(Watercolour, pencil, and coffee)

Unlike previous years, when I've done a "Big" list on my birthday, I had no "Big 36" list this year. I've found that making a laundry list on one day of the year makes me feel obligated and doesn't take into account the fact that I change, darnit. But I do like to have a goal and a purpose and a reason to things. In 2007 I tried a lot of things, and some worked, and some didn't. What I want to do this year is to let my focus go to what is most important to me: my family, my artwork, my self. Once I have down a clear set of priorities I can figure out if other things serve my purpose or just distract me from them. For instance, after the craft fair and NaNoBloPoMo, I realized that more than a month had gone by without painting. And for me, painting is a necessity; I was shocked that I had let so many days and nights go by without it. Sure, I spent time on my site, and on scanning in and making prints, and framing things, but not painting. And that's where my heart lies.

I'm working now through this list: the Simple Living Manifesto. I really think it's going to help me focus and get back to basics. Paul's trying to do it as well, including naming Sunday nights Art Night for him as well (although in his case, it'll be Piano Night.) But I love the idea of the two of us filling the house with creative energy from top (me in the Tower) to bottom (his studio is on the first floor) at the same time, while the kids are asleep. We will also be making some plans on what the focus is for our family, as well as planning some regular date nights.

So here's to a new year. And to letting your imagination soar.

Wishing you and those you love a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year! (left to right: Angela in her gorgeous pink glasses, Sophie the wondergirl, and my boy Petey Pop.)

In any cases where I've found my work being used without permission, a simple email has cleared everything up. Most times people don't even realize that artwork on the internet can have a copyright. This blog post about Lane Hartwell (and from there, you can find links to several points of view) outlines the dilemma of people who want to share their art on the internet but not have people use it for free simply because it's easy to right-click.

I'm interested to know - if you are an artist, do you care if others use your work in a youtube video? Can people use it as long as they link back to you? If you're on the other side - an appreciator (is that a word?) of art - do you only use work where people have used a Creative Commons license? Or does that not really enter into it?

As for me, I'm pretty easy - if you ask permission, 9 times out of 10 I'll say to go ahead and use it. But that's only if you ask first.

I've been working on this one for ages ... it's Alice and the Unicorn from Through the Looking Glass.



The text reads:

`Well, now that we HAVE seen each other,' said the Unicorn, `if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?'

`Yes, if you like,' said Alice.

Here's a bit of a detail shot:



Done in watercolour, pencils, acrylic, and coffee. I do so like to be thorough. Hmmm... I wonder if anyone else has done an Alice painting for this week?

Sophie came home from school today, eager for me to look in her backpack. "I did a picture of an invisible lamb! I did a picture of an invisible lamb! Let me show you!" She gets the zipper open and hands me a blank piece of paper.

Where do they get this stuff? She must have her teachers in stitches.

*It also greatly resembles a picture of a cow eating grass.

Faithful readers will know how much I adore the song "Little Things" from Sesame Street. While I have always appreciated the little things in my life, the more Mama-years I have under my belt, the more deeply I realize it. This song has always touched me.

Go listen to the song (and watch the video) here.

One of the last things we do in our yoga class comes at the very end of our meditation. The teacher asks us to open our heart, put three things we want to keep safely inside it, and then close it up tight. Then, when we're having a rough day or feeling ungrateful, we can take them out to remind ourselves what's most important and wonderful to us.

Inside my heart at this moment is:

1. My family. 2. My art. 3. My imagination.

What's inside your heart right now?

Last post about art for sale! :) $3 each, $.50 for s&h. Business-card sized, they look loverly on a fridge.

HOLIDAY CARD SALE: Each set of cards is now just $10, including shipping and handling! And as always, if you order 5 packs, you get your choice of an 8" x 10" print. (If you've already placed your order, I gave you an extra pack!)

♥ Also please note: after December 15 I will not be filling any more orders for either prints, framed prints, or cards, until after the new year. ♥

One of my most favorite songs, ever. I've enjoyed the 30 days of posting, but now I'm off to spend more time enjoying the Little Things in my life. Enjoy.

Little sketches of my kids...

Did you ever hear the story about how having kids is like having your heart walk around outside your body? That's what I think of when I look at Sophia. She's 4-and-three-quarters. She stuns me, almost every day, with something new that she comes up with. Sophie has this long long brown curly hair that she can sit on when it's wet. She's bright, inquisitive, and everything she feels shows on her face immediately. She's like a little elf, some bit of magic that I can't believe came from me because she's so totally her own quirky little self. We haven't had her tested, but we already know from others that she is Off The Charts. A typical dinner conversation with Sophie contains references to animals, her artwork, which numbers are odd and which are even, Spanish vocabulary, the 8 times table, and the workings of the central nervous system. She has begun to play the piano and have lessons from Daddy, and now plays "Jolly Old St. Nicholas", with two hands, actually reading the sheet music, with great seriousness. Then she flings herself off the bench to do the most dramatic bow ever. She tells me, "The ponytail has to flip over my head for it to be right." I could go on and on about how smart she is, how talented she is, and none of it would be good enough to explain the beautiful spark of life that she has in her heart.

The twins are 3-and-three-quarters. Peter is just such a hoot. I've read things I've written about Peter last year, and he is still so solidly Peter - so many things are the same. Peter is passionate about cooking; he wants to know everything there is to know about it. He pretends he's cooking, he takes cookbooks to bed with him, he loves nothing more than to help stir, mix, set the table... and he will gladly tell you what he likes to eat, which is pretty much everything, but tortellini is his favorite, followed very very closely by pierogies. His latest thing is for us to watch cooking how-to videos on youtube, especially the ones about how to make sushi. Not that he's ever had it, but he is completely fascinated by it. Petey is the only one in our family with blond hair, and he has these absolutely gorgeous hazel eyes (like Daddy!). He's totally going to have our phone ringing off the hook when he gets older. One of the greatest things about Peter is that he has the most awesome laugh ever - it's completely infectious. He laughs this deep deep belly laugh that sounds like it's coming from an old man, and you can't help but laugh with him, which only makes him laugh harder... He's bright, he's very very silly, and it's easy to forget sometimes that he loves to snuggle just as much as he loves to run and jump around. Here's a perfect Petey snapshot: when he has ants in his pants, he will run over to me and ask me to put on "Shake Your Tailfeather" so that he can dance it all out. (His other faves are "I Feel Good" and Rockappella's "Falling' Over You".) While I love dancing up a storm with him, I love his hugs and smooches even more.

