Award and a Friend's Contest

Woohoo! Julie Daines of http://juliedaines.blogspot.com gave me an award today - thanks a million, Julie!

Please go visit her site. Now is a great time because she just happens to be running a contest.  (And who can resist an Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card?)

So, onward.  Here are the rules of the award:

1. In a post on your blog, nominate 15 sister bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award. (Fifteen isn’t mandatory, but it’s a nice gesture. Try and pick at least five.)
2.  In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3.  In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you with a link back to their blog.
4.  In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5.  In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs

So, seven random pieces of information?
Okay.
1. I'm shorter than I used to be.
2. I like sunshine.
3. I'm wearing running shoes.
4. I'm not a 'runner' per se - unless you count doing it in my car. (Then I run A LOT.)
5. I'm participating in a first page contest on http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/. (See the January 23rd post: http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/project-writeway-season-1-episode-1/ for last weeks entries, and see today's post to vote for the latest round (it's coming after 10:00 a.m).
6. I didn't win in the first round, but I'm doing the home challenge. Be a doll and go vote for your favorites. Don't worry about trying to get mine. We all have pen names and we're not allowed to share them.
7. No, I'm not giving any hints.

Next, I'm passing this award on to these wonderful and amazing bloggers:

Leisha Maw: http://leishamaw.blogspot.com/
Lydia Kang: http://lydiakang.blogspot.com/
Kyra, Chris, Ann Dee and Carol: http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/
Elizabeth Mueller: http://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/
Chersti Nieveen: http://cherstinieveen.wordpress.com/
And all the fantastic writers at Scribblers Cove: http://thescribblerscove.blogspot.com/
 which are: Elizabeth, Emily, Susan, Rachel, Elizabeth, Chersti, Amber, Leisha and Rebecca

Congratulations, all and thanks again, Julie!

Watercolor Portrait of Sweethearts

Recently, I had the honor of painting a portrait for a newlywed couple. If you're up for a time lapse, here is the finished painting and the steps it took to finish it.

(Disclaimer: please forgive the inconsistencies in the coloring of the photographs. They were taken at different times of day, and it affected the lighting.)

 First I sketched in the portrait with a grey watercolor pencil. Then I applied liquid frisket (the orange you see) over the areas I wanted untouched while I painted the background.

 The forest in the far background came next.

 Now I added green lawn, deep shadows, roughed in the leaves in the background and began detail work on the leaves in the foreground.

 I deepened the shadows in the leaves and added more detail. But it needs some deeper coloring.

 So I went back and added in a lot of reds.

 Now it's time to work on the trees. I remove the frisket.

 I paint in the trees in the midground.

 I begin the faces. For the most part in watercolors, you add your light colors first and your darks last.

 I'm deepening the skin colors and bringing in more reds.

 Now I'm adding deeper browns.

 This is a close up, so you can see what it looks like without the darks.

 Adding more reds and some deep tones.

 Now the faces are taking shape.

 Eyes.

 They bring life to the painting.

 At last, eyelashes on the bride and a goatee for the groom.

I need to deepen the skin tones and add more detail to the faces.

 It still needs more.

 Hair helps a lot.

 And blue jeans.

 And shirts.















 They're still a bit washed out. It's time to really hit the reds, shadows and details of the faces.

 It's done!

Gifts of the Magi

For the last ten years of so, I've made a special piece of artwork each Christmas to help me catch the Christmas spirit. 

This year, I chose the most famous of gifts, those presented to the Christ Child by the Wise Men.

The King James Bible version reads: 

Matthew 2: 1, 2, 11

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, 

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”

There is a lot of significance and symbolism in each of these three gifts. After a little research, here is a brief overview:

Gold – the symbol of Kingship on earth, and an item of great worth to all countries and peoples. This gift recognized Jesus Christ as Lord, King of the Earth.

Frankincense – is a milky white resin derived from tree sap that is prized for its sweet, warm, balsamic fragrance, as well as its medicinal qualities. It’s been found to benefit those with asthma, arthritis, Crohn’s diseas and collagenous colitis. Anciently, it was known to cure hemlock poisoning, leprosy, worms, snakebites, diarrhea, plague, scurvy and even baldness, as well as a treatment for depression. The finest frankincense comes from a small Boswellia Sacra tree that grows in the cool, arid areas of Somalia, Oman, Yemen and India – all lands east of Israel. Frankincense was used as part of the temple rites in the Old Testament. Judaic, Christian and Islamic faiths have used frankincense mixed with oil to anoint newborns and those moving into a new phase in their spiritual lives. The aroma is said to represent life. This was a gift worthy of a Messiah, one whose life had been long awaited.

