Back in the game

All right, y'all. Back on track. Last Thursday I spent the day hanging with the friend I've had for 17 years. I colored her hair turquoise and purple and she listened to me bitch about everything. I came home happier than I had been in months.

I finished painting the ceiling in the living room and kitchen, after 5 1/2 months of avoiding it. Paint and bedding have been picked out and purchased so we can move Son into the guest bedroom. Youngest Daughter will move into the room he's in now and I will have my full closet back.

We had a birthday party for both Daughters last Saturday as they turned 3 and 1 on Friday. Every time I have to make a cake, I hate it more than the previous time. Such a drag. Party was good though, and everyone stayed and played Cards Against Humanity.

Our vacation to South Carolina has been delayed a couple weeks so Husband and I will be going to a wedding for my cousin in the end of June. The older of my Younger Sisters is getting married in October and has finally decided on a bridesmaid dress. She even did me a favor and picked on in practical colors in a practical style that isn't outrageously expensive. I'm still not stoked about wearing a dress, but...

I'm gonna build a mermaid. A big one. Also, I'm gonna build a big phoenix (you know, the mythological bird born of fire). I'm sure husband is delighted at the prospect of the garage and / or basement being filled will huge mythological sculptures (note the sarcasm there) but that's what happens when I'm inspired. Hopefully I can actually stick with a project to the finish without getting frustrated and giving up or rushing through it just to be done. A suggestion for the phoenix was to have its eyes light up. I'm going to see if I can do so through glass eyes.

I went and got checked for skin cancer yesterday. I do not have skin cancer right now, but I have "lots of spots that could easily turn into skin cancer". So now we get to start a lovely ritual of monthly photography of moles. Maybe I'll start a blog written by the moles. Knowing my luck, it would get a million subscribers and I wouldn't even have anything clever to write in it.

Coffins for the kittens are done and we can bury them any time it stops raining long enough for the dirt to be dug up a bit. That's not a day I look forward to. I need to paint the rock that will be put over the burial site and that's the one project I have NO motivation to start.

Next week brings the start of my adventures in P90X. That says enough in itself, yeah?

That's all I've got. Thanks for stopping by.

Lizards have cool tongues

I've got a couple ideas for glass projects, but haven't started them yet. I actually haven't been doing ANYTHING productive over the last couple weeks. I've been spending all my time playing The Sims 3: Showtime and Angry Birds: Space. I need to get a life.

I made an Angry Birds cake for Son's birthday. In the process, I've discovered that I really don't have any patience at all for cake anymore. He liked it, and I like that I'm done with it. Next comes a cake for Grandma, but it can be simple. Her birthday is on Easter this year. Then a cake (or cakes) for the girls and then I'll be done until November.

A few weeks ago I went to a glass supply store and got AWFUL service. Sent a letter to the president of the company and subsequently spoke to him on the phone. Went back on Tuesday to discover that the employees there now know me by my first name.

New torch is almost ready. A couple more parts and a more effecient propane supply and I'll be in business. Oh, and ventilation because I'm not terribly keen on the idea of dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Have a couple requests for new stuff, both of which I can probably do but haven't tried extensively yet.

Spectre left on the 21st to go live with my sister. I miss him lots, and Ghost is such a pest now without someone to bother all day.

Started reading The Hunger Games a few days ago and am about halfway through the second book. Reading is taking more time away from artistic endeavors.

I posted a stupid rant on craigslist Missed Connections last night to some jackass who tailgated me on the highway the other day and have gotten a considerable amount of emails saying they've nominated is for Best of Craigslist.

Husband hung new lights out by the driveway and over the back deck that are nice compliments to the house. He's also been working on building coffins for Spirit and Da Vinci so we can bury them when it warms up later this spring.

That's all I've got for now. Thanks for stopping by.

A Glass Act

I made some beads over the weekend, including a double layered vine stringer bead that I was very impressed with.



I took a couple up to the bus stop to show a neighbor since she's been asking me about them for weeks. She insisted I show them to another neighbor. I don't get along terribly well with the other neighbor, so I avoid her if I can. I explained how the beads are made (in short: 3000 degree torch flame, molten glass, metal mandrel, kiln at 1000 degrees for 8 hours). The second neighbor then proceeds to volunteer me to teach her 10-year-old daughter to make beads. Like she didn't hear anything I just said. I was stunned into silence. So I finally said "Maybe in a few years" which sounds better than "Not in a million years, bitch". I don't even like her kids, for one thing.