Angela is so completely her own person. She has this gorgeous cloud of dark curly hair that she pulls on because she wants it to be longer (like Mama, like Sophie). She got glasses this year, and on Sophie they would make her look owlish, but on Angela they're pure glamour. Angela, while sweet, adorable, girly, and having a huggability rating off the charts, has a streak of pure willfulness that's making me very afraid for her teen years. One morning at the breakfast table she wanted something, like a pear, but we didn't have any and told her so. She got really angry and yelled, "But I WANT A PEAR!" Again, we said we couldn't give her something we didn't have, and how about an apple? She slumped way down in her chair and gave us the nastiest evil glare ever. Paul and I laughed so hard we almost fell under the table! It was a total fast-forward to Angela at 13, when I tell her she can't wear that skirt. I've written before about Angela and being strong-willed, so I don't want to write more about it because she really is a sweetheart. She has a great imagination and loves to play creative games; I can totally see her being an actress some day. Angela snapshot: the other morning I asked her "And how are you today?" and she said, in all seriousness, "Gorgeous." She loves to draw, and she can write all the letters of her name, although not necessarily always in order. Angela is frequently the first one up and about in the morning, and she will come into our room with her arms up in the air, huge smile on her face, singing, "Good morning! Time to get up!" And then she comes over to my side and says, "Good morning, sweet bunny!" How could you possibly ever get up and have a grumpy day after that kind of love?

When the three of them were all tiny (and they were quite tiny), everyone would tell me how blessed I was, but I was kind of too shell-shocked to agree. But now I know it, truly and fully. And I am so, so thankful for them.

What do you want me to write about? There are two days left to NaBloPoMo; what would you like to know?

I have been trying for at least two weeks to put the framed prints I have up online. In a perfect world, they'd be up on Esty, or better yet, in my own store. Rather than have everyone wait until January when I have time to figure it all out, I'm taking the easy way out and posting them all here for now. You want one? Email me (take the spaces out of the address) and let me know, or leave me a comment below. All prints are with long-lasting inks on bright glossy paper. Shipping is currently to the US only. Stands shown in picture are not included. And once they're gone.... that's it! And please note: all the images in the frames are bright, vivid, and clear, regardless of how they photographed. :)

The sets: three matted prints in a white wooden frame with glass. Images measure 4.675" x 6.675". Entire piece measures 10" x 20". Each piece is $40 (+ $10 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail, Insurance, and Signature Confirmation. )



Framed and matted prints in black wooden frames with plexiglass. Images measure 5" x 7". Each is $15 (+ $5 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail.)



Framed prints in wooden frames with plexiglass. Image area is 5" x 7". Each is $10 + ($5 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail.)

SOLD

Framed prints in hand-painted wooden frames with plexiglass. Image area is 4" x 6". Each is $8 + ($5 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail.)

SOLD SOLD

I've spoken before about the book "Food Revolution", and how it was life-changing for me. Seriously, I can't recommend it enough. While my family doesn't eat completely vegetarian, we're not too far off - we do still eat chicken, once a week. (And the boy can't kick the weekly bacon habit, but we're working on it.)

And that's why I thought it was really interesting when I saw the commercials for Tyson chicken where the kids thanked their mother for giving them chicken that's antibiotic and hormone-free. Because here's something many people don't know: chicken by federal law has to be hormone free. So I was interested that Tyson was pushing this as a marketing tool. And yeah! Great! Educate people! If you're going to promote antibiotic chicken as well, that's even better.

(I'll get back to Tyson in a minute: but here's something else interesting most people don't know: that lots of the feed chickens eat has animal byproducts in it. That's right! The chicken you eat might have eaten other animals! I'm not even getting into the way many chickens are treated, I'm talking about them purely from a consumer point of view. I do not want to eat chicken pumped full of junk, being fed goodness knows what, and I don't want to give it to my family either. And do not get me started on beef: there's a reason we don't eat it. Go read the book.)

So when I'd first seen these Tyson commercials, where the kid stands up on his chair and thanks his mom for caring enough to give him Tyson chicken, I almost wrote a post about it. But then I realized recently I hadn't seen them for a long time, so I did a little research. The commercials were pulled because there is a medication in the chicken feed that is - guess what? - classified as an antibiotic! I give them credit for trying...

Still want to eat chicken? I can totally recommend Readington Farms (we have it in ShopRites in NJ): the chicken has no antibiotics administered, no artificial growth hormones, no animal byproducts, no artificial ingredients, an all vegetable diet, and is free farmed. Plus it costs almost the same as your average chicken that was fed who-knows-what.

One week ago... My hubby was making our entryway an art gallery, and my sis and her fiancee arrived from AZ, sleep-deprived, to come eat lots of pancakes and bacon with us (also sleep-deprived).

One year ago... I was doing NaBloPoMo, and was writing about how Peter and Angela needed their pj's on backwards and duct taped shut so that they would stop decorating their cribs with the contents.

Two years ago... I was dressing the kids as flowers and painting lots of pictures of them.

Five years ago... DANG! I was pregnant! And I was trying to work through setting up the store online and sell cards. Some things never change...(I'm referring to the trying to set things up online, not the pregnant part. Can I repeat? NOT PREGNANT NOW.)

Ten years ago... I was getting ready to celebrate my first Christmas as a married lady, in our sweet apartment. The first day I walked in, I knew where our Christmas tree would go.

And what have you been up to?

