Be AMAZED!!!!

First and foremost, before I even get anywhere into a mad novel of sorts, I have to post about my upcoming solo artshow at Hair West. That's the postcard to the left. <------

For more info on that, check out my Events page @ http://www.lernie.com/events.html.

I'm working on a few small pieces to put in the show, and a couple of new newer pieces will be there, too.

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Ok, now on to other current stuff. For those of you Thyroid Sisters/Bros out there, latest update: So far the Doc is keeping me on my same dosage of Levoxyl. It's still a huge pain because I have to keep track of what dose is on what day since she's got me alternating my dosages. One day is 112 mcg and the next is 125 mcg. I'm not looking forward to the end of the year, however, as she is planning on taking me off my meds, YET AGAIN, so I can have ANOTHER RAI-123 Scan test. YUCK!!!

Anyone who's been off their thyroid meds, esp. those of you who have NO thyroid left will commiserate on this with me. It's like you go into this incredibly deep depression and feel like you literally have a 200 lb. weight laying on top of you. It totally bites. At any rate, the scan test is to make sure that there are no active Thyroid Cancer cells running amuck inside my body. I don't think there are, but best not mess with anything and take the stupid test.

I saw the weirdest thing this weekend. Chalk it up to people are freakin' CRAZY!!! My kids and I had gone down to Temecula with my sister and her kids to watch a musical that one of her students was in. On the way back to her place, driving down the I-15 to Elsinore, there was an unusual amount of traffic. We're saying unusual because there's NEVER any traffic in this particular area. We both gathered there might've been some sort of accident.

As we neared the area where everything was at a stand still because traffic is trying to maneuver around these stopped cars, we begin to slowly drive past partly because of looky-loos. As we do so, we see this car stopped in the emergency lane beside the FAST LANE. This isn't the strange part. The strange part is that there is this woman who appeared to be in her 30's standing in the FAST LANE totally bitching out the dude in the driver's seat. She's also waving her hands at traffic who are stopped in front of her as if to say "GO ON! GO AHEAD AND HIT ME! KILL ME NOW!" then her waving back at the driver in what must've been her car "THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT ISN'T IT???"

Bear in mind, it was one of those strange things that makes you want to rub your eyes and ask, "Did you just see what I saw?" Everything was completely slow-motion. I think all of us drivers were worried this crazed woman was going to start darting across the other lanes of traffic. Truly, it makes you wonder what got into that person that she felt the need to do such an insane thing. I've been perusing the news wondering what happened to that couple. Hopefully the driver was able to coax the woman back into the car without her getting hurt.

I had the best Birthday :-D

Yesterday was my birthday and it was a blast! Chris and the kids took me to the Descano Gardens in Flintridge. I'd heard great things about these gardens so I really wanted to go. Chris could not have ordered a more perfect morning to take me there. Just take a gander of what we saw while hiking around. Bear in mind that these are only a few of the 70 pics I took out there :-D

Funniest part was that there was this mini-train that you could take around this small section of the gardens. You sort of sit on it like you would on say, Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsled and ride it around. It made me feel like a little kid, but we all had a great time


I love Huntington Library and it's gardens, but I must admit, I like the not quite as formal feeling you get from the Descano Gardens. It almost feels like you're hiking around in nature as opposed to a formal garden area. It's just gorgeous out there!

We hung out for an hour or so just meandering around the grounds and taking in the scenery around us. We were amazed at how many camellias there were in the gardens. Then we realized why when Chris read in the guide that Mr. Boddy, who owned the LA Daily News, also used to supply Camellias to the local florists.

I'm seeing a few ideas in my head for new paintings. Maybe I'll paint some new landscapes from some of the photos I took.

Later on Chris cooked a small feast for my birthday dinner. My sister and her family came over and so did my parents. It was mellow but nice. We even got the guys to watch "Under the Tuscan Sun" (partially in honor of the fact that my sis and her family are all going to Tuscany for part of my Brother-In-Law's landscape architect degree). Sure, it's considered a 'chick-flick', but how can you not love the incredible scenery???

Oh and you have to see this 'cookie cake' that my girls made for my bday. It was SO YUMMY!!!! heheeh

It's My Birthday Weekend...YEAH!!!

You're never too old to enjoy your birthday. Mine's tomorrow. I can't wait. We're going to these gardens that I've heard so much about...Descano Gardens. I'm bringing my camera because you never know what you'll see on an adventure to a new place. Maybe something will inspire me there.

Also, I recently found out that I'm going to have a solo show in Newport Beach. It's actually at a hair salon out there. It occurs to me that my solo shows have always been in somewhat unique venues. I've been in restaurants, coffeehouses, hair salons...I've even had work show in a rehab center of all places (no, I wasn't in rehab, but the curator of the show was using the wall space for shows. hehe)

This is going to be fun, though. The atmosphere at "Hair West" is very artsy. It's colorful, and while it's a small venue, I think it'll be a nice place to feature my art for a month. Exposure is what it's all about, folks. I paint because I love to paint, but sometimes it's nice to share it with the world. If someone decides to buy, that's a nice perk ;-) I'll post the invite when I have a chance.