T-Rex arms.

A design flaw for sure but having short arms came in handy when it came to things like sweeping the floor, reaching things on high shelves and fighting over the check in restaurants. (This one is for you Lisa! hee-hee)

Friday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for really nice people in this world.

Inspiration.

Kinda says it all. I have this quote on my inspiration board in my office. I love it!

Thursday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for computer classes that are enlightening yet have a touch of humor. My CSS class tonight, tragic yet comical at the same time.

Illustration Friday_Multiple

Multiple circles. Sometimes life has me running around in multiple circles.

My oh my, what a look!

This is the guilty dog.


This is the guilty paw of the guilty dog. (Please note blue paint on furry edges of paw.)


These are the paintings that the guilty dog walked across while we left them out to dry.

This moment.

Very late work night last evening, long day today, short post tonight.

Wednesday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for meaningful conversations that take my mind out of my reality for a few moments.

And the sky was on fire.

This was the lovely sunset from a few days ago. Mmmm, mmm.

Five. It's all about the #5.

I have been tagged by krissysart and here are the rules: 1. link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4. let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. So here goes:

1. I have a thing about drinking out of clear glasses. I only like clear glasses. They can be colored but I need to be able to see through the glass. I really dislike solid cups and glasses.

2. My first job was working at Conroy's Flower Shop in Orange, Ca. as a floral designer. On Easter I dressed up in fluffy bunny suit with a full bunny head and stood on the corner waving to passerbys. Even though it was a hot day, I was all set with my Walkman and my "dance mix" cassette tape of Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Simple Minds and Madonna. I wouldn't be caught dead in that suit now though!

3. My favorite sweet treats are chocolate covered marshmallows with caramel from Sees Candy and chocolate dipped apricots. If I indulge, these are my first two choices.

4. I really, really like to sing while I drive. Not just hum along to a tune but really belt it out and play the music loud. Of course I don't do this when other people are in the car (unless of course the mood strikes us!)

5. I have a twin sister. We are identical and through the years we have only played one joke on our boyfriends.

That's it. I am now tagging miss j, holliconger, gina perry, leeza hernandez and barron henzel.

For a Swimmingly good Time...

These are the posters I created for my son's school to promote the big Auction/Gala event happening this weekend. Our theme is "Ocean Odyssey" and hopefully these posters prompted folks to run and get their tickets for this very fun event. I was feeling sort of down about the whole thing as so much time, effort and energy has gone into making this event a successful one and we weren't getting the numbers we need in ticket sales to support our goals. BUT things are turning around, of course at the last minute, but never the less they are looking up. Just a few more days and then my crazy spinning world will come to a slow crawl so if I can just hang in there...

Today I was talking to a director about a slide show that is going to be presented at the event and I offered my graphics to help out. Knowing the mound of commitments on my plate, what did I say during this conversation? "Would you like me create a template in PowerPoint for you?" WHAT? Why can't I just forward a few jpg's and let someone else create this? Why do things like this come out of my mouth, spilling forth like a busted dam? I think I have a serious problem. My problem being I just can't say NO or that I need to continuously over extend myself. Jeez, one more thing I have to work on. It's a never ending journey for me I tell you, I know I thrive on deadlines and last minute details but somethings gotta give soon or I am going to give myself a heart attack. OK, after Saturday, I just gonna start saying NO. Ha!

On another note, my newly appointed Cub Scout went with his little "pack" on a field trip to City College to tour their radio station. It was quite fun, more fun for the adults than the kids I think though. I seriously enjoyed myself! And I learned a little history about jazz music too!

Tomorrow will be a day of escape for me. I am taking my son, his friend and his friend's mom (who is a good friend of mine to boot) to Disneyland. I know, I know I was just there. But this time it is for my son's birthday and he chose this over a party! Wa-hoo, I am out of planning a kid's party this year AND I get to have a fun time as well! Double Wa-hoo!

