...and you had everything to lose

Tab Closing. It's got to be done.

2012-01-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

Regarding PIPA/SOPA - awesome resource for navigating the relevant info from APE-CON-MYTH: Super PIPA/SOPA

Hilarious volkswagon ad. No idea what the heck dogs barking Darth Vader's theme has to do with cars, but I'll take it.

Predictions of what 2011 would be like from a 1911 newspaper. Interesting how close many of these get. And how completely off others are.

I think I may have posted it before but I came across it again and it seems just as relevant as before: Self-control is Exhaustible and this is why change is sooooo freaking hard.

Great typographic of an Ira Glass quote about working in Art.

Amazing Embroidery resource - instructions with images on every embroidery stitch you could ever imagine.

From VeryDemotivational.Com - I couldn't agree more!

I just rediscovered Hyperbole and a Half. So stinking funny! In this post, medical pain scales are redefined.

Beautiful, amazing series of photos by Gustavo Lucerda - portraits of albinos.

Rubix Cube MLK.

Infographic - How to Lead a Creative Life.

Science! For toddlers!

English is HARD! Pronunciation exercise - can you get them all right?

T-shirt scarf - totally want to make this for a friend.

This looks like yummy breakfast goodness.... Simple Strata.

How I want to live this year.

9 lives might be right! Cat survives 2 attempts at euthanasia....

Ok... number of tabs nicely reduced. Just need to add a few to my RSS subscriptions and my browser will be snappy and efficient once again! I hope something here was at least moderately interesting to someone other than me.

Meatloaf, perfected.

2012-01-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

I have perfected meatloaf. This is wonderful! This is absolutely horrible. It's all downhill from here.

This is going to be by proportions since I didn't measure anything...

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Shred the following vegetables with the fine side of a cheese grater into a large bowl:

2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 of a medium sweet onion
5-6 decently sized (medium-ish) crimini or baby 'bella mushrooms
1/2 of a red bell pepper
approximately 2 stalks worth of celery

There will be a lot of watery byproduct. Keep this in your bowl with the veggies. Resist the urge to drain it. RESIST!

Crush (between your fingers or in a ziploc with a kitchen mallet):

about 1 1/2 cups of goldfish crackers*
1/2 cup of buttery crackers (such as Ritz)*

* These measurements are pre-crushing
Dump the now very dead goldfish and their buttery cracker friends into the bowl.

Give it a couple of liberal shakes of dried parsley. A judicious shake of nutmeg and just a pinch of cinnamon and cloves. Squirt in a big glob of your favorite BBQ sauce. Then squirt in another big glob for good measure. If you want to make it really special, use a different kind of BBQ sauce for the second gob. Don't add salt. The crackers and the BBQ sauce will provide plenty saltiness.

Crack a whole egg on top of this big mess.

Now for the big guns. Dump in about a pound and a half of lean ground beef. If you're feeling adventurous, use half ground beef, half ground lamb.

Take off your rings and watch and bracelets, roll up your sleeves and go to town. Mush it! Squooosh it! Mash it. Squeeze it till it oozes through your fingers. Don't stop until it is thoroughly mixed.

The consistency should be wet-ish - just barely holding together. If it is holding together but on the brink of crumbling, it is too dry, so add more: meat, shredded veggies, another egg and/or saucey goodness. If it is so wet that it doesn't hold shape at all (remember it should just BARELY be holding its shape), add some more crushed crackers, a little bit at a time.

Plop all of this into a deep baking dish (approx 9"x9" is about right) that has been oh-so-lightly greased. Mash it down until it's an even thickness. Wash your hands in hot soapy water. Grab a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of BBQ sauce. Squirt the ketchup in a thin line zigzag pattern across the top of your meat glob. Then turn your pan 90 degrees (Clockwise, of course. Who turns their pan counter-clockwise? Only crazy-pants, that's who.) and squirt the BBQ sauce in the same pattern.

