Diary of a Quixotic Artist...What IS she thinking???

The Patch

2011-06-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking of that thing people paste on their bodies to stop an addiction, like smoking...or birth control or anything like that. I'm talking about "The Patch", a website for local cities all over the country. I'd never heard of them until yesterday, when I did Henna at the Crowell Public Library in San Marino, CA.

This was an event sponsored by the library for their young adults. It was a beautiful day, and the kids were great. They each got a little henna from me, and I talked to them about natural henna vs. black henna, as well as a few factoids about henna.

So...the "Patch" comes into the picture because one of their reporters, Kira Loomis, was there taking pictures and writing about the event. This is the article: "Henna Painting for Teens".

Thanks "San Marino Patch" and Kira for posting my website and writing about the event. The photos look great, too!

Pysanky 2011

2011-03-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm making Pysanky eggs again. I got another urge to jump back into 'painting' these. I love the intricacy of these traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs. So, I've got my dyes mixed and ready to go from Yevshan. All my supplies are set up and laid out.

I've realized as I do these, that the 'hobbies' and art work that I love doing best are a melange from other cultures. I mean, think about it, I'm a Henna Artist (traditionally an art form from India, Morrocco, etc.)...I paint these Pysanky (mostly known from the Ukraine, but I believe I've read some areas of Poland do these, too)...some of my favorite lacework to knit is from Estonia. Oh, and then I LOVE Russian Nesting Dolls or Matryoshka (those may be my next thing to try to paint). I'm like a 'world artist'. hehe

So, this is what I've come up with so far, with the help of my collection of Pysanky design books.

Kiana has gotten into this, too. She's created a few designs of her own that she may be using in her Senior show this year. I'm trying a new design that I've created, myself. It's for a friend's birthday present. We'll see if it works out. ;-)

So, enjoy the slideshow. I will more than likely be posting more as I go along.

Update on my World...Yep, it's January

2011-01-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

Whoah, it has been BUSY. A good busy, but busy nonetheless. First things first, I should mention that those tests came out pretty great. Turns out that the residual Thyroid cells have shrunk down a few mm. There doesn't appear to be any cancer cells...even cooler news! I do, however, have to still deal w/ an MRI next month. Since that ultrasound showed that I had enlarged Lymph Nodes, the doc wants to be sure it's nothing to worry about.

Henna has already been booking well. While Dec-Feb are dead months for me...usually for any Henna Artist...I've been getting quite a few gigs. YAY!!! :-D I'm throwing it out there to the universe that the momentum keeps up. I love my business...and I really dig my clients.

Since it's January, I've gone ahead and re-organized a few things in my studio. I now have a chest of drawers in there that used to be in the kids' room. We've remodeled their space and done something a little different w/ their furniture so they don't need them anymore. It's worked out great, and has created a bit more space in there. I'm loving it! I actually feel like its cozier in there, AND not so cluttered. Check it out:

So, let's see...Oh...last week, I did a networking event for a book promotion for Lynn Zavaro's "The Game of You" at the Big Red Sun. The Bungalow PR group invited me to do this event. I had a great time meeting new people and doing henna along w/ my friend Paula.

I've got more events like that coming up this year. Check out my page for more details and "Like" me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Henna-Body-Art-and-Soulmate-Fantasy-Paintings-by-Lernie/192733303069.

RAI Uptake day...Should be under heading of PURE FRUSTRATION

2010-11-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

I know. I dropped off w/ the menus I was doing for the low iodine diet. Honestly, the things I ate were all the same almost every day. The only difference was dinner. To date, I've lost about 5-6 lbs on the diet, which is cool, but still a PITA since it's so restrictive.

My pure frustration of the day: Damn Labs leading up to RAI uptake...oh, and my doctor who told me to do one of the labs on the wrong day.

I got my kids up early this morning (5am) so that we could get my labs done early. This was to get my kids to school on time and then get to my RAI uptake on time. The labs included a TSH blood draw and a urine (TMI) pregnancy test. People, I know this is a precaution, but seriously, I know there's no way it would test positive.

Anyways, that's what's holding up my uptake. The damn pregnancy test. Ladies, if you have to do uptake, be sure you doctor orders the test for the DAY BEFORE your RAI Uptake. This is royally screwing everything up. Quest told me the results would not be ready til TOMORROW MORNING! WTF???? So, I go in to Nuclear Med. The tech, who is wonderful and trying to help me out, tried another urine test so that we could get on with it. Unfortunately, the test showed up positive/ negative.

What this means for me? Yeah, I had to run up to the lab IN the hospital this time, for a blood draw (ick). I just found out around 10:30am, that those results will not be in until 12:30-1pm!!!! In the meantime, I can't eat ANYTHING until I can take the RAI capsule. So now, I'm tired, super hungry (haven't eaten since 6pm last night) and also a bit queasy from the Thyrogen shot of the last 2 days.

AAAAAARRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!!

I'll update later...hopefully w/ the news that I have finally taken the RAI.

Low Iodine Diet: Day 3

2010-10-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ok. I skipped my blog one day. Here's my Food Diary from Day 2 and 3.

Day 2:
Breakfast
Bowl of Irish Oatmeal w/ brown sugar--wasn't sure how I was going to feel about oatmeal sans milk, but this stuff was good! There's a hint of apple. I wonder if that's the nature of Irish Oatmeal.
Naked Juice Berry Blast

Lunch
Tabouleh Salad w/ lettuce

DinnerSplit Pea Soup

Snacks
Nuts
Pumpkin Seeds
Veg sticks (celery, yellow and red bell peppers, carrots) with homemade hummus

Day 3:

Breakfast
Naked Juice Mango

Lunch
Stew
3 Strawberries

Snacks
Nuts

Low Iodine Diet: Day 1

2010-10-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy weekend. Raqtoberfest 2010 on Saturday...met an amazing group of men and women who shared their drumming and dancing talents with all of us. Had a great time doing henna for all...also shopping ;-) Henna at Bernardo Winery on Sunday...this got pretty much spoiled by rain. HOWEVER, best part was hanging out w/ Kimberly and Monica. I've known Monica for years from one of my forums.

This was the first time I got to meet her since she's currently in CA for a job. She's pretty cool and totally tres Ya-Ya :-) We had coffee and yummies for breakfast, and later on in the day, when we realized how dead it was, went and did a bit of wine tasting.

So, after that weekend (the above description being a VERY brief summary), I didn't really have a huge amount of time to prep for my low iodine diet. In fact, I just got back about an hour ago from shopping for food stuffs. Can I just say? I LOVE Sprouts! I found quite a few things I CAN eat, but a lot of things I was hoping I could eat have unspecified salt content in them. This means I wasn't sure if it was iodized salt or not. MUCH of the salted products use sea salt, as well, so that got nixed immediately. (People, you can just forget about even tortillas, wraps, pita, bagels...best learn how to bake your own bread.)

Not one to be discouraged, I headed for the fresh produce. You really can't lose with that. I loaded up on all kinds of veg and fruits. Some will be sliced up to munch on throughout the day. Some will be put into a nice Tabouleh salad. I like this on top of fresh lettuce. Fills you up and tastes great. Best part, it's low fat and loaded with all kinds of good stuff.

More cool snackies: (all unsalted...love that Sprouts has this option) cashews, pumpkin seeds, raw trail mix.

Oh, and tahini. I bought some tahini to make hummus with. Yes, the garbanzo beans are canned. However, I've been told it's ok to have a few canned things, just not A LOT. I plan on rinsing the beans before I make the hummus.

Breakfast:
Naked Juice...Green Machine

Snack:
Handful of Raw Trail Mix

Lunch:
Tabouleh Salad on Romaine Lettuce

Snack:
6 Sliced Strawberries

(4:10pm...I'm STILL hungry! ugh)

Back home from a ceramics session. Good times. I just threw a keeper of a bowl today. Granted,there's going to be a little fixing to do come next Monday, but it's a bowl!

Dinner:
Stew made by Chris :-)
Munched on a handful of pumpkin seeds, too.

Dis-like...or "Crap...Low Iodine Diet, again???"

2010-10-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

I'll just jump right into the thyroid-fun. Don't worry, though. I'll end this with some fun art news.

So yes, it's that time. Time for another dang Thyrogen scan. On the upside, I WILL be getting thyrogen injections, which means that I DO NOT have to be off my meds at all. The downside, is that I have to follow a strict low iodine diet for 2 weeks.

In my Pollyanna mode, I will just tell myself to make it easier and become a rabbit. As in, mostly fresh fruits and veg, maybe some meat (I'm allowed 6 oz per day). All the other stuff I'm allowed to eat is just such a PITA because, as stated before, anything store-bought and ready-made has to be closely scrutinized for iodine content. The lazy in me just says f-it. Plus, this chunky frame could stand to lose some weight.

Stream of thought: Maybe I'll write a daily journal online of what I ate. This might be interesting. I wonder if any other thyroid patients would want to see that. Who knows.

Overall health. Meh. I've been feeling really off lately. It started around the time my doc lowered my dosage to 112mcg...generic this time. Levothyroxine, which is generic for levoxyl. Ew. Seriously. Several things began to happen to me: fatigue (but oddly enough, still restless), memory loss, one of my eyes is acting all weird (I can't keep my left eye open sometimes) to name a few.

My last thyroid panel showed that my levels are STILL high. Weird. So this time around, my new primary care doc put me on SYNTHROID 100mcg. I do feel a bit better, but my memory is still off. It's really bugging me because, for example, how do you forget that your 'uncle-in-law' passed away last year. WTF??? Honestly, there are days when I really feel like I'm losing my mind. My eye is better, but still does that weird half-close thing when I'm stressed or upset. However, my ultrasound showed that there are enlarged lymph nodes. hmmm

Good times.

