Frame of Reference

"The words and music to the Christmas song Little Drummer Boy was composed by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone in 1958. The lyrics of Little Drummer Boy consist of no less than 21 rum pum pum pum' - a major part of the song and therefore presenting an apparently easy task for the lyricist! However, Little Drummer Boy has been a huge hit for several artists. The most notable rendition was created by the most unlikely combination of Bing Crosby and David Bowie. This version of Little Drummer Boy was a massive hot for the artists and was in fact Bing Crosby's most successful recording since the legendary White Christmas." I hate it when I'm hit on the side of the head with disturbing facts. Who else thought this song had been around since forever?? This is almost as weird as hearing that Rudolph was invented by a department store. Who woulda thunk it?

I've always been told that if you have enough self-awareness to ask someone if you are crazy, you're probably not. That doesn't make me feel better though. I know where the devil on the shoulder image came from. It really does feel like there is a voice whispering in your ear about things. For example, when you are ABSOLUTELY positive you put something somewhere or that you've done something. There is no question about it either, you are sure, but still, there is that voice of doubt whispering, "What if you didn't. Maybe you put it somewhere else." I hate that I can't remember things clearly either. It's happening to me A LOT. I know that stress does that to people too. You'll be driving down the street and 10 minutes will go by and you suddenly don't even remember driving or even making turns, you are just at your destination. One of my psychology teachers said it was a survival instinct for the subconscious to just take over if your mind ...

I've been staring at the word Remodeled for about 5.6 minutes now. It just doesn't look right. Any sane person would look it up in the dictionary and either satisfy their curiosity or fix the error. Not me. Nope, I just want to look at it, tilt my head sideways and ask everyone who walks by how to spell remodeled. That's what I did with my weekend anyway. That was supposed to be the tie in. I remodeled a bathroom. My mom's to be exact. We'll call it a birthday present. I was just planning on getting her an electric/cordless drill but I ended up donating my time to her home improvement project as well as buying a drill. Every time I move, I'm reminded of my generous act of kindness too. I suppose that goes hand in hand with being crouched down on a bathroom floor for 8 hours. You should have seen me afterwards though. I was staring at the dumb floor like a goob all night. I'd go and get something to drink or whatever and then drift back to the bathroom, tur...

At the risk of sounding like a scrooge, or whatever the equivalent is for Holiday's OTHER than Christmas, the Thanksgiving Holiday cheer has gotten on my nerves this year. I compare it to this: You're talking to someone you like when you suddenly realize they aren't paying attention to the conversation at all. Sure, they are looking right at you and making all of the appropriate noises at all of the appropriate times but you just KNOW that their mind is elsewhere. They aren't invested in the conversation at all. Cliff notes: They are FAKING IT! That's how I feel about this Thanksgiving. I feel many, many people are faking it. It's become such a stressful Holiday and I don't like the fact that everyone TRIES to be so cheerful. Now that I am thinking about this though, my mood could be stemming from the simple fact that I am no longer a child. This often happens to me. It's like I'm suddenly and sporadically hit by painful realizations that many thing...

You would think that since I am surrounded by sick children all day, I would be more accustomed to dealing with sick people. I don't think my experience helps when it comes to someone who lives in your house though. I feel so helpless and not to mention the inconvenience. The routine is all screwed up. I know that's harsh and probably insensitive, but it's true. It's even worse when the sick person doesn't want to be bothered. Then you're just left to tip-toe around the house and fend for yourself. I would even compare it to the electricity going out. As soon as the electricity goes out, you suddenly have absolutely nothing to do. You cannot think of one single thing to do that does not involve electricity. Even though in your normal day-to-day life you do a hundred things that don't rely on it. As soon as a someone in your house becomes sick, you suddenly want to do all of the things that make a lot of noise and would irritate this person. The mind is a te...

Sometimes the middle of the week is a big speed bump for me. The week starts out really busy and you have something amazing to look forward to on the weekend. So it's the crappy middle of the week that just seems to get stuck. It's like you have to slow the car down and ease over it. Wednesday is just that...something you have to get over. I'm leaving on Friday to head towards New Orleans to see Tegan and Sara. I'm beyond excited at this point. I'm also excited to see the city. I've never been before. Of course, I'm nervous too, but I think we have enough bodyguards going with us that things will be fine. Pictures will be taken and experiences will be had....and hopefully they will turn out well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway. Bailey is doing VERY good. She has such a sweet temperment and personality. She's always ready to play and isn't very aggressive. She just started growling the day before yesterday. It feels like we have a new baby ...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! I sure did. Actually, not that much happened but it was fun to dress up as a purple witch for work. The kids loved it. I had a feather boa and purple/black striped stockings. I'm also still working very diligently (hahaha) on the comissions. We have a new addition to the family! I would love to introduce BAILEY!! We're pretty sure she's a mix of a spitz and some kind of terrier. But she is a pound mutt. I honestly think she's too small to be out on her own, but I mean, what can you do? She's not even 2 pounds yet! I'm loving the weather and really trying to take a lot of pictures. The next two months are going to be crazy! I have 2 Tegan and Sara concerts I'm going to, Holly's B-Day, Thanksgiving, Mom's B-Day, Christmas, Heidi's B-Day AND New Years! I'm sure I will manage somehow though.