Slide this goodness all into the middle rack of your pre-heated oven (you DID preheat it, didn't you?) and set a timer for 40 minutes. Check temp for doneness - 160 degrees with a food thermometer inserted in the the center of the meat, not touching the pan. If it's not there yet, add 5-10 min of cook time and check again. When done, immediately remove from the oven and set on a trivet to rest. Wait 5-10 min before serving.

Veggies for the Carnivore in the Family aka... turkey meatloaf with love

2011-11-29T18:13:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

2 c cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 of a large onion (about 1 c)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic
4 medium carrots (about 2 c)
2 c fresh mushrooms
1 bell pepper, with seeds and stem removed
a few leaves of fresh basil
3 oz pepperjack cheese

1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
2-3 wasa crisps, crushed (or 1/2 c breadcrumbs, oatmeal, crushed crackers, etc)
1 egg
2 T Barbeque sauce
liberal dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger powder
small handful dried parseley

Instructions:

You can do this 2 ways: by hand, which is slow, or in a food processor which is fast and easy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shred the first half of the ingredients into a LARGE bowl. (or send them all through the shredding blade of a nice handy dandy cuisinart and dump it all into a large bowl).
Toss in the rest and use your hands to combine thoroughly. (yes you have to touch it)
Transfer the mashed blob into a square 9x9 baking dish and mush it into place (this meatloaf will not hold its shape pre-baking the way many do).
Bake for about an hour - until internal temp is 180 degrees. Check after about 45 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

Each serving is approximately 1 veggie, 1 protein, 1 condiment, 1/2 dairy on The New Well

Serve with: Cauliflower Mash for a comfort food-y but super duper healthy dinner

Human Doing, Human Being

2011-04-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Counselor is often reminding me that we are human BE-ings, not human DO-ings. He says this because I am often plagued by the great and terrible "should" and I heap shame upon myself for not doing everything I think I should. For not being ABLE to do everything I think I should. In many respects, he is right. In one respect at least, I think he is wrong, or perhaps, not quite right. In the Garden, Adam was given a task to do. In the ideal state, humanity is DO-ing, something. We are not meant to sit on the couch all day and stare into the oblivion of a video game or endless tv reruns.

Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for rest (though I question whether digital numbness is the rest we need, but that perhaps for another time). Heck, sometimes, it is all a person can do to simply get up, go to work, come home and vegetate, and then do it again the next day. I've been living that myself lately. Struggling with depression, a job of necessity as opposed to work that is my passion, feeling hopeless about certain health issues. I have been in a place where even the things that give my heart joy and my mind peace are exhausting to even think about. But now I am getting restless.

I want to DO *something*. I am not content to just survive anymore. I'll be back in that place again. I know myself well enough to not be that delusional. But right now, here, now, I am restless. I want to create.

If I want to make beautiful paintings, I have to kick myself over to my easel and PAINT, no matter how lame the product might be right now, the only way I'm going to get better at it and have something I'm proud of is if I just do it and forget what it looks like and remember that I'm learning. If I want to sell this coffee table out of the corner of our apartment, I need to post it online and reply to emails until it sells. If I want to finish Starry Night for the Counselor, I need to stop fearing that it'll be awful or lame and just pull it out and work on it. Because it WILL be awesome and it WILL be meaningful, but it won't be anything but a source of disappointment and self-inflicted shame if I never finish it. If I want to lose weight and get on track with this health stuff, I need to get my ass to the gym, cause I've done it successfully and then got scared and gave up. If I want to get the clutter of useless and unused crap out of my home, I'm the one who needs to identify what needs to go and get it out.

No one else can do these things for me.

I have to stop waiting for my life to become what I want it to be and start making it so.

But I am the queen of good intentions, master of self-sabbotage.

Will I care about any of this tomorrow?

how to steal like an artist and other tabs in my browser...

2011-04-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

in the interest in posting something after a long time of posting nothing.... here's a few things that have been open in my browser of late...

