Well friends what a weekend. By that I mean what a crappy weekend. There were some AMAZING parts (visiting some amazing friends) but for the most part we had a few disappointments that left us angry and a little worse for the wear. The weathermen and women in Indianapolis described the apocalyptic weather forecast in great detail on Friday. The weekend would be a wash. I tried as hard as I could to figure out how to get my art to the wine festival without the "tornados" "large hail" or "flooding" damaging it. One or all of these were events were promised. I finally decided that I would not go. I could not risk ruining all of my art. I patted myself on the back, applauding my responsibility. Look at what a grown up I am. Sigh. Now lets spend a rainy family day together. I will make some chili, we will watch wonderful movies and I will be so glad that I was so smart. NOPE. Lets watch it NOT rain and we end up at the pool. THE POOL! I get it. There are starving children in Africa, I understand this is a total first world problem. I really do. Even though I understood I was SO angry. I worked so hard to get ready for this. I have another show July 4th weekend. I will be super ready for it.( I reminded myself of this over and over)
I was now pretty bummed I focused on the wine part of things. I had earlier considered that pretty smart or "knowing your market". Now thanks to a misstep by mother nature I am left with lots of wine themed art, and picturing customers at my next show assuming I have a real drinking problem. I had just worked SO so SO SO so SO hard for this, and now. nothing.
Its now Monday and I should be over it, but was still struggling with being angry. I don't know why I did, but I thought of last year at this time. We had just accepted an offer on our house. We had no idea that we were about to head into a crazy few events that would make us almost lose selling it, and lose buying the one we live in now. We had no idea how scary it was to watch everything fall out from underneath us.
Last year at this time I would have casually joked that I was so stressed that it felt like "I was going to have a stroke." not knowing that mom would have a stroke in a few short months. This time last year I did not realize how crazy it was to move. How in a short year, I would feel like I had always lived in this house, and love my new neighbors to pieces, yet still feel like my old neighbors are still "MY neighbors" and I would miss seeing their smiling faces every day (I did have that figured out). I would not have known how to maneuver around my daughters new school and some of the politics that came with it.
In other words. Look at the difference a year can make. Look at the difference a DAY can make. I know this feels like a big deal now, but put on your big girl pants, and get over it because who knows what tomorrow will bring! Stop wasting time wishing it is different, it's just not! So I am getting ready for an amazing summer with my girls, and a few art shows that look like I am a professional wine drinker. There are surely worse things than that. Happy Monday, people! :)
Monday, June 3, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Get the Girl with the Yellow Shoes!
There are times in every woman's life that you hear yourself turn into your mother. Luckily for me my mom ROCKS. Today I turned into my dad. My dad loves sports, and played quite a few of them when he was in high school. He can see a high school baseball game, basketball game or track meet happening and go watch. He doesn't have to know anyone playing. I never understood that. Today I met my parents (who hosted my kids for the night) at the soccer fields for Julia's game. I got there too early and watched the tail end of the game before hers and loved watching it. WHAT? I am at the fields 4 days a week and I am watching soccer I don't have to?? DO I have a fever?? NOPE. I am turning into a soccer mom. I love how much Julia loves to play. If she loved checkers as much, I would happily be the best checkers mom around. Julia has chosen soccer and is pretty good at it. Today I heard the opposing coach yell "Stay on that girl with the yellow shoes, every time she gets the ball she scores!" That is my Julia!! We have had a few coaches come talk to her after the game and make sure that she is going to try out for the travel team (she is). Each time it kind of reminds me of Mr. Slugworth chatting it up with each of the Wonka kids. Either way, Julia has her sport and is very good at it, and I am so proud of her!
Sports. blurg. I spent a lot of time as a kid, stressing out about sports. I was not good at anything team oriented. I was the one in gym class that felt like I was going to barf when the ball came towards me. I had gymnastics. I was pretty good at it, but more importantly I loved it! I always wished that team sports were in my future, the good friends, the teamwork, the trips to dairy queen for team treats, all day tournaments. All the while I was drawing and doing back walkovers in my yard to my Huey lewis and the News tape. I was kind of jealous.
