Random Cell Pics

This is my mom at my nephew's 3rd birthday/Halloween party.

It's some crazy puppet from Baby Einstein.

Creepy, hm? Tell me about it!

Now you know where I get some of my strangeness from...

LOL.

^_^

Oh & tomorrow is the first night of the Damned show.

Wooooohooo!!!

My Gift to Mike's Grandmother, Lenore

This was my 1st time making a wreath. Wreath was from Michaels, as was the circles w/the sticker letters on 'em and also both the ribbons. Flowers from...Dollar Tree, wooohooo! ;) I am giving this to the family today, I hope they like it! (People may not know at first but I picked a wreath because of them being branches. Mike's grandma loved trees and had a small display of 'em up year round on her entertainment center (none real, just cute lil' trees...all different kinds). So somehow I wanted to add the "tree" part...and I know wreaths are put on graves and such but that's not really what I was thinking...though it does make some sense. :)

BTW: Don't forget to check out my Random Cell Pics post below this one. I did that one earlier today. Take care.~

Getting nervous and some not-so-good news

In Memory of Lenore

~RIP~

I really love this picture,

very peaceful.

Well, this is the first time I've really thought about the DAMNED art show (intensely that is) and how it's making me a bit nervous. I looked at the pictures from last year's show, which can be found HERE.

• And last year's show wasn't half as big as this year's show...meaning more artists...and 2 nights of the show, not just one like last year. And the place was packed. Which is good of course, but bad for me a bit because I don't like being elbow-to-elbow with someone. That makes me feel a bit panic-y. The VIP part (2 hours before the show opens to the public) should be cool and maybe there'll be a lot of people...maybe not, since it's $25 in advance & $33 at the door.


• The VIP part is basically ALL the artists (that can attend) and the people (general public, artsy people, etc...) who want a first look at the art (before EVERYONE comes in) and maybe can talk to the artists. I'm guessing maybe you stand near by your art...and guessing again that my 2 pieces will be near one another.

• The show is also very very late. The VIP part starts at 7 pm-9 pm...and then the show goes on until 2 am. As far as I know (and I'm hoping cuz he can get a lil' weird on me) that Mike is still going to be my date for night 1 because I don't want to do the meet-n-greet (VIP thing) alone. But I doubt I'll be staying til 2 am. And that's fine. Mike has to work the next day and being there 5 hours or so might just make me tired. Jeez, I sound like a true artist, huh? I'll be too tired...whine whine whine. Kidding, but it will be a long night.


• The next night is the BIG NIGHT of DAMNED...meaning the Masquerade Ball and it's actually Devil's Night (the day before Halloween). So I would assume that more people might come to the show that night. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

• So...back to panic mode. I do feel a bit nervous now. I mean that's a lot of people looking at my art and yeah, a lot of artists looking at my art as well. Not that I don't think I'm any less of an artist...but being self-taught and having ZERO experience besides art history classes makes me feel...not so professional I suppose. I did have a group art show...ugh, 10 years ago...long time! And it was cool but not downtown and definitely not with this much exposure. It was kinda my show but my friends (and friends of my friend) did it too...I just had the most stuff on the wall.


• And it was kinda funny because a woman I talked to via snail mail (yes, we were kinda penpals) walked into the gallery and then almost instantly said "I want that one." And I sold it. It was actually a mixed media piece. A BIG eye with cut up credit cards in the middle. That was one of the happiest moments of my life thus far.


• And now, DAMNED is making me really happy...no matter if I sell anything because that's not really the point of it all. But again, I get really nervous and panic-y...so I just gotta calm down a bit and just realize I'm showing two pieces that are a big part of my "style" and be cool with that. Maybe the Absinthe tasting during the meet-n-greet part will help me relax. ;)

• So once again, I must apologize for not commenting much on your blogs. :( I'm bad, I know. I took on a massive project today: ORGANIZING my art room completely. And labeling everything. I started it today but no way will it be done asap...maybe by late tomorrow if I go at it all day. And I want to buy a bookshelf because I really do need to see some of my materials/etc... instead of just putting 'em in a storage container. I'm getting there...it's just a process. Wish me luck!


