FabulousValency

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T13:30:00.004-07:00

This is how it looked outside a few days ago:

SO PRETTY! But it's all melty now. Boo. It's actually sunny today, but it's still VERY COLD outside!

I let the boys open a Christmas Even present this morning...

They always strategize and then open... They're pretty entertaining :)

I'm just starting to feel caught up on everything... I'm making my TO DO list for 2012, and January is going to be pretty exciting...

UPDATE...

2011-12-16T19:54:00.005-07:00

I know I am the biggest nerd, but how great is this:

Because I finished my last semester with STRAIGHT A+, I bumped my final cumulative GPA to a 4.18!! Hooray! I'm just tickled. And I'm so glad to be done!!

At least for a little while... I do still have plans to get my Master's degree. But for now, a well-earned break from school!

I've also got our tree up and decorated, and all of the presents are wrapped...

And Shane & I went to the squadron Christmas party...

It was at the Aquarium this year, and it was so much fun!

We even got the boys to go to the squadron Thanksgiving party, and as we were leaving, I made them pose by one of the Ospreys in the hangar...

It's so awkward trying to get teenage boys to pose for a picture...

Awkward.

Seriously?

Then we had Shane's birthday celebration - he's 40 now! I can't believe it... It seems like only yesterday that we were 17 and in high school... Le sigh.

Tully is super into all things military now (he's wearing a leather bomber jacket & AF hat with his pajamas)... He wants to study engineering in college, but he also wants to go into the Air Force. We shall see...

Shane had a great birthday :)

I still make the boys hand-make cards, and they usually turn out pretty hilarious. Here is Stone's card for his dad:

That's Shane in a helicopter, and our chihuahua Tallulah flying next to him with a rotor blade attached to her head.

And then the heartfelt message inside:

:)

Hooray For Me!

2011-12-10T09:11:00.002-07:00

Pretty excited that I made this happen (three months before my 40th birthday!)...

Supergeek! But I'm happily nerdly. Graduating at the tippy-top of my class...

summa cum laude Departmental Honors for my outstanding artwork...

summa cum laude Baccalaureate Honors for my G.P.A. (4.17)...

All while being a fabulous wife and fabulous mother and HECK YES, I'm FABULOUS!!

I'm so excited to just be able to work on my art without having to stress out about readings, or studying for tests, or writing papers, or any of that! It's just ME now!

I'm still hoping to have some exciting news soon... Stay tuned... :)

Stranger Factory Winter Salon Goodness...

2011-12-02T19:34:00.007-07:00

So last night was the opening reception for The Stranger Factory's Winter Salon... Of course I had to go... But I didn't anticipate the FREEZING COLD STORM that blustered through with 80 mph wind gusts!! I think I got a wee bit o' frost bite in my fingers...

Everything was awesome as usual...

I get super self-conscious when I'm in there... I think just being in close proximity to Kathie & Brandt makes me all starstruck. SO I just used my dumb iphone to take pictures, so my pictures are kind of le suck... Sorry.

I need to get over my photography stage fright, you know??

I was glad that I got to see the le fabulous of Jon MacNair! Your work is amazing, sir...

But there was 'professional dude with camera' filming your stuff the whole time I was there, so I couldn't get any prime shots...

I'm thinking he was working on a video for the show... Stranger Factory has a new Youtube Channel that everyone should subscribe to... There's going to be some good stuff on there, I guarantee it.

I'm bummed that this next picture is all blurry-yuck:

They're made by a guy named Ryan Friant aka Illworx and I think he lives in ABQ, but I could be wrong... His website says he lives in Philadelphia, and he hasn't updated his blog for the past year, but he has a Facebook account that says he's in Albuquerque... Hmmm...

I am such a fucking stalker.

ANYWHO, I love his work.

Super-enjoyable.

As was everything else...

This little pink Skelve really wanted to come home with me...

All of the creatures from last month's show were still hanging out, so they were fun to peek at again. There are some more items that are going to be in the show but they're arriving next week... So I GUESS I'll have to head down there again. Poor me :)

I ended up buying about $50 worth of goodies for the boys' Christmas stockings...

Only the cool moms buy vinyl toys for their kiddos.

Only the Coolest People...

2011-11-26T14:00:00.004-07:00

I'm giving myself a little break from the 20-page research paper I'm writing to update about the Stranger Factory show that I went to last week... There is a fantastic article over at Circus Posterus that sums it up better than I could even attempt to, and there is a fantastic gallery of images that yours truly just so happens to be mixed into...

Just chewing on my lip as I study the genius...

Amanda Louise Spayd and Chris Ryniak are basically just AWESOME PEOPLE, along with Kathy Olivas and Brandt Peters. Swoon. Below you can see me talking to Amanda as her sweet husband and Nora and Sara chill on the bench...

They are pretty much the nicest group of artists I've ever met. Nora and Sara were from out of town, and were lucky enough to have purchased some of the work in the show... Amanda and Chris (et al) are just my kinda peeps...

LOVE.

But seriously - what is the deal with my mouth??

I just look goofy.

Chilling in the gallery...

I ended up talking with Amanda for about 45 minutes - Thankfully it wasn't very busy so I could bogart some extra talk time :)

The Stranger Factory is having another opening this Thursday - it's their "Annual Winter Salon Exhibition" and there is no way that I'll miss it!!

I'm hoping to be able to schmooze with some more fabulous people without looking like a TOTAL STALKER... But come on, how can you not love a face like this?

Back to work... I'll have to make some serious headway on this paper if I'm going to make it to the show opening!!

Spot the Sister

2011-11-15T20:46:00.002-07:00

Can you see my wee sister?

My sister, Kippy, at the San Felipe de Neri church in Old Town, Albuquerque, New Mexico... Right after this, we went to Pro's Ranch Market so she could experience what 'Burque is really all about :)

More deliveries tomorrow! I'm such a busy bee, but I'm almost done... I'm glad I sold so much work, but delivery is a bear!! I have four commissions to finish as well... A busy artist is a happy artist!

My positive boot affirmation of the day came from a lady and her son on the elevator of the parking garage today... I was wearing my pair of over-the-knee black leather Ralph Lauren boots (3" heel) and the woman exclaims how lucky I am to be so tall to be able to wear those boots, and that they look fantastic on me! I must admit, they're definitely "power boots"... I feel pretty kickass when I wear them! Her son just stared at my boots... lol...

Best of all, I'm going to the Chris Ryniak/Amanda Louise Spayd show at the Stranger Factory on Friday... So excited!!

Picture of the Day

2011-11-14T20:19:00.001-07:00

This photo is just TOO GOOD not to share... I give you Brown University's Taxidermy class of 1875:

(Click image to see larger)

Today was an excellent day... I caught up on about a million errands, did some Christmas shopping, watched some painting critiques (and gave my 2 cents, as I always do), got compliments on my hair (was told my color was gorgeous and asked "Who does your hair?" - I love it when I say ME!), and I was also complimented by 2 different women on my fabulous red Anthropologie riding boots (they just seem to get better with age)...

I also delivered 4 more of my pieces to their new owners... Such fun. Class tomorrow, only a few classes left til GRADUATION!!!!!

600 Posts and Still Truckin'

2011-11-12T09:00:00.013-07:00

According to Blogger, this is my 600th post... Not bad. Could be better. But I'm still here!!

Here are a slew of fabulous pictures... I have so many that are keeping me in my HAPPY PLACE, I could blog for days... This is the first November in years that I haven't done the Nablopomo business - it's just been one of those CRAZY months, you know? Maybe I'll try for it in December... We'll see...

Here is an example of the joy that my sister and her visit brought me:

With Tully being a freshman in high school, not much makes him genuinely laugh... But you better believe that Auntie Kippy does!!

My sister has the best hair. LOVE.

She's good at keeping my nutty boys in line.

And she was the perfect house guest!! We shopped, and ate green chile, and experience New Mexico.

On a side note, apparently handing my Canon Rebel camera to my husband turns him into a International Fashion Photographer. The following photo is me telling him to STOP PRESSING THE SHUTTER LIKE A MADMAN.

Then I could pose like a madwoman.

I MISS MY SISTER but thankfully we talk on the phone almost every day. AND she's adept with Skype now as well! Yeay.

Here are a few more of my creature...

All of these are sold. I am so incredibly happy that they'll be hanging in the homes of the BEST people!!

Kris Mills bought this guy:

When I deliver him next week, I'm going to see if we can possibly maybe do some sort of trade... I love her work, and I'm so pleased that she loves mine, too!

This is one of the last pieces I completed for the show:

I need to photograph it better - these don't do it justice.

Oh, and speaking of photos, I had brought my humble camera setup to the gallery last week to photograph the exhibition, and I was doing an okay-ish job... But with only one semester of photography under my belt, I was absolutely out of my league.

Enter Rachel Cox, who is a grad student in photography at UNM - she just happened to wander into the gallery as I awkwardly documented my show.

"Um, what kind of setup you got there?" she said (with a twinkle in her eye). I said "I know, I know - I'm trying!" Rachel then suggested that she could come back in a couple of hours with her complete (amazing) setup and do a professional shoot - if you click on the link to her website, you can see that in addition to her own amazing artwork, Rachel does freelance work for artists (which is completely lucrative - most painters/sculptors/artists cannot document their own work - it's harder than it looks to do it RIGHT!)

Rachel shot for an hour and a half, took over 100 photographs, AND DID IT FOR TRADE!! YEAY!! Holy cow, I was so relieved.

I also made a video, but that's going to take me a bit to post-process. I'm good with iMovie, but since I don't personally own a Mac, I'll have to figure out the movie program on my trusty little Toshiba. It'll happen, just give me time...

This next little guy was another super popular one:

I've already ordered the supplies to make some more - they'll probably be a bit different, but along the same lines... My mind is constantly swirling.

SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!!!

The reaction to my work has just been unbelievable. I am still riding high!! I took the show down yesterday, and there were still people filtering in the whole time - one guy came in and exclaimed "NOOOOOOOOOOO! Don't take them down!!"

I just am so tickled by the way people have fallen in love with it. My book is full of over 20 solid pages of people positively raving about the work. Seriously? Not a single negative or critical of bad thing anywhere in there.

Here are a few pictures from my reception that Shane took:

The gorgeous Lea Anderson and her fabulous daughter Korie! They bought 5 pieces and have VERY good taste, if I do say so myself ;)

Some of my old CNM peeps (who are now UNM peeps): my sweet friend Tim, one of my favorite instructors and friends Lynn, Hadassah's boyfriend (I think his name is Pepe?), fabulous Hadassah (who is ridic gorgeous), and ME!

Kippy talking with Nancy's husband Darrin.

These make me giggle:

Stone and his best friends Michael, looking quite dapper! :)

Yep.

My boys seriously love their Auntie Kippy.

Oh, and I just noticed that my committee members Michael Cook and Scott Anderson are in the back of that shot, having a chat. I just adore them so immensely!

So Shane was in charge of getting the boys to the show after school - Kippy and I had arrived early to set up food and get ready for my talk. My only instruction to Shane was to make sure the boys didn't look grungy - This is how they dressed themselves!

Shane had also got me a box of See's chocolates and a gorgeous bunch of flowers from Trader Joe's - the night couldn't have been more perfect!

LOVE Lynn... She bought 3 pieces! Extra love!!

Even though my eyes are closed in this picture, I love it - Ariane is so very fabulous...

RAAARGH hands! And you can see the antlers I was wearing in my hair all night - I really really enjoyed them, and might have to start wearing them on a regular basis...

Hand washing song

2011-11-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Stone and his friend Conner, singing at school...

That's my boy! ;)

Mop Art

2011-11-08T17:01:00.007-07:00

Here's some more pictures from set-up weekend - this shows how AWESOME my husband is!

Seriously.

He was the BEST help!!

I'm still sifting through a million pictures, trying to set up my artist Facebook page and add to my art website. PLUS I'm trying to graduate. And move to England. Argh.

My Artist's Reception and Artist's Talk went positively SMASHING! I was awarded summa cum laude departmental honors by my committee right then and there. WHEEEE!

I've sold about half of the work in my show - that's about FORTY pieces!! The thousands of dollars in my pocket are burning a serious hole right now... But a chunk of it will have to go to the "shipping the animals to England" fund. Boo. But I can't live without my squeezie animals, so OH WELL!

A large amount of the artwork I've sold so far has been purchase by faculty and administration at UNM... That totally blows me away. I've been told over and over again that this has been the best show in John Sommers gallery in a long, long time... I'm just overwhelmed! Everyone has been so wonderful. I have gone into the gallery a couple of times just to watch people's reactions to my art - they are so entertained, and they smile and spend such a long time looking at each and every creature.

The professor who runs the new Arts Management program came to my reception (I had never met her before) and she talked with me for about an hour about how fantastic my work is, and that she will be calling the Alibi and local paper about me. SERIOUSLY. She gave me a list of contacts and recommendations and I am just stoked :)

The cherry on the sundae is that Dr. Libby Lumpkin bought one of my pieces!! OH MY LORD I was totally hoping that she would want one, but HELLO she owns an art collection that I could only hope to be worthy of! I offered all three members of my committee their choice of one of the $100 pieces, and Libby selected this one:

He is one of my favorites and was a $150 piece - I told Libby that she could just pay $50 for it, but she ended up insisting on paying $100 and handed me a $100 bill before she left. Le sigh. I just adore her.

I don't have time to put a lot more pics up right now, but here is one more popular little guy:

He was bought by my friend Katie, but I've been comissioned to PLEASE make another by my friend Lynn (who also bought 2 other pieces).

It's been a whirlwind, to say the least.

I'll post some pictures of MY FABULOUS SISTER'S VISIT soon, too!!
I already miss her.

On An Artist's High...

2011-11-01T20:15:00.002-06:00

So it's only be two full days that my exhibition has been open, and I already have over 20 pieces sold! It's really overwhelming... The response from the faculty has been beyond anything that I could expect; one professor (who shall remain unnamed) said that "this show is an example of our BFA students showing the MFA students how it should be done."

