Last Friday 9/18 (reliving itself in these photos) was a night to be remembered. So fun. Sandra Antoun, a friend and very talented young lady, arranged all outfits and accessories, along with some help from friends, in order to create such a magnificent show. Ann Kelso salon and Kendra Scott jewelry were amongst the grand helpers! Kitsch Trading Co. will give you money for your vintage, new, designer, or just good-looking clothing here in Austin. check it out at http://www.kitschtradingco.com/
For the day after our 5 years which included an evening of live music, awesome food and fun, it capped off a great week.
Now the next one with parents and more love galore!
This week all the leaves will begin to change and I plan on taking a wonderful drive/stroll in order to see it all. I'm thinking Lost Maples and possibly to the coast if weather permits. I love the changing of the season and hoping that Texas will not disappoint. Wisconsin has such awesome seasonal changes! I cannot wait. My parents will be here on Friday and we have a wonderful week planned ahead of us. So many things to do, so little time. I do wish they could stay longer; but it will be sweet. last night, I spent much time cleaning out my closet. In with the new, out with the old. Getting rid of sooo many clothes. I think I'm going to refashion them into different clothes, and then use some of them for my art projects. Its a wonder how I ever acquired so many clothes throughout the years. ta ta for now
As a child I don't particularly remember being read to(although my mom has informed me it was a very regular occurrence,my memory only escapes me) however I do remember discovering books on my own, little by little. I had huge collections of books everywhere around my house. Dr. Seuss,Magic School Bus,Bible stories.... The first books that I can remember devouring would be The Babysitter's Club books. At age 12, I believe I had read almost every one of those books, which were so cleverly engineered towards teens who can relate to babysitting disasters its ridiculous, and still own every book in the collection. I was so enthralled by their adventures and once I picked up one of these books, was hard pressed to set it down until it was finished. Ramona Quimby--by Beverly Clearly-whom I adore, was another book that I could fully relate to. A stumbling, bumbling and awkward child I was and very rarely was found understood. Not until later on in my life did I realized that my oddities were something I would come to engage and love about myself. After that, came Goosebumps, CampFear,James and the Giant Peach and Where the Sidewalk Ends in my more sophisticated stages. Something about adventure and suspense was vital in around the age of 14. I think back now how obvious it was that I would be seeking the unknown, having been just a child myself. These days, I observe children and teens and see how they have an independence that shouts "i know everything." But time and time again, they will fall down and need someone to pick them back up. Children and adults alike. The book I would give to an infant would be The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint Exupery. I think its pretty much been heard and read by everyone, and would need little explanation in loo of its marvelous illustrations. I hope someday I can give this book to a little one near and dear to me!
"Just as a melody can shift in key when transposed for a different instrument, a pattern of colors is transposed as it moves from sunlight into shadow."
I LOVE THE WAY that Maine artist Neil Welliver uses light and shadow so brilliantly and vividly in his paintings. His use of shadows especially true in Shadow, one of his paintings, is entirely palpable and realistic. The snowy image takes me back through long hikes in the woods by my house close to the lake and captures the feelings of bitter cold when the sun hides briefly behind the clouds.
As I was watching Disney's Earth last night, I realized just how deep nature can touch me.. Best told by Walt himself, 'there is no greater show or cartoon that we could create that would parallel with the comedy, drama and stories told in nature.' It fascinates me to discover unique things I never knew existed somewhere beyond where I live and how I perceive this world. Just think , right now, somewhere in Africa, a cheetah may be chasing its prey at 70 mph; ready to devour. A bird may be doing everything in it's power to show off its awe inspiring beauty and flare, yet not impress even the most simple of birds. I, on the other hand, was astounded by its show (above). The polar bear bit of the movie was what hit me the hardest. I felt sad and useless as James Earl Jones broke down to me just how hard it is for these bears to merely survive. Polar bears hibernate in the Arctic all winter long and come out in spring, weighing half what they did before, and starving. More often than not, the mothers hibernate longer and come spring, poke their heads out with new born cubs. After their hibernation, they set out in search of food. The steps out of the den are the first the cubs have taken which begins an incredible adventure. The father bear has set out before his mate and cubs in search of food in the sea. At first it was mostly frozen,but due to our Earth's temperature warming, the snow started to melt. The papa bear was stranded in the middle of sea forced to swim for days back to land in order to find food (that he hadn't enjoyed for months). He swam and swam and had no luck. He swam for days and finally reached shore where the only sign of food appeared to be gigantic walruses'. The bear had lost half of his weight and was exhausted, but attempted to attack a walrus, whose tusks are as dangerous as a ninja with a sword. His attempts failed and he was forced to lay down and let go. This scene saddened me so deeply and I was at a loss for how to express what I felt; until James Earl Jones put it all back into perspective and said, "some times these harsh realities are hard to understand, but at other times Earth can be sheer paradise." He hit that nail on the head. And today, as I was listening to Badmarsh and Shri on the way to work I came across an unusual scene. Being from the Midwest, whose animals all seem so familiar and tired, an armadillo on the side of the road might has well been an alien from Ork. But this being business as usual for Texans forced whomever hit this poor creature to not give it a second thought. This parallels a squirrel or coon road kill I suppose. But why, this being my first Dillo sighting, did it have to be in this shape? It saddened me a bit, but at the same time set me off in a mood for the day that felt utterly connected and in union with nature outside of my world. I can't explain it as well as Jones, but I can now accept the animal kingdom's reality is as harsh as ours. Their species come and go, the food chain morphs everyday, and new adventures will unfold tomorrow. In a new life, I would be a nature photographer or advocate for the WWF; touring around the world in hopes of protecting these amazing creatures, and ensuring they will see brighter tomorrows. But underneath my hopes for them is what is known as the circle of life; and no matter what, it will take place!
It's not that easy bein' me; Having to spend each day the color of the leaves, When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold— or something much more colorful like that.
It's not easy bein' me. It seems I blend in with so many other ordinary things. And people tend to pass me over 'cause I'm not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water—or stars in the sky.
But I'm the color of Spring. And I can be cool and friendly-like. And I can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.
When I am all there is to be It could make me wonder why; but why wonder why? Wonder: I am me, and it'll do fine, I'm beautiful! And I think it's what I want to be.
I wish that I knew how to create using letters better. This site I found on m.writes blog is amazing for finding lettering that is unconventional yet useful. It inspires me to expand my horizons with fonts.
My Top Ten List #1-- East Africa and Madagascar #2--Kruger National Park--South Africa #3--Brazil #4--Bali #5--Southeast Asia-Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia #6--Cook Islands #7--New Zealand #8--New Guinea and Indonesia, and Micronesia #9--Israel #10--Iceland
My dream trip would be to go somewhere I will see things everyday that I may never see again. Madagascar has so many unusual and unique animals and plants native to it where I would never visit somewhere else and say, "Eh, Ive already seen that." Me, my husband and my friends, who are currently visiting us here in Austin, James and Jade, went to the zoo the other day. We had a fairly good time, but the highlight for me was as usual the monkeys. They truly are amazing creatures. They took the little pieces of food from me through their cage with their tiny little fingers and their tiny little fingernails. I love experiencing once in a life time connections with animals and people alike. A dream it would be to see earth in all its majesty as never seen before. Places like Africa, Egypt and Iceland seem to only exist in our imaginations, but are here on earth and are ready for us to come explore. Our travels through Russia and Europe were impressive and memorable, but next I want to stay in huts with natives, swim with the whales and befriend a ring-tailed Lemur. Africa.....your not that far away, are you?
