He drug the ratty old Buzz Lightyear costume out of the dressing up box this morning. His fat little fingers clutching it. Pleading with me: MaMa MaMa MaMA! I have been working with Finn on wearing "street clothes" a bit more nowadays bc he begins preschool next week. I am not stifling him, but the preschool does not allow Batman, Robin, Buzz, or knights. I am told there is a dress up center there, but one must arrive and depart in more traditional outfits.
It has been fine, but Blaise is now ready to experiment. The kid doesn't talk much, but he gets the world. The whole scheme of things. He ran right round the yard with arms stretched out like wings and I fell back into a lawn chair and laughed. And then maybe for just a second I cried just like one sliding tear. I am far too emotional when it comes to my children I think. How can everything be so paramount?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
You can make a big impression or go through life unseen
Saturday, August 30, 2008
In the end only kindness matters
Auction Update: CLICK HERE For more details
We have the fabulous Emilee from the Nilsson Family blog top bidder at 40 for the teethers
We have the fabulous Mel from Beanpaste blog top bidder at 15 for the knit wear
We have the fabulous Karey from Mackink blog top bidder at 50 for the love letter
Yahoo! Come on folks- You have until Sunday at 10pm.
Why don't you get me delivered in yr mailbox everyday? I will make ya smile:
Friday, August 29, 2008
do it with a heart wide open
My friend R had a fantastic Holiday Gift idea.
She is going to buy these small books
and bag them in these
along with bottles of white vinegar for green cleaning
and other small items like energy-efficient light bulbs
and microfiber towels
and give green
I love it! I must steal that idea for some family members!
and then I must share that I cannot no longer hide my true feelings for John Mayer. I didn't ever mean to love him like this. I even resisted him when he talked about my body being a wonderland. I would only allow my body to sway a bit back and forth in public. Just like a tiny shoulder nudge back and forth. Damn it though. I love you John. I love you and yr song is on repeat all damn day.
To that place where you can't remember/ And you can't forget
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Nie Nie Auction: love is all you need
Today is the day of the Nie Nie Auction. PLEASE check out all of the details here.
Each penny will go directly to the Stephanie Nielson Fund.
Leave the bids for which item you want and the email contact info in the comment section the auction will end on Sunday Night 8/31 at 10pm and each winner will be contacted and winner will pay through the SN paypal FUND. When winner sends me paid receipt I will ship items. Thanks and PLEASE BID WITH YR HEART...
My auction is as follows:
1. Three beautiful handmade maple teethers from my shop Little Alouette. These are gorgeous and would make awesome gifts to the wee one's in yr life. (retail over 50.00)
2. A girl's vintage Knitwear outfit. The tag is missing, but it is perfect condition. I am thinking it is a size 18months or 2? The waistband measures approx 8 inches and the bottom of the sweater measures approx 12 inches across. Here are the photos on flickr. Email me if you have questions. (vintage is worth it)
3. A love letter penned by me! I am serious. You all tell me that you like my writing or I have a way with words- Show me the money?! I remember who has told me nice things about my writings!!! :) I will write a love letter or poem to a person of yr choice. You will give me some details and I will go off and write my heart out. What is love worth to you? Huh? (priceless)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
What is rolling round my mind today:
Right off the bat I am so delighted that one of my favorite women is back to the blog. Mackink is back and I am delirious. I love her and imagine her my fancy cousin. We will sip something in Paris someday together. I just know it.
And then it is well known that I am a creative nonfiction junkie and I was so delighted to hear that Alice Bradley is included in this new book. This is a big deal. Huge. And although I don't know Alice very well I am even more in love with her than ever. Holy cow to be included in a Lee Gutkind book! It is one step closer to NPR baby. (my dream in life/ Amy Turn Sharp/ NPR essay contributor)
And then there is sweet Jos. I mean take a look at her gorgeous house over on Design Sponge. She has been in Cookie before with her stylish pad, and I just drool. Before I met her I thought she was perfect. And then I met her and she affirmed my suspicion. She has two little girls under four and a clean and stylish house...if I didn't love her I would have to hate her. She is my pick for design maven of the year.