I don't even let my OWN kids near my glass stuff. I might teach my kids when they're 15 or 16, if I think they can be responsible and careful at that time. No one else under the age of 18 is allowed anywhere near it. I'm not taking responsibility for other people when burns are an inevitable part of the whole equation. That, or I'm gonna have a waiver drawn up saying that they know the dangers and they don't get to sue me if they hurt themselves. They'll still have to be at least 18 though.

So yeah. Some people.

Spectre is doing great. His wounds are healing up nicely and he can put weight on his leg again. He's running and playing and happy. He doesn't like the antibiotics but he takes them without a fight if I rub his nose. He's a sweetheart. I was scared for a couple days because even though the vet warned me that his skin my slough off a bit, they didn't tell me so much would come off that I'd be able to see the muscles underneath. Gross. Husband had to do his warm washcloths at night because I cried every time I had to do it.

Ghost has been exiled from the bedroom for the last few nights because she insists on sleeping on my throat and kneading my chin and playing in my hair and just generally being a pest.

Son has learned to ride a bike with no training wheels. When he tried the first time, he fell over and broke his arm. He was terrified when we took them off again, so the first thing we did was teach him to catch himself with his hands and feet. Once he learned to balance, that was all he needed. He got a new bike as an early birthday present because the other one was way too small.

My torch got here yesterday. I'm excited to set it up, but not terribly excited to have to re-learn everything on it.

So that's it for today. Thanks for reading.

Bead-y eyed

Spectre is now eating from a bowl and both cats are weaned completely off of milk. They still eat softened kitten food, but we're working on making it a little less soft every time.

Spectre fell or jumped from high up on Friday and hurt his leg. I thought he'd dislocated his hip, but x-rays showed that wasn't the case. Vet thinks he may have damaged his growth plate and he may limp or have a short leg forever. Surgery wasn't really an option because he's so little that it's too dangerous. He's young enough though that any problem he has will be second nature. For now we're giving him pain medicine twice a day.

I made it out to work on glass today and have a set of rainbow beads in the kiln at this very moment. I plan to etch them, but we'll see what they look like when they're done. If the nice weather holds up, I'll be making some faux beach glass beads this afternoon.

I have a blood donation appointment in about an hour. Last time, they couldn't get the bleeding to stop and I ended up with two people clamping down on my arm with ice packs. I was cold and out of sorts for a week or so after. Awful. Hope it goes better this time.

Here are some polymer clay bobbin beads I made and listed on Etsy. The rage is glass and bobbin beads, but I don't have the time or desire to make them right now. Maybe another time.



I plan to make a bunch of beads for Beads of Courage because word on the glass forums is that they're running drastically low. Beads of Courage are sent to hospitals all over the US and a few other countries (Japan and New Zealand that I know of for sure, maybe a few others), and every time a child in one of those hospitals has something done (chemo, blood draw, etc), they get to pick out a bead. Parents get beads too. It's a neat program, but sad that there's such a need.

Husband is outside cleaning the garage. The wrong torch is supposed to be delivered back to the glass retailer on Wednesday and the right torch should be on it's way out to me shortly thereafter.

Yup. That's all I have to write about for now. Thanks for reading :)

Leap, frog!

I have a wonderful idea for making starfish bead pendant things. I need to go make the frit for it though, and that's kind of a hassle unless I'm feeling the need to be destructive. I think I might put a bunch of rods in the kiln and heat them up and drop them in a bucket of ice water and be done with it. I hate the "heat, plunge, heat, plunge" method. Takes forever.

My torch and marver are supposed to be here tomorrow! Also expected tomorrow is a package of glass from Frantz! Husband located a flamework supply shop in Golden that carries everything. So $15 I don't have to spend on shipping every time is $15 more that I can spend on glass. Woot!

***


Ghost followed me into the shower last night and decided, a little too late, that she didn't like it in there. She needed a bath anyway though, so she got one.

Ghost kitty is eating solid food and has finally figured out how to drink water from a bowl! Yeah!


Spectre, on the other hand, isn't having any part of being weaned. I have to force him to eat solid food, and then he bites me and spits it back out. I can stick it clear in the back of his mouth and he'll eat it, but then he goes limp and plays dead until I stop. *sigh* I need someone to wave a magic wand and get him weaned.