I finally had my pictures developed from the disposable camera. Only a few turned out all right. I don't know how we funcitoned with film though. It seemed comparable to listening to a cassette tape or watching a VHS. Sometimes techonology is wonderful. I do have a new digital camera though, which is great news! I feel like I have my arm back. I also finished the commission, you can see it on my deviantart page. Unfortunately the client wasn't too happy with the older child's smile. c.C So we'll see about fixing that. First, I will have to pick my pride up off of the floor and try to glue the shattered pieces back together. Kidding...sort of. The Tegan and Sara drawing is coming along VERY nicely! I'm glad I am taking my time on it. I've finished Tegan and I'm about to start Sara this weekend sometime. Here are a few pictures to enjoy! So do so. :)

So I just got back from a trip to Orlando. It was so relaxing and fun. I love not having an agenda. Having plans is just too stressful. There -are- exceptions I suppose. I got a hair cut, a tattoo, ate lots of sushi and went to Bush Gardens. Pictures won't be the same since they were taken with a disposable camera. Nothing like NOT having something to realize how much it means to you. Whenever I take the rest of the pictures on the roll I'll be able to post some. I got to feed some giraffes and Lorey's. If birds didn't poop I'd definitely want one. They have so much personality and they are so INCREDIBLY beautiful. I'm just now trying to get back into the routine of things. Thank goodness it's Friday, although I need to be finished with a commission by tomorrow night. Thankfully I work very well under pressure. If I don't set deadlines for myself then I never get things done. A side project I am working on is coming along very well though. It's going...

I've come upon another mysterious mental road block. I started a great project, which you can check out the first step on my deviantart page. But now I find myself just staring at the paper. I also have A LOT of comissions just sitting on my desk as well. I can't seem to muster up any sort of inspiration. I know this is a normal thing, but when you are wanting to get paid, well....it becomes a problem. It's frustrating to say the least. I think I will just have to peruse the many talented artist's galleries and try to get inspired. In the famous words of Mr. Gunn "Make it Happen!"

I would like to start this entry out by saying that NORMALLY I consider myself a smart person and that there is absolutely NO OFFENSE meant to the victims of the earthquake in Peru. I know it is a devastating situation down there. I can't help but share this conversation though. It's from what I remember so it's not word for word, but hopefully you will get the gist. Adri: Have you heard anything else from your relatives in Peru? Heidi: Yeah, they seem fine. Something about weird lights during the earthquake. (Said rather offhandedly) Adri: What?! Are you serious? Like BEFORE the earthquake or what? Heidi: Oh, during I suppose. I don't really know. Adri: Oh my gosh! Isn't that crazy?? Heidi: Umm, well I don't know. I suppose it would just be the transformers or something like that. Adri: Ohhhh yeah! (snorts) It could be U.F.O.s too, like in the movie "Signs". You know, they hovered over Mexico City and all the other large cities before they attacked...

I just finished a new drawing. I'm actually liking how this one turned out. I've never drawn someone looking into a mirror. I thought the perspective was really cool since the viewer is actually looking at a reflection. Anyway, I also experimented with watercolor paper. The texture came out perfect and I really like the effect. I have a lot on my plate at the moment. I'm nearly finished with a waterfall painting. That is also a first for me...I don't consider myself a painter and I found it EXTREMELY challenging! But that's the point isn't it? After that I need to start sketching out blueprints for upcoming commissions. I have a lot of ideas floating in my head and I just love it! I'm ssssooo glad my muse came back! WOOO!

Monday morning errr afternoon recap. Always so enjoyable. Friday night we all went to Stir Fry Cafe. We've become known as "The Friday Ladies". I don't know if that's incredibly cute or kinda sad. The food is just so good. One goes into withdrawls if one doesn't have sushi every week. Woke up kinda late on Saturday and walked Casey before going to my aunts house to help pull up carpet. This woman....we get half of the house done before I realize she has no plan. She has no person coming to install hardwood. I shake my head before calling a friend of mine to come and save the day. I hope everything works out with that. On Sunday I woke up at Buttcrack 30 a.m. and was wide awake. I hate it when that happens. I decided to just get up and go for a walk. Came back and worked on my painting and drawing. I also just got a new commission and possibly one more in the works. My Star Wars client sent me the framed finished product. I think it looks pretty rad, but who am...