Tuesday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for a solid car to drive around and cart me around from point A to point B and some fluff in between.

I think I love her.

I saw the cutest thing today. It was a girl on a bike. OK, you say, that is not something out of the ordinary in southern California. Well, let me tell you, she was so cute because she had these funky cat eye glasses, wild short firey red hair and she wore this "throw any thing at me today because I'm just gonna smile my way through it" attitude that was so refreshing and readable from far away. At that particular moment, I wanted to hop on MY bike and throw around a little "kick butt" attitude myself. I heart this red headed girl peddling her way into people's hearts, she couldn't have been any more perfect for that moment!

Monday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful to be done painting six really, really large canvases for an upcoming social event! Ya-hoo!

I just can't help myself.

I have this thing for quotes. Sometimes one will just jump off a page or out of a book and literally glue itself to my eyeballs until I take notice. Lately so many words, quotes, lyrics, etc. have been speaking to me, almost like they have been written and formed just for me. How can I not take notice when the world is throwing itself, raw and naked at me in the form of words? I can't. I try, but I can't. I try to go on with my life and not notice so much because it takes time to stop, ponder, relate and absorb. It takes time away from a really hectic swirly tornado of commitments that is spinning above my head. But alas, I stop and take notice because those words have noticed me. I just can't help myself.

Today I bought a ton of really large canvases. I have so many ideas for them, I can't wait to get started!

On another note, I was cracking myself up last night at dinner. During my really fabulous meal, we were served a "special" appetizer from the chef which was a really, really, tiny, tiny slice of toast with goat cheese, sour cherries with a lovely reduction sauce. That is not the funny part, the funny part is that it reminded me of a lunch I had with my friend from LA last weekend and we ordered french toast and a white egg omlet and when the french toast order came out, it was the size of a crouton. Literally. AND the restaurant wasn't kidding, that just happens to be the unfortunate size of their french toast. Apparently the shredded coconut makes up for the size. Delicious but not filling in the least. This so called appetizer was the same in the sense that size has nothing to do with the delicate art of food. So back to my meal last night. I ordered a NY steak with blue cheese on top and I have to say it was the most delicious thing I think I have ever eaten. I rarely order or eat meat but last night this steak cut like butter and was the most amazing burst of flavor in my mouth. Everything was great, more than great, including the crouton sized appetizer. This is one of my favorite restaurants now. It is Jack's in La Jolla. It was voted one of the 5 top restaurants in San Diego and one of the top 10 restaurants in the NATION! I'll be back.

Sunday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for finishing projects and the feeling of accomplishment that goes hand in hand with completion.

A few of my favorite things.

Orange Gerbera Daisies. One of my favorite flowers. They make me smile. I am also smiling because I just got the news that a local restaurant here in San Diego may be displaying my paintings as well as the salon I mentioned earlier. I swear, you gotta be careful what you ask for because you just may get that and even more! Today was a productive day. I LOVE productive days. Gerbera daisies and productive days, just a few of my favorite things. Life is good, motivate.

Saturday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for the lovely meal I will be eating in about 2 hours at Jack's in La Jolla for a birthday celebration. I am sure it will be nothing short of fabulous and I am so grateful to be able to partake.

Yipee!

Hooray! It's Birthday Weekend! Around here, I try to make a big deal about birthdays. It's one day that is yours and yours alone. (Unless of course you happen to be a twin like me and ALWAYS have to share your special day so then you HAVE to celebrate for the ENTIRE MONTH because you always get gipped!) Happy, happy birthday R!

Today I was getting my haircut and my hairdresser has moved to a new salon. As soon as I got into the chair, she said out loud how they like to display artist's work on their walls and how I should have my art on those walls. Then she called the owner over to me and introduced me to her and gave me her card so I can email her my art. Whoa! This is one of my dreams. To have my very own art hanging in a public place is something I have ALWAYS wanted and just the other day I said it out loud and have been thinking about it and sent it out to the universe. Well, someone has been listening. I better get painting!! I have so many ideas in my head! Thank you so much for facilitating this Amy!!