Not just for Artists: How to Steal like an Artist (and 9 other things nobody told me)

From Austin Kleon
Exploring this resource: PCOSupport.Org
An author whose work I love and honesty I admire (don't agree with her on all points but that's neither here nor there): Confessions of a Fat Girl
A Dream
Two Universities: Marylhurst and St. Mary's of the Woods
A Voyage: June 25-July 14 Kyrgyzstan

Inspiration: Valerie Sjodin
On work for my generation: Young, Educated and Unemployed. Still thinking through this and how I feel about it. Some of it hits a little too close to home.
Interesting, quick read: Masculine, Feminine or Human?

beautiful

2011-02-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE - VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.

growwwl fffttt hiss hiss!

2011-02-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

Read this first for the context...

then this for the aftermath.

This is why, while I am as far from ashamed of Christ as I could be, while I am proud of my faith and want so much for others to be able to share in the relationship, when someone asks me if I am a "Christian" I always hesitate. Too many people have experienced things like this for me to be comfortable saying that I am a "Christian" without sharing enough relationship that we can rightly understand what that means to you and what that means to me.

The God I know doesn't encourage people to bully each other. Judgement is God's task, not ours. Why? Because we as people are not truly just. We're guided by our own prejudices, our own ideas of what is right and wrong and what means what. In the end, every one of us is putting our own interpretation on things. And in the end, there will be lots that we all will find out that we had completely wrong.

Does a 5 year old boy dressing up as a female cartoon character mean he will grow into a homosexual man? Maybe. Maybe not.

Is bullying ever ok? No.

Is bullying ok when cloaked in religious language? The answer is still no.

If you really think a parental choice is endangering their child, by all means, speak with the parent. We are, as the church would put it, "called" to help our brothers and sisters live in the light. But be prepared to do so 1) away from the child/ren 2) with a mind open to new understanding [even ohmygosh the possibility that you could be completely off base] and 3) with genuine love.

Not the self-righteous "I know better than you and am concerned" bullshit that people dress up as loving concern, but rather, "I love you, I am concerned about what I see, but what I see may not be (and probably isn't) the whole story, and how can we make this journey together, how can we grow together and be steel sharpening steel." This is difficult to impossible without some kind of foundational relationship with the person you're speaking with.

If you can't do that, maybe it is best to stop trying to fit God into your own tiny little box and let God be God and you be you - no better, no worse than the other person that you so look down upon. And yes. I have my blind spots. I have my hypocrisies. None of us is immune. We're ALL of us human.

Spinach-Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Sauce

2010-11-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

YU-UH-UHM!!!

Creamy savory comfort food, that you don't have to feel too guilty about.... very good for a cold autumn evening.

Cook frozen ravioli according to package directions. (We used the spinach-cheese ravioli that comes in a big bag at Costco) Start water boiling for ravioli while you mince the shallots & garlic for the sauce, adding ravioli to the water when it comes to a boil. Drain ravioli. Toss ravioli in sauce and serve hot.

Variation: Toss leftover roast chicken in with sauce & ravioli.

For the sauce: (good for about 3 main course portions of ravioli)

2 T Butter
1/2 shallot, minced
1-2 cloves garlic
liberal dash of cinnamon
1 T dried or chopped fresh parsley
dash of nutmeg
dash of pepper
1 1/3 cup puree'd pumpkin*
1 cup (approx) chicken broth, or to desired consistency
1/2 cup half&half
1/2 cup shredded parmesan (fresh! not the powdered kind!)
salt to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter on med heat. Add shallots, garlic, cinnamon, parsley, nutmeg and pepper. Saute until shallot is translucent.

2. Add puree'd pumpkin and mix. Stir in chicken broth slowly until sauce is desired consistency, or just slightly thicker. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is starting to bubble.

3. Pour in half&half, stir, allow to come back up to temp, but do not boil. Stir in parmesan until melted. Salt to taste. Turn heat to lowest setting, cover and simmer for 5 min.