"I'm almost there Everything I say I say to me first Everything I do I do to me first So what, I lied I lied to me too (so what?) So what, I lied I lied to me too Hold out for the ones you know will love you Hide out from the ones you know will love you Dark you can't come soon enough for me" ~Tegan and Sara - Dark Come Soon~ I think the lyrics are amazing and so true, at least for me. Anything you do to someone else...you do to yourself first. I was out in our front yard looking at the coy pond. We've been having trouble with it recently. I think one of the reasons is the temperature. It's warming up the water way too much. Anyway, two bats were flying around. I never noticed how much they look like kites when they veer and dive. They were so tiny though I thought they were just large butterflies at first. Very cute! I attempted to watch "What the Bleep do we Know?" last night. I didn't get more than halfway through it though. It was very deep a...

Tegan and Sara obsessed. I have listened to nothing else but their newest album "The Con" since I got it last week. I think because my life is so crazy right now I need 'something' to focus on. Their lyrics and voices are simply amazing. It's incredible how much I seem to connect to it. I saw them live two years ago in Nashville, but just this week my interest has gone through the roof. Honestly, blasting them in my headphones is ten times preferable to what's in my head already. *Walks over and gets a soap box then balances on it with one foot before tapping the microphone* You know what really really irritates me? I'm a very ambiguous person. I like to throw a lot of ideas out...but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to do it. Why do people have to keep nagging me about decisions I haven't even really made? Things happen and things change. And they wonder why I don't talk much..... *hops down and kicks the box over the cliff*

Same song. Having to use a sick day for REALLY being sick just stinks!! I still have the sinus congestion and what-not but last night around 2:45 a.m. I started to really have fun with the vomiting and diarrhea. And what is it about being sick that you just HAVE to wake up EVERY hour. Is there some dumb internal alarm clock that says, "OH, hours up..time to get sick again." Sheesh. I'm still battling nausea at the moment but I think I'm on the mend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway. These things (viruses) are like deadly storms though. They can turn in an instant and just knock you on your rear...literally.

When I was little, I used to always have arguments with myself before doing something scary. I was the kid that stood on the diving board for 20 minutes before jumping in. It's not something I enjoy. In fact, I get very angry and frustrated with myself for not just doing it. Just jump in! But a part of me would freeze and have to weigh the consequences and the benefits. I'm entirely convinced there are two people living inside of me. A very compulsive daredevil and a very timid...nerd is the best word I can come up with here. But now, there are no diving boards, it's just decisions. Albeit life changing ones, but I still can't shake the internal debate. Why can't I just jump in? I thought this song by Sarah McLachlan was very fitting... It's called Train Wreck Would your love in all its finery tear at the darkness all around me until I can feel again until I can breathe again Cause Im a train wreck waiting to happen waiting for someone to come pick me up off the...

UGH...I - hate - being sick! I woke up Saturday morning with a nasty sore throat. I went to the doc just because I was a little paranoid about my already swollen lymph-node. It's not strep but I do have a viral infection. This morning it moved up into my sinuses and I kept choking and waking myself up. Must have been all of the snot running down the back of my throat. *whines* I - HATE - being sick!! I finished reading the " Amber Spyglass ". It wasn't as good as the Golden Compass but it was better than the Subtle Knife . Lyra and Will really did some growing up in this novel. I didn't care for the ending. While I understand 'why' it had to end that way...I didn't like it and I didn't think it was very fair to Lyra. It must be the romantic in me always wanting a 'happy ending'. I'm very happy about the form that Pan decided to settle on. Will's daemon wasn't very surprising at all though, but cute all the same. I was also a li...

I've quite possibly had the most disturbing and horrible dream that I have EVER had. *wrinkles nose* It's awful to even re-tell it. I hate when dreams are so REALISTIC and VIVID. It makes them incredibly hard to forget! So here it goes...I've warned you it's nasty! I'm at work and carrying a chart down the hall. When I get to the rack (where the charts go) I get a leg cramp...much like a charlie horse. It's very painful and I bend down to massage it. As I'm rubbing my leg I feel a knot forming. I kind of panic, but not too bad. I walk back down to the office but by the time I get there the whole calf is swollen and pulsing and there is little beads of sweat. I sit down immediately and Joanna starts freaking out. "I have to go get a doctor!" She says and runs down the hall. My leg is continuing to swell and it's very nasty looking. The Dr. comes down and sees it. His eyes widen and in a nervous voice he says, "We have to cut it open to reli...

