Thursday, August 26, 2010

Can you relate?

I found this list on Whisker Graphics blog -- but she got it from elsewhere. If anyone knows the original author, please let me know so I can give her (him?) credit.


1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font. (My husband says this would be the default font on my computer. Nice.)

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (I’ve seen Martha Stewart do it, but it never seems to work out for me.)

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.

13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this – ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option

21. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic cloth grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear get dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

29. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’ll bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

30. My check engine light has been on for three months now and nothing’s happened. I’m starting to think that my car is just an attention whore.

31. I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?

32. Sometimes I pretend not to remember details about people because having a good memory apparently equates to creepiness.

33. My GPS says “Estimated Arrival Time.” I see “Time to Beat.”

34. Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

35. My keyboard needs a removable crumb tray like my toaster.

36. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

37. I wish it were appropriate to say to a complete stranger, “Excuse me, would you like me to show you how to discipline your child?”

38. I never understood why the Lions and Cowboys always get to play on Thanksgiving. Shouldn’t the Patriots play the Redskins, and then steal their stadium afterwords?

39. Double-Stuffed Oreos should just be called Oreos, and regular Oreos should be called Diet Oreos.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

What I love about Phoenix

I miss Phoenix already....
here are just a few things that I have to wait many months before experiencing again...

Maija and her family (furry family too)and friends

Art Unraveled

Scrapbooks etc -- a super cool scrapbooking experience (plan to spend many hours). But the best part??? The fabrics! I've already made 3 skirts from the fabric I bought here!

Frenzy Stamper -- Your one stop shop for rubber stamps and lots of other mixed media supplies. I bought a super fun sock monkey stamps and some great stencils.....

Frances -- Frances has great clothes, jewelry, gift items and my favourite body cream and fragrance line, Chymia.

The heat (really)(honestly)(I'd love it even more in February)

The adorable quail and pointy birds
(photo by http://artistbarbararudolph.blogspot.com/)

Stick Mountain
I always know where I am in Phoenix by looking for Stick(South) Mountain!

My Big Fat Greek Restaurant (greek fries.... yum) (and I hear that there is one opening in Santa Barbara)(not that I've ever been to Santa Barbara -- but I'm just sayin')

I have a few favourite US cities. Phoenix, New York and Chicago, of course, but also Burlington, Vermont and Ann Arbor, Michigan. What are your favourites? Why?

Friday, August 20, 2010

Mockingjay

Only 4 more days until Mockingjay!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about -- it's the third book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. I"m quite excited about this third book. I've preordered it so it should be in my hands very soon. I've never preordered a book before -- that's how much I like this series. Read about the books here! (don't read the whole plot synopsis -- there are huge spoilers). It's all about government control, power and the lack of civil rights. The Hunger games would be a great teacher lead novel study for Grade Eight (and up).

The Hunger Games introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen who lives in a post apocalyptic world where a powerful government called the Capitol has risen up after several devastating disasters. The Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each district to a fight. The purpose of the Hunger Games is to show how no one, including children are above the Capitol's power. The last person standing wins the game. Yes, the fights are to the death. The winning district gets a year of wealth (yet still lose one child). The losing districts lose 2 children, year after year. Yes, it is appalling. It makes you angry. It makes you think. That's what good books do......

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

a view of public education



This brave high school valedictorian has a lot to say about public education. I hope that I'm not teaching my students to become little robots. I don't think that I am :)

I hope that they will enjoy their learning this year.... School starts in a few weeks.... I will be teaching (guiding) my students to learn. I'm going to try to support them in an enriched "emerging curriculum". Which means letting the students guide the content that I am teaching them. I will assist them with their skills but I'm going to let them drive the content. What does this mean for me? It means that I'm going to have to work even harder this year! Yikes! If you want to know more about emergent curriculum, please google it or google "reggio emilia" -- a region in Italy which is committed to providing their early learners with the best enriched and supportive emergent curriculum. This has been my focus of study for the summer. And I'm almost ready to take it on. I can't duplicate a true Reggio classroom, but I'll do my best. It's all about the children....

