Stupid*Cali*Fragile*Lipstick*XP*Alley*DopeUs

I thought by now, two whole days since I last posted, I would feel better. Marginally better at best, but a girl can hope, right?

Not to happen. I am now blaming the weather. I meant to go to the library first thing to beat the heat but of all things... I CAN'T FIND MY LIBRARY CARD!!! I NEVER lose my library card. NEVER. EVER. I have library cards from 15 years ago for Pete's sake. I looked everywhere but the right place. It ate up so much time that it got too hot to walk. I hate summer I really do.

I did have a flash of inspiration early this morning. What about art journal lessons here at my house? I will be thinking about the best way to go about it. Keep the classes small and maybe even do a luncheon type setting.

If you need me I'll be here in the AC working on the quilt, my art journal and whatever else comes to mind.

Nothing But Shoddy Excuses

That's all I have. Piles and piles of shoddy excuses for not blogging. My main semi-legit excuse is that my card reader isn't working and the pictures I post from my phone go to Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler and Facebook but not Blogger and it's not much fun for me without visuals.

Also having motivation problems, I've been very upset these past few months due to my children having issues. Everyone I know is having issues of their own. It's hard to blog with so many issues flying around everywhere. I hate to be gloomy Gus so let's just not talk about any of it, ok?

I did complete the ICAD challenge. Yay n stuff. It was fun and I'll prolly join again next year. The junk journals are still progressing. I found one I started a couple of years ago. It's huge and boy have I come a long way in art journaling. I am adding to it with collage so it's looking better. Gee wish I could show you some pictures. *sigh*

I'm working on a large quilt from baby clothes for a client in Milford. I need to buckle down and get that done so I can do two more for her. NOT TAKING ORDERS AT THIS TIME. Maybe after September.

Chris did you get my text? If you did not get it please email me.

Breaking News...I Have Returned!!!!

Yes. I now have internet. My very own internet. All mine. Mine I say. I will try to post more, share more, blog more, sell more, keep in touch more. Since it is the start of a new year I should do some sort of challenge which will probably entail using up this ginormous stash of craft supplies, yarn, and fabricthat I STILL HAVE AND HAS GROWN!!! It's going to be all under one roof eventually. I should start NOW trying to downsize it (a quick trip to Goodwill with it would not be as much fun). Hey maybe I should run a bunch of contests to help me keep motivated. Hmmmmmmm. Any thoughts?

Where I Stand Sunday (No Pressure now)

So let's start something new shall we? Sunday's shall henceforth be known as Where I Stand Sunday, featuring a picture of me standing somewhere. You're thrilled aren't you? I knew you would be. I didn't come up with this on my own, but I have been wanting to do it for quite some time now.

Here I am, Standing with Abe Lincoln. You know you want to be me.

Weekends mean Free Writing (Talk about Pressure!)

It's the weekend already? How did that happen? Am I the only person on earth who dreads the weekend? How am I supposed to know what to blog about without those lovely prompts? Oh the humanity!!!

I could keep on whining about my messy room but no sense in beating a dead horse.

So how 'bout those Cubs?

Procrastination (and Pressure)

Friday, January 3, 2014
Do you have a tendency to procrastinate, or do you like checking things off your to-do list?

Yes.

Both.

I mean they both hold a place in my heart.

Nothing like checking things off your list you procrastinated about till the last possible minute eh?

Here's a little peek at my to do list

1. Finish the purple cabled sweater
2. Finish Smokkee's sweater (for Pete's sake you told her you would just get it done okay?)
3. Clean my room
4. Rent storage locker to keep treasures in
5. Keep blogging in January to prove I can blog under pressure

I am looking forward to checking all these things off my list even if I do procrastinate about them.

Yeah So I Don't Enjoy This (Pressure)

Thursday, January 2, 2014
What are you currently feeling pressure to do that you don't particularly enjoy?

You know the answer don't you?

CLEAN MY ROOM!!!

I don't want to to. I didn't want to yesterday and I still don't want to today.

Here's the problem. I like my stuff. I can't part with my yarn, my fabrics, my beads, my ephemera, my paints, my knitting needles, my antiques.

But another part of me knows I'd be happier in a less cluttered environment hence the PRESSURE to CLEAN MY ROOM!

You know what I'd rather do? I'd rather buy a TV and hook my NES up to it and play mindless video games.

The Pressure is on for January (Dang you Pressure)

Wednesday, January 1, 2014Do you work well under pressure?

Actually, I do! Lot's of times if there's no pressure I can't motivate myself to get things done. It's sad when even money won't motivate me. Sad, sad, sad.

Right now I need to finish two sweaters and a fox cowl. That's knitting pressure folks! I have to help my boss get her 8a application finished and I have to get someone's QuickBooks finished so they can do their taxes. That's money pressure. And the ever present pressure to CLEAN MY ROOM! OMG will it never end??????????????

