Tuesday, December 30, 2008

School work.

This last semester was bad. Between having to help my little's with daycare and kindergarten adjustments and taking on too much at school, to the daily responsibilities of chores, grocery shopping, or homework, as well as having a personal meltdown over wanting to move to philly; I didn't do as well as I had hoped.

But really, good grades are for chumps...

I did produce some decent drawings, learned a bunch and wrote some fun papers. Here are some drafts I did.





Sunday, November 30, 2008

DSCF0912.AVI

To continue the theme of the foolish dancing brother....

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tuesday, November 11, 2008



"Urge Your Senators to Expand the Sudan Peace Act

Senator, slavery in the Sudan cannot over shadow the raids and destruction perpetrated by the American people against the world Gnome population. Enslaving Gnomes in gardens, like every other form of slavery, ought to be considered a crime against humanity. The stories of Gnome women and Gnome children abducted into bondage break my heart. We must do everything we can to stop this.

You can do your part by amending the Sudan Peace Act to include a ban on all companies, oil or otherwise, operating within America to list on the New York and NASDAQ exchanges. I understand that this would mean total desisting of all American companies and the collapse of the US capital markets, but isn't liberty for Gnomes worth that price? I hope you will move quickly to loudly express your support for this amendment - and to denounce Gnome slavery and genocide."
-A blip from Free the Gnomes

Friday, October 17, 2008



Tee hehehehe! Funny!

I wouldn't put it on my car, but the blog is a different matter...

Monday, October 13, 2008

Scared stupid...

Well, there has been some discussion in the last week on Mr. Obama and his religion. which peaked when the scared woman in Lakeville wispered to McCain, " "I have read about him. He's an Arab." Oh my.

This discussion started back in 2004, when a man named Andy Martin stated “Obama is a Muslim who has concealed his religion”, and that "Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government." So I have to ask, Who is Andy Martin?

As told in this article, Andy Martin "is a law school graduate, but his admission to the Illinois bar was blocked in the 1970s after a psychiatric finding of “moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character.” Last week Mr. Martin was on Fox News discussing these claims, without a counter. Why is this chump getting national TV time?

And why does it matter what religion our presidential hopefuls are? Do we feel that if we share the same religious beliefs our interests will be better attended too? You could also say that if a woman is elected, women's interest would be brought to the foreground. Or a black president would focus on black interests.... Campbell Brown put it well here, "When did that become a disqualifier for higher office in our country? When did Arab and Muslim become dirty words? The equivalent of dishonorable or radical? Whenever this gets raised, the implication is that there is something wrong with being an Arab-American or a Muslim. And the media is complicit here, too."

Oh, and McCain, I do believe a "decent family man" could be a muslim too.

Geeesh, I want to be better then this, and I want my country to be better then this.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008



My friend luci just sent me this! Freaking funny!!! (and OMG so true).

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Serenade me buggy



I love cicada's! I remember when I was about 15, it was one of those years when these lovelies came in the millions. There was a white noise of cicada song that felt so calming...

And according to wiki the girlies are prized, as they are meatier... if you want to eat one.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Funny pirates...

Here is a great picture of Chuck and I. This is in Florida with our pirate band...

Friday, September 12, 2008

Portrait of a beer



Now I am no professional photographer, not like my friends Kat and Nii, but I think this portrait could whoop their arses back to the darkroom any day... Yeah, I'm talkin' smack!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

I LOVE LEGOS !!!!




The boy and I challenged ourselves to a lego contest. I had to use ALL the yellow and he was in charge of the red. Needless to say, he started out strong but drifted to building race cars (it is his default mode). I stayed focused and worked hard to create this masterpiece!

Friday, August 29, 2008

What's blooming!

So I had every intention of jumping on the train with the weekly blooming post, and here it is almost Sept. and I'm on board... Again- I'm quick like that!

I was looking at the camera I gave my husband for his Bday and it has MACRO! Dude, so excited!!!! So here are some pictures I took today in the garden.

Cardinal vine


Sunflower


Snap Dragon


Fuzzy Wuzzy stage of Clematis


Iris evacuated from Katrina




What in the world is this? Anyone? Anyone?


