This and That

Feeling a tad out of sorts.

But I did make this today.

Hand cut paper collage.

And way too much Photoshop.

Thoughtless Thursday

Nothing quite like taking 300+ pictures at a wedding, where everyone is expecting nothing but the best from you, and only like 3 photos are salvageable.

Here's a handy little tip to anyone out there planning a wedding:

If you want nice pictures, don't insist on having everything from the ceremony to the reception lit only by candle light. Camera flash will make you look awful.

Th-th-th-that's all for today folks.

What's In a Name?

The following is a conversation between Big Man and myself while we poorly attempt to come up with a clever name for my soon-to-be- yet totally-running-behind-schedule-Etsy store:



Big Man: Drawings by T-Brain

Me: T Mack's Diddley Doodley Doodles? Poocasso?

Big Man: Fleshy Art n Stuff

Me: Fleshlights?

Me: PayMeBitches?

Big Man: Uncultivated

Me: Not Cultivated By Standard Agricultural Methods Shoppe?



Obviously it's not going smoothly.

FYI

Clearly I stink at keeping up with this whole blog-a-day thing.

Ah well.

FYI, I had a great weekend.

Ball of Disgust.

I'll be taking this weekend off from blogging.

Busy weekend ahead.

Any who...I need to talk about something that's been bothering me.

My cousin is marrying their same-sex partner this weekend.

I am so excited and happy for my cousin, it's verging on the realm of ridiculous.

However, I am disappointed to report that some of our family members do not share my feelings of joy for the happy couple.

So much so, that they refuse to even go to the wedding.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs. I am not religious AT ALL. But I had no reservations about going to all of their weddings, held in church's...Roman Catholic church's. Stand.Sit.Kneel.Stand.Sit.Kneel.God.Jesus.God.Mary.Joseph.God.Lambs.Lambs?

And it just breaks my heart that these people, these family members, REFUSE to attend this wedding because it's for a gay couple.

I guess I keep thinking about my own child. What if he grows up and one day announces he is gay? Will my family refuse to go to his wedding?  How sad.....

It's just rude. And...I don't know if this is the right word but... embarrassing. For the couple's parents. Embarrassing for the significant others of those who WILL be attending the wedding. For those who refuse to go. And for the entire family.

To each his own I guess.

But it just down rights disgusts me.


Sigh...

Maybe The Dingo Ate Your Baby.

This is Steven.

                    

He's an American Dingo.

aka Carolina Dog.

aka Dixie Dog.

aka Native American Dog.

aka Southern Aboriginal Dog.

Or at least we think he is.

He turned 11 two weeks ago.

Big Man has had him since he was a pup.

The women whom he got Steve from had an entire van full of various puppies. She claimed this one was part Chocolate Lab, part Huskie.

Big Man convinced himself Steven was Huskie and Shepard.

I wasn't convinced with either.

So one day I'm watching Animal Planet ( I think that's what it was), and there's a special about the history of domesticated dogs. And there was Steven!!

I rushed to the bathroom door, where Big Man was perched upon his throne, and told him he HAD to come and see this!

Immediatley, I start frantically Googling "American Dingo". And I come across this website...

If "That looks just like MY dog!" is your first reaction to the photos above, then perhaps you're fortunate enough to own a living piece of history...a CAROLINA DOG...also called the American Dingo, the Dixie Dingo, the Southern Dingo, the Native American Dog, the Indian's Dog, the Southern Aboriginal Dog, and just plain Ol' Yaller Dog!

Yes! Yes I AM saying "That looks just like MY dog!"

I put together a little picture collage and sent it straight to the Dingo Goddess herself, Jane Gunnell, who is the head of the Carolina Dog Assosiation.

And what do ya know? She told me "Steven looks like he could of stepped directly out of one of my very own packs!"

Quoting the site: The hypothesis is that these dogs are the pure descendants of the feral pariah canids who came across the Bering land mass 8,000 to 11,000 years ago following the human tribal masses. 

Pretty. Darn. Cool.

Steven's pretty fantastic. All 90lbs of him.

He rarely barks. Only when there is definitely something amiss. Rather, he whines and "talks" and sings, doing little dances shaking his head back and forth. My nickname for him is Stevie Wonder.

And for being 11 years old, you'd never know it. He's as spry as any other pup out there.