And lordy there is Avesta's beans and rice. I grew up eating this as a side dish over at her home and all these years I thought there was some sort of clandestine Kurdish spice that her mother had smuggled into the country that made that simple dish taste so heavenly. Nope- she gave me the recipe and we feasted last night. I think the memory of the dish does not stand alone and that is the reason I held it so high. I think it blends with all of the amazing Kurdish food form her home and well anyway, I can make it now! and so can you . Here.
I have also come to the conclusion that Whipup.net works super hard and gives us great tutorials and round ups. My pals ask me how I am so creative and I always tell em- Kathreen!
Hat's off to you Kathreen! I need to tell you how much I love ya!
I can't not talk about how much I love Legs Bell. I mean Gwen Bell. I have been learning form this gorgeous young woman a lot about the internets :) and social media and passion lately. She doesn't know it bc I suck at telling folks enough at how inspiring they are- but she is. She is.
And then there is the whole big sad thing that hangs over everything nice. I keep reading about Stephanie from nieniedialogues and how her and her husband were involved in a terrible plane crash. They have four small children and are suffering in critical condition at Maricopa Burn Center. I feel the same way as Kate when I think about being burned on over 80% of yr body. I cannot put this in my mind, spin it, and make it ever seem right. I cannot. Design Mom is doing a terrific thing. Please participate. This blog world is powerful when it all works together.
On Thursday I will have a cool something up for auction too! Come back and check it out? Check it out and say a prayer today for them:
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
with you I've found the key/to open any door
I can't stop creating lately. I am filled with ideas for the holidays already. Like these cool key hangers I am making. I used the old skeleton key from my first home's bedroom for the pattern. I am thinking some of them are going to be maple and finished with oils and some are going to be cool colors. It will have three small silver hooks down the key for hanging keys. It will hang beside the door. I love it!
The key looks like home to me. I remember when we toured that 100 year old house in the university district five years back. There was not much more than good bones to work with, but as I reached the top of the steep staircase I saw the shiny silver skeleton key sticking from the gorgeous vintage hardware. I knew I was home. It was our bedroom. The key never came out of the lock until the day we sold the home and moved out. It now lives on a cool vintage chain around my neck. It is a reminder of a time that will never again be able to be recreated. A time frozen in bliss where we created our first real home and a fat baby named Finnian brought Joseph and I closer together that we ever believed two souls could be. The key to somewhere like Brigadoon in my heart.
I wear it pretty often that key. I think I have decided it to be my signature piece. I remember in San Fran at Blogher that I wore it to the ultra chic Maggie Mason's party. Like Duh. The theme was keys. They had a key tree and everyone had them round their necks. I walked in and started noticing it immediately. I felt like the girl who practiced what she would look like kissing in the mirror or the one person who comes dressed completely head to toe in 80's regalia to a party marked as such but no one really bothered or something like that. Oh well. I still love my key even if it becomes very chic to tie one on. And I am still bummed that I never got a key from that party bc I didn't want peeps thinking I was greedy! :)
Now if this just helps me to keep track of my keys all will be good.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Im looking for the tower of learning
I have a zit the size of Texas on my face, Joe and I quarreled last night, and things are just not working out for me in some big ways... Yet- then there are lovely little moments like this:
We are in the amazing Australian magazine LMNOP this month. !!!
It makes me so happy. I love LMNOP! It is an amazing publication. Go check it out!
And don't forget- I do not have a winner for the small magazine contest yet- please play HERE.
We also made lovely little toy this weekend.
The Maple Bowler Hat Man Weights and Balance Toy!
