, hee! Upcoming is the Scrapbook Expo (lots of spending), bbq, huge juried Art show in SF. Have planned a mini break to Morro Bay soon and also off the the cabin with the Retzez. Wheee!!! Stalking your blogs, but not commenting. Not feeling very clever these days.

Hope y'all are well.

Happy day!!!

I'm Grinning from Ear to Ear!

I can't help it!

I just saw a stage production of this...If you have an opportunity, I highly recommend watching the movie on the Disney channel. (Its on as I type.)

I have to say, the movie Hairspray is also a must see.

Singing and dancing and so many cute people. It just makes you smile! : .) Wheee!!!

HBD GRILFIEND!!!

You say it's your birthday

It's my birthday too--yeah (Karen sings here : .)
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

(I wish I knew how to insert music!)

Its my "SoulSista's" birthday today! Send her some mad love!!!

The Longest Weekend Yet!!!

(Updated below.)

I took the vacation, I've been hangin' for 4.5 days now with nary a care. A lotta lounging, aqua jogging, and creating been goin' on.

(Why I'm writing like this, I have no idea, channeling someone maybe. Oh wait, maybe its because I finally fell asleep at 4:41 am this morning, only to wake up at 7:56 am, just in time for step class, YIKES!!!)

I have like a ton (well, not really a ton) of stuff to post, but I'm too lazy at the moment to walk 4 feet to plug into my scanner, so I'll leave you with a bit of eye candy. This is the ohsohot Dr. Steve. I think you can guess why I like going to my physical therapy/cracker appointments. Better yet, he's not only nice, but sensitive too. Oh, annnnd he plays HOCKEY!!! sigh.

"Meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife. Isn't it ironic, doncha think?"

Go to Nudge-Nudge for a looksee at the weekend art.

“They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no…”

Actually, I said, “yes, yes, yes,” but it sounds much more soulful and rebellious the way Amy Winehouse sings it.

I’ve been lax in my blogging again lately, so you’re gonna get a long one. You don’t need to admit that you only read thru the 5th sentence : .)


I Hope the Magic Doesn't Wear Off Anytime Soon

Today I did my 2nd aqua jogging session. “Aqua jogging” you say? More therapy/rehabilitation as prescribed by the hot Dr. Steve. I recruited a coach in the form of MadRetz, who after witnessing the clipping on of the dorky-looking aqua jogger belt (yes, I had to buy more equipment), directed me thru correct form, body angle, arm & leg action for aqua jogging. Leg action described as “stomping on grapes.” I think I like that analogy, I can fantasize about drinking wine instead of the pain in my butt and the fact that I still can’t run.

Aqua jogging aka grape stomping, supposedly burns 3.5 more calories per minute (for a total of 11) than running on land, because of the flailing, um, I mean water resistance. And its non-impact too. The perfect exercise. Terrell Owens used aqua jogging therapy to maintain his fitness and heal his broken ankle and he was ready to run to the end zone in SuperBowl XLI in 6 weeks. (I’m a sucker for a good story, obviously.)

Coach Mad cracked the whip, uh, encouraged me thru my first 25 minute session. She’s a great coach! In my never ending quest to find a physical activity that Mad & I can share, I kept mentioning how great this exercise was, how easy, and suggested she get an aqua jogging belt and join me in the pool. (I promise to never tease you for looking like a dork while wearing the belt!) At least this didn’t get me "that look"

Weekend Art

Go to Nudge-Nudge to see Skully Love and my Ode to Starbucks collage. I also worked on an acrylic paint collage, but I made that into cards and they’ve all been sent, so you can’t see that. Skully Love was inspired by the set design in Avril Lavigne’s song/video Girlfriend on YouTube. If you wanna, you can see it here. Warning: Explicit lyrics!

A Bug Only a Mother Can Love

My work related trip to Chicago went well. Can you believe that I actually volunteered to manage someone else’s meeting, especially since I hate to fly and since I have to go back there in September? Crazy-ness. Fringe benefit of the trip was the cicada experience. The local cicadas (Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini, and Magicicada septendecula) are on a 17 year cycle and they were emerging from hibernation while I was there. They make this insane noise, 'cause there's like 5 million of them alive at once. There was a park across from my hotel and I went over there to photograph the bugs and all the hairs on my body were standing on end from the sound they make. I had the heebie jeebies soooo bad, but it was a totally cool experience. They come out of the ground as nymphs and shed their exoskeletons, so there are all these adult cicadas and the exoskeletons are attached where ever they emerged, like on a tree trunk or a plant. The exoskeletons don't fall off. It was really creepy/eerie.


The End - Finally

Last of all, leaving you with a picture of Alex, Sis’s older bro, in his first San Jose Junior Taiko performance. He’s so serious : .) I got the best grin when I complimented him on his form and told him how cool he was because he pounds on drums, even if he's sportin' that funky headband, but I think that's a taiko thang.

Infected by the Meme Vector - Again

I'll play, I'll play!!!

Instructions:
Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone else up one place. Then, add you name to the bottom spot, like so:

1.Mike's Homefront
2. What I Know for Sure
3. green butterfly
4. Willow Grace
5.Trying to Grab Some Happy

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Probably being miserable in my marriage, working three jobs to keep us afloat. Honestly, I don't remember. I think I blocked it all out!!!

What were you doing one year ago?
This week one year ago I was doing art (hummm, how predictible), building a fence, trying on wetsuits in 90 degree weather, training for my first triathlon (sniff).

5 snacks you enjoy:
1. ice cream
2. pear flavored jelly bellies
3. popcorn with tons of real butter
4. toast with butter and current jelly
5. white cake with butter cream frosting (I see a "butter" theme developing)

5 songs you know all the lyrics to:
1. Its a Small World the Disney version : .)
2. Bring Me to Life by Evanescence
3. You're the One That I Want from the Grease Soundtrack
4. Don't Stop the Rock by Freestyle
5. Spring Love by Stevie B

5 things you would do if you were a millionaire:
Am I a multi-millionaire? These are not in any particular order...
1. donate to multiple charities
2. buy a house (in Colorado)
3. travel around the world
4. adopt some kids
5. start a socially redeeming/environmental business/service organization

5 bad habits:
1. spelling words incorrectly (its almost as bad as writing in text message lingo)
2. beating myself up incessantly
3. obsessive scrapbook material hording
4. eating when I'm not hungry
5. being a perfectionist

5 things you like doing:
1. finding adventures
2. playing with kids
3. running
4. running
5. working out

5 things you would never wear again:
1. wallabies
2. polo shirts (because of working at Home Depot)
3. nylons
4. mini skirts
5. those blouses that make you look pregnant, unless I get pregnant.

5 Favorite toys:
1. laptop
2. digital camera
3. iPod shuffle
4. the internet
5. dental floss (its very versatile)

Tag, you’re it! You wanna play, you know you do!!!

A Dark Day

My favorite San Jose Sharks player signed with Colorado this weekend.
I'm going to Denver to become an Avalanche fan.