My school did not have a gymnastics team, if they had I would have been the first in line. We did have cheerleading. One of the skills a cheerleader has to have is tumbling. Finally all of the time with Huey Lewis and the boom box will pay off! I made my Jr. high cheerleading squad! I really was so excited! Would we go to Dairy Queen and get team treats? Nope! Would people resent me for doing this? Yep. I never saw people in a fight over being on the volleyball team. I get it, cheerleading comes with clout. Who am I to sit here and say poor me, I was a cheerleader. I loved the gymnastics I got to do as a cheerleader, I loved the teamwork, just like I thought I would. I was super uncomfortable in the uniforms. I was uncomfortable with how people judged me before they got to know me. I loved all the posters I made. I know that sounds crazy but I learned a lot about lettering.:) I love the people I met while cheering.
Libby. She is artsy and uncoordinated. She of course can grow in and out of either of those things. She is NOT competitive. She has asked me why both teams playing soccer can't win. Its like God is allowing me to raise myself. Obviously Libby is her own person and will find her own way. It will be interesting to watch her make her choices as her personality strikes a chord with how I was. It will break my heart to see her crying about softball in gym class! Its funny how important sports feel at the time, and as an adult I have never, not once, thrown flips down the aisle at Target.. I also have not been in there when Heart of Rock and Roll was playing over the speaker, so who knows?
In other words, I will be at the soccer fields and I can't wait to see her grow and change. I am excited to see what Libby does and how she chooses her own paths. Life is pretty amazing. Being able to be a mother to two kids that could not be more different is such a blessing. Go team!
Sports. blurg. I spent a lot of time as a kid, stressing out about sports. I was not good at anything team oriented. I was the one in gym class that felt like I was going to barf when the ball came towards me. I had gymnastics. I was pretty good at it, but more importantly I loved it! I always wished that team sports were in my future, the good friends, the teamwork, the trips to dairy queen for team treats, all day tournaments. All the while I was drawing and doing back walkovers in my yard to my Huey lewis and the News tape. I was kind of jealous.
My school did not have a gymnastics team, if they had I would have been the first in line. We did have cheerleading. One of the skills a cheerleader has to have is tumbling. Finally all of the time with Huey Lewis and the boom box will pay off! I made my Jr. high cheerleading squad! I really was so excited! Would we go to Dairy Queen and get team treats? Nope! Would people resent me for doing this? Yep. I never saw people in a fight over being on the volleyball team. I get it, cheerleading comes with clout. Who am I to sit here and say poor me, I was a cheerleader. I loved the gymnastics I got to do as a cheerleader, I loved the teamwork, just like I thought I would. I was super uncomfortable in the uniforms. I was uncomfortable with how people judged me before they got to know me. I loved all the posters I made. I know that sounds crazy but I learned a lot about lettering.:) I love the people I met while cheering.
Libby. She is artsy and uncoordinated. She of course can grow in and out of either of those things. She is NOT competitive. She has asked me why both teams playing soccer can't win. Its like God is allowing me to raise myself. Obviously Libby is her own person and will find her own way. It will be interesting to watch her make her choices as her personality strikes a chord with how I was. It will break my heart to see her crying about softball in gym class! Its funny how important sports feel at the time, and as an adult I have never, not once, thrown flips down the aisle at Target.. I also have not been in there when Heart of Rock and Roll was playing over the speaker, so who knows?
In other words, I will be at the soccer fields and I can't wait to see her grow and change. I am excited to see what Libby does and how she chooses her own paths. Life is pretty amazing. Being able to be a mother to two kids that could not be more different is such a blessing. Go team!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Duck, duck, buck ,,bo buck banana fanna fo.....WHAT THE WHAT???
Mark today on your calendar. Today is the day that I passed my fear/phobia onto my youngest daughter. Today will be brought up in future therapy sessions for Libby. I will most likely be asked to pay for it.
I started the day off with coffee. It was thunder storming last night and the smaller of my two dogs climbs me like a monkey during storms. Needless to say I did not sleep well. I got Miss Julia on the bus and was getting Libby ready for a day with my mother in law. I ran outside to throw a box in the recycle bin. I saw a few weeds and pulled them. I was on the phone with my mom. I was in the middle of telling her that a friend suggested I blog daily, and how I didn't feel like I had much to talk about every day. I then told her there was a pair of ducks that must have a nest in the yard behind us. They waddle all over and how I thought they were so cute.
This is unusual for me as I HATE BIRDS. I would not consider me a phobic or anxious person about much. Birds do me in. I like them in their place. I like small birds. Large birds anywhere near me and I can feel my throat closing. UGH. I hate them. My best friend still loves to tell the story about me trying to pay for a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch for Libby, as a wild turkey got closer and closer to me. I am sure it is funny to watch from the outside. From my point of few I would like nothing more than to kick that turkey hard.