Friday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for unexpected opportunities that pop up when you aren't even looking!

It's Official.

Yup, it's official. I got me a genuine lil'Cub Scout. Tonight was the big "Pack" meeting and my son was announced as the newest member. I was at a computer class learning more Dreamwaver so I missed it but got the full report from my husband. I don't think the meeting went as well as planned in my son's eyes. Too much attention for one little guy I am afraid. But he is sticking with it because I went to the Cub Scout store today, who knew there was an entire store with uniforms and patches and all kinds of scouting gear, and picked up the official uniform. After sewing on a bunch of patches and rushing the finished product to the school so my son could quickly change into it and feel like a real Cubbie, I'd say he definitely is sticking with it. I also was talked into being a Den Mom and was almost talked into purchasing MY own uniform! Ha! (I think I'll see how it all goes before I commit to wearing a khaki shirt and matching pants with God only knows what else.)

Thursday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for friends who are easy to talk to over a nice cup of joe!

8 little letters.

Motivate. This is just 8 little letters. They make up one powerful word. Little did I know when I picked this as my word for 2008, my word to jump start and keep me moving, that it would come to haunt me. Well, maybe haunt is too strong of a word to use but I tell you I am held very accountable now by 8 little letters. EIGHT TINY LITTLE LETTERS. I can't sleep without making sure I have tackled something that steers me toward the direction of my goals. It is great in a tiny squeaky voice in your head kind of way. I'll take it though and take it proudly. Me and my 8 little letters. Motivate.

This is my list of goals for this year and I am proud to say I have done about half of these already. Motivate is definitely my word!

1. Develop and refine illustration style.
2. Write children's book.
3. Finish illustrating previous children's book.
4. Paint something every week.
5. Update website.
6. Learn more Dreamweaver and maybe some Flash (yikes).
7. Take more photographs.
8. Express more gratitude.
9. Tell people how much they are appreciated more often.
10. Live simply and in the moment.


Wednesday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for crock pot dinners that turn out great.

she's just an 80's throwback.

This little chicken unabashedly wears her leg warmers, prancing around the coop crooning to the tunes of Devo, Cindy Lauper and Depeche Mode. Oh, to have such abandon!

Tuesday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for the opportunity to speak my mind in the protected forum of friendship and not be judged.

Smitten, then bitten.

Tonight I fell asleep while reading to my son. This is one of the best ways to fall asleep, this little being nestled up right next to me, telling tiny stories about random things in life. Life can't really get much better than that. So this made me think about how he makes me feel and I can't get the word smitten out of my head. I am just smitten with his innocence, the beauty of his inquisitiveness and his very funny sense of humor.
I suppose I am smitten with a few other things in my life right now too. I seem to have this creative fire that cannot be put out. Everyday I am overwhelmed with thoughts of "What can I create today?" The ideas just seem to keep springing from my mind, needing life. I've got to take this and run with it. I can't be any other way. Yes, I am just smitten.

smit·ten –adjective
1. struck, as with a hard blow.
2. grievously or disastrously stricken or afflicted.
3. very much in love.

Monday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for a long afternoon/evening hike I took with my family to watch the sun set over San Diego.

Illustration Friday_Theory

The seahorse has a long, prehensile tail which it will curl around any support such as seaweed to prevent being swept away by currents. In theory, this is a good idea, but there is something to be said about being swept away!

Action and intention.

Your life is your art, your own creation constantly in the making. You are designing it moment by moment with your every intention and the actions that follow. -- Gary Zukav

Sunday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for pockets full of advice from a very wise and soulful friend. Thank you my friend for a lovely day!

Say cheese, or not.

Sometimes even the daisies don't smile.

Saturday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful my best friend of 21 years is coming down from LA today. I think I need a big dose of her friendship right about now.