***

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Burn, baby, burn.

I spent most of the weekend working on some Pandora-style beads as a special order through Etsy. It was cold and windy, so it took forever. They did come out perfectly though, and I was really proud of them. You can read details about them on my deviantart account.



Ghost is mostly on solid foods now. Still hasn't really gotten the concept of drinking water out of a bowl, but I'll take solid foods. Spectre isn't having any of it and still insists on either drinking from the bottle or starving to death. I'm going to have to force feed him soon if I ever want him weaned. *sigh* On another side though, they're actually turning into playful kittens now. They chase each other and wrestle and chew on everything and run around like they're crazy. So cute.

Very exciting news! My darling lovely husband bough me a fancy glass torch for my Mother's Day / birthday present. It's a Nortel Mega Minor and it can do all sorts of fancy stuff, including boro and making marbles up to 2". I'm so excited! He got the marvering pad that mounts on top of it too! Silver glass here I come!




So that's the summary of my weekend. Maybe something exciting will happen this week that I can write about. Thanks for stopping by :)

Deception

It's bright and sunny out. Only a few clouds. Cold as hell. Like 28 degrees. Bleh.

I hate my oven. I also hate the evil glass cook top crap stove it's in.

I would like to do glass work so it needs to warm up outside and NOT have the wind blowing.


That is all.

Nothing clever rhymes with "Thursday"

Wow. Three days has come and gone before I even knew what was happening. My stepmom's birthday was yesterday, so I called and talked to her on the phone. She says she got some acupuncture and quit smoking more than a month ago and hasn't even had the craving since. She's swimming laps at the gym three days a week. She gained some weight (this is good because she looks like a skeleton, seriously) and has been venturing out to go bowling and do some stuff by herself since my dad works all the time and doesn't do much when he's home.

I went out and got two new sets of paintbrushes last night. In all actuality, I need more than a hundred at any time because I use them for everything; clay work, painting, resin. Everything. And they're always all used and sitting in a bowl of water to be cleaned. I'm really NOT good at cleaning them until I don't have any left and I'm desperate. I also got a set of oil pastels and a tube of glass rods (which I only got because I needed more blue to make more of a frit mixture). I usually don't go to the craft store with a shopping list. I normally need one or two things and leave with six or eight. Guilty as charged. But I stuck to the list and got everything I went for (except oil cloth because it's ugly and expensive) and only one extra thing! The extra thing I got was because I had sudden inspiration of exactly how to use it. Yeah, me!

The wind was blowing so hard yesterday that the National Center for Wind Technology (or something like that) closed because it was too windy. Crazy. Semi trucks were blown off the road in Boulder. Huge pieces of aluminum were blowing across the road when we were driving, signs are down all over the place. Awful.

The kittens are doing great! Spectre even tried to bite the end of my thumb off last night. He's showing a slight interest in solid food, and that's awesome. He's just not sure about the texture and the chewing part. Soon though!

I got 14,273 steps yesterday! Not so good any other day this week. I keep hoping motivation will suddenly strike but it just isn't happening yet.

Youngest Daughter has been feeling icky the last week or so, fevers and teething and won't eat much and sleeps all the time. Today she got up and didn't have a fever and ate more than she has in weeks and played on the floor and squealed and drooled and is doing awesome.

I'm in limbo again about where I want to build my official glass studio. I kind of want to put it inside where I can be sure of decent temperatures regardless of how it is outside (too cold in the winter and my glass will shock, too hot in the summer and I feel like my head will implode, the kiln does NOT help), but in a way I want my own separate space where no one is going to bug me. But a studio is gonna cost lots to build and paint and insulate. If I put it in the basement, we only have to finish that one spot and get the icky spiders out (I'm crazy arachnophobic) and ventilation would be the last necessary part. Except for that whole part about HOA approval to plumb in my propane. HOA is teh suxxor. That whole plumbing in thing was the first major reason I wanted a separate studio. So I don't know. I'd just like to be able to do glass work SOON and for more than a couple months out of the whole year.

My grandmother got a phone call yesterday from her sister's daughter. Sister fell and broke her hip the other day. Had surgery on Tuesday. Don't know much else. Grandmother is worried because people frequently die of pneumonia after they break a hip. Truthfully, the sister isn't gonna be around too much longer anyway as dementia is eating her brain :(

So that's my update. Thanks for reading.