I went inside and poured my second cup of coffee and see both dogs at the patio door asking to go out. That is when I saw it...A HUGE DUCK was in my screened in porch. I was still on the phone with my mom and went into full on melt down mode. I can only imagine what my mom thought, I was freaking out!!! How in the world did it get in there?? Below is a dramatized video of how I reacted. Minus stripping down to my underwear.
I started the day off with coffee. It was thunder storming last night and the smaller of my two dogs climbs me like a monkey during storms. Needless to say I did not sleep well. I got Miss Julia on the bus and was getting Libby ready for a day with my mother in law. I ran outside to throw a box in the recycle bin. I saw a few weeds and pulled them. I was on the phone with my mom. I was in the middle of telling her that a friend suggested I blog daily, and how I didn't feel like I had much to talk about every day. I then told her there was a pair of ducks that must have a nest in the yard behind us. They waddle all over and how I thought they were so cute.
This is unusual for me as I HATE BIRDS. I would not consider me a phobic or anxious person about much. Birds do me in. I like them in their place. I like small birds. Large birds anywhere near me and I can feel my throat closing. UGH. I hate them. My best friend still loves to tell the story about me trying to pay for a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch for Libby, as a wild turkey got closer and closer to me. I am sure it is funny to watch from the outside. From my point of few I would like nothing more than to kick that turkey hard.
I went inside and poured my second cup of coffee and see both dogs at the patio door asking to go out. That is when I saw it...A HUGE DUCK was in my screened in porch. I was still on the phone with my mom and went into full on melt down mode. I can only imagine what my mom thought, I was freaking out!!! How in the world did it get in there?? Below is a dramatized video of how I reacted. Minus stripping down to my underwear.
I do remember in the midst of yelling I said "I don't invite crazy into my life, it just finds me, in the form of a duck." I told my mom I was going to get a shovel. CALM DOWN. I was using it to prop open the door to the patio. I quietly crept up and propped the door open. The duck FRIgged out. I am now screaming again. I run in the house as I have a horrible thought of Libby opening the door to the patio and it getting in my house. I informed her that she is not to open the door. (still screaming) I did a quick assessment and realized that the duck FLEW THROUGH THE SCREEN. It was shredded. cool.
I brainstormed a way out of this. I grabbed a loaf of bread and took it outside. and through the propped open door, I threw balls of bread in a crazy trail to try to lure this kamikaze duck out. I now noticed that the friends the duck was flying with were outside the porch screaming at it. HOLY COW, what if they followed the trail IN TO my porch?? It was a chance I would have to take. I was CRAZY sweating. I went inside to see if my plan would work....it kind of made me laugh. I set a trap like they do on Tom and Jerry! I finally said that I needed to shower and prayed (literally) that the duck would be gone when I got down. It was!!!! YEA!!!! Thank you God! I am wondering if I tempted fate by saying I had nothing exciting to blog about, or if I jinxed it by complimenting this duck family.
Here is photo evidence after the fact. This is the trap I sat up (minus the acme box), who knew that ducks will not eat white bread. This was clearly a fancy duck and has better things to do than eat my bread.
Here is the hole that was ripped in the screen in my patio window....blurg.
This is the duck crap all over my chair!
I bet this WAS the mom duck that lives behind us. I bet she had a fight with the dad duck. "I sat on those eggs all night in a thunderstorm and you can't even pick up the nest? I am going into that porch and not coming out until you pick up something"
Maybe she was texting and flying? Clearly she did not sign any contact with Oprah.
I wonder what she is blogging about today? The horrible food people eat, the soft and cushy toilets they have.
Either way I did learn that you never know what is going to happen in your morning. I learned my kid is pretty good in a panic filled situation. She hugged me and told me that I should probably calm down. She watched the duck while I showered and let me know when it left. That kid is pretty great.