I know, I know, we stink because we watched a Christmas special tonight and it isn't even December yet, but I really really really wanted to see Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas again. It's not all that Christmasy; more about giving and caring for others. A good lesson to show anytime. (Not to mention the stellar puppetry, wonderful music, and super-cute furry animals. Oh, and the RIVERBOTTOM NIGHTMARE BAND! How could we lose? )

For a hysterical outtakes reel, check this link.

And WOO HOO! Via angrychicken: you can download the soundtrack here. I think "Barbecue" is just what our Christmas mix needs to (ahem) spice it up.

ps ~ I did cut me some bangs. ♥ Today the hair, tomorrow the wardrobe!

I am getting really really really tired of my "look": I seem to have a lot of plain t-shirts and turtlenecks, jeans, dark colors. This summer I went searching for clothes that were more me: bright prints, whimsical/artistic shirts, and everything I find either seems to be (a) ridiculously expensive; (b) made for someone without my bosom/waist ratio (I refuse to wear clothing that makes me look like an opera singer) (c) only appropriate for a 14-year-old, which I am so obviously not. So it seems like I am going to be trying to make a top or two. Does anyone know of any good, tried-and-true blouse patterns?

And in the meantime, here's the Should I Do It part: I've had the same hairstyle forever. I'm thinking of getting out the scissors and cutting me some bangs. Should I do it?

Dinner was quite dramatic tonight as we witnessed my sister's ENGAGEMENT! The proposal was met with much crying (my sis, my mom) and screaming and jumping up and down (by me, natch!) When everyone had calmed down, my sister tried calling friends and only got answering machines. So she took a photo of her hand with her camera phone and sent it around and waited for the calls to roll in. (Ah, technology... )

Congratulations, Mary and Jeff! Woo hoo!

This one's for sharing: print this out and bring it to your table tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tagged by Leandra, painter of lovely flowers, here goes!

1. I have been mistaken, twice, for being black, which is very interesting since I am pretty darn pale. My favorite was the co-worker who said, "You know, a black woman like yourself would understand," and I actually turned around to look behind me to see who he was talking to. I am 100% Sicilian, which means I look like lots of different cultures because heck, they were invaded by everyone at one time in history or another. I think it's neat.

2. My name is pronounced "EL-en-uh", not "eh-LAY-nah". Hence the extra-I-added-it-to-make-you-think-twice-before-you-say-it accent.

3. Twins run in my family. The last set of twins before mine were fraternal, a boy and girl, just like my Angela and Petey.

4. I discovered I was having twins the day I fainted at church while songleading, took out the podium, had to be carried out during Mass on a stretcher, and the outcome was announced at church the next week. Everybody knew my story.... the cat was rather spectacularly out of the bag.

5. I took 5 years of German in school. Unfortunately, I recall very little of it.

6. I do remember lyrics to songs, commercials, and tv show themes I haven't heard for 30 years. Not to mention practically every Beatles song ever written. And I will sing them to you.

7. It is very hard for me NOT to sing. I sing at the store, to whatever's playing over the loudspeaker. I sing in the car, while I'm working, while I'm doing dishes, and make up my own (usually very silly) songs all the time.

And that's my meme for today! I have to tag seven people... so I'm tagging (do it or don't, whichever you choose): Egotistical Productions, Snowflake, Allyson, Craig, Kevin, Dan Ward, and Mimi. Go for it!

Last weekend, after the craft fair, I asked Paul to take photos of each of my framed prints so that I could add them to my store. I knew if I did it, everything would have a glare on it and be blurry, and he's so much better at it. So first thing Monday morning, while he was watching the kids, he took lovely photos like this (more after the pics):



and then made sure they were all in iPhoto so I could access them right away.

Then he started setting up a mini-art show in the entryway of his studio, with a price list, a sign about me, and a set of my business cards. (I didn't even want him to put the artwork out because I was afraid it would be obnoxious! ) But this week, because they were right in front of people, I sold two of my largest pieces. I heard him telling a parent who walked in and asked about them, "Oh, didn't you know my wife is an artist? She just had an art show and these are a few pieces she didn't sell, so you have a chance to buy them here if you want." Can I tell you what I would have said? "Oh, the craft fair was so hard, and I have all these pieces left over, and maybe you might know someone who wants one... um, and I could give you a huge discount, I guess." Arrrrrgh! I am SO not great at selling myself! I should totally just walk around with Paul and let him talk for me, all the time, and then I could just paint.

He has also:
- weighed my paintings and calculated all the postage for me
- hand-painted some of the frames (along with my awesome Dad)
- never, ever said that we are spending too much money on artwork, and in fact encouraged me to think about printing NEW all-occasion cards
- got me a newer computer on eBay, souped it up, and had it switched with my old one (the screen was turning green!) within a week, and with me losing NO work time at all
- watched the kids more times than I can count so I can paint

Is it any wonder I love this man? His support, and the support and love of my family is what keeps me going every day.

From the book of short stories, "Spirits Unwrapped", that I illustrated. There's a lady who... well... has a tendency to turn into a cat. And this illo goes with it:



(If I had had more time, I would have done a rockin' picture of Stevie Wonder instead!)

(I'll post the answer tomorrow, or if you want to guess the punchline, post it in the comments! This is one of the kids' all-time favorite jokes.)

I don't know why, but posting every day seems like more of a challenge this year than it did last year. Maybe I've been busier. Maybe I feel more pressure to post something thoughtful, rather than silly. Maybe there are days this month I would rather not have blogged, but did it anyway. I don't know! Anyway, happy Halfway-There to anyone else in the NaBloPoMo-sphere, and here's to another 15 days!

And now ... off to yoga class ... I skipped it last week in favor of prepping for the show and now I'm looking forward to it with delight, like someone would a hot fudge sundae. (Note to self: if class is cancelled this week, go find hot fudge sundae.)

Neat site to check out: Songza. Searches the web, videos, and allows you to compile a playlist and embed music on your blog. Plus, at any time you can watch the videos too!

So let's see if this works! (This is actually a Paul McCartney song sung by Mary Hopkins of "Those Were The Days" fame. And yes, I have the demo version as well, and yes, I have one of her albums too. This is a favorite song to sing while I do the dishes. It's so darn catchy.)