Fair, what's fair?

This is a very personal post so consider yourself forewarned!

Yesterday, I was told that my cousin's wife was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. I am incredibly saddened by this. When ever I think too deeply about this concept, I am reduced to a blubbering ball of tears. She is one of THE nicest people you could ever know and if she was your friend, you would treasure that friendship and hold on tight because that kind of trueness doesn't come around alot in life. I don't know how to reach out to her, to offer some meager form of comfort or understanding seems insulting or more like a slap in the face because there is NO WAY anyone could possibly know what she is going through. I don't know how long she has, the details are somewhat fuzzy and blurred. But I do know that she is married to a man she truly loves and has a college age daughter and a teenage son she will be leaving behind and I am sure that scares the crap out of her.

I have been thinking about death quite a bit in the past few years. Too much cancer and death has touched my life and now I seem to be scarred. It's not that I want to think about death and how short life really is, I don't, at all. I wish I could just focus on the here and the now without feeling the nagging thought tapping at the back of my brain that everything must come to an end. At times I am able to do this, I just want that freedom more often.

Hmmm, today is just gonna be a sad, sad day. I guess that's what makes us human, the uncanny ability to feel raw emotions.

Gladden those hearts.

Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind. --Henri-Frederic Amiel

Shower for 2?

Tonight when I was taking a shower to go out, a spider invited herself in. I didn't notice until I was drying myself off and saw her crawling towards my toes. Ahhhh, uninvited guests.

Friday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for little children who see their parent's eyes fill with tears when given bad news and don't ask questions but dish out hugs.

The Day of Love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thursday Gratitude:
I am grateful for a day of rain, my sister's company and a houseful of kids (who unfortunately have eaten too much candy, but I love them all none the less. Even if they aren't all mine.)

I heart life.

Oh, Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Here is another redundant, oops, I mean sparkle of love. : )

Today, I helped out at my son's school. We are having a really huge event coming up and all the classes are preparing art for the big event in hopes to raise lots o' cash for the school. I ended up helping the 4th grade class paint a large canvas in a Van Gogh style. OK. I suppose I should leave my propensity for perfection at the door because between all the drips and smooshed smears, I was literally cringing on the inside and seriously wanting to poke my eyes out with the sharp end of one of the paint brushes. A few kids got it. They understood the brush stroke style and actually did pretty good. BUT the others didn't. I am a very patient person but man I was tested today. Is it so bad of me that after each group of kids left, I snuck over and made a few improvements? Should I have let the disaster speak for itself and resisted the urge to create something that someone may actually want to hang in their house? I am talking a really large canvas here. We are not preschoolers making preschool brown folks. I hang my head in shame and admit to not letting the fallen leaves lie, the eggs hatch on their own, the expression of little souls shout out to the world their creativity. But boy does it look good now. Someone will want this masterpiece and it STILL does look kid-like. I always secretly wanted to be a kid's art teacher but now I am not so sure. Sigh.

Wednesday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for 8 miles of power walking today. My heart and head are clear.

It's in the air.

Mmmm, count me in.

Tuesday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for good clean salty air.

Gratitude.

Oh. Before I forget...

Monday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for the warm California sun and how it shines upon the city and it's dwellers.

Illustration Friday_Choose

Seymour Squirrel, a happy-go-lucky varmint by nature, had to choose between leaving his happy home or tossing the newest acorn aside to keep what he already had.

Scouting for scouts.

Ooooo, another new adventure with my son. He wants to join Cub Scouts. I am excited for him but apprehensive for me. I really am not sure what to expect, but I envision camp outs with a whole gaggle of 6-7 year old boys rough housing around a camp fire, singing songs that include bodily functions, loud voices and silly talk until the wee hours of the morning while sleeping in a bag on the ground. Don't get me wrong. I AM a camper. I can camp along with the best of them BUT for some odd reason, this doesn't sound like a whole bunch of fun for a girl. I'm gonna suck it up and hope for the best. Because why? It's not about me! Gulp. Our first meeting is tomorrow.

