ABC Wednesday on a Thursday, B is for... Better

I am having a better day today for which I am thankful. First thing this morning, I framed a picture; the deer print for Nate's birthday which is on this day. I pulled out one of the black fish frames (see previous post), found a small, more manish looking bag to almost fit both frames even if the fish tail sticks out upward. At least it is not belly up! LOL As I looked at the fish frame, I realized I needed to paint the fish eye baby blue, but could have left it brown since they have a lot of paneling in their living room. So I did that in a nono second. I have that down to an art now. I trimmed Rhett's newspaper clipping for this week and adhered it to a piece of red construction paper since it was about Valentine candy. On the way to school, he told me he was hoping I cut the red paper into a heart shape, but Grandma and I interrupted him when he was trying to tell me that yesterday evening. Mom was telling me my Uncle Bert had another stroke and was at the ER. That was an emergency and I reminded him of that fact. I told him I couldn't have cut it into a heart shape anyway unless I had a larger size red poster board. It was a very creative idea and I am proud of him for thinking of it.

As I was dressing, I selected what I now consider my Valentine turtleneck. It is a cream colored background or beige with black, tan and gold flowers. It reminds me of toile which I love. I gave one like it to my two best friends Genie and Penny for Valentine's last year.

I was going to take a photo of the three blouses I wore this week but the battery was very low in the camera. I deleted photos I didn't like from yesterday's photo shoot at T. J. Maxx. I packed the battery charger in my BIG bag so I could charge it at work. I'll take that photo later. The only thing I did not do was make Nate's birthday card using Rhett's balloon photo. It will only take a few mintues to make.

So I have already been artistic and creative early this morning.

Today I took a tour of Georgia via this site: http://strollingthroughgeorgia.blogspot.com/

You should go there too. It has some wonderful photos of my home state. I went via Norway, but could only look at photos because I don't read Norwegian or Swedish. It made me want to go some place to take photos. Is my battery charged yet? LOL

After reading Janet's comment on my blog about ABC Wednesday, I went to the site that sponsors it which is: http://mrsnesbittsplace.blogspot.com/

I kept looking around for words that began with the letter B even if I am a day late and a dollar short as always. The most obvious B was me having a bad hair day but I refused to photograph it! I thought of the time book which I am the keeper of and I have used once before in another post. This book has become a real chore I'd rather not do. It feels like a yoke on my shoulders. I'd much rather be creating something.

A new opportunity with a lot more responsiblity may be in the making for me... would I want to be the editor of the work newsletter? After seeing a friend today who doesn't have the time for it, I have been thinking about it even though she did not come outright to ask me. I thought it might have been a hint and she wanted me to volunteer but I didn't. There is no money involved. Just my time. I will think about it, sleep on it, talk to Don, pray and then talk to my boss about it should I decide to go down that avenue.

When I went to lunch, I knew I had a "Better Homes & Gardens" magazine on the backseat of my car that mom gave me to read when I had time. I didn't have a chance until today since I finished The Accidental Vampire yesterday. I hate to begin another book right away. I like to savor it a bit longer.

So now I have my first ABC Wednesday B is for... post on a Thursday. While at the site, I noticed a post for a Blog Your Blessings on Sundays. I already acknowledge my blessings as they come my way and add them on my blog. I may still join that one later.

Today I feel as if I am searching for something... perhaps the perfect medium to use; my next piece of art but... I just haven't found it yet....

Reminder to self: Take a photo of Rhett's black bear "Blackie". He actually did take one of him when we first got the digi camera. This was before I got a memory card. I had to ask him if I could delete it because we could always take another one of Blackie and I needed the room for another photo. He said it was ok. Maybe I'll let him take it again.

By going to ABC Wednesday, I learned every picture tells a story in someone's life. Even if we speak different languages, photographs are universal. We can all take snapshots of flowers. It is capturing that one photo that stands out among all the others. The one that makes you go, "Wow!" or "Oh, my!" or as Rhett would say, "COOL!" You see one really outstanding photo that should win an award for best photography but the blog is in a foreign language you don't speak so you can't tell the owner of the photo. My friend Silvia might like some of the blogs from Norway where I went to today. Where did you go today?

Quotes of the Day:

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy.

-Henry Ward Beecher-

This reminds me of something my friend Bob one said and I have used his quote before....

"If all the flowers bloomed at once, the bees would get confused."

Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward.

~Carol Channing~

My pagan craft name is Rebecca Irridescent-Spirit Silver Candle.

As you can see and read for yourself, I am loving this B word.

Calm

This was what I needed. Although I don't see calm as being red. It was the word I needed today.
What word did you need today?

The Cooling Blue Mask

In Search of Teal

After work, I did what always helps me when I am in a mood... I go shopping! I went to T. J. Maxx to look for socks, but found none to my liking. I hurriedly looked in my usual haunts, the lingerie part, the boys' section and always the frames. I saw a couple of pieces that caught my eye then I began napping photos. I began searcing for teal things. I found this collander. I didn't really like the first one so much because it had a torn sticker inside it. Too pickie I know so I took another view minus the sticker. I took more but they don't fit here with the subject.

Would you go searching for a color?

Finding new things to photograph: priceless.

Not spending any money: Even more priceless.

Teal

The button said, "Start fresh"
Bluer colors moving across teal
looking coolish
not foolish
and I am extremely loving the parts
of that color today
moving through near dead silence
before the house awakens.

Monday I wore the blues well
I wore a bluish turtleneck with a teal paisley design
Yesterday I wore minty green
topped with evergeen branches, marrooned birds
and teal blue birds.
Today I am teal.
I will consume the color
or will it consume me?

I once knew a girl named Teal
Did she feel it?
Did she like her name?
Was it that different from Ruby or Jane?
Wonder who she is now?
Where she is?
What become of her life?
Did she live up to the name?
Does anyone?

What color are you today?
~theRAV~

I finished The Accidental Vampire. Now what?

She said, she said...

This afternoon I turned from teal to purple.... I let someone get to me today over something so childishly silly. She who will remain nameless did not not like it because another lady asked for whom the phone held. I simply answered, "Her" for the nameless one. Her told me she had a name. I told her I had food in my mouth when I said it. Then she said, "But you could say 'her'." So I said, "Well, E-X-C-U-S-E ME!" very sarcastically. She mumbled something else I couldn't hear, but I let that slide by. Why? Had I reached my boiling point? I HATE working with tempermental, moody women! Being an artist full time is looking better and better especially at moments like this one. But I have a family to support, bills to pay, supplies to buy so that is only a dream for now. I guess I just got a pissy attitude today. Sorry. I think I am entitled. I haven't had one for awhile. It just killed me to call her by her name moments ago but she wasn't in the room so it doesn't count.

"She Who Will Be Nameless"

The black eeriness is swirling
over the purple rages in the skies
over the the office at work again.
She who will be nameless arrives
Late as always
Dictating her time in hours
which isn't right
for I am the Keeper of Time
and her's is running out
as is my patience with her.
It became a pissing contest
about hearing her name spoken.
Those letters left unsaid.
I speak sarcastically to get my message across
then ending it with the eeriness of swearing silently
then total silence
where the devil awaits.

Now the black eeriness fades back
into lavendar haze
easing the devil one more.
Back to normal?
Far too much silence spoken
thickens the air.
Ask me if I care?
She shall remain nameless in my book
forever and ever.
Amen.


Janet of Lavendar loft helped turn my day back around with a neat post about Bricks today. She took a photo of an unusual brick chimney she passes by frequently. I wasn't quite sure about the rules of the ABC Wedesday thing, but I went with my own B words... which seems kinda fitting... LOL Thanks for that, Janet.