Silence of The Lambs.

By "lambs" I do not mean children. My children are never quiet. In fact, it's not yet noon on Monday and they've spent an hour separated in their rooms because I couldn't take any more screaming and fighting.

There isn't any exciting art news. After spending two days heavily focused on the mask, I haven't had any motivation to work on anything since. I fiddled around a little bit yesterday and made a couple pendants, but that's it so far. I have a marriage equality piece that I've been working on for about a year now, probably, but now that it's time to finish it, I don't want to. That's the way it goes with every project.

Here's how it looks at this time:


I need to make a hat for it and get it mounted and then I can explain all the different aspects and why it's made the way it is.

***

Kittens are good, kinda. Spectre gave us a scare yesterday when he was very lethargic and wouldn't eat or move or do anything. He seems much better today, and for now, he's back on kitten milk until he gets a little bigger and we can try weaning again. Ghost is good. Loud and obnoxious as always, and she seems to be doing fairly well with weaning. She just can't seem to figure out drinking milk from a bowl.


***

I've recently become obsessed with the show Oddities. There are more crazy people on that show than I can wrap my mind around, and I love it. I also now want all the weird old stuff that they have on there. Like a lamp made out of a baboon foot. How awesome is THAT?! I need one.

I laid awake with an upset stomach for about four hours last night, so I spent most of that time pondering how I could contain a bunch of flesh eating beetles and where I could get a cat carcass so I can learn to articulate skeletons. Don't worry! I'm not going to take up hunting or killing animals or whatever. I just want one that's all ready dead.

To hear it like that sounds totally wrong, but I just want it for the scientific and collector-y aspect. Besides, cat skeletons are crazy neat anyway. Also, I don't have any place to put a human skeleton.

I've decided that I'm going to get a taxidermy-ed raven. Partly for the nifty "I have a stuffed raven" thing, and partly so I can put it on the fake headstone I'm making for Halloween decor for the yard this year. I specified to the taxidermy person that I needed it NOT mounted on a block of wood. When it's not out on the headstone, I'm gonna keep it by my art desk.

Now might also be a good time to confess that I'm slightly obsessed with birds. All of them. Owls! I love owls! Peacocks and flamingos are also some of my favorites. It's kind of a problem, really. I read the other day that large parrots can learn to play with a Jack-in-the Box. How cool is that? I need a parrot.

***

I'm done now. Partially because I'm rambling, and partially because I need to go take some mail and find something productive to do.

Fin

Le Masque du Péché is finished and will be in the mail today!




The kittens willingly ate solid food for the first time last night! No more force feeding!

Oldest Daughter is well on the road to being potty trained!

That's all I've got for this Fantastic Friday. Have a good weekend, y'all!

The Mask is almost complete.

Le Masque du Péché is almost complete!

The sanding and gesso of the volto (face mask) are done. Next comes painting and mounting. The columbina is done, except for the baton. I need to find (or likely make) a finial for the baton and find out how to mount it to the plaque. The plaque is painted and drying. Then comes putting it all together and getting the nameplate on. Then I can put it in the mail and call it good. Another piece to my portfolio. Another creation that's helped my maintain my sanity.


I'm so excited to see it all done.

Le Masque de Péché

I've had a nameplate ordered for The Mask. Yeah, that mask. The one I'm sending to NYC that I've been putting off forever. So now it's crunch time. If I can get it mailed by Friday, it will be there on time for delivery Tuesday. Or, Mardi Gras, if you speak the language of sin and religion. Mardi Gras is the final night of sin and the feast before the start of Lent.

I'm not religious in any manner, but I know lots about it because most of my family are religious nuts and I'm fairly fascinated by all of it. I just choose not to participate.

Anyway, I named the piece "Le Masque de Péché" which is French for "The Mask of Sin". I started the actual papier mache volto (face) part last night. It will have a columbina (half mask) over it. It should be pretty neat when it's done. But now that we're in the home stretch, I'd really just like to get it over with and stop looking at it.

The other part that I haven't mentioned yet is that I'm applying to art school for a degree. So I can be a "real" artist. I should have done it ten years ago, and now that I'm starting the process, I'm quickly being reminded why I never went back to school.

