tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14241714552162310072024-03-19T00:18:28.984-04:00Lulu's SandbarArt every day, every way!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-57766881512496123962013-04-06T13:22:00.000-04:002013-04-06T13:22:12.863-04:00Lulu's Mixed Media - Punny Art!Wow, April 6 and I haven't posted every day....but at least I am still posting in 2013, so you know...progress!<br />
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I am chipping away at the stack of art supplies and I haven't been back to the craft stores yet...although - I did receive my new <a href="https://whimseybox.com/">Whimseybox</a> yesterday - string art! I think I will combine the supplies from this box with my new custom logo stamp from Kemble Hildreth at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/people/StandardStamp">Standard Stamp Co</a>, to design a logo board for inspiration. Thanks Kemble - I love my stamps!<br />
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Here is the art of the day - a new mixed media assemblage for the <a href="https://whimseybox.com/">Sandbar</a>. It is the first in a series of Punny Art, mixing wordplay with bits of paper, tin and other ephemera.<br />
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This is Punny Art #1 - "She was just a whiskey maker....but he loved her still."<br />
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Also, for the link of the day, if you have never been to <a href="http://ClothPaperScissors.com/">ClothPaperScissors.com</a>, you should scamper over there for many projects, supplies and inspiration.<br />
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Finally....I'm supposed to be training for a 10k trail run in July...so off to run 5 miles today...<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-77362098030849829372013-03-26T10:17:00.000-04:002013-03-26T10:17:37.413-04:00One Art Piece per day..Wow. A lot of people have attempted to create one piece of art per day. In fact, a Google search on this topic turns up close to 4 million hits.<br />
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Apparently, other artists are trying to reduce their hoarded artsy stuff pile too!<br />
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For me, past attempts to create every day - just like diets and exercise and healthy eating and learning new words - start out very strong. I am full of purpose and inspiration and gumption.<br />
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Unfortunately, by the end of the first week I am usually slumped in front of Pinterest...again.<br />
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Lately, my best attempts to create every day include me shutting one eye and viewing the toothpaste stain on my black top, to see if a picture of it can somehow be categorized as mixed media...<br />
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But - I am one canvas down - woot woot! A tiny space has opened up in the art pile.<br />
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Here is a tiny piece of art for today - let's see how it does over there on the etsy Sandbar.<br />
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Cheers,<br />
Lulu<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 35px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span></span>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-38260793193002074732013-03-24T17:38:00.003-04:002013-03-24T17:38:28.680-04:00Lulu Craft RebootIt's crazy. I feel like I've been swept out to sea...I've been spending so much time on work, products for my store and life in general, little bits of me seem to be flow ashore and back. I've needed to pick up some of the pieces and let others get washed away....and just like the sands of time, so have the days of my life passed....<br />
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Ok. Too many sandbar analogies, I know. Sorry.<br />
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Lulu 2.0 in progress, trying to bring all of the parts of my life together - so I've reached into the waves and plucked my blog out, shaking it off and giving it new life.<br />
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I start with a hoarder's confession.<br />
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Bless me Martha Stewart, for I have sinned.....I have become a craft hoarder, not an art creator.<br />
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As I look around the two rooms that make up my studio, I can see the piles of my mixed media life - the flotsam and jetsam spilling out everywhere. In my mind, I see a cartoon idea cloud, with half-formed phrases and images circling around the clutter of canvases, paints, papers, vintage tin, markers and magazines....so many ideas and a TLC-hoarders load of items to bring them to life.<br />
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Unfortunately, I still have a full time global job. Oh those pesky bills just keep showing up in the mailbox.....and I have only so much time to devote to my craft.<br />
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So I think I need to break up with my local and online craft and fabric stores. Or maybe just take a break for a while. And it's not them, it's me....although.. Really - they do have to take some blame for friending, discounting and frequent-shopper-carding me, and for stocking their shelves with tantalizing new tools. The siren call of a new ink, paint or stamp carving tool is often irresistable..<br />