You can find the Bowler Man in the shop! :)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
It's just another Sunday in a tired old street
So my very fashionable friend M told me I need to focus on some key Fall pieces. She explained how certain items were back and hot. These items did not make me hot in 1988 and I somehow doubt a long sweater over my big ass now will be any better. Or a very wee tight vest over a large shirt and poof I look pregnant again. I digress.
I think the tie front blouses are kinda cool though, they remind me of my mom and her career at Martha's Gift Shop in Nelsonville, Ohio in the 80's. She was career mom stylish and I loved going to the shop. It was a like a Hallmark on steroids with every single cranny filled with assorted gifts and greeting cards before greeting cards were cool. The whole shop was breakable if I recall, but the two things that stick out in my mind are my mom being so young and lovely with tie front blouses and her large hair. Oh and some tacky Precious Moments figurines too.
I remember in the mid 80's when my mom was so freaking pumped about the movie Mischief when it was filmed in Nelsonville. She met all the actors and had her camera with her daily.
We would hang out and catch glimpses of Kelly Preston and the cute boys from the film. The town was buzzing electric and I bet my mom adjusted her tie front blouse and looked perfect as she flipped the sign to lunch on Martha's door and headed down the street to eat her lunch where it was happening. I think I can recall her in some knitwear that was lovely. For me- not so much. I do however recall rocking a bright yellow and blue feather roach clip during my stint as annoying kid at Martha's Gift Shop after school. Wow. Those were the days.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
A night out for Michelle's birthday. Lots of chatting, drinking, and dancing. A great night. We went to a random kind of strip mall pub to see a band we all know and although it was not the type of bar I would have picked- it was fun.
The crowd was wicked diverse and unrattled from the heat of the summer evening. If anything, I think folks were loving the sweltering weather as the bare legs were in show and most people were drinking cold cold beers.
I danced without one care. I think sometimes even in the middle of like yr most favorite song, even when you might be so transported away- you realize that you are dancing in front of others and panic comes. The moment were you forget how to dance, much like if you think too hard about going down steps you might fall over from brain synapse screwball firings or something.
But that didn't happen last night.
I was a dancing queen.
Friday, August 22, 2008
I can teach you/But I have to charge
I was flipping through some magazines last week and saw a bottle of Huy Fong Sriracha hot sauce on a list of favorite things and immediately had to buy some. My love! I forgot about you!
I used to eat this in college and loved it for it's sweet hot lover taste. I can remember when I discovered I loved the heat. I grew up in a bland little family who had nary a spicy spice in the house. When I tasted hot sauce I was hooked. I often would eat jalapenos from the jar just for the rush. I loved the sweat and the thrill. I still love eating hot sauce, that feeling of flush gets me every time. The heart rate, the breathing, the flow. Sounds kinda like a sexy time huh? Love it.
I am going out with the gals tonight to a Mexican joint. You know I'm gonna have some flushed cheeks. Lucky Joe.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Throw your love around
I am smiling from ear to ear! Little Alouette is in Small Magazine!
Please check it out here!
Win a maple teether! DETAILS on the site! xoxoxo
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
And when you find me there you'll search no more
Sometimes I only skim Gourmet magazine. I finger the shiny paper and lust a bit at the foods. I flip through it and then place it back on the giant pile of periodicals that live in my hallway. I do love the magazine but between a grocery budget that is more peasant than gourmet and little time I am often just saving recipes and passing the mags on to someone else. This month though is fabulous! I had time to read it from cover to cover while sitting in my parents big ass Lazy Boy chair. (Oh my god those chairs would turn me into a sloth!)
There was a simple picnic article about using layered meals in glass containers for yr picnic and I just loved it! How chic? How simple and portable? I am planning a little picnic this weekend for the boys and we are going to try and recreate Gourmet's gorgeous picnic!
One of the recipes I loved is here.
The magazine also had a terrific article on beekeeping that was beautifully written. Photo via Gourmet magazine...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
On the banks of the river on a well beaten path
We just got in from our little adventures. I have loads to share and a ton of photos.
I will just love ya and leave ya with this one.
