Yes, as a matter of fact I DID expect it

What you fear, you create.....

I am afraid of baseball games.  Some people fear spiders, falling, speaking in public, airplanes - me, I fear baseball, softball, little league, pro whatever. Shockingly, there is not a specifically named phobia for my most haunting fear. The phobia list is extensive - check it out, there is a named phobia for washing hands, fear of looking up, fear of chickens, even a fear of words 'verbophobia',and come on now, a fear of the Dutch....but no fear of baseball.

Simon Birch is the movie that changed my life - and not in a good way. Before seeing this flick I was oblivious to the dangers of baseball.  Now, I am going to totally give away the story here - but don't worry, it's not even the main part of the movie (?)

The scene where the charming Ashley Judd is KILLED haunts me to this day. She is just walking along, adorable, happy, waving to the kids she adores and ...then that is it. Wiped out by a baseball, she is gone. 

My youngest daughter loves this movie - she seems to love any movie that requires hugging a box of tissues throughout.

- it really is a good movie though, so if you haven't seen it - and I am finding few people I know have, the library probably has a copy or two on the shelf right now. ~watch and understand~
 


Reluctantly, I signed my son up for baseball. He is a football/soccer/basketball and wannabe lacrosse player...but baseball was cheap and close to home and wouldn't you know it, he is good at it. Home run Joe. -dang.

He had a scrimmage last night. My older son took him and I came up about twenty minutes late - which is nothing but a blip in the game-that-never-ends.  I started to walk over to the field, took a detour to the restroom.... and then started to walk around this corner.

That's when it happened.

As soon as I took a step past the trash can, a ball whizzed past my nose. I felt the wind it made as it flew by.
My "deer in headlights" demeanor took over and I just kept walking to the stands. One of the ladies turned and said, "Wow, you weren't expecting that were you?!" 

I smiled politely ....... and then hissed at my older son, "actually YES, YES I WAS expecting that"

But I escaped certain death and lived to answer my phone.....I walked behind the stands to talk and my son waved for me to move, saying that was not a good place to stand, there had been a few pop flies in that area even before I got there. Okay, so I moved ....only to have a foul ball fly past me!

I was a little jumpy at this point and moved further back - to reminisce on my life as I watched the-game-that-never-ends play till the sun went down. At one point the boy asked me to fill his water bottle - which would take me back around the green concrete building and I hesitated. He laughed and said, "it's okay mom, they are just warming up now"   As I started to walk away, I heard him ask his teammates, "anyone see Simon Birch?"    ha ha

....but risking my life was worth it for this shot alone - older son leaving for the Coast Guard in 17 days and no one is going to miss him more than his little brother.  :(

testing ...

This is a test, this is only a test 

I think I broke my blog - registered my domain WRONG, seriously I need more sleep - no that is not it. 

I need to focus 

There are far too many things going on right now. I am trying to keep all the plates spinning but I am really not that coordinated.

I've even been listening to podcasts about "finding focus" and narrowing down your specialty ....or something like that, blah, blah, blah -  I have only been half listening as I frantically try to finish projects, keep everyone happy and manage to pay my bills.

Case in point - tonight my daughter is hosting a sleepover party - there will be no sleeping of course. She even handed me "official reservation tickets"  (also known as index cards)  She has staked claim to the TV, the stereo and the couch for the evening. okeedokee then, at least she left me the computer....how I will focus with a slew of screaming girlies, I do not know.

anyways - this is just a test. I don't know if anyone will ever be able to read this, or if I just lost all my followers and subscribers ... sigh...

and my business cards are no longer relevant. 

ugh, what a day. 

even my cat is disappointed in me 

"Get to work lady."

x,y zwieback

Last year around this time, I blogged on the letter Z, I wrote happy little drivel about the zoo and then I turned around and started over - did the Z to A in May starting with Z is for Zelda Fitzgerald .

This year I am flopping over the finish line with a combo post and no shame.