• AND I'm having work issues. Nothing too serious, I'm hoping. Can't really talk about it here as some of my co-workers take a peek at my blog every now and then. Just a bit of a stressful thing...but working on my art room is helping me deal with things.

• AND ONE MORE AND! Sadly, my boyfriend's grandmother passed away tonight. He got a call that it was URGENT to get to the hospital to see her (her cancer made its way to her liver) and then his brother called and said she was doing OK and possibly being moved to another room.


• So we got in the car, almost got into the hospital parking lot and Mike's mom called him and said she just passed. I felt terrible. But things like that are out of control, I realize that but still...it's sucky. And Mike loved his grandmother...as did his whole family. She was a great lady and I loved her like my own grandmother. I was never close with mine (barely knew my father's mother so there wasn't much there)...this was my mother's mother. So I always felt like she was my real grandmother too (again, been with Mike for almost 10 years now). And although Mike and I are not married, they do treat me like one of the family (and always have) so it wasn't weird or anything. I mean I loved her very much too. Very sad...but she didn't suffer much so that is the important part.


• So yeah, it was hard and everyone was sad but staying at the hospital for a while with the whole family (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandchildren, great grandchildren) was a good thing. She was really specific about what she wanted after she passed away. And Mike always knew this about her and actually Mike and I feel very similar when our time comes. She didn't want a ceremony. She didn't want people to look at her after she passed away. She just didn't like that. And I can understand that...as seeing both my grandparents at their funerals was kinda scary because they did not look like themselves at all. My mother was not happy with that either.


• So anyways, Mike's grandmother (her name is Lenore, which is a name I've always loved), will be cremated and put in an urn and their will be a celebration (not a funeral technically) at one of Mike's aunt's house this Friday. I think that's an awesome idea. It reminds me of Day of the Dead...to celebrate the life of someone, rather than mourn. There was a lot of mourning today and I'm sure people (including myself) will be sad Friday but it's to remember what made Grandma so great.


• Everyone was asked to bring pictures...anything that reminded them of Grandma. Mike actually doesn't have pictures (she hated photos too...just like me!). So maybe (maybe!) I will try making something in celebration Grandma Lenore & how awesome she was...and of the love Grandma gave everyone too. If it's not right (to me) I won't bring it...but I am going to think about it. I figure it's the least I could do.

• Woweeee, this much longer than expected...it's getting late! Well, thanks for reading and I hope you are all doing good. Enjoy the rest of your week (if by chance I don't make a post) and take care.~

Mother's Day, Great Score, and Cemetery

Diane @ Good Mourning, Glory! was so kind to make this lovely award pictured above & to give it to me (as well as many other ladies & gentlemen) for Mom's Day. Thanks so much Diane. It's very lovely & purrrty. She gave it to moms and dads of all kinds of 'children'...and I'm the mom of a furry baby named Bibi. She's my lil' white doggie and she's 3 years old. :} She's a very happy, playful, and curious dog. I couldn't imagine living without her-she always makes me smile. ^_^

So this is what Diane's award means (her list has 6 things but I just listed the 1st three for ya):

"You are an elegant Mother"

el⋅e⋅gant

–adjective

1. tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.

2.	gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.

3.	graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.

So how did your Mother's Day go my friends? Mine was nice. First Mike and I (and Bibi too of course) went to his parents' house and gave his mom our gift. I think I did a good job of picking it out this year...a nice silver (not real though) necklace in the shape of a heart and earrings to match. She really liked it so I was glad about that. (Got it for such a good deal that I also got her a couple of nice candles.) We didn't stay too long because he mom had to leave with Mike's sister.