Tractor girl.
Questions from pals in like 1989:
How are you such a good driver Amy?
How do you know how to use a stick shift so well?
Is there a secret to parallel parking?
Answer:
Yeah dude. Drive John Deere's and learn about gears before yr ten.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Whenever I go home I visit Josh's grave. Josh was a boy I dated in high school. He had a devilish grin and brilliant eyes.
He was killed on a motorcycle while we were in college. I was attached to him on many levels bc we kinda grew up together as he was my best friends step brother and through everything he was a friend in the "Stand By Me" kinda sense.
When he died a bit of me died too, a large part of my invincible skin rubbed right off that summer night. My mom tried to hold onto me as she gave me the news in person at my job as a camp counselor at Geneva Hills. I ran right away from her, completely unable to share my grief with anyone. Completely unable to announce to the world just how much that boy had marked my soul.
I loved him as much as a seventeen year old girl could.
I always feel the urge, the pull towards his grave when I am here. Finn has been with me before but the last time he was only three. This time he asked all kinds of questions in the car and I tried to answer as honestly as I could. I cringed as I told him about the accident and how people are buried or cremated. I looked out the window and actually had a bit of a shudder go through my body. It doesn't get any easier to retell the story of a person that showed you their heart and then died. I venture to say it never will.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Many precede and many will follow
Have been on a train and a tractor in last 24 hours.
The woods are good.
I am at the local library typing frantically.
It is so weird how this library seems so small and not the massive place it was long ago.
It is kinda like that freaky feeling yI got when I went back to visit my old elementary school while in College.
I felt like a giant roaming the small halls.
akward and stompy
God it has been a long time since I was here.
Sometimes I feel eyeballs on me here.
I can't wait to visit more places while I am here.
The town in my novel is this town really
and I have a lot to burn back onto my brain.
My review for The Dangerous Days of Daniel X right here!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
I could go crazy on a night like tonight/When summers beginning to give up her fight
I am on a pilgrimage now.
Packing for the getaway and quite sad about leaving Joe.
I am going to hole up at my parents and write and unleash the kids to the wild hills of Appalachia.
I am going to drive my road and deal with dial-up. (gasp)
I will be around, just not as much. I will find a way to blog everyday though, because I am rock star like that even in the sticks.
I can't lie. I am a bit sad about the Bigfoot hoax.
I saw something Yeti like when I was a child on my parents land.
It can cause me to draw breath quickly even today when I think about it.
People have made fun of me always about it.
I don't research Bigfoot or keep up with anything that is not plastered in the media- I just silently believe.
I can't help it. You would believe in little green men too if you saw one at the bus stop all alone an Autumn morning you were eight.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The summer's all in bloom /The summer is ending soon
Take old dear friends
add wine
easy conversations
and a lovely summer evening
love it
perfect
So how did I turn into a crotchety pirate in the morning?
back to school/ ring the bell
Have you seen this book? Michelle Lamar is a doll (I met her!) and she has crafted up a cool gem of a book. I love her style. The book, not a bit about trailer parks is a guide for elementary aged kiddo parents. It is a primer on how to relax the insane standards attached to modern moms and just be. The book encourages to just enjoy this finite time that we have with our children and knock off the drama! She gently reminds us that the piano, soccer, and art lessons cannot compare to the time spent being with yr child.
Michelle reminds us on a hysterical ride through the school days that we should turn our backs on the unattainable mother superiority life and really live an authentic life with our family. She teaches us to cut corners (hysterical advice on smushing store bought brownies just right so they appear homemade) and not stress over the idea of perfection. She breaks it down in good detail about what to expect in the school system and how to navigate this place with out losing yr marbles. I am so excited to have this book a full year before kindergarten.
I loved this book. You should get this book. You should buy it for a friend. (especially the one who makes you feel guilty for not making organic blueberry sugar free buckle and enrolling yr kid in cello classes at age three)
Thursday, August 14, 2008
And her heart may be broken a hundred times
Get out yr black eyeliner and Doc Martins
Robert Smith is back.