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Here is one pile in one corner of one room...</div>
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In just this room alone, I have at least 30 blank canvases, 60 paper bags, 6 boxes of crayons, three bins full of paints, 300 markers, 200 paintbrushes, over 500 sheets of craft paper, multiple Whimseybox projects, 400 fat quarters, boxes and bags and bins of paper, tin and fabric ephemera....all waiting to be manipulated, crafted, artisaned, painted, scissored, torn, inked, glued, sewn, stamped, embossed, printed, enhanced, wrapped and somehow....made into art pieces.<br />
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It's exhausting.<br />
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And my art used to be fun, and relaxing and re-energizing for me. When I didn't have so much stuff to <i>make</i> the art, the ideas flowed easier and I was happier with my creations. Now, it feels as if I pile on every tag, color, stamp or ink available and nothing feels finished until it has 12 elements crowded into every corner of the work. Or I put off finishing a piece until I get to the store to find the latest cool tool, then bring home the bags, look around the room and just slump in front of Pinterest with a glass of wine, to search for yet more 'inspiration.'<br />
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Other than the wine, I never accomplish anything. It's like a big sugar crafty high, that leaves me too drained to create.<br />
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So - Michael and JoAnn and A.C....if you don't see me for a while, please don't call, don't write, don't email me with 50% coupon offers or tweet new colors or Facebook me with new products. We'll get back together in the future, to reevaluate our relationship and talk about our future.<br />
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For now, I need to work with the stuff that is surrounding me, before the cameras show up at my door for an art intervention.<br />
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As they say at <a href="https://whimseybox.com/?gclid=CKapx-enlrYCFQo3nAodlDkAww">Whimseybox</a>, I need to stop pinning and start making!<br />
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<br />http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-76931535400112223572012-08-05T21:55:00.001-04:002012-08-05T21:55:10.097-04:00Wow...is anyone still out there? It's me, Lulu of the Sandbar. Still here, still ummm...not blogging very much or very little or really - not at all. For a year! Crazy.<br />
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How did this year get away from me? Well - I do have a job that requires me to travel overseas, and I do have a busy family and my daughter go married and there was so much DRAAAAma with the in-laws, and I've been putting a lot of effort into my etsy store...<br />
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So - Hi! <br />
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If you're still interested, you'll see many changes coming up here in the near future, so stay tuned - or rather, get tuned. in. Again. I hope.<br />
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Cheers,<br />
Luhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-52254678878152926942011-09-10T22:31:00.002-04:002011-09-10T22:35:02.086-04:00Karma is hot and sweaty..Damn. That's what I get for complaining about the weather. In the past four months we've had crippling tornadoes, a frickin' earthquake - on the east coast! - and hurricanes.<div><br /></div><div>The local meteorologists are so excited, they're wriggling around like puppy dogs.</div><div><br /></div><div>And me? Once again, I have proof that God is not a woman...because She NEVER would have given me flabby triceps when I most need to go sleeveless.</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-9102667930578912752011-02-22T20:13:00.005-05:002011-02-22T20:31:26.110-05:00Don't MAKE me get the winter voodoo doll out!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPar1Yv1ZglH5OjBbKMY2FUCrr7I_2ujSPGIZReBluGm00a-Irh7WVaiMYSRCYtzwgNOHYYPIyCsIVbJHMq7xq0vdbZ8npjIrEjk7s7UxaKP5wDD8ZJF5ElIIyaMTPaTf1btWLojk8vQX/s1600/IMG_3841.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPar1Yv1ZglH5OjBbKMY2FUCrr7I_2ujSPGIZReBluGm00a-Irh7WVaiMYSRCYtzwgNOHYYPIyCsIVbJHMq7xq0vdbZ8npjIrEjk7s7UxaKP5wDD8ZJF5ElIIyaMTPaTf1btWLojk8vQX/s320/IMG_3841.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576690899979725746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pxrTgo1HEKBJzL7Bc1UDdOyCZiLvM4QL-4YCGTZpDTximZ709wk3hwRqNn258iLG1vHwHur0d8Os8YexStzxCwWaFvK0B9M2qtgdnxARnRq2eIesBlhG5J8xqpDD0Q7Hy2ik3qsmHh4p/s1600/IMG_5574.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pxrTgo1HEKBJzL7Bc1UDdOyCZiLvM4QL-4YCGTZpDTximZ709wk3hwRqNn258iLG1vHwHur0d8Os8YexStzxCwWaFvK0B9M2qtgdnxARnRq2eIesBlhG5J8xqpDD0Q7Hy2ik3qsmHh4p/s320/IMG_5574.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576690890792009266" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>OK, I really can't complain. Well - I <i>shouldn't</i> complain. I actually CAN complain, and do, and do so in a really fine fashion, I must say.