Monday Monday Monday Your house or mine I don't really care about it anymore I close my eyes I, I make myself unhappy so you'll go Without me What's wrong with you Monday Monday Monday ~Tegan and Sara I hope everyone had a great 4th, I sure did. We all went to Norris and rented a pontoon boat. There were 8 of us total and we drove around, had a bbq, found an awesome cove and spent the day swimming and tubing. The water was incredibly warm and blue. It looked like water from the Caribbean!! Seriously, I didn't change the colors of the picture at all. It sucked that we had to go back to work on Thursday though. I got a stone in my salivary gland and had to be put on antibiotics. I suppose it's similar to a kidney stone because it just comes out in the duct under the tongue. It's better today, I think the gland in my neck might still be a little swollen, but nothing compared to the golf ball that was there last week. The weekend was pretty uneventful. I was feeling...

Are my hormones completely whacked? Am I losing my mind? My God, it feels like it. I haven't been able to sleep well in 4 days. My body is at a constant state of tension. It's as if I've been having a mild panic attack for hours upon hours. I feel torn between exhuastion and excitement and I'm pretty sure my mind has turned against me. It's like in the movies when the main character starts talking to themesleves. I have sympathy for them now because all I've been doing is telling my brain to just stop and leave me alone. But that's the kicker...it's the one thing in all the world you can't escape. I haven't been able to focus on much of anything. Whenever I find myself obsessing over these thoughts I try to distract myself.....think of vegetables, sheep, babies crying. My bottom lip is so incredibly sore from biting it so much and I think I have permanent nail marks in my palm. If something doesn't happen soon I'm gonna go nuts.

It's probably a normal phenomenon. Most of the population probably experiences it. How should I know? What I do know...is that certain spots on my scalp become very sore to the touch. I think I notice it more when I have a headache because it's then that I tend to rub my head. That, unfortunately, sets into motion a seemingly never-ending cycle. I rub my head, find a sore spot, rub it more, it becomes even more sore.....and so on. Not much has happened the past couple of days. Along with the subtle headaches and literal head aches...I've been experiencing weird cramping. It feels pre - menstrual ...but it's not. I'm keeping on eye on it though. If it lasts much longer I'm definitely getting it checked out. Actually things have been rreeaallllyyy slow the past couple of days. I've been very bored and have found it difficult to find things to occupy my time. I -DID- finish the Jessica Alba drawing! You can check it out on my deviant page...link to the right. ...

I've been putting off updating for a little while. I recently finished the book Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and I wanted to really formulate a well written review. However, I find that virtually impossible. The book is so large and covers so many themes. Suffice it to say I enjoyed it. I would recommend it to everyone with a fair warning that it comes in at almost 1000 pages and some of the narrative gets pretty deep. I've never read a book like it though. It was eye-opening and awe inspiring. This weekend was a blast! I think I'm turning into one of those weekend warriors. All business and laziness during the week and then as soon as the weekend comes it's full throttle fun. We went white water rafting. Since we are experiencing a drought the river was a little low. It was so much fun though. Whenever we'd get stuck on a rock everyone had to jump out and push. We tipped down one falls and lost two people. I put sunscreen on but nose and knees got burned anyw...

I had a wonderfully exciting weekend and I just have to throw a shout-out to Heidi for getting the Cranberries stuck in my head. Loads of thanks chica. Friday --> Work just dragged on and on. This only supports my theory of time warps and wormholes. Well, not -my- theory. I didn't come up with it, I just support it! That evening we watched Sybil. Wow! Very disturbing and heart-wrenching. For it's time it was wonderfully directed and Sally Field just blew my mind. I highly recommend it. I don't think young kids should watch it however, there are disturbing images. Really, really disturbing images. I had the tornado dream again. I'm starting to think I should keep track of these things. Write down when I have them and what happens before and after the dreams. Just an idea. I don't know. Saturday --> Had a 5 am wake-up call. I biked the Cades Cove loop with my boss and his family. It was approx 11.1 miles. I was feeling it! I was also extremely glad that his ki...

I've returned from the 'grand' state of Oklahoma a changed person. Some might think this a drastic statement since I was only there for 5 days, but considering the company I was in and the experiences I had, it -is- a true statement. My eyes were opened to the amount of suffering my family endures. I'm sure it's not just my family. It just seems that comparatively speaking my family seems to have a lot of 'bad luck'. But what amazes me is everyone's strength and will. No matter what happens to them in their day to day lives they continue on and they find happiness. Even myself. Maybe it's just a part of human nature. Maybe the cliche is true (What doesn't kill you makes you stronger). I don't know what it is exactly. I just know that sitting there and looking around at my family I was impressed. I was proud of our 'clan'. We may not be the richest or the most talented and gifted. We may not be where we pictured ourselves....but we can...