And he said that in front of his whole class.

About me. MY work!

Having total strangers come up to you like you're some sort of rockstar does make me happy-giddy. There seems to be quite a good buzz going - I stopped by the gallery after class today to red-dot a few more pieces, and a girl walked up to me and said "You're the artist, aren't you? My friends told me to come see your work, and I was all, like, whatever, but WOW, I love your work!"

I'm keeping my ego in check, don't worry :)

I've already given presentations to two art studio classes about my work, which was actually really good for me because it gets me revved up for my artist's talk on Friday.

AND

MY SISTER GETS HERE ON THURSDAY!!!!!

I am so goofy-happy right now, it's ridiculous.

I just finished my Thesis paper, so now I get to make my house sparkly clean and ready for my sis, then make some delish food for my opening!

Would it be too silly if I made my famous deviled eggs and labeled them 'dodo eggs?'

Installation Day!!

2011-10-29T19:59:00.005-06:00

Holy cow, I am beyond exhausted... But I am SO EXCITED!!

I only had one casualty while hanging today...

But it has already been repaired and I'll re-paint it tomorrow. Boo-yah.

An artist in her element!!

Seriously.

I had some of the advanced painting peeps who were hanging out in their studios come and take a sneak peek... They had nothing but gushing remarks! I am on cloud nine right now...

Having pizza and Blue Moons with the husband before I hit the hay... Goodnighty-night!

HETERODOXY!

2011-10-08T17:06:00.002-06:00

My postcard is done!!

Also, I'm baby-stepping towards my own website... It's pretty much just a shell right now, but it will be developed more soon... ValencyGenis.com is there now, at least... I'm also thinking about adding a facebook page, but I'll probably wait a bit til I launch my exhibition invite...

Cats and Dogs and Ducks

2011-09-23T09:20:00.005-06:00

The boys and I have to get visas to go to England this time... When we went back in 2000, I don't remember having to get visas, but that was pre-9/11, so that might be it... I'm just waiting on dates now - for the exact movers dates, and for our plane ticket dates... We don't get to pick exactly when we fly, we give a 10-day window and then the military buys our tickets. I just wanna know.

I had an epic meeting with 2 of my committee members on Monday - Michael Cook and Scott Anderson. I was nervous and stressed and nauseous - I had to bring in all the work I had been working on this past spring and summer for my exhibition that is a little over a month away (AAAAAH!) and I just had no idea how they'd react.

THEY. LOVED. IT.

So much so that Michael already picked out a piece that HE WANTS. NO WAY. These guys have student after student and they don't necessarily acquire art from every damn student, ya know... :)

This is a 'before' picture of the piece that he chose:

it's come a long was since this, but that will be seen in due time...

Gotta love some kitty-puppy hang-outs...

You know - just chillin' on the stairs...

It's back to work now. Nose to the grindstone - I'm designing my postcard today :)

Fast Photo Post and MY SISTER!!

2011-09-17T08:11:00.003-06:00

So my best and favorite sister Kippy just surprised me with the news that SHE IS COMING TO ALBUQUERQUE FOR MY SHOW!! I am so excited - she finally gets to glimpse a little bit of my world, AND she gets to experience my crazy-ass debut art show insanity!! Hooray!

This is an extra big step for her, as she does NOT like to travel, and she has to leave the responsibility of her 4 kidlets in the hand of her husband - who is more than capable of dealing with the kids, but, you know, it's hard to relinquish the keys to the kingdom :) But it is a step in the right direction, because if all goes smoothly, my sisters next step will be TO VISIT ME IN ENGLAND!! Hooray! I'm hoping that my sister and my nephew will both come (my nephew just started his freshman year at University of Washington, and I think a trip to Europe is just what he needs...)

So here is a random iPhone dump for today...

Here is the only picture of Shane and I from the combat dining out a few weeks ago.

This was the MOST INSANE dining out I have ever been to - we ended up drenched and dirty and I had to rescue a group of wives, retreating to the squadron heritage room for the rest of the evening... It's kind of a blurry, awful picture, but this is how the night was.

Here is my September 11th photo:

I went and picked up breakfast burritos for Stone and I, and I ran across this near my house in Rio Rancho. It was really touching... We were living in England 10 years ago on September 11th, and it was absolutely surreal, experiencing what my country was going through while living in a foreign country with two young kids and a military husband. The base was completely shut down for 2 weeks, which meant I couldn't pick up any mail or go to the comissary, BX, or get gas (we have to buy our gas on base because we can get it for US prices there - off base, the gas in the UK is almost $10/gallon right now...)

The BBC didn't censor any of their news broadcasts like they did in the states - in the US, as soon as they saw people falling/jumping from the buildings, the cameras pulled away - not so in England. I was glued to the TV as I watched live footage of person after person falling from the World Trade Center.

Whenever I went out and about, as soon as someone heard my American accent, they wanted to talk to me about what was going on... and I really wasn't prepared to talk about it. My husband was deploying to Iraq, I was alone in Europe, and it was tough... But I'm a tough girl :)

On a lighter subject, this bug was hanging out in my front yard for a couple of days:

It was about 4 inches long - it was just HUGE! I haven't had time to ID what it is, but with those pinchers, I am just telling myself that it is the kind of bug that kills other bugs and is therefore a GOOD THING.

And I haven't had a gratuitous picture of Tallulah for a while, so here you go:

I took this to send to Shane, because he was stuck in Colorado with a broken Osprey for the past week... I didn't realize that Shane couldn't get pictures on his phone! Boo. Shane likes using his pay-as-you-go phone, because neither of us use our phones much, but he at least needs a phone that gets pictures!! He also needs a qwerty keypad - dear lord, that boy cannot text :)

He'll be getting a new phone in November when he gets to England, and I've instructed him on what to look for...

Thursday Randomness...

2011-09-08T09:45:00.005-06:00

Shane and I went out to dinner this past weekend with a group of friends, one being my best-guyfriend AC (who took his longtime girlfriend on a hot air balloon ride the next morning and PROPOSED to her! Will wonders never cease!) - it was all a bunch of Air Force peeps, and it was a lot of fun. One of the guys (a recently retired [I think] CMSgt) said to me halfway through dinner "I know who you look like!" and I snarkily replied "Who - Debbie Gibson?" who is pretty much the only person that anyone has said I vaguely resembled for pretty much my entire life...

"No, do you watch soap operas?" he asked - I do NOT have time for soaps. Maybe when I retire :) The guy went on to tell me that I look like a character named 'Carly' on General Hospital. I was instantly sure that she must be the token special needs character on the soap... lol... I looked her up when I got hope, and I was pleased at the compliment:

The actress's name is Laura Wright - MAN she has great hair! I'm on a "grow-out-quit-fucking-with-my-hair" phase, in anticipation for the EXCELLENT HAIRDRESSERS in England! This is a good goal picture... I would take a picture of myself this morning if I didn't have to wait for the husband to wake up to take a shower, and I'm currently pretty gross... He didn't get home from flying til almost 4 a.m. so he'll be sleeping for a while.

I've been casually browsing houses in the Newmarket area online, and what did I find??

It's the house we lived in the last lime we lived in the UK!!!! We lived here for all 4 years, and when we left, our landlord sold the house... I have no clue what it's been through in the past 7 years, but I got all crazy-nostalgic when I saw it! The kitchen has been remodeled, and there's new carpet, and I am clueless as to what has happened to the fireplace - looks a little dangerous, no?

I went and asked the boys if they'd like to live in the same house again, and they both said NO. BOOOOOOOOOoooooO. The one major drawback of the house is that there is only one bathroom, but it was never really a huge problem because the toilet is seperate from the sink/bath/shower, so if someone was using the shower, you could still use the toilet. The boys' bedrooms were pretty small, too, but I think they are going to get a serious reality dose when they see that MOST bedrooms in the UK are tiny. Our 2000 square foot house here in the USA may not seem very large, but we will most likely be living in 1000 to 1200 square feet in the UK... But it's not like they need a 'play area' in their rooms - as long as there is room for a bed and their computers, they will be A-OK!!

The rent on our old house is 800 pounds (about $1300), and with Shane's promotions, we now get 1250 pounds for rent (about $2050) - so hopefully we can find a great place. It will be kind of difficult, because we'll be house-hunting in November and December - I'm really glad our boys are older, because this Christmas is going to be really jacked up! Stone, Tully and I will be arriving in England the week before Christmas, but really, I think that is a gift in itself!! Plus they're at the age where all they want is cash for Christmas...

The husband is now up, so it's time for a shower :)

When Scorpions Attack!

2011-08-31T11:21:00.002-06:00

On Sunday, I woke up to this note on the floor outside my bedroom:

"I let a scorpion out last night but I'm not sure if it might have gotten back inside So watch your step"

When Stone woke up, he explained that he had found a scorpion in the kitchen after we had gone to bed, and he used a cup in the kitchen to scoop it up and put it outside. Now, if it had been ME, I have a rule about creepy crawlies: If you are outside in nature, I'll leave you alone, but if you're in my house, then YOU MUST DIE.

My son has a sweet heart, and I do prefer to keep it that way... He rescued the scorpion, AND he left his mom and dad a note so that they'd stay out of harm's way AND he didn't wake us up... Hoooo-ray!

My fabulous girlfriend Jen who is far far away in Nebraska had a similar situation with a bat, and I do think that Stone would have needed assistance in a case like that... Jen is on bedrest (SUCKVILLE) for the last part of her pregnancy, and she's participating in a bedrest blog thing - I'm bummed that she's stuck at home, but I'm glad she has loads of time to blog now! :)

Born This Way.

2011-08-29T09:52:00.002-06:00

Sorry for my absence - first week of school, moving prep, it is just insanity around here. Shane had to replace his clutch in the Escape, which we're selling in a matter of months - couldn't it have held out just a wee bit longer?? Oh, well - he did all the work himself, so it cost $200 rather than the $2000 it would have cost at a mechanic.

I've been using the garage as my staging area for moving organization/garage sale/etc so having Shane's car in there for 2 weeks was a bummer... I'm so glad it's fixed now!

So I think I've mentioned before that my uber-fabulous nephew, Theo, is THE BIGGEST LADY GAGA FAN on the planet... His latest accomplishment is being a backup dancer for one of my sister's friend's daughter's 15th birthday blowout -

(The audio is blown out, so don't turn it up too loud)

There are more fabulous Theo Gaga videos mixed in with my sister's Youtube channel (depinac1)... Watching Theo's latest video was the perfect way to start my week! Happy Monday :)

Things To Take My Mind Off Things

2011-08-18T17:29:00.009-06:00

Why I am currently not on the interwebs much:

-Spending hours taking stuff off walls, spackling, and painting is RIDIC. It is making me want to never hang another picture ever again.

-Oh yeah, we are going to RENT our house out when we move because the market is in the shitter... We didn't lose much, actually, we're probably close to even, but with all the closing costs and crapitty crap crap, we'd still have to fork over a chunk of change, and that's only if the house actually SOLD. So Shane & I have to do a million little things to make sure the house is perfect before we leave...

-I had to run around like a chicken with my head cut off to get a bunch of paperwork in to UNM for my FINAL SEMESTER - I was worried that I wouldn't get any aid as this is my LAST SEMESTER and I'm only going part time - I only need 6 credit hours, and I didn't want to do any extra classes because I'm BUSY! LUCKILY I got a little chunk of change at the last minute - I'm still going to have to pay over $650 out of pocket, but that's better than the $1500 that I was originally going to have to pay...

**I CANNOT WAIT to get a job when we move to England! I am just DESPERATE to actually pull in a paycheck for a few years... It's been far too long! Thank goodness for Military Spouse Preference...**

-I'm still painting painting painting and I think things are looking pretty damn good for my show! I need to order postcards, posters, and possibly make a catalog, as well as eventually write and send out my press release.

-My class starts this Tuesday! I only have one class that I have to technically attend, as my other class is my Honors Thesis, where I just have to work independently on my show...

**The two textbooks for my class (Victorian Nudes/Art History 420)? Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex and The Nude: The Cultural Rhetoric of the Body in the Art of Western Modernity!! Seriously, could I get a better reading list?? FABULOUS!

-Getting my outfit ready for the Combat Dining Out - I have to be extra fabulous, especially since I was on the flyer that was sent out to the WHOLE WING!

(I edited out some details in the interest of national safety ;)

That was a couple of years ago - 'twas my PINK year :)

A few years previous, it was a RED year, since it was a Combat Dining Out in honor of the closing down of the Pave Low Squadron at Kirtland...

Look at those lovely ladies!

Yes, I know, we're supercute...

This year will be a red year once again, as I'm going to pay tribute to the 21st SOS DUST DEVILS squadron that we're joining in a few short months! But I am tweaking it a bit... different elements will be happening. I LOVE DRESSING UP!!

Both my boys are OFFICIALLY in HIGH SCHOOL now... They're doing GREAT other than they are hating the schoolbus right now because it's over-filled. Thankfully they will be riding in comfy COACHES to and from school come January - think Greyhound bus comfort, which is a vast improvement over the typical schoolbus...

A million other things are keeping my days filled right now, but I need to stop writing about them and START DOING THEM NOW...

Inspiration of the Week

2011-08-04T08:03:00.003-06:00

Getting revved up to move overseas really takes a lot out of you! Came across this video today, and it is not only amazing, it also gets me excited and to create art wherever I go!

There is also "Eat" and "Learn" to go along with the above video "Move" - but Move is my favorite :)

Sneaky Peeky...

2011-07-21T14:25:00.003-06:00

The production for my solo show is plugging right along...

I have both 3D and 2D works going into it... My Unorthodox Taxidermy-based pieces are some of my FAVORITES! Ever since I started doing taxidermy-based works two years ago, I knew that they had to be involved in my thesis show.