<div><br /></div><div>So I shouldn't complain about winter. Other than the day after Christmas, when Mr. Lulu and I trudged to the store to get the requisite perishables in the 8 inches that fell that day, it hasn't been too bad here. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was even over 70 both days this weekend. And we could really use some snow for the drought we're having....</div><div><br /></div><div>It's just....grey and cold and wintery and icky. Everywhere! And I feel for all y'all with the snow again....yoiks.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I'm getting the voodoo doll out again. Winter, take that. and that. and that!</div></div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-49136322848594130452011-02-20T11:54:00.005-05:002011-02-20T19:33:44.137-05:00BRIGHT and COLORFUL for SPRING!!Yup - blog title shamelessly 'benchmarked' from fashion headlines....apparently, color is back in for the spring, which means that I seriously have to work out now, because if I can't hide behind my black skinny jeans, big black oversized sweater and black-patterned scarf any more......yoiks. Need to lose some winter elbeeeees. <div><br /></div><div>Or I could just find the skinny canvas cargo jeans with the big oversized brightly-colored summer-weight sweater and a fresh scarf!</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of bright and colorful - run and scamper to a new blog on my run/scamper list - <a href="http://brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com/">Laura Treavey and her Bright, Bold and Beautiful blog</a>. She paints beautiful watercolors and also has this great site where you can't help but feel very motivated to bring pretty colors into your life.....which I could really use this year....Oy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also - the firepit launch was great - we broke a few bottles of vodka and wine to christen it, and broke out the wieneround, the s'more maker and the marshmallow tree.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, I then had to use the new Lulu washer/dryer combo (story to come) to wash the smoke smell out of our clothes, and then had to wash the sheets and pillowcases because they picked up the smoke smell from our hair....sigghhhhhh....quite the production.</div><div><br /></div><div>But hey - being outside and relaxing with some friends around the fire really made it feel as if we are finally starting to come out of the winter dulls....</div><div><br /></div><div>And last for this sunny Sunday - one of my watercolors is featured in this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d615b1c8b7d8eef055be511/how-does-green-make-you-feel">etsy treasury</a> from zuzus world - thanks for checking it out!</div><div><br /></div><div>(huh. only two exclamation points. and here I thought I was waaaay too cheery...)</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-33600456896952274782011-02-18T15:30:00.005-05:002011-02-18T15:42:45.917-05:00Time to use the Wieneround!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CvrMKA6ge6yoLTCOcs0S0UPWKDO6zw-kzItncDDkzm4nAbSZ-wRQY9mho-5ZP85fxHJzdyJGTxYEq9d0vAxUFSszXOh7xl5EcfYt_dP5mhY0DQuiCLKb9ien1CHMkMwWEsBGLME9Ui93/s1600/IMG_6444.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CvrMKA6ge6yoLTCOcs0S0UPWKDO6zw-kzItncDDkzm4nAbSZ-wRQY9mho-5ZP85fxHJzdyJGTxYEq9d0vAxUFSszXOh7xl5EcfYt_dP5mhY0DQuiCLKb9ien1CHMkMwWEsBGLME9Ui93/s320/IMG_6444.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575132377257857154" /></a><br />Yes, that's right - Mr. Lulu has finished the backyard firepit, it is 75 toasty degrees here and it is time to fire up the Wieneround! This is quite possibly the best firepit tool ever - no need to exert yourself or even shift your beer...your hot dog will be perfectly cooked every time.<div><br /></div><div>Here's the description: </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(102, 102, 102); line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This Wieneround Fork sets a new standard in gourmet hot dog roasting by rotisserie cooking hot dogs and sausages without piercing the meat—just slip the dog inside the coiled cavity and rotate by turning the thumbwheel. With a turn of the thumbwheel, the coil holding the hot dog rotates which in effect rotisserie cooks the dog</span></span></span><br /><div><br /></div><div>That's right! Just slip the dog inside the coiled cavity.....I'm not saying, I'm just saying....<br /><div><br /></div><div>Of course, bratwurst / chili (for chili-cheese dogs) / coleslaw / chips / beer will round out this fine menu!</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>How do you roast your weenies?</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-70077301322198152142011-02-13T19:54:00.002-05:002011-02-13T19:58:43.686-05:00Can we ever get tired of seeing the red carpet fashion?Ummm...clearly - no.<div><br /></div><div>I am completely and totally attracted and fascinated and drawn to the fashions on the red carpet. So tonight it's the Grammys, previously it was the SAG awards and the Golden Globes. Pretty soon, of course it's the super bowl of fashion parades - the Academy Awards.</div><div><br /></div><div>But honestly, I would watch the Poulan Weedeater 2nd quarter district regional support sales pencil sharpener of the month awards, if there were a red carpet on E.</div><div><br /></div><div>Have to see the Gaga....