See the magnets on the tree? Cute, no?

So I've had time to think more about it. And I've decided that what I am is confused. What people were most interested in was not what was already in frames, but loose prints I had in a notebook. Or prints in frames, but not that size, bigger. Or something else. Why didn't I have cards? (I do have lovely cards, they just don't have fairies or unicorns on them.) Oh, you should make different cards. You should do invitations for children's parties. You should have this, but not so big, and more of them. Because all your work is so great, and you are so talented, and your prices are just amazing, but just not THIS, exactly... Something else. And what gallery are you showing in? You're kidding! Why aren't you in a gallery, yet?

So does it make sense that I'm sort of reeling right now? :)

Seriously, I am not complaining. All this means is that there are possibilites for my art out the wazoo, which I have always known and always believed in. Next time, I would just bring whatever loose prints I had around, a laptop, and some order forms. And I could say, "Oh, Italy? Come look at this." Or, "Your daughter's room? Okay, how about these four, you could frame them together over the crib." I would get lots more sleep, and be able to show lots more of my artwork. (Michelle says I should think about licensing. Maybe she's right!)

If anyone wants dibs on something in the photos, let me know! I'm hoping to get everything set up in the store very soon (tomorrow? maybe?) but if you see something you like, speak up, peoples! And if you're feeling in a slump about the reception to your artwork, take heart, and try to think of the possibilities. I'm rooting for you too.

This was one of my Every Day In May pics from way back, but you know what, it fits. This is exactly where I would like to be right now: relaxing in the bath with a good read.

I promise I will have more about the craft show, and what I'm going to do with all those lovely framed prints, soon.

We have been blessed to have some really wonderful sitters for our kiddos - most of the time I am right there in the house with them, because it does take two big people to sort out the three small ones, so I am on hand to learn all sorts of stuff. Some of it is quite silly, which naturally, I appreciate. Anyway, these things my sitters have shared with me, I now share with you:

Milk and Cereal - back in the day, Allison would sing this to baby Sophie while feeding her cereal and milk. She told us we had to find the video, and sure enough, it's been a staple ever since. Now Petey walks around the house with a bowl on his head singing "at the taaaaaable! In the morrrrrnnnning!" and takes himself just as seriously as these boys.

Candy Mountain - Charlie the Unicorn and his friends go in search of Candy Mountain. AmyAmyAmy (that's what the kids call her) and Hannah would recite bits of this all the time. I don't actually recommend you watch this with little kids, but I do think a PMS-y unicorn is pretty funny.

Potter Puppet Pals - Alex led me to this. It has Harry Potter (very good), it has puppets (excellent!), and a very silly soundtrack (always a good thing). I find it strangely compelling. I also like the one where Harry gets angst-y. And seriously, who wouldn't want a Snape puppet?

(Thanks, Jen! All the links work now.)

I'm way too exhausted to talk about the craft fair tonight. I will say that I did make my initial fee back, I met tons of awesome new and artistic people (most of them moms!), and I have mixed feelings about doing another one. As Paul kept repeating, "it's a learning experience", and I need to mull it all over a little bit when I'm not so tired. I do cherish that at least two people made a point of telling me that I do fairies "right" and that they're quite picky about their fairies. As I am too, I appreciate that they noticed (and took said fairies home with them).

...and I have been running running running around like crazy today trying to get everything ready. At one point I had the kids working for me: one counting out cards, one doing envelopes, and the third dropping in a business card and sticking a french toast girl label on the bag to seal it. I'm cranking out the last of the prints now and a price list; Paul is packing my bags and stocking them with the essentials (change, calculator, tape, phone, directions, etc.) Then it's heavy duty sleep time (I didn't sleep at all last night, I kept sitting up and saying things like "I forgot the magnets!") and hopefully tomorrow I will actually relax and enjoy it all.

Wish me luck!

Some shots from my studio floor:



Many many small framed prints for the craft fair this weekend. And here's a closer look:



Meanwhile, downstairs in the dining room, I've taken to making packs of holiday cards while the kids watch Sesame Street. Sophie helps count out the envelopes.



I am indebted to Kim Ward (sister of Dan ) for giving me this idea when she sent me a picture of how she framed my prints at her home. It was her idea to group the three paintings "tree/bird/heart", "storytime", and "nourishment" this way, and it works so well I'm bringing two of them. (THANK YOU!) The fairies are another grouping, and I'm making a fourth that will be all unicorns. My kids are already mad that these are not going in their own rooms.



(Sorry for the glare, I am not the best photographer; but you can see all the pics in this grouping here.)

And the printer chugs on.... making more unframed prints to bring. (And still, I feel unprepared!)

Happy birthday to my favorite brother (who is extremely talented) and my favorite brother-in-law (also extremely talented)!

♥ This weekend is THE CRAFT SHOW! I know I promised I would blog more about the details and the preparations, and I'm hoping to have pics off the camera and up on the site tomorrow. Someone wrote and asked what prints look well matted, and even though I can say, "all of them!" (hee hee) you'll see lots of things in frames. And gosh, they're pretty.

Holiday cards are back in the shop and ready to go! And so are the prints... I've added in a list of ways to find your favorites, as well as links to see pictures you may have forgotten about. Remember, pretty much any painting of mine is fair game, so if you have a fave, go for it!

ps ~ for those of you who have an Esty shop - do you like it? How is it working for you?

Is anyone else having issues with Blogger? I keep timing out, it takes hours for my posts to show up, and now this has been the second time I checked the site to see that my entry from yesterday has been unpublished. I need this like a hole in the head.

In any case, should a day go by where it appears there's no post, check here and I'll put it up there.

My cards arrived yesterday! (Squeeee!) While I'm really excited to have them, it wasn't what I planned on. Remember? I wanted 2-sided cards. I was going to have three different designs. And then the printer died and needed to be resurrected, and the cardstock we got wasn't printable on both sides, and I needed to hurry up and just get them done already*. But I am getting a thrill about having so many of them, and the kids are each carrying one around with them. Petey calls it his "library card" and it almost went to bed with him last night.