I hate the whole process. Waiting to hear if I'm "good enough". Having to do things the way someone else says I should. The constant strain of having to study. Pah. I'm not terribly excited about the whole thing, but it's been the one thing I've wanted to do forever and just haven't done. Better late than never, yeah?

Due to a terrible PR fiasco, Walmart will no longer offer a Super Soaker full of cat pee.

"In a world ravaged by keeping the Christ in Christmas, our only solace is being a motherfucking sorcerer."

My sister and her boyfriend came over for dinner and game night last night. I have the cutest picture of her and Spectre. That cat just loves to cuddle and be wrapped in long hair, so they'll be a perfect match. I'm sure going to miss him when he goes.




I've got another pendant started but I think it's going to take a while to complete because it's going to be filled with little tiny roses and they take forever to make and get cut without squashing them.

Not much else to say today. Spent most of the weekend feeling relatively crappy so I didn't get much done.

Circus and prints

I'm getting ready to send pictures in to get proofs made. Resizing is all that's left.

Tonight Husband and I are going to see Cirque du Soleil's Dralion performance at the 1st Bank Center. We saw Kooza a couple years ago. If you ever get a chance to see them, do. They are the best circus performers in the world, after all.


Today I got the Spring Fashion 2012 colors so that I can make more effort to tailor my etsy stuff to the fashion conscious masses. I made a lilac colored pendant before I even knew it was on the list of upcoming colors. Here's a rough picture of it, just post-completion.




Will take better pictures of it when it's completely set so I can list it on etsy. I also need to seriously work on getting my banner and all that professional nonsense done... But it's a hassle and I'm awesome at procrastinating, so it isn't happening.

The mask is also not done. Actually, it wouldn't be one of my projects if something didn't go wrong right in the middle and subsequently derail all motivation. That's where we are now. I need to go get a new base mask and paint two more parts and put it all together, and that's it. But there's that procrastination demon again.

As it goes now, I need to go make dinner and get ready to go.

I'm pondering adding options

I'm thinking about adding fine art prints to my line of stuff at etsy, just because. More options, I suppose. But then that leads to finding a printing company and getting proofs made and messing with the whole thing and that part is very discouraging.

New camera. Retails for $600. I got it for $150. It's amazing, really. I can take photos clear down the street in the dark with NO flash, and they still come out clearly.

I posted new pictures to everything I have listed on Etsy. They show all the flaws, and I don't really like that aspect, but they also show the detail I couldn't catch with my other camera.


I have a strange desire to paint a phoenix. I don't like painting. Or drawing. But the phoenix has become a driving need because no matter how I try, I can never get it right when I sketch it in the steam on my shower door. Maybe if I do one and get it right, I'll get that made into prints also.

***

Kittens are good. Eating about a bottle each per feeding now. They're not at all interested in solid food. They also have insanely sharp claws. I'm not a fan of the claws. They also run really fast now and they're constantly right under my feet, trying to get squashed.

***

I'm going on the record to state that whoever the woman was that I talked to at the Colorado State Patrol this morning... She's a bitch. I called in because a huge box full of metal blew off of a truck and spilled all over I-25 northbound and almost hit a car. So the dispatcher, or whoever she was, gave me all sorts of attitude about the size of the box and how many lanes did it spill over, etc. It covered EVERY lane and the shoulders on both sides! What does she want from me? I'm not getting out to pick it up. I all ready had an infant screaming in the back seat.

So I was glad when my phone disconnected. It was a real mistake, honestly. In fact, my phone decided to randomly shut off and reboot right then. So I suppose they sent someone out to clean it up because when I went by later, the mess was gone. Take THAT, bitchy dispatcher!

Lunar (Chinese) New Year

It's the Year of the Dragon, y'all. I'm a snap dragon, myself. Part of me has snapped and the rest of me is draggin'. Speaking of dragons, the Postal Service has new stamps out today. Oh, and another lovely price increase. But cool stamps.

Book Fair at Son's school starts today. I've working sales tomorrow afternoon until about 8:00 pm. I've also volunteered to bring in something for the cake walk, so I've got to make a decision on what to make and then make sure I have everything I need for it.

All of the kittens have their eyes open now. They're getting big too, and look like real cats and not just balls of mush and fur. Da Vinci is the only problem. I have to fight him to eat at every feeding. He's lost about a half an ounce in weight (which is a lot as a kitten) but he did finally eat really well this weekend.