"B Words"

buffer pads ordered
butler's shoes
bypasses bypassed
about to blare out her gospel screechings
by reaching for my Bon Jovi cd
or better yet the Rolling Stones'
"Sympathy for the Devil" anyone?
The old Becky is back.
Boisterous as ever.
I welcome her.
~theRAV~

Three poems in one day. Hey! Hey! Hey! Maybe I should get pissed more often! I guess that is my word for the day since I have used it so much.

Minty Green Day

1/29/08 This morning I picked up my branch piece inspired by Silvia and added a tiny bit more to it. Just don't know when to leave something alone, but luckily I didn't mess it up. I did get minty green paint from my paint marker on my thumb. So I had sort of a green thumb. LOL Of course if any ink gets on my fingers, it always reminds me of Susannah of http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com/
Because of this, I decided to wear a minty green top that just happens to have evergreen brances and dark red birds in a repeating pattern throught it. Color Coincidence?

I made someone smile this morning with a funny email I sent out yesterday. A great way to start Sabrina's day. Hope it continues for them longer than it did for me the day before...

Blog hopped. Discovered I had a comment on my blog about my lake post in the post entitled "Ole Baby Blue". Wow! I cannot believe someone out there in blog land actually knows the place I was writing about. That lake was one of my favorite places to go as a child and a teeneager going into adulthood. This person's father actually worked at the lake so he had perhaps as strong memories as mine. To think he had been there... before I was born and could describe it is strange, but exciting to read their history of the lake. Thanks, Marty for sharing with me. Cool. I'll have to ask my Daddy if he knew the family.

"Minty Green "

Minty green skies
a strange arrives
cool silver eeriness
I shiver.
Silver never fades
into minty green beginnings
unless it tarnishes
to a greenish tint
which can be polished off
with a polishing cloth.
The green disappears
as if by magic.
Shinning silver
like new.
~theRAV~

May your day be minty green fresh with creative ideas....

Did you know today is the day that Poe first printed "Quoth the RAVen"?

The Sarsparilla Kid

Rhett and I went to a new place called "Cowboys" Saturday. It was cool. How cool would it be to work in cowboy attire? I ordered fried zucinni and mushrooms with hot wings which were too hot. Rhett got mac-n-cheese and a root beer or sarsparilla. (We had ordered sarparillas when we were at Old Town in Wichita visting the Emery's a few summers ago.) There was a booth that was the "jail". So I took Rhett's photo there. When I was about to pay for the meal, I asked the waitress if she could add a tip to it. Now our bill was only $20.15. When she brought back the receipt for me to sign, it said $57.84! I almost croacked. She told me that was the way the machine did it. I told her I could not sign this. I finally told her how much it said I owed and she took the receipt back. I was not a happy drifter to this saloon. Rhett kept saying, "We won't be coming back here for awhile" over and over so I must have looked really mad. She came back with the right ticket. I gave her a cash tip instead, but I wouldn't leave without her showing me she'd put that money back into my debit account. I have a receipt to prove it.

Wolf camera was next door to the Cowboys so we printed out these photos. I wanted to go to the scrapbook store in the same shopping center anyway. There I found THE perfect cowboy paper. I went back out to the car to get the new photos to match them with this paper. I also bought one that had a lot of cowboy words that I cut to make the title. I had to add the word "Dude" to it because Rhett is always calling guys that. He got it from the turtles in "Nemo". Sometimes I have to tell him to stop saying it so much. He's even called me one and I let him know immediately I was NOT a dude! I cut Rhett's head off in the first photo, but was able to fix it by adding a cowboy hat. That is one of the great things about scrapbooking. I was really excited about it & couldn't wait to get home to start on it. It took me a little bit longer than I expected. Don got home from his last day of hunting and I was just finishing it up. So we had grilled cheese and soup for supper as we watched "Game Plan".

I was pretty proud of this piece. The thing about scrapbooking is you make sure you put dates on your pages which is a good thing, but it also lets you know how long it has been since the last time you scrapbooked. It had been four years for me which is sad.

In case you can't read the story, I told about what we ate, Rhett, aka "the Sarsparilla Kid" getting thrown in jail for being an underage drinker for drinking the sarsparilla. The wrong receipt and then him worrying that his mom was going to get thrown in real jail for not signing the receipt!

I sent this out an email yesterday before posting it on my blog. My friend Bob thinks I am such a cool mom which made my day.

The Question

Jan 28, 2008, Today was a great day when it began. I received a very funny email I shared with others so they could laugh too. I got an email from my friend Penny. It is always good to hear from her. She is now working as an aide at school so she has the same schedule as the rest of her family. How cool is that? I blog hopped through my every growing list of blogs. I found inspiration from Kyra's blog http://colormekyra.blogspot.com/ where she asked this question:

"Do you ever wonder if you pick Art ... or if it picked you?" Then she said exactly how I feel about art nowdays.... "It is literally something I have to do." Amen!

I emailed the very talented Kyra to ask her permission if I could to use those words here on my blog. She emailed me back almost immediately. WOW! Kyra kindly gave me her permission to post those words. Thanks, Kyra. Today I am astounded by all the kindness I have received from fellow bloggers. I have "met" some really nice people. I am very thankful for that.

If Kyra should look at my blog, although I don't know when she would find the time, I won't feel as I did when I made my abstract for my first postcard swap. I guess I have gained some confidence in myself and my artwork. I won't worry that she would think I am weird. Now I know I am just expressing myself. In fact, I can't stop! It doesn't really matter if some likes my art or not, but I hope they do like it. I am encouraged by my friends' responses to the ones they like. Even the one they don't care for. I've only had one negative comment from a friend, but he is entitled to his own opinion. I still value his opinion as well as his friendship. I just can't look at the piece without remembering what he thought it looked like.

I am so loving this blogging thing today!

My day got progressively worse as it wore on, I felt loaded down with one thing after another, not finishing one before another was thrown at me. Two copiers went down on the same day. What are the odds of that happening again? I don't think I want to know! I couldn't fix them. I could probably get a job with IKON, but that is not my ideal dream occupation. My dream job would be being a successful working, paid artist. I am already a starving artist. The desire to be a full time artist makes my real job frustrating at times such as today. A computer kept freezing up on me. What was it with machinery? I finally got everything in the system by 5 pm. I went to the bank to make the deposit with what I was able to complete. I knew I would have to finish the rest of the paperwork tomorrow. I was pretty tired. Felt a khalua and cream calling me... I still had two bills to pay, but did no shopping so you know I was tired! I saw my friend Jim and apologized to him for not returning his phone call.

We had fish sticks & fries for supper which were good despite the two brown substances that looked fried chicken livers in the package. I will write a letter to Mrs. Paul. I have not checked on the internet. Of course I arrange 13 fish sticks down one side of my pan, 13 down the other & 3 in the middle. Creative cooking? My friend Penny would just say it is my meticulousness.

After supper, I think I finished my green swirly trees (which are in the background of the1st pic) and added some red birds which was a first for me; outside my comfort zone. I may still add a sun with a face to it. Then I created another piece inspired by Silvia's drawings and the blouse (see previous post). I took a photo of the later. It reminds me of invitation paper you would find in a card shop, particulary one of those where you can have invitations printed. I was proud of myself for creating something in about two hours. If you look on the right had side, you can see a face or at least I do. It wasn't intentional.

theRAV

Post for Jan. 19, 2008

Remember how I am always tell you how inspiration can come in any form or fashion? Today it came through the mail. Guidepost sends out a couple of their greeting card in hopes you will buy them. I used to buy them before Rhett came into our lives. They have short, touching stories on the back of the cards. Some of these were repeats. The last quote is one of them which I sent out before. I believe it bears repeating again... This first one was on the back of a card:

"I live in a very beautiful place: Durango, Colorado. I'm grateful that I can look out my windows and see mountains and evergreen trees, clear blue skies, and sometimes even deer and elk. But at times I've wondered why God bothered to make all this beauty - it seems so unnecessary, so extravagant.