Right now, I'm completely exhausted, which I thought was some dire disease (note: do NOT look up symptoms online or you will terrify yourself needlessly) until my mom pointed out the 97 billion things I've been doing in the past two weeks, and not eating because I'm not hungry, and not sleeping. Surprise! It adds up. So instead of pushing it, instead of crawling up the stairs to put yet another piece of paper in the printer, I'm going to take it easy today. My mom is very philosophical about all this. "You take whatever you have finished by Sunday, and we set it up." That's about it. So I'm giving it up and trusting that whatever I have will be enough.

* Can I just say here how much I love Printing For Less... who also did my Christmas cards. They called me up before sending the proof because they wanted to make sure the blue was going to print the way I liked. Consulted Pantone colors with me. And then went and looked at my website, because they were genuinely interested in my artwork. They totally rock.

Last night we settled in for our usual Sunday night viewing of the Muppet Show. When this song came on, I warned everyone I was going to cry, and I didn't disappoint. In school I was in a production of a combination of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy!" (take a wild guess who I played) and sang this every night (and cried then, too.)



(First part is from the Muppet Show, second part is from "A Tribute to Jim Henson" which I bawled through from beginning to end when it was on TV originally.)

So here I am, weepy, and the kids are looking at me funny, but I am saved because immediately following this number, they show this and I wind up laughing my pants off instead. Perfect timing!

Readers of yesterday's note will see that Saturday mornings are Pancake Days. This is how great the weekend is: Friday nights, I help get the kids ready for bed, and go to yoga. And Paul puts them to bed all by himself, and by the time I get home, all peaceful and relaxed, they're asleep. Know why Paul does this? Because I asked.

Saturday mornings I get to sleep in; the kids all get dressed without me. Paul herds them all downstairs, has them help set the table, and makes a double-batch of pancakes. When the smell begins to waft up the stairs to the bedroom, the kids run in to tell me breakfast is ready. Why does this happen? Because I asked.

Sunday nights are the sacred Art Night - once all the kids are in bed, Paul takes their monitors and I barricade myself in my studio (we've nicknamed it the Tower because it's the attic). Cries for water, a flashlight battery that needs to be changed, getting up for one last pee - not my problem. I get an evening of uninterrupted painting. And why has this been a tradition since Sophie was born? Because I asked.

Life is too short not to ask for the things you need. Nobody's a mind-reader. We've learned that with three kids 4 and under, and with free time at a minimum, we ask for the things we really need - time to paint. A little rest. A yoga class. And then we make them happen, together.

Tell me you wouldn't love to be me this morning. ♥ (Pretty good for 4.5 years old, huh?)

Even though I said back in the day I was never going to do this, here are the three little kittens, who actually DID lose their mittens before we went out, and had to share. They were down to one mitten when Angela forgot all about our warnings that the neighbors had just painted their railings... let's just say they're gonna need to repaint the ones near their door. After they pull the pink fuzz off of it first.





Note baby mummy pumpkin wrapped in cheesecloth to the left. Ca-UTEness!

This morning I decided I needed to exert the extra effort and make it to mass. I crept into the kids' bedrooms and whispered to each of them that it was time to get up, and that I was going to church and who wanted to come with? Petey jumped right out of bed and got dressed. With three kids almost exactly the same age, special one-on-one time is hard to come by.

We go to church every week, but he's never been on a weekday morning. He kept tugging my hand, asking me where the music was, why was it so dark, why didn't I bring the bag with his books in it? And after a while, he quieted down and just looked around with his big hazel eyes. I was glad he had the chance to see the church at a quiet time - not full of his friends, music, and lots of distractions, but stripped down to the essentials. We held hands a lot and just let the peacefulness seep in. And then on the way home, I sang him "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" and "The Prayer of Saint Francis" in honor of All Saint's Day.

We painted together this afternoon; this is Petey as he sat across from me creating his beautiful watermelon-y washes.

I was walking under an bright blue open sky, on top of a hill. My hand rested on the back of a unicorn who walked along at my side. With a flourish and a swirl of color, a dragon uncurled himself from the sky and invited me for a ride. Naturally, I climbed on and we whirled around in the clouds, looking down at the green hills below us.

He touched down and I slid off his back, thanking him with a pat and a hug. The unicorn had left, and he did too. I continued my walk alone down the hill into the woods, where the trees grew thick and it was dark between them. I saw small, wild faces among the branches, and soon felt fingers clutching at my dress. Folk of all shapes and sizes, some winged, some green, some bark-colored, soon surrounded me and laughing, urged me to follow them. We walked down the hill through the woods, where it grew ever darker, but something (will-o-wisps? lightning bugs?) lit our way and danced in front of us. We made a very joyful bunch.

As we walked, worries came to mind, and then actually formed themselves into my hands. One trouble was rough and wooly and tied with red yarn. I let it go from me, and dropped it away from the path. Others crumbled into dust when I let them go. One in particular was a shining heavy ball, a trouble that has been weighing on me for almost a year now. "I'm sorry," I said to it wordlessly, "But you really have to go now." I tossed it away and it rolled off quickly under its own steam off into the darkness of the woods.

Finally, we came to what passed for a table: a huge flat rock ringed with smaller boulders and stumps. I sat down and was presented with tea in a bowl carved from stone, rough to the touch, and heavy. It was filled with steaming tea of some sort, reddish-colored and smelling strongly of mint and fennel and lemon. I drank it all. Tiny cakes and nuts were brought out for everyone. What they were exactly I don't recall, only that they were light and incredibly delicious. The fairy folk and I never spoke words to each other, but communicated with gestures and smiles.

Tea done, they pulled me to my feet, and clearly it was time to move on. It was fully night now, and a full moon lit our path. We walked a short way through the woods to a clearing where a pond of water reflected the moon shining overhead. Everyone jumped into the pool; I got out of my dress and jumped in for a swim too, hearing the splashing of the water and the night sounds of insects and forest animals around me.