Ok...art news. I've been unusually busy with henna. Actually, life all around has been insanely busy. Between kids' senior year, and all that goes with it, the family in general, and my business, I'm always on the go seems like.

Coming soon: Henna at Raqtoberfest in Pomona on Saturday, 10/16 and the Arts and Crafts Fair at Bernardo winery in San Diego on Sunday, 10/17.

Art: I've finished a few paintings for my oracle deck. YEAH!!!

Shows: Working on getting a group show going for HGofSC. So far, it's been about scouting out possible venues w/ my friend, Paula.

I'll be updating more event info as I go along on my Facebook Page:

That's it for now.
Peace out ;-)

I'm in the newspaper again! :-D

2010-05-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed with amazing opportunities this year. I've mentioned the Ellen Show and then also a photo in the OC Register from the Haiti Relief effort. On Monday, the OC Register ran a story on pregnant moms getting their bellies decorated to celebrate the upcoming births of their babies. My interview and photos along with Monica's hennaed tummy were heavily feature. SO EXCITING!!!!

Here's the article: "Belly Painting Popular for Pregnant Moms

Andy Templeton was the talented photographer, who took some great pics of me doing henna on Monica. I'd love to link the main image, but I think I have to get permission from the OC Register first. Courtney Perkes, the writer, did a great job on the article. She's awesome!

Thanks, Christy at Belly Sprout for making the initial connections possible. You rock!!!

As Seen on ELLEN

2010-03-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much, Ellen and producers for having me on your show. I had a wonderful time! Ok, wait. That came out wrong. It sounds like I was a guest...on stage...being interviewed. No. Not quite. That would have been amazing, but no, I was in the Riff Raff Room doing henna on the audience in there.

So, now you can tell your friends: Henna Body Art by Lernie...As Seen on the Ellen Show. ;-)

Wow...Lernie is officially a slug. WHAT UP???

2010-02-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Nah...just kidding. I'm a slug when it comes to updating my blogs. Now THAT I'm completely behind in. I mean, here it is, February 25 and I haven't even posted anything now.

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???

Ok, that would be because yours truly is busy doing a bazillion things at once. Here's my official list of things I am focusing on doing this year with my Paintings and Henna work:
* Make a YouTube vid featuring me doing henna (close-up on hands)
* Complete a new Henna Slide Show also on YouTube
* Create Henna Design book...Subject matter TBA in case someone else is thinking of these particular designs
* Photograph Henna Crafts, etc and post these on ETSY
* Work on Sketches for Oracle/Tarot deck.

That last bit is bold because it's imperative that I start work on these. I've been talking about doing this for awhile. I need to start work on this project ASAP. Why? Because think about how awesome a series of paintings would be around this. Again, it would be with my "Soulmate" painting style.

I'm typing all this out to hold myself a little more accountable in my goals. It makes it even more official in my head since I'm not just telling those close to me about this list. Now the whole net...rather those 2 or 3 readers out there...know.

It's been busy already. There've been a few henna gigs here and there. Lots happening with the family. My cousin got married in LV recently to what I see is the love of his life. Not only was it an amazing (but hectic) weekend, but I also got myself a brand new cousin, who, quite frankly, I think is pretty rad! There were a couple of pics of R and K from the wedding that I'm planning on creating some paintings from.

AND for my knitting friends...I'm FINALLY knitting up a project for JUST ME. The last few months have been all about knitting up presents for everyone else but me. So, it's my turn. I'm knitting "Alene's Wrap" (pattern) for myself. I'm about 2/3 done :-)

That's it for now. Check back at some point. I'm hoping to post pics from the above when I get the chance. It could be today, it could be next week. I'll surprise ya. ;-)

Whirlwind of Activity

2009-11-04T12:34:00.001-08:00

Finally a moment where I can come up for air! The last few weeks have been major amounts of stress. I won't get into it, but between family, work and a furbaby (one of my cats) being hit by a car...it's been a rollercoaster ride. All of the above are fine now, including Tink, who is fast on the way to healing from her injuries. Whew!

I'm currently working on a few projects. Multi-tasking, as it were. I'm trying to finish some knitting projects for Christmas presents, as well as working on henna projects. The latter will be sold at my next Henna Openhouse in November. I'll also be selling them at OCHSA's Winter Boutique.

A few of these henna-ed objects: Henna decorated boxes and candles. I use old henna that has been sitting out, pretty much leftover after a gig. I don't like re-using this henna on clients as the stain cannot always be guaranteed. So, rather than wasting the henna and it's lovely lavender scent, I've been decorating wood objects and candles with it.

One cool thing, even after the henna has dried and been varnished, you can still smell that lavender. ;-)

Here's a sample of some of the Henna Luminary Candles that I've created:

Pretty cool, right?

Upcoming event:
November Openhouse at my place. Yeah!!!
I'll post about September's openhouse later ;-)

"Seriously?" or "The Freeway IS NOT Your Personal Potty"

2009-07-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

I was driving down the freeway towards the beach. There's this part where it ends and becomes a major boulevard. As I near this section, to my left is the emergency shoulder, which is roughly 2 cars wide. I see this white SUV pulled over to the side of the road. There's this girl who appears to be in her 20's, wearing one of those little sundresses one would throw on over a bathing suit, running around the car like she's really upset. At this point, I'm thinking she has a flat tire or something. I actually thought about pulling over and calling AAA for her because she looked positively frantic.

Bear in mind there's a LOT of traffic so I'm inching along next the vehicle. I can see her peering in through windows in a panic. Now I'm thinking she locked her kid in the car or something. I drive a few feet forward and as I do this, I can see through my driver's side mirror that the front passenger door has opened. I am relieved to know that there's someone w/ her and that she isn't locked out.

That's when I see it...still through my sideview mirror...

This chick gets in front of door, I'm assuming to block the view of traffic passing the SUV. However, anyone driving past and looking back can SEE HER. She gets in front of the door, LIFTS her skirt, pulls her little yellow bikini bottoms down and SQUATS DOWN to PEE ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. Ladies and gentlemen, she's doing this IN FRONT OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!!!!

The best part? Right in mid-flow, as it were, a CHiPpie pulls up on his motorcycle behind the SUV, lights flashing. You can actually see the officer doing the 'WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?' motions as the girl is rapidly trying to pull her bottoms up. Her male companion is making signs like he's trying to explain himself.

Now, I don't know what happened after this because traffic began moving again. One thing's for sure. I bet that girl never does that again. Seriously, I don't care how bad you have to go, you just don't do that sort of thing where EVERYONE, LITERALLY under the sun can see you. Good gawd, I don't know what gets into some people!

Ren Faire 2009

2009-05-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to the Renaissance Faire...on closing day! :-) I wanted to get Chris' costume started, but unfortunately we couldn't find the items he wanted. All we walked away with were pants in a nice shade of green. I'm kind of glad we didn't impulse shop because I've been looking around the net and found a lot more cooler options for the character he wants to be.

There's nothing like spending a nice day at the Faire w/ your family. I loved seeing all the different costumes and characters that people came up with. I have only ONE complaint.

Ladies, seriously. Wench outfits are sexy, you're meant to show cleavage, BUT quite frankly it's pretty gross when you've squished and squeezed your ample breasts out SO MUCH that the blue veins in your mammary glands look like they are about to explode . You women know who I'm talking about. Seriously, it's neither fun, nor sexy. It just looks POSITIVELY PAINFUL!!! PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS!

Whew! Ok, I've had my say.

Among our highlights of the day...watching 2 great shows: The Kondor Bros (a juggling act) and of course, The Van Kleaver Bros (a comedy/knife throwing act who we are great fans of). Both were amazing and very funny. If you ever get a chance to see them, I highly recommend it. I was joking around that I'd love to get the Van Kleaver Brothers for my birthday party next year. hehehe

I have to say, one of my favorite parts is dressing up. I'm hoping that the next time we go, Chris will be decked out. People who were dressed up kept razzing the poor guy saying he was 'naked' ... I'm assuming because they couldn't 'see' his modern clothes? :-p So my mission is to get him outfitted...then maybe work on a new one for me. I'm wavering between a 'huntress' or maybe something exotic...like tribal. hmmmm

Enjoy the slide show. I hope I put the code in right. :-D

Happy Birthday to ME :-)

2009-03-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

First I have to say, THANKS EVERYONE for all the birthday wishes. I did have a wonderful birthday. :D

Chris is the bestest ever! He took us out for an early bday dinner at Cheesecake Factory...he even 'made' me buy a slice of the "30th Anniversary Chocolate Cheesecake" to take home. Man that place has HUGE portions. I could only finish half my meal. We ended up sharing that slice of cheesecake the next day, but mmmm...so delish!