But now I have a theory about beauty. I think it's one of the ways God brings healing to our hurt world. In appreciating beautiful things, we experience healing for our brokenness, and by sharing or creating beauty, we can extend that healing to others who are hurting.

Some years ago, in a time of great brokenness and pain in my life, I was staying with friends in their comfortable home. Every morning I woke up early, unable to sleep. And every morning I eould hear a light tap on my door, open it to find a lovely tea tray: a tiny vase of flowers; a brightly colored napkin, a silver spoon and china cup; a pot of tea. While the tea warmed my body, the beauty of the tray helped to bring healing to my soul.

All of us aren't artists and architects, poets and composers, but we still can participate in the creation of beauty. It doesn't take a lot of money, either: a few green sprigs in a glass of water; a word of hope and encouragement; an invitation to a leisurely walk in the park; a lighted candle on a dinner table, tulip bulbs planted in a window box; a plate of muffings hot out of the oven. In a multitude of ways, we can be channels of God's healing, putting a little more beauty into our world and into our lives."
~Mary Jane Clark~

"We watchers play an important role in the lives of other, who need to know that someone is cheering especially for them.
~Gina Bridgemna~

Hope you had a good long weekend especiall if you were off Monday as Rhett and I were. Yeah us! Don and I cleaned out the medicine cabinet. It's hard to believe something that small could hold so much. The garbage was almost filled. Don had the beginnings of a cold and did not hunt today. Are you as shocked as I am? It may be dreary out, but there is color inside my soul waiting to burst out in the form of some art. For now it is taking on the written word sent to you.

Ode to Silvia

Clear blue skies over the Netherlands

clearing the way

for my blogger friend Silvia has arrived into her own

She has drawn more branches;

She is branching out.

The blue beginnings

fade into rich earthy tones

of browns and greens.

Yesterday I bought a blouse at JCPenney's

that reminded me of Silvia's drawings

as you can see...

You decide

by going to http://dreamergirl.typepad.com/

It made me want to draw and paint this.

What inspired you today?

~theRAV~

"The Raven is Once More"

With his black plummed pen poised over paper,
he drinks from his bottle of ink
instead of his brandy.
Will his black pen poison him?

There are gray skies over the castle again.
Poe arrives, writes about the dark and dreary
Is there no end to this gloominess
from his poisoned pen?

The only bright part
is that poised pen
and the dead silence
where the raven awaits...

The black ink fades
into more grayness
The raven is once more.
~theRAV~

"Ole Baby Blue"

Yesterday I had very creative day as you read for yourself. I was still basking in the glow of "Channeling Poe, writing a poem, uploading photos, creating "roots" that will hopefully grow into something bigger then uploading that photo. Whew! I'm not through... ! I also submitted another idea to zazzle.com I made a pinkish colored button that says:

"Yeah
me!"

as London Tipton of the "Suite Life of Zack & Cody" would say. It was like a pat on the back for ALL the creating I have been doing lately. I will try to post the link, but if I am unsuccessful, just go to zazzle.com and type in " theRAV " in the box. Hopefully it will take you to my work.

Needless to say I did not feel the need to create any more once I got home unless you consider nuking Marie Callendar's lasgne and making garlic toast with the new Shed's Spread garlic butter. The garlic butter was very good.

I had a dream... where I decide to let others read my blog and get paid for it. All the advertisers on the sides of my blogs were good ones. Is it a sign I should do this?

Our cable was off this morning. On the way to work I heard a song "What a Night, December, 1963" by the 4 Seasons which took me back to yesterday. To the summer of 1975. The month of July. I know this because... I'd just gotten a job at JCPenney's. I'd just gotten my 1st car. It was the weekend I'd gotten my baby blue camero. Daddy and I drove up to Lake Houston. Daddy worked for Tom Houston Peanut CO which later became known as Tom's Peanuts which is no more. Lance bought them out last year. The company owned this beautiful lake property where employees could go. We loved it up there and had many family picnics. It was also where I took most of my pictures with my cameras and then my Minolta. There was a pool which was fed by a natural spring so it was freezing cold! Makes me cold just thinking about it. Brr. There was a jukebox you could play for free with a wooden dance floor. The only thing I didn't like about the place was all the bees!

On that day, my friend Katherine T. and her family happened to be staying up at the main cabin where the higher-ups such as president of the company and the vice-presidents could vacation. Whereas I could only walk up all those steps leading to it to view it from the outside, hoping no one was staying there at the time. I could only dream of one day being on the inside, but that dream never came true for me. Katherine had come down to the pool area. I told her about my new car and took her for a s-l-o-w drive around the lake. That song was playing on the radio. A good memory. I should email her about it... Wonder if she still remembers?

Much to my surprise I had an American Idol cup on my desk when arrived at work. I also had a fill-in-the-blanks email copy. The paranoid person in me was asking, "Who has been at my desk?" muchlike Goldilocks in "The Three Bears" asking, "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" Later I found out it was from Bubba Mason. He got it in New Orleans at a University of Georgia game. (YEAH!) The other was from Gil. I thought Gil had given me the cup. Nice surprises. Mystery solved.

My friend Jim had left me a message on my cell phone yesterday. Judy Orr's husband died. If I'd had my cell on, I could have stopped by the funeral home for the visitation. So I sent an email out to all my JCP buds.

Heath Ledger died yesterday. What a loss of someone so young, handsome and promising.

On a happier note, I was inspired again by Janet's paper dolls she made at Lavendar Loft. That is something I never would have thought of to create. It brought back some fond memories of my childhood. I remember having Haley Mills' paper dolls from a Disney movie she made where they played croquette. I can't remember the name of the movie now, but I do remember those paper dolls. There was one gorgeous blue ruffled layered gown I really liked because of the color of the blue. I wonder if Mom still has them? They probably have yellowed by now. The blue may be green! LOL So thanks for that memory, Janet. Today was several trips down Memory Lane for me. What did you remember today?

Quote of the Day:



Measure your wealth by the things you have that no one could buy at any price.
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.-

Go to http://dreamergirl.typepad.com/dreamer_girl/2008/01/smile.html to read her poem entitled "Smile". After having worked in retail for 16 years, I could relate to it. Plus it is a cute poem that will make you smile. I will share it with my JCP buds.

Then I went to e-muse again. http://www.poetryexpress.org/emuse/emuse.html
and wrote another poem.

"Ole Baby Blue"

Today I heard an old song on the radio
I remembered...
where I was
who I was with
when I heard it.

I was in my 1975 baby blue camero
driving ever so slowly
for fear of wreaking.
There were clear blue skies over the lake house.
My friend Katherine arrived down from it,
walking to the icy cement pool of cold spring water.
I was remembering about
how happy we were to be driving teenagers,
but the golden part
was the car
driving ever so slowly
around those curves
surrounding the lake
where the fish awaited.