Neighbor girl and her mom came by last night to see him. They want to take him to their house for the weekend. I explained that he has to be fed every three to four hours and they'll have to stimulate his butt so he can poop. Mom doesn't seem to thrilled about the idea now, but I think if the daughter wants to do it, they'll go for it.

I started a new book this weekend, since I finished The Mill River Recluse (the ending was wonderful!). I'm now reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Only about a chapter in so far, but it's starting out well.

I have all the supplies for the Mardi Gras mask. No I just have to get it put together and have a plaque made, and I can put it in the mail.

Not much else to talk about. We stayed at home the whole weekend with kids and kittens.

It's Friday and I'm in love!

Big weight gain for all the kittens over the last couple days. No one has their eyes open yet, but that doesn't stop them from exploring and climbing right up the front of us during feeding time.

***

I made it to my art desk yesterday and actually made something! This is a Bic Round Stick pen, covered in a polymer clay cane I made. The cane has silver leaf in it. Doesn't look too fancy yet, but should look better after I get it sanded and polished.

Anyway, I made it because I was experimenting with canes for the Mardi Gras mask I'm making to send to NYC.

Wait. Have I even mentioned the mask? If not, the short story is that I've been asked to make one to be hung in a Cajun restaurant. Not gonna say which one for fear of jinxing myself (and no, I'm not really superstitious, but still) right now, but if all goes the way it should, I will definitely be back here telling all about it.

***

The crazy wind the other night left a huge mess in its wake. I live in the suburbs, so half the people out here have trampolines (apparently, they never watch AFV). After the wind storm the other night, half the neighborhood trampolines are missing. The other half are twisted and completely mangled. A tree in the park was blow over from the roots. We tied out porch swing down so it would stop banging into the house like a battering ram.

***

This afternoon I'll be going over to Son's school to help set up the Book Fair. I worked over there most every day it ran last year, and this year I decided not to. Partly because of two Daughters instead of one, partly because of kittens, and mostly just because I didn't feel up for it. I'm fairly certain that I'll be running the whole thing one of these years, so I'm fine with avoiding it now. I did, however, sign up to work a couple shifts on each night it runs late and I'm signed up to bring Yummies for the cake walk that happens those nights, so that's enough. Am I meeting the PTA Mom quota? I don't know and I don't care. I'm doing what I can without stretching myself past my boundaries.

***

I started designing my Etsy banner last night, but when I uploaded it, it was all blurry. Of course, I got discouraged and gave up. Not a completely bad idea because I have a better idea of what I really want it to look like now, so I can redo it and get it figured out and not be left with the nagging feeling that I could do better.

***

Now I'm off to find some lunch. Thanks for stopping by. Tell your friends. They certainly want to read about kitties and art and children too, you know ;)

The howling of the wind does a nice job drowning out the screams of my victims.

Why am I posting at 3:30 in the morning? Because the insane howling wind is keeping me awake.

I actually came to report that I *made it to my art desk* last night! I discovered that chopping up clay in a food processor is way more fun than it should be. I suck at making Starry Night canes. My leaf-shaped ceiling fan blades look much more awesome in green than in mud brown. I need to clean my desk and my shelves. Sometimes I enjoy the view of the mountains more than I enjoy drinking water, breathing, or having a heartbeat.

***

No one should be awake right now. And from what I can tell by a quick glance out the window, no one else is. That, or they're all lying in bed, willing themselves to sleep. I tried that for an hour or so and then gave up.

So now that I'm awake, I'm gonna rant about a couple things.

I'M SICK OF POLITICS!

Also, as human beings, it's in our nature to move and be active. We are animals. That said, when did we get so lazy and fat that Physical Education had to become a CLASS that's taught in school? Seriously, it's against our nature and the very way we're designed for us to be in the collective shape that we are.

Oh, and all you wonderful people who are taking initiative to get healthy, for whatever reason, kudos to you. Not the candy bar, those are TERRIBLE for you. But really, I commend you for taking charge of your life, and probably lengthening it in the process.

On the other hand, all you Stepford wives in the suburbs who wear yoga pants all the time and constantly talk about the four hours you spent at the gym and how many calories you ate and what a cow you are.... Shut up. To the woman who weighs 115 lbs and wants liposuction... You're an idiot. There's more to life than being rail thin and having your hair and nails perfect all the time. And those of you who put makeup on to pick up your kid at the bus stop when it's right behind your house and you don't even have to come outside... You're actually pretty goofy looking and the makeup isn't helping. Neither is the milk mustache. That actually just makes you look like your brain is short-circuiting.