Next we went to my parents' house. We had dinner with my parents, my older sister, her three kids, and my brother. My younger sister was with her daughter at the zoo...I have to say it was a pretty nice day for it. My mom had to drive my brother to his job so we didn't stay too much longer after dinner. I gave my mom her gifts...some Sweet Pea body sprays from Bath & Body Works (mom's request), a candle, and a Kohl's gift card because she said she wanted clothes/pj's and I am not good at picking out that stuff for her anymore. So yeah I went with the gift card (non-personal I know)...but that way she can pick out whatever she wants.

My parents have a nice lilac tree in the backyard so I took some of those home...but darn it, didn't take enough. So I have a pretty wimpy display but they still smell nice. After we got home I decided to run up to the mall because the Asian store was closing & I thought maybe I could get a good deal on some stuff. Well, I got something SO SO awesome (You will really like this Dracenea & Diane, I just know it!)...and for such a great deal! (Will prob post on Goth blog...I'll say this much-it's skeleton/skull related...and hand carved too!)

Then (since I was by myself) I went to a cemetery I've always seen when driving around but never went 'in'...never even knew how to get in it...is an oddly placed cemetery. Well I found out it was a Jewish cemetery...I'm not Jewish but I really like their cemeteries most the times. They didn't have a lot of statues or anything...just really nice headstones and other things I found interesting (like pictures of people who passed on ON the headstone). I'll be posting those (probably in a series because I took about 20 pictures) on my other blog.

So that was pretty much everything. Now, what did YOUs do? Were you good to your mommas!!??!! Did you have a lovely day (if you are a mom)? I hope so. I hope you all will have a great week. This is my last week working for the Winter semester, yeah it's considered Winter because it starts in January. So after this week, I'm not sure of my schedule for a lil' while.

Take care friends and be chatting with some of you soon.~

I Love My Mom ^_^

I know it's not Mother's Day until May but I felt like writing about my mom.

These are some reasons why I love my mother so much...

1-She is the most selfless & caring person I have ever met. She does SO much for my family (including me of course)...it's incredible. I have no idea how she does it all & stays sane. She's definitely the "glue" of our family.

2-The woman NEVER takes a break. You'll never see my mother sitting on the couch in broad daylight. If so, something is up.

3-When I visit at my parents' house (usually for dinner), she'll always ask me if I want more to eat & if I want dessert (though she knows I could lose a few pounds).

4-If my father & I have an argument/disagreement (and he's being rude as normal), she's the first person to defend me. (That's another thing, I have no idea how she's put up with some of my father's crap for 30+ years, amazing!)

5-I can always count on her to be there for me no matter what. (Day or night, she'll be there!)

6-She has this great ability to get me to see the positive sides of things...always.

7-I know that I'm not the only one knowing how great of a person she is...because she is also loved at her work. When it comes to her birthday or Christmas, my God, she gets LOTS of nice gifts & cards from her co-workers & bosses! I've walked into my parents' house before & have been like "OMG, is this all yours Mom?!!!?" ^_^

8-She believes in me...and supports my decisions no matter what.

With all this, I wonder quite often if I'm the red-headed stepchild because I feel very selfish a lot of the times. I am definitely more like my dad but also not exactly like him either, thank goodness. But overall, I feel like I have several of my mother's good-natured qualities. Still, I can only hope to be half as wonderful as my mom is...she is my biggest inspiration & hero. And I know she always will be. ;}

***If you'd like, you can tell me who's your biggest inspiration/hero and why. I'm always curious, as you know! ^_^

My Alice...I Mean, My Niece

This is a picture of my niece. She's four years old. Aw, she even posed for me. She reminds me of Alice, both features & personality wise. Maybe she could BE Alice in a play or something in about, hm, 5 years or so. That would be so cute!