That's what my bosses are doing today. They make us work on Memorial Day and then question why we aren't busy. But hey, why should I care? I'm getting paid to sit here and read. It's just that sometimes I can't help feeling I'm stuck in a Saturday detention. Doesn't help that half of the employees called in 'sick' today. Maybe I'm just jealous and bitter. I did have a wonderful weekend though! We went to the lake on Saturday and couldn't have asked for better weather. Had a BBQ, soaked up some sun, went home and slept. I watched Trainspotting while I unpacked some more boxes. It was disturbing to say the least and the baby, TRAUMATIZING. Johnny Lee Miller is absolutely adorable though. On Sunday we went to the theater and saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End . I was a little 'iffy' about it because I had read it was over 2 1/2 hours long. The second one wasn't very good in my opinion, but I decided to give this one a ...

Well, my mother is still alive. We thought she was a 'gonner' for sure. I was even beginning to think about which songs I wanted played at her funeral. Thank the heavens she saw the doctor and got everything taken care of though. I think she might just stick around for a few more years. I subscribed to the blockbuster mailing list thing so that I could have a chance to watch all of the "GREAT" movies that our local blockbuster just doesn't have anymore. Last night though I watched a more recent release, "Catch and Release" starring Jennifer Garner. It wasn't that great. I would give it a 1.5 out of 5. I think that Kevin Smith really carried the movie. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Jennifer Garner, this just wasn't an exciting character. My favorite part of the movie is when Jennifer's character paints her room a light blue color. Kevin Smith walks in: "You painted the room.....It looks like a TAMPON BOX!!" I snickered. I...

: Random Thought of the Day : Idle Hands are the devil's playground. Isn't that what they say? What is an Idle Mind then? Must be something much more dangerous than simply having idle hands. I rented " My Own Private Idaho " a couple of nights ago. It's pretty trippy. I looked it up and it's supposed to be based on a William Shakespeare play. Isn't everything nowadays? I didn't like the dialogue. During the scene in the abandoned hotel when they were directly quoting Shakespeare, I felt it really took them out of the movie. My favorite character was Scott played by Keanu Reeves. I was intrigued with the notion of a 'rich boy' slumming with every intention of going back to his privileged life. River Pheonix's character was almost too apathetic for me. True, he showed emotion and I even felt sorry for him...but he was just too listless and blase about his whole situation. I don't think anyone who falls asleep in one city and wakes up in a...

We have a dry erase bored in our office and sometimes I get in a goofy mood and draw things on it. All appropriate of course, I mean..I do work in an office surrounded by children. Yesterday afternoon I was doodling during a slow period and I ended up drawing a Zombie squirrel. It was nothing exciting. A 1st grader could have drawn it. It was just two circles with arms sticking out and a huge tail with zombie eyes. *shrugs* I thought it was cute. You wouldn't believe the stir this critter caused. I walked in this morning and everyone is asking me why I drew a zombie squirrel. It was funny at first but after the 5 th question I was getting pretty irritated. Why the freak does it matter???? Is a zombie squirrel -SO- outlandish? My goodness. I watched "Stomp the Yard" last night. It was very entertaining, but not that much different, story wise, from " Drumline ". I would recommend it just for the incredible dancing though. Wow!! I also finished reading "Sacr...

My surgery went very well! Here's a run down of what happened in case anyone is interested. I got to the office and filled out the required paperwork. Boring. Then I was taken back to a room and given a little hair net thingie and booties to go over my shoes. The nurse gave me a Valium to chew up and an ibuprofen for any swelling. I got eye drops in my eyes every 10 minutes or so to numb them. After that we walked back to the surgery room and the doctor came in. They taped one eye shut and then taped my eyelashes (upper and lower) down. You can't really feel anything except pressure. Then I felt the metal thing being put in place to hold my eye lids open. Like I said, no pain, just a pressure sensation. After that it felt like he rubbed gel in my eye because everything was really blurry and things moved so quickly. He told me to focus on this green light and try to keep my attention on it. I would say it was over in 5 minutes. I could see immediately afterwards. It was a little...

It seems like so much has happened since my last update. I 'got a wild hare' to research my family tree. I don't know much about my father, but thankfully I found someone who did. I was basically able to trace my family back to the mayflower. I'm also related to Shirly Temple -Very distantly of course...and a few presidents like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. A lot of politicians and freedom fighters. It was very interesting. Unfortunately, my maternal grandmother's family is full Cherokee and their is just no record of them. Hopefully, when we go back to Oklahoma in June I will be able to fill in some of the gaps. I also just got back from a wonderful vacation in Florida. The weather was pretty amazing. I think it stayed around 84 the whole entire time I was there. It didn't rain at all! I took a lot of pictures...around 120 to be exact. You can check out my Flickr page to see some of them. I don't want to post them ALL here, but I will a few of my favo...