Monday, August 16, 2010

Phoenix Airport

Last year you may remember that I was stopped by security for a small matter about brie in the water bottle :)
This year it was the stevia (strange white powder) (it's a natural sugar substitute)(from Trader Joes).
Neither time they took it away. BUT there is a new rule (well, new to me) . You can only carry on one bag plus one personal item (like a purse). I had my (very full) Backpack, my purse and my computer bag. I had to consolidate the computer bag and the purse. Right at the check in desk. How embarrassing. I think that the carry on storage space in the airplanes is getting too full because no on likes to pay the fee to check their bags. Anyway my carry on is once again completely full -- and the computer bag is stuffed too. And I don't think that I have enough snacks. I have some dried mangoes, a handfull of trail mix and a box of Good and Plentys . I think that I'm going to have to make the trek to the other end of the terminal to have a Cinnabun. (i seem to have lost a few pounds here, so I can indulge) I was hoping for a Starbucks too but there doesn't seem to be one.
AND I can't seem to find an electrical outlet, so my computer will die soon. Sheesh, I ask a lot, don't I?????

Happy Birthday Maija!!

This year, M is for Maija! Well...this month anyway :)

We've been celebrating Maija's birthday all week -- I'm sure that she'll be celebrating all year :)
We went out for lunch (very very yummy strawberry and chicken salad with poppyseed dressing) with Maija's friends Earlene and Annette (two super nice Phoenix girls). Here's the red velvet cake that I had... (after the salad, of course). (it's a mini cake... one serving... I ate half and saved the rest for later. Of course, it turned into soup in the sweltering 110 degree weather!!!!) (no humidity though!)(it tasted just as yummy in a pool of icing)

Maija had tuxedo cake... it was delicious too........

Thank you so much, my friend, for allowing me to hang out with you for an extra week and for chauffeuring me around. I will miss you so much!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

More shopping

I forgot to show you what I bought from Joanne!
She makes very cool polymer clay buttons
And lovely cuffs!
Hopefully she'll have these in her shop soon. I know that she sells some very cute paper word dolls and some image cds too.....

Saturday, August 14, 2010

haiku my heart

oven door opens
heat blast almost knocks me down
phoenix in august


please join Rebecca ( recuerda mi corazon)for haiku my heart

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Journey

I took Ruth's class with Maija and Joanne. We layered, we tattered, we stitched! I ALWAYS learn new things in Ruth's classes. You need to take a class from her. And buy her book too,
I was fairly prolific.
I finished this heart collage:


And almost finished my tryptic -- I just have to use some ribbon to tie it together (I have the perfect silk binding at home). (when it is together it will stand by itself)


Thursday, August 12, 2010

Shopping Break

There is a shopping extravaganza at ArtUnraveled. There seemed to be less vendors here this year -- and less shoppers......
Here is a sampling of my purchases. It's hard to see the beauty of the scarf that I bought from Lori Scott. I wanted one last year, then thought I'd make my own, but I didn't, and I was lucky enough to be given a second chance this year. The ribbon with the script on it is by her too... (click on the picture for a close up)

I didn't take a class this year from Susan Lenart Kazmer, so I bought a necklace. It is fabulous! The bottom danglie thing is a resined rose bud. So beautiful... and mine....

I also didn't take a class from Olivia Thomas (Olive Rose) -- so I bought Party Skelly :)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Transformation

Kelly Kilmer's class rocked. If you EVER get a chance to take a class with Kelly (especially a book class), jump at it!
We made our covers (Kelly made it so easy peasy)


then painted pages (Kelly gave us many painting prompts -- i.e. what order to slap down the paint)
then folded the pages and bound them into the book
then we collaged some pages - again, Kelly gave us page making instructions -- I love being told whaqt to do -- so less stressful for me :)
(and with Kelly -- you can do them or not -- she's not going to guilt you out for following your own ideas (some teachers do -- can you believe that?)