I cut my edgy teeth on The Cure.
The Cure is the original soundtrack band to my rebellious youth.
I don't even mind that Robert hasn't reinvented himself. I will always swoon.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I've been a miner for a heart of gold
It was a GOLD RUSH today.
We have been reading about the wild west and talking about the gold rush so we decided to have our own panning for gold experience in the backyard. I took small pieces of foam covered in gold glitter and hid them beneath sand in my trusty large wash tub. We used some old camping tins and water and panned for gold!
It was fun and kept their attention for quite a long time
I read some stories on the gold rush and California to them while they played and later we counted all the gold and since Finn had twenty pieces he could buy something out of the "general store".
There was even one shiny piece of gold left for me.
Guess what?
It was just enough to buy a cold Stella Artois from the "store" for mom.
For older kids- here is a good timeline to print out!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
You were bigger and brighter and whiter than snow
We are planning our little staycation at grandma and papa's house this weekend. We are going to stay about four days down in the deep woods as daddy works on a big project. We think we might sleep out under the stars and visit our old town and go creekin'. We have friends to visit and great grannies to hang out with and old haunts to frequent. We are going to learn to bake a cobbler and shop in thrift stores untouched by hipsters. I will probably drive a tractor at some point. I cannot wait.
Finn and I are going to explore the scary old summer kitchen on my parents land. It is a dirt floor small structure that has all sorts of junk in it, but we are convinced there might be some treasure too. I think I was always afraid of the summer kitchen as a girl. I think bees lived in it and it was dark. I am not afraid anymore. 
Monday, August 11, 2008
I'll follow you/When the stars go blue
The Perseid meteor shower happens this week. I seem to come back again to a cyclical thought pattern around this time of the year. I am crap with my memory. I tend to forget large chunks of time, but luckily I am life long friends with Michelle who can tell me the color of shirt I was wearing on May 15 of 1992 if I questioned.
However, I always recall the meteor showers. It seems that no matter the state of my life during any particular late summer, the the Perseid meteor shower makes it all better. I am planning on waking up Finn this week so he can see it. I know this may or may not have a good outcome, but it is important I think. Because from what I read about next year, a last-quarter moon will be super bright and make it more difficult to see the Perseid's. I can't see him having to wait until he is 6 to see this amazing show.
Finn is announcing all sorts of facts to us lately:
A star is a large ball of gas (yes)
The Earth is our planet and it is the biggest in the universe.
(well, actually not )
I will go to space camp (oh really?)
Stars are so twinkly and tiny.(tiny?)
Sometimes he asks me questions that I have not the answers for. I don't know about Pluto apparently. I am thankful for the library. We talked lofty today at breakfast. We talked about Copernicus and the sun. It was all too much for him so we played Thomas the Tank Engine instead.
After a bit he asked how we know how big and far away these stars and planets are bc there are no maps and as hard as he tries he cannot reach up and touch one.
(Even on his red plastic chair in the backyard)
I agreed that this was tricky. I told him that there are smarty pant math people out there who make up math puzzles that tell us these things. As I was talking I realized that to Finn it all must come down to faith and believing in what I am telling him.
So, I gathered him up in my arms and explained that although there was no map that we could hold in our hands that charts the distance between or the size of our hearts...that we just knew it was a direct line and that they were massive when they beat for each other.
And even if we are very far away from each other-
although they might seem small and far away- our hearts- are really quite enormous and always within reach if you believe.
Kinda like the stars for a four year old...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Every day I wake up and it's Sunday
Me and Blaise took off for a bit yesterday and hit the thrift store. I had been itching to go thrifting for couple weeks. Score. I found a brand new Bialetti espresso stove top machine! I am enjoying java now before the boys really wake. They are with me downstairs as Joe sleeps still, but they are yet to fully rouse.