</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-74499621069601582892010-11-22T20:20:00.003-05:002010-11-22T20:25:27.942-05:00Yay! Body Slam tomorrow...AKA, Airport SecurityYay! I get to go through airport security on the day before the biggest travel day of the year! Jumpy and clappy!<div><br /></div><div>Actually, I'm fine with the body scan. And trust me - after having spent 16 years in the radiology business? I know that the TSAs do not care what I look like under my Spanx. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just keeeeep moving, lady. That's it. Do the twirl. Get the backscatter. Be scanned. Keep moving. Next? </div><div><br /></div><div>We all look alike to them on the monitor and nobody has time to think about how I could use a little o'Jillian.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-77816298957109205812010-11-21T20:28:00.003-05:002010-11-21T20:43:35.148-05:00The Mother of all HolidaysSo....here we are. My sibs and I, about to experience the first holiday as true adults. As orphaned adults, that is...which is what I feel like tonight, after having spent the better part of two days unpacking my 'Mom and Dad house stuff'' plastic tubs and realizing over and over again, that both of my parents have passed on, crossed over, hit the penthouse, moved into a higher level of being....ok...I need to say it. They have died. <div><br /></div><div>Ummmm....they're in a big sixties lounge in the sky.</div><div><br /></div><div>See? Can't quite say it yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway........<br /><div><br /></div><div>And I have to admit, when I cut away the bubble wrap on some of the stuff, I'm thinking...WTF? Because I packed up three of the tubs in August, when mom had been gone less than a month and I was a huge bundle of raw grieving nerves and had become a mom memory hoarder and every post it note / envelope / cocktail stirrer had meaning.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>So I have some things here that - if she were here - my mom would be telling me to "<i>Dump already!</i>"</div><div><br /></div><div>I so get the TLC hoarders right now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Holiday stuff to come....</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-29748253587546307702010-11-16T20:23:00.002-05:002010-11-16T20:32:13.680-05:00Yummy Weekends...are exactly like the one that I just spent in a major east coast city enjoying beautiful late fall weather and celebrating a big family occasion.<div><br /></div><div>with juuuust enough family drama to provide juicy stories for <i>other</i> family members (*ahem..my sister) who will oh so satisfyingly exclaim "Oh my GAWWD!" and "are you KIDding me!!" and "shut UP!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Love me some sistah dramafest.</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-25477380197711547162010-11-09T21:13:00.003-05:002010-11-09T21:18:43.507-05:00HelloooooooooooooooooooooHi...all y'all.<div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure that I remember how to post! And I just realized that it has been four months since I posted anything...a very crazy four months.</div><div><br /></div><div>We closed out mom's house this past weekend, and I no longer have a home anchor in my home town. Sure, I can absolutely stay with any of my siblings but it's not quite the same as being able to hang out at mom and dad's house. I mean, the first thing I did when I walked into the house was open the fridge and stand there staring at it, grumbling that there wasn't anything to eat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could do that to my siblings, but they all have kids to fill that void....sighhhhhhh.</div><div><br /></div><div>I needed the break, and now I need to stalk - I mean <i>stake</i> out my territory all over again. Maybe I mean blogitory. Or terriblog. But then it would just be creepy and scary.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, ummm, anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm back!</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-85911536434787612812010-07-15T21:04:00.002-04:002010-07-15T21:09:51.116-04:00I'm WELL...well, not so good actually. But as Mom was a grammar goddess, she <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: line-through; ">terrorized...ummmmm, I mean she <i>influenced</i> entire generations to use correct grammar, and this was a particular pet peeve....when someone asks how you are, you answer politely - I'm well, thank you.</span><!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><s><o:p></o:p></s></p> <!--EndFragment--> <div><br /></div><div>Not, I'm good. Or I suck. She really hated that.</div><div><br /></div><div>She diagrammed - no, not diaphragmed, she was not a greinacologist - she taught hundreds of kids how to diagram sentences.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I have to admit that I still suck at it, Mom!</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's good.</div><div>:)</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-55624322263987794412010-07-06T18:00:00.003-04:002010-07-06T18:08:23.500-04:00How are you dooooin?This is what I'm most often asked, after someone says that they're sorry for my mom's death. And I don't know quite how to answer that. Some days I can barely put one foot in front of the other, and other days I'm ok. I just didn't know that grief could be so palpable, and so physical....