And then the yoga instructor told us it was time to start coming out of our meditation, and that we had been laying still for FIFTY MINUTES. I have never been able to stay still and quiet for that long before, and I most definitely had not been sleeping. If that was a meditation, it was the most alive and joyous meditation I've ever experienced (and one I didn't particularly want to leave!) I thanked God for giving me my overabundant imagination, and prepared myself to join the rest of the world again.

(Starting tomorrow, I'll be posting every day for NaPoBloMo. See you then!)

Words of wisdom, as sung by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem:

If you ain't been dancin' lately
Don't blame your shoes
And if you ain't been happy lately
Don't put it on the blues
Don't blame the dynamite
if you can't light the fuse
There's a party all the time for them what choose!

The end is my romancin'
with football on TV
He ain't took me anywhere since 1963
Her hair is in the closet
Her teeth are on the shelf
I'll put the good parts in a bag
and go out by myself!

If you ain't been dancin' lately
Don't blame your shoes
And if you ain't been happy lately
Don't put it on the blues
Don't blame the dynamite
if you can't light the fuse
There's a party all the time for them what choose!

I've been reading a bunch about how cooking your veggies kills all the nutrients - this was in my inbox this morning (I subscribe to this great newsletter called The Ideal Bite):

Getting your nutrients. One study found that stove-cooked spinach lost 77% of its folate; another study found that broccoli lost up to 97% of its antioxidants when nuked in the microwave.

So I followed some links and found this: it's a guy(who happens to be a model) who eats only raw food now, and these are his before and after pics after ONE MONTH.

All this is making me want to go out, grab a ton of veggies, and throw them in the blender. I'm not saying I would not cook anything again, but I think maybe a smoothie here and there and sneaking the family some extra fruit couldn't hurt. We eat pretty darn healthy over here - my kids ask for tofu and spinach, I kid you not. But maybe we're ready to take things to the next level. Or at least I am.

Checking out:

♥ We like it raw (blog by my coworker's friends)
♥ Gone raw has lots of recipes I'm going to check out.

Before the kiddos came along, I used to go to yoga classes weekly. Once I was more homebound, I had my favorite DVD and would do it only every few months or so, and then when I did, it was with kids screaming for attention in the background (so restful!) or doing what I call "combat yoga" - where I do a pose (bridge, or downward-facing dog) and the kids would scramble to get underneath me as fast as they could. ALL of them. I was so afraid I would squash them! I kept asking myself why I didn't do yoga more often when I loved it so much.

Last week, right before I fell asleep, it came to me: we have to start doing yoga again. So now Paul and I have been getting up early; we let the kids know that we're doing yoga and that they may join us when they're ready (ready means: did a pee, washed their hands, gotten dressed, straightened their bed, put their pjs under their pillow and undies in the laundry). So far it's worked so well I'm afraid to talk about it, lest I jinx it. We're downstairs in Paul's studio, starting our day peacefully, while whatever squabbling over the bathroom and who has what underwear is all taking place far above us (did I mention the studio's soundproofed?). Angela likes to get done as fast as possible and wiggles herself inbetween us, and if I'm not careful, she steals my mat. Petey likes to sleep in, but when he comes down he sits on the sofa quietly with a book. With Sophie, it's 50-50. But so far, we've been stretching and they've been quiet, so I'm pretty happy about it.

I also got to join a yoga group at my friend's church. We practice in the entryway (it's huge) and afterwards, anyone who wants to, gets up, goes into the main part of the church, and we pray/meditate in front of the blessed sacrament. It was very very interesting not only to do yoga again somewhere other than my living room, but energizing to practice it amidst another group of Catholics - nothing much was said out loud, but we knew we were all focusing on the same Spirit.

I'm also going to start downloading episodes from Yoga Today so we have a little more variety; much as I like Rodney Yee, I can almost recite his routine from memory. Do you have a favorite DVD to recommend? Anything with "stress relief" in it is great, not looking for "power" or anything where they say "leap to warrior pose!"

View my profile on NaBloPoMo


It's that time again! I will be posting every day in the month of November, and you can too! The site's moved, so go here and sign up to get registered. (And then make sure you friend me up and I'll friend you right back!)

Some people are posting on a theme for the month, but I can't think of one single thing people would actually want to read 30 posts on, so I think it's going to be a mixed bag, as usual. Unless anyone has suggestions... ?

Screen cap of test for 2 scans of the unicorn painting that usually hangs in my kitchen.

Spent this weekend on a trip to IKEA for some Christmas shopping, but mostly FRAMES! Mom came, and her help was invaluable, to say the least. She has such a great eye and is incredibly artistic herself, and is one of my biggest cheerleaders. Whenever I would suggest something, she would go one better; I looked at unfinished frames that came in packs but said I wasn't sure to get them, she grabbed them and said, "Tell Daddy what color you want them, he'll paint them for you." (Dad didn't mind being volunteered at all.) When I picked up a frame with a mat cut for three pictures in it and said I could see putting three unicorn or fairy pictures in it, she reached over and got three more. I said, "Do you really think I would sell them?" She said emphatically, "Oh, definitely. Perfect for a little girl's room." Did I add that Mom's manning the table with me? Nobody is going to be able to resist her!

So as I saw the cart full of frames of varying sizes, I started to have a Moment-with -a-capital-M - I rarely see my art framed, hung up, or anything, other than in my own house. Many times I paint, and the artwork just stays in the closet or never makes it out of my sketchbook. The idea of a whole table full of my artwork for people to take home just kind of overwhelmed me for a moment. And then I looked over at my mom, and I knew I was totally taking a step in the right direction.

The other day, I was talking on the phone, when Peter starts yelling from the dining room, "Mama! Come here, look! I made a pee! I made a pee! "

I run over, and I'm starting to ream him out for peeing on the floor when he knows better, and it's hardwood, no less, and why didn't he get up and make it to the bathroom if he knew it was coming, etc. As I get to him, he has a very confused look on his face, and he hands me a piece of paper.

That he has drawn the letter P on.