Myrrh – is a resin that comes from the Commiphora tree. Its color can be anywhere from pale yellow to a reddish hue. It is found in the shallow, rocky soils of Ethiopia, Somalia and Oman. It has a warm, slightly musty smell and is a pale yellow to amber color. Myrrh cures many of the same maladies as frankincense as well as gastric ulcers, tumors and parasites. It is also one of the most effective disinfectants and was used to anoint loved ones who had died. It’s interesting that myrrh was used when Jesus was placed in the tomb.

The gifts of the Magi were practical, valuable, and highly symbolic. There's no doubt the Wise Men put a lot of thought into them and wanted to give the very best of gifts, as do we all - for those we truly love and care about.


Have a wonderful holiday season. I wish the best for you - good health, happiness, and prosperity in the New Year. 


Merry Christmas! 

It's Been a Hoppening Year

Summer always seems to pass so quickly. This year, it was mild and beautiful. I loved it. My plants loved it.

Bees loved it.

But other things did, too. I started seeing a LOT of grasshoppers. On my plants.

On chairs.

On the tree house.

Everywhere.

Take multiple bugs. Add one kid who is kinda bored. What do you get? Accomplices.

They came in with that 'I have a wonderful surprise for you, Mom' look and plopped this down on the counter.

I pasted on my best 'Wow, that is the coolest thing I've ever seen' look, and let them talk. Wisely, I withheld the thought that I am a girl, my skin is crawling, this has to be violating some animal rights law somewhere, and that is sitting on the counter where I prepare food. And I had to quickly remind myself that these are kids, and life is an adventure. Let them have their adventure . . . for five more seconds.

I made it.

Then I explained about how happy those grasshoppers are to see them, but how much happier they'll be back in nature.

So my kind-hearted son grabbed the jar and headed for the door.

And then I heard a crash. You know those sighs that you never mean to have, but they just come, and they last forever? Well, I had one. Then I hollered for him not to move and step in the broken glass, and hopefully not-broken grasshoppers. I grabbed the broom. I grabbed the camera. And well, this is what you get.

Yup. You are my witness. No broken grasshoppers. They seem mighty hoppy - sorry - happy just hanging out on my door step. And door post. And door mat.

And (sorry about all the 'ands') when we're done sweeping up the mess, we might just join them.

How to Cure a Moocher

Life is interesting when you have a child. And when you have more than one or two children, life tends to get more interesting. And when most of them are teenagers, let's just say, things are seldom boring at my house.

For instance, I have a child who loves food. I mean really loves food. Because of that, this child is an excellent cook. This child is also in excellent form and doesn't look like a person who loves food (which stinks, because I'm in my forties and mother nature is against my waistline right now.)

Anyhow, this child (who, for the sake of your sanity, and this child's anonymity, I shall call April) also likes to mooch food. No yummy item is safe. If a wrapped deli sandwich is left in the fridge, the owner will find it minus a bite or two. And when confronted, April gives the best apologetic grin, followed by an equally flowery apology, followed by a promise of gummy bears the next time she has any - and life goes on . . . until something else is mooched.

Every person also knows this, and has taken measures to prevent it. Little signs sometimes pop up on items. And after repeat offences, the signs sometimes read something like this: April, touch this and you die.

Sometimes it even works.

Now for the sake of fairness, I have to admit that others in the family mooch too, but 99 times out of 10 (yes, that math is accurate), the culprit is April.

So, another child of mine, whom I'll call Bert, (sorry Bert, but names aren't my thing today), came home with one of those gigantic fast food drinks that puts a 2 liter bottle to shame.

Well, Bert drank until soda oozed from his ears, and then moaned that he couldn't drink anymore.

Practical mom that I am, I advised him to stop.

"But if I do, April will get it."

To which I informed him that if he was making himself uncomfortable, that might not be a bad alternative.

And so my son went merrily off to the fridge, marking the cup at the soda line to know for sure if a moocher had struck.