<div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, I have some not-so-immediate relatives starting to circle a bit, letting me or my siblings know how <i>much they did </i>for my mom, and <i>how many times they invited her over</i>.....riiiiiiiight. Because then it's oh so casually asked - "so what are you doing with her house and her things?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Day-ummm. I should be writing about my mom and about our sibling pinkyswear - day 10 and still holding - and instead, I'm writing about relative crap. Relatively speaking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seriously folks? Go ask Brother McStonewall, the sibling just above me in age, and the executor of mom's estate. Go ahead - ask him what's going on with mom's estate. What's that? You're afraid of him?</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's good.</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-21636037309163756722010-07-03T22:07:00.003-04:002010-07-03T22:31:02.912-04:00My MomOhh.....my friends.<div><br /></div><div>I have been gone from life, from blogging, from work, for two weeks, because I have been with my mom and my family.</div><div><br /></div><div>My mom suffered a heart attack and then some more attacks, and then - surrounded by family, she died on June 27. I could use the euphemism, <i>passed away</i> - which I have used lately, but really - it's ok to say that she died. And well, actually, she was with only my brother at the moment of her passing death, because we had to clear the room and leave just my brother with her to let her know that it was ok to go, because when the five of us (my siblings) and our spouses (making the ten of us) and my aunt and uncle (her only surviving sibling out of five - oh, the symmetry :)) making the twelve of us - well, when we were all in the room, she wouldn't go.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because my mom loved a party. And gossip. And chat. She loved to be <i>in the know</i> and <i>with it</i> and frankly, she always wanted to be cool. In fact, we buried her with the new open-toe sandals she'd purchased just a month ago, the better to show off her hot pink pedicure in the afterlife.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yes, I do have to pause to sob a bit as this is typed, even as I sound flippant. The best offense against crippling grief is a good humorous defense, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>As I write this and most of my posts over the next few days / weeks, I hope you come to know my mom. Because she was ahead of her time AND because she was an English teacher who even now, is probably hating that I just started some sentences with 'because' and 'and.' And yet, she would be so proud that I have a blog and I'm writing. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>She was in pain and had suffered heart damage that was unrecoverable, yet - she didn't want to leave, because we were chatting about our memories and she clearly was trying to hear us. So my brother took the hit for the family team and stayed to hold her hand and let her know that she could leave us for that great classroom in the beyond.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have to say - I never really knew that grief could leave a physical hole in the center of one's self. I miss my dad......but the fact that I can never again call my mom and ask her about the potato salad recipe or the correct way to write a thank you note for a hideous gift, or the proper response to a daughter when she has an issue with a mean girlfriend at age 30 when really, we all thought that the mean girls club ended after 8th grade....I am wrecked with the physical and mental grief.</div><div><br /></div><div>But my siblings and I - the legacy she left us - among many other gifts - was the ability to be tough. And we pinky swore to stick together, and today is day 7 of the pinkyswear.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's good.</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-37464217523935651182010-06-20T19:38:00.003-04:002010-06-20T19:51:06.463-04:00Open Letter to my Bloggy Friends...because it's all been so very secret and closed, before????.....<div><br /></div><div>So you may have noticed that I've been persona non blogga lately. In fact, not one post for the last 19 days.</div><div><br /></div><div>This new global job is kicking my butt (LOTS of travel), I'm trying to support my family long distance (Life-changing events for two of my siblings) and mostly, when I have some free time, I am either enjoying the very hot summer or crafting / painting / sewing creating. It's so different from corporate life and I find that I need to tune out of email/blogging and make stuff with my hands, other than typing my silly posts about birds.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Oh, and the bird? Comes back while I'm out of town. Guess Mr. Lulu is not fierce enough.)</div><div><br /></div><div>And I feel really guilty about it. Until today. I remembered that this is my blog and if I want to post every day or minute or hour I can, and if I want to take a break for other stuff, that's ok too. </div><div><br /></div><div>So I think I'll have a little summer break.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll still lurk on all y'all's blogs and sometimes, I even have a chance to comment.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I'll blog at least once a week, even if it is to post more of my work and to promote my etsy store. I still have lots of topics, and I might even be funny....if my mojo comes back.