Back from Vacation and Back to School

So this week it's back to school for the boy. Hello 4th grade!! We didn't find out who his teacher was or who was in his class with him, until the first day of school, becuse we missed registration while we were on vacation. (more about that later).

  So we checked in at the office, headed up to his class, and all of us parents stood around taking pictures while our kids unpacked their backpacks with shiny new pencil boxes, folders and clean, fresh packs of paper.  Oh and kleenex that his school insists we buy every year.  I know for a fact the boy does not use it, I can't get him to blow his nose to save his life.  Oh well. Now..................................

About that vacation.  It was amazing.  We spent a week at the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach, and it was worth every penny! The service and treatment at that hotel is like no other I have ever experienced. 

They call you by name, cater to your every whim, have the best kids club EVER, and as you walk around the grounds, the staff stops, and moves aside for you to pass....Like I'm somebody!!!! They don't know I'm nobody..but they treat me like I'm SOMEBODY!!

Hubby and I spent our days lounging by the pool, taking naps, eating the most amazing food, and sleeping in.  I took a ton of pics with my Iphone Hipstamatic app.  Somehow, the beach just calls for it.

The boy spent his days (and I mean ALL of his days) at "Paintbox"...the kids club. They kept that kid entertained from 9am until 10pm almost every night.  They went to the beach, the tidepools, did crafts, watched movies, had relay races, waterballoon fights, tie dyed shirts, swam in the pool.  He loved it!!

We made S'Mores by the fire pit, drank after dinner coffee listening to live music, and tried just about everything on the menu!  It was the best vacation ever.

I had all the time in the world to read, work in my journal, taking daily walks on the beach, take plenty of pictures and just try to find new and exciting (or not) ways to relax.  I think I found them all!

This last photo is a little bit of fun in Photoshop I had with five or so pictures I took this week, plus one random journal page for a background texture.  It really is Summer's End!

Shhhh....just listen

Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Well, it was actually last week, but it is so rare that I get to quote Elton John Song titles in my writing, that I couldn’t pass it up.
Song titles aside though, I actually did have someone save my life. Now, I am not talking about “oh man that 50 bucks totally saved my life” or “that Starbucks was a lifesaver”. NO! I am talking about “if someone doesn’t intervene in about 20 seconds, I will no longer be breathing on this earth” lifesaving. So this is what happened.
The boy had a birthday party to be at, at noon on Saturday. This was for his “BFF”, so I RSVP’d a week prior and we were there!! The party was at John’s Incredible Pizza, and really, the pizza is pretty incredible. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to buffet to my hearts’ content, I did not eat that morning, so by the time we got the green light to hit the food line, I was starving.
So we get in line, load up the plates and have just sat down to eat when it happened: I took a bite of a delicious, golden brown, perfectly baked breadstick, and I felt the urge to cough. Being the considerate person that I am, I did not want to spew breadstick all over the guy sitting in front of me, so I took a deep breath and tried to stop from coughing. Well, it stopped the cough alright, by way of lodging the bread directly into my throat!!!!
After what seemed like an eternity of me wondering if this piece of bread was going to un-lodge itself from my windpipe, I realized I was in trouble. Now, mind you, I have ten, 8 and 9 year olds, sitting directly behind me that have no idea what is going on, and I don’t want to freak them out. Too late!!! I stood up, smacked my husband on the arm, and did the hands at the neck “universal sign for choking” motion. (At least I think I read somewhere that was the universal sign for choking.) It makes sense that it would be though, because he got it right away!! He jumped up immediately, got behind me and proceeded to do the Heimlich Maneuver. Two tries, and it was a done deal. Breadstick launches from my throat, (thankfully not on the guy sitting across from me: Although I think if I would have just coughed on him in the first place, this whole thing would not have happened) and I was breathing again.

There was no “life flashing before my eyes”, no “I have so much more to do in life”. But I do remember consciously thinking “Wow, this is just like in the movies!” Weird huh? So the kids didn’t really know what was going on, but I felt bad for the two teenage party hostesses: they didn’t know what to think!! So we composed ourselves, and got back to the party. It took a whole lot of effort, though, because I really did just want to break down crying. We held it together though…for the kids! 
Seriously, one of the scariest moments of my life! But my husband, my hero came through…..again. Yes, I said again, because this is not the first time God has put him in the right place at the right time. I have seen a wholehearted attempt by him that were not successful, and several that were. Mine included. I thank God everyday for him. He truly is a hero!

Crazy cool!!

