Monday, July 31, 2006
Random Bits and Pieces . . . And I mean RANDOM
| It is 4:30 a.m. and I am awake. God that sucks. So what better time to post in my bl*g? I mean it's been forever and some of you kind people are emailing me to see if I ever got home and/or found my missing bags. (Ya all are just too durn nice!) So um, yes. Am home and it took me quite a few days to get caught up. Bags were waiting in Seattle for me on Sunday. Yay! In all fairness, America West really jacked me up when it came to traveling, but honestly, their customer service was superb so I can't be a hater. Onto the randomness. I am very excited about our new dishwasher. That works. It actually cleans the dishes. How can this not be vr vr exciting and all that is fabulous? I do not do well when the weather flip flops. It was WARM here for so many days and then POOF. Cloudy and cold. It makes me very tired and very boring. I bore myself on flip floppy days. So I watched movies. Watching movies is a rarity for me. I always feel like I'm cheating on my Tivo, which has been loyal and always there for me. Waiting. Watching. Beckoning me to view the TONS of stuff I have saved. How I can manage to feel guilty about not watching things I've Tivo'ed is beyond me. Admittedly, I am whacked. So anyway, I finally. FINALLY. Saw Walk the Line which I've been wanting to see forever. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and we all know how much that poor Joaquin Phoenix has been pining for me. Fab, fab, fab movie. Our Mr. Pheonix is just too hot for the average human. HOT. Okay. Then yesterday I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the kids. I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I love anything that Tim Burton does. Only he is not hot. At all. And I love how he uses Danny Elfman for everything . . . Did I ever tell you the time I got a backstage pass to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Oingo Boingo concert? I didn't? Well, Danny Elfman was nice enough to sign my backstage pass. His manager was an overbearing loudmouth beeyatch, but Danny was very nice. Anyway, the movie was hella funny (crazy kooky and great dialog) and my kids liked it as well. I am a magazine whore. Some how every magazine these last few weeks has had interviews with Kate Beckinsale. I love her. I want her to be my new best friend. That isn't weird, is it? My husband has a thing for Pam on the Office. I prefer Jim. Do not stick your finger in a fan while it's turned on. (hee. That sounds dirty.) It hurts and can rip off a good portion of your fingernail. Trust me on this one. I still hate my hair. My puter is starting to crash so I might as well end the randomness here. Buh bye. |
Friday, July 28, 2006
Illustration Friday "CLEAN"
This week's theme at Illustration Friday is "clean". Here is my submission, "Bubble Bath Diva": |
Monday, July 24, 2006
Illustration Friday "OPPOSITES"
I had an older image that I was looking for for this week's theme of "opposites" at Illustration Friday. However, I found this piece on a disk from pre-2002 which I had COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT. I look at the image now and think how completely opposite I paint now. And the thing is . . . I like this image. I like the simple concept, the free lines and theme, and the composition from the viewer's eye which is unlike anything that I would do now. Of course this is back when I was painting every day- grasping at ideas of "how can I challenge myself to do something different?" My mind set is so different now. Most every piece I create is for a client who wants something just like the other pieces on my website. I'm not sure what to think of the path and growth my art has taken the last few years. More clients- good. Uniformity to create a piece that is signaturely mine- Good. The lack of challenging myself artistically to do something different from what I usually do? Hm. I can't help think of my favorite artists and how disappointed I was/am when they change their style. But what do I want? |
Sunday, July 23, 2006
And it was going SO well
| Well, I tried. I was going to post EVERY day about my trip in Vegas. I was. My intentions were honorable. Day Two: As it turns out, my Dad had the KA date wrong and it wasn't until the following day so Dad invited me to Alize. The food and view would have been better had my Dad not been stuffed in a corner and banging his head (literally) on the supporting beam of The Palms. But I was introduced to a fantastic new wine. May I highly recommend L'cole 41 merlot which I never would have tried because they have a really stupid wine label. (who says you can't judge a wine by its label?) I really hope I didn't offend the 5 year old who designed it. Afterwards we went to Ghost Bar for a drink. But since we both had to wake up early, we called it a night at 11 pm. Early by Vegas standards. Day Three: It was to lovely Baker, CA to meet my sister whom for the record, DOES NOT LIVE THERE, Heaven forbid. We were merely meeting at the half way point from Vegas and So Cal. May I never see, visit, or think of Baker again, which is really. REALLY. Hell on earth at 112 degrees and scummier than a dingleberry. Later that evening was the actual day that me Mum and I went to KA. What to say about KA? It was amazing. Simply amazing. I cannot put into words how fantastic that show was. It was so visually stimulating that I had tears a couple of times. Could have been the wine. Could have been that I am an overly emotional artist geek, or maybe. Just maybe. It was that amazing. (Please tell me that I sound just like Katie Holmes with all my "amazing"s cuz that would be just RAD and amazing.) After that we went to Wolfgang Puck's. The food was good but the main course came while I was a few bites into my salad. Bug. Major buggage. Day Four: Okay. From this point forward, I don't remember so I'll summarize. I've never been good at story-telling, keeping time frame of events, or even the major characters for that point. Went swimming a lot. Got a tan. (Who'd have thunk that? You'd have to see my pasty see-through skin to appreciate this.) Oh! Oh! I think on Day Four my Dad and I went to the fights at The South Coast Casino. I actually had a fabulous time. Mike Tyson was there waiting in line for hot dogs like everybody else. The men in front of us were giving blow by blows (do you like my apropos use of simile used?) of what Mike was doing every 5 minutes. Poor stupid men to idolize a convicted rapist. Anyway, much fun was had. After the first 3 fights everybody left so we took abandoned seats