The light baby blue car faded
It was wrecked many times
but I survived.
Later it was painted IROC blue.
Looking good!
It made many trips to Orlando
to love
until love had no more time for me.
The car lasted longer than most of my relationships.
It lasted until after I was married.
I can't remember the year we traded it in
for a T-bird.
The car was on its almost last journey.
We drove it to a dealership out-of-town.
It was smoking!
We diverted the salesman away
to the other side of the lot.
No sale that day.
I prayed we'd make it home
and we did.
I miss ole blue sometimes.
~theRAV~

Then I discovered another blog by Karen Beth. Go to: http://zazazu.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/southern-bell/
I love the collage she made on this particular post, the woman in it with all the amazing colors that work so well. But being a true southern belle myself, I love the fact that she put "Ya'll spoken here." Sort of like I did with my fall postcard swap by putting, "Happy Fall, Ya'll!"

I just began reading The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands. I had a good tuna sandwich for lunch today. May get another one tomorrow.

Because I wore a teal turtleneck, because I wrote about my baby blue camaro, I feel those colors calling to me..., but they will have to wait til tonight. What colors are calling your name?

Finally caught up with myself again. Need to check to see if the cable is working. If not, I will probably have to trade the box in which means I will have to take time off work.

Roots - more serendipity

Today I had a large, thick envelope in my big bag that once held pictures from Walmart. It now holds my latest doodlings and creations so they wouldn't get bent. The flap that folded over the back of it split in half. It sat on my desk for most of the day. When I picked it up later this afternoon, I noticed how it tore on one side. It reminded me to tearings for stamping. The only ink pad I had in my cabinet at work was a black micropore. I stamped the image several time on my doodle pad like a good stamper would do. It reminded me of roots which all of us have. I can see it becoming a desert picture... hopefully. I have proved once again inspiration can come from anywhere.

What I learned to day....

"emblem- figurative representation; symbol; distinctive badge; ensign.

A token is some object given or an act done as a pledge or expression of feeling or intent; a ring, the natural emblem of eternity and also its accepted symbol is frequently given as a token of friendship or love.

insignia - Badges, emblems, etc used as marks of office and distinction. Things significant or indicative of a calling."
-from the New International Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary (1996)

"Magenta"

Rhett started back to school today. I got my morning off to a great start with a smile due to my friend Bob's email. I was in a good mood. The "supervisor" is out sick for a 3rd day in a row. Before I arrived, they'd faxed a copy of her time card to HR because the director thinks she has over-extended her family medical leave. So I better enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts today.... Tomorrow will be a different story. It is hard to believe it has been almost a year since all this began.

I went to Sonic for lunch so I could get more of those jr burgerswith lots of chopped onions! YUM! As I was eating them, I was checking blogs since I am not into a book at the moment. One blog always leads to another. Susannah's led me to one http://parisparfait.typepad.com/paris_parfait/ to read the poem entitled "At the crossroads" which I liked. That led me to the following:
http://www.poetryexpress.org/emuse/emuse.html
where you can fill in the blanks to form a poem of sorts. I kept going back and changing my answers until it read better and fit me. Then I wrote my poem long hand adding more to it. I had to re-edit it as I typed it in Word Perfect. This is the poem I came up with today...

"Magenta"

Oh, sweet Magenta, your brightness is inspiring to me
Your color takes me back to yesterday;
To cotton candy pink skies over Hawaii.
As I re-arrive in my mind's eye,
I am carrying on like an annoying tropical bird
going on and on about the most beautiful and undescribable;
mainly the most colorful parts of the mainland
every single inch of it
that is inspiring me in the silence of the awe factor
where the lamb awaits,
But not for slaughter.

Now Magenta's brightness fades slightly
Into new lavender beginnings.
Going violet.
Another perfect sunset ending another perfect day.
~theRAV~

Go to the site and create your own poem today... I'd love to read what you wrote today.

Quote of the Day:

Life's a stove; cook on all four burners.
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.-
(I usually only use the two front burners! LOL The only other time I have used all of them was during a holiday meal or when Don's family is here.)

Channeling Poe

1/21/08 MLK day. Rhett and I were both off while Don had to work. We slept late of course. I got the house all toasty so I could take a shower and wash my hair. When I went to take a photo of part of my hair, I realized all the photos I took from Saturday on were on the camera's memory and it was full!

I uploaded the pics from the camera to the computer, but I couldn't get them to upload in emails. I think because I used a title instead dates & uploaded differently than last time. I will have to re-do them. Again I was kicking myself. I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself; I should be more gentle with me, but some days I am hard on me. This was another one of those days.

Rhett wanted to go to the movies, but I wasn't really in the mood for it. By the time we got to Mom's to pick up his book bag, the 2nd choice movie we were going to see was not playing at the cheap movies. "Game Plan" was to be released on the 22nd. It has bloopers and other things on the video so I talked Rhett into renting it this weekend. To compensate, I told him he could rent one. We went to Sonic to eat dinner in the car with the heat on. I had a really good burger; so good in fact, I ordered another jr burger. Rhett picked out "Unaccompanied Minors". We picked up something from Wendy's for Don to eat. Don was feeling better, but said he had a bad coughing spell that morning at work.

Don wanted to watch "Kyle XY" so Rhett & and watched his movie in his room on his Sponge Bob tv. It was hilarious at times. As it ended, "Kyle" was ending also even though it seemed longer with all their adventures. I guess I was torn between watching a movie with my son and watching tv with my husband.

Once I settled on the couch, I was wondering what artistic thing I could do.... I picked up the construction pad we use to put newspaper clippings Rhett has to turn in every Thursday. What color to use? A lighter colored one. So I picked yellow. I drew two swirls. I thought they looked like eyes and it went from there.... It was a man with graying hair. Then I started writing around it, writing how I started with swirls and just wrote what came to mind. I called it "Channeling Poe." The bottom close-up reminds me of the actor Louie Nye so I am really dating myself here. It took me 15 minutes to make, I took pictures of it of course as you can see... Hope you can read the words. If not, let me know...

My Indian Name is "Kicking Myself"

My Indian name should be "Kicking Myself". It was so cold on Sunday morning that I just could not get seem to get warm. I think the cold gave me one of my headaches. It was like a tension headache on one side of my head and pounded if I bent over. I stayed home from the morning church services because of it when I should have put my new hat Rhett gave me for my birthday and went on because I missed meeting the Basses' artist friend from Pine Mountain!

When my guys got home, I put the hat on, a t-shirt underneath a thick wool sweater with a cowl neck that would stay up around my ears, thick socks and my red clogs with the lining so we could go back to the Chinese place again. The semi-hot egg drop soup and hot tea finally warmed me up past thawed. Back at home, I cut out a lot of words and mostly red pieces til time to go back to church. Then the Basses told me I missed their artist friend. Oh, well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be... I would have thought Mrs. June would have let me know so I could have at least updated my portfolio. I guess I need to work on that.

I had our fortunes from our fortune cookies, but I left my notebook(s) at home. I will post those later...

Don had to watch his hunting channel so I checked emails and blogs. Our shows were re-runs so I stayed on the computer longer. Rhett wanted to make muffins and I supervise so I let him. I patiently showed him how to grease the pan and I let him do the rest. He even put the pan in the oven with oven mitts on. They turned out good. He took a picture of them himself. Don ate almost all of them!

Leah led me to another creative post about mugs so I followed the instructions and took a photo of my favorite coffee mug. Only I am not a coffee person. I am a Pepsi person. I do drink hot chocolate from this mug I bought at Disney world with my name on it. I think it holds more than our everyday china pattern. Beside it was one of Madge's mugs that said "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". On the other side was one of my fave Pepsi glasses. I did not upload them to her flicker page because it is something I have never done before and was a bit afraid. Still I was excited and could see this as a scrapbook page about me. I have so few of those.