Decoration vs. Art

2010-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

"What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who only has eyes if he is a painter, or ears if he’s a musician, or a lyre at every level of his heart if he’s a poet, or even, if he’s a boxer, just his muscle? On the contrary, he is at the same time a political being, constantly alive to heart-rending, fiery or happy events to which he responds in every way. How could it be possible to feel no interest in other people and by virtue of an ivory indifference to detach yourself from the life which they so copiously bring you? NO, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It’s an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy."
~ Pablo Picasso

Many paint for decoration. Many create works that could be sold in art galleries that are little more than decoration. But are they art? As an expression of an individual's aesthetic taste, sure. As an expression of self in relation to others or even self in relation to self, as communication, as discovery - there must be more than an aesthetically pleasing end result. Communication itself does not require intentionality, everything we do is communication. But for it to be meaningful, for it to last, there must be purpose in the heart of the artist. Perhaps this is the difference between great art and the kind of art that passes away in moments. Great art communicates something. It speaks to the soul. It helps me reorganize my world, my mind, my heart. It speaks some kind of truth. Would Mozart's music matter at all to us today if it did not speak into the heart? It would have died long ago. Shakespeare speaks truths of the human condition that are not dependent on being immersed in his society. Van Gogh's Starry Night stirs the heart from a century past and his life and work is more recent than these others. Can "decoration" communicate like this? What do you think?

"Artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up."
~ Evey Hammond (character), "V for Vendetta" [screenplay by The Wachowski Brothers]

uphill. both ways. in the rain.

2010-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

How does sarcastically informing me that water does not flow uphill make me more inclined to help you?

It really doesn't. In case you were wondering.

The Shadow Scholar and Our Squirrel Brain

2010-11-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

Some articles that I have found of interest in the last week or so:

The Shadow Scholar (link courtesy of M)
This depressed me. I know it happens. Ministers too? Damn. Did any of it really surprise me? No. I wasn't really disappointed either. To be disappointed, you have to have expectations. This is part of why, as much as I struggle with feeling like I have to earn love, I am thankful that my parents (and others I love) have at least cared enough to have expectations of me in the first place.
Living from our Squirrel Brain
My first thought was this: how big of an idiot is your friend who INTENTIONALLY killed this squirrel's fear of humans? Did he/she think this would end well?
My second thought was: yeah I feel the squirrel brain thing. I get it. And it's embarrassing to be be able to relate to that. But who can't?
Visual Blessings
New blog of a-friend-a-friend. I look forward to seeing where it goes, as she is already addressing topics that are close to my heart.

TGIF! I have never loved Fridays so much...

2010-11-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

1. The Counselor made breakfast sandwiches for me and put them in the freezer to help my mornings go better. :)

2. My dad. He taught me to do mornings right when I was in school. Wake up early enough to not have to rush. Set out clothes and everything else for the day the night before so you don't have to rush around and debate about what to wear and forget stuff and such. Sit down to eat breakfast. Drink your coffee but not before eating something. Days when I keep to these lessons he taught me generally go better, especially at the beginning

3. Inspired to declutter by my minimalist friend Willow as well as 365 Less Things. Now I need to DO it.

4. The temp/recruiting agency I am working for is AWESOME. Can't really provide a lot of details, but needless to say, I am very thankful for them. [PS - If you know of office manager/exec assistant jobs in the Portland-Metro Area (Oregon, not Maine) holler. I'm available.]

5. Tonight: dinner + movie + games with the Counselor & our Trivia Night friends. Yay for some fun social chill time.

6. Three hours of overtime pay (Paycheck edition 1.5!) this week. Woot woot!

Click the image at the top of this post to visit Susanne, the hostess of Friday's Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story.

Plans for the weekend:

Powering through Job Applications
Wrestling the Laundry Monster (aka Taming the BEAST)
Fill-in-the-gaps Grocery 100 yd Dash
Lounging before the Fire of Warmth and Happiness with needlework & a cup of Hot Joy

Is that an Izod?

2010-11-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by sea turtle.*

Me: "Do you need any keys for the inspection?"
Fire Extinguisher Inspector Guy: "Yeah. I need the pool pump room and the elevator keys."
Me: *turns to find the keys*
F.E.I.G.: "Wait... is that an IZOD?"
Me: *confused... then...* "Oh the vest? Yup!"
F.E.I.G.: "Is it a real one?"
Me: *thinking are there fake ones?* "Yeah it belonged to my parents. They've had it for ages. I think late 70's/early 80's."
F.E.I.G.: "WOW! That's so cool..."