I've finally finished this HUGE project! It only took a few months, LOL. It's approx. 4ft by 3ft and I used 4 watercolor pencils (all black). I'm so glad it's done. I'm very proud of the end result. Of course I look at it and see things I could have fixed or drawn better. That's why I don't like keeping my own artwork. I'm constantly wanting to 'fix' it. Anyway, this is it!!

I have yet another " auntism " as I have taken to calling the little bizarre things my aunt says. This morning as she was standing in the living room getting ready to go to work we're having a conversation about dinner: Me : Remember, I probably won't be around for dinner. I really need to work on my drawing and I might have an errand or two. Aunt : Well, we'll see. I might feel like cooking or I might be going out with my friend. Me : Okay cool, but just -know- that I'll get my own dinner. (I've learned I have to be really specific and repeat myself to get the point across) Aunt : Well...we'll see. At least we have water! With this she walks out the door. I'm left standing there looking stupefied. I think I should also create a list of bizarre occurrences that happen around me. Here are just a few that would be put on it. I'm in K-Mart looking for a plain polo shirt to wear to work. I turn around and see a young girl in her 20's wearing a...

Sometimes, when things get plopped in front of you they can seem overwhelming. Even if you were dumb enough to put those obstacles there yourself. It's as if suddenly you have blinders on and you can't see anything with perspective. You just see raging rivers and you're blind to the bridges that cross them. I think this phenomenon makes us human. I imposed a deadline on myself. I told my client I would be finished with the Star Wars project by the end of the week. C.c I'm not really sure this is possible, but I tend to find out. That's obstacle #1. #2 My aunt's continual talking to the dogs as if they are human and scolding them likewise is making me grind my teeth at night. I've also had to distance myself from sharp objects in the fear of harming her. (Just kidding about that last part). #3 My grandfather is not faring well. He's been battling lung cancer for a few years now but in the past few months it has gotten worse. We just learned this weekend t...

This weekend was absolutely beautiful! Even though I had to work both days of it, I still managed to really enjoy it. Friday night was spent at my mother's house watching The Wedding Crashers. It was a dumb movie but we made it a lot of fun. Saturday we went to the zoo. It was so crowded though!! So many strollers and people, yuck! It didn't help matters that all of the animals seemed to be sleeping. I guess we just went at the wrong time of the day. I did manage to get a few shots of a sleepy Meerkat. I love those guys, they are so animated and fun to watch. I also got a lot of drawing done. Not as much as I'd like of course. Last night I went back over to mom's place (her new house is so beautiful) and watched the antics as my sister and her boyfriend beautified the gold fish pond. We also grilled outside and had a lot of fun just joking around with each other.

So the past couple of days have just SUCKED! I seemed to have caught a stomach bug. It's a job hazard I suppose but it just seemed to hit me really hard. I couldn't do anything. The strength was just zapped right out of me (along with other things). But, I woke up this morning feeling SO much better! It's really amazing how good you feel when you have something awful to compare it to. Like I said though, today is a good day. I didn't get a chance work on my drawing as much as I wanted to. I finished Grievous and some of the lettering and I started on Jar Jar. It's a little disheartening seeing how slow the progress is, even though I'm really happy with what I've done so far. I just need to speed it up a little!

So here's another shot of the 'project'. Not much else to report I'm afraid....It's just been work work. The ruler is a standard 12' ruler. I just wanted to put it in there to get a sense of perspective. The little clone troopers are approx. 9 inches tall.

I've finally finished sketching the "foundation" for my Star Wars project. It took a lot longer than I orignally thought it was going to because I had to increase the size nearly 12 inches. Here is a picture that I've taken of the corner I'm working on. It's a little larger than an 8x10 section. I also saw 300 this weekend. I didn't really have high hopes for the story, I was mostly interested in the art of the movie. However, everything exceeded my expectations. It was highly entertaining. I definitely recommend it to everyone. I think there was a little too much sexuality but that would be my only complaint. It was visually stunning, the acting was amazing (Spartan women just rock!) and they really got the 'heart' of the story across I think. Oh yeah, the Star Wars characters belong to George Lucas and anyone else who owns the copyrights. I'm just a fan!