I'll get these things done. Maybe not cleaning my room but hey, no one is perfect.

Here's a little insight into dealing with pressure. Find a mindless video game. Use it to dispel pressure when needed.

Or take a trip back to the 80's, kick back and enjoy Queen and David Bowie signing about pressure. Even Better!

It Is Unlawful To...

IT IS UNLAWFUL TO:

SMOKE

EAT OR DRINK

REFUSE TO PAY FARE

DISCARD LITTER OR SPIT

BOARD WITH ANIMALS

(EXCEPT SEEING EYE DOGS)

BOARD WITH FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS

BOARD WITH DANGEROUS ARTICLES

BOARD WITH WEAPONS

PLAY RADIO/MUSICAL INSTRUMENT 

ON ANY DMT BUS

When musical instruments are outlawed...only outlaws will have musical instruments (ha!)

You Know Who You Are

There's so much I could say about this poem but I won't. It's neither here nor there at this point. I just know I should be more careful in the future.

 written 9/20/82

It's really sad when people
Refuse to find themselves
Ignoring hidden talents
Putting resources on the shelf
To waste their lives away
With no desire to create
Sitting staring slack-jawed
At the TV set all day
What if all the artists
Had such an attitude?
What if all musicians
Were never in the mood?
What if all our teachers
Refused to do their jobs
Just because they didn't want to
Wouldn't you feel robbed?
I feel sorry for these people
Who will not even try
If I had to live that way
I'd just lay down and die

What is "To Dream"?

"To sleep perchance to dream"  Hamlet

Origin

From the celebrated 'to be, or not to be' speech in Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602:

HAMLET:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

I love to dream. It's a whole other life for me. I've lived two, possibly three, lives as it were. I have flown over fields, fought dragons, spoken with long dead relatives, went to school naked, tasted ambrosia, smelled freshly cut grass while hearing air raid sirens. All through the glorious power of sleep and dreams.

And so I must ask, what of your dreams?

With Great Sadness

This should have been yesterday's post.

My fav interweb word game, Wordsquared, is shutting down Dec 1. I am sad beyond normality over this. (Is that a real sentence? Grief is making me loopy)

I have played this Scrabble-like game for three years. I rank 26th out of a million. I shall have to find another time waster, or not.

Here are some boards I have saved over the years.

*sad face :(

Endings

Friday, November 29, 2013

You're almost there! Tell us how you feel about endings.

I love endings. Usually. Maybe not right when they happen but eventually. Endings mean new beginnings for something else. That is what I have to focus on. 

Onward.

 

The first Blog Post I Ever Wrote

Thursday, November 28, 2013

How do you feel about the first blog post you ever wrote?

Extremely sad. If memory serves me right my first blog post happened after my daughter's first boyfriend was killed in a car wreck way back in 2002. It wasn't so long ago that someone found it on the way back machine and asked me about it. That's when I realized that things on the internet don't ever go away. 

The next time I started blogging Daily was on Myspace in 2005. I posted a lot of song lyrics with guitar chords. Much much happier about those.

Pride

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Oh that would have to be my blue and brown crazy quilt! It has been appraised at $2000. 

Hidden

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Tell us about the last thing you hid.

I hid my true thoughts. I have to do this quite often. 

When dealing with people close to you it is sometimes necessary to say what you know you should say instead of what you are actually thinking.  Even harder to do when you are dealing with difficult people. Ask me how I know.

Persuasive Advertising

Monday, November 25, 2013

Tell us about the last thing a person or advertisement convinced you to buy.

That would be tea light candles and  bread pans to sock away in my bug out bag as an alternative heat source. I saw a youtube video on it. I thought it was a really good idea then the unthinkable happened. We had strong storms complete with a 10 hour power outage and it moved me to action. I am still looking for the bigger clay flower pots but I could uproot my wandering Jew if I had to to use that one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brHqBcZqNzE

Couldn't get the preview to show but click that link if you want to see how to build your own space heater on the cheap.

Small Art to Support Champaign County Humane Society

I am donating to this. Haven't decided just what yet...maybe a Crazy Quilt block maybe a mixed media piece maybe a zentangle thing. We shall see, we shall see.

Please click to enlarge to see the details

That Certain Kind of Light

The light before sunset. Gotta love it.

Judging Books by Their Covers

Friday, November 22, 2013

How important are book covers in getting you to read a book?

Very important, but not for the reason you might think. I don't care about the graphics on the cover I only care that it's a HARD cover. I HATE paperbacks and I only read them when there's nothing else available. Wait, I take that back. I read non fiction paperbacks all the time. I mean I don't like paperback novels. Yuck. 

I don't think I'd like reading on a Kindle either.