Anyways, he took my actual birthday off from work so that I could sleep in. Do you know, that boy got up at 5am, baked me a birthday cake, frosted it, made the kids breakfast, packed their lunches and then took them to school? When he got home, he even made me breakfast! We were gonna go for a hike on the jetty for the picnic lunch we couldn't do on our anniversary, but alas, the weather was rainy. Instead we went out for clam chowder. :)

This is the cake. I wanted German chocolate w/ the coconut frosting. he made it half that and half milk chocolate. Yeah, I know, one side looks like its barfing. We think it was just the kind of frosting he bought cuz the other side was fine. hehehe

Oh and did I mention? Our lease is up in a couple of months for my jeep. It just so happens that between dealer incentives and sales (and the fact that we have a friend that works at dealership...hehe) he paid off our lease early and BOUGHT A NEW CAR!!! YahooBear is so cute...he wanted to make it so that we could call it my 'birthday car'. He asked me what I wanted to name it, and we both said "WESTLEY!" at the same time. We are big "Princess Bride" fans here. When it came time to open my real present, he kept joking that it would go perfectly with my car. He said he didn't mean it to be that way since he bought it well before we thought of buying this car. Y'all, it was a Dread Pirate Roberts action figure! :lol

The family car (because I hate calling it 'just mine') is a Chevy Traverse, which is a SUV Crossover. It's got loads of room, and gets amazing mileage. I just have to get used to driving a slightly bigger car than my Jeep was. ;)

Yes, overall, a wonderful birthday...it would have been even w/o the Traverse. I love that guy ☺♥☺

Valentine's Day... can you feel the love?

2009-02-19T09:35:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know Valentine's day was five days ago, but I gotta say, it was a pretty cool day. First of all, the biggest thing is that it's also my Lola's birthday. She turned 95. EVERYONE who could make it was in town to celebrate. We're talking most of her 10 children, a lot of her 31 grandchildren and lots of her great-grandkids.

I woke up early so I could get ready for the day and also bake heart-shaped brownies for my family. I let the cool by the sink on a rack and turned my back to put another batch in the oven. Next thing I know, I hear this *CRASH* I turn around and Tink is sitting in the sink w/ the brownies dumped over on the other side of the sink. Her eyes are huge saucers that speak volumes of "Oh $h!t, I'm in trouble now!"

Needless to say she was. I unceremoniously picked her up by the scruff of the neck and tossed her on the ground. It wasn't til later that I realized it was her birthday, too...Her FIRST! (Yes, indeed, Tink is a Valentine's day kitty.) I was thinking maybe she thought the brownies were hers? hehe

Later that morning, my sister and I met our cousins at "The Beach House" for brunch. Our cousin, Mary, set the whole thing up because we rarely get to see each other. It was a blast catching up and also meeting their spouses...our newest cousins. I love that our cousins picked the most amazing people to marry. They're all so perfect for each other and I'm glad to finally have met everyone :-) There was lots of laughter, so much so that even our waitress couldn't help but laugh and joke as she served us. You gotta love my family :-)

That afternoon, Luz and I went over to the restaurant to decorate for Lola's party. Pretty soon the whole room was filled w/ heart-shaped balloons, sparkly decorations...and PEOPLE...LOTS of PEOPLE! We have a pretty large family just on my mom's side. Lola has 10 children, about 31 grandchildren and countless great-grands. Even two of Lola's sisters were there with a few of their kids. I think she was pretty overwhelmed w/ the crowd, but I think she loved it judging by the huge smile she had the entire time.

There's more pics of the party here. Everyone had a great time.

I should add one more thing. When we got home, Chris gave me some Valentine's day cards. I say 'cards' because he bought several of them. He told me he had a hard time deciding which one to buy because they were all perfect. I'm smiling now because they were pretty cute and funny :-)

THen there was one more. From Tink.
The Front:

Inside:

Love Transcends Distance

2009-02-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

I read this amazing story today on MSN: "Boy Photoshops a Girl: A Flickr Love Story". It just goes along w/ what I believe about Soulmates and fate. Here are two people who live thousands of miles apart across an ocean, but meet each other, of all places, on Flickr.com. Her friends noticed they had a similar photography style. Around that same time, he just happened to notice her work, too, and contacted her.

I won't go into too much detail, but what I love is that they started emailing back and forth due to their common talents in photography. This lead into an incredible collaborative project. You have to check out their page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aknacer/sets/72157605881081844/

The rest is history. My romantic heart hopes that everything works out for them so they can be together :-)

Whew! FINALLY, I did it!

2009-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, boys and girls, yours truly has FINALLY updated her website. Please feel free to look around.

Here's a list of what I've updated:
*Events Page...I've got a solo show at Alta Coffee Co. throughout February
*Henna Page...I re-vamped and organized. It needed to be done really, really bad. Awesome thing is that I figured out how to embed my flicker slideshow.
*Soulmate Fantasy Paintings...I separated body of works. I had to start a new section for 2008 to present ;-)
*AND A new Henna Bio...I know there are potential clients who wonder how long I've been in the business. Can you believe it's been 10 YEARS???? WOW!

That's the big news. There ya go. Have fun looking :-)

Oh yeah! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! It's the Year of the Ox :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2009-01-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Goodbye hellish 2008 and welcome 2009!!!

I'm not sure how everyone out there is feeling, but I'm SO OVER 2008. As I said in my last post, it was not the best year ever. Sure, some of it was good, but all the health issues for everyone. Sheesh!

Too many people I care about had bad mogumbo going on. IF it wasn't hospitalization, it was a death. It just seemed like too much all at once, and all in one year.

SO...my wish for you is that this year brings incredible joy, health, abundance, and peace.

Love,
Me

Ahhh, Yet Another Milestone for my 40th year...and New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T12:24:00.001-08:00

So I finally did it yesterday. It may be TMI, but I took "the girls out and got 'em smashed". That's what one of my Ya-Ya friends calls it. Yes, its the inevitable thing that every woman has to do starting their 40th year. BahBumBUUUMMMM...Mammogram.

I must admit, it wasn't too bad. Uncomfortable, as others have told me, but not unbearable. Anyone who has to get this done should be lucky enough to get theirs done w/ a great tech like I did. Gentle, talked you through it and then you're all done. She even showed me what the images looked like. Its pretty wild how far technology has come along that you can actually see every detail in the digital images. Freaky, but very cool. :-) That's done, things look good. So, I'm all good :-D

It's New Year's Eve...HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I hope this year brings health, happiness and prosperity to you and your loved ones. I really do hope the new year is much, MUCH better than 2008. I've had too many people who I care about around me who've had serious health issues or even deaths in the family(ies). I'm wishing everyone the best...throwing out positive energy and vibes to all of you!!! :-D

<3 Lernie

I love this...

2008-12-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

I got to go down to San Clemente to visit with my friend, Cheryl. The girls and I took some Christmas cookies and her presents and had breakfast with her. Afterwards, we 'had' to wander up and down Del Mar checking out the cool shops along the way. There's a neat little shop there called Erba that has all kinds of delicious smelling lotions, soaps, candles and things made from herbs. You walk in there and lovely scents greet you as you walk through the door. Lemongrass, lavender, passionfruit...mmmmmm!

Amongst these items, there are other bits and pieces, like books, stationary, aprons...and signs. Being that I love all things Irish...plus I'm the sap of the year...I LOVED this one:

It totally made me smile. Isn't that the most perfect sentiment to people you really care about this season? *happy sigh* :-D

Stay outta the doghouse!!!

2008-12-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

In light of Holiday buying. Just something for you guys to think about. Pretty dang funny , I have to say: Here's the Video

Small Update on Lola

2008-12-02T08:19:00.002-08:00

Lola is still in the hospital. She actually went home the same day I last wrote about. Unfortunately, the next evening she had to be checked back in. Her Glucose levels were through the roof and she appeared to be very shocky. Not good.

Long and short of it is that she's also having a hard time swallowing. It's to the point that those reflexes aren't working anymore. The unfortunate outcome is that she now has a feeding tube. My mom, her brothers and sisters only agreed to allow that to be put in because they couldn't see NOT doing it since Lola is very alert. She's not your usual case where she's not all there and doesn't know what's going on. She's VERY MUCH THERE. They felt it was better to do that because they could see...all of us can, that she's actually fighting to live. My Lola is amazing.

I was there a few days ago w/ my sister. We had our kids with us because Lola loves to see her grandkids and great-grandkids. She laughed as they hugged her hello. We talked w/ her a little bit, but there were periods where she would burst into tears. Lu and I figured out she was trying to say,"Look at me. Look at this thing they put on me. Look at my arm. I'm a mess".

You see, Lola, while not a vain woman, took a lot of pride in her appearance. She was all about keeping everyone and everything neat and tidy. We sort of worry that one of the reasons she's fighting to live is because she's afraid of what's on the other side. Will my Lolo be there waiting? Will he see her as she is now?

When it was time for us to go, we all gave her a kiss and hug goodbye. It was a goodbye til we could visit again, not goodbye because she's going to die. Still, when Lu went to kiss her, Lola began to cry again. Both of us stayed longer trying to comfort her and make her understand that she' be ok and that we'd come back to visit as soon as we could. We finally got her calmed down before we left.

Today she's still at the hospital. I'm going to try to go down and visit her.

Another "What was I thinking???" moment

2008-12-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Knitting. Yes, I do dig the art form these days. I especially love making things for people I care about. BUT what is one to do when she wants to make A LOT of presents for people but has NO TIME!!!

Last year, I picked out patterns that were a snap to finish. We're talking 1-2 day projects. I tried to do the same this year, but for one thing, this Laminaria shawl I'm currently working on is taking freaking FOREVER! I like the pattern a lot, but will I be able to handle knitting another one? My mom really, REALLY wants one for Christmas. This means whatever other projects I'm making for other people (and there are at least 4 others on my list) have to be done around said shawl. This includes my Dad's scarf.

It's 12/2 so I've got what, 22 days to finish this stuff? Can I make it? oh dear...