I've actually started the drawing! Very exciting. There is always a moment of nervous anticipation when I look at a blank piece of paper. I'm always thinking "Don't mess this up!" But after I grab the pencil and start drawing lines, it goes away pretty quickly. I must look insane to an outsider though. Here I am standing in front of a HUGE blank piece of white paper and I'm looking all over it and walking around in front of it like I'm actually looking at something. Which I am. I know where everything is going to go and I'm just trying to visualize it. So I watched two movies last night, Half Nelson and Babel. I would recommend not watching those two movies together in one night. They both are pretty depressing. I mean, each movie had it's good parts and 'hopeful' parts, but still...overall I was like SHEESH! Enough already, I need something to make me laugh. Here's my mini review of them. I'll do Half Nelson first since it was the ...

Wow. I just looked over my previous entry and so much has happened and changed since then…but then a lot of things are the same. A lot of progress has been made in the commission of the Star Wars mural. I will be starting the actual drawing of it in a few days I think. Up until now it has just been sketching. I don’t think I have ever sketched so much in my life! Characters and positions and layouts and star ships and light sabers. But it’s all coming together. I also finished The Golden Compass ! A great book for sure, thank you Heidi for recommending it. I really REALLY want a daemon now. It’s fun to imagine what people’s would be. I love Lyra’s character. She’s so strong willed and stubborn. I was surprised a little of how involved I got into the story. I couldn’t put it down when Lyra was captured and almost severed with her daemon. So of course, I’ve picked up the second book and will be starting it soon. I’m still turning out the scarves and hats. I’ve learned to tell people that...

Relativity Einstein was a genius. I hate his theory. I hate it because it’s so true. Time is so incredibly relative sometimes. It’s maddening to think about it. It’s frustrating to experience it. It’s just that time moves so quickly on occasion, that it takes me by surprise. I don’t realize anything has happened until I look back and see the whole picture. I see everything that has happened, everything that has taken place, people I’ve met and people I’ve said goodbye to. It’s pretty mind-boggling. I’ve taken a break from reading House of Leaves . I was getting bogged down. It’s a very…’full’ book. I switched to the The Golden Compass . A little bit lighter, although, I’ve found it’s pretty complicated as well. But it’s fun to follow Lyra on her many adventures. I’m very interested to see how it’s going to be made into a movie. I’m also really trying to focus on my Star Wars project. Progress is being made, but it’s a little bit slower than I would like. Partially it’s my fault and par...

Today was a day of cleaning. I slept in until 10 am which was so nice! I was a bit disappointed when I looked out of my window and didn't see any snow. Our weather forecasters are STRUGGLING! Every day they are so wishy washy about our weather. "Oh we could have snow...oh maybe not...blah, blah" But I did get A LOT accomplished today with the cleaning! I even cleaned out my closet and organized the yarn and other 'hobbyish' stuff that was cluttering up my room. My back is....I'm not sure yet. It definitely feels a lot better. My muscles aren't NEARLY as tight and knotted but sometimes I get shooting pains behind my left shoulder blade. I'm not sure what that's about. We'll have to see tomorrow.

"Adrienne, are you absolutely SURE that you've never been in a serious car accident or had a traumatic injury in the past?" He laughs and adds, "Could you possibly have been dropped as a baby?" I take my attention away from the X-Rays in front of me long enough to roll my eyes and look at the Doc. "I'm pretty sure I would remember a tramatic event like a car accident. The whole 'dropping thing' could totally have happened though," I laugh. "It's just that I've never seen anyone your age with a neck like that who hasn't been in a car accident," he ponders. "Well, what can I say? I've always been told I'm special," I reply. He laughs, "I'm afraid it's not a good thing, in this case, to be special." I breathe loudly and look back at the X-rays. He proceeds to trace over the obvious -S- that my neck is making and he also points out the rib protruding from it's socket in my back. ...

I believe that there are things in this world that are just fundamentally creepy. I'm not talking about ghosts or possessions or even creepy children. (You know who you are!). I'm just talking about weird coincidences or De ja vu. Things that really can't be explained and things that make us move along quickly as if we are scared to examine this phenomenon too closely. For instance (Oh, you knew this was coming): The sun blinds us as we leave the pet store. We saw a pretty cool exotic parrot right by the door and had stopped to play with him for a while. He was very interested in us but I was a little creeped out. My friend and I were theorizing over why exotic birds are so expensive and how they are shipped to this country. I remember laughing about the bird that didn't like her. I was smiling and gazing out of the window as we cruised around the parking lot trying to kill time. Checking out another pet store seemed like a grand idea. For some reason a morbid thought p...