Hipster much? hahahahaha *grin* I <3 random stuff like this happening during the day.

*Image shared under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license

Friday Fave Five... this is good for me.

2010-11-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

Practicing thankfulness is good for the spirit. It reminds me that there's good in my life, even when a lot isn't going the way I want it to. Just need to get the Counselor to stop trying to start a Fave Five activity while I'm upset and really super wanting to feel sorry for myself. Gee whiz! Can't a girl whine a bit from time to time? <3 you hunny :)

1. Having a job. I am not happy with the temp job I'm in. It is chock full of negativity and nastiness. But I have a job and it pays more than unemployment.

2. Access to health insurance. Not the best plan out there, but it looks like I can get insurance and copays for meds cheaper than I can get meds alone, so that's something. The big praise here is that I don't have to ask my doc to monkey with the prescription just because of money issues.

3. My husband is awesome. I feel like this could be here every week. He's really something special. :)

4. My contact at the temp agency has been really understanding, at least so far, about my dislike of this position and doesn't seem to be holding it against me. Have a phone call with her today during my lunch break. We'll see how that goes.

5. Symphony on Sunday. Cheap tickets. Friends. yay!

6. I'm slowly learning Quickbooks. Another thing to add to the skillset.

7. I've been bit by the crafty bug. I just need to FOCUS and get some of this stuff DONE. No more new projects! Finish what has been started! Grrrrr....

8. Women's day retreat at church. Saturday! yey!

Me and Spinny Chairs [Backpost for Thurs Nov 4]

2010-11-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

We're kind of like this:

From xkcd.com
That guy is kind of brilliant.

Interesting personality factors test... [Backpost for Wed Nov 3]

2010-11-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results

Warmth	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	82%
Intellect	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	74%
Emotional Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	54%
Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Liveliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	22%
Dutifulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Social Assertiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	58%
Sensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	82%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	26%
Abstractness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	34%
Introversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	22%
Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Openmindedness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	74%
Independence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	34%
Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Tension	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	54%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

I wonder what the Counselor's score would be on this. Maybe I'll make him take it... *bbwahahahaha*

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

The Counselor LOVES Halloween. I like it well enough if something fun is going on. This year we made the most freaking AWESOME costumes.

The Counselor as a Samurai
made from: foamcore posterboard, black ribbon, black cording, a "Jason" mask, a "Darth Vader" helmet, Red spray paint, black spray paint, a *little* of my black oil paint, manilla folder stencils, furniture tacks, hot glue, an electric drill (or did he use the dremmel?), a pair of $2 flip flops, rope, black rit dye, socks and at least 2 or 3 X-acto blades.

Myself as a Geisha
made from: 2 dresses from Goodwill, 4 yds of black costume fabric (half off for buying it last minute), a sewing machine, socks, flip flops and the cheapest costume makeup-paint we could find.

Both of us at a halloween party. The Counselor won the BOOYAH! award for having an awesome costume. Got a nice big blue bottle of Tarantula Tequila as the prize :)

Last Thursday

2010-11-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

5:45 am - alarm goes off. hit snooze. roll over.
6:15 am - snooze goes off for the first time. look at phone. panic. hit snooze again. fumble for bathrobe. stumble into the bathroom.
6:20 am - the Counselor takes my place in the bathroom. I get halfway dressed and curl up at the foot of the bed.
6:25 am - the Counselor goes back to bed and tells me if I'm going to snooze, to set another alarm and at least snuggle.
6:35 am - alarm goes off again. stumble out of bed. finish dressing myself. slop some soup in a tupperware container and grab a spoon to take to work for lunch. coat. purse. keys.
6:50 am - kiss the Counselor goodbye. turn off all the lights.
6:55 am - wait for the car to defog enough to back out of the parking spot.
7:05 am - waddle into starbucks for breakfast sandwhich and a BIG coffee.
7:15 am - pull out of the parking lot and sit in bumper to bumper traffic.
7:30 am - pass the 6 or 7 car accident on the northbound side of the freeway that is blocking 2 of the 3 lanes. send up a prayer of thanks that I'm not one of the schmucks stuck south of that mess and proceed on my southerly route, much faster than before this point.
7:45 am - park and start unlocking the office.
8:00 am - beginning to reach some level of wakefulness.

