Oh, hey look, it's snowing again.

This isn't another rant about how spectacularly long this winter has been. Seems pointless, right? So instead, let's look at some pictures of the admittedly pretty snow. I'm not thrilled it arrive, but it was very lovely as and just after it fell.

Sad rhododendrons :(

Here's the back yard. In order to get to our wood pile, you have to cross from the garage to the opposite corner of our lot. Twice this winter, I shoveled a path to it while Dwight powered through with wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of wood. It was pretty brutal. The funny thing, though, is that the outdoor critters, wild and domestic alike, used this trench as well. Deer, squirrels, and one of the neighborhood cats seemed especially grateful for the way to get around that didn't involve 12-20+ inches of snow!

But no complaining about all of this "winter bounty." Aside from there being nothing I can do about it, we're getting just that much closer to spring. Whew.

My mother, however took a far more humorous approach to the weather. She cleans our house usually once a week (I pay her, don't get the wrong idea) and she left this note for us on Friday.

I burst out laughing. My mom put my snowman ornament - my nod to winter "decorating" - in time out, turning him around and putting him in the corner. Awesome.

I come by my goofy sense of humor quite naturally.

Extra Hour!

 Here it is. Best day of the year (kinda). DST ends and we get an extra hour. Super awesome. So what did you do with yours? Here's a glance at what Casa Luna did on this beautiful Sunday, November 3rd.



I made some red beans and rice. It was go-ooood. I forgot that we didn't have regular rice, but I did have sushi rice (don't ask me why - I've never made sushi). So technically we had red beans and sticky rice. Still go-ooood.

The kitties' day looked something like this. Floyd was outside most of the day, enjoying the sunshine. Can't blame him. He came to say hi, then headed towards the tree…



...where he got "that look" on his face.



I knew what was coming next.



Yep. Climbing the tree. He's gotten WAY farther up that that before. I saw him chase a squirrel up a tree the other day. Crazy kitty.


Gir was on the couch taking a bath between naps.





Malcom was napping in the super special kitty bed/box.





"Hey."


 Kaylee was also napping (shocker) but she was in the front room on "her" couch.



She did get up though. Had to say hi and also see what was going on outside.




This was.



Dwight, with his extra hour, spent most of it outside cleaning up the leaves. It's a job and a half!


Then Kaylee spotted the tie on my hoodie and just had to play.



"Gr-RRR." She's vicious!


Caught up with Floyd again, still outside, this time taking a bath while sitting on the hot tub (remind me to tell you about the time he took a bath IN the hot tub).





And behind him, Dwight was finishing up the leaves…three hours later.



That man is dedicated. Hey, I helped some. Honest.

It needed it, I swear

So last weekend Dwight trimmed our crabapple tree. And by "trimmed" I mean he cut the crap out of it. But, really, it needed it. That tree is a beast. We've "trimmed" it multiple times and it just laughs at us and grows even more. It was taking over the front of the house. Unfortunately I didn't get a before picture, but I have one from 2011.

Post-Running Rorschach Test

After Dwight's run last weekend, he came back rather sweaty. He always ends up that way, but the pattern this time was decidedly unique.

Me: You got a little sweaty.

D: Yeah, I probably overdressed. It's like a Rorschach test. Quick - what do you see?

Me: Uuuuuhhh. SEAHORSES.

D: (walking to a mirror so he can see his shirt properly) *Pause* Yeah, I can see that.

So, quick! What do YOU see?

They're EVERYWHERE

I had to look up what exactly these are. Dwight calls them "worms" but their official name is "catkins" (or tassels) and they are the spent male flower from oak trees. See, we all learned something new today. I had no clue. Well, one clue. Dwight and I figured they must have something to do with pollination or creating acorns and I guess we were kind of right. They DO contain pollen, and they ARE required to make acorns. Did you know acorns are the fruit of oak trees? Me, neither. At least I never thought of them that way, but I guess it makes sense. After all, acorns are what make new oak trees. (And by the way, we had a crap ton of them in the fall.)