A Lil' Bit of This & That...all from TARGET

I got some after-my-birthday-gifts & hey, I'll take 'em at anytime! ;} My friend got me this really sweet Hello Kitty clipboard. (She got it from Target but my Target don't sell this new HK merch yet, so I was very happy to get it!)

She also got me this cute BIG magnet. It's on my fridge. Thanks so much Vicky!!!

My older sister got me this awesome Hello Kitty wall clock for my birthday also. Ain't it cute? Yeah, I know where she got it from...t-a-r-g-e-t. :)

I found this cool folder when I went to Target to get some stuff the other day. It's made of this plastic (?) material...so it will last forever, seriously. I've had ones like these before & they rule.

Sorry that this isn't the best shot. But I found this in the clearance section of T-A-R-G-E-T, maybe they should spell it like that. Anyways it's a nice black shirt...it's see-through but that's o.k. cuz I plan to wear it over some of my tank tops this summer.

B-Day Part 1: Dinner w/the Family

Hey everyone. Thank you ALL so much for the birthday greetings. You guys RULE! So yesterday I had my birthday get-together with my family & Mike, of course, at my parents' house. My mom made some of my favorite things. For starters, the yummy eggs above. I never used to like 'em but somehow became addicted to 'em after having 'em at Mike's family parties.

My mom made baked manacotti/stuffed shells for me (my request) and ribs for everyone else, or for me as well, but I don't really like ribs. So by the time we were all done eating dinner, most the ribs were gone & I was the only one to eat the shells. But that's o.k. because my mom let Mike & I take home the leftovers. ^_^

My mom is too good to me and I said I'd like a red velvet cake too. And voila, she made one & put it on this nice cake holder/display...whatever you'd like to call it. I thought it was pretty...although I had to stand up to blow out my candles. I let my niece help me blow 'em out, not that there were 30 of 'em...just a few & one "extra" just because. Is it for luck, they say? I think that's what my mom always says.


This is the top of it. I love sprinkles. Again, my mom let me take home a big chunk of it because well, technically it was my cake...;}. I had a good time there. Presents, presents-my parents gave me some $$$ and my sister got me a giftcard for AMC...so that'll come in handy because Mike & I will be seeing Watchmen Saturday. I had a really nice time over there. I'm going to do a part 2 because I got some lovely gifts from my friends & well, because my day isn't over just yet. ;} So I should get going now. Mike & I are going out to dinner but I can't make up my mind where to go...and I had all day to think about it too...but I was working so atleast I can use that for an excuse. Adios for now friends.

Made This Painting

i've been working on this painting for a couple of days. i added the metallic colors & sparkles yesterday. needed that extra special something. i made it with my sister in mind because her birthday is this week. now, i feel a little torn for 2 reasons: 1) i have become a bit attached to this piece (i am unsure if i want to part with it) and 2) i don't know if she'd like it...this is my 1st time making a painting FOR someone. so hm...what's a girl to do? i made this painting with valentine's day in mind as well, since her b-day is close to it. that's why there's lots of pinks, purples, and reds. o.k. i better get going-been on the computer too long once again! time to get ready for the day, go some places, then i'm off to work. talk at ya peeps later.~

Gift From My Niece

my niece recently gave me a lil' piece of her artwork. she seems really dedicated to doing art, and she's only 4! i think that's great. my mom says that my niece (she lives at my parent's house with her mom) looks up at her paintings/art in awe. i think that's so cute! aww, i wish i could remember what that was like...and i wish my parents would've kept a couple pieces of my art when i was young...but my mom had 4 kids so i know keeping things like that wasn't a BIG priority, and that's understandable. but i'm just curious...

so anyways, my niece gave this to me...although she said it was for Bibi (my dog) really. ha ha. hm, but she so happened to make it looking like the first initial of my first name (which is not really Eve-hm...curious?). and my niece said it's her first name's last initial...which is true cuz her name is Cailin. so i liked this a lot...and was happy she gave me a lil' piece of her art...or heart. awww...;}