I put the finishing touches from the words I cut out on my B Creative card I made Friday.

Books of Interest

I was having the most erotic dream about Don when Rhett woke me up out of a deep, dead sleep this morning.

Don and I cleaned out the medicine cabinet while he was looking for antibiotics. There was supposed to be a chance of snow. Rhett was all excited about it. I did not feel like it would snow. My friend Anne is supposed to send snow pics from Carollton, GA. Once Rhett sees them, he'll want to go there! Caught up on a few emails. I sent out a Guidepost greeting as well as my own quote of the day.

Cut out more scraps. Saw a theme... Cooked beef stew for supper. As I was cutting the potatoes for the stew, there was a hear-shape on the tater so I immediately got my camera and snapped it. Rhett showed me the peeling in the tin pan I was using to hold the peelings. That one peeling was heart-shaped also; a reverse of the potato. So I stood the potato in the pan next to the peeling and snapped the shutter. Talk about a meal made with love. LOL

We watched "The Terminal". My beef stew was good. I made the cornbread differently by cooking it in a cake pan. It wasn't as sweet as when I use Jiffy mix, but I have to use up what I have on hand by Martha White first.

I saw a book I think I'd like to read and possibly try to make. It is called Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Sock Book. How cool would it be to make my own socks or make a pair for someone else? Just what I need... another craft project. I have a box full of materials and ribbons to make Christmas balls like I started making last Christmas (see previous post). I did not make any more of them after the holidays like I said I was going to do. Because I needed somewhere to write the title of the sock book I wanted to read, the first thing I saw was the new notebook/journal Genie gave me yesterday. This palm sized journal will fit into my purse so I can take it to the library to see if they have the sock book. Even the sale price in the catalog was $14.98 plus shipping. I did not want to pay that. Another book of interest is one entitled Get the Most From Your Digital Camera. I'll have to check them out... If any of you out there has read them, please let me know.

The New Journal

My best friend Genie gave me a new notebook/journal/book for my birthday. The brightly colored package arrived and was waiting for me at the door. I knew immediately it was from her. Rhett wanted to open it, but I told him, "It was for my birthday." I began writing in it the next day. I liked the way the ink looked on the pages. It reminded me of the old fashioned fountain pen ink I used to love to write with as a younger girl. A lost art nowdays in the computerized world we live.

I was mad at Don because he said he was sick and was not going to hunt. Instead he got up early, took a shower knowing I'd said I was going to wash my hair. There was no way I was going to start washing it then run out of hot water as cold as it was. I felt that he could have waited.

I created another good piece of artwork I was proud of. It took about an hour.

I had a few errands to run after work. I came home early for me. Don still wasn't home. I left him a message on his cell phone telling him where Rhett and I were going to eat. I wanted Applebee's. Rhett wanted Chinese. As we were pulling into the parking lot of the Chinese place, Don called me on my cell phone. He was just leaving the woods and said he'd eat something at home. We probably should have done that but the crab legs were good; just not as good as Red Lobster.

Don was home and on the couch by the time we got there. Just as I sat down, he the nerve to ask me if I'd fix him a bowl of tomato soup. I told him, "NO!" I felt as if he were sick, but could still go to the woods, not come home in time to eat with us, he could fix it himself! He knew I wanted to be home by 9 to watch my vamp show which he said he totally forgot about it. So I got the book off to a bad start by being mad at my husband.

One Lone Bird

I saw him when I was about to enter the bank. I zoomed in on him. I thought it might be easy draw and paint. That is easy to say now. He is black like a raven. At some point in our lives we are like him - alone and out on limb waiting for the right bird to fly our way so we can take flight together and fly off into the sunset.

Then I saw a bunch of birds sitting ontop of the letters of a Waffle House sign, one on each letter. It was at a place that is hard to get out of especially in evening traffic so I had to pass on them.

theRAV

B Creative Card by theRAV

I cut out the B this morning. I had the color red on my mind as Color Me Kyra did on her blog and since my few cuttings were a mostly red pieces. I played around with it for about an an hour, adding then subtracting and this is the results. I printed out my blog post for the day, cut out some words from it and titles from previous posts this year. I hand wrote the word Creative because I wanted it to stand out by itself. Swirls did not work despite what I posted earlier about them. I attempted a swirl over the i in Creative but I messed it up. That brought about my quote about "Don't stess if you mess up....". So I decided to dot the i with white out. I found this black strip of cardstock and was attempting to make a random exclaimation point. The white-out wasn't dry so it made a mess. The top of the mess looked sort of like a heart so I went "ok". I did not get mad. I did not get upset. I did not trash my work because I made a mistake. So I was very proud of myself. The black piece turned itself over and there was the repeated pattern on it. So I glued it to show the repeating pattern. So I made lemonade out of my mess. I am quite happy with it. I am amazed yet again.

I can only get into my blog so many times a day then it kicks me out and I keep going to some other site that does not lead me back to my blog. It is very frustrating. I quickly took a picture of it on a white background. I took the second one also, but I think I like the 1st one best.

Where You Are

"...One single drop of water to a thirsty soul..." ~theRAV~

Remember that who you are with is always more important than where you are.
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr-

Today I am thrilled to the max. I had two comments on yesterday's blog post. I "met" Janet of Lavendar Loft via an email. A new artisically creative fellow blogger/friend. If you visited her blog yesterday via my link, please do visit her flicker site at:
http://www.flicker.com/photos/jkbees. Click on her photostream to view all her wonderful work. It is well worth the visit. I will be thinking of her artwork the rest of the day... I love how all of us are different in our styles yet I see similarities in theme. I know it is a good thing our art is different yet the similarities are comforting to me.

I am loving this creative streak I am on. Long may it continue...

I knew it would be hard to top yesterday's creation and was not expecting to out-do myself. So it is just more bits and pieces that will eventually form a whole piece of work. Thus another quote from theRAV...

"When all else fails for inspiration, just start doodling. If it works it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Even if it's only swirls, you can save them and always use them later in another piece of artwork." ~theRAV~

It is ironically funny where the titles for a blog post can come from sometimes.... I began my morning with a single drop of water on my windshield. I knew I wanted to be that drop of water to someone today. I know that I am that to my husband as he is to me. I wanted to be a single drop of inspiration for others and I certainly hope that I am.

Some blog titles are simple and easy to pluck from the sky or are whispered in our ears from our muses. Some are quite obviously meant to be suited to a particular post. Those are the easy ones. Some are harder than others. Some of the hard ones that are not forthcoming may just be entry numbers, but then it becomes too hard a task to keep track of the numbers. Thus the title may become that day's date.

When I began writing this in my Gratitude journal, I had no title for today's post until now. I read my inspirational calendar as soon as I turned my computer on as always and knew that quote would be here. I blog surfed. I cut out a few red things. I have another idea using the same colors I used yesterday... Then I came across this quote...

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
-Teddy Roosevelt-

... that ends with the exact words as the H. Jackson Brown, Jr. quote and I knew... that was my title. How cool is that? It's like coming full circle? Is there a name for it? A continuation of yesterday's seredipty spilling over into today. A reassurance that I am where I am supposed to be... Where are you?

"Don't stress when you make a mess. Make a collage instead." ~theRAV~

Serendipity

This is something I created awhile back. It hangs on my open cubby wall where lots of laminated pieces of art I cut from magazines hang.