From what I've read, American Dingos are mostly free of any of the usual problems prevelant in other large dogs, and can live a healthly problem-free life for 20 years!!!

Amazing.

So far, from everything I've researched, Steven fits the personality and behavoral traits of an Amrican Dingo exactly.

I would highly recomend this dog to anyone out there looking for a large breed. I encourage you to poke around the link I posted (here it is again http://www.carolinadogs.org/index.html) whether you are interested in getting a dog, or just to learn how insanely cool these little pieces of furry history really are.

Busy little bee...err butterfly.

I've been quite busy the last two days trying to figure everything out in order to open an Etsy shop.

What kind of paper?
Printers?
What's my niche?
What do I start with?

I'm somewhat clueless. And it makes me dizzy. Thankfully I know a lot of geniuses who have been more than willing to give me advice and the occasional swift kick in the rear.

This butterfly in my backyard was also quite busy today (to which my neighbor and about 5 of his friends watched me for god knows how long, chasing this thing around my backyard, in the mud, all whilst trying my best to dodge piles of dog poo and get a decent picture.... Thus is my life.)

I'd also like to take the time to apologize for not being the most exciting/informative/funny/______ blogger. But this is me. And my not-so-exciting life as a self proclaimed hermit/stay-at-home-mom. So take it for what it is, because well....this is it.

Reawakening.

After some much needed pep talks (thanks to Big Man and Kyle) I am indeed going to open an online shop to sell my art.


I have a lot of details to sort out before this happens. But I am so excited it hurts.


For now, I have set up a (very) temporary shop here : http://tk3point5.deviantart.com/prints/

There you can buy prints of various sizes, magnets, coasters, postcards, and more.

I will be adding more pieces and updating there soon.

Again, this is temporary. Just to get some of my stuff "out there". Once I am able to set up my own shop, and have complete control over my products, you can expect some pretty cool things.

So stay tuned.

Empty pockets. Empty hearts.

Empty pockets never held anyone back.  Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

WARNING: Probably should not be broadcasting this on the internet.....

I defaulted on my student loans.

Yeah, I'm that jerk.

Instead of going into detail, or sitting here sulking, I'm just going to announce that I will be selling my art in the near future.

I've been talking about it long enough.

And Mama needs some money. Bad.

I don't yet have a clue what this "art" will be. 

But I need to do something.

And why not use that fancy art degree I got, and make art in order to pay off said fancy art degree?

I need to stop holding back.

I need to put my heart into it.

I need to get my head back into the game.

Grow Baby! Grow! Don't Ya Know!

Big Man is obsessed with plants.

Sometimes I need to kindly remind him not to over water, or over prune etc. etc.

So last month, for his birthday I went all out.

Lettuce!

Rosemary!

and Strawberries!

Oh My!

Still have a ways to go...but exciting nonetheless.

This is where it gets a little weird.

This is all a little strange. But just hear me out....

So....Lily Dale.

Now I'm not one for religion. I don't really care for it as a whole. At the same time, I'm completely cool with whatever anyone out there wants to believe. I'm very open minded to anything and everything.

Lily Dale, NY is a...special place. As the sign below reads, it's "The Worlds Largest Center for the Religion of Spiritualism"

It's located about 60 miles south of Buffalo, NY. I'm from Buffalo, and I had never heard of it until recently....while here in Western Pennsylvania....from Big Man's psychic cousin.

Yep. You heard right.

Now I've always been a little skeptical, but as I previously mentioned, I like to keep an open mind.

Psychic Cousin told Big Man years ago, while he was dating someone else, that he was to have a boy and a girl someday, NOT with the girl he was dating at the time, but rather with someone small in frame, with long brown hair and glasses....

ahem...

.....just saying. Oh, and pardon my double chin.

Pretty freaky.

Any who, I eventually did meet Psychic Cousin, and upon meeting, she looked me dead in the eyes and calmly said, "Yep. It's you." She was in town from California for a quick visit before heading up to Lily Dale, NY for a psychic gathering. She didn't really tell me much. And I was too afraid to ask.

Then last night I came across an HBO documentary on Lily Dale, titled "No One Dies in Lily Dale".

Pretty interesting stuff. I guess it was established in 1879, and has since been the world's largest center for psychics and spiritual mediums....aka "I see dead people."