Sunday Gratitude:
I am so grateful for such a lovely day. The weather, the lunch, the conversation, a looooong walk. Yup, it was a lovely Sunday.

Would you rather???

Would you rather... Eat toenail clippings OR a scanky old used bandaid?

Our little family of three likes to play this game called "Would you rather?" The object of the game is to think of two really, really gross things that the other person would have to choose between doing, and you have to pick one. This is an illustration of one of my favorites. (It is not the grossest one but little six year old boys can be rather crude and I didn't want to illustrate some of the other options.)

Saturday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for truly great friendships and the humor of six year old little boys.

One life to live.

I have been frantically trying to get prepared for an upcoming project that is about to swing me into running with my head cut off chicken mode, but I did find time to do a quick illo for another project I have been working on with my sister. She is the one who does the fabulous belt buckles and I thought cute t-shirts were in order. Planning and proto type stages, but never the less forging ahead one day at a time. That's all we can do and it is better than not doing anything at all!

Friday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for good health and a good life.

Lunar New Year!

Today begins the Lunar New Year. It is the year of the rat. Usually gross little creatures that scurry about but not in this context. Those born in the Year of the Rat are clever and bright, ambitious, have broad interests and strong ability in adapting to the environment. They are able to react adequately to any changes. These rats, I like! Way to go rat people!

Thursday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for lots of freelance work and good strong coffee.

hearts, smarts.

OK, OK! This Valentine's Day thing has thrown me for a loop. Usually, I feel that this is a gratuitous day that people feel they HAVE to show some display of love towards a significant other and quite simply I don't buy it. That kind of stuff should be done on a regular basis throughout the year, not saved up for one desperate day. This has been my usual ground on Valentine's Day. Except for today. My mind was thinking hard about February 14th and now maybe it's not so bad to have one day just centered around love, being kind, expressing yourself to others. Maybe in some circumstances, that is all that some people get, one day of love. So, sigh, I suppose I am going to change my regular ol' way of thinking and embrace the Day of Love. So here are some hearts just for the occasion.

Today. I gave my son a day off from school today. He has been saying he doesn't want to go to school, he doesn't like it, school is hard and some of the kids don't want to play the same games. So he got a health day today. One day off. I talked to my son's teacher yesterday about his statements and she told me that he is one of the first to get his work done and has extra time before it's supposed to be finished. She said he is in the top reading group and he reads really well. He has lots of friends and they seem to all get along pretty well. She was surprised that I was hearing this from him as he is a good student. So, I thought maybe he just needed a day off. And that's what he got.

We went to the Corvette Diner today for lunch. This is a 50's diner where they play music from that genre and the waitresses wear 50's attire, talk very loudly and throw straws and Bazooka gum at you. I heart that place. I ordered a hamburger with PEANUT BUTTER on it with cheddar cheese and bacon. I was told it was the bomb so I ate it and now I am so in love with PB burgers! So, so, so very yummy. Really! Then K and I stepped into the photo booth and took some pictures of ourselves clowning around. I hope he remembers this day for a while because I will for a lifetime. Just me and the kid. Priceless.

Wednesday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for a wonderful child. He is absolute perfection and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Plum tucker'd out.

My Daily Illustration is of a business card I sent out for printing today. I really would love to create something specific for my blog but that'll have to wait until tomorrow because I am plum tucker'd out. That's how I feel tonight. I think when my peeps and I went out for coffee and dessert post wine and appetizers last night, the coffee lady gave me a REGULAR Americano instead of DECAF. At 10:30 pm. So needless to say, I think I totaled about 4 hours of sleep. This being said, my post is short tonight. I'm going to bed with the kid and that'd be right about now.