Oak Trees — The tree that keeps on giving. (Don't even get me started on the leaves.)

Actual email transcript between Dwight and me

Me:
I just looked up and saw that I typed this instead of "telephone" on a letterhead ...

Tekeogibe


Can I go home now?


D:
You are amazing, are you sure that's not a real thing?


Me:
It SHOULD be. I'm going to make a shirt with that on it. And a drawing of whatever I decide a "tekeogibe" is.


D:
It sounds high tech.


Me:
Wait! Maybe that's "telephone" in Romulan. Or Vulcan. Or some other equally nerdy language. Sorry, "language".


D:
It sounds like something Miracle Max would say.


Me:
He distinctly said, "To blaaave" ...


D:
You need to start answering our home phone, “Tekeogibe Industries”

Now Starring {in my dreams}...

For whatever reason, I've had some unusual people showing up in my dreams lately. As is typical with dreams, I can't recall many specific details, just random images, but I do recall some of the cast of characters. Some are the usual people found in my real life, but lately, they've been a little more... famous.

Example #1: The other night Hermione made an appearance. Not Emma Watson. Hermione. (Although it *was* Emma as Hermione.) The only circumstance I remember about her role in my dream was talking about some classes she was taking, specifically a speech/radio class, and I remember telling her, "Oh! I'd love to do voice-over work. I think that would be so much fun." "You should definitely take this class, too" she replied.

Exciting, right?

Example #2: Just last night, I had an even more famous star, royalty even. Yes, Prince William and his lovely bride were in my dream. Really. I don't know why or recall how we happened to be acquainted in my dream, but I do recall that I offered to make them some "crusty bread" since they were hungry.

Really.

Oh, and Kate had on a lovely, just-below-the-knee flowy skirt, brightly (but not heavily) patterned with a floral design. Not icky and grandma-ish, but fresh and summery - wide, red band at the top. Worn with a plain white shirt. And if memory serves, she arrived on a bicycle. (Yeah, I know.) Now that I think about it, she kind of a 50s thing going on with the skirt and bike. She looked adorable.

There you have it. A glimpse into my strange and celebrity-filled dreams.

Thus endeth my random post. You may now go about your regularly scheduled Saturday events.

Digging through my archives

Rather than delude myself that I'll actually ever dedicate a full blog post to the myriad of photos I have on my computer, originally *meant* to be full posts, I decided to dust them off and at least share some of them with you. If nothing else, it's at least proof that I have every intention of blogging far more often than I actually do. Yeah, I think that's a lame excuse, too.

Until I actually do a "real" blog post, here are some snippets to tide you over.



I made these beignets over a year ago. Really. They were awesome. I don't recall what recipe I used - sorry!



I have to say that I'm quite proud of how these photos turned out. Probably some of the most styled of the food photos I've taken.





Again, these photos are from last year. June 5 to be precise. Am I on top of this whole blogging thing or WHAT?! I love the monarchs that flit around our yard in the summer - just gorgeous. This is a different kind of lilac that blooms late and has just gotten huge over the last couple of years. It's right by our deck and acts as a lovely screen and source of nectar for various fauna.





When the final Harry Potter movie came out on DVD, Dwight and I had a little party. I made various HP-themed treats including treacle tarts, butterbeer and these pumpkin pasties.




This was just something funny we saw one day last fall. We noticed our cats going crazy over something outside the front door. There it was - a chipmunk mercilessly teasing our cats. You can practically hear it squeaking, "Ha Ha SUCKERS!" to the frustrated kitties.




And I'll leave you with this. I colored my hair over my birthday weekend, BRIGHT red on top, with purple underneath. I love it and have gotten many compliments. My only complaint is that the purple is still washing out. I now have purple splotched towels and my pillow cases will never be the same again. Oh well.