My Lola...Random Musings

2008-11-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Just felt like talking about my Lola. ("Lola" is what Filipinos call their Grandmothers)

My Lola is my maternal grandmother who's 94. She was born on Valentine's day,which is pretty appropriate for her personality. She's a very loving person...her world was about taking care of her family. She was all about taking care of her 10 children and later, her 32 grandkids. Her initial stroke was a pretty bad one, back when I was about 17. It left her paralyzed on her right side. The damage to her brain was such that she can't really speak very well and what does come out is Tagalog. This isn't to say that she doesn't understand us when we're talking in English to her. She really does, and at 94, there's still a whole lot of mischief in those eyes.

Lola has been in the hospital since Saturday. Apparently her blood sugar got very low, and I'm not getting the full story, but she ended up at the hospital. Long and short of it is that I found out about this on Tues, but couldn't go to visit her til yesterday. My mom had been worried about her eating, and though the staff at this hospital is A LOT better than the last hospital she was in, Mom said she felt better if I could help feed her. Lola has a way of tricking people into thinking she's eating, but she's not. I'll get to that later.

When I initally found her in her room, someone had propped her up in a chair w/ a bunch of pillows. She didn't know I was there until I was standing right in front of her. Once she realized I was there, her eyes lit up and she kept saying "Talaga? Talaga!" which means "Really? Really!" From then on she was all smiles. She tried to ask about my girls. She does this by motioning w/ her good hand what she thinks their height is. Our conversations are always like that...hand motions, broken tagalog, me trying to interpret what she wants to communicate.

I refuse to play the "Who Am I, Mommy?" game that my mother does with her. I KNOW Lola's cognitive function is completely intact. You can see it in her eyes. If you tell her a funny story from when you were a kid, she'll laugh and shake her finger at you, as if to say, "oh I remember that. You were a handful". Besides which when she sees me, she's able to sometimes get out "Lehhhr...Ler...LERNIE!" Personally, and my sister confirms this, I believe she's messing w/ all 10 of her children when she acts like she doesn't know who they are.

For example, on my 39th bday, we were walking around the Descano Gardens when I got a call from my sister. She told me Lola had had another mild stroke, but that she was asking for me. I asked her how she knew that, to which she said, "She's asking for you and Chris (my cousin who shares the same birthday with me). She keeps saying 'Lernie....Chris....birthday'". Lola is really big on remembering EVERYONE'S birthday. She will make sure that each and every one of her kids and grandkids gets a birthday card. She'll even try to sign the card in her shakey writing. My sister went on to tell me that our mom, uncles and aunts were all crowded into the hospital room doing the "Who Am I MOmmy?" game. Lola kept shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. Finally my mom pointed to my sister and said, "Mommy, who's this?" Lola laughed and replied, "uh...um...LUCY!" My mom got all excited and asked her who she was again, to which Lola laughed again, "Uh...MOMMY SE LUCY!!!" (Mommy of Lucy)

See? Pure mischief. So here's where her mischievous side comes into play when feeding her. She tucks the food into her cheek like a chipmunk and when you least expect it, she spits it up. I kid you not. Then she looks at you like "ah-HAH! gotcha!" Yesterday, I'm happy to say, she ate all her soup, half the chicken and a bit of mashed potatoes. When I asked her if she wanted any of the carrots, she gave me one of her squishy "I don't want it" faces. I laughed a little there and told her, "Hey, Lola! When we were little, you wouldn't let us get away with that!" She just laughed back at me.

As I was feeding her, I just kept looking at Lola's face. She's still really beautiful. Yes, her hair is now mostly white and there are a few wrinkles around her eyes, but for the most part, her skin is very smooth still. I thought about how as each of her children had their own first child, she embroidered each layette with "Baby ___". How her and Lolo would always make a point of spending several weeks/months w/ each of their children's families to help take care of Grandkids. I remember how she was an amazing cook. How she always knew just what favorite Filipino dish each of us kids liked.

Lola should be going home today. I'll call my mom to find out more later. I just wanted to share my thoughts about her. Thanks for reading...

Sheesh...of all things how could I forget?

2008-11-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

I was just reading through my last blog about the Thyrogen body scan. It occurred to me that I forgot to mention what the outcome was. Ugh! Chalk it up to my swiss cheese memory.

The results were outstanding! Turns out that 1 of the 3 remaining cells has disappeared. I can't remember the actual terminology, but at any rate, that's great news. Also, Dr. M changed my meds to 125mcg Levoxyl vs. the alternating 112 and 125 every other day. That was a huge pain.

ALSO, looks like we won't have to irradiate those cells. That's even more awesome news for me because that means I won't have to be off meds and on that stupid low iodine diet for three weeks again. WOOHOO!!!! :-D

So that's the scoop.

The Art of Food and Wine...

2008-11-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to sit down and finish writing about this past weekend. This was the first time I'd ever done an event like this and it was just an amazing experience. Kempersports coordinated the event and I must say, they did a great job! Chris and I were worried about logistics and how to load in...was it going to be a total melee. Nope. Not one hitch. In fact, there were people running around HELPING everyone unload w/ those electric carts.

Check out the signs they made for me. I knew that they were going to make signs, but I wasn't expecting this quality. I love that they even put me on the artist schedule along w/ my booth location.

Chris and I standing in front of my booth space. Looks pretty good, right?

Me doing henna on one of the guests:

This is one of my buddies, Rich Flynn. When Jason invited me to be a part of this festival and explained to me what it was about, I booked right away. Then I called him back and told him about Rich. Since he's "Painter of the Moment", I thought he'd be great at the Art of Food and Wine. Jason agreed and booked him.

I think this was great exposure for me and I really enjoyed doing henna on everyone. The networking between different vendors was great, too. I should add that this is the first real show that Chris has been with me at from start to finish. I have to say, I think my guy has a bit of a talent for networking, too ;-) hehehe Best part of all, I was able to combine both of my businesses that I love...my painting AND my henna. Yeah!!!

I hope they invite me back next year...(HINT HINT, Jason and Amy at Kempersports... ;-D )

Major Bean got a MAJOR AWARD!

2008-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

Onto more of how my week went. First and foremost...STRESS...yes, loads of stress. This weekend was all about preparing for the "Art of Food and Wine in Palm Desert" show where I was invited to do henna and show my art work. In the midst of this my FIL had a seizure while driving. I won't go into detail about that, but the long and short of it was that my in-laws are all ok and Dad is on the mend.

Happy news:
Bean was back in town for a convention, literally down the street from where we live! I haven't seen him in a couple of years and have been missing my lil bro a lot. He was able to find time to hang out w/ us between classes, etc. so that was really cool. Best part of it was that there was time to attend his awards ceremony where he received the Young Leadership Award from the Air Force. Reading through his bio in the program, I realized how much he'd been doing for our country. Just amazing! We're all really proud of him, that's for sure.

For those of you who are wondering why in the world we call him "Bean"...
Well, anyone who has ever been around Filipino families will notice that our relatives who were born and raised in the Philippines have a huge accent. Among other things, they get their P's and F's mixed up, as well as their B's and V's. My brother's name is Vincent, but when Mom or Dad would call him, it would sound like "BEAN-CENT!!!" So, my sis and I started calling him Bean.

Yes, Girls, he IS single. He looks pretty good in his uniform, too ;-)

Yes...yes, I know I'm behind w/ my blogs

2008-11-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

So let's start with a few shares. Be forwarned that since I've been remiss in updating blogs, I've got A LOT to share. I really don't know who reads these things, but whoever does, I hope they amuse you ;-)

Halloween was a blast. The kids had their friends over for what was supposed to be a 'haunted tea party' a la "Sweeney Todd".

The idea was to have the look of Mrs. Lovett's pie shop and the kids were supposed to spook trick or treaters. Well, in usual teenage weirdness, they were more like this:
ToTers: TRICK OR TREAT!
Teens: So yeah...here's some candy
Toters: TRICK OR TREAT!!
Teens: yeah so like here's some candy. oh look how cute you are! (proceeds to give huge handfuls vs the 1 or 2 pieces to make the candy last through the night)

Needless to say we were out of candy in less than 1.5 hrs. There were many lil guys who didn't get any. (insert me rolling my eyes)

We had a little accident while Chris was lighting the pumpkins:

Our Traditional Ghosts in the Graveyard...the kids have told me that it's just NOT Halloween w/ this treat, Rice Krispies treats and a huge batch of my homemade spaghetti ;-)

We each had our carved pumpkins, but I had to share mine. It was supposed to be a scary cat face, but doesn't the negative space kind of look like 2 people dancing in flames? Yeah, seriously I didn't mean to do that...hahaha

Last but not least...me as my alter-ego, Talia the Sorceress. Isn't it freaky how my crystal ball is glowing like that? It was an accidental trick of the light....or WAS IT? mwahahahaha!

Whoohoo!!! :-D

2008-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my Body Scan. Sheesh! It took about an hour to do. This time around the scanner was a bit more enclosed than I remember the other ones being. At least it felt that way. Not sure how I did it, but I kept my claustrophobia under check. I kind of shut my eyes and thought about other stuff.

Once I was done, the tech told me I was free to go. No extra visit on Monday and...AND I get to go back to normal foods!!! YES!!! So, since it's still fairly early in the morning, 10am, I've gone and got myself an Iced Toffeenut Latte w/ Soy.

Currently, I'm sipping my drink as I type, relishing the wonders of soy, caffeine and Toffeenut syrup. hehe I should be starving for solid food, but I'm going to hold off til later so I can get a noodle plate at Great Khan. After these little splurges, I'm going to go back to eating healthy. I lost 4 lbs this week and I'd just as soon try to keep losing the weight while I can.