in the front row. Which was televised. Did you see me on ESPN? Of course not. You presumably have a life. As usual I gambled and lost money. On Friday we met up my youngest sister and her new boyfriend. If the poor guy stays with my sister after meeting me, he is a prince in disguise. I really did scare the young lad. At one point I realized that he wasn't getting my dry sense of humor and tried to explain that I have the exactly like my sister . . . Only bigger. And Smarter. And funnier. And blonder. All this was met with a blank look. Only UNTIL my sister laughed did he dare laugh. He's a keeper that one. The next night we went gambling at Sam's Town. Those durn penny machines will rob me blind. The next morning my sister's terrific new boyfriend treated the three of us to Wynn's FAB FAB FABULOUS buffet. Being the gluttonous bastard I am, this was greatly appealing. The following evening we were treated to Buca Di Bepo for more fabulous dining with kids, parents, sister and terrific new boyfriend (TNB for short). YumMMY. (Food, not TNB. You'd have to ask my sister about that one.) So to make a long week short, we BBQ'ed, met with Grandparents, ate, gambled, shopped, and swam some more. The last night we were there, the entire family went to the Excaliber Casino for The Tournament of Kings. Of course I've seen these jousting shows a handful of times, but the kids absolutely LOVED it. I particularly liked the large, muscular, shirtless men. And the horses. In that order. And then as the day comes to leave . . . DUN DUN DUN Drama rears its ugly head. I am so blindingly sick with food poisoning (from bad wine from my Dad's wine vault. Corks that were once beige in color should not be black. Natch.) that I spent EIGHT HOURS in the emergency room triage on IV to replenish my fluids that were lost in very unlady-like and unspeakable ways. There was a time when they thought it might be appendicitis and I had to have a cat scan. The good news was I was doped up on morphine, and the better news was that it wasn't my appendix. A few days later I try to find a flight home (America West doesn't offer standby) and the soonest they can get me back to Seattle is 4 days later which as it turns out, I greatly needed to recuperate. So Saturday comes and we get safely on the plane . . . only to be deboarded because the engine is leaking fluid. (!?) Two hours later we are told that it is going to be ANOTHER two hours longer at the least. So I rescheduled for another flight and had them pull my bags from the plane. I waited ANOTHER HOUR to receive 4 out of 6 of my bags. At this point I had a minor, okay major breakdown. In airport. Witnessed by many (ESPN probably got this as well.) Went back to parents' for the night and here I am. Still in Vegas. Leave for the airport in an hour. Still don't know where my other two bags are. Either does America West. I'll keep you posted. Wish me well and wish me an undrama-like day because I do not fare drama well. Not at all. |
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Las Vegas - Day One
| Well, the kids and I are safely in Las Vegas with Lula. Sat next to an Amish family on the plane (?!) They inquired as to if Lula's ears hurt on incline (?!) (Must remember to tell Miss Doxie 'bout that, seeing as she has an obsession with the Amish.) And on the rough landing down, my 7 year old son proclaimed quite loudly how he liked how his penis went up in the air. . . On the landing both kids put their hands up in the air like they were on a roller coaster. This made the row of 50 year old women behind us do the same. Then while standing in line to get off the plane, my kids preceded to ask innocent bystanders if they thought rubber or plastic would taste better. Almost everybody gave an opinion. (Polls close at 8 pm Pacific Time.) When we got to my parents' we went swimming and ordered pizza. My mom and I stayed up until 2 am watching tv and chatting. Then tonight me Mum and I are going to KA (a cirque de soleil show). So far so good. No drama involving self predicted in the near future :) I will have to show you the paintings I have been working on before I left. Feels vr vr lovely to actually paint again. And yay! Summer! Been horseback riding as well. Been having good Chi. May it continue and be long lasting. (At least a couple days. Or perhaps a week? Who is in charge of such things?) |
Friday, July 07, 2006
Illustration Friday "LANDSCAPE"
| Well, I totally missed last week's "Sticky" at Illustration Friday. Where in the heck does my time go? No really. Where does it go? All I know is that I'm always late, always in a hurry, and always behind. I am completely sucky at emails, and if you think that's bad, try getting me to actually CALL you. Please be my friend. Just be aware that I will probably never call and emails are returned nearly a decade later. Really. Just ask everybody I know. I am submitting An Early Riser to this week's theme. That makes you want to be my friend, no?  This is a piece that I did quite a few years ago. I think that I should do more pinkish landscapes, don't you? You are my friend. Tell me that I should do more pinkish landscapes. All the cool kids are doing pinkish landscapes. My sister sent me a bumper sticker for my birthday that pretty much is apropos to all of the aforementioned. It reads: Ever stop to think . . . And then forget to start again? |
Monday, July 03, 2006
Happy Birthday to ME (and me Mum)
| Today is my birthday! Hurray!! (And my mother's birthday, but she never reads this blog because she "doesn't get them", but Happy Birthday Mom! Just in case.) Today is the day that I suffer from agoraophobia because bad things happen on my birthday regardless of whether or not I leave the house. Like drama. And getting a year older . . . So far there has been no drama (It is almost noon) and I have yet to venture into the real world for a pedicure. And we all now how dangerous pedicures can be. I could get some nasty fungus infection like Paula Abdul. Rumbles could break out. The manicurists might suddenly go insane and challenge you to fisticuffs. You just really never know, do you? So this weekend my husband threw a "surprise birthday party" for me that I knew about. Surprise! As it turned out, one of our guests RSVP'ed on voice mail three days before the big event. Hee. Fortunately it wasn't SURPRISE! Look at how dirty my house is. Had ample opportunity to tart up the home. And you know the best part about birthdays is? Friends! Alcohol! Gifts! All of which are yummy and/or fabulous. Thank you family and friends for everything. x's, Shano |