Indigo Yarrow


Sedum with cute bee's


Thursday, August 28, 2008

Philadelphia



So I went home last weekend and it was way too much fun and way too familiar and just way too much for my little heart to handle. I am feeling lost and lonely, but that's for another post...

Here are some highlights from my fabulous weekend:

-The smell of Philadelphia- metallic, garbagy, with a hint of piss- ahhh home..
-Going back to school shopping and eating fried rice with Gabe and the kids at the mall.
-Erik.
-Walking into Craig and Kat's house to a big welcome! (by Kat, Craig and all the booze soldiers lined up so proper like!)
-Playing pool, drinking rum, and sitting around the fire, or should I say passing out around the fire...
-Kat's awesome, most delicious pancakes.
-Trying to leave South Jersey- for hours.
-Craig's directions back to Philly.
-Babies in jars, corset crushed ribs and hunched backs.
-STEVE MATT, the Steve Matt special (cheese steak with mozzarella sticks nestled inside), Steve Matt's wife Kristie, Did I say Steve Matt?!?
-"May I bring you a bucket of ice for your bottle of Jameson?"
-"We fucked that sushi place up"
-Big Ben and his gold chain, good ol' Ben!
-A very clever plan to hit Steve in the face with our new ball!
-taxidermy, god, star wars and "Its so crazy in here!"
-Kristie kicking Craig's ass while Steve talks to my mom and Erik keeping my glass filled...
-Whose idea was it to do back flips?
-Erik turning left while Craig's GPS is yelling "RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT"!
-That waitress who did not put up with Craig's crap.
-Rolling into moms house at 4:30 am and passing out on the floor.
-A beautiful breakfast, in a lovely apt, with good friends and family.
-Walking into Tammy's house and seeing the whole family enjoying an old episode of Dr. Who.
-Tammy saying that when she finally move back to Philly from Chicago, "she was home"...

Thursday, August 14, 2008

National Night Out





Well, I have recovered from the shin-dig that happened last Tuesday night! We had the craziest party and there are still remnants of it on the front lawn...
The ingredients:
800 water balloons
50 paper lanterns (painted by the neighborhood kids)
pinata
scavenger hunt (for the shredded water balloons!)
72 beach balls (for the biggest dodge ball game EVER!)
Yummy food
And good conversations

Its just cool to have everyone together, putting aside all the tribulations of the block, and hang out...

Tuesday, July 29, 2008



Went camping last weekend. As a kid I remember how fun camping was, running through the woods, climbing on fallen trees and searching for new and unusual bugs. We would spend the mornings canoeing through quiet waters looking for beaver damns or birds catching a snack. In the evening I loved sitting by the fire with the family, talking to each other and watching the stars. As a kid I would forget all the troubles at home and just live in the moment of those fun days and peaceful nights. Last weekend my kids experienced everything I loved about camping and it made me feel like I am doing okay by them.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

After a long day of caring for the children, household chores, running errands, doing algebra homework and four and a half hours of math class, I am done. I pull up at home, on my bike, ready to spend a quality moment with Charlie.
And this is what I am greeted with-



The maturity level around here astounds me sometimes.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Garage sale score!




Well they weren't really a score but what I wanted.... I have been meaning to plant up the boulevard, but with 30 some kids on the block who seem to converge on my front lawn every night, having plants out front is flora homicide. And with these box we all win, however I am the only one who imagines them as plant boxes- So far I have seen them become ships in the high sea, surrounded with sharks. An arena for gladiators to battle till the death. A trapeze so thin and wiggly that imminent death is just a tragic slip (or push) away. A bunker to ambush the enemy with water guns. An archeological excavation to uncover a rare and extinct breed of monster trucks. And a nice place to sit and eat popsicles on a hot summer evening...

My mini rain garden



I finally got this in, only two months after the Metro Bloom rain garden class- I'm quick like that...