Sooooooo ... I have the nifty glossy card stock, I'm about to start printing out business cards. I listened to your feedback; my name is bigger, the other info's on the back, and even though you can't see it, the font is more interesting. I definitely want to make the two fairy cards, but then I'm thinking, no matter how gorgeous my tree/girl/heart cards are, should I be handing them out for free at the fair when people should be buying the print instead? What do you guys think? Make them, but don't bring them to the craft fair?

I had to share this story, sent by both my brother and Jill: City calls girl's chalk drawing 'graffiti,' issues $300 warning. My favorite quote is where the mother shrugs (because it got washed away by rain) and she says, "It wasn't her best work."

and now, a crafty update
This weekend I went to the art store where I bought tons of frames, those little brackets that people put dishes on (you know, for one picture) and teeny woven baskets to hold business cards. Either that, or tiny silk bags - one iridescent green, one blue, and one deep red - I may have the cards spilling out of them. What else did I get.... baskets with liners, all different sizes, to put Christmas cards and prints in, and a yard of leaf-green chenille/velvet with huge raised flowers on it, to put across the table for color. Should pick up the colors of the framed 16 x 20 fairy print I plan to have on an easel in front of the table nicely. Slowly but surely... this is starting to come together.

Open, a bookstore and art gallery in Long Beach, California in Long Beach, California is sponsoring this week’s topic, “open“, and in a show opening November 3rd — in less than a month — they will display 25 IF entries. Which 25? That’s up to you, the loverly IF community! You get to vote on your favorites to decide which ones go up on the walls.

(ahem) New painting.

♥ These are the last few days to cast your vote (until Friday 10/19) so if you are so inclined: Go here, and click the text that reads "Vote here for entries on the theme: open". You'll see little stars (wait for them to load, there are a lot of entries!) next to each thumbnail. Clicking on the star turns it red and registers your vote. You must be logged in, and you only get 5 votes. Enjoy!

Michelle, one of my artist-mama-soul-sisters, has gotten it exactly right:

A few dozen people around the United States have decided I am not good enough, not compelling enough, not original enough. And I let those few people negate 5 years of people that BUY my art, LOVE my art, take PLEASURE in my art. I lost my joy for what makes me happiest.... So my decision is not to quit my art, but to quit commercialism.

It's very easy to get discouraged when I look at all the other children's books, art in galleries, licensed materials, and think "I could do this better" or "There's no room for me." Michelle, Jill, and I have been doing a lot of talking lately, and realize that it's the need to create that fuels us. We would do it even if nobody was paying attention. It doesn't mean you don't still strive for success, or recognition, it's just that you put it in its proper place.

The art comes first.

So.

Yesterday I was really frustrated because after all the planning for the business cards, when I was ready to send them, they upped the minimum quantity to 250, instead of 100 (meaning I couldn't do three, possibly could only manage one, had to start all over again). Paul helped me see that I was spending too much time researching printers and not enough time doing what I loved (painting, designing, getting ready for the fair), so we decided that for now we'll print the cards here, on glossy card stock, off our printer. I can do as many as I want, bring them all to the fair, and see which ones get taken; that'll help me decide which ones to get for real, when I'm not pressed for time. Done. (And thank you for those who voted, because you all pretty much win. :)

That decision made, I took a walk downtown and got my hair cut. At least three inches off the bottom, some bangs, colored it too. The hairdresser barely spoke and it was lovely - blessedly quiet except the radio, I didn't need to make small talk, and I felt like I was doing something else good for myself (last haircut was at least a year ago, maybe longer, as I am a pretty low-maintenance kind of a girl). Check.

Most importantly, I started a new painting. I want to do it for this week's Illustration Friday, but in reality, it's to keep my sanity. Even if I work on it for 1/2 an hour a day, it's not on the computer, there is no undo, and if it doesn't work out nobody cares but me. I thought at first I was crazy to start something new, but now I realize it's not crazy at all. Not enough painting makes me verrrrry cranky (and David, I haven't forgotten Alice, she's almost done!).

And as another reminder to myself to stop being so frustrated and tense, today would have been John Lennon's 67th birthday today. Go visit ImaginePeace.com and add your thoughts of peace to the millions of others.

Post has been removed because of excessive whining. Things are looking up. Will post more later. ♥

Thank you, everyone, for your input into the cards. But now I am so confused I don't know what to pick. :) At least I like all of them! So I'm going to sit on it over the weekend, print them all out, look at them carefully, and remind myself that I am only printing 100 at a time, so it's not a major committment. I run out, I print different ones. It's picking the first 2 that's stumping me...

What I did yesterday was big-time scheduling. I had the calendar out, and amidst the class trips, doctor's visits, and playdates, I carved out definite dates that I would do two shopping trips (one for the art store, one for Christmas shopping), and one date to place orders online. I also snagged the first slot next Saturday morning at our local photo studio to get the kiddos' portrait done. Last time we did it, they had to resort to Photoshop tricks to get the three of them in the same pic, and it was reassuring to know that it wasn't just me who had to do that.

I've also been compiling a load of helpful links, here are a few:
Flickr's "Do More" page - lots of options to print and make things out of your images. I thought I wanted to make the Moo cards, but now that I see the dimensions (long and skinny) I don't think they're going to work for me. Still keep exploring the other options from their partners to see if I missed something. :)

Preparing for a Craft Fair - this and many other posts (and wonderful comments from you guys!) are getting the old brain ticking overtime. Keep 'em coming!

Printing - while I dearly, dearly love this printer, they don't do short runs on business cards. So I'm going to give these guys a try.

As I mentioned yesterday, I figured out that I can swing more than one business card, which is good, because out of all the designs I came up with, it boiled down to which picture people liked best. I revised them, figuring that if I had two (or three) that went together, they should actually match as a set, so... which ones work for you? I have two that are my definite favorites, but I'm not saying which 'till people weigh in. For the vertical ones, the contact info will go on the back. What do you think? (And did I overlook some piece of artwork that would make for a great card?)

Brand new video! Maybe showing this to the kiddos will convince them once and for all that he is not saying "pinkeye, pinkeye, doo" which is what they love to scream whenever this song plays at my house.