This day continued to 10:30 pm before I got home. I won't bore you with the rest. Needless to say, I was really tired by the time the weekend came.

Friday Fave... Ten?

2010-10-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

1. NIECES!!!! We had two of our nieces come up for the weekend last weekend. We made pizza, we carved pumpkins, we did crafts, we baked, we went to church... It was way fun. The Counselor and I were pooped by the end of the weekend, but it was fun! I especially enjoyed baking/cooking with Kimmy and teaching Destiny how to use a sewing machine.

2. Temp job. Started last week. Full swing this week. It can be a bit stressful sometimes, but it's full time work for now. And ironically, I'm making more than I was at my previous ("permanent") job. Even more ironic (or something else. I'm too tired to check appropriate vocabulary) is that I'm making less per hour here. :P

3. Mommy is finally free from a really really super stressful job that didn't appreciate her incredibly hard work. AND she has another job secured. AND she gets 2-3 weeks vacation before that starts.

4. I had a phone interview for a full time job up at the Teaching Hospital downtown. I think it went well. First time interviewing over the phone. It's a bit different. Please pray that this process continues.

5. Dinner with the family Wednesday night. Dad, Brother, Mommy, the Counselor and I all went out to the Marrakesh for Moroccan food and we crammed us "kids" all 3 in the back seat of mom's Kia. What fun!!!

6. Can't stop at 5 this week. Tonight is date night. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7. Oh... and Plato's Closet groupon! $15 for $30 of stuff. New old shoes to replace my amazing boots that fell apart this week?

8. OOOO and! Cross stitch. So many projects going on that are NOT instant gratification. So far the cross stitch angel is just that!

9. Last week I cut off all my hair. Or most of it at least. 12" taken off! I really need to post pics I know.

10. Sunday: HALLOWEEN PARTY! woot woot! Will post costume pics. :)

Maybe my Friday Fave 10 counts for two weeks? I'm a bit behind.

Click the image at the top of this post to visit Susanne, the hostess of Friday's Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story.

A treasure found in our secondhand desk

2010-10-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping maybe someone reading this or someone who knows someone is a geneology sleuthing wizard.

Almost a year ago, we purchased a hefty wood desk from Goodwill. To move it, we took out all the drawers to lighten the load. Lo and behold, from behind one of the drawers an aged manilla envelope fell. Inside was a stack of papers that were quite interesting. It looks like the retirement paperwork of a gentleman who worked for and had stock in Standard Oil Company of California. I doubt there is any money left in the account, as the gentleman in question died around 25 years after retiring but I thought it might be cool to try to find the family and return the documents to them.

Through the information on the document and some quick searches, here's what I've got:

First Name: William
Middle Initial: H
Surname: Crane
Born October 10, 1903
Social Security number was issued in Washington (this does NOT necessarily mean he was born there, as SSNs were not issued until the 1930's)
(I have the SSN but I don't want to post it - so if you think you have found him or if you are interested in sleuthing contact me directly)
Died June 1985 in San Mateo, CA
On his retirement paperwork it includes a line saying "Your service date: 08-21-(19)24" I'm not sure if this is a military service date or a "you've worked for us since this date" type of thing.
Retired Aug 1, 1961
As of Aug 18, 1961 he lived at 1600 Marlborough Rd., Hillsborough, CA
As of the retirement date, Mr. Crane was married.
He retired from Standard Oil Company of California, the papers from which bear the Chevron (Gasoline) logo.

Anyone want to help me with the mystery? Basically I'm looking for living family members. :)

Friday Fave Five (also known as WTF happened to the week?!?)

2010-08-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

It seems like only yesterday I did the last Fave Five. So here we go!