Today was a clean page on my doodle pad. It has been a few days since my last doodle with the Y's and the hearts. What to do now? I attempted a new experiment using tips Leah and Lavendar Loft of http://jkbees.blogspot.com posted whom I discovered thru Leah's blog. I wanted to make something using these colors:

black for the unknown

violet for creativity

purple for passion

red for creation

orange for playfulness

yellow to stimulate the mind....

Hey! I was even creative with my ketup... it squirted out in a unique line which I photographed, but I didn't like the colors when I uploaded it here so I deleted it. The photo did incorporate the yellow and red I was going to use today, but the red looked almost black. How serendipitious. My chicken wrap from McDonald's was very good. I was cutting out words and designs while eating and writing this entry in my Gratitude journal. I have started "cuttings" here at work as well as at home. I want to try them as seperate entities for 2 different collages, but may have to combine them eventually if necessary. My findings today "cutting-wise" were small, scarce scraps, but my ideas were rolling in forcefully, crashing like the ocean's waves, non-stop. I have completed another piece of art in a matter of minutes. I drew it on an orange 5x7 Post-it note page using purple and lavendar markers as well as my everyday red and black pens. Once again I have totally amazed myself. Art is so awesome! And you can quote me on that! Art is so awesome especially on inspired days like today. So many thanks to Leah and Lavendar Loft for their parts in today's inspiration and art. Thanks, ladies.

It measures 5x5. First, I am sending it out as an email to all my friends. Cannot wait to hear their comments...! Today was a very, very good, creative day. Hope your's was as creative as mine. Hope that I inspired you the way that I have been inspired. ~theRAV~

The Heart of the Matter

Well, I think I have finally caught up with myself again. I really liked the heart in my latest doodle and knew I wanted to post it with this title so here it is...

I wrote this about myself today to a high school chum in an email...

After high school, I wanted to be a writer; write The Great American Novel and be on Carson to discuss my book as well as joke flirtaciously with Johnny. Carson is dead. The book is still unwritten, but I have several unfinished drafts. I tried to set the world record for writing the most poems. I got way past at least the 21,000 mark if not more. The words deserted me much like my love did; the words left me when I lost my love. I turned to art because I lost my heart to someone who never returned it. Then I poured myself into my art which were more like characteratures as well as some really good pieces. I felt like I only had half a heart with so much love to give. I was always a late bloomer. I FINALLY found my Prince Charming much later in life than most normal ladies and had a son in my 40's. I guess I have come another full circle again because I have returned to my art with a flourish. I know I and my art have improved with age. Who ever said "Life begins after 50" was correct - if someone did indeed say that. If not, I am saying it now! I am living proof that it is never too late for your dreams.

Today I had to pay two bills which took me about 20 minutes. The line was too long to wait inside Wendy's or sit in their to-go line outside so I came on back to the prison. I went to the kitchen to see what they had for lunch. It was a scoop of speghetti noodles and four plain meatballs. The noodles had sauce, but no taste and needed a whole salt shaker on it which I did not need! The meatballs were nasty. It made me so thankful I am not an inmate in a prison system eating such horrible food as this. I threw it away and made myself a baloney sandwich.

It was sleeting outside earlier. We are all praying for a snow day tomorrow.

"Life Is Good"

1/14/08 On my way to work, I saw a black jeep with this saying on it's back tire cover, "Life is good" which is their logo. No time to snap a pic of it but you have probably seen it anyway. I did share it in an email with all my friends. Everyone seemed to like it and it made them feel good so I did my good deed for the day.

I was reading my vamp book The Vampire's Kiss by Raven Hart as I ate my lunch at my desk. I cracked up laughing in a quiet office because it was just so funny to me. I shared this in an email with one of my fellow vamp/were readers... but first let me set the scene for you....

There are werewolves in a bar about to fight over a female were. Mean Nate is the werewoman's husband. This is what Jack the vamp says:

"Looking at Nate, I couldn't help but think:" (Nate had one of the hookers Jack was supposed to be watching after) "Cheap hooker, $50; drinks in a goth club, $15; getting bitten for the very first time by someone who wasn't a fellow werewolf?" (who is acutally a zombie Jack brought back to life!) "Priceless."

Well, I found it hilarious anyway. Luckily so did my fellow vamp reader.

I went to all my blogs as I always do daily looking at their new ideas and for inspiration. I first begin religiously every day with Susannah's blog http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com/ then to Abby's blog at http://abbykey@blogspot.com/ where my blogging life began. I have a few things I want to share with you today... Thirdly, go to the following:
http://dancingmermaid.com/blog/2008/01/14/the-story-a-poem to read the most wonderful poem I have read in long time by McCabe from my 2nd postcard swap. Then go to http://www.creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/2008/01/creativity-galo.html to Leah's blog on creativity which has helped me a lot over the past couple of months. In the midst of her post that day, she talks about an email I sent her with an idea on creativity. So I got see my name in print so to speak and sent the link so all my friends could see it as well. Cool, huh? Even my friend Anne was able to get into all the links for once and I was thankful for that small blessing. My friend Genie thought it was very neat. So I am very thankful to Leah and her blog. I am thankful for all the blogs that have become my favorites and are like old friends to me now.

I hope your life was good today and creative. I hope you found some humor and inspiration or whatever your soul needed to find.

Almost there....

1/13/08 We had dinner at church. Afterwards we went to the hospital to see Uncle Bert. He was doing much better. We also got to see my cuz Ben who is really into fishing. Don said Ben was "obssessed with it". I had one of black fish frames in the car because I'd given a white one to Larry our preacher. I'll have to give one to Ben now. I can see it in their pool room...

Later that evening I fixed 3 birthday cards I'd meant to do long beforehand. I used the photo I took of Rhett's balloons as the card cover and put it on orange card stock paper. It looked good. I cropped it down some. Also I fixed Rhett's submission of the first race care he made to Lego Magazine. I used the better view of it which I think I uploaded in a previous post. I asked him what he wanted to call it. He said, "The Rhettmobile". What else? We watched "Commanche Moon". Rhett has trouble saying the word Commanche. When I correct him, he says, "Whatever..." and so it begins....

Caught Up with My Life

1/11/08 Finally caught up some on my blog; caught up with my husband; caught up with my life.

We met Amanda & Steph at Olive Garden. Don wanted to go to Logan's. So did Rhett. The food was better this time than when we there for Steph's birthday back in Sept. I got stuffed mushrooms which were wonderful especially dipped in the peppercorn dip they served. No marinara for me.

Only got to see the last 15 mins of "Moonlight".

My Uncle Bert had a stroke and is in the hospital.

Almost Caught Up

1/10/08 Woke up in a really good mood for some unknown reasons but I am not questioning it. Just thankful for it. On the way to work, I wondered what would spoil it. Then I decided I wasn'g going to let anything or anyone spoil it.

I played more of Word Jong as I ate my free lunch. The laundry officer gave me $5 for my lunch today. Yesterday she went thru ALL my paperwork for the vendor who doesn't fill our orders I mentioned in a previous post. Last year all the paperwork for them broke my A-Z file folder! Later I realized her giving me money could be misconstrued as a bribe which it was not. She was just thanking me for all my hard work especially when I corrected her mistakes. I had to send her a reprimand email because once again she had me faxing an order to the wrong vendor. Still it was a good day. I discovered another creative blog that I only touched the surface of viewing. I forgot the link so I will have to rediscover it yet again. At least Anne was able to get into the site this time with the link to the post.

Rhett and I played more Word Jong. I am up to level 95 now but it is a challenge. Watched good tv. It stormed. I prayed, played my game and went to sleep.

More Catching up to do...