The town itself appears to be a beautiful place, tucked in the woods along a lake....filled with historic and lovely old victorian homes, each one cuter than the next...

...a place where each meticulously decorated ginger bread house bears a wrought iron sign out front declaring who dwells there....

It's a magical place. Where most of the residents are senior citizens, and travel around to and fro on battery operated golf carts.

A gingerbread house, cute little grandma and grandpa filled place.....where said grandma and grandpa's are able to talk to dead people.

People from all walks of life (uhh...and afterlives) and all religions visit Lily Dale. Mostly for healing. Closure. To hopefully communicate with lost loved ones. And the like.

I've been fortunate enough to not yet have to endure losing a loved one. But I must admit, the whole psychic/medium thing has always intrigued me. I think one of these days, on  our way to Buffalo to visit my side of the family...I might have to make a stop in Lily Dale.

Medium.

Just watched a documentary on Lily Dale, NY. Look it up. I'll touch on this later...

It's all the buzz 'round here.

My son is an exact copy of his father.

The hair.
The eyes.
The smile.
The attitude.

It seems the only thing he inherited from me is my awfully dorky laugh and profuse sweating.

Lucky kid.

Well that and my artistic abilities.

We paint and draw every day. To his demands, not mine.

Most moms I know won't let any sort of paint within a 5 mile radius of their homes. But I'm ok with the mess. Nothing makes me happier than seeing Lil Man paint.

Granted, everything might look like the same ol' colorful blob over and over. But each stroke is achieved with such purpose and concentration...even for a 2 year old.

He takes his painting very seriously.....

And then yesterday, we were outside, laying in the grass drawing.

"Mama. Draw bumble bee."

So I did.

And then he did this [I know it's a little fuzzy, but it's in blue].....

HE DREW A BUMBLE BEE!

HE'S ONLY 2!

Ugh.

I died right then and there.

Gosh I love that kid.

You Can Call Me Debbie Downer.

quick sketch.

drawn by hand with pen n' paper.

colors and texture applied in photoshop.

that's how i do most of my stuff. fyi

Exhale.

I have my good days and my bad.

Today I cried on the phone to my student loan collection agent.

Why?

Who knows. I sure don't.

Then I reflect on it, and I just have to laugh out loud.

Poor collection agent guy.



Being an artist, I'm a very visual person. Usually, when I need to just exhale and clear my mind, there's certain images I look to...


I took this picture in Roatan, Honduras while on a scuba diving trip in '07. Greatest time of my life.

And the last vacation I was ever on.

Looking at this takes me to another place. I get this overwhelming sense of calm.

Same with this. That's yours truely, 50 feet underwater. 

And this photo I took last Fall. Reminds me of home. And is all around awe inspiring.

Never Look A Goat In The Eyes.

So yesterday was Independence Day.

The good thing about our township celebrating on the 3rd every year, is that we get to go to neighboring neighborhoods and enjoy their celebrations on the 4th.

Yesterday we went to a 4th of July Fair in my sister-in-law's neighborhood. 90 degrees. Three bouncy houses. A petting zoo. Pony rides.

Little Man didn't know what to do with himself.

Now I'm not one to endorse petting zoos. I despise them. Especially with overcrowded conditions. Only one water bucket. And sweltering temperatures.

But hey, I have a toddler now. And this was his first time coming across a petting zoo.

And by golly, those baby goats were just too darn cute.

Ooooh. Ahhhh.

Shhh. I forgot to post this yesterday.

We have a great view of our town's fireworks from our front yard.
We set up three chairs.
Brought out three popsicles.

And it was perfect.

Prelude to a Fourth

Partaking in all the usual 4th of July shennanigans. Which baically means just Big Man, Lil Man and myself being lame and hanging out in the backyard.

It's quite beautiful out there today.

Fireworks tonight. Keeping my fingers crossed I get some nice pictures. Nice pictures with lots of obligatory power lines throughout, of course.

If anyone actually reads this thing, have fun and be safe.

;)

The caterpillars ate my lawn.

Ah we meet again.

This was supposed to be my 365 photo blog.

A year ago.

Clearly this didn't turn out the way I intended. But it seems nothing ever really does.

From now on I will post [at least] once a day. Maybe a doodle or two. Probably some pictures.

Something.

Anything.

I'm not much of a blogger. I'm not really one for words. But I hope you enjoy nonetheless.