One Week

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you're probably wondering what in the heck happened to my "6 'til 40" list. If you're new here, that was a list I put together of the things I wanted to do in the 6 months leading up to my 40th birthday. Well, my birthday is a week away, so I thought I'd finally bring you up to date on what's been going on these last few months.



I did cross a few of the things off the list, like go through a corn maze. I also redesigned my blog business cards and gave this site a minor face lift (very minor, more like housekeeping, really). I took my camera with me on a walk and I hosted a tea party. But that's about it. There are approximately 15 things I never did and some are really simple, like going to the cupcake bakery or getting a massage. Nope, still haven't done that and I'd really like a massage right about now, believe me.

Many of the "usual" things kept me from doing the rest of the activities on my list, mainly running out of time, or simply forgetting. But let's face it. Not having time is an excuse, plain and simple. I've chosen to spend my time doing other things. And I'm OK with that. Over the last six months, things have changed and my priorities changed, as they often do. Shortly after making the list, an opportunity came up to attend an art workshop. Going to an art retreat or workshop was on my list, but not the public one. It was the one buried deep in me that I hadn't verbalized to anyone but myself. I just didn't think it would happen for me; it was just a remote dream. Just goes to show that I need to dream BIG and out LOUD, and sometimes the universe will listen - and I will take action!

I missed the first opportunity for the workshop because it sold out in hours, but the hosts, Donna Downey and Christy Tomlinson opened up a second session for Inspired: Soulful Artist. Since I'd emailed and asked to be put on a waiting list, I was given the opportunity to sign up before the second session was made public. I signed up immediately.

That was the first step down the new direction things took for me, a direction away from some of the things on my original 6 'til 40 list. A week or so after I signed up for the Inspired event, I discovered the Bloom True e-course which I've already written a bit about. This was the next step.

Slowly, making art became my focus, my new source of happiness, rediscovering the joy I've always had in making art. In some ways, I no longer needed the original list because I was filling the months leading up to my birthday with things I loved doing. The Bloom True class started February 6 and the artist in me truly did bloom as a result. It lit a fire. The Inspired event, from March 1 through 4, kept the fire burning bright.

Soulful Artist Workshop - My table - the BEST table - love these women!!

Meeting 23 other women that shared my love of making art was incredible.

Me with Christy 

Me with Donna

When you're surrounded by people that speak the same language you do, a language you don't get to use much in your day to day life, it's incredible. I met women I hope to be friends with for a very long time. I learned many things about making different kinds of art, but the biggest takeaway was the community.

It's these things that have made the 6 months leading up to the big 4-0 a real joy, and isn't that what my whole "6 'til 40"was about - making time for things I want to do? Oh, I did the CRAP out of that, let me tell you.

I still want to do all of the things on my list. I have the name of a photographer I want to contact about taking pictures of Dwight and me. I'm still determined to hit the local bakeries, still interested in going to the museums in Chicago, the ones I haven't been to since childhood. But I'm OK with all of the blank check boxes on my list, because in the last 6 months, I feel like I've found ME. And I can't WAIT to see what she does in the NEXT six months.

Bring it!

Missing an Appendage (a.k.a. My Camera)

*Insert sad face*

Not to be confused with *distraught face*

(Sorry, I can't help myself. I find me endlessly hilarious. I realize I'm the only one that does. Don't care. Besides, PhotoBooth is freakin' AWESOME. The end.)

OK, back to the point of this post. Ahem. 

MY CAMERA DIED. *sob*

Which is why I'm both sad and, yes, a bit distraught. I've become incredibly attached to my lovely little D80, so being without it has caused me some serious identity crisis moments. "What am I going to do NOW?? How will I ever function again? Ever?! GAH!" Stuff like that.