Artworkwise: Finished 1 piece and am working on another one. This is for the "Elements" series I'm doing. Fire, Water, and Air are finished. I've got the background for Earth done and just have to work on the figures/foreground.

Knitting: Took a break this week from doing anything. Mostly that was because I just wasn't feeling it. I'm going to start on a shawl next. This will be the first time I've done anything w/ lace-weight yarn. Should be an experience ;-)

Thyrogen...Smyrogen?

2008-10-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

This one's for anyone following me and my thyroid adventures. Whee.

My doc ordered a Thyrogen scan. The cool thing about this is that I'm not off my meds and on a low iodine for weeks. With this thing, you are only on a low iodine diet for about 5-6 days. We all know how much I truly abhor that seeing as how pretty much EVERYTHING out there has iodine of some sort in it. Reading labels and then second guessing myself is just not my cup of tea. However, the great thing is that I got to stay on my meds. Me, my family and anyone who comes into contact w/ the terrifying Sta-puff Marshmallow girl are thankful for that. I am a scary Dr. Jekyl/Mrs. Hyde when off meds. eek!

So going onto the THyrogen process. I'll be a little boring here, but I figured it might be important to anyone who will have to do this thing, too. I know I felt completely in the dark. It's a pretty new thing from what I understand. So new, in fact, that the nurses that gave me the Thyrogen injections weren't sure exactly why it was that I could stay on my meds before the actual scan. Try reading the literature on the actual site. yeah, not so easy to follow. Even the nurses said they were scratching their heads. Don't you wish that these drug companies would just write out their literature in plain English? I mean, seriously, it's the consumer that's going to want to read that stuff. Most of us haven't gone to med school either :P

So here's what I had to do:
Sunday...Start Low Iodine Diet
Monday...Thyrogen Shot at St. Joseph's Cancer Treatment Center
Tues...Another shot at St. Joe's CTC
Wed...Radioactive Iodine Isotope (RAI-131) Intake at St. Jo's Hospital Radiology (did I mention they make you take a pregnancy test whether or not you 'can get pregnant')
Thurs...hang out and don't hug or kiss anyone (this sucks because we are a very huggy family *sigh*) Oh, did I mention I have to be on a clear liquid diet from Lunch time til...
Friday...RAI Body Scan at St. Jo's Pavillions Then supposedly I get to eat NORMAL...WHOOHOO!!!

At this point, I'd like to make a remark about St. Jo's patient care. There may be a few wrinkles in some of the paperwork issues. (That's not completely their fault. That has a lot to do w/ how my Doc has a whole new group of front/back office workers who apparently can't get the hang of things.) St. Jo's patient care is AMAZING!!! Sure, I can be a little biassed. I've been around that hospital since I was a kid being that my mom is a doc w/ that hospital. Bear in mind, it's not like anyone knows who I am and that's why they're nice because none of these nurses or doctors knew me. They are just really cool people. :)

Anyways, just so those of you who may have this ordered know. The Thyrogen shot was ok, although I have to say, I felt like a kid again. I haven't had a shot in my rear since I was little, but that's where they have to give it to you. It's a prick, uncomfortable warmth of injection and then it's over. After that, they sit you down and let you rest for about 1/2 hr observation each time. This is in case you have a reaction to the shot.

This is where I make a remark again about the Cancer Treatment Center. Amazing. They make you feel completely at ease like you're talking to old friends. I think this is great when you're nervy about getting shots like me. Seriously. Here's the kicker. It's like you're in a spa of sorts. Don't laugh. I'm serious. They just opened this facility and it's gorgeous...reminds me of a resort hotel when you walk in. Anyways, I get in the room, which feels slightly like one of those quiet rooms at the spa. They sit you down in this comfy RECLINING chair with a bunch of pillows. They take your blood pressure, ask you questions, then have you stand up to get your shot. You get done with that and they have you get all comfy back in your chair. A volunteer came in and asked me if I wanted anything to drink like water, juice or a soda! Then the nurse asked if I needed anything else or if I wanted to watch the TV in the room. I'm not kidding, when I left there, I felt like I should have tipped the nurses. hehehe

St. Jo's Hospital was nice, too. Things have changed a lot since I was a kid...nicer Lobby...better flow for patient admission. Yes, I did have to get admitted even for this outpatient stuff.

Radiology was a LONG wait. There was this girl ahead of me who couldn't have been more than 15 or 16. I thought she was in the patient waiting room for something else, but nope, I found out she was in for thyroid stuff, too. Poor kid. So young and dealing w/ this junk. I was young, too, when they found out I had Graves initially (21/22), but wow! Anyways, I was there for a couple of hours. Come to find out that the poor kid had a hard time swallowing the capsule. It took them 1/2 hr to finally get her to swallow it. That bites :(

So anyhoo...I'll be at St. Jo's Pavillions tomorrow. Should be uneventful. I hope. ;)

We Have a Boat!

2008-06-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Chris has been wanting a boat for sometime now. In the last couple of months...well, let's just say from almost the beginning of the year, he has been doing all sorts of research and looking at used boats. At one point he was thinking of going in on a boat w/ our neighbor. Finally, he came home one day w/ all this info from Schock boats in Newport Beach. One thing lead to another and we now own this boat:

Shocking, huh? Who would've thought? It's a 17' Boston Whaler...seats 7 adults. Nice little boat. The loan papers were signed on Thurs and we took it home the same day. Great people at Schock, btw. Very knowledgible and totally non-pressure.

Chris wanted to take the boat out the very next day to break the engine in and just to have a family outing. Here's us getting ready to launch at Newport Dunes. There just happened to be practically no one there so no stress involved :-)

Here's Capt. Chris

Me cicking back and telling myself I'm not gonna be sick. hehehe

As we were traveling down the bay towards open water, we saw a Harbor Patrol boat in the distance. I jokingly asked if Chris knew anyone working the area. Next thing we know, the Patrol Boat lights up and pulls up next to us for inspection. Personally, I kind of liked that that happened our first day out. Made me feel better knowing that we had everything we needed for saftey's sake. The CLCGB's (Cute Little Coast Guard Boys) checked our saftety equipment out while we talked to the deputies on board...who it turns out, we'd both worked w/ at one point or another. :-)

We checked out fine so off they went and off we went. (my my, those little CLCGB's were cute. shhhh...don't tell Chris the 3 of us girls we looking. hahaha)

So we traveled a little further and finally got through past the jetty. The water was calm, air was nice and cool...felt great on that little boat. Finally we were out past the jetty when we saw this brown stuff on a buoy. Wondering what it was, we got up a little closer to discover that it was moving and not just moving, but SEALS!!!!! They were all sitting out there just sunning themselves and having a good ol' time. Totally cute!

We went out a little farther out along the coast. Chris was going at different speeds breaking in that engine. At one point we stopped to fish for a little here:

Overall, a great day. I just wish I'd done a better job at using my sunscreen. It was overcast, but I still got toasted on my upper thighs where the sun hit while I was sitting there enjoying the ride. OUCH! Aloe Vera is my friend :-p

Can't wait to get out on the boat again, that's for sure :-D

Tweakers and Cops in the wee Sma's

2008-06-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

The Bear and I didn't get to sleep til almost 2am this morning. Yes, it was THAT HOT last night. We finally got to sleep only to have a rude awakening at 0500. Someone was pounding on the door so Chris staggered over to answer it. There on the doorstep was Mr. Policeman with... get this OUR HOME PHONE (cordless) in his hand...yes, you read that right OUR HOME PHONE IN HIS HAND!

Turns out that someone hopped our fence, took the cordless phone out of my studio in the backyard and called 911 to report that he and his girlfriend had been robbed at gunpoint. Apparently she'd also been kidnapped. When the cops found this guy, he was roaming our neighborhood w/ our cordless phone in his hand. It took the cops a few mins to figure out which house the dude had gotten it from, but there Mr. Policeman was, at our front door.

The Bear and the cop went out to my studio to make sure nothing was missing. What's super weird is that nothing had been disturbed AT ALL. Where the phone is cradled, I have one of my Star Wars models balanced precariously on a stand. I was a bit amazed that nothing had been knocked over. What a nice, careful tweaker visitor!

Why am I calling the guy a tweaker? Well, the officer told us the 'victim's' behavior was somewhat suspicious and sketchy. Also, we found out that they'd located the 'missing girlfriend' who told the officers that she was alright and that no, nothing like that had happened. Hence, the tweaker suspicion. Nice, huh?

What bugs me is that whereas before, I thought at least my studio was safe. I don't always lock it. Now I'm all about using the locks. *sigh* Quite frankly, I shouldn't have to worry about that. I guess I have to now. Also, how incredibly creepy is it to know that there was someone ROAMING AROUND OUR BACKYARD LOOKING FOR A FREAKIN' PHONE!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!

YARN!!!! WHEEE!!!!

2008-06-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Not that I've gone to a lot of yarn 'Bag Sales'. I really haven't. This was my very first one. The LYS down here...Yarn Lady, had their semi-annual Bag Sale. I'd heard a lot about this sale so I decided to go.

There were free bags of bulk yarn hidden in these bins and you sort of had to 'dumpster dive' to find yarn you might like and these free bags. You got 1 free bag w/ your purchase for the day.