So....if there is lesson to be learned it is never compliment a duck.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Happy Mothers Day to all of you amazing moms out there! I hope your day was amazing!! Mothers day rocked here in the Clark house. Saturday was my day and Sunday was split between my mom and my mother in law. On Saturday I woke up to my kids bringing me breakfast in bed that they made. Gross chunky cold oatmeal with fruit in it. I think I need another day of celebration dedicated to me, just for having to eat it. They watched me take bite after bite and asked me each time how much I loved it. I could see my husband smirking in the background. (For those that know him he has a grand champion smirk) So I started my day off with a few white lies about oatmeal! Then I got my real present. I had asked that everyone help me clean the house-WITHOUT WHINING OR FIGHTING WITH EACH OTHER. Those crazy kids did it!! It made me almost forget about the cold oatmeal. almost. The yard was mowed and edged. The house was picked up and looking somewhat normal. We then headed over to the soccer fields. Julia's team has yet to win one game. It is oddly enough still fun to watch. Julia played against her best friends team. It was fun and unnerving to watch them play against each other. Julia rocked. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that she is good. It is fun to watch your kid be really good at something. I love seeing that smirk that she inherited, as she dribbles past the whole field of kids. Anyway...after soccer I went to the movie theater BY MYSELF with a bag of jelly beans and watched Gatsby. It was great. being alone, Gatsby and the jelly beans (my favorite). I then came home and watched my kids play hide and seek in the backyard. It was one of those nights that the light was perfect and it looked like I was watching a movie. They were laughing and rolling around, and I tried to memorize it all. I knew that this would be a moment I would try to recreate later in my head when either the kids hated each other or life got really hard. I love moments like that and wish we had a pause button.
Random thought. Yesterday my mother in law said something that surprised me. She asked for a lint brush before we went to church. She said that she didn't want dog hair in her car. Totally reasonable. We have two dogs, one is black and one is white. In other words you will have visible dog hair on you no matter what you have on. What surprised me is that would never be a thought that I would have. I hope that everyone I am supposed to have with me is in the car. I hope that everyone has shoes on and hair brushed. ( 50/50 shot on both) I have to run through my checklist out loud....do we have water bottle, soccer ball, swim bag, soccer bag, grocery list, snacks, guitar? I am constantly telling my kids to pick up the car. Often there are times that there is an unidentifiable smell in my van. We have to play a yucky game of trying to sniff it out. Gross. We are just in this stage of life. My mother in law was once in this place. She is the mother of 5 amazing kids, my husband being the youngest. All of her kids were involved in sports. I am sure there were days that she didn't know whether she had the right kids with her. She has earned the right to not want dog hair in her car. My thought on the whole mess was, what if I never notice? What if I am the retiree grandma with dog hair all over me and gross smells in my car? I am praying this is a natural process that just "happens". Otherwise I am counting on my amazing girlfriends to tell me to freakin' pull it together.
On another note, I finished the mini marathon!!! I could not have asked to do it with a more amazing person! It was amazing. Just when you felt like this is the dumbest idea ever, someone would run past you with a physical handicap or visibly struggling. Yep, just keep moving. It was a great experience and so glad I did it!
I am getting ready for a big artshow on June first. Big to the point that anything I am doing that is not getting ready for that , kind of makes me nervous. It feels like finals week! :) A feeling I secretly like as long as it is only every once in a while. So I am off to snuggle my kid and paint stuff!
Have a super Monday!
Random thought. Yesterday my mother in law said something that surprised me. She asked for a lint brush before we went to church. She said that she didn't want dog hair in her car. Totally reasonable. We have two dogs, one is black and one is white. In other words you will have visible dog hair on you no matter what you have on. What surprised me is that would never be a thought that I would have. I hope that everyone I am supposed to have with me is in the car. I hope that everyone has shoes on and hair brushed. ( 50/50 shot on both) I have to run through my checklist out loud....do we have water bottle, soccer ball, swim bag, soccer bag, grocery list, snacks, guitar? I am constantly telling my kids to pick up the car. Often there are times that there is an unidentifiable smell in my van. We have to play a yucky game of trying to sniff it out. Gross. We are just in this stage of life. My mother in law was once in this place. She is the mother of 5 amazing kids, my husband being the youngest. All of her kids were involved in sports. I am sure there were days that she didn't know whether she had the right kids with her. She has earned the right to not want dog hair in her car. My thought on the whole mess was, what if I never notice? What if I am the retiree grandma with dog hair all over me and gross smells in my car? I am praying this is a natural process that just "happens". Otherwise I am counting on my amazing girlfriends to tell me to freakin' pull it together.
On another note, I finished the mini marathon!!! I could not have asked to do it with a more amazing person! It was amazing. Just when you felt like this is the dumbest idea ever, someone would run past you with a physical handicap or visibly struggling. Yep, just keep moving. It was a great experience and so glad I did it!