The plants I choose :
long headed coneflower
heuchera villosa "caramel
blackberry lily
columbine
2 avalanche feather reed grass
and good ol' karl foester

It will collect the water via gutter off the southeast corner of the house. The only problem is over a year ago we pulled off the gutters to paint the house with plans to put up new soffits and gutters, and the project is moving right along at slug like pace... We almost have the soffits up but no sign of gutters yet! Summer is so hard, you finally shake off that awful thing that is winter and you are set free! but the projects hang over your like a ton of bricks, totally dampering the whole skipping through the meadows image I have of my summer...

Friday, June 06, 2008


The moment one gives close attention to anything,
even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome,
indescribably magnificent world in itself.
- Henry Miller

My grass is finally here- And it is nice...

Popeye the Sailor in Gopher Spinach



I got my letter from the U, I am officially a gopher!

I promise to think of the gophers when I am a landscape architect... We must learn to work together for a more sustainable environment for all the people and rodents of the world.

Friday, May 30, 2008

The sun has finally warmed up the Midwest enough to venture outside again, and I have been taking full advantage of it and gardening like crazy.



I love mulch, especially free mulch that the city provides! I would mulch the whole yard if my tribe would let me, but they like grass for some reason- waste of good planting space and water in my opinion. But I am attempting to reseed the small patch left of my nemesis. No little fluffs of new green grass yet, but I guess it has only been 7 days. Still my patience is being tried...


I thought I had lost this Clematis to morning glories but they came back with a feisty spirit and next year should fill this trellis. The sooner the better, as copper is a hot commodity here in Minneapolis and I was terrified it would be ripped off before I got something growing on it!


Silly grass- grow already! I hate you.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Me and Peggy Lee

This is a photo project I did. I wasn't sure which peggy lee quote to use. It baffled me to the point of not using anything for the showing...

What do you think-

I can scoop up a great big dipper full of lard from the drippins can
Throw it in the skillet, go out & do my shopping, be back before it melts in the pan
I can rub & scrub this old house til it's shinin like a dime
Feed the baby, grease the car, & powder my face at the same time
If you come to me sickly you know I'm gonna make you well
If you come to me all hexed up you know I'm gonna break the spell
If you come to me hungry you know I'm gonna fill you full of grits
I can stretch! a green black dollar bill from here to kindom come!
'Cause I'm a woman! W-O-M-A-N, I'll say it again.....

Or-

Is that all there is, is that all there is
If thats all there is my friends, then lets keep dancing
Lets break out the booze and have a ball
If thats all there is












Sunday, April 06, 2008

My pretty bike




After years of dragging brakes, shifters that don't shift, and a mucky chain that felt like I was pulling a bus behind me, my bike is fixed- and it looks snazzy! Thank you Charlie :)

So I jumped on it this morning and as soon as I got to where I was going, it starts to rain, stranding me at circus practice.

It is going to rain all week long... High 5 irony.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

College

My college essay is due now and for some reason I cannot get it done. It is weighing over me like a cement truck, affecting everything I do. Maybe deep down inside I don't want to be a gopher...

This is how I started it:

As a young child my father began to instill in me the importance of college; that an education would allow me the freedom to make my dreams come true. As I got older he continued his crusade but I became aware of choices that did not include a formal education. I had dreams of traveling the world and having my education be that of a more “worldly” format. I was going to go to Europe to visit old cities, travel to Alaska and climb mountains, as well as bask in the glow of a sunset from beaches around the world. My dream made perfect sense, since my skills in the classroom were meager at best, I would be a student of the world. And as soon as I got my college money, much to my father’s dismay, I was out the door. I drove across Canada. I flew to London, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon, and Athens. Every place I went I would then mentally check it off my list, another significant city done. I went to Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Todos Santos, I traveled all over the United States: Austin, Chicago, Fairbanks and Salt Lake City. But during my travels I forgot an important aspect of my schooling, the educational side, and it became an issue of quantity over quality. My worldly education became no more then a list of cities and a handful of change from different countries.

And I ask myself is it wrong to write about running away with college money in an essay to a college I would like to attend?

Monday, March 24, 2008

Lonely

So because I have no life and am inept to keep up with friends- I am going to write what is going on in my life, what I am thinking about and what is making me frustrated at the moment.