They are in that precious ten minutes of weekend morning just awake- a kinda place where I guess they are still groggy and processing dreams and thinking about last night. It is a quiet place.
We worked with some dye yesterday for a gift for a new baby in the neighborhood. We took some old white stained clothes and they are now reborn. I think recycling and hand me downing can be a great way to welcome new kiddos. I feel just as confident taking over a little basket of hand me downs as I would a gift from Target. I actually feel better.
****Clearance Sale over at old shop here. Please check it out. One teether left at sale price. I am moving everything to little alouette. Merci. :)
Saturday, August 9, 2008
You say you hunger for something you can't name at all
If it wasn't enough to love yr neighborhood for the folks and the village charm it sure rocks the casbah to have neighbors with a zip line!
They are an amazing homeschooling family and have offered up resources and help if I were to decide to home school Finnian for Kindergarten next year. Wow.
The world has so much kindness in it if you just open your palm & receive.
Friday, August 8, 2008
I'll make you a believer
A trip to the art museum today was filled with much inspiration. Tony Mendoza's "stories" took my breath away and I fell into a little dazy haze of a split second daydream where I come to the museum everyday with a crisp brown paper bag that holds an apple and a bottle of water and I sit and stare for 30 uninterrupted minutes at his art.
Finn and his friend Parker loved the Surrealist Room. I loved the slow motion of the day and the quiet stillness and the way the docent followed us around as you would with bulls in china shops.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
and I bet/ and you exploded into my heart
All the talk of art yesterday made me realize that it was time for a new art lesson for master Finn. I have been making a list of all the places I want to take the boys. I want to be the first to show them things. I want to cover their eyes next year and then say, "open" and the Eiffel Tower will be there. I want to show them the London Bridge and the Grand Canyon and point with my finger to the ocean for Blaise like I did with Finn. I want to see the wonder fly across their eyes. I think this is one of the true joys of parenthood- the unlocking of the world's treasures.
Anyhoo, we talked about art and I remembered a lesson plan we did with the after school program over at Sawyer Recreation Center. Each year we studied different artists and the lesson plans were always unique and engaging. When we studied Michelangelo we made our own fresco's on the bottom of art room tables. We would set the kids up with paper taped on the underside of the tables and give them supplies. We would pass around images of the Sistine Chapel and then we would have them lie under the table as we told the story of Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. We asked them to think about painting the same painting for four years! The kids were then asked to create their own masterpiece under the table. It was always a great lesson as paint would drip in their eyes and they would equally complain and praise the lesson. It was always a favorite.
Today Finn and Blaise and I did a small scale Sistine Chapel art lesson. Just as suspected Finnian loved it but said his arms ached after about two fresco's. He was shocked when I told him about the four years it took Michelangelo to create the Sistine chapel art. He made that funny perfect circle with his mouth. I wonder what four years means inside of his head?
T.S.Eliot wrote
| Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, |
| I have measured out my life with coffee spoons |
crayons?
fruit snacks?
kisses from mama?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Id like to be a gallery/Put you all inside my show
It must have been around 1994. Me and my gals from college decided to road trip it to The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. (I am the blond in the upper corner with Drew Barrymore circa 1994 eyebrows and I recall that day so well. I wore my black sunglasses that had light blue lenses and I thought my self bewitching.) We drove from Athens, Ohio to the museum and it was one of those marked moments in my art history education. Much like the moment I walked into the Louvre or stood under the Sistine Chapel two years prior, I began to understand a bit beyond the Campbell soup can.
I stood in the pillow room for a long time. I can remember thinking with a small quiet inside mind voice that this was so kick ass. I think it might have been the real moment I knew art was the way to go in a life. I had no clue what my art was yet, but I knew that I never wanted to do anything but art.
In the basement of the museum was a old school B&W photo booth. We all crammed in that booth and snapped a stream of photographs. We were young and overflowing with vision and ideas for manifestos and world domination. We were actually quite cultural considering most of our friends were probably back home hitting the bong and watching Dazed and Confused.