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if you miss me, just imagine this - I'll be the girl with the very large mint vodka tonic and paint smears on my face, with the paint/fabric/paper stuff scattered around, hanging out on my porch and at our beach place....and I'll drink a little toast to you all!</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-24429343174369477412010-06-01T20:17:00.002-04:002010-06-01T20:27:28.148-04:00And don't forget that Dave Mathews is a prophet...I forgot one of the most popular search terms. Apparently, Dave has another job, writing scripture...<div><br /></div><div><i>any</i>way...I think. It might be....could be....possibly...potentially, perhaps.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">the bird might be gone. What's that???</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">the bird might be gone. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What????</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I <i>saiiiiiddddd....</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Bird is gooooooooonnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeee!!!!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Yes, indeedy. Which is so much more true that just...indeed. INDEEDY.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We've gone almost 48 hours with no bird poop on the furniture, no beak marks on the window, no disarray of the flowers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Apparently, bird / window mating season is over, and somewhere, little birdies with fragile, glassy wings and painted wood trim legs are being hatched. Somewhere - away from me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Because we took the nest out of the fern too - Ha!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bird 1 Lulu 2!!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-47652560529535426142010-05-26T19:52:00.005-04:002010-05-26T20:10:10.488-04:00How do YOU find Lulu's Sandbar?Some words to find Lulu by......as evidenced by the search words used by my readers...aka, the unauthorized google analytics....<div><br /></div><div><i>Lobster Bacon</i> - this is a popular phrase. Sometimes it's bacon lobster. (Lulu - always salty, always delicious)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>All the Single Ladies Dance - </i>very popular for a while, I can always tell when there's been a televised item about some little kids dancing to Beyonce. ( Lulu, the Dancing Queen)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>eTrade Baby</i> - there's an uptick around the time of major sporting events (Dude, that's my Lulu!)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>what to wear when traveling to Michigan in October</i> - ummmmm. Yeah. I think this combines all of my posts. (Midwestern Lulu)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Lulu or Sandbar or Bar</i> - well, obvious. I didn't realize how popular 'Lulu' is as a name for sites, and for bars, apparently. (Cocktails for Lulu!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh - and I'm adding a new count to my posts.</div><div>Lulu Held Hostage - Day 58. Yes, the bird is still banging.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-36379733532166614222010-05-23T16:52:00.003-04:002010-05-23T17:09:39.025-04:00Apparently, you CAN go home again........but only after 30 years. Well, ok, I've only been gone for 7 years, and I've been back back a lot; however, I always spend my visits with family, and rarely get the opportunity to see old friends.<div><br /></div><div>This weekend was graduation partypalooza, with two nephew parties to attend. Added to that was a fundraiser / mini-reunion with about 50 high school classmates...yeah, my voice was left out of my carryon! Actually, there were about 25-30 former classmates with assorted spouses/friends/partners added on.... We were remembering a friend who passed away in November - he was my date for our Homecoming dance :-/ - and raising some funds for his wife and kids.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had almost a visceral reaction as the plane landed - I was worried about family issues at the graduations and worried about not measuring up, somehow, at the reunion...</div><div><br /></div><div>But it was good!</div><div><br /></div><div>We are all a bit wrinkly, with various amounts of pounds, hair and baggage...but it was great to see everyone - no old crap brought up, just memories. No talk about careers, no trying to outdo each other, no judgment....just food and adult beverages and laughter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mom.....Mom is another story. For another post. For what I think will be a lot of posts, as we move into a world of making lifestyle adjustments to preserve her independence, but make sure that she's safe and cared for....sigh. </div><div><br /></div><div>Life transitions. Maybe I'll change my blog title. But - I'll be swimming into a lot of unknowns soon and trying to find purchase on a a sandbar where the tides of life will be shifting. </div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-10707140296874602862010-05-14T19:49:00.007-04:002010-05-14T21:06:53.809-04:00I have a wedding friend who is NOT graduating!And that's good, because apparently, I need to get back to my bloggy friends, who I've neglected for so long. You can find her blog here, at <a href="http://inspirationalladdu.