Thankfully I've gotten tons of great information from some of the local taxidermy shops. My fascination with taxidermy comes from my early childhood - the shops that I visited are etched in my memory. How can a young child ever forget seeing unborn baby beaver fetuses turned into taxidermy art?

Plus I'm just a tried and true animal freak.

My nephew, Max, has also made a gorgeous wall of taxidermy heads, completely created from his own imagination - this is one of them, Terence. LOVE it!!

Finally got our passport paperwork submitted, and we should receive our passports in about a month. Our friends that have already arrived in the UK just picked up our sponsor paperwork - they are ready for us to get there! I wish I could just go NOW - darn college diploma!

But my Kathie Olivas meeting last week just reinforced to me the importance of a Fine Arts diploma... Otherwise, an artist gets stuck in group shows and coffee shops for the rest of their lives, and I am aiming much, much higher than that!!

Real estate agent comes tomorrow morning, so I need to make the house gorgeous between all of my diligent artwork-making!! I feel like I'm going a hundred miles a hour right now...

Mug Shots, To Go...

2011-07-20T10:21:00.002-06:00

Went and got our passport photos taken on base yesterday... The lady took 4 or 5 pictures of me, because she had to get the lighting set up correctly... By the time she got the photo right, my smile had started to melt. I'm a big cheeser, but my cheek muscles started to give out.

BUT...

There is no excuse for my boys. I swear, their passport photos look like mugshots:

TEENAGERS. They drive me bonkers.

I'm almost done jumping through all of the hoops - just have doctor check-ups for the boys today, and getting the actual passport as well. The movers will be here in FOUR MONTHS which just makes my head spin... I will be celebrating Christmas in England! Can you believe it?? Bring on the mulled wine :) Jolly good!!

Kathie and Brandt = SWOON. Seriously.

2011-07-16T11:51:00.007-06:00

So the artist talk from Kathie Olivas was AMAZING. There was just a handful of student's from the painting class, and Kathie was sweet and endearing and answered every trivial question completely and gracefully and I am just completely enamoured.

Her husband Brandt Peters was also there, and he would occasionally interject funny quips into the conversation. They are incredibly hard-working, creative and interesting... If we weren't moving in 5 months, I would totally find a way to become friends with them - even though I AM NOT WORTHY yet of their greatness...

Here are a few stalker-ish pictures I took while Kathie was talking:

Their whole shop/gallery, The Stranger Factory, is absolutely perfect. Full of magical, fantastic art - I have my eye on a Travis Louie print right now...

Kathie is extremely prolific and it was inspiring for me - just what I needed while struggling through my work for my Honors Thesis show. Both her paintings and sculptures were gorgeous. The large pieces were quite impressive, and the smooth, buttery finishes on her paintings were RAD.

It was a TOTAL HONOR to be in the presence of such greatness... :)

Appointments, Mate!

2011-07-13T09:45:00.010-06:00

This week or two is full of appointments - dental for me, dental for the boys, doctor for me, doctor for the boys (all in order to get paperwork signed off that or health and our teeth are GOOD), photo appointment to get passport pictures taken, passport appointment, new military IDs after Shane finishes re-enlistment paperwork... the list goes on and on. It is A LOT OF WORK moving overseas...

I've been avidly watching BBCAmerica, both because I love it and also to get ready for all of the excellent BritTV I get to watch over there - I LOVE British TV... Lately I've been loving The Inbetweeners, Come Fly With Me, and you always gotta enjoy Graham Norton... Shane will even watch with me on occasion - he enjoys The Inbetweeners as well. They've actually made an Inbetweeners movie that looks silly-funny as well...

I'm also going to an artist's talk on Friday that I'm very excited about - Kathie Olivas recently moved to Albuquerque and opened The Stranger Factory - she's giving a talk about her methods etc to one of my friend's painting classes, and I get to tag along :)

Oh and here is the Henry painting that me, Shane and the boys picked out while we were in Seattle:

Kippy and I had stopped off at the coffee shop in Ballard/Fremont where Henry has his work up - I couldn't decide between the gnome and the beaver that he had up. Henry was hanging in the shop, so my sister and I got to have a mini-chat with him and pet his dog... I came back later with Shane and the boys - Shane liked both paintings as well (no help there) but both boys voted hands down for the gnome. Yeay!

If you're ever in Seattle, you need to check out his art and his colorful, whimsical murals that are all over the place now - you can see them on his website :)

So I am still getting through all of my fabulous photos...

VIVIAN! Such a doll.

Check her out behind my emo-son Stone:

And when she notices her auntie has the camera out:

LOVE IT!!

My bro-in-law Camilo, who is a Seattle copper, giving Theo a squeeze:

SQUEEZE HUG!

Shane and Camilo, deep in conversation:

Bald heads RULE around our little kingdom...

I gave my sister my pillbug/fork painting - you can see it in the background with their fabulous cat Broos hanging out in front of it:

Broos has the most fantastic stripes, but you can't see them in this picture...

Now I must paint! I have so much to catch up on and so little time to do it....

Five Alive

2011-07-06T18:05:00.004-06:00

I think editing and posting five pictures each day is do-able...

Here is my niece Vivian, who is also my surrogate daughter:

She is the funniest, giggliest girl in the world and I ADORE her.

Here she is test-driving hoops in Fremont:

She has mad hooping skills. I still need to make myself a hoop - every time the fabulous blog diva Liz posts about her hooping antics, it makes me want to HOOP. No time now, maybe soon...

My husband was PROUD to walk Tallulah around the market - he's still a manly stud, even with his weenie chihuahua...

It helped that I bought Tallulah a new green harness - she previously only had a variety of pink ones, which just weren't Shane's favorite...

Theo ALWAYS knows where the camera is...

I have a bajillion pictures of Theo as he is ALWAYS in pose mode and does that boy ever werk it.

Stone does NOT like having his pictures taken lately - I snapped this one while we were at Fremont - I can almost never get a picture of him smiling, but I SWEAR he smiles all of the time! Oh, to be 16 again...

I'm diving into some new paintings tomorrow and I canNOT wait...

Making A List, Checking It Twice...

2011-07-05T11:14:00.005-06:00

So my life is FULL of lists right now... Shit I need to do around the house, schoolwork, getting ready for THE BIG MOVE...

The pool is up and the boys took their inaugural swim immediately - it was a perfect Forth of July. Now Shane is back to work and I am as well! I decided that I need to add blogging to my To Do list not as a luxury or an indulgence, but as important work that I need to do. It's hard not to giggle at myself as I write that, but oh well...

I still miss MY FABULOUS SEEEESTER!

I love that picture - We laugh a lot when we're together :)

I think I now see why Shane doesn't take a lot of pictures of me -

I MAKE FACES. And I don't hold still very well.

I gained EVEN MORE WEIGHT while up in Seattle, but thankfully it was only about 4 pounds. I'm now being SUPER GOOD and using a diet tracker app on my phone again and hopefully July will be a good month. I have been eating like absolute K-RAP and anything will be an improvement at this point.

Lordy I need to practice some face. Tyra would be so disappointed.

Today's agenda includes some spackle and paint, and starting to go through my holiday decorations so I can pull out the stuff that doesn't need to come to England with us (Xmas lights and most things that plug-in can stay in storage). It's a lot easier moving overseas knowing what you are in for - last time I had NO CLUE and just packed EVERYTHING and brought it with us - such a mistake. I'm doing it right this time!!

I'm Baaaaaaack....

2011-07-04T14:28:00.006-06:00

This is what I look like in the midst of our yearly 22-hour road trip:

Just returned from our 2-weeker in gorgeous, green and lush Seattle - we're back in dirty brown New Mexico. Blech. So much to catch up on - I'm cleaning and putting away fresh groceries from Walmartland while Shane is getting the pool up in the backyard... it's currently a balmy 92 degrees and half of the state of New Mexico is apparently on fire. The SADDEST news yet is that the gorgeous ranch that I spent 2 weeks on back in May was caught in the Las Conchas fire and is pretty much completely gone... SUCH A TERRIBLE LOSS. I'm also so glad that I decided to take the class, since it won't be the same ever again, if they're able to offer it at all...

We had quite the wonderful Pacific Northwest adventure as usual, and HOLY COW do I already miss my family so much... My sister and her husband and kids are just THE BEST.

And I'm not just saying that.

I was completely tempted to kidnap her kidlets and make them my own... I'm glad my sister allows me to share ownership of her kickass offspring. I also adore being able to spend time with my sweet father-in-law - he is absolutely wonderful as he allows us to invade his calm, orderly home and create our own brand of chaos for 2 weeks :) I know that he and his house are STILL recovering.

We had GREAT experiences, such as kayaking and paddle-boarding on Lake Union:

That's Tully, Vivian and Shane in a 3-person kayak... I'll fill in all of the details later...

Also got to hit places such as the Fremont Fair which happens every Sunday -

We arrived in Seattle on an extremely rainy (Hooray!) weekend, but the weather ended up being positively gorgeous almost the whole time we were there - which is great, but we preferred the RAIN! It's still bone-dry here - the fireworks tonight are making me a bit nervous. I bought a handful of random fireworks for the boys, but we're keeping them in the sandpit in the backyard...

I'll write more soon - the 2 weeks worth of cat hair and schmutz definitely need to be vacuumed up immediately...

One Step Closer to the Edge...

2011-06-06T09:53:00.000-06:00

Yes, we're officially one step closer to the UK... The first set of whatever paperwork is necessary in the military was issued, which means the boys and I need to head in and get our passports - OH YES!!

Totally thrilled. Totally freaked out.

I still have a million pictures of Valency in the Red Dress, but these will be the last for a while. I actually have a pretty obnoxiously wonderful purple dress that might eventually make an appearance...

Still learning a lot about what I can do with Lightroom...

I'm turning in all of the boys' registration paperwork for school today as well... It's kinda great that they'll both be in the same school again - yes, Tully will be a freshman in high school. They haven't been in the same school since elementary school, when Stone was in the 5th grade and Tully was in the third grade.

Red Dress is now freshly cleaned and put away in the closet for now. Satin gloves are thoroughly trashed and need to be replaced...

I do love long satin gloves. I think it's the little girl in me who always wanted to be a princess...

Back to work! Shane got one of the bathrooms freshly painted white yesterday (the Tiki bathroom is no more... sniffle...) and I just have a million billion things to do!

Wine and Sh*t...

2011-06-02T12:19:00.002-06:00

Tired of the red dress yet?

I'm not.

I was fully channelling my inner Patsy in this shot.

My friend Lindsey snapped the shot below as I daintily plucked burrs from my fancy dress...

One think I will NOT miss about the Southwest are the goathead thorns and various other sticky prickly burrs that stick to you and poke your feet at every step... Bring on the GREEN GRASS and TREES (and Seasonal Affective Disorder - we'll have to keep an eye on that!)

Back to my house purge... Grumble grumble grumble...

Art of the Electronic Type.

2011-06-01T08:10:00.007-06:00

Our instructor will be giving us a copy of a DVD with everyone's films on it, I was told... This is GREAT because I want to show them to my husband and my sister... I wouldn't dare post them on the evil interwebs because they aren't my property, BUT happily my friend Conor Peterson posted his film on Vimeo.

This is Conor (and the fabulous Rachel Cox) on our visit to Chimayo :

Conor's video is of course EXTRA BADASS because he is an Electronic Arts grad student which means his artwork is uber-complicated and intense. His film uses some sort of complicated process that makes the layers of film be controlled by the audio, making whichever track is louder come in to the forefront of the image space. Or something like that. Waaaaaay over my head, but I love it:

Pdromes (2011) from conorpeterson on Vimeo.

I have a lot to learn. Sigh.

Here is another fav picture of Conor - it was on our last evening, and I think this happy face signified "HOORAY, this craziness is almost over!" Or maybe not. He really enjoyed himself...

More house organization and purging to be addressed today, and I need to get my butt in gear for my show! FIVE MONTHS and counting!!

My PEEPS...

2011-05-31T13:07:00.003-06:00

Here is the official 'Group Shot' that I took on my humble little fancy-pants camera (there were a lot of nicer cameras than mine there, but no one else was in the mood to set up the shot on their tripods...)

I suggested a "Crazy Shot" - some chose to indulge, some had to stay cool...

Of course, I opted for JAZZ HANDS... :)

Horn Mesa and Horny Toads?

2011-05-30T16:47:00.006-06:00

One of our hikes was to the top of Horn Mesa... Very badass, as it is not on public land, and is only accessed by UNM Archeology folks and crazy artist-types...

The top of Horn Mesa has an amazing view.

And yes, I am a huge poser. Such a nerd.

Seriously, can you think of a better place to have lunch?

It's full of gently excavated kivas and pueblo ruins that remain pristine because not a lot of people disturb the beauty...

JUST AMAZING. You feel like you're travelling back in time.

And you can walk around and find shirds of pottery everywhere - we all hunted around to see who could find the most beautiful piece - here is my treasure:

SO MAGICAL! I felt honored to hold it in my hand.

Here is the group's findings:

We left them all behind, of course... I wouldn't want to incur the wrath of the native ghosts who are said to still reside up there.

The highlight of my day was this fat little guy:

OMG I love me some horny toad face... They really look like miniature dinosaurs.

This guy was full-grown and had gorgeous color... And he apparently likes to play croquet:

It's against the law to pick up horny toads, but no one said that I couldn't pose them next to miniature dollhouse toys, did they?

:)

Saudade Version Dos...

2011-05-29T11:30:00.002-06:00

Here's the second version...

I'm currently in the midst of unpacking and doing laundry... Blech. It must be done...

I'm BACK!

2011-05-28T14:02:00.008-06:00

I'm back from my two-week amazing Nature & Technology course! Holy cow I missed my family... I also missed television, telephones and THE INTERNET! I haven't gone that long without them in forever.

I'll get into the whole experience soon... for now, here are a couple more pictures I took...

I'm getting pretty good with my camera, no? I'm queen of using the self-timer, I am...