I want to take some photographs in that booth again. I found out recently that my dreams are coming true. Columbus, Ohio beat out all the big boys and are getting Other Voices, Other Rooms? -a massive Warhol exhibit that is only making one North American stop. Here. The Wexner is pretty amazing though. I can see that it stands out. But Holy Hell...we get this ground breaking multi media exhibit? Yes, we do. It opens on September 13th and you can be sure that Finn and Blaise will be standing in the pillow room. You can be sure that I will cram us in that photo booth and share.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Talk about/Talk about/Talk about Movin
Just like most of the freaking awesome blogs I read, I have no clue how I wandered into Citizen of the Month. I just found myself there one day last year. Isn't that the most brilliant part of the whole blogosphere? The random pitter patter into a space you had no idea existed? Into a life that pulses and stretches out just like yrs? The blog could be down the street or across the ocean and you just had that perfect path that particular day? Well, hot damn! I am happy I found Neil's blog and this perfectly wonderful interview project he has going on.
I was lucky enough to interview this gem :
ARTS AND DAFTS
and here is the interview:
1. Explain in exactly 13 words who you are:
I am a writer, photographer, artist, trouble maker and jane of all trades.
2. Who are yr real life hero's?
That's easy, my mom. I know, a lot of people say that, but she genuinely is. She's the one who designed and maintains my blog as well as maintaining coffeerooms.com, the site that hosts my blog and she is an artist. She has lupus and even when she's having a rough day, she's there for me and working her ass off (aka fighting with Movable Type code). She's even patient enough to listen to me whine about nothing important when she's dealing with her own aches and pains I hope one day I can be as patient, selfless and talented as she is.
3.. Tell us about what you do?
What I do is a very difficult question at the moment and kind of the route of Arts & Dafts. When I'm working for a paycheck, I'm a theater technician on and off Broadway. When I'm not doing that (well even when I am) I am working full time on the blog and at coffeerooms.com. We're going through a sort of growing phase and trying to find a new audience. It takes a lot of work but this is the work I like to do. I will always love theater but I am really burned out on the stress that comes along with it. Working for myself brings new stress of course, but it's one I prefer to deal with. I find it easier to wake up in the morning and get excited about my day, even though it's a financial struggle.
4.If you could spend a lovely weekend in the country with any fictitious character who would it be?
The Cheshire Cat and/or the Mad Hatter. You can't tell me that wouldn't be an interesting weekend. Nevermind the awesome tea parties we'd have (except I'll have coffee please).
5. Would you rather enter a hot dog eating contest or a pie eating contest? Why?
Hot dog. First of all this is NYC. Who can resist a good Nathan's or sidewalk dog? Well, I can't. Second, I am one of those weirdos who can't stand pie. Actually, I'm just not all that into baked goods period. Unless it's a muffin, you know, a cupcake without icing?
6. What is yr favorite spot in NYC and why?
In Manhattan it has to be Union Square. There are always some great photography opportunities there. Such an interesting mix of locals and college kids and people yelling into megaphones. In Brooklyn, where I live, it's gotta be Prospect Park. It's less than a block from my door and I can really get away from the city when I'm in there. Plus, they have the best zoo ever!
7. Tell us two songs that you just love but are "embarrassing" to admit.
Wow, you're calling me out here. Okay, ready? Toxic by Britney Spears and Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne (particularly the Lil' Mama remix). This list could go on for days, there isn't a genre I don't listen to.
8. What are you wishing for today?
Today I am wishing for inspiration, as I am every day. I just know that great idea is waiting somewhere inside me.
9. What would you like to be doing next year this time?
What I'm doing now (writing, photography, etc) but without having to rely on theater to pay the bills.
10. Three favorite foods?
Pizza, chicken Marsala and coffee. In my world, coffee is totally a food.
11. A scent that gives you a direct train to childhood?
Sea air. We used to live right next to the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. Also, dirt. Nothing reminds me more of childhood then playing in the dirt.