X is for kisses, as in xoxoxox - as in thanks for visiting, I am looking forward to escaping from the pressure of this challenge to revisit some bloggers I met during this very long month. I am sure you are all writing wonderful, interesting, mind-stretching blogs.... I will be back to read and comment, soon.~xoxoxo~

Y is for yeah, this is kind of lame, sorry. 

Z is for zwieback - this word came up the other day...someone didn't believe it was a real word. I piped up with, "that's a kind of crunchy bread/cracker thing, a lot of people use them as teething biscuits"  as I heard myself talking I hoped upon hope I was not just making this up.  so, I googled it and yep, there they were - just like I remember them .....

oh and that's Zorro up at the top - he's just there as eye candy.

  ~xoxoxo  A to Z challenge  xoxoxo

 good bye!  

W is for Work (and happy llamas)

Last night I attended an event at a friend's salon. ....wait, no need to be vague let me throw in a little plug for her....   

OUR MISSION…

It is the mission of Salon Evangelene to provide unparalleled

beauty services by very experienced professionals

in a clean, upscale, yet

caring and comfortable environment.

(from the looks of the place she accomplished that mission and then some) 

pics and mission statement from her website
(Angel is the gorgeous blond in the center with the super shiny hair...
it really is that shiny in person too by the way)

~~~~~~~~~~

Friends and clients of hers enjoyed amazing makeovers and conversation at her Jane Iredale event - I'd post pics of the before and after, but honestly I never know what to do with my face when a camera pops in front of me - but I liked the difference enough to buy the product - even the eyeshadow, GOLD eyeshadow, never would have tried that, but I love it. 

Angel LOVES her work. There is no question about it. When we were in school together, it was obvious she had big plans and was not going to let anyone stop her from following her dream. There is something so intriguingly intimidating about a person who loves what they do for a living. She recently took on a third job...and to hear her talk about it it's as if she won the lottery - I totally understand  that feeling though, I am constantly adding new spokes to my career. Writing, teaching, arting - okay so that isn't a word, but why not?  Being actively engaged in making things should be called arting - er, no - really no. sorry about that grammar nazis and everyone with a third grade sense of humor...

My lil sis, the one I blabbed on and on about in my V post, just offered me a chance to WORK ON A LLAMA FARM over the summer.  - actually, the opportunity is to apprentice under a sculptor in southern Ohio, but in exchange for room and board we would WORK ON A LLAMA FARM.  how in the world can I turn down the chance to put THAT on my resume?    

Llamas are a happy bunch - I would very much like to meet these fellas and feed them lunch as I Embrace my Inner Llama and figure out how to look even half as presentable when a camera is thrown in my face.

~Blogging through the A to Z Challenge ~
X,Y, Z and then...back to my regularly unscheduled random blogging 

V is for Victoria

My little sister Victoria helped at the art event this past weekend (yes I am still talking about that .... lots of easy blog fodder so I am going with it)  It was held at her college, so I was thrilled when I found out she signed up to help- we waved to each other from across the room, had lunch together, and she took me on a short tour of her studio space - so cool.

There is a twenty-two year difference between the two of us so you would think that would make it difficult to relate....strangely though, our mannerisms, habits and interests are very much in line with each other. Sure I find it odd she has no memory of me being anything but an adult...and the music I grew up with was already playing on the oldies channel when she was in grade school....but get past that and we have a lot in common.

Speaking of school, we attended and graduated from the same elementary, junior high and high school...at the graduation my dad was surprised that I knew so many people. Funny thing dad, the people I knew were parents of graduates and teachers who I graduated with...even one of the speakers, the Hall of Fame inductee for the school was a "kid" younger than me.

Anyways, back to Victoria. I hesitate sharing the following, but will, because it is my blog and that is what I do. Itty bitty baby Victoria saved my life. I was unreasonably self-destructive when I was in my early twenties and knowing she might grow up without any knowledge or memory of my existence pushed me into straightening up. I wrote her a letter at that time in my life-when I find it again I will have to share it with her. She's just the introspective type that would 'get' what 20-something me was trying to say.  And now for some random facts about my lil sis.