Those lovely ladies with me are Bonnie Stipe and Lindsey Fromm who are both Grad students at UNM working on their Master's degrees in fine art - Bonnie is a painter who dabbles in sculpting, and Lindsey is painting, drawing and a whole lotta other great stuff mixed in. She's seriously multi-media. There was an interesting dynamic in our group - it was 8 grad students, 2 other undergrads, and our instructor... 12 great folks :)

I made two final project films ALL BY MYSELF! Using film-making programs was totally foreign to me, but I think I did pretty damn well... (both the above pictures and the film are best viewed FULL-SCREEN!)

A Valency Art Book, or A Book of Art By Valency

2011-05-13T18:12:00.022-06:00

So in going through all of my CRAPOLA in order to have a massive yard sale in order to move overseas AGAIN, I came across this book I made about 2 years ago for my Drawing II class...

The assignment was to make and illustrate a book any way we wanted to. It just had to be a handmade book and had to have at least 10 pages.

I decided to pay homage to something that truly inspires me, which are children's book illustrators. Usually not seen as "Fine Art," I decided to elevate it.

In art school, you are made to copy the work of "Master" artists in order to learn how to really paint. Artist have been doing this for centuries, and I must say it is good exercise... It's like "eating your vegetables" for artists (which is what I also say about live nude figure drawing, or still lifes... They drive me crazy sometimes, but they are SUCH good practice).

So I went trough and picked some of my favorite books/favorite illustrators/favorite images and I re-drew them myself...

Had to start with Richard Scarry - he is just wonderful. His illustrations are still as fresh and wonderful as they were in the 60s and 70s.

Next was a book called Gobbledy-Gook that I loved growing up and it took me a while to track down a copy of it - it was published in 1977 and then never came out again. Sad. It's a fantastic book.

Next was the incomparable Shel Silverstein (He has a fantastic website, BTW)...

I do love "Where the Sidewalk Ends" et al., but my heart belongs to "Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back." LOVE.

My VERY favorite illustrator of ALL-TIME is Steven Kellogg. Hands down. I own over 100 of his books (including awesome titles like "Matilda Who Told Lies and Was Burned To Death"). Obsessed much?

I do think the frog on that mug needs a hint of green pastel smudged on it. Just a smidge. Smidge smudge. Yup.

Next is Tomie dePaola -

I always liked the dark turn of his book "The Clown of God," since the poor clown dies at the end. Not a lot of clowns die in kid's books. There aren't many "clowns of god" around, either... So strange! I also love his Strega Nona books, especially since I had a Yugoslavian step-grandma named "None" (pronounced NO-NAY)who totally reminded me of her, but I had to go with the first book I read of his...

Next is another fav book from my childhood that I had to hunt down, "The Great Escape" (YIKES it's pricey now)by Peter Lippman -

It's actually called "The Great Escape -or- The Sewer Story" and its about what happens to all of the baby alligators that were popular as pets in big cities like New York until they grew too big and people flushed them down the toilets. GENIUS. Published in 1973, and never again... Such a shame. I want to start a publishing company to republish all of these great books, I do...

The next book is actually from a movie but I had the cool chapter book that was published with images from the movie and I just LOVED it...

The movie was called "Raggedy Ann & Andy - A Musical Adventure" from 1977 - I was 5 years old and I STILL remember it. It involves the blue camel with the wrinkled knees and a French doll named Babette who is a total bitch but the Raggedys have to save her from a pirate who kidnaps her and the King pictured above is tiny but can expand immensely in size if people make him laugh. He had size issues.

I HAD to include "Where the Wild Things Are," which is a damn fine creepy book that was made into a damn fine creepy movie. (Although I made this book waaaay before the movie came out and it got all trendy again.)

I ADORE Maurice Sendak - the BEST film to watch is "Tell Them Anything You Want" which Spike Jonze created and Sendak recounts his childhood and life and how hard it was growing up gay and being unwanted by his parents - he's crotchety and hilarious.

Then on to Rosemary Wells, who is best known for Max & Ruby, but I love her for this:

Morris' Disappearing Bag! Happily still in print, although I must brag that I do have an original copy from 1975 that I saved from my Mom's musty basement many years ago...

And I do so lovelovelove James Marshall - If you haven't read "Miss Nelson is Missing," well, then I just can't be your friend.

I chose a scene from his series of "The Stupids" books, that was made into a hugely unfortunate live-action film in 1996, directed by John Landis?!? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? The best part about these books were James Marshall's illustrations...

RUINED by Tom Arnold. Ugh. The books were actually written by Harry Allard, but I was giving my props to the illustrations, not really the quotes. James Marshall was also very good friends with Maurice Sendak, and "Sendak said that in Marshall you got "the whole man", who "scolded, gossiped, bitterly reproached, but always loved and forgave" and "made me laugh until I cried," (via Wikipedia). Don't you just LOVE that?? I need more friends like this.

The next book gives me LOTS of hits on my blog - One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer.

Sososososo good and it would be the first on my list of books to republish.

Aaaand onto the WHOLE DAMN SERIES of "Dorrie the Little Witch" books -

They are being reprinted here and there... I just remember checking and re-checking them out at our public library. I own 2 of the originals now, ex-library copies. Hard to find, but they make me so happy... Patricia Coombs is a rockstar.

And lastly we have Eloise, of course...

I'm kinda ambiguous about the Eloise movies that were made... they are sweet and all, but using live-action when the illustrations by Hilary Knight were SO GOOD, it should have just been made into an animated movie based on his drawings*. I'm just saying.

So that is just a taste of what inspires me... I could have added in some Quentin Blake and even some Dr. Seuss, but as with most school assignments, I ran out of time - Heck, I got an A on the assignment, and I'm good with that...

*Apparently, there was an attempt made to make an illustrated animated version, but it didn't turn out well... The Hilary Knight article is INCREDIBLY interesting (thanks Barb). Read it.

Flowers and SPIDERS!

2011-05-13T15:07:00.003-06:00

So I was outside taking pictures of my Black Iris yesterday...

I planted this THREE YEARS AGO and this is the first time it has flowered! Finally! I kept telling Shane that it was defective.

Stone comes walking home with one of his friends and they stop on the street and are intently staring at something... They then call me over, and this is what I saw:

YIKES! I knew that there were tarantulas in New Mexico, but I had never seen one near our house.

I'm pretty sure it was a Western Desert Tarantula, also called an Arizona or Mexican Blond Tarantula - hooray for blondes!

Here it is near my foot for size comparison (and I have big ole size 10 feets):

I went and grabbed a bucket and carefully scooped him up and sent Stone and his friend to bring him down to the Bosque so he'd be safe... Stone ended up really liking it and now kind of wants one for a pet (which will NOT be happening soon since we need to downsize because of the impending move). Stone also said that if he got one for a pet, he'd probably never sleep... It's a love/fear thing, I guess...

I'm a Happy MotherTrucker...

2011-05-08T18:21:00.003-06:00

My Mother's Day was lovely... I won't bore you with the details, but I did get a new iPod (because I hate draining my iPhone battery while listening to music) and a Butterfly Jar that everyone is enjoying...

Stone made me a video that I had to promise not to put on my blog... Tully made me a card:

That's my kid. Smoking a pipe.

I can't decide if that's an atomic explosion in the background, or a futuristic building...

But I like the little smirk.

The inside:

The whole thing is quite succinct, just like my kid.

Here's the back, just for kicks:

Still trying to get yard-sale ready - I have SO MUCH SHIT to go through... Hoping I'll be ready by Friday or Saturday, but I'm not sure I'll make it...

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

2011-05-05T16:29:00.004-06:00

School's out for summer! Yippee! Well, not entirely... I'm leaving soon to do a super-top-secret 2-week class that I am UBER-excited about... Not only is it an "on-location" art class, but I get a 2-week vacation!! Wheee! I'll give details about it when I return... Get excited...

My house is COMPLETELY TRASHED as it usually is at the end of the semester...
I gotta start the big purge and get yard sale ready ASAP, and I need to restore some semblance of order to this house... Dear lord, my husband is so tolerant of his wack-a-doo wife.

I'll get on the ball soon, and post the rest of my photography project... Here is a taster of what's to come -

You better believe that no one else took self-portraits in a large bucket with a homemade strawberry shirt on. Yup.

My girlfriend Julia's show is at the Harwood Gallery tomorrow and I cannot WAIT! This is what happens when you work your ass off for an art degree... Solo shows in fabulous galleries! Squeeeee!!

I'm off to put some comfy pants on and get down to business now...

Make the Art You Were Born To Make...

2011-04-28T17:01:00.006-06:00

"Make the art you were born to make and people will respond." These words of wisdom are brought to you by Dr. Libby Lumpkin, and I LOVE them! Good words, they are...

My final project in Photography class is coming along smashingly! I had to do some begging and pleading with the boys, but they finally relented and let me photograph them... It's HARD getting teenagers to cooperate!!

So continuing my subversion of childhood photos, I bring you three examples from my sons...

Exhibit A: Their British school portrait.

There are just SO MANY REASONS WHY I LOVE THIS PHOTO. I don't know where to begin.

So I'm showing the passage of time as I subvert:

I don't know where the get the expressiveness from... ;)

Next is a SWEET picture of the boys and some yogurt:

I also LOVE the heck out of this picture... Oh, my sweet baby boys!!

I knew this shot would be tricky, as Tully only likes orange-flavored yogurt, and I had bought a large tub of Dannon vanilla yogurt for the shot. I wanted a large tub of yogurt so it would seem like it was the same size as the yogurt tub original image -

Tully did NOT like the vanilla yogurt!

It is crazy to me that the ratio of the small tub of yogurt in Stone's toddler hand looks the same as the big tub of yogurt in Stone's teenager hand... Oh, they grow up too fast!!

The last picture set is truly my pièce de résistance - the original image is a Polaroid I took at our house in England during one of the many dress-up sessions my boys had:

Could. You. Just. DIE? I still giggle every time I see this picture.

Tully was already traumatized from the yogurt, and then I made him dress up like this:

AMAZING. This one is going in BOTH of their wedding slide shows when they grow up!

Getting the Kids in the Game...

2011-04-22T14:26:00.008-06:00

So I've been actively rallying the boys about the upcoming move... Reminding them of some of the things we did before that we get to revisit again. Among our favorite places was the London Dungeon which as a franchise seems to have grown exponentially... They did have one ride last time we went, which was the Boat Ride to Hell (lol) and they had the Great Fire of London, and the Jack the Ripper experience... In fact, when my sister and I went, a young boy actually fainted while the actors recounted the story - brilliant! Oooh, and according to the website they have completely re-done the Jack the Ripper part! SWEET!

London Dungeon is all about the gore and it's actually pretty camp, but I love it. Anywho, while discussing it with the boys, I found that they now have a new ride - Extremis, which is a hanging reenactment - so fabulous! You don't even drop very far, and the animatronic figures are kinda silly, but I eat this stuff UP.

CAN'T WAIT.

Another fav? Madame Tussauds!! Yeay hooray!

It's funny that they're totally highlighting the new Justin Bieber figure right now... I'll travel all the way to the UK to see an American boy? No thank you! Give me my Brits, please! They apparently have a Bollywood section now, with actors whose names I cannot pronounce - but how wonderful!! THAT is what I like to see!

I dug these up from our last visit there - this must have been 2003 or 2004...

Oh so silly and cheesy but I LOVE IT! Just horrible touristy photo-op places, but I'm so glad we had them done now...

Just look at these little tyrants!!

Hee hee hee hee!!

We didn't even have a digital camera until the last year we were there... An no blog, no Facebook, no Twitter - I'm going to have SUCH an easier experience now! I mean, HELLO, I used FILM cameras on most of our trips! And when we did get a camera as a gift from our in-laws it was like a 1.3 megapixel which was pretty damn good back then... It feels like so long ago!

I'm trying to stay perky and positive still... My latest OCD list is of "Items that need to be bought in the US before we move to the UK" which currently includes: another set or two of Fiestaware dishes, a full-sized bed for Stone, and another small air conditioner or two for Stone and Tully - ACs are EXPENSIVE and hard to come by in the UK, and we wouldn't be able to bring them back to the US with us. We cane use transformers on them so they can be used over there, and I want the kids to be as comfy and content as possible.

Other than that, I'll be able to buy all sorts of wonderful things while we're over there... I already know I'll be hitting the auctions and antique shops HARD while we're there...

Freak? Superfreak?

2011-04-21T17:31:00.003-06:00

I'm just freaking out a bit right now, but I'm keeping it on the inside - I'm extremely outwardly calm. It looks like Shane is leaving EVEN SOONER for the UK - they want to send him TDY there, and I'm not publicly admitting yet how soon.

If you know me in real life you can call me and I'll tell you the dirty details.

I'm basically acting like I'm pregnant an nesting, but actually I'm ANTI-nesting and going through every little thing that I own and figuring out what I can purge. I'm planning a BIG yard sale soon - Gotta streamline for the move!

The Victorian Nude seminar class that I wanted to get into in the fall that was initially cancelled is now back on, and I'm registered and I'm IN! The class is taught by Dr. Kirsten Pai Buick who is an AMAZING professor at UNM - I've heard her speak before and I've been trying to fit one of her classes into my schedule and finally the stars have aligned! Kirsten wrote the book Children of the Fire which really is a must-read for everyone...

PLUS it's a seminar which means it's a SMALL and EXCLUSIVE class - only 10 undergrads and 5 grad students are allowed into the class, and they need to have the instructor's approval to even register. AND seminar classes don't require any tests!!! AND EVEN BETTER the class only meets ONCE PER WEEK which means I only have to make the awful commute to campus ONCE A WEEK!! HOORAY!

It will just end up being lots of reading and then discussions in class. And I am totally down with that. ESPECIALLY since my last semester is going to be INSANE as I am putting on my first solo gallery show, presenting my Honors Thesis, dealing with 2 squirrely teenage boys, and packing up my life to move to England in December.