I am getting ready for a big artshow on June first. Big to the point that anything I am doing that is not getting ready for that , kind of makes me nervous. It feels like finals week! :) A feeling I secretly like as long as it is only every once in a while. So I am off to snuggle my kid and paint stuff!
Have a super Monday!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
back in the day....in my face.
I am going to start the blog out with a fact or two. I was in a sorority. Are you judging me yet? In high school I was a cheerleader and now my kid plays soccer so I guess I am a "soccer mom" Pretty sure if you weren't judging me before, you are now. I am also an artist and self proclaimed suburban hippie. All of these images might seem conflicting until you get to know all parties involved.
My niece is now in the same sorority that I was in. It has been fun to see her enjoy it and go back and visit at the same place that I lived. When I walk in it feels like I walked into a time machine that landed in the late 90's. The house pretty much looks the same. The first few times I went to see my niece I was sort of uncomfortable. I saw myself as I was. I am in my mid 30's, I am driving a minivan that is full of kid stuff, yet walking around the house I felt like I was 19. It was conflicting enough that it felt kind of uncomfortable.
My niece invited me to sell my art this past weekend at Mom's weekend. The art selling itself went great! This was the first time that I saw most of the girls in the house. When I visit they are all usually studying or just hanging out. They all came in and out of the basement looking at art, chit chatting about their weekend. All of a sudden I was focusing on them. I heard their attitudes, the way they spoke, and their plans for the evening. I was quickly matching up their personalities with the gals that I lived with. I know that sounds crazy. There are around a hundred girls that live in that house. There will always be the partiers, the girls who are natural leaders, who are mean, ones who lead bible study, the ones that make people laugh, the ones that make anyone feel comfortable, and the ones that make everyone uncomfortable. I think it is just how it goes. It was hard to put into words how this past weekend made me appreciate my time living there.
I came from a small town and am an only child. I never shared a room with anyone until I got to college. My hometown was a great place to grow up, but had little to no diversity. When I got to the sorority, there were people from other countries, people from other states, people of all religions. As stressful as college can be, the amount of free time we actually had was amazing. We sat around in hallways, dining room, basement and talked about where we came from, what we thought about life and where we thought we were headed. We ran out to get big pops, we laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore. I get it sounds like we lived in a wonderland. NOT true. There were fights and depression. People pushed each other to the limit and then some. All in all it was a place that introduced me to so much and allowed me to be exactly who I was supposed to be.
Since college I have grown closer with many of my sorority sisters and lost touch with some. We have watched each other get married, have children, start jobs, lose jobs. We have seen deaths, divorce and horrible health scares. I am so glad for facebook. It has allowed me to see the amazing women that these squirrely girls have turned into. When ever anyone is discouraged or posts something on facebook that requires "being backed up" it is 9 times out of 10 the girls that we lived with all those years ago posting words of encouragement. We knew each other before life got complicated and I love how quickly we jump in to give a "verbal" hand.
Many thanks to the current girls for inviting me to sell my art. I am so glad that my attitude changed from being self conscience about "being old" and looking around and appreciating why I loved living there so much and why it made me comfortable with me....a suburban hippie!
My niece is now in the same sorority that I was in. It has been fun to see her enjoy it and go back and visit at the same place that I lived. When I walk in it feels like I walked into a time machine that landed in the late 90's. The house pretty much looks the same. The first few times I went to see my niece I was sort of uncomfortable. I saw myself as I was. I am in my mid 30's, I am driving a minivan that is full of kid stuff, yet walking around the house I felt like I was 19. It was conflicting enough that it felt kind of uncomfortable.
My niece invited me to sell my art this past weekend at Mom's weekend. The art selling itself went great! This was the first time that I saw most of the girls in the house. When I visit they are all usually studying or just hanging out. They all came in and out of the basement looking at art, chit chatting about their weekend. All of a sudden I was focusing on them. I heard their attitudes, the way they spoke, and their plans for the evening. I was quickly matching up their personalities with the gals that I lived with. I know that sounds crazy. There are around a hundred girls that live in that house. There will always be the partiers, the girls who are natural leaders, who are mean, ones who lead bible study, the ones that make people laugh, the ones that make anyone feel comfortable, and the ones that make everyone uncomfortable. I think it is just how it goes. It was hard to put into words how this past weekend made me appreciate my time living there.