Victoria has great style...just look at those shoes....

Victoria is insanely talented...

she carved this beautiful tree lady out of wood 

painted this self portrait that won an award - gorgeous

drew this fun sketch 

Where the Wild Things Are - we were obviously cut from the same cloth -love that book

Vic also has a boyfriend and so did not make it home for Thanksgiving....

she is represented by the paper plate on a stick

Victoria is silly and not as angry as she looks in the sketch below -she's the one on the bottom corner ...

Vic is a smartie pants - she is VERY smart, VERY determined, and VERY accomplished ..for her age? No for any age.

love ya sis!

U is for Unbelievable

 Pencil-charcoal-graphite....these pictures are simply unbelievable to me. This is only a sample of the uber cool, ultra fabulous pieces of art from the recent competition. My job was to judge - yikes.....but since I have so many senior high submissions - I did not have to take on this group - in fact my school had 7... SEVEN pieces make it to the Best of Show final round. SEVEN :)

The drawing above not only got perfect scores, a blue first place ribbon AND best of show....but I played  secretary for that student...fellow art teachers, judges and others wanted me to pass on their name and numbers so she could draw their children's portraits. 



Note- the following drawings were all VERY LARGE - should have stood back to get the full effect, but wanted to show the details....

My phone camera really does not do these drawings justice...this last drawing was ENORMOUS - really big and highly detailed....it also captured a best of show ribbon for their grade level.


.... the art show was not all drawings - but they are always the most unbelievable to me, a painter-sculptor artist, so it fits for the U post for the A to Z

R, S & T - recap, skipping time

This is a clean up post - a recap of my hotel adventure this weekend.

R is for remodeling - The beautiful hotel my group stayed in this weekend is in the midst of remodeling - I really would not have known that though since the lobby and the floor I was staying on was fine....but there was a group that came in around 9pm, who had to hang in the lobby until the CARPETING in their rooms was INSTALLED.  They were pleasant, just sitting around talking, playing cards....HUGE inconvenience - but they seemed to treat it as no big deal.  I like that. What would complaining and fussing accomplish?  high blood pressure, a rotten experience.... going with the flow is so much more enjoyable - for all involved.



S is for sleep - Since I have to leave the hotel at an ungodly hour the morning of the art competition - while the rest of the group is sound asleep - I am assigned to a room with only one other adult. No chaperoning for me baby.  For the past five years this has worked out fine. I go up to bed while the rest of the gang hangs in the pool or plays cards in another room.  This year - due to some paperwork nightmares, an illness that sent a girl and her mom home, and the fact I was just having fun.... I did not make it to the room until after my roomie was already there. She was sitting on the bed reading a book - no problem right....wrong. She was chatty. We talked and talked and talked and talked until 2 am. TWO AM - that left me with barely 3 hours sleep.   

-part of the group-

T is for trip - I love trips, no I LOVE trips, really truly love going anywhere - but HATE caravaning. HATE driving with a group. I do not want to follow, I do not want to lead - just let me sing along to the radio in peace and eat an apple with anonymity.  Since my car is full of the art - "the art car" I drive alone....this means I can leave the meeting place when all the art is loaded and can just GO. This year I took advantage of my freedom from the caravan and made a few stops on the way to the first meeting place - a mall two hours south.

When I say I made a few stops, I mean I meandered through stores, tried on jeans, browsed and bought a book.... I figured I would just skip the mall meeting place and see everyone at the hotel.  BUT, I called to see where everyone was in the grand scheme of things when I was approaching that exit and lo and behold they were STILL hanging out at the mall. I stopped, saw everyone, got a cup of coffee and observed....no one was moving. This is a chatty group all around. 


 Same thing happened on the way home - remember I only had maybe 3 hours sleep - worked like a mad woman all day - recorded, wrapped and repacked the art car and then drove home, sans caravan again....thank GOD. I got home, showered, took a nap, woke up and the group STILL was not at the meeting place.  It's as though caravans get stuck in some weird time space continuum....

 trippy.