On the holiday front: I sent out a few emails, made some calls, and did a little hunting on amazon yesterday. All adding to my growing gift list; all I'll have to do then is divide it up into what gets ordered online, and what I go out to the store for. Currently looking up Star Trek YA novels for my nephew, who digs Data and Spock. I love that boy.

Getting crafty: Made a ton of business card designs and sent them to the Inner Circle for feedback. Realized that everyone was choosing them based on which illo they liked better, so have done more research and found another printer that does smaller runs (meaning I could print 2 or 3 pics/designs instead of just one, for actually less money.) I also confirmed the size of my table and started to draw out plans of what needs to go where. It's a start!

A few years ago, I documented step-by-step my endeavors to get my Christmas cards, including finishing up a new one, to the printer (start at 10/13 and work your way up if you want to read). I was pregnant with twins and had a 8-month old that needed surgery, but I was determined that if nothing else, these darn things were going to get printed or I would die trying. So I held myself accountable by posting every night what I had done for the day, just to keep myself moving forward.

So now I have two large items on my plate that I want to get done in the month of October:

1. To have all the Christmas shopping done (yes, I know y'all think I am insane, but I like to have it done super-early so that I can spend more time making cookies and watching Rudolph and enjoying my family). November is for cards and wrapping and making stuff.

2, which is way more urgent: I am doing a craft fair in the second week of November. I have never done anything like this before. So, other than knowing I want to bring my holiday cards and prints to sell, I have to figure out all the other details - what else do I want to make? (I'm thinking magnets and possibly magic wands.) Do I paint anything new for this? How will I present it all? Holey moley, I need business cards, so I better send those out first so I have them back on time.... see what I'm talking about? Massive amounts of planning will be needed, and then swift action. Oh yes, and heaps of creativity, which I'm not worried about so much as being too tired to carry an idea out.

So. I'm going to post here, every day, some sort of accountability note that I did something towards one or both of my goals for that day. You might learn something new, or you might be an old hand at this and have great ideas to pass on. In any case, don't be shy and feel free to comment.

And if nothing else, I hope this message comes through... you can do pretty much anything if you have a plan and work hard.

A pic from yesterday's Hoboken gig. That's supastar Sophie onstage with me, holding my hand and shaking her little maraca. By the end of the second set, the stage was full of kids playing percussion instruments, air guitarists each trying to outdo each other, and a group of giggly preteen girls I was trying to organize into backup dancers. It was so much fun! (Now, if only it hadn't taken us 1.5 hours to find a parking space...)

I will be one of the Silly Friends singing backup for Marc this weekend at the Hoboken Art and Music Festival. If you're in the area, bring the kids and come boogie down!

There's a story that goes like this: a man's house was so full of people that he had no room to move or do anything. So he went to a wisewoman, who told him, "Take all your goats, and bring them into the house." He went back to her a few days later and she told him, "Take all your chickens, and bring them into the house." He eventually is told to bring ALL his farm animals into the house, so he does.

Now he not only has crying babies and demanding relatives, but also dogs and pigs and ducks underfoot. The noise is horrible, the smell is worse. He can't understand why the advice isn't helping. So he goes back to the wise woman. She tells him, "Now take all your chickens, and bring them OUT of the house." He does. Eventually, all the animals are out of the house, and he's left with his relatives. They're noisy, he has no privacy and no room, but at least his house isn't full of animals. He realizes that what he had to begin with wasn't so bad after all. Because it could always be worse.

Things are kind of crazy right now at my house. Make that insane. So my mantra is: It could be worse. I'm not going to go into my list, because it's whiny and kind of morbid to write out what could be worse, but let's just say, I'm trying hard to be thankful for the blessings that I have.

I was going to ask people to write their "Could be worse" list, but instead, could you leave me a note about something you personally feel blessed about? It would help. ♥

When I go on my morning walks, sometimes some bit of nature calls out to me - a handful of acorns, a smooth rock for my pocket, or the blank canvas of a piece of bark.

When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that's called worry. When you think about God's Word over and over in your mind, that's called meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from problems to Bible verses. The more you meditate on God's Word, the less you have to worry about.

~ The Purpose Driven Life

For a girl who spends large quantities of time worrying (and mostly about things I have no control over), it's reassuring to know that I am already almost a pro at meditating once I do a little switch. Whether Bible verses work for me or not I still have to see.

I was searching online the other day because I wanted to try to find in the Bible where it mentions anything about God, creativity, and loving those who use their talents. That's another post now, because I found this instead: "Why God Loves Little Boys."

Okay, it's innocuous enough, God loves little boys for their eagerness, pride, wit, and "into their hands he has placed the future of all living things." The illustration shows them fishing, boating, trying to catch something in a net. Fine. But check out the companion piece: "Why God Loves Little Girls." And seriously, I start to get very, very angry.

Because apparently, God wants little girls to sit around and pick flowers all day, and "to dance and sing and giggle and wink." Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! I wish I was making this up. I was expecting maybe something about little girls being mothers and teachers of the future generations, about growing to be strong women. What I wanted to find was basically the same wording as the boys' one, but with "girls" in there. Didn't God also give girls eagerness, pride, wit, strong bodies to move and play and work with? Apparently not.

I know this is an older print, but it's only from the 80's! I pray that nobody hangs this in their kid's room, and teaches them that God expects nothing from them but to look pretty and dainty. I have nothing against "rainbows and dimples and bees", but for God's sake, give a girl some credit. Maybe I need to make my own poster about what I pray God really feels about Little Girls....

I did this illustration for our own wedding invitation; I'm all mushy-romantic like that. :) It's framed on our dresser with this cutout from a newspaper that my best friend Kirsten gave us... I think the rest of the headline read "with soccer" and it was from the high school sports section of her local paper. Works for me!

And because I can't leave well enough alone, here's another one: I did this illustration for my sister-in-law's wedding invitation...



My friends Jon and Liz wanted an invitation that showed what a long journey it had been. This was what I painted for the outside:


And here was the inside:



(I love weddings!)