Some time later, April came home. And some time later than that I heard April shriek, and then spitting sounds. And then I heard Bert laughing like crazy.

Not knowing if I should show up or not, but wondering what in the Sam-hill was going on, I made my way to the kitchen. April was at the sink, madly spitting. Bert was bent over, holding his middle and laughing so hard I thought he'd throw up.

And there sat the soda, the current liquid a good 3/4 inch below the line Bert had marked.

"Salt," April sputtered, gulping down a glass of fresh water, then coming up for air. "He put salt in that soda."

Still laughing, Bert grabbed the soda cup and offered her more. If I hadn't of been there, I'm sure Bert wouldn't still be grinning.

Needless to say, April made her retreat, Bert put the soda back in the fridge (watch out you other moochers), and I think all future drinks of his are safe.

And just to be sure, I'm not putting any drinks of mine in the fridge for a while.

The New Meaning of "Clear-minded"

I’m sorry. I’ve been bad. Very bad. Bad at blogging. But I did warn you. As my children know, maybe means never. Sporatic isn’t far behind.

If you forgive me, by all means, read on!

As a child, I often wished for the superpower to read other people’s thoughts, get a glimpse at what's going on inside their heads.

Well, the reading thoughts part is never going to happen, or the glimpse either - unless I decide to become a brain surgeon – but you know the saying that truth is stranger than fiction?

I’m here to say that, why, yes. Yes, it is.

One of my awesome art students told me about the barreleye fish whose head is transparent, showing the world its glorious internal assets. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this:

And when you’re ready for live action, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoygy-8PTtU

I must say, those are the best-looking ocular/olfactory organs I’ve ever seen. But why would evolution chose this particular fish and those particular body parts to share with the rest of the aquatic world? What advantage does it provide? Hm.

I guess you could ask the same of other transparent fish.

Some seem to need the invisibility factor.

Some just have warm hearts (or whatever that is) to show off:

Others are blinking neon signs that say, “Don’t touch me or you’ll spout every curse word you know and then create new ones. I am pain.”

Soooo . . . what’s the purpose of seeing the backside of an eyeball? Well, I don’t have any good answer now, and the writer in me could spend the next week creating some semi-reasonable ones – but I’d rather write on my pirate book.

I’m going the lazy route and asking you. What do you think? (No idea is too wild!) Bring it on.

The Perfect Weapon

It's summer.

The kids are home.

They've been home and out of school for a month now. I should have known this was coming.

Now I have good kids - most of the time. They love their mom - most of the time. But right around the month of July, the devil in them comes out.

I had just finished a pleasant morning helping my youngest son learn how to make homemade pancakes. He asks for them every day, and he's old enough now, and I wanted to spend some time with him. It was fun, especially when all the family complimented him on his fine cooking.

After breakfast, he was soon neck-deep in his own projects.

So I snuck off to the office to write on my pirate book. And then a miniature football comes sailing in and knocks me in the head. It didn't hurt, but throwing things around computers - or anywhere in the house, for that matter - is a no-no.

I turned and gave him one of those 'mom' glares. (I'm not sure how potent mine is, but my mother's was lethal.)

"Sorry. Sorry," my son said, ducking his head and disappearing. But he was grinning.

Not two minutes later, I get whacked on the shoulder with a Styrofoam dart.

Warming up my glare, I spin around again. It must have been pretty scary, because he jabbed his finger toward the dart and squeaked, "There's a note! Look at the note!"

Sure enough, on the end of the dart was a sticky note. This is what it said:

Sigh. How can a mom fight that? I hugged him, thanked him, stuck the sticky note up on my computer screen, and asked him to kindly refrain from hitting me with footballs and darts.

He smiled and nodded and went his merry way.

Not a minute later, a plastic boomerang comes sailing over my shoulder and hits the monitor. I grab it and spin around.

He's madly jabbing and squeaking again. "Note! Note!"

I flipped the boomerang over and here's the new note:

I sigh again. No mother on earth can fight this - and he didn't throw a football or shoot a dart.

I do believe he's found the perfect attention-getting weapon.

So now, another hug, and a long explanation later (from me - describing all sorts of things that can't be thrown, tossed, shot, or otherwise projectiled), I do believe I may be able to get some writing done.

Then again, kids are very smart nowadays. We shall see . . .