I came from a small town and am an only child. I never shared a room with anyone until I got to college. My hometown was a great place to grow up, but had little to no diversity. When I got to the sorority, there were people from other countries, people from other states, people of all religions. As stressful as college can be, the amount of free time we actually had was amazing. We sat around in hallways, dining room, basement and talked about where we came from, what we thought about life and where we thought we were headed. We ran out to get big pops, we laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore. I get it sounds like we lived in a wonderland. NOT true. There were fights and depression. People pushed each other to the limit and then some. All in all it was a place that introduced me to so much and allowed me to be exactly who I was supposed to be.
Since college I have grown closer with many of my sorority sisters and lost touch with some. We have watched each other get married, have children, start jobs, lose jobs. We have seen deaths, divorce and horrible health scares. I am so glad for facebook. It has allowed me to see the amazing women that these squirrely girls have turned into. When ever anyone is discouraged or posts something on facebook that requires "being backed up" it is 9 times out of 10 the girls that we lived with all those years ago posting words of encouragement. We knew each other before life got complicated and I love how quickly we jump in to give a "verbal" hand.
Many thanks to the current girls for inviting me to sell my art. I am so glad that my attitude changed from being self conscience about "being old" and looking around and appreciating why I loved living there so much and why it made me comfortable with me....a suburban hippie!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Random Ramblings
You know how you go through life and think to yourself, I will remember this moment forever? You won't. At least I don't. I think I am going to remember the way baseball games smell, and what my kids said loudly in public bathrooms, what the sun feels like when its February, but it kind of fades away. Today I am just writing down randomness, more for me than you. You can play along.
1. Vacation. We just got back from Florida. We spent quite a bit of time on the beach. The kids loved it. I did too. I think I could sit on the beach forever. One moment I will remember is when Libby told Mark that she had to pee. Mark said "Just go in the ocean" She walked in, I would say 6 inches. The water could not have even covered her feet. She stood facing away from us and then pulled down her swimsuit and squatted. All we could see was her cute little butt. I held my breath and watched as she peed with her bare butt out for the whole world to see. She will hate this story. I am pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while.
2. My friend Cheryl needs to write a book. I met Cheryl when I was a freshman in college, she lived down the hall from me. I can honestly say she is one of my favorite people I have ever met. I was fascinated by her and her family. They are the most talented bunch of people I have seen in one family. Her brother is and artist, her sister is an artist. They all 5 sing, play the guitar and harmonize together. It sounds like a movie! Cheryl also writes. I am not sure what she does in her own time with it. I see her facebook posts. She is funny, she writes in a way that you laugh outloud and can't wait for her next post. She writes in a way that you can relate to her life and laugh and cry with her. SWEET HEAVENS CHERYL. Write a book already. If nothing else...please blog. You are perfect for it. I would offer to illustrate something, but I think your family could lend a hand on that !
3. Career day is Friday. I found out that I have to fill up 30 MINUTES of talking about what I do. I should probably figure that out.
4. I cried watching walking dead this week. Damned zombies.
5. I never remember how tense it is to drive home from Florida. The traffic. The poorly repacked clothes spilling out. Sand is now in the car. No one can find their "cute travel stuff" that was packed for the drive down. We are driving AWAY from the beach. We are now eating what feels like our 200th fastfood drive thru. This time we thought we would add a stop at a Mexican restaurant into the mix. This went about as well as you could imagine. Enjoyable meal, then we were all trapped in the car together. gross. We made it home and are better people for it! :)
I am sure I will think of more later but this is what needs to get out right now! :)
1. Vacation. We just got back from Florida. We spent quite a bit of time on the beach. The kids loved it. I did too. I think I could sit on the beach forever. One moment I will remember is when Libby told Mark that she had to pee. Mark said "Just go in the ocean" She walked in, I would say 6 inches. The water could not have even covered her feet. She stood facing away from us and then pulled down her swimsuit and squatted. All we could see was her cute little butt. I held my breath and watched as she peed with her bare butt out for the whole world to see. She will hate this story. I am pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while.
2. My friend Cheryl needs to write a book. I met Cheryl when I was a freshman in college, she lived down the hall from me. I can honestly say she is one of my favorite people I have ever met. I was fascinated by her and her family. They are the most talented bunch of people I have seen in one family. Her brother is and artist, her sister is an artist. They all 5 sing, play the guitar and harmonize together. It sounds like a movie! Cheryl also writes. I am not sure what she does in her own time with it. I see her facebook posts. She is funny, she writes in a way that you laugh outloud and can't wait for her next post. She writes in a way that you can relate to her life and laugh and cry with her. SWEET HEAVENS CHERYL. Write a book already. If nothing else...please blog. You are perfect for it. I would offer to illustrate something, but I think your family could lend a hand on that !