I can handle it. I'm just working hard to not freak the fuck out, you know?

And Now I Can Sleep.

2011-04-19T20:36:00.003-06:00

I slept SO TERRIBLY last night because it was like 84 degrees yesterday and we haven't switched over from central heating to the evaporative cooler yet and so it was 82 degrees in our second-floor bedroom while I tried to sleep. I tossed and turned and got out of bed at 2 a.m. and went downstairs where it was 77 degrees (slightly cooler) and watched Bethenny Ever After and Rupaul's Drag Race and American Pickers til about 5 a.m. and then tried to go back to sleep upstairs.

I finally did and luckily today was NOT a school day but I did have a vet appointment for Henry on base at 10:45 so I could sleep in... Until Tully's happy ass came in at 7:30 and woke me up and declared himself unfit to go to school today because he was tired from yesterday's field trip. I grumbled, felt his forehead, and said OH HELL NO and sent him on his way to the bus stop.

I then figured out this afternoon that Portal 2 came out today which Tully had pre-ordered on Steam and he wanted to stay home to play it... GROWL that makes me mad. Don't even try to pull one over on this mama.

So the sweet sweet husband of mine went to Lowe's this morning after he saw how wiped out I was and bought me a portable air conditioning unit!! I have been asking for one for a LONG TIME because we have an evaporative cooler AKA "swamp cooler" which works FANTASTIC in the dry dry deserts of New Mexico 90% of the time, and it is WAAAAAAY cheaper to run than central air conditioning, BUT if there is an ounce of humidity in the air let alone a random rainstorm, then the swamp cooler just doesn't work until the air dries out again. So you get a 90 degree day in New Mexico, and a random afternoon 10 minute flash-flood rain shower sweeps through, and your house is now 90 degrees INSIDE and there is nothing you can do about it.

So YEAY for the air conditioner that is humming along next to me right now! I'll be taking this baby to England, too - it will come in handy when we get the odd hot day in August.

Speaking of that, they are pushing Shane to agree to be in England by September, so it's looking like he'll have to take the original November offer... UGH. It's is going to be an insane rush to get everything ready. I thought I had over a year before I had to worry about this!

I have been fiddling with more apps on the old iPhone...

Behold, a rare cloudy/dusty day in NM:

Put it in a crazy app, and it does THIS:

Or THIS:

NEATO! It never ceases to amaze me, all of the great stuff my phone can do. My AT&T contract luckily runs out in November, so I can hopefully seamlessly swap over to an equally excellent phone in the UK.

I have one sad picture from when Shane and I went out to lunch at Torino's which was YUMMY. I got an almond croissant to go and it was SO DELISH and now I want another one.

This is the Pollo & Carciofini sandwich - They make their paninis with fresh homemade bread and this sandwich had chicken and capers and tomatoes and artichoke hearts and fresh mozzarella and it was wonderful. The end.

Me and The Boys

2011-04-18T14:41:00.003-06:00

This is what its like going to Target with four dudes on a mission:

My purse-camera died while we were out (re:Shane turning on my flash) so I had to resort to iPhone hit-and-miss photography.

Is it bad that I'm a camera snob now? Gimme a Canon or give me nothing at all.

Both my husband and the little spaz chihuahua that sleeps with him at night have been BREATHING LOUD-slash-snoring at night. Makes it so hard to get to sleep! And I can never beat him to sleep at night. His head hits the pillow and he is OUT. I lay awake in the dark for 20-30 minutes minimum trying to talk my brain into shutting off for the night, if you'd please, brain. The brain REALLY won't shut off when little chihuahua snorts and husband-nose-whistles are right next to me.

Both of the boys have been super hat-obsessed lately. Tully requested a "Deerstalker Hat" for Easter, and I had to look it up - it's a Sherlock Holmes hat to you and me.

Stone has requested a shelf in his room with mannequin heads on it so he can display and easily grab his hats... Lord.

I'm having a deliciously easy week because my two studio classes are all "work days," and I've already finished my Art History work. I do have to take the dogs to the vet for shots this week, meet up on Thursday with a girlfriend from England who just moved back here, and then it's Spouse's Day on Friday at the husband's squadron... I won't be flying this year, because I've already flown on the Ospreys twice, and I'm good with that... :) I will go to hang out and chit-chat, though! I need non-school girl time whenever I can get it...

In Which the Fruit of My Loins Turns Sixteen

2011-04-16T18:41:00.009-06:00

This picture makes me REALLY HAPPY:

Giggle giggle giggle... No one can come between them. I told Shane that the only way that Tallulah can fly in the passenger compartment when we go to Britain is if she was a certified assistance dog. He said "Oh, I should ask the flight doc about that!!" Like, he's serious. The thought of putting his little angel in the cargo hold of an airplane just freaks him out. I do jokingly call her his "PTSD dog," but there may just be a kernel of truth there...

So my big ole kid turned 16 yesterday... It was an awesome day all around.

Shane had to fly last night, so he let Stone sleep in, went and got him a breakfast burrito, and hung out with him until about 10:30 when he took Stoney to school. The ladies in the school office had called to see if he was sick or something, as they had bought him an ice cream cake and it was starting to get melty - did I mention how much this kid is loved at school as well as at home?

I had to run to a doc appointment in the morning, then I ran around buying birthday balloons, picking up his cake, and getting other goodies. Every time I though about my kid turning 16, I got a touch weepy... Time flies too fast!! Anywho, Shane left for work and I decorated the house with balloons and streamers...

Stone and his best friend Michael got home and they thought it was awesome. Word.

I then barbecued up a ton of ribs, made a big pan of garlic bread, and some cheesy NoodleRoni.

Menu selected by the birthday boy who apparently doesn't want to poop for a week.

Stone got a Nintendo 3DS for his birthday and Tully thought it was amazing...

Stone really liked it as well, he's just a good kid and doesn't mind letting his brother play.

At about 7 p.m., just as I was thinking about putting on some comfy pants and settling in for the night, the boys decided they reeeeeally wanted to go to Best Buy, Party City, and the Mall. Sigh. I can't say no to the kid, it's his sixteenth birthday for goodness sake and he's not out getting drunk or raising hell! So off we went...

Michael played some Kinect game where he got to work some Michael Jackson moves...

And of course Stone had to get in on the action.

Stone has a fear of Pillow Pets that Tully and Michael cashed in on...

Stone salivated over this big fancypants computer...

Then the boys had an intense discussion about keyboards.

We left Best Buy and then hit Party City, which looked like it was hit by a hurricane, so we moved on to the Mall. First stop? Well, where does any 16-year-old go on a Friday night?

That's right, Hot Topic.

But at least MY kid doesn't go for the sad black emo clothes... He seriously debated buying this hat:

Yep, that's my kid, alright.

Stone then spotted a crane machine on the lower level, so off we went.

For $1 you got two tries at a prize.

He played twice but didn't win...

He wanted one of the Pac Man ghosts:

After we got home, Shane called us from the plane, which was his signal to me to have the boys go outside - Then Shane flew over in an Osprey! Turns out it was one of the pilot's birthday, too... They were flying in our general direction anyway, so it wasn't a big bother for them.

Stone has always tried to be really standoffish about the coolness of his dad's job - flying helicopters before, now he's a FE on the Ospreys... As the massive plane rumbled over our house, Stone was wowed - "That is really, really cool, Mom."

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Michael spent the night, and they stayed up late watching Mr. Bean cartoons (Michael had never seen them before so Stone had to school him) and the new Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway that I had recorded for them.

Today we went to Itz which is like a Chuck E. Cheese for bigger kids (but there are still a shit-ton of little kids there, too).

The boys did some bowling...

Then they stuffed themselves at the big old buffet...

(Shane turned the flash on on the Canon Powershot that I carry in my purse and so there are a bunch of blechy red-eye flashy pictures. I will be giving him some basic camera lessons soooon. I'm a flash-free shooter now that I understand the whole shebang, you know?)

Stone asked if we can leave all of the streames and balloons up for a while, and I said of course... It can be out new interior decorating style, right? :)

Aw, That Kid of Mine...

2011-04-14T09:35:00.007-06:00

Been scanning in some old pictures on the fancypants school scanners... Oh, they make me feel so nostalgic! Where have these little boys gone??

Yesterday was one of those days when you go out to your car to leave for school and you see that the garbage man has somehow managed to take away all of your garbage but dump an entire catbox worth of litter, poo and pee clumps on the street in front of your driveway.

Sigh.

I had NO TIME to clean it up since I had to get to class, so I had to ignore it and I'd clean it up when I got home.

Fast forward to about 4 p.m. - I got out of my afternoon class early and I fought traffic to get home. As I pulled up to my house, the nasty pile of cat crap was GONE and there was a big wet spot left in its wake...

My mind started racing - Shane wasn't home yet, did one of my neighbors get totally grossed out and clean it up? Oh, I would feel so horrible... I parked and got out of my car and just then I saw my son Stone re-wrapping the hose and my jaw dropped.

I said "YOU cleaned the cat mess up??" Stone doesn't even like cats. He just barely tolerates Lucky, only because Lucky is an awesome cat... Stone said "Yeah, I did - I used the broom and dustpan in the garage to clean up most of it, but I cleaned them before I put them away - is that okay?"

Seriously. I am MAJORLY patting myself on the back - this is MY kid who turns 16 tomorrow who is completely and utterly responsible, kind, and cares about whether or not the broom and dust pan are CLEAN before he PUTS THEM AWAY after CLEANING UP CAT SHIT IN THE STREET. AND I DIDN'T ASK HIM TO DO IT, HE JUST DID IT.

Stone then went inside, washed his hands, and made himself a fruit and yogurt smoothie. No ulterior motive, no asking for a reward for his good deed, OH DEAR GOD HE IS TURNING INTO A MAN.

Then little brother Tully comes galumphing down the stairs and I see he had big dried-on spots of black acrylic paint on his new school shirt and pants THAT I JUST BOUGHT HIM TWO WEEKS AGO.

We still got some work to do, Tully...

Sigh.

The Best Person In The Universe

2011-04-13T16:02:00.003-06:00

If I haven't mentioned her before, Jenna Marbles is one of my favorite people in the world. We would TOTALLY BE BEST FRIENDS in another life, but she lives in Boston and is young and cute and I live wherever the Air Force sends my husband. Which will be England in a handful of months. MEH.

Here is her latest video - she's now putting up a new one every Wednesday (CAUTION there are some swear words in the video so just calm the fuck down).

If you're bored, you need to hit up her channels on Youtube (Jenna has three). She made a name for herself last year with her video on how to fool people into thinking you're good looking...

I enjoy immensely the facts that:
-She's hot AND funny
-She's not afraid to look silly
-She's BLOND!
-She can laugh at HERSELF
-She owns a chihuahua AND an italian greyhound
-She shows her messy room to the world:

-She rants about people who piss her off at the gym: (AMEN sister)

Just all-around crazy-amazing-fabulous. I SO WISH there were more people like her in the world.

That is all.

These Pictures Are VERY SERIOUS.

2011-04-12T19:39:00.004-06:00

Because Kippy called to praise me on my photos and tell me how she laughed so hard she almost peed her pants, I will post the rest of my quick edits now...

I do love my sister, but she is not coordinated enough to COMMENT ON MY BLOG. She calls me instead.

Awwwwww, she is still a keeper.

There is nothing I love more than making people laugh. Except maybe someone who can really make ME laugh.

Had to do a signature yell-pose. I have such a gigantic mouth, really I do. My dentists always love me.

I'm currently picking out my Fall classes... Hoping to get into a Victorian Nude seminar, but there is only 10 spots for undergrads, so we shall see... I'm seriously considering taking small metals casting, which would be fun but time consuming and expensive - you basically make shit out of wax and then cast it in precious metals... I just don't knoooooow...

I am taking one summer class that is SUPER AMAZING (it involves travel) but I'll talk about it later... It's a secret for now ;)

Subverting My Childhood...

2011-04-12T18:03:00.004-06:00

I promised my sister Kippy that I'd get some of these up today... It was the only way she could survive her pilates class today! My final project for my Photography class had to have the theme of the "passing of time" - I could NOT portray anything moody or emo because I'm just NOT LIKE THAT.

So I'm taking photographs from my childhood an "re-shooting" them.

This is the only class picture I have from my 8 years of Catholic elementary school:

There must have been more... They just didn't survive.

So I took these and RAN WITH THEM... Here is just a taste:

They get even worse from here... I'll upload more tomorrow. I'm still not happy with the color that I rendered in Lightroom, so I'll have to buck up and do some fancy tweaking in Photoshop...

The Death of Skunkapalooza...

2011-04-12T17:13:00.002-06:00

Random cute internet skunk image...

Saturday rolled around and I was still smelling the waft of skunk, so Shane decided that there was only one option: Fireworks.

Sigh.

Shane and Stone went outside and threw some lit poppity-pop loud Black Cats under the shed, then piled in a bunch of various-colored lit smoke bombs for good measure. My living room now smelled faintly of skunk with a strong undertone of sulfur. I lit four Yankee Candles and tried to ignore it all.

Shane then pulled up a few floorboards, and came running into the kitchen - "I HAVE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE SKUNK!" he exclaimed.

I casually handed him the camera and he came back in with these pictures:

You can see just the furry black and white skunk tail...

All I see in these two is a black blob:

Shane then said that it didn't seem to be moving. I told him to go poke it with a stick and my brave brave husband said "HELL NO." He wanted to wait it out, which lasted about 20 minutes before he went and found a stick and prodded the skunk... It was as stiff as a board!!

It must have been dead for a week or two, but it had been living under there for a while - the piles of mini-skunk-poo in my front yard can attest to that. I guess it died of natural causes, and it was a pretty big sucker. Shane put it in a plastic garbage sack and went and buried it in the Bosque...

Thus ends the skunkapalooza saga. Our shed is now TOTALLY reinforced - no skunk shall enter there again...