Jan. 9, 2008 I drew 3 of my swirly trees in my Gratitude journal. I was a bit frustrated at work today. We have a bad vendor. They claim they are not getting our orders. I have faxed and re-faxed them. Like a dummy I listened to one lady in accounting who told me I did not need to send over a cover sheet; that it was a waste of my time and paper so I stopped sending them. I talked to someone higher up than her. The higher up mentioned she had not been getting the cover sheets especially for the oversize stuff which could be why the vendor wasn't receiving the orders. So I will do cover sheets from now on... Some problems were resolved somewhat. Several copies of bus tickets I needed were found in inmate files when they should have been handed to me for my monthly reports to the state for reimbursement.

Called Rhett's orthodontist yesterday. He's had a loose tooth; his "vampire tooth" as I call it. Another tooth was starting to come in over it. I wanted the ortho to look at it to see if he thought it needed to be extracted. I picked Rhett up from school & we went straight there. The ortho didn't like the looks of it any more than I did. Rhett started crying when asked if it could be pulled. Then he told Rhett if he went to his regual dentist, he'd give him a shot. That made Rhett change his mind immediately! I promised him a game for his new Nintendo. They sprayed his tooth and gum with a numbing spray then pulled it. I let him play with one of the video arcade games in the outer office before we left for Game Stop. He did not play long this time. At Game Stop, he didn't see a game he really liked there, but I did. I saw a word game called "Word Jong". We walked downt to FYE. He found a couple on sale he liked, but still couldn't decide which one he really wanted to buy. I had to pay my Discover bill so I told him we'd try the other Game Stop. He found one there. They also had the one I liked so we both got new games. The bad thing is my Game Stop card doesn't give discounts on NEW games. Nor did it his Nintendo. Bummer.

We stopped by mom's so she could see his missing tooth. The orthodontist gave him a white plastic tooth to hold his tooth which was neat. I liked it better than the green plastic treasure chest they gave him. Then we went home so he could get his Nintendo before church.

So I saved money by going to the orthodontist rather than our regular dentist. Yet I spent more money than I intended so it may have come out even or uneven. Money saved going to the orthodontist for free tooth extraction. Priceless. Mother/son time together. Priceless.

I had time to cut out my swirly Christmas trees before we left for church. I can see them on white cardstock... I may put them on water color paper and attempt to paint snow as if it is a field of them. .. we'll see... or I could safely put them on cardstock and do the shadowing of the snow with a pencil. Am I feeling dangerous? I can hear "Highway to the Danger Zone" from my fave movie "Top Gun" playing in my head...

I am going to let Larry, our preacher have or buy one of the white fish frames to use as a template for a future bulletin board at church. Must remember to bring it Sunday.

Quote of the Day:

You shouldn't rush art. ~theRAV

Catching up on my words

Jan. 7, 2008 was Rhett's last day of freedom. He didn't want to get up this morning. Work was just work. Just another ordinary day. I uploaded pictures, I asked for opinions from my friends and got feedback on them. I sent out Rhett's drawing. Everyone says he takes after me. Will he surpass me? I certainly hope so! He made more Legos with the new ones he got Christmas. I took these pics of them. I must remember to send them into the Lego magazine! (Which I finally did on the 14th.) I went to Walmart & printed more photos.

Jan. 8, 2008 Elvis' birthday. Genie's 25th anniversary. All I kept remembering was that it was Elvis' birthday so I forgot to send her an anniversary email until a few days later but she was thankful that I remembered it. Today I wore my new electric purple top bt Daisy Fuentes. The tag on it had a quote on it. Quotes and inspiration can come from the neatest places sometimes.
The quote said:

"If you are going to do something, do it with style." ~Daisy Fuentes~


I sent out more quotes but will post them later... I had a lot of reply emails about my latest doodles. My thrill for the day was a comment on my blog by Bella who was in my first postcard swap. She finally found my blog probably through Create Every Day thanks to Leah. It doesn't take much to bring me extreme joy. So thanks, Bella.


Watched some of the "People's Choice Awards" but it was terrible! Where were all the gowns and the glamor I love watching? I completely forgot about the writer's strike. You may have thought I have been on a strike too since there have not been as many words or posts as before. It is indeed a sad world without writers and their words. The good thing was "Moonlight" won! The actor that portrays the vampire is actually British! I loved his accent. Why don't they let him use it on the show? It would make him even more romantic, sexy and desirable. He'd really have women viewers swooning.

Speaking of vamps, I am enjoying the 3rd installment of the Savannah vampire series The Vampire's Kiss by Raven Hart. It is quite humorous and keeps me glued to the pages.

Y Doodle - why not?

I have been working on this one for 3 ongoing days now. Today 1/15/08, I felt like it was finished. I did not want to keep working on it. Sticking with my Less is More mantra. I LOVE the hearts in it! The last two are actually the way it was drawn on my doodle pad. The last photo was taken with an overhead light on which gave it a glow. No flash was used in any picture. No animals were harmed. No hearts broken.

theRAV

Rhett in a golden glow

And NO he is not drinking beer! It Vault in a plastic beer mug at Charbroil. He liked this one best without the flash. Although the one with flash makes the liquid look more like beer.

Sunset 1/12/08

Self Portrait Photo Shoot Saturday

1/12/08

Some days are just moments. Some better than others. Then some of those moments come close to sheer perfection. Others not so much. Ups and downs. Some Chapters of our lives are long while others are very short lived. May all the chapters of your live be long ones, filled with love and happily-ever-afterings. ~quoththeRAV~

If I were to paint the perfect round rock as McCabe from my Autumn postcard swap does on her blog, (go to http:www.dancingmermaid.com/blog/

Today, I'd paint one a lovely shade of lavendar. Then paint the word "Luv" on it. I would like to start doing these soon... I found one almost perfectly round rock in the parking lot of our car insurance' company when I paid our insurance. It is still in the car underneath the seat waiting to be painted into a life of it's own... It is not screaming, "Paint me!" yet. I'd probably make one that said "Create" also. That seems to be my word now. I also want to come up with something unique like with my "Blessings" photo. I am sure it will come to me...

Today was self portrait photo shoot Saturday. Because I have been having problems with my poor over-worked eyes due to my art work, computer use and playing games on the game boy & Nintendo DS, my make up has been bothering me also. I worry that I will no longer be able to wear it and I purchased some new, expensive stuff not too long ago. So I used my little magic trick... I darkened my eyebrows with my brown eyeshadow. Then I used the new pink Sheer Cover highlighter/blush my friend Anne gave me for my birthday and my fave lipstick cherry plum by Red Earth from Ulta. Again I was following my less is more rule. When I tried to photograph my face in our bathroom mirror, I felt I looked far too old so I deleted most of them! I finally got several shots that I felt I could live with, not cringe in horror at the older version of myself and let the world view them. Of course they were not close-ups, showing every wrinkle. It sucks to get old! Why couldn't I be more like Dorian Gray and never age past my 21st birthday?

This is like one of those seek-n-find the missing item in the picture. I realilzed the calendar was in the way in the background as well as out-dated so I removed it from the last photo. Did you notice?