3. Career day is Friday. I found out that I have to fill up 30 MINUTES of talking about what I do. I should probably figure that out.
4. I cried watching walking dead this week. Damned zombies.
5. I never remember how tense it is to drive home from Florida. The traffic. The poorly repacked clothes spilling out. Sand is now in the car. No one can find their "cute travel stuff" that was packed for the drive down. We are driving AWAY from the beach. We are now eating what feels like our 200th fastfood drive thru. This time we thought we would add a stop at a Mexican restaurant into the mix. This went about as well as you could imagine. Enjoyable meal, then we were all trapped in the car together. gross. We made it home and are better people for it! :)
I am sure I will think of more later but this is what needs to get out right now! :)
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Career Day
Hidden in the millions of papers in my 9 year olds Friday folder was an application to speak at the school's career day. I asked my daughter if she minded if I signed up. (I was going to anyway) :)
I filled out the questions and was so excited. I was praying that I would be one of the parents chosen. I remember in 5th grade we had a career day. I can remember what the lady looked like and where I was sitting in the room when she spoke about being a graphic designer. I had a million questions. I remember not even being able to concentrate in class after hearing her speak. I was good at art,I loved it and I could turn it into a job. This lady did it and so could I!! From that point, I knew that art was what I wanted to do for a job. I hope there is some artsy kid out there that hates gym class, and is pretty excited that they can turn what they love to do most into a job.
A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail from the principal letting me know that I had been chosen, when to come in to speak and that they would really like emphasis put onto the training I did to do my job, whether it be college or trade school. If the training was from a university, please wear something representing that school. Easy enough. My daughter was excited and so was I! This morning I filled out one last questionnaire for the day, a program is being made and they wanted me to write down what a typical day is like at my work. I literally laughed out loud. As most of you know I am an artist, but mostly right now a stay at home mom.
I laughed because Friday my 5 year old was having a birthday party and we got some suspicious mail on Thursday that looked like someone was using our identity. I spoke with a police officer over my kitchen counter while I was feverishly making a unicorn cake and cupcakes. Sunday night I rushed my 5 year old to the Emergency Room after she tried to balance a quarter on her forehead and it slid into her mouth and was swallowed. There was a very short while that she wasn't breathing and we did have to call 911. She quickly was fine, minus the quarter rolling around in her. After an x-ray I was told that we needed to wait "until we found it" This means exactly what it sounds like. We will look thru our kid's poop until we find a quarter. A game that is less fun than is sounds. (This is why you wash your hands after touching money :)) So....I was struggling to fill out a paper that asked to describe a " typical day". I had already "checked for the quarter" and had not even had coffee yet. I don't think Purdue University wants to be associated with the truth on this one, so I did the best I could. " My day varies depending on the project I am working on. Some days I am designing things on my computer, others I am painting a mural. Some days I am working on artwork at home and getting ready for an art show."
I left out the endless laundry, the times I clean the kitchen 3 times a day, when my kids are sick and we don't leave the house for days and days. The time your kid will ask if she can use your paper cutter. When you say no, she will ask if she can have it when you die? what? I didn't mention the phone calls with amazing friends. My amazing, hardworking husband, the times when money is there, the times when it is not. I didn't mention how long it takes to unpack at new house. How sad it is to see your kids sad. How a glass of wine with a girlfriend can fix a lot. I wont tell people that at every art show there is one jerk that points out that they could do this, and do it better. awesome.
I forgot to mention that I don't fit in any of my clothes I wore when I was "trained for my job". I didn't say I now know how smart my parents are and wished I realized it earlier. I also didn't mention how a quarter in your kid could scare you to death and show you how quickly life can change. I also forgot to mention guardian angels.
My friend and I always joke that some things were not in the "being an adult" brochure we got in college. I worked VERY hard in college and played just as hard. I got very good grades and had great internships and made amazing friends. I was also thinking George Lucas and I were going to be best friends after he rang my doorbell and asked me personally to work for him (slight exaggeration). I soon found out that being a designer was 10% designing and 90% dealing with coworkers, clients, a disgruntled computer and quickly changing technology. I am not alone in this. In other words every person who speaks at career day will be lying by omission. Yes I became a nurse because I wanted to help people. They won't mention the vomit they clean up, crazy co-workers and Dr's that don't get along with anyone.