Lazy Saturday...

2011-04-09T15:47:00.002-06:00

So I made this little video - I adore the original French Love version, and mine pales by comparison, but I just wasn't inspired today. And I have cramps, okay?

You can go to Youtube and make your own - very neat, Google and Youtube...

Skunk War Update

2011-04-07T09:14:00.003-06:00

We emptied out the shed this weekend, and Shane cut back the bushes on the front side of the house...

I stayed inside the house, as I have NO INTEREST in getting skunked.

Awww, my brave, brave husband!

Still not sure if the skunk is out yet... We'll have to check on it this weekend. Yuck.

Stress Transforms to JOY

2011-04-06T16:15:00.008-06:00

So today is Shane & my 19th wedding anniversary... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? I know... Having big teenage boys that are taller than me already remind me of my age - Now I'm on the countdown for our TWENTIETH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! Wahoo.

I've been saying for a couple of years that we have got to go to Vegas for our 20th anniversary, but now with England on the horizon, I'm thinking that somewhere amazing in Europe is going to be the place of celebration...

My fantastic wonderful husband bought me THIS:

!!!!!!!

I know. He rocks.

He also got me flowers and a card, and we're going out for dinner and GO-CARTS on Friday night... The go-carts were not my idea, but I have to humor the poor guy... He puts up with so much from me!!

So today I met with Scott Anderson for a progress report on my thesis and input... I am so amazed and honored that these professors will take so much time out of their day to sit one-on-one and critique my work... These people know their art and they make me even MORE excited about my work (if that's even possible!!)

All three of my committee members seem to really like my artwork and are pushing me to make it absolutely over-the-top. My goals? Shooting for the stars, baby! I visualize being in the Tate Modern or the Saatchi Gallery while I'm in the UK... I mean, why not?! I think I can make it happen... :)

I also plan on winning the MacArthur Fellowship. I can see it! I know that I could do it... :)

Here is one of my projects in-progress for my show:

It's a dollhouse, right?

But it's not just any dollhouse... it's a hoarder's dollhouse!! Sqeeeee!!

I'll show pictures of it now, because it's not filled yet...

It's HUGE and fabulous. Tallulah thinks it's spooky.

I LOVE it. I needed an excuse to make a dollhouse, anyway... Living in a house full of guys, I have to fine my estrogen somewhere.

It even has an ATTIC!! Extra squeeee!

I haven't totally decided whether I'll build a plexiglass case for it to be displayed in, or just display it open... It might be an intriguing thing to have people be able to touch it or get really close to it or heck, steal stuff out of it... It's a hoarder's hoard - what does it say if you steal from them? Is it less wrong to steal from a non-hoarder?

Shane has been working on this for me:

He's actually enjoying the assembly... I think it's ah-dor-a-ble.

My head is positively swimming with ideas right now... I need to write some things down tout de suite! (Yes, I'm brushing up on my French, too... Gotta be multilingual if I'm going to live in Europe!!)

Work Day

2011-04-05T08:08:00.002-06:00

I have to put my nose to the grindstone today... I have a meeting with Scott Anderson tomorrow so he can look at my work/progress... STRESS!! It should be fine... He just intimidates me a bit.

Not that he is a particularly intimidating person, he's just very serious. And I'm not.

I wandered over to Gurney Journey this morning to see what old James has been up to... He always has really good information. Found this little gem of a video:

Makes me want to go paint all over myself!!

Muppets and Me and Master Henson...

2011-04-03T20:52:00.003-06:00

When we had to create a place setting for a famous person in Ceramics class last year, of course I went for one of my favorite people who ever lives, Jim Henson...

So when Dr. Lumpkin assigned us our next project, "a vase designed for a famous person", I automatically went back to my honoring of the Master that is Mr. Henson...

It's a quick and dirty drawing that I did while watching Iron Man 2 with Shane today... LOVE me some Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow! Gwyneth and I are the same age... I know we would have been best friends in a parallel universe because I adore her...

Note To Self...

2011-04-02T16:45:00.002-06:00

So we have a skunk living under our shed.

I've been smelling a skunk smell every so often in the evenings for the past couple of weeks, but we live a half a block away from the Bosque on the Rio Grande, and there is all sorts of wildlife down there... It's kind of impossible to tell exactly where the smell is coming from...

But I was growing suspicious... The other morning, our living room was kind of smelling skunky. (The living room is the closest room in our house to the shed outside).

Last night, I made Shane investigate. The shed pretty much contains our Christmas/holiday decorations (all in Rubbermaid containers, thank god) and not much else. When Shane opened the door to the shed - TOTALLY STRONG SKUNK SMELL.

Our rat terriers went CRAZY. I eventually had to go get some lunchmeat to lure Ibis out of the shed - He was bound and determined to get that skunk.

Shane had Stone climb onto the roof and spotlight the street side of the shed, while Shane tried running the hose under the shed... Stone was the spotter for seeing if the skunk vacated the shed through a 4-inch gap/hole between the shed and the house. The problem is that when Shane made our shed, for SOME UNGODLY REASON he left a section of the wood floor open - there is NOTHING that we need to access under there, he just has random moments of retardedness. (I do too, sometimes, so I can't completely blame him...) So even if he's flooding the dirt under the shed, the skunk can just scramble up amongst my Christmas Rubbermaids and watch the water flow by...

Shane is now outside massacring the bush in front of the street side of the shed - he's preparing for Round 2 Skunkapalooza today. I requested that he at least start to carefully drag out my Rubbermaids - I don't know how skunky they are or if the smell has permeated the boxes! I'll probably have to replace them all... Gives me an excuse to reorganize stuff, I guess...

I did suggest that we call an exterminator, but Shane thinks he can handle this situation on his own. I've already Googled how to get rid of skunk smell once you've been sprayed - Shane keeps recalling the Brady Bunch episode in which they used tomato juice, but you are apparently supposed to use a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide, Baking Soda and Dish Soap. I may be making a run to Walgreen's very, very soon.

In less smelly news, I had a lashes day the other day...

Wearing fake lashes to school just makes the day more fun.

#33s from Walgreen's.. Cheap and cheerful.

I really don't go to Walgreen's that often... It's just a coincidence today.

But you can ALSO buy Hot Tamales candy at Walgreen's!! My favorite popcorn additive.

If you put them in the hot popcorn the Hot Tamales get all warm and delish and with the salty popcorn... Ooooh it is just yummy, trust me. Not going to help you nutritionally at all, but it makes your belly oh so happy!!

iPhone Dump of the Day

2011-04-02T10:29:00.004-06:00

Here I am in Advanced Drawing class watching the REALLY LONG Powerpoint presentations that just about killed me...

Things that made this a situation:

- This class is at 2 in the afternoon, and I'm starting to drag ass...

- We watch the presentations in the dark, which makes me snoozy (though I never actually fall asleep or anything)

- These presentations are NOT well done. Heck, I'm sure mine was even a bit dull...

- We have gotten through 10 people's presentations in the class this week. We had 5 1/2 hours of class = Each presentation averaged about 33 minutes. They were supposed to be no longer than 20 minutes (which is already seriously long in my opinion).

Plus my ADD issues don't help much at all.

So I end up farting around with my iPhone, taking terrible dim pictures...

I also take multiple bathroom breaks.

Hopefully we'll get through the rest of the people on Monday, so Wednesday can be a work day again. I've got shit to do!!

Shane and I went to a few gallery openings last night for First Friday - We saw some decent work, my favorite being Freja Mitchell's MFA thesis show - her work blew me away. It also made me giggle, and really drew people in - SUCCESS!!

I did take note of some of the conventions they used in displaying their work - one thing that drives me nuts is when the artist's statement is just a small 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper that people have to crowd around to read - you have to wait your turn, which is just not enjoyable in a gallery show.

Teresa Buscemi's solution to this at her show was to print it out BIG and display it prominently near her food:

I'm TOTALLY doing this for my show... If I haven't mentioned it a million times before, it opens October 31 in the John Sommers Gallery at UNM... SO EXCITED!!

Still Working On The Lists...

2011-03-31T16:24:00.005-06:00

It's like my therapy right now... There are so many things I need to sort out! Writing lists always seems to help.

Another big PRO that I didn't realize is...

We'll be there for the 2012 Summer Olympics! That is the honest-to-god official London Olympics logo... Pretty awful. But the Olympics and all the hoopla that surrounds it should be fantastic!!!

I had SUCH a long day today, as the MFA graduate studio reviews were today and I had to go - Partially because I LOVE what I learn during the critiques, and partially because I get extra credit in my Photography class... I have like 101% average in that class right now, but insurance never hurts...

After grad reviews, I had my 20th Century Design seminar/class, and we discussed the logos that we designed last week. (One girl redesigned the London Olympics logo, thus my realization that we'll be there for them).

I stubbornly stuck with my silly dodo theme:

The bottom right dodo actally has legs, but my scanner cut them off...

Dr. Lumpkin really liked my design! I was surprised, as it is a pretty kitsch/whimsical design... One young girl in the class said it reminded her of a Betsey Johnson/Betseyville kind of sensibility, and I was ABSOLUTELY pleased with that comment... Betsey is a rockstar.

So I fight through traffic and finally get home... As soon as I step in the door, Tully is yapping at me about not wanting to go to school tomorrow because the 7th graders are testing. He already had a half day today (Shane picked him up early) because of the testing, and I was NOT IN THE MOOD. My brain hadn't even started relaxing yet.

I wave him away and come into my room to have decompression time with the old laptop... Then Stone comes in to discuss his teenage problems which consist of some random insomnia that he has been battling lately, and some moody issues where he's feeling like he's not important in the world.

Sigh.

I am SUPER HAPPY that the kiddo feels comfortable talking to me about anything... And I sat and had a heart to heart with him about life... I can remember having all sorts of tragic feelings when I was his age, and I know how important it all feels at the time. I never dismiss his teenage feeling (even though I sometimes feel like it would just be easier to say SUCK IT UP!)

But MY WORD I need 5 minutes to breathe after an almost 10-hour day!! Plus I'm all keyed up about England still... also, I had 2 cups of shitty McDonald's coffee today. Not helping.

So I will BREATHE and continue with my OCD listmaking (currently working on "Things that need to be done to the house before we move.")

Sigh.

Tiny Hat Warning

2011-03-30T22:20:00.002-06:00

Found this little gem over on dlisted today - totally falls into the pro-England category:

Men with tiny hats glued to their heads make me very, very happy... Thank you, BBC Three! Just another example of why British TV rules...

So It's Up To 99% Now...

2011-03-30T18:59:00.003-06:00

We're moving back to England... And they want us there in November.

Oh. My. Goodness...

I think we can talk them into pushing it back to January - Shane's face when he came home from work was PRICELESS. He was really nervous about telling me... But I took it all in stride. The Air Force has taken such good care of us over the years, and it's totally an honor to go, but... Sigh...

The positives about going:
- Living in Europe is fabulous.
- I'll be able to solicit galleries and have my work in shows in Europe - I'd automatically be an 'international' artist.
- England is beautiful.
- I still have fantastic friends in England that I'm SO excited to see.
- I can take classes/workshops in London - Jenny Saville teaches over there! Umm, that would rock.
- We'll make A LOT more money since Shane has A LOT more rank than when we lived there last time.
- I'll be able to travel to all of the places I missed last time; Top of the list is Rome (I only went to Venice & Vincenza in Italy), Spain, Greece, and anywhere else I can think of - IT'S CHEAP to travel once you live there!!
- I can go to the Venice Biennale! But I'll have to wait til 2013... That's okay!
- I can casually go to all of the fantastic art museums in London whenever I want, just for inspiration or to sketch or whatever.
-Not to mention I will hit up the rest of the European museums that Dr. Lumpkin has been recommending...
- I LOVE THE FOOD! Specifically the cheese and bread. My girlfriends and I had a whole obsession with the amazing cheeses over there...
- The gym on Mildenhall is where working out started for me, and I know I'll be inspired to work my ass off again... Plus I'll have a ton of time to do so...
- I'll be able to BLOG from England! I didn't really discover blogging until the year we got back (2004) - Heck, we still had dial-up in England... Shudder...
- LOVE the fashion! Wicked good shopping there... Plus I can fill in anything else I need with my savvy Amazon.com shopping...
- GOOD HAIR!! I had the best hair of my life in England - the hairdressers there KNOW THEIR SHIT.

There are some cons too...
- Renting out our house here stresses me out. We'll get a property manager and everything, but I know there will be hiccups...
- GUILT guilt GUILT because we're tearing the boys out of high school and shaking up their lives... I know it will be SO GOOD for them, but it's only natural to feel like a TERRIBLE MOM.
- Also GUILT because I will miss my summer trip to Seattle to visit my awesome sister's family and Shane's awesome dad... I'll try to talk Kippy into visiting me, but her schedule is always insane with 4 kiddos... And I'll also try to talk Shane's dad into visiting, but he's not a spring chicken anymore and I know that he hates flying... We shall see :)
- Packing up all of our shit SUCKS. It takes about 2 months for it to get there, so you live out of suitcases for A LONG TIME. I'm thinking we'll need to buy the boys laptops for the trip... They'll have such MASSIVE withdrawal symptoms without their desktop computers for that long...
- Packing up and shipping the animals... UGH. It's going to be pricey, because there is NO WAY I'm thinning the cat herd, and Tallulah is a GIVEN, and we're pretty much stuck with cranky old Ibis for life. (Henry is being carting off to a happy family that we are making arrangements with...) Shipping animals is a pain in my ass, but I have NO CHOICE.
- TV SITUATION will have to be sorted out - We still have one or two multi-system TVs that will work in the UK, but I am a TV addict... I LOVE Sky TV. Oooh, I love British TV - That's another pro!!

I need to go try and wrap my head around this some more... It's too bad my other older sister hates me with a passion - she was my travel buddy last time we lived there, but she absolutely refuses to acknowledge that I exist now... Oh well, her loss ;)

Aubergine-courgettes-spring onions-loo!!!!!!