Chick Fil-A tree

I know this isn't THE better of my photographs, but I liked what I saw when I took it outside Chick-Fil-A last night or else I would not have taken it. It was taken from inside the car without a flash. I suppose I am just not a flashy person. I was inspired by all the photos with far more colorful berries I'd seen on other's blogs lately. This sort of reminded me of them. The wind was blowing so it was hard to capture. I thought it would be something simple to try to recreate, draw or paint except for the brick wall which I will probably leave out entirely. The only thing I do not like about it is the actual yellow line going down the wall. I will leave that out in my drawing. LOL

theRAV

Swirly Christmas trees

This is what I worked on this week... I drew about 10 of these swirly trees in one setting one night. Then cut them out the next evening which was Wednesday before going to church. I have an idea for it which I wrote about in my Gratitude journal. I have just not had a chance to post it yet. I can see them scattered about on white cardstock or watercolor paper. I want to use water color to draw pale blue indentions to represent the snow. If it doesn't work, I will draw it with a pencil. I can just see it... What did you work on and create this week?

theRAV

This post is good as any to fill in the gaps of our Christmas holiday. Thankfully we made it up to Indy safely and back. It was kind of weird this year because we had to drive back on Christmas day. We sort of ruined Yvonne's plan of having Christmas at her house on Christmas Day. So we had Christmas dinner followed by the gift exchange on the 22nd at my in-laws. I did leave some of Rhett's gifts scattered each day. I let him open his main gift on Christmas Eve. He got a Nintendo DS. When he opened it, he started crying. Then he was jumping up and down as I saw a tear fly from his eye so it was all worth it. I took oodles of picturesas always. Most of which I have uploaded now. I did not bore you with every single one of them - just the good ones.

Coming home on Christmas day was weird. Don thought the Cracker Barrel would be open. DUH! It was Christmas. So we snacked on junk food on the way home. I was just thankful the gas stations were open. That was my fear. While in Indy, had some of the best sugar cookies Helen made. I left my recipe for it on the table the day we left. Don said I probably wouldn't make them anyway! I'd written a recipe for persimmon pudding in my Gratitude journal so I could email it to Susannah of http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com/ which I emailed to her today. We ate cheeseburger helper before we departed for home. We got home around 9 pm which is early for us. It was good to be home again.

The day after Christmas we had Christmas at my folk's. Luckily mom had leftover Christmas dinner consisting of ham and her dressing. I got to catch up on "General Hospital" again. I realize it was Wednesday, church night. So I decided the four of us would go ahead with our Christmas, open presents and take Don's to him. So that was weird also.

I made the mistake of letting Daddy open his gift 1st. We'd gotten him Rhett Butler's People. Instead of him sitting, watching and enjoying Rhett opening his gifts, he was far more concerned about collecting the wrapping paper as Rhett opened them. He got on both mom's and my nerves. He still couldn't wait. He took that garbage out as mom was opening her gifts. So he missed out on what she received. Both of us kept our wrapping paper to ourselves.

We got home at 6 only to discover we were supposed to be at Elisa's to have tacos and open gifts with them. Nice to be told this at the last minute. Don was stressing and fussing. I hate it when he does that. He did not mention church.

Tatum got a Hannah Montana wig from me. I took some really good pictures of Wesley. She looked so growny. Very photographic. I gave Steph an abstract. I let her pick out which one she wanted. She picked the one I called "The Windmills of My Mind." It was actually a photo of a whirly gig printed 4 times and adhered together to form the abstract. It was the one I had in mind for her from the beginning back in October.

When Wesley Rose opened her lamb picture, she was hollering, "Granbe made it. Granbe made it!" which made me feel good. She is starting to recognize my work.

So the present exchange is through for awhile or until the next event or next Christmas.

I came back to work in good spirits, mad but I am over it now. When I told Don about what transpired, he said it boiled down to poor supervisorship. That is what happens when you don't have a supervisor. I vented a lot of my concerns to him. He made me feel better and stop worrying about what I was concerned about. So I think I will keep him.

We got off early from work on the 28th. They gave us New Year's Eve off too. I love my job!

I got my hair scrunched for $5! I went to the mall. I went to JCP. I had to pee really bad. The restroom was being cleaned. A lady working in the salon saw me. I wasn't doing the pee-pee dance but I must have looked like I really needed to go! She told me I could use their restroom. My bladder and I thanked her.

I realized I'd forgotten to pay my JCP bill the day after Christmas so I was paying it when my friend Jimmy came by to give me a hug. I kissed him on his cheek. I looked at stuff but didn't find anything. Guess I really wasn't in a shopping mood which is a shocker. I went to talk to Jim but he was busy. He was getting off at 6. I told him I was going to Wolf camera up the mall but stopped at the bookstore where I bought my yearly calendar mom always gives me or my birthday Life Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. I love buying what I want for her to give me! I also go the 3rd book of the Savannah Vampires by Raven Hart The Vampire's Kiss.

That I bought for myself.

I printed all the Christmas pictures. I took over 80 photos! Watched "Moonlight".

The rest is sort of blur now. Didn't do much. Just the ususal of catchin up on emails. Can't recall anything that stands out now weeks later. New Year's Eve was spent at home with my guys. Rhett and I undecorated the Christmas tree while Hunter Don slept on the couch beneath a blanket. In my family, we believe it is bad luck to leave the tree up after New's Years. The one year I defied fate, was the year I had my hysterectomy. So it comes down. Rhett broke one of my ornaments but I did not get upset. He broke a pink icicle. I told him to throw the broken part away and just not worry about it. I think he was shocked. He looked like he was going to cry. My attitude was, "Oh, well..." Who is this strange woman? LOL

We watched the New Year come in with Dick Clark. Someone had said they thawed him out. So it was a quiet New Year's for us. I did not want to be in a crowd of crazy drunk folks anyway.

Happy New Year by the way. My mom woke me up early on New Year's day thinking I had to work! Don worked on my car after hunting. He replaced the alternator which killed the battery. I never thought that was a good batery anyway. But does ever listen to what I say? At least it is running again for which I am thankful and I don't have to drive the monster truck. We ate at Hartz chicken where I had a few black eyed peas but they are not as good as my mom's.

My New Year's resolution was to not stress. I should have resolved to not let others make me mad and angry but that would have been broken on the 2nd day of the new year. It just made me thankful I am considerate of others and am not selfish; not thinking only of myself like my co-workers.

Jan. 4th was my friend Mike E's mother's 90th birthday. He sent an email hinting to call her with good birthday wishes which my mom and I did. Got off work a little early. Cell phone bill to pay. I learned how to store numbers on my phone. Don had to work today. Went to eat Mexican.I got nachos which I will never get there again! Should have just gotten rice. Got home in plenty of time to see "Moonlight". I have given up the ghost on "Ghost Whisperer" for my vamp!

Jan. 5th, slept in since it was my birthday weekend where I could do whatever I wanted to do. Amanda called wanting to do something. I was so wishey-washey. Needing a shower and to do my hair which took the rest of the afternoon. I wanted to see "Enchanted". It was at the regular movies at 8 pm. Don was in the woods. He got home just in time for us to make it there while the previes were playing. No shower for him. Because it was so expensive I had to buy the popcorn and drinks. So that was my birthday present from him. Steph & Amanda came too. Amanda kept saying she was working on a project. I wondered if it was something for me. I was hoping it was like Steph's eye picture she made her. "Enchanted was very good or at least I thought it was. A bit boring in the beginning. The optomistic character was a tad annoying to a point. Then the unexpected happened and it got really good. Dr. McDreamy was dressed as a prince. Sigh. Honey pleez! I haven't said Penny's expression in a long time. The artwork at the end was awesome. I guess it inspired me because I stayed up til 1 am working on a collage inspired by the prompting of Leah from http://www.createeveryday.com . Her sugesstion for inspiration for the New Year was to cut things out of a magazine(s) that meant something to you in the next 365 days. I'd already cut out words that were calling to me from their box... It was not finished but I liked what I had thus far. It lead to more inspiration... next post... my birthday.