Saturday was a good art day.  I had nowhere to be, nothing to do, and all day to do it! And This is what happened.

Living Art

Sometimes there are days  weeks when I can't seem to get motivated. (See a previous post here).  I have learned to just kind of go with it when that happens.  I went for awhile without doing a whole lot of art, but I put some ideas  together, made some gifts, took a class, wrote an article for a future publication.  So it wasn't like I was just laying around the WHOLE time. No really!!

Then there are ideas that come into my head, that will not be ignored.  It could be a huge project idea, or as simple as a journal page quote.  I have learned to write these down when I can, and when the muse allows, I sit down to see what happens.

This piece is one of those simple ideas that came out exactly how I pictured it in my head.  I had seen a billboard that had huge lettering, and within one of the letters, was a partial photo of a person.  I had been working on some things that required me to use pieces of old work, so I thought, why not do a larger piece using one word, and fill it in with nothing but bits of older collages.

Well right away, I love the word ART..(duh!) I mean, I know I love art, but I like the way the word itself looks in big block capital letters. I printed out the letters and then went back through scanned work and printed out bits and pieces of older stuff.  (I even snuck in a picture of yours truly!)  I like it.

Somerset Art Journaling "Published" button

Just got a cool email from Somerset Art Journaling, with an html button to put on my blog. This button take the reader to their site, to purchase the magazine. If you are having a hard time finding this at the bookstore, and you want to see the amazing eye candy (not just mine :) Then check it out!!!

The one where Carrie can't get off the couch to do anything.

I love the show "Friends".  I could probably watch repeats every day of my life and still laugh.  I especially like the descriptions in the guide, because they always start out with "The one where...."  I love this, because when I am talking to someone, explaining some funny episode, the way I say it is.."You know, the one where............" So I love that the writers of that show do the same thing.
Ok, I don't know where all that came from, except to say this: This is the episode of MY LIFE where I can't get off the couch to do anything.  Save for a few journal pages here and there and an article I wrote, I have literally done nothing artistic.

I have read some good books, went on a couple mini vacations (or long weekends, if you will) and hung out with friends, but nothing much more than that, in the art department.

I need motivation people!!
I have some really cool things I am involved in, with some amazing artists, and I am excited about them.  So why then, can I not get moving?

Maybe it's the ridiculous heat.  Maybe it's my ridulous laziness.   (I am going to put my money on the latter).  Anyway, here are a couple journal pages I did last week, talking about the cool weekend with my family in Havasu. I am going to get busy on more. Or maybe just a little nap first.

I fixed it!!!!

Ok, after much frustration, a whole lot of head scratching, and the overwhelming desire to lay my head on my desk and cry....I fixed my blog!! Yay!  Who knew that it was one previous blog post, that had different formating, that would not allow the new design changes to take place.

Wow, I am so happy right now!!  Anyway, here is another donkey pictures to look at.  This was taken with the Hipstamatic app on the IPhone.  We see donkeys all the time along the dirt road that takes us to the Lake house, but they usually don't hang around once we stop the car and get out.  This momma let us get close, but you could tell, she would have no problem coming after us if we got too close.  Glenn tossed them a couple of apples, and the little one went to town!

Heck of A time

So I got this bright idea yesterday to to mess around with my blog. You see Blogspot had this "new" button up top that said DESIGN your blog or something. I got sucked in, made some changes without saving the old template, and now I can't get my sidebars to show up. SO frustrating!!!!

Anyway, this is a random test post to see if the changes I made worked. This is a picture of some donkeys we stopped to feed on the way to the lakehouse last weekend. It was a momma and her baby, and they loved the apples!!

Shakin' Things up

Ok, so right off the bat, you may have noticed the super bright colors of my new blog theme! Yeah, I know it's loud, but I am kinda feeling it! So we're just going to roll with it, k?
Pam Carriker! Her work is always inspiring!!
There I was again, taking self portraits in front of the magazine rack!! I swear, the peeps at Barnes and Noble must think I'm crazy.
I've got the magazines arranged just right so you can see the cover, behind me, while I am posing with the book flipped open to my article. Comedy, I tell you!! But, it never gets old. It is just as exciting as it was the first few times.
So the article was one on "Journaling within borders". Since I love to frame my journal pages, it was a good theme for me.
It is alot harder to write, though, when I did not have the specific journal in front of me, or know which pages they chose. But after seeing the final outcome, I think it is a good fit.
I love Stampington publications. Their work is just beautiful. And I love that they make my work look beautiful too! Thanks Somerset!!