Okay, actually the last paragraph was all directed at various mothers at Son's school,and while we're on it I've got more to say. Most of them also suck terribly at driving and obeying basic parking rules (like NOT parking directly behind someone's car when the only way they can get out is to back up). "Pull forward" means pull forward. "Do not leave car unattended" means do not get out and walk away. Pulling your kid out of class five minutes early so you can beat traffic out of the parking lot is ridiculous. There are 19,000 people in this whole town. A traffic jam is six cars at the light. Get over yourselves.

***

Ghost kitty lost her cord yesterday and had her first bath last night. Like Specter, she's content to let the warm water run over her and she'll just go to sleep.

The kitties all got weighed yesterday, and while their weight hasn't doubled over the last week, they are all growing and gaining weight. They're all love to be cuddled and touched, so they should all grow up to be wonderful companion pets. Shadow still doesn't really want anything to do with them, but that also means she isn't being aggressive.

***

I'm going back to bed now. Hopefully the wind will die down long enough for me to get some sleep.

Four.

Four years ago, the man who would become Husband asked me to be his girlfriend. He also hinted that I was not allowed to say no. Seven months later, we'd be married. Today, to mark this special occasion, I've gotten out my cake tools. Decorating cakes for more than ten years was quite enough for me, so I only do so for special reasons now. Even more special is the fact that Husband doesn't know I'm making the cake.

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I weighed myself today. I am down 5 1/2 lbs and can fit into smaller pants. Score one for me. Hasn't been hard and I haven't made huge changes to my diet. Just a lot more activity now, largely in part to my fitbit.

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Kittens are well and wonderful this morning. Not much to report today. No eyes are open yet, but their ears are slowly unfolding.

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Older Daughter is learning her colors. She can now correctly identify red, black, green, blue, yellow and pink. Purple and blue are a little bit lacking yet, and white is not registering at all.

I'm giving serious thought to changing Younger Daughter's name to Baby No Nap, because she never sleeps. Then she's miserable by 4:00 and I can't let her go to bed before we've even eaten dinner.

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Husband, who is crazy scared of needles, is donating blood for a blood drive at work today, after they got an email that pointedly said they needed A+ blood type donations. I'm so proud of him <3

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Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a huge fan of cooking. I've been known to state that I am allergic to the stove. Husband did most of the cooking for the first couple years we were married. That said, I find a special satisfaction in cooking for my family and friends. They get good food made with lots of love, and that makes me very happy.

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I went out and bought a polymer clay book yesterday, because I'd borrowed it from the library and renewed it too many times. The inspiration and tutorials in it are wonderful, though, and I was struggling without it.

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That's all I've got for right now. Maybe something more exciting will happen with kittens today and I can come on here and brag about it.

"Taking food alone tends to make one hard and coarse. Those accustomed to it must lead a Spartan life if they are not to go downhill. Hermits have observed, if for only this reason, a frugal diet. For it is only in company that eating is done justice; food must be divided and distributed if it is to be well received. " -Walter Benjamin

Ze Kitties... Zay GROW!!!

Kittens are eating quite a lot now, compared to a few days ago. They're also spending quite a bit more time awake and moving around. Haven't weighed them yet today, but that also is a noticeable difference when it's feeding time.

Specter (the all-black male who will be going to my sister) seems to take great comfort in being in water. We bathe him in the sink and he goes right to sleep. Ghost is definitely the leader of the group, loud and pushy. She'd rather be cuddled and stroked than sleep. Da Vinci is my little sweetness, that's all there is to it. He loves to nuzzle my hand and sleep next to my leg while I feed the others.

Some neighbor kids came by just a bit ago to see them, as I've gotten word that they might be interested in taking Da Vinci home with them when he's old enough. I'd love to see all the cats be with people I know.





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On a separate note, I bought some logo design software today. If I plan to make anything of etsy, I'd better make some effort and take it seriously. Getting the mask done and sent to NY would probably work wonders for getting my name out there too... Yeah, I've got to get on that.

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That's all I've got for today. Time to finish making supper and take some medicine for this headache I'm developing.

*yawn*