Old Blind Lady

2011-03-29T14:20:00.005-06:00

So when taking all of my crazy-housewife self-portraits, I would have to set the timer, run into position, pose, then I would have to grab my glasses and check the image on the wee tiny screen on the camera. Without my reading glasses, it's hard to see the image on the 3-inch screen.

Then I would adjust what needed to be adjusted, and start the process all over again... Hit the timer and run into position... But sometimes I forgot about the old lady glasses on my face...

Ooops! The boys only tolerate my photo sessions for a limited time, so wasting shots with glasses-face was a pisser.

Not to mention my face in this shot was just wrong:

Yeah, Tyra wouldn't approve. I need to practice more faces in the mirror. Tully's face looks wicked fabulous, though.

My little bubba is turning into such a man! He's going to need to learn how to shave soon, because he has that weird little man-shadow on his upper lip. I'm putting it off for as long as possible, though... We still haven't had to teach Stone how to shave, because he is blonde and has a see-through moustache. And practically non-existent eyebrows.

In fact, one of my favorite stories was from when Stone was 3 years old, and he was sitting quietly and drawing with those fat Crayola markers. I was busy in the kitchen, and when I went to check on his artwork, Stone had used the bright purple Crayola markers to shakily draw in eyebrows on his own face... I said "Oh, no Stoney!" and he looked so seriously (furrowing his now-purple-eyebrows) at me and said "But I no have no eyebrows, Mommy."

And I didn't take pictures of it, dammit. I wish digital photography had been invented A LOT sooner...

I went over to my girlfriends house for coffee today... Her husband is already over in England and is going to be the new Commander of the squadron over there. She'll be joining him in a couple of months. We talked all things England - she is so excited for us to hurry up and get over there! I am still unable to completely wrap my head around it. And who knows - this is the military, and they could be sending us anywhere until you actually have it in writing. (Still wishing that they'd send us to McCord AFB up in Tacoma, WA...)

It is still an excellent excuse for me to start purging all of my unnecessary crap... And believe me, I have a lot of it.

It's MY Life.

2011-03-28T08:13:00.004-06:00

Just figured out (by way of a TV commercial) that the new season of United States of Tara starts tonight!

The preview on Sho.com reveals that Tara is going back to college... And as we already know, she is an artist, and a little, um, nutzo... Is somebody following me around with a camera??

Other Valency/Tara parallels:

-She has 2 wacky teenage kids
-She has a crazy sister (well, all of my sisters are crazy, but only Kippy and I admit to it/embrace it)
-She has a handsome and super tolerant husband

See? I could go on and on...

At least I'm not multiple personality... At least I don't think I am. My husband might say I am a little split - It would be a dual thing with one being a Bitchy/Angry personality and the other a Happy/Content personality... Hmmm...

It is one of the few shows in the world that I LOVE the opening credits...

Whatever artist that created the art for the opening credits is a genius. Swoon.

In other news, Shane got a call last week from the "higher ups" and its looking more and more like we will be moving to England again in about a year. This makes me equally excited and completely stressed out all rolled into one.

My main concerns are about the boys - They are pretty flexible, but I'm hoping I don't screw them up. Also, moving the cats and dogs (and finding a place to rent with the menagerie) is such a pain - I REFUSE to give up any of my furries, and I know that Shane can't argue because he would die without Tallulah...

In fact, when I mentioned to him that Tallulah would have to go in the cargo hold because it is an International flight, Shane's face totally fell and he immediately said "Well, we'll just go by boat then."

I have a lot of shit to figure out in the next year or so...

Tchotchke Hunter

2011-03-27T11:40:00.006-06:00

I'm using a bunch of tchotchkes in my art right now, so I went on a tchotchke hunt at my local thrift stores... I only hit 2, Savers and Goodwill - they don't seem to stock the same number of "bags 'o crap" as they used too. Maybe they got tired of people tearing into them when they only wanted one item from the bag.

I found one decent bag at Savers, and a pretty rockin' bag at Goodwill.

This bag from Savers was a bit steep ($1.99), but the items in it were quality. The little squirrel couple is chalkware, and the other three are ceramic-ish.

The bag from Goodwill was only 59 CENTS and it was chock full of treasures...

What a deal! Especially these wee little couples:

I should hit some garage sales and dig through some 10 cent bins but it's SO MUCH WORK driving around all over on a Saturday morning. I can get Shane to go with me, as long as Tallulah can come, too... Having a personal garage sale driver makes it waaay better.

Here is the husband talking on my phone to his dad:

Tallulah in his lap and a big ole Shamu-cat flopped next to him on the couch. Shane is SOooooOOoo not a cat person, but Lucky just won't give up on him...

How can you not love that big hunk of love?

(I'm talking about Lucky AND Shane)

:)

The Last of the Bunch For Now... I Think...

2011-03-22T18:33:00.002-06:00

I had to dress back up again and re-do some pictures with Tully... I'm pleased with them, but I can't pick which one I like the best... I can only submit one with Tully for this assignment...

The next assignment is suuuuuper boring, but it's a requirement; we have to scan and print out a dollar bill and match the colors exactly. It's actually harder than it seems... Color can be SO tricky!

I just like crazy surreal saturated color for these images. It just seems fitting.

My family are all such good sports. Thank goodness.

The animals are good sports, too.

I have one more idea in my head... I need to go shoot it while I'm still dressed like a ninny...

I am LOVING my fancypants camera...

Unleashing the Beast

2011-03-20T21:26:00.005-06:00

I'm just blaming my photography teacher for unleashing the beast in me...

It's my alter-ego. Like my hidden Superwoman...

So ridiculous. But so fun.

Just a she-devil...

Graaaarh.

Trampoline Tramps

2011-03-20T15:34:00.003-06:00

I felt a little nauseaous after I took these. Trampoline jumping makes you sweaty, especially when jumping in an evening gown and tiara.

Don't worry, I made Shane jump, too.

In his FLIGHTSUIT! Get it?

More From the Queen of the House...

2011-03-19T15:17:00.001-06:00

Housewife Valency.

2011-03-18T16:20:00.003-06:00

I took some of the self-portraits today... Here is a taste :)

I'm Quite Lucky Sometimes...

2011-03-17T17:33:00.009-06:00

I didn't even need a four-leaf clover to be lucky today!!

So I tried Dale and Thomas Popcorn on a whim a couple of years ago, and ever since, I have dreams about their Peanut Butter and White Chocolate DrizzleCorn. SO delicious but not in a good girl's diet plan...

I "liked" Dale and Thomas on Facebook, so I can keep up on any sales or whatnot. I've even commented on a couple of their posts when I'm feeling suuuuuper-nerdy. I don't click on the "like" for too many things on Facebook, but this popcorn is worth my finger click.

AND THEN today, once I was done with my hair and chilling with the kids, I checked my Facebook and lo and behold there was a message from a guy who works for Dale and Thomas, saying that they picked some random peeps on their FB page to get one of these:

It's one of their $50 Pot of Gold Variety Packs! Hooray!

I've never even tried their Popsters, but those look lovely, too... I get all of these yummy treats:

All shipped to me for free!!

If you do have a Facebook account, I highly recommend clicking the "Like" button on the Dale and Thomas page... I'm just sayin'... :)

Holy Crap, Thursday Already?

2011-03-17T08:23:00.003-06:00

It's so cliché to say it, but darn it if Spring Break is whizzing by WAY too fast!! I have foils in my hair as we speak, combatting the roots (another thing ticked off the Spring Break list) but I still have a TON left to accomplish!

Not to mention that today and tomorrow I am running back and forth between here and the UNM campus because Tully is in the regional division of the science fair. He and his best friend engineered/designed a new type of bullet-proof material in hopes of making it better and more cost effective for the military and police force. I'm pretty damn impressed... This kid is going places. It freaks me out sometimes.

I haven't taken a single self-portrait yet, and I need to have four different ones done by Monday so I can start editing and printing. I'm hoping I'll be more motivated once the roots are gone.

I have been playing around with my Shane portraits, though... He's so fun to take pictures of (i.e.,antagonize). He is so tolerant...

This picture was a 30 second exposure done outside in the darkness of night, with only the moonlight to fill in...

That's Ghost-Valency whispering in his ear! No Photoshopping, just screwing with the long exposure.

Super fun. I will be messing with this technique again soon...

Also took this shot in the dark-darkness (inside this time), with a 30 second exposure. Took a flashlight about 10 seconds into the exposure and quickly swiped the light across Shane's face...

NEAT. I could entertain myself for hours like this. I just kept telling Shane to hold still. He is such a good man :)

I need to see if he can hold his Blue Steel look for 30 seconds now...

Three Boys, One Trampoline and A Box of Nilla Wafers.

2011-03-16T17:44:00.005-06:00

Still Painting My Life Away....

2011-03-16T17:36:00.004-06:00

But I did take a break this morning to take my Tully to the mall to get him some new shoes and clothes...

He's hitting that "growing-like-an-insane-weed" phase and he's built exactly like his dad, which means he's a total beanpole. Oh, to have that problem...

I've been playing with the new 50mm lens that I got for my birthday. It's a little tricky to get used to, but it's thoroughly enjoyable. LOVE that f/1.8 aperture!

I took a great series of the boys outside today - just gotta crunch them through Lightroom and I'll post some of them later. The weather was so gorgeous today!!

The Dodo Chair

2011-03-15T08:11:00.007-06:00

So I'm in my 21st Century Design art history class and it's mucho fun... Assignments have ranged from redesigning a book cover (of your choice), designing a chair, and this week I'm designing a logo...

For the book cover, I redesigned Libby Lumpkin's book, "Deep Design" - yes, she's my professor for this class - I'm just cheeky like that :)

I think she liked my re-designs, but she hasn't returned them to us yet, so I can't show you... But I did scan my chair design before I turned it in. Get ready for RIDICULOUS!

Yes, I know that it is a silly design... I wasn't really feeling innovation while brainstorming my chair, so I went for "over-the-top." SO ridiculous, but I had fun drawing it, and that's what matters the most!

My latest inspiration comes from Gandhi and an internet typographist artist:

I am the happiest I have ever been in my lifetime right now - I love my family and friends, and I am so grateful for them on a daily basis... Positive thoughts persist, and it reflects in the happiness of my kids and my husband :)

Now I'm off for marathon painting time again!

Because Andy and I Are Close Personal Friends...

2011-03-14T10:26:00.009-06:00

So this morning I'm watching the fourth hour of the Today Show because lets, face it, it's the best part of morning television. LOVE Kathie Lee and Hoda!

Kathie Lee wasn't on today, it was the incredibly cute Anthony Mackie co-hosting with Hoda, which was enjoyable, but then JOY of JOYS Andy Cohen was a guest!

Oooh, I love anyone who can laugh like that!

Anthony had claimed he was a hugger earlier in the show, so Andy wanted a hug, too...

And HERE is where it gets interesting and exciting for me.

Hoda and Anthony both start talking about how AMAZING Andy smells, and question him about the scent he is wearing - Andy replies "Creed" but he can't remember which one - Creed makes lots of scents and they are VERY pricey and fabulous, and I was super-curious about which one it was...

So like a NERD I Tweeted him.

Now, I do NOT recommend Tweeting celebrities - you will look like a weird sociopath and a stalker. Seriously. I mean, come on, they get hundreds of Tweets a day - do you really think they'll take time to read yours?

But SOMETIMES, magic will happen...

I GOT TWITTERED BY ANDY COHEN!! Ha! This totally made my day. He tweeted back in less than five minutes, too... Le sigh. I think this means that we're best friends now!

Happy Cloudy Days

2011-03-13T08:11:00.002-06:00

My nose has been running like a faucet - I got a HEAD COLD for my birthday!! Ugh. No real fever, just a cough-sinus-runny nose thing that makes me feel terrible.

The view from my bedroom makes me happy, though...

We don't have enough cloudy days here in New Mexico... But we are getting close to our one-year countdown for moving!! I'm off to take some Dayquil... sniffle...

The Big Three-Nine!!

2011-03-12T10:01:00.003-07:00

I've had a great day, and it's not even halfway over yet! Flowers, cards, prezzies, breakfast in bed (including fresh squeezed orange juice - my fav!) and I am just a happy, happy girl.

Kisses from my Noonie!

And here is the silly little dog having a late-night discussion with me:

I told Shane that for my birthday I want to make a video blog with him. We'll see.

Lucky loves the New Mexico sun...

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!!

On Being a Piggity

2011-03-11T12:16:00.004-07:00

This little video of Tallulah just reminds me of HOW MUCH I LOVE FOOD, TOO!

Thankfully, I have been doing a new exercise regime, and it's making me super-happy. You just have to change it up to something all-new sometimes, you know? (I'm Super-ADD-Girl, remember?)

I also have some new food selections from Whole Foods that make eating healthy so. SO. MUCH. EASIER.

And NOW since Jen called this morning with some fantastical amazing news, I have been on super SMILEY squee-happiness and ALSO she has been doing research on Ancestry.com and now I TOTALLY want to do the same - I don't even know my great-grandparents first and last names, much less where they came from.

Like I even have time for this.

But I'll make time - It's SPRING BREAK!!

Spring Break/Birthday Eve

2011-03-10T18:48:00.007-07:00

I'm still getting used to this fancypants camera...

But Tallulah is just a Supermodel of the World. I'm glad she is such a poser.

So IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW and my fantastic father-in-law sent me a birthday check. THANKS JOHN!! I am totally excited to buy myself a present.

I am COMPLETELY TORN on whether I should get a flash for my camera:

It's a Canon Speedlite 430EX. Definitely want.

OR

This set of colored pencils:

They're Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils - I was getting sick of my Prismacolors, as the points break all of the time - I even got a special sharpener for them, but nope, they just suck. Just as I'm drawing something super-detailed, SNAP, a hunk of lead flings off, leaving me with a jagged piece of colored wood. Fail.