12. What are three cool blogs you like to read?
Dooce, The Bloggess and Pamie. I've been reading Dooce and Pamie for years now. The Bloggess I just recently discovered back in June and I am so hooked.
13. What makes you smile hard? Corners crack?
Like no fail makes me smile every single time? When my fella laughs out loud. He's one of those quiet southern boys who doesn't have a big belly laugh (I've been searching for it for 7 years). He really just kind of giggles and he only saves it for when he's genuinely amused. You might call it a rare occasion. So when he gets going, I get going. Also, whenever my dad asks me if I really want to go to Funkytown. I know, it's an inside joke, but it's a no fail route to laughing.
Thanks to you Ry it was a pleasure to interview you! And check out the project today! Sign up! It is way cool! xo Kiss Kiss
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
Get over to Motherhood Uncensored and join in the Blog The Recession Fun!
Help yr friends! Win Prizes!
Yahoo!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
When you're standing on the edge of nowhere/There's only one way up
We did the whole big fair thing today with my mom. The fair is a vital part of my past. I grew up in a town so rural that we were actually released from school for such things as Fair Day and Hunting Day. Seriously.
Anyhoo, I love the dirt of the midway and the colors of the fun. We had a blast and although as beat down haggard as I am now it was so very worth it. The most inspiring part of my day came from a very unlikely spot. We watched a magic show under a pavilion to catch a bit of relief from the heat.
The magician (who was very good) told us a bit of a story at the end of how people said he would never make a living following his passion. He spoke of how people said he was foolish to pull cards from thin air and expect a real life. He gave everyone in the audience a tremendous amount of hope in the flourish of his tricks and the obvious authentic joy he had from performing. He spoke to us and told us to follow our passion because it can work. His family at the bottom of the stage who had a table full of his magic tricks and toys for purchase beamed up at him. It probably isn't simple to a magician. It is most likely tough, but it is just like being a painter or a writer or a dancer. It is reaching down so far until that rabbit becomes real. Until you can grab him...
Friday, August 1, 2008
You can hear the engines stalling/You can hear the angels falling
Dear DWR,
I love you and I would lick all the surfaces of yr gleaming store. I love my gorgeous few pieces I have bought from you. I really do love you, but can you stop sending me magazines. It is starting to get old. I can't afford you. It is like when Sak's sends me the lookbook years after I purchased a handbag I had no business buying. I have not been to Sak's in years. I don't want to be taunted or kill more trees.
I can't make enough art out of you. You kinda annoy me bc you never listen. I have asked you three times in an email format to remove me from the mailing list. I tried to be cool, like we can still be friends and I will pop round sometimes...but yr not getting it. I also took offence when you did not respond to the emails that showed you some cool recycling projects I had done with my kids and the magazines. ( like this and this)
I thought it might tug at yr heart strings. Others appreciated it. I thought it might make a cool slot on yr blog. You have a blog?
So, I am going to send you one more email today and then we might just have to have a Come to Jesus meeting and I will take out my favorite fat black sharpie and write those final words.
Return to Sender.
and I really don't wanna be that kind of girl...
Round here something radiates
A small local shout out!
If yr local and have young children you should visit Being Savvy Columbus. My friend Christina is doing a great job there and I am really excited that Columbus is included in this cool venture.
I also wanna tell you about Skreened.
Skreened is cool as they are two local folks who have created ethical custom apparel!
I got a free shirt from them last night when I attended a local social media meet up to learn about a new marketing campaign for Experience Columbus last night. I got invited to this shindig bc I am a local blogger with her finger on the pulse of the city? Dunno, but they had Jeni's ice cream and I liked it. I also felt more than a mommy blogger for sure.
I like this too:
Columbus Green Spot
Are you local? Leave me a comment today. I dare you. I was telling my friend last night that I don't think I have local traffic at all. Strange. I want you Columbus. I want you too.
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