I'm standing in what we loosely call our kitchen. It's basically a 4x10 closet with a sink and a microwave. Only one person can fit in there at a time and there is always a slightly 'rotten' stink emanating from the sink. I don't like to leave my food unattended while it's in there. I have visions of a vague 'something' dropping on it or hopping in it while I'm not looking. There is also a very good chance someone will stop the microwave and put whatever they are having for lunch in there instead, feigning ignorance and proclaiming, " It had already stopped and beeped, I'm so sorry ," as they grin and sit down to eat their already cooked food. Yeah, it's happened before. I roll my head back and look at the ceiling idly tossing my plastic spork from hand to hand. Thoughts of my weekend fight with the constant drone of the microwave. In bits and pieces I remember: I saw Alpha Dog with my sister on Saturday , we both cried. I was sur...

It's 11 am on wednesday and I have a splitting headache. The downside to working with a bunch of women is the bickering and complaining. I'm not saying that I don't do any, I could be the queen of complaining if I wanted to, but it's a different thing to 'listen' to it. So what did I do? I went home. Yes I took the cowardly way out. I work on saturday though, so techincally I -deserve- a half day off. *sticks out tongue* As soon as I get home I fall into bed and I'm out cold! (well, not cold..I turned my electric blanket on. It's freezing up in here!!) I get a call around 3:30 from the aunt. She's bringing a dog home. I rub my sleepy eyes and try to get my brain to comprehend what I just heard. "I'm sorry....what did you say?" I didn't misunderstand. She's bringing a dog home. Needless to say, she totally lied to me. She brought a RAT home! Have a look see: Oh yeah! Not much to say about her huh? Get this..her name is 'Chica...

We’re in the middle of a bizarre heat wave that’s lasted all weekend. I think the temp. actually reached 70 at one point. Tomorrow the highest it’s going to get is 40. This is just great (insert sarcasm) because now we are going to be VERY busy with sick people. Drastic weather changes play havoc on immune systems. We’re also renovation/remodeling the front office. This is all an effort to organize things. We don’t have much to work with though. The building is over 60 years old and the doctors absolutely refuse to alter the walls or doorways. I also have an inclination that it might be sinking in on one side. The building that is, not the doctors. Cracks are starting to appear in the walls and it’s just not a pretty sight. But I think we’re doing okay with what we have. It’s just very irritating trying to check patients in when there is hammering and drilling happening in the background. I’ve been subsisting on Excedrin for the past 3 workdays. As I’m writing this my aunt has just cra...

So I just finished watching " Gone With the Wind " last night. It was a two night ordeal. I am 24 and have never seen this movie. While to many this would be 'no big deal', to many other's it is a certain travesty . What are my thoughts on the movie you ask? Well, let me just tell you. First of all I am incredibly impressed with the effects and general 'vast- ness ' of the film. I was particularly impressed with the 'wounded soldier scene' where Scarlet flees the hospital and goes out into the street where there are virtually thousands of wounded and dying soldiers. Wow! The special effects (superimposed images) can hardly be compared to today's technology, but I couldn't help but laugh at some of the carriage and horse riding scenes. I absolutely adore Scarlet's character. Vivian Leigh's eyes are so incredibly expressive, it was such a joy to watch. Rhett Butler was so incredibly charming without being overly cheesy. His dimples ar...

I'm updating from work so I will have to add the picture of the falls in later today. Here are my thoughts of the holidays: I come from a relatively small family. Most of my life it's just been me, my mom, my sister and usually my aunt and grandmother but the core of everything is us three girls. I've always wanted to know what it's like to be a part of a large family or at least to experience one. Wow, did I ever experience! It was basically like I thought it was going to be, Loud, Crazy, Chaotic but full of love. It's never boring and there is almost always someone to talk to or do something with. But on the flip side it's very hard to find 'alone time'. I wouldn't have changed the experience in any way though. We went hiking, shopping, pool was played, lots of ping pong too. We also had a lot of good food and I think we got food poisoning which wasn't so much fun. I learned it's not always about what you do, it's about who you spend yo...

It's pretty amazing how so much can happen in such a short amount of time. It seems like I managed to cram a month's worth of activities and driving into one weekend. It's funny how your body doesn't feel the effects of excitement (whether it's stress, tension, lack of sleep, fun, moments of intense energy, etc.) until DAYS later. It WILL, inevitably, catch up with you though. The world seems to start moving without you, your reaction time slows immensely , you find minutes just disappear and you wonder if you accidentally fell asleep for a moment. Visions of your bed and warm blankets attack and take over all of your waking thoughts. You wonder if you could fund research for injectible caffeine , it's a brilliant idea. So, needless to say, I'm VERY tired. I think it's a satisfied tired though. I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know when I'm not so tired. Another side effect: Rambling that you -THINK- sounds intelligent but when you go back to...