Kelly offers online classes -- I've taken some -- they are fabulous too. So now you have no excuse. Go and take one now!!!

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Wild about tiles

Last night I made polymer clay tiles in Laurie Mika's class -- I learned lots of tips and tricks. We painted and coloured the clay before and/or after firing. I also learned that regular sculpy burns easily -- but sculpyIII or Premo doesn't. It should have been a full day class!
I've won the draw of the day twice already (there are multiple winners daily). I've won a glitter sample pack (handy, because I don't use much glitter, so a sample pack of many colours is great) and I won a little bag of brass doodads. It's my lucky week :)

Champion!

Lauren defended her title of Senior Lightweight Women's Pair at Henley yesterday. She won! I could not be more proud. Her partner Jenn wasn't the same partner as last year (Christina). Congrats to all of the rowers who are at Henley right now! Lauren is racing in the Quad and the Four today. Good luck girls! (sorry.. women....)

Friday, August 06, 2010

Waxed Collage, Plastered in Wax

These classes were with Patricia (Trish) Seggebruch. I love encaustic!
These were my first attempts:




These were created day 2:

Henley -- haiku my heart


If I'm in Phoenix, it must be the Henley in St. Catharines (Ontario Canada). I miss Lauren race every year. But I'm there in spirit! go Lauren, go Lauren, go Lauren). This year I believe that she is defending her title in the Pair, and rowing in the Quad. Both races are today (Friday).

In celebration of this, I'm participating in Rebecca Brooks' (recuerda mi corazon) Haiku my Heart

Regatta

on the cool water
they swiftly quietly pass
race to the finish

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Play on Faces

Okay -- I finished my first class. A Play on Faces with Cynthia Anderson. Well, I finished the class, but I didn't finish the artwork :)(do I ever???). I made two VERY different pieces, and am liking how they both are coming along.....
Work in progress:(thanks Joanne for catching my double chin in that one :)

( I need to get a body on that head)

Next is a super quick background:
Hopefully I'll be able to finish these while I'm here....

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Little gifties


I've been making these tags as small gifts for friends. I've made a bunch to give out at ArtUnraveled to friends and teachers!

Here is my line up of classes:
Wed -- Play on Faces with Cynthia Anderson
Thurs night -- Waxed Collage with Trish Seggebruch
Fri -- Plastered in Wax with Trish Seggebruch
Friday night -- Wild about tiles with Laurie Mika
Saturday -- Transcribed with Kelly Kilmer
Sunday --The Journey with Ruth Rae
Sunday Night and Monday -- Controlled Chaos with Raina Gentry and Kristine Kollasch
Tuesday -- maybe.... Buried Treasure Folk Art Doll with Olivia Thomas....

The best thing about this huge lineup of classes is that I didn't have to buy anything. I already had ALL of the supplies. Well, except for the wood pieces for the waxed classes. My dad cut them. Thanks Daddy!

Then I get to hang out with Maija for a few days! WooHoo! I'm not sure what I'm more excited about. Hanging with Maija -- or taking classes. Hmmm.... Maija wins! (Mr. B was supposed to meet me here and we were supposed to travel in the desert -- but he couldn't come at the last minute :(

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Traveling again!


This time I'm in Phoenix visiting Maija and going to ArtUnraveled. I just adore Maija! And I can't wait to see Ruth and Kelly and Joanne -- and all of the other people that I never get to see.

I'm sure that I'll be posting a lot -- if my computer cooperates. I couldn't access the internet in Toronto's airport -- I try to connect and then get this comment saying "you are connected to the internet, but have limited access" Does anyone know how to fix this? I did diagnostics and tried to fix, but it said to contact my administrator (that would be ME). I was in tears in the airport over this -- especially since they took my little fold up scissors away -- so I couldn't do my embroidery either!

I'll really miss my garden at home -- the tomatoes are just about to ripen!

Lauren is rowing again at Henley -- so I'm sure that I'll be posting about that too! She's undefeated this season in her pair (or double)(well, one of the races that has 2 people in the boat -- she races both)