We lie because we do LOVE what we do and if we were honest, there would be no one to do this job after us. We don't want to scare them. Sometimes when you hear reality outloud from someone else it sounds crazy. When you live it, it can be so much better than you ever imagined.
So, on career day, I cannot wait to share the highlights with these little chipmunks and I will not talk about poop, or the police, or laundry. I just hope that there is one artsy kid out there that leaves thinking...NO WAY!!!!!
I filled out the questions and was so excited. I was praying that I would be one of the parents chosen. I remember in 5th grade we had a career day. I can remember what the lady looked like and where I was sitting in the room when she spoke about being a graphic designer. I had a million questions. I remember not even being able to concentrate in class after hearing her speak. I was good at art,I loved it and I could turn it into a job. This lady did it and so could I!! From that point, I knew that art was what I wanted to do for a job. I hope there is some artsy kid out there that hates gym class, and is pretty excited that they can turn what they love to do most into a job.
A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail from the principal letting me know that I had been chosen, when to come in to speak and that they would really like emphasis put onto the training I did to do my job, whether it be college or trade school. If the training was from a university, please wear something representing that school. Easy enough. My daughter was excited and so was I! This morning I filled out one last questionnaire for the day, a program is being made and they wanted me to write down what a typical day is like at my work. I literally laughed out loud. As most of you know I am an artist, but mostly right now a stay at home mom.
I laughed because Friday my 5 year old was having a birthday party and we got some suspicious mail on Thursday that looked like someone was using our identity. I spoke with a police officer over my kitchen counter while I was feverishly making a unicorn cake and cupcakes. Sunday night I rushed my 5 year old to the Emergency Room after she tried to balance a quarter on her forehead and it slid into her mouth and was swallowed. There was a very short while that she wasn't breathing and we did have to call 911. She quickly was fine, minus the quarter rolling around in her. After an x-ray I was told that we needed to wait "until we found it" This means exactly what it sounds like. We will look thru our kid's poop until we find a quarter. A game that is less fun than is sounds. (This is why you wash your hands after touching money :)) So....I was struggling to fill out a paper that asked to describe a " typical day". I had already "checked for the quarter" and had not even had coffee yet. I don't think Purdue University wants to be associated with the truth on this one, so I did the best I could. " My day varies depending on the project I am working on. Some days I am designing things on my computer, others I am painting a mural. Some days I am working on artwork at home and getting ready for an art show."
I left out the endless laundry, the times I clean the kitchen 3 times a day, when my kids are sick and we don't leave the house for days and days. The time your kid will ask if she can use your paper cutter. When you say no, she will ask if she can have it when you die? what? I didn't mention the phone calls with amazing friends. My amazing, hardworking husband, the times when money is there, the times when it is not. I didn't mention how long it takes to unpack at new house. How sad it is to see your kids sad. How a glass of wine with a girlfriend can fix a lot. I wont tell people that at every art show there is one jerk that points out that they could do this, and do it better. awesome.
I forgot to mention that I don't fit in any of my clothes I wore when I was "trained for my job". I didn't say I now know how smart my parents are and wished I realized it earlier. I also didn't mention how a quarter in your kid could scare you to death and show you how quickly life can change. I also forgot to mention guardian angels.
My friend and I always joke that some things were not in the "being an adult" brochure we got in college. I worked VERY hard in college and played just as hard. I got very good grades and had great internships and made amazing friends. I was also thinking George Lucas and I were going to be best friends after he rang my doorbell and asked me personally to work for him (slight exaggeration). I soon found out that being a designer was 10% designing and 90% dealing with coworkers, clients, a disgruntled computer and quickly changing technology. I am not alone in this. In other words every person who speaks at career day will be lying by omission. Yes I became a nurse because I wanted to help people. They won't mention the vomit they clean up, crazy co-workers and Dr's that don't get along with anyone.
We lie because we do LOVE what we do and if we were honest, there would be no one to do this job after us. We don't want to scare them. Sometimes when you hear reality outloud from someone else it sounds crazy. When you live it, it can be so much better than you ever imagined.
So, on career day, I cannot wait to share the highlights with these little chipmunks and I will not talk about poop, or the police, or laundry. I just hope that there is one artsy kid out there that leaves thinking...NO WAY!!!!!
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