My free bag? well, first I should say the first freebie I found was kind of weird w/ odd yarn. They were sort of an orangy/browny/peachy selection. Really not up my alley, and apparently no one else's. I held that bag up and said, "hey! I found a free one! who wants!!" everyone looked up, made a face and went back to foraging for yarn. hahaha

Needless to say, I tossed it back. The 2nd freebie I found, I totally kept. It was a HUGE bag of Colinette Point Five. Now, I've never heard of the stuff, bear in mind, I'm knew to buying more expensive yarns. I'm usually a craft store shopper where the bargains are. However, now that I've discovered how yummy some of these yarns can be, I've slowly started picking up skeins here and there for special projects.

Anyways, when I found this bag, I was so excited! The colors are totally ME and there was the equivalent of 5 skeins of the stuff in there!!!! SWEET!!!

I won't post all the other stuff I found. Although they were pretty cool finds. I was just really excited to find the free yarn and then it be so awesome! I just have to think up something really nice to make w/ it. Maybe a knitting bag? Any ideas?

Prithee, whilst thou see mine magicked pictures?

2008-04-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hail and well met, mi Ladies and Lords!!!
Huzzah! ;D

Yesterday was Ren Faire Day for the family unit. I thought I'd share some pics w/ everyone :)

As we were walking in we saw a "Time Bandit" and some Merry Washing Wenches:

Then there were these brothers who insisted on 'cooking up' mischief w/ their cleavers. They were knife throwers/comedy act. That guy on the stage was from the audience. notice where they put the tankard to protect his 'goods' haha
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Even the horse was dressed for the fair:

Me and our girls in their very first Ren outfits that we bought for them there:

Busted!

Lords and Ladies feasting:

Chris was carrying the backpack that day...he didn't want us to have to mess up our costumes...cute, huh? Ah but at least he got his 'ale' while watching the joust :-D

Enjoy!

Check out which Jedi Master I am!

2008-04-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

What Star Wars Jedi or Sith character is most like your personality?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Qui-Gon Jinn

You are Qui-Gon Jinn; respected for your wisdom and strong connection to The Force yet considered unorthodox and defiant by the Jedi Council. You rescued Anakin Skywalker from Tatooine because you believed him to be The Chosen One.

You train the lightsaber form Ataru in which The Force is used to aid physical skill to achieve an amazing combination of speed, accuracy and acrobatics.

A diplomat before a warrior, you fell in battle to Darth Maul though your apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi avenged you. You were the first Jedi to achieve a preservation of personal identity after death.

Qui-Gon Jinn

100%

Mace Windu

89%

Yoda

86%

Luke Skywalker

86%

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Post Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)

79%

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Pre Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)

79%

Darth Revan

79%

Darth Sidious

68%

Bastila Shan

64%

Anakin Skywalker

57%

Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus

50%

Darth Vader

50%

Darth Maul

36%

Exar Kun

14%

So I'm OH-FISH-UHLEE FOUR-DEE!

2008-03-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have one big ball-o-hectic. So much so that I haven't even written about my little milestone. Yep, I turned the big 4-0...FOUR-OHHHH...FOUR-dee...hehehe :-D

I've heard of people feeling weirdness about this birthday for them. So far, I don't get it. It's a number. I'm healthy (fairly so, even w/ stupid thyroid issues) and pretty danged happy :-D Sure, the purple isn't covering some of those grays that insist on popping up here and there, but still, who cares? I'm just as goofy and off-the-wall as ever.

Here are my gratitudes at my ripe ol' age of (did I mention?) FORTY:
*I get to work on my art whenever I want.
*I've got a pretty good business that I enjoy.
*Said business doesn't make me rich, just comfortable.
*I've got two monkeys, who at just about 15 yrs old, have their teen-tudes, but are overall great kids.
*A husband who treats me like a goddess.
*Sense of Humor...sometimes I need this to get me through rough spots. You know what they say, "Laughter is the best medicine". :-D

There's a bunch more stuff, but those are the main things that popped into my head.

So wanna know how I celebrated? Well, when Chris asked me what I wanted to do, I asked him to throw me a party. I haven't had a birthday party since we've been married. Normally, I just like us to do something together. This year I wanted to do something really fun since...well, I'm "FOUR-dee". So I asked him to incorporate a couple of things I dig. Star Wars and Monkeys.

Check out the theme to said party. "Curious George Lucas" Bday. hahaha!!

All the decorations were Curious George and Star Wars themed. There was even a crazy balloon fight that the kids all had in the living room. There was alcohol for the adults, but after the party, we realized that not very much had been drank. All that laughter was from pure fun!

My "cake"...Chris baked cupcakes and the girls decorated them:

The Balloon fight: (from Marinna's camera) http://youtube.com/watch?v=1rtv5FVtZbM

It was great celebrating with friends and family.

Wanna see the kind of 2 weeks I've been having?

2008-02-07T08:13:00.001-08:00

Last week started off great. I had the Henna Tribe meet-up here. Tuesday was fun sister time spending the day up in Burbank and then going to the "Ellen Degeneres Show". Hanging out w/ some of the people in line was fun. Great energy!

Then early the next morning, at about 2am, we got a call from my SIL. C's dad had a stroke. SIL and MIL had been here visiting and decided to cut it short so drove back home to Havasu Tuesday night. Good thing they did because when they got there, they found Dad. Long and short, he's doing TONS better now. They say he'll fully recover within the next couple of weeks. Thank goodness!

That same Wednesday, our girls got really sick. The doc ordered that they stay home til Monday. Good part is now they're all better, but because they were sick we couldn't go w/ C to be w/ his parents and sister. At least he was able, too.

I'm thinking ok...we're done w/ the bad spell of scariness. We can breathe now. Right? Wrong!

So check out what happened to me yesterday. Seriously, I feel like I got run over by a truck...

Oh wait, I did...pretty much. I was driving home from a local plaza here. While making a left turn at the light, the SEMI-TRUCK next made too narrow of a turn. What's that mean?

Well, his trailer that he was hauling encroached into my lane!! There was nowhere for me to veer to the side as the traffic waiting at the light was right there. His trailer shoves INTO the side of my jeep, shoving me over and just totally crunches it.

I barely am able to get my jeep pulled over to the side because there's something shoved up against my tire (I found out later that the wheel well was rubbing on it).

Dude gets out of his truck and goes "Que Paso?" I look at him like he's from Mars and go.."WHAT HAPPENED???YOU HIT MY CAR!!!!!" He goes, "no no..you hit me you behind MY truck" Then he tells me, "I big truck. I make wide turn...you look at sign" Errr...NO buddy. That sign is for wide RIGHT turns, not LEFT! Get a clue!!!

That's where I stopped talking to him and called 911...I told them it wasn't an emergency and I wasn't hurt, but that I needed a unit out there to take my report. I had a funny feeling I needed an officer because of the way the driver was responding to me.

Local motorcop gets there, says I don't need a report since there were no injuries, but he gave us each these cards to swap information. That was really handy, plus the cop was really cool. He checked mine, made sure it was filled out correctly. Found out my side of the story.

In the meantime, the driver of the truck is taking this insane amount of pics over and over again w/ a disposable camera. Even the officer commented "wow, this guy really likes taking pictures".

Officer then says he's going to see if the other guy finished filling out his info card. Thank goodness he went over there and handled that part for me BECAUSE when he finally came back after about 10 mins or so, he handed me a card that had been crossed out and half-filled out by himself (the officer). You can see where the driver gave wrong numbers and where the officer corrected it. Also, he went up to the back of the trailer and got the license number on that, too, plus the make and model.

I'm getting things going w/ insurance. I've even emailed the photos that I took personally w/ some narrative on it. We just need to find out if the other insurance company sees their driver is at fault now. They should. I mean HELLO...look at the pics in the next post!

Also, I'm thinking of sending a "thank you letter" to the PD. I want them to know how well that officer handled everything and let him know that someone appreciates his people-skills.

Here are the pics...

The STUPID A**hole truck that hit me...

The damage done to my jeep...

Henna Tribe Meet-Up (HGofSC)

2008-01-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I had a whole group of So Cal Henna Artists here at my house. Everyone braved possible bad weather (it was supposed to rain like crazy)and I'm so glad they did. We all had a blast! Everyone brought yummy food and I made hot Chai Lattes for everyone to warm up with. Add to that a fire in the fireplace and a veritable 'henna explosion' of artists...

We did henna on each other, talked shop, shared techniques and recipes. It was just loads of fun. Natasha did this rad design on my left hand, which rarely gets anything done on it unless I draw really slow w/ my right hand. Did I mention I'm a lefty? :-D

This is the lot of us:

My sister, me and Ellen :-D

2008-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Today is the day we get to go the Ellen Degeneres show again. This time we have guaranteed tix to get into the audience. I'm stoked not just because of that, but also cuz I get to spend the day w/ my sister! Hurrah!!!

We're going to try to get up there for the initial check-in by 10:30am(when you get your number in line to get your seat). Then we're going to hang out for a few hours before we have to be back to get in line for the show. I'm thinking we'll hang out at a coffee/tea room we saw the last time we were up there or maybe wander around on Magnolia Street. I heard there were some cool old shops there (uh oh..hehehe)

After the show, we're meeting up w/ our cousin for dinner before heading back home. A full day, but I'm really excited! Sister time and Ellen. How can you go wrong? :-D

Random Lernie thoughts...

2008-01-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

Carlton Blanchard...one of my favorite 'guest characters' from Wings. He's the old man who asks obnoxious stupid questions. A couple of my favs are, "You work here. How much does this aiport weight?' and "I have a question for you. For Pete's sake. For the love of Mike. Heaven's to Betsy. Who ARE these people??"

hehe...see? I told you. Random thoughts. Perhaps I had too much coffee again this morning?