There it is. My extra appendage in better times. You know, when it worked. Dusty with flour, crusty with dough, probably some paint on the back. *sigh*

I sent it away last week after trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the flashing "ERR" message on the display. I was pretty sure I knew what was wrong. I heard back from Nikon today and they confirmed it. The #%&#!@ pop up flash is broken. I DON'T EVEN USE IT. 

It's like not being able to drive your car because the CD player (THAT YOU NEVER USE BECAUSE IT'S 2012 AND YOU HAVE AN IPOD AND ITUNES) doesn't work. 

The good news is that it can be fixed and for much less than buying even a point and shoot. But still. I don't have my camera right now because something that I don't use is broken on it and I have to PAY to get the thing that I don't use fixed. 

Good times. First world problems, and all that. OK, I'm done now. 

I feel better. Like this:

Wait. That's manic, crazy-face.

SEE? I'm capable of not mugging constantly. 

Almost. (By the way, this is what I call the "Oh, GOLLY!" In case you were wondering.)

Oh, Shut up.

What I said today to the gremlin voice in my head that whispered,

"Who do you think you are?" 

in the form of self-doubt.

I'm working on permanently removing that voice from my head. In fact, I think that's something we ALL need to do, because I'm guessing we've all heard that voice, that nasty little mean voice that tells us we're not good enough. Well I say, screw that guy. I'm living my life on my terms, you rotten bastard, so jog on! (A million trillion bonus points if you know where I got that last phrase.)



"You don't have to live your life the way other people expect you to." -- Chris Guillebeau

I first saw this quote quite a while ago now, I think on Gretchen Rubin's blog, The Happiness Project. She did an interview with Chris and this statement took a few seconds to sink in, but when it did, whoa. It was such a powerful thing to read, kind of hit me as a bit of a revelation, although it's basically just a fact.

But I saw it again today and it seemed to come at the right time, so I started a new art journal and decided to use it as some inspiration (along with a photo of a hat I saw on NPR). The journal is just an old book that I'm painting over, first with gesso then whatever I decide to use. I glued three pages together with mod podge so that the pages would be more rigid. (I learned this book trick during one of Christy Tomlinson's workshops.)



I just used gesso and acrylic paint for these pages. Oh, and pen.



So let's kick that nasty gremlin voice to the curb. Who's with me?

Photo Walk - RED

Although I didn't mention it in the 6 'til 40 list I had in my post, one of the things I've wanted to do for a long time is go on a "photo walk." For me, that meant taking my camera when I went for one of my walks around the neighborhood. I was always concerned that I would look silly or people would think I was weird for walking around with my camera. Or worse - freak out that I had a camera and think I was a weirdo stalker-type taking pictures of their yard/house/sidewalk or canvasing the neighborhood with some evil intent. Yeah, I've got issues. But I have read about a few too many incidents where photographers were harassed or given grief over taking street photos. But I digress.

I decided that a photo walk would go on my list and on October 22, when the weather was just too nice to stay indoors, I decided to grab my camera and go for a walk. Before I did, though, I asked for suggestions on a theme for my walk on Twitter. My friend Barb piped up with "I vote Project Red." I thought, "Why not?" and headed out.  I knew I'd find red leaves since it's autumn, but wasn't sure what else I would see. I needn't have feared. Having "red" running through my mind meant I saw it all around, like when you buy a new car and suddenly see that car everywhere.

I stepped outside my door and found red instantly.


And about five steps later, this:


I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that, hey! This isn't going to be as hard as I thought.



In fact, it was fun! Yes, there were plenty of red leaves.


But there were every day things I wouldn't have thought about had I not had the prompt.







I even found a theme within a theme - red litter. Kind of depressing, not exactly elegant, but interesting (to me).





Dying flowers took on a new life:


Common driveway sights become inspiration:


And when I looked at the temperature, I smiled... for a couple of reasons. *click*

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is part of my 6 'til 40 list – a list of things all the fun things I want to do but have been putting off. I plan to tick off an many of them as I can before April 2 to celebrate turning the big 4-0.