Tuesday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for being overloaded with work right now. As crazy as it was today, trying to get things off to the printer, make changes to some packaging, meet someone about a mural and create new ideas for a website project, I really felt the adrenaline from being pushed to make deadlines. I miss that quite a bit. So I am grateful for these times when they come along. It's all good. Goodnite!

My peeps + sweet treats = FUN!

Just got back from a "meeting" with a very fun group of gals. It was an official gathering or a meeting of sorts to discuss the positions and "to do list" for our Gala committee for our children's school, but the meeting was held at an Italian eatery/wine bar with excellent wine and light food dishes so very little was discussed of the event (that by the way is coming upon us very quickly and is much like planning a wedding!) Very fun night. Very good food. Very good wine. Oh, and very good coffee and dessert too! Never the less, the decorations are going to be fabulous, just fabulous. I can't wait to see how all this is going to pan out.

On another note, earlier tonight, my son exclaimed that he doesn't like to read. In fact he stated "I HATE reading. I like the idea of death better than reading." WHAT!!!!!! I can't believe this came out of my son's mouth today or any other day for that matter. Reading is one of my very favorite things to do on this earth and we have spent countless hours at the library pouring over books from the time he was very, very young. I would say we say made at least 300 trips to the library during the six and a half years of his short life. All this for naught? I am choosing to believe he said this for the shock factor. We read numerous books daily and we pick out very interesting stories to read and discuss. IF this is true, he is not from my genes. So then I ask, where did this kid come from? Ah, I am envisioning and early ending to my life with a statement like that! Out of the mouth of babes....

Illustration Friday_Blanket

Ouch. When you got issues, and big issues like your homework isn't finished or some bully is threatening your lunch money or gulp, you forgot to feed the class pet, a blanket statement is something you DON'T want to hear.

Lots to go around...

Happiness is an inside job.

Gratitude for Sunday:
I am grateful for more rain today, great independent films and a nice cup of decaf coffee.

Splash.

Have a whale of a good time!

Say what you mean.

I get alot of emails from people that are forwarded on and supposed to express some pertinent point or fill you with a tidbit of wisdom. I am sorry, but I usually delete these mails without reading them. There is usually some blinking graphic or lots of smiley faces included in the mail or the thought is really opinionated or very, very false and and it bugs me. So I usually don't read them. BUT, this one slipped by and grabbed something in my brain. One thing I have really been working on for the last year is really trying to tell people my thoughts of them when I see them or think of them instead of letting time go by with so much left unsaid, so that is why this one email spoke to me. Here I share with you and may it brighten your day.

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,

Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.

And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,

He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.

And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.

Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.

"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim.
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."

But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir," "Jim died today."

And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

Remember to always say what you mean.
If you love someone, tell them.

Don't be afraid to express yourself.
Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you.

Because when you decide that it is the right time
it might be too late.

Seize the day.
Never have regrets.

And most importantly, stay close to your friends and family,
for they have helped make you the person that you are today.

Saturday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful for little boys who tell their moms how much they love them. There is one little boy in particular who is my very favorite person in the whole world and I am so grateful to have him in my life. (I get to tell him that all the time too!)

Tiny Bubbles...

I am on a committee for my son's big auction Gala fundraising event. I get to do all the graphics for it and the sky is the limit as far as what I can create. (Of course there is a tiny squeaky budget for printing so I need to be very, very creative!) Our theme this year is "Under the Sea" or as I called it "Ocean Odyssey" to put some elegance and class to it so people won't be thinking Ariel and Flounder as this is a classy event at the Balboa Park Ballroom.

Since all the serious graphics are done, I am switching gears and now doing some marketing with a different look that is more geared towards the kids. This illustration is for a series of posters I am going to do to build up the event so we can get more people to buy tickets and attend. You'll see several of the characters I make in the next few days. I love my work as I get to incorporate illustration into it quite often. Life is good here.

Friday's Gratitude:
I am so grateful to have a job where I have the privilege to be very creative, have many different types of projects to work on and be extremely flexible with my schedule. Yep, it's all good.