I've finished 2 new paintings this weekend. Not bad. Actually, the reproduction of "Red" looks even better than the original. I hope my client likes it. I'll post a copy of the pics when I get the chance.

Ummm...Happy New Year! (yeah, I know I'm kinda late...)

2008-01-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

But errr...at least it's still JANUARY...right? hehehe :-D

The holidays were just a whirl of activity. I'm not even sure how it already got to be the middle, almost the end, of January. I was knitting up a crazy storm. Yep, that's my latest obsession. Knitting. Who knew? Just about everyone got something from me for Christmas, handmade with love. Those of you who didn't...I swear, you will eventually. I have to let my hands rest, though. I think I was getting close to have carpal-tunnel, seriously.

On the art front, I'm driving to Long Beach tomorrow to drop off artwork for an art show scheduled for February. I'll post more details when I get them. I also have a commission piece to do. There are a few originals that I can't part with because they're special to me so I'm recreating "Red" for this order.

Among other things, one of my resolutions this year is to get moving on my paintings again. It's time I get out of the fugue I've been in. There are 10 canvases primed and ready to go crazy on. I just need to walk into my studio, blast some tunes and go to town on them. I've got the ideas...I just need to get motivated.

Hey, January 29, my sister and I get to be in the audience for "The Ellen Degeneres" show. We're stoked about that. I got "standby tix" for her birthday, but being "standby" we didn't get into the audience. We were in the "Riff Raff Room". It was fun in there, but I think we'll have even a better time in the actual audience. They gave us "guaranteed tix" for the Jan 29 show because we were in the "Riff Raff Room". Either way, we get sister-fun-day again :-D

Other resolution? Ummm...probably to be a better 'blogger'. I kind of hate that word...hmmm...writer. Whatever. I'll just make a point of writing more often.

Check out my new baby!!!

2007-11-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Isn't she purty??? Ok, so there are a few fingerprints on her, but that's cuz I've actually been playing her. (not very well, mind you, but not very bad, either ;-) ) It's kind of frightening how we've got a mini-music room going on there in the corner of that room. :-D

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2007-10-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for pics from later tonight. I just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN :-D Yours truly is dressed as Tonks again. Hey, why waste the fun of having a ready-made Tonks outfit from the HP Book Release party this year ;-)

C and I have just finished carving our pumpkins and have gotten the kids' pumpkins ready for them for when they get home from school so that all they have to do is carve them. C's looks super scary (he's totally master pumpkin carver dude). Mine looks sort of like Disney's version of the headless horseman pumpkin head hehehe

Update on My Stupid "Thyroid"

2007-10-25T19:25:00.001-07:00

I just finished having an RAI-131 Body Scan yesterday and am FINALLY back on my meds after having been off of them for over 2.5 weeks!!!! YEAH! I also get to FINALLY eat somewhat normal again after having been on the Low Iodine-omg-i-hate-that-dang-thing diet for 1.5 weeks.

Currently my body is readjusting to being back on my Levoxyl. Unfortunately, this means, I'm still pretty "Staypuff Marshmallow Girl" faced still. There's a really weird metallic yucky after taste to everything I eat and some nausea. On one hand. Ugh. On the other hand, I suppose at least that's kept me from gaining weight (haha). My body still is in massive hypothyroid mode so I'm feeling seriously slow motion and fatigued. Oh yeah, and my voice. It's kind of hard to talk and it's sounding a bit like I've got laryngitis. Yeah me. haha

Up side...well, I figure I'll be feeling better in the next couple of days. Hopefully tomorrow I'm on the road to being more like myself.

HOWEVER...THE AWESOME NEWS:
As far as can be seen, the scan shows that while there are still the residual cells remaining in what my doctor calls the 'thyroid bed' (the area where my thyroid used to hang out) none of them look like they've grown. BEST PART...none of them look cancerous. YEAHHHH!!!!!!! I'm pretty stoked about that. Seriously, I don't need any more stinking radiation therapy thank ya very much.

Anyways, that's the scoop on my current situation. Once I feel better, hopefully I'll get back to painting. I've been in such a fugue even before being off my thyroid meds. It's like some weird depression thing. Not sure. I just have to break out of it, I guess. I mean, I HAVE been pretty productive w/ my Henna art...I created a few new designs, revamped my table/booth decor, signs and books. I've also been insanely busy with that whole aspect of my business. I still have to re-work my Henna Website and then slowly move on to working on the artwork side of it.

Hmmm...I guess I have been busy. I just feel bad that I haven't been painting a whole lot.

The Hazards of Having Your Artwork on YOUR Website

2007-08-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

I'm on a forum for Henna Artists called Henna Tribe. On Saturday night, after working FOUR hours straight doing henna for a Bar Mitzvah and a long TWO hour drive home (construction on the freeway at midnight...ugh) I came home to an email from one of them informing me that someone on myspace had stolen my photos. She was apparently using them as HER OWN!!! This idiot not only had FOUR of my images, but had literally just linked them to my site. Not only is this illegal because it is MY work, but she's stealing bandwith by doing this!

So there I was at 1am renaming the stolen images, re-coding html on the pages that were affected, and re-uploading.

HAH! I thought. Now all you'll see is 4 broken red X's on her myspace. (I also sent her a nasty cease and desist email warning her of legal action...no response yet). That part gave me great satisfaction. However...

I woke up Sunday morning to check my work again...turns out she also has punked one of my client images and reuploaded it into her 'pics' section as HER OWN again!!! This time, I've emailed Myspace w/ a detailed description of what's going on and also that at least 5 other professional Henna Artists have had their work 'stolen' by this person. Hopefully they do something about it soon. This just rankles me to the Nth degree.

I'm so mad I could spit!!!

BUT...
I'm EVIL...EVIL I tell you!
Remember how she's just linked STRAIGHT to my site? Well, guess what? Since it's LINKED to MY site, I can upload new images w/ the same file name. Check out her page now:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=163134545

Moral of this lesson:
Do not mess w/ us Henna Artists...especially someone who knows even the slightest bit of html coding. bwahahahaha!!!!

Let's see how long it takes her to figure this out. According to the page, she hasn'tlogged on since 7/28. OH I am an EVIL LITTLE MONKEY bwhahahaa

Sister Roadtrips are FUN!!!!!

2007-05-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share our sister trip with y'all. We had such a great time! We listened to CD's on the long drive up and just talked and talked and TALKED. When we finally got up to San Francisco, just as we're standing in front of our cousin's place, guess who called...MISTER SISTER hehe

My cousin's place is really neat and I love their dog. I wish I'd gotten a pic of her for you because she's the raddest dog. Anyways, for the rest of the afternoon/evening, we explored the area around my cousin's apt. We didn't make it to Haight Street like we wanted, but it didn't matter. We were having such a great time hanging w/ our cousin, her yahoo, our other cousin who drove over from Fairfield and some of our friends.

This is us outside this little hole in the wall where we had strawberry margaritas, yummy salsa and guacamole.

The next morning, my cousin and her husband made us an incredible breakfast. It was so yummy, it was hard to believe it was pretty much all healthy. They had strawberries, blackberries, blueberries (but not snozzberries. :-D ), bacon, turkey bacon, vegan bacon (for their friend), maple yogurt (so DEEELISH!), homemade granola and blueberry coffeecake (courtesy of my talented cousin-in-law...he's quite the cook).

We hung out around the kitchen table casually munching berries, etc and before we knew it, it was time to head out to Carmel...

The drive down to Carmel was pretty uneventful, but a beautiful drive. There was this crazy dude,though, who was yelling "F-You!" and flipping me off. I'm not sure what happened there to cause that. Pretty much all the way from SF to San Jose, I was staying in my own lane while it was trafficky and paying attention to people weaving in and out in front of me. The dude's car had been in the "fast lane" the whole time, no blinker, so it wasn't like I wasn't letting him in. I know I didn't cut him off because I was being crazy careful since I don't know that area so well. Makes you go hmmmm...

Anyways, getting into the Carmel area was just gorgeous. The scenery all around us made the drive very quick. Before we knew it, we were at the Condo that the lady was lending us for the night. She has awesome taste in decorating. Everywhere you turned there was some really neat piece of furniture that was artwork all by itself. THis was my FAVORITE piece that she had hanging in her living room. I love the "Muses", but this was very unique to me:

After we settled in and she showed us around, she left to go finish getting the reception room decorated w/ the other parents. I think I mentioned that we were in Carmel to do henna for an after prom event for the high school out there? Anyways, Lu and I went out for a walk and stumbled upon an art fair in the park. Beautiful sculptures and paintings.