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/etsy-discovery-cherish-the-memory/#comment-9">Inspirational Laddu</a>. It's a beautiful site...thanks Samm!<div><br /></div><div>So. I also got a lot into that title. Much to catch up!</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm back from my trip and guess who was here the entire time, to keep Mr. Lulu company? You got it - it's the kamikaze robin. I've had a suggestion to nail up rubber snakes from the window pane, to scare him away. </div><div><br /></div><div>I know that I can only scare him <i>away</i> because he can't have any more poop to be scared <i>out</i> of him - it's all over my porch furniture.</div><div><br /></div><div>So all of you Pleasantville neighbors who think my front porch is so so pretty, with all of my 11 pots of flowers and my two gorgeous hanging ferns? </div><div><br /></div><div>Get ready for snakeyes. </div><div><br /></div><div>And if that doesn't work, take the kiddies away for the day, because I'm taking out a hit on the bird.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't worry, Peta! I'm going to just pop his little feathered butt with an air gun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or stun gun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just kidding....right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, is it graduation time for all y'all? I have three family high school graduation parties this year - couldn't all those sisters-in-law have planned a bit better and spaced them all out? Sheesh. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, I do get props for flying in for the festivities, and the big events are all conveniently scheduled within one weekend. So I got that going for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>And <a href="http://www.thefiftyfactor.com/">Joanna</a> always has good stuff on her blog and she's ahead of me with her graduation post. She's asking about advice on a graduation card for her niece, and she got some solids from her bloggy friends, so I thought I'd post my graduation advice here as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wear sunscreen.<br />Forgive.<br />Be relentlessly cheerful when you feel like crap.<br />French fries do TOO make you feel better when hungover.<br />Listen.<br />Be curious.<br />When you're about to do something dangerous/scary/stupid - think about the look on your parents' faces when they read about it in the newpaper / on a bathroom wall / in Playboy.<br />Have enough fun to break lots of hearts.<br />Love enough to get your own heart broken.<br />Own your actions, your soul, your studies, your love, your body, your life - don't give your power away to anyone else.<br />Live your own life - all the others are taken.<br />A morning without coffee is like...sleep.<br /><br />Oh the places you'll go! Read Dr. Seuss.<br /><br />That's all I've got, but it's worked pretty well.<br /><br />Oh - and for guys graduating?<br /><br />Dude. You'll rock.<br /><br />Peace out</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>It's almost time for summer vacation again - may have to post the travel rules soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>So ummmm. Yeah. Just some thoughts. Friday mind farts, you might say.</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-59098431065668147832010-05-10T08:16:00.003-04:002010-05-10T08:17:48.098-04:00Monday Morning...and although I'm traveling again (short trip, in the U.S.) I resolve to be relentlessly cheerful today.<div><br /></div><div>So beware.</div><div><br /></div><div>And please check out my etsy store! I have some cute new stuff there - go ahead and buy it and pretend that you made it and gift it to someone! I won't tell....</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-53450283188739883202010-05-09T21:44:00.002-04:002010-05-09T21:46:22.427-04:00Happy Day...to everyone who is a mom, who has a mom, who has been a mom in a previous life, who wants to be a mom, who hates being a mom but still does it well, who wishes their mom was alive this day, who struggles with mom (hang in there) and especially to all of those women - and men - who do the mom job so well, whether or not they have the official title.<div><br /></div><div>You Rock!</div>http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-81595014402176974342010-04-26T16:37:00.001-04:002010-04-26T16:40:14.651-04:00Huh. No need to worry about what to pack because MY LUGGAGE DIDN'T MAKE IT ANYWAYYYYYY!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1424171455216231007.post-83170594058762228242010-04-25T10:15:00.002-04:002010-04-25T10:24:57.800-04:00What to wear when traveling through an ash cloud?That's my Sunday dilemma - I'm traveling to Europe today for the week - not the UK, luckily - and I'm wondering....what does one pack, in the event that I get stuck for a while if the ash cloud grows again?<br /><br />...and the answer is? Pack light, of course! If I get stuck in Europe, I'll have nothing to do but shop. <br /><br />Well, there's that work stuff to do, actually, since one person won the Powerball lottery this week and it wasn't me. So I have to keep working for a while. Or forever. Whichever comes first.<br /><br />Peace out - Luluhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17630413364180098469noreply@blogger.com2