I had ordered a single black pencil of every type that Dick Blick sells - I test drove them all, and the Luminance pencils WIN, hands down. They are so lovely to draw with, so they are also a definite want.

Oh, and then there are these boots at Amazon right now:

They have a pair in my size, and they are 80% off right now... Regularly $299, marked down to $60. If you think they're ugly, well, that's just your opinion now, isn't it? I think they're buttery and lovely and a delicious shade of blue. I love Fly London shoes...

Speaking of blue, I've been meaning to photograph some of the work I did last year... This is my Muppet Glove with a set of sterling silver rings that I made:

And this is my larger-than-life dodo head:

Aaaaand speaking of heads, I have been making Shane pose for me for some of my photography class assignments...

Of course I make Tallulah pose with him... Would you expect anything less?

She was veeeeery reeeelaxed.

This is the cow skull I got at a yard sale a couple of years ago. That's a coyote skull on top of it, for reference - it's a HUGE skull!! Must've been a massive cow.

It cost me a whopping $20. It was a break-up yard sale - the woman was leaving her boyfriend, and he had bought this for her, so she let it go cheap. YEAY ME!

Shane bought me lilies for Valentine Day -

I love lilies!

Apparently, Lucky likes them too...

He's a fat little orca whale who attacks all of my flowers like they're a baby harbor seal... I love how he's mid-chomp in that picture...

Pictures, Please.

2011-02-16T18:59:00.003-07:00

The tips of my right pointer finger & thumb are tingly and numb all of the time now because of my Advanced Drawing class - it's a 400 level class and expectations are HIGH and I am super OCD about my drawings each week. Sigh.

The only new pictures on my computer right now are these:

(Deer-in-the-headlights Tully, lol...) These are from my iPhone and I only took them so I could use Fatbooth, Baldbooth & AgingBooth on them in an epic combo of awful. I won't post those pictures on here right now... I'm saving them for when they're REALLY making me mad ;)

The pictures are awful, they really are. Those iPhone apps are wicked!

All of the rest of my pictures are on my portable hard drive right now, because I have to schlep them back and forth to school and print them on the fancypants photo printers. I'll get them on this computer soon - I'm finally shooting in color!

My Valenctine's day was phenomenal - the husband got me so many goodies! Gorgeous, giant white lillies, a big box of See's chocolates, a new silver necklace, a DVD that I've been wanting (Art Safari - I love that Matthew Barney!) AND A NEW LENS for my fancypants new camera!! And it's not even my birthday yet!! Oh, and he brought me a Blake's breakfast burrito in bed, too... What a man what a man what a mighty good man :) He says he appreciates all of the extra work I do - Being student extraordinare, fabulous artista and a kickass mom & wife to boot - all with a smile on my face every day! It's because I'm suck a lucky girl... It's pretty easy to keep that smile going.

For The Birds...

2011-02-02T16:50:00.003-07:00

So we had an assignment during class to go somewhere on the University of New Mexico campus and take 100 pictures in 45 minutes...

The UNM campus does NOT inspire me in any way... There are some decent trees on campus, but the architecture is seriously lacking and I don't particularly enjoy taking pictures of random strangers...

So of course I headed to the Duck Pond.

I know that there are people who think that pigeons are "rats with wings," but I think that they are fat and fluffy and lovely.

I shared my trail mix with them. The pigeons gobbled the nuts while the little chickadees ate the dried cranberries and dried cherries...

I love when the birds make diagonals in the pictures. Hooray for composition!

I'm shooting in color from now on, and then converting them to black & white in Adobe Lightroom. Learning Lightroom is an unexpected added bonus to the Intro Photography class - I know Photoshop really well, but Lightroom is FANTASTIC for the purpose it serves...

I would've preferred my pigeons in color. Their luminescent feathers make me happy... It just doesn't translate in B&W.

Aw, my little chunky feathery bubbas...

Learning to Fly...

2011-02-01T07:25:00.003-07:00

First technical photo assignment, and I think things are looking up...

I now have the ability to use the manual settings on my fabulous new Canon Rebel camera and turn something like this:

To something like THIS:

SO MUCH FUN! We're working in black & white to begin with so we can concentrate on tones and contrast without all of the crazy color getting in the way. I am already totally in love with my camera. I held out on getting a 'fancy-pants' camera until I was enrolled in a legit photography class - I'm just stubborn like that... but it's been completely worth it.

It's a SNOW DAY today, and it looks like it might be a snow day tomorrow too (fingers crossed!). I ran around early this morning and restocked the house on all the essentials... The deli lady at Albertson's totally made my day - I was telling her how much I LOVED their rotisserie chicken salad*, and how it was waaaaay better that Costco's chicken salad (someone had recommended it to me and I was totally disappointed). The sweet deli lady then proceeded to make me (twist my arm) sample all of their lovely yummy savory salads, and it just made me happy... It doesn't take much, you know? I'm not a huge Albertson's fan by any means, but I give their deli two thumbs up.

*NOT a diet salad - just a lovely treat :)

Up to my eyeballs in artwork... I have 2 of the 16 drawings done that are required for my Advanced Drawing class this semester, and so far the feedback from both my class and my teacher is really positive... I need to get in gear on some paintings - there is pretty much no such thing as free time in my schedule right now!

I'll try not to neglect you, my darling blog...

So Very Excited...

2011-01-20T22:19:00.002-07:00

My new camera arrives tomorrow! And my photography teacher is super-rad... I see amazing things happening this semster... :)

Double Magnum or Nothing At All...

2011-01-12T13:05:00.002-07:00

I always have SO MUCH FUN when I go over to Julia's house... Especially when there are PUPPIES! And DOUBLE MAGNUMS OF CHAMPAGNE!!

Julia has two Norfolk Terriers that kinda resemble giant guinea pigs...

This baby is a double magnum of champagne from Iron Horse Vineyards, limited edition and personally signed by the winemaker... Such a beauty!!

Julia's Christmas tree is still up because Russian Christmas is on January 7th. I think I will just have two start celebrating both... Can you imagine?? TWO CHRISTMASES! Sounds good to me...

That's Julia's gorgeous daughter Mari... She's such a sweet girl! She's 18 and was born in Russia...

If only Stoney was a few years older ;)

Julia's husband John is a PhD and does mind-blowing nuclear engineering work and is from Chicago - Guess who we'll be watching the Bears/Seahawks game with on Sunday?

Call Sign: Pook

2011-01-11T08:33:00.002-07:00

I don't get to win all of the fabulous medals like my Air Force husband, but I do occasionally get a treat...

Shane brought this home for me the other day as a little surprise :)

One side says 'Pook' and the other side says 'Valency'...

Enjoyable! Although I really don't drink beer these days, much less alcohol in general... Gotta keep the mind SHARP!

Going over to Julia's today to paint and draw and gab in general... I haven't seen her since she's been back from vaca to the gorgeous California coast, and I know she'll have lots to show me :)

Underwater Exploration...

2011-01-10T17:47:00.002-07:00

Had to take Stoney to the doctor today...

I did ask the doctor how long kids go to a pediatrician, because I'll totally swap him over to Flight Medicine if it's ridiculous to bring your almost-16-year-old to a baby doctor...

Apparently, they'll see peeps until the age of 23, and the norm is about 20 years old... I canNOT imagine dragging him to the Magical Underwater Exam Room much past the age of 18...

Stone is perfectly happy, though... The baby docs are pretty nice :)

This Is What Lazy Looks Like

2011-01-09T10:53:00.004-07:00

Shane's the superintendent at the 58th TRS right now... This is the patch that they wear:

Well, if you're a student, you wear the 'Student Flight' one - but you get the idea...

It is not a very attractive or esthetically pleasing patch. Most people, in fact, think it looks like a chicken, not an eagle...

So Shane asked if I could rig something up to be proposed as a new patch - this is what I did yesterday...

First came a quick sketch:

Which I then scanned into Photoshop and started messing with:

It's just a jumping-off point to show to the head honchos at the squadron...

I think it's kind of enjoyable :)

The black bow and arrow didn't read very well once I printed it out, so I changed it up a bit...

We'll see what happens... Hopefully they'll like it. It would be kind of cool to have it on my resume...

Weekends Make Me Lazy

2011-01-08T11:36:00.003-07:00

Tully makes this old man/Popeye face when he is irritated by my picture-taking...

Drives me nuts.

That's a bit better...

Excited to watch the Seahawks game today, even though I'm banking on them getting trounced by the Saints... I still love my Seattle-ness, though! Also been watching a shit-ton of Watch Instantly on the Netflix with the new Roku that I bought from Amazon... I've cut back the ones Netflix sends in the mail now that this shizzle is so easy.

And Amazon keeps having movies for $1 or $1.99 rental in their Video on Demand section - it's a 48-hour rental, but the 48 hours doesn't start until you start watching it - you have a whole month to watch it before it expires. FABULOUS! I currently have Inception and The Town waiting to be watched - got 'em for a buck. Nice.

Yeah, This Kid Again...

2011-01-05T09:41:00.002-07:00

Got his grades again... If I can crow about my grades, then I should absolutely crow about his...

What do you want, Mom?

He only got one B+ for the semester, the rest were As! Hooray!

The offending B+ came in his German class, which I totally understood... Language classes can be a b*tch.

He got an A in Chemistry! And Geometry! And World History! And English, and Acting, and Film & Video Production!!!!

I'm a happy, happy Momma, I am...

Someone Needs Some Attention? Hmmmm?

2011-01-04T17:45:00.002-07:00

Someone doesn't like it when I blog too much...

She is such a drama queen.

I was just trying to peruse some pics on Flickr. Geez.

Tallulah actually sighed after this picture... Ridic.

A Walk in the Woods...

2011-01-04T09:49:00.001-07:00

I love walking in the Bosque... they keep making improvements to the area of the bosque located about a block from our house. They've put up little 'info' plaques all along the pathway, giving little fact nuggets as you walk...

Shane really digs them.

He was in charge of 'walking' Tallulah...

Shane took the boys down to the river yesterday and did some rock-collecting with them. We have to require mandatory bonding time with the boys now that they're getting so big...

Hanging out with mom and dad is just not cool anymore...

Crimbus Prezzies...

2011-01-02T19:19:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite things...

Shane bought me this most excellent chair so I'll stop being so uncomfortable during my 12-hour painting marathons:

It looks a bit odd but I swear to god, it's lovely to sit on!

Then my sweet husband bought me this because I swear by kosher salt now...

A salt crock! Wheeeee!

Speaking of salt, I've been super-disappointed by a lot of the newer Trader Joe's stuff we've been trying - these were waaaaaay to salty:

They had some sort of steak seasoning on them that was horrible...

Boooooo.

Julia brought me back these gorgeous hand-painted spoons from Moscow:

I think they look adorable in the little crystal pitcher/vase that I bought in the Czech Republic :)

One of my favorite people is getting ready to move to Florida...

Ooof - I was looking a wee bit tired because I was trying to stay up til midnight on New Year's Eve...

I was totally in bed by 11... I'm getting to old for New Year's!! Argh!

Dodo Panic...

2011-01-02T11:44:00.001-07:00

Here is my color reduction print from my printmaking class... made from one matrix that I continually carved away... Via my horrific photography skills...

I CANNOT WAIT TO START MY PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS!! First class on January 19th... SO EXCITED!!

Granted, these were quick and dirty pictures I took in the garage...

Most all of the prints are slightly different... I have a hard time following all of the printmaking rules...

My girlfriend Tamara is coming over today with her cute darling mini-daughters... I will be squeezing them and being girly all day today!! Yeay!

The Best Buddies of 2010

2010-12-31T09:13:00.001-07:00

I adore this series of pictures taken this summer... COUSINS!!

Oh, my little princess, Viv... And Theo's trying to control the giggles...

As the giggles get passed on to Ollie...

Then I told them to HUG THEIR BUDDIES!!

Stone shows resistance...

Then CRAZINESS ENSUES!!

Happy New Years to all of my favorite people! Can't wait for 2011...

Grades! Hooray!

2010-12-30T21:01:00.003-07:00

I've been patiently waiting for the last of my final grades for the fall semester to show up on UNM's website, and they're finally here!!

HOOORAY - All of my hard work in my Printmaking class PAID OFF!!

And I was a little nervous about the Art History 491 grade - I got a 97% on the midterm exam, then I had a paper that was graded by the class TA and she massacred it - I got a 90% on it, which I was super-irritated with... Then we had our final exam, which I was pretty sure that I ROCKED it - And voila! An A+ for the final grade!! I think Dr. Lumpkin didn't take much stock in the papers - the TA needs a lesson in grading papers, methinks... But don't tell her that I said that!

I'm currently trying to plan a menu for a dinner party... this recipe for Salmon Cannelloni is currently at the top of my list, but I'll have to do a dry run with the husband to see if the recipe passes muster... I also have a wicked recipe for chicken in a raspberry sauce that I got from my girlfriend Cindy many moons ago that is pretty foolproof...

Anyone have suggestions out there?

Santa Pictures 2010

2010-12-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Santa pictures are still a huge issue around here... I'm hoping that in a few years they'll think it's funny/fun and they'll go to the mall on their own... a girl can dream, no?

This year, to avoid the drama, I found a very special Santa...

The boys still weren't particularly thrilled... What's a mom to do to get a real, genuine smile out of her kids?

These will have to do. Santa pictures 2010. Sigh.

I held open auditions for the role of Santa...

Lucky just didn't have the 'it' factor...

Plus the sharp claws = not a good candidate.

Bijou also made a valiant attempt:

She would have been great if I was going for the 'pissed-off Santa' look...

Lucky tried to interrupt her audition... He has jealousy issues...

Apparently, cats just don't make good Santas.

Then I got the bright idea to make Lucky a Christmas elf...

He really did not like that idea...

Can you tell?

I think I deserve props for my ingenuity.