We ended up talking a long walk afterwards to explore Carmel. Everything was totally in walking distance so we spent a couple of hours doing this. I'm not kidding you, every other shop is AN ART GALLERY. I can tell you, I was in 7th heaven. At one point we found a bookstore that had a garden attached to it. I'd been thinking in my head, wouldn't it be cool to find a metaphysical store or a garden shop. That's exactly what this was! Attached to the shop was "The Secret Garden" in which I found a statue of St. Francis of Assissi. I've been looking for the perfect one for my garden for months and WE FOUND HIM IN THE SECRET GARDEN!!! Y'all, he's just the happiest St. Francis I've ever seen and he is now currently residing in my herb garden w/ Quan Yin

Fast forward to Midnight. That's when our gig started. We'd had a quick rest at the condo, the one mom/owner came back for us to lead us up to the event. Thank goodness she did because there were so many twists and turns it was scary! THe event was from midnight to 3am and can I just tell you how thougthful and considerate those kids were? Just about every single one of them thanked us for being there and for going out of our way on our sister weekend to do this for them. One of the kids even brought us snackies because she wanted to make sure we were comfortable. So sweet! By the end of the night we were tired, but happy so once we got back to our place, we pretty much passed out on the bed. hehehe

THe next day was the long drive home. Believe it or not, after that late night, we still woke up at 8am to a beautiful, crisp morning. Lu and I walked around the corner to this French coffeeshop to get some coffee and a chocolate croissant (how can you NOT at a French cafe like that?) From there we headed out. Our route took us past wine country, so of course, we HAD to stop. Can you blame us? hehehe We stopped at the Robert Hall Winery, took a little tour of the wine cavern, did a little wine tasting and had lunch out there. Yes, we each bought a couple of bottles of wine. How can you not when it's so tasty??? Incidentally, get the names for their grape crushing machines. There's 2 of them and their names are....LUCY AND ETHEL! (in honor of Lucy's fiasco in an Italian winery. )

Here we are in the courtyard:

Here are some views from the bell tower:

THey had a live band down in this courtyard while we were eating lunch:

And last but not least, as we drove out towards the I-5 which would take us on the last leg home, we found the "James Dean Memorial" at this one Junction. Further down was the gas station that was his last stop before he was killed in a crash. It has this HUGE sign/painting out front:

Seriously, we weren't even sure the shop was open till we got out of the car to take the pic. We were both bad and bought Almond Roca and Almond bark while we were there.

I logged on 914 miles all around, had long conversations w/ my sis, ate yummy food and saw beautiful scenery. I'm home now, tired still, but smiling because of the great fun we had :D

I've finally finished it...

2007-05-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

Whew! I finally updated my website more. I realize there's a bit more tweaking to do, but the most important thing is that I've added a whole lot more pics of my henna work. There's quite a few more additions that need to be done to my "Soulmate Paintings", but being that this is what we call "Henna Season", I really had to get on top of the henna side of things.

Speaking of which, I'm worried about my Henna Supplier (http://www.lifeart.cc). Janet lives w/ her daughter on Catalina Island, which has been evacuated because of a raging fire on the island. It's encroaching on the area where she lives. If you've ever talked to her, you'd know she's an incredibly sweet person. I'm sending out "stay safe" vibes to her and her girl today. Actually, also, to the other residents and safety personnel involved.

Paintings...well, I've got at least 7 more pieces I need to add to my "Soulmates" section. They're small, but they're nice. I've also got 2 online stores going on through Spreadshirt.com (http://lernie.spreadshirt.com) and Cafepress.com (http://www.cafepress.com/lernie). I'll be changing up the pics on some of the merchandise at a later date. For now, the images are the "Trio" of my favorite Soulmate Paintings and one is the image I used for my show postcard at Hair West.

Hope everyone's having a great Friday :-D
Cheers!
LB

We lost another good soul...

2007-05-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

I'm a part of a message board for Ya-Ya's (based on books by Rebecca Wells). It's mostly comprised of women with a few men who understand the idea of the sisterhood bond.

There are a lot of great women on this board. I've met a few in person. A couple have become really good friends...kindred spirits...very much 'Ya-Yas'. Mamabear is a Ya-Ya that I never had the pleasure of meeting in person. However, many of her posts were wise. Many of them were pretty humorous. She seemed like a very sweet and caring person...a very strong woman. Yesterday, we lost her to a long battle with cancer. Paula outlived all her physicians predictions and lived life to the fullest. I know her family will miss her dearly, as well as the 'family' on the board. There's a lot of grieving going on there today.

I'm kind of babbling right now. I wish people didn't have to go through the pain of dealing with cancer. It's affected my cousin (who thankfully won her battle), Paula, Trace, Gritsy's sister, my 'THyroid sisters'...just so many good people. Sure, I had Thyroid cancer, but really, my battle wasn't as tough as the others. Yes, I have to keep a check on things, but really, when I think about it, I'm alright. I KNOW I'll be alright. Hey, at least I didn't have to go through Radiation Therapy or Chemo. The treatments I had, though pretty danged uncomfortable, were less invasive than the others.

We'll miss you, Paula. There's a new angel in heaven now. I'm glad you're not in pain anymore...
--LB

Be AMAZED!!!!

2007-03-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

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.

************************

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

2007-03-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2007-03-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

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.

Now THAT'S Love!!!

2007-02-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

I love stories like this. (Prehistoric Romeo and Juliet)

"Buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, the prehistoric pair are believed to have been a man and a woman and are thought to have died young, because their teeth were found intact, said Elena Menotti, the archaeologist who led the dig...The two bodies, which cuddle closely while facing each other on their sides, were probably buried at the same time, an indication of a possible sudden and tragic death, Bondioli said."

Stuff like that is what inspires me. Well, not the tragic death part, but 'lovers held in a passionate embrace for all eternity'. Stop looking at me like that. So, I'm sappy. And hey, that line is from one of my solo show postcards, so HAH! :-P

Anyways, doesn't it make you wonder what the true story was behind this couple?

Cool Vid Clip and some News

2007-02-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

You know, this blog thing is pretty cool. I'm just updating as I go along and I can post new stuff happening along the way w/ a simple point, click, type, hit return. Sweet!

Today I saw this vid clip of this amazing 12 yr old artist (http://tinyurl.com/yxewot). The detail in her paintings are just incredible...far surpasses any detail I can get in my landscapes. She captures light, emotion and movement so well in her work, I'm just floored. There's a great spirituality that comes out in each of her pieces that you feel a sense of peace and serenity. I just wanted to share that w/ anyone who's reading this blog of mine.

Great update for yours truly. I've got a group show scheduled up in Eagle Rock. The opening night is set for next Saturday, Feb. 10. Check out the Evite below. Yeah, my name isn't on there. It's my fault, I got my info in a little late, but they still took me in. I'll have 3 pieces in the show so I'm stoked about it.

I've got a couple of pieces being juried for another Women's show, too, but they're still judging all the artwork submitted. I'm hoping I get into that one, too. Cross your fingers for me!

Other than that, I've just been working on a few sketches for some funky ideas that have been running through my head. I've got this theme about masks that I'd like to work on. It's sort of up in the air right now, but the main thing I have to do is a plaster cast of my face. It's going to be fun, but super messy, I know. If I'm bold enough, I may document the whole process w/ my digital camera.

That's it for now. Signing off.

Wonder Women

2007-02-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

I was reading through the OC Register online this morning when I came across an article called "Wonder Women". It brought a smile to my face because it was about a girl named Dusty Hogan(now 31) who had faced a battle w/ Thyroid Cancer since she was a child. What caught my eye was the title of the article because, well, as previously stated, I'm a total geek and have loved Wonder Woman since I was a kid (not just the show, but the comic books, etc.).

Anyways, it talks about this little girl who was always so tired, had dark circles under her eyes...a little girl who should have been full of energy. One morning Dusty woke up w/ a lump on her neck. Tests showed she had Thyroid Cancer. She was only 6 yrs old. One of her dreams was to meet Wonder Woman so the Make A Wish Foundation put her in touch w/ Lynda Carter.

In my book, celebs are just regular people like you and me. I'm not one to chase down a star if I see one (and I've seen a few). Sure it's cool to meet someone you admire from a show or movie, but really when you get down to it, they're just people. However, in this instance, it was refreshing to see that this major actress took the time out to make a little girl's wish come true. It seemed like a boost for the kid not to give up. Lynda Carter sounds so down to earth in the article. It's nice to know that in a time where most celebs have so much negative press, there are still others out there who genuinely want to help those less fortunate. I sort of wish I could see MORE articles like this one http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/amread/article_1551288.php.

Anyways, the best part of the article was that even though that poor kid went through YEARS of surgeries and treatments, she finally went into remission when she was 16 yrs old. Let me tell you, I felt like such a whiner after I read what she'd gone through. Ok, yeah, I've been dealing with junk for the last 16 yrs of my life, but I was at least an adult when I had all those surgeries and treatments. She was just a small child. I guess this is just another reminder to live life to the fullest. Brave people like Dusty remind me to do so.

It's the New Year and my very FIRST post here

2007-01-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Well check me out. I've succumbed to the blogger-fever. I thought I'd try something a little new this year for posting thoughts that run rampant through my wee-brain. This has got to be a lot easier than the way I was doing it on my website (you know, messing w/ codes and all that junk).

So this year, we're hoping you don't have to hear way too much about me and my Thyroid Issues (for more on that, click on those links to the side for past 'issues'...haha...my husband lovingly says I don't just have 'issues', I have a WHOLE subscription.) Currently they've kind of got me levelled out w/ my thyroid meds so I'm not getting quite as many killer headaches and the mood swings are few and far between. My endocrynologist was talking about giving me one of those crappy RAI-123 tests again later on in the year. I know I HAVE to do that, but I HATE to do that because they take me off my meds and then my hormones and body just go haywire. That's a whole other Oprah. Let's not go there just now.

Painting-wise, I've been in a fugue. Don't know what that's all about. I've got some new ideas that are slowly taking shape. They're all up here (as I tap my head), I just have to do more than sketch them out. The execution of the ideas is what needs to happen. I want to try something more 3D. When that happens, I promise I'll post about it. For now, though, I've entered a couple of juried shows and am just waiting to hear from.

Oh yeah, I know it's only Monday, but I'm SO looking forward to this weekend coming up. It's our 17th Anniversary!!! Yeah! It doesn't seem like we've been married that long until we realize the number. I'm lucky to have Chris...ok,I've got goofy-grin syndrome...this means I'm going to get sappy if I don't stop myself. So I will. hehe