1. I have been indulging the itch I spoke of last week. It's been refreshing. (note the post below with recent sketches)

2. We found an apt. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, wood burning fireplace, first floor (so when I work out my jumping around won't bother the neighbors). Only thing it's missing is in-unit laundry. But I've lugged laundry before and I can do it again. $750/mo but guess what? that INCLUDES water/sewer/garbage, which many other places don't, so it ends up cheaper than places who advertise $720/mo. Score! AND the second bedroom means I have craft space. AND we can paint! they provide the paint to paint over with when you move out too. [yeah I know... cheating.... multiple in one... so sue me.]

3. Two hour Lunch with my lovely friend Mrs. Crafty. Can't get much better than that! She gave me 2 jars of homemade jam!

4. The Counselor found a really cool lamp on craigslist. We hope to pick it up tomorrow. (we hope it hasn't been taken yet!)

5. By the end of the day we have a new nephew! Happy Birth Day, Mikey! Please pray for mother and child, as the delivery is thought to be a high risk one.

Click the image at the top of this post to visit Susanne, the hostess of Friday's Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story.

Visual Journaling: Sketchbook

2010-08-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook
Oil pastel on paper
June 2010

Sketchbook
Oil pastel on paper
July 2010

Sketchbook
Sharpee markers on paper
Aug 9, 2010

"Nest of Growth" - Sketchbook
Sharpee markers on paper
Aug 10, 2010

Friday Fave Five

2010-08-06T01:04:00.000-07:00

Hmmm Haven't done Friday Fave Five in a while. Go figure that this week has been a rough one and here I am trying to get back to it. Trying to get back to blogging again in general. Writing again. Creating again. So here goes.... (numbered but in no particular order)

1. I have the itch to make stuff again. Write, sew, knit, paint, decorate. Everything. This is definitely something to be thankful for.

2. The Counselor (my dear husband) is, by mutual agreement, going to be keeping me accountable to my weight loss goals and taking the daily steps towards making it happen. I'm a bit nervous about this, as I mentioned in my previous post, I tend to resist those who attempt to direct my behaviour.

3. We're close to a decision on where we'll be moving to. If I was writing this on Friday afternoon instead of the middle of the night on Thursday, I might be saying we've made a decision. Here's hoping.

4. I got to meet a remote coworker that I work with a lot in person this week. It was brief, but nice to have a face, as opposed to text and a disembodied voice.

5. The Counselor & I went to church at Mosaic last Sunday. Our previous home church. It was like a deep drink of cool water. I've missed the whole getting something out of Sunday worship thing. You don't realize how thirsty you are until you have the first sip, no?

That was easier than I thought it might be, given the way this week has felt. And I've got a few more. :) Click the image at the top of this post to visit Susanne, the hostess of Friday's Fave Five at Living to Tell the Story. I was introduced to this by my dear friend/2ndmom Willow. Hi Willow!

Some recent (and not so recent) artwork

2010-08-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook, Spring 2009
Newspaper, Ink

Sketchbook, Spring 2009
Newspaper, Magazine, Ink

Tattoo Design, 2008
Legal Paper, Ink
I'll be getting a professional rendering before having the tattoo done.
10 more lbs left to lose and then I get it! :)


Tattoo Design, Detail, 2008 Legal Paper, Ink Detail of the vines circling the dove's wings.

The Counselor, May 2010
Oil on Canvas

Lolita, Illustrated in the Style of Roy Lichtenstein, May 2010
Oil on Canvas

Problem Girl

2010-07-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Rob Thomas's music hits me in the gut every time. He gets it. I'm not sure how, but he does.

Don't let 'em get where they're going to
You know they're only what they think of you
You heard of this emotional trickery
And you felt like you were learning the ropes
But where you're going now you don't know

And when the kids on the street say
What's your problem girl
And the weight of their smile's just
Too much for you to bear
When they all make you feel
Like you're a problem girl
Remember
You're no problem at all
You're no problem at all

Pride like promises can let you down
You thought that you'd be feeling
Better by now
You worry all the things they could do to you
You worry about the things they could say
Maybe you're seeing things the wrong way

Try
If you stand or you fall
You're no problem at all