Last weekend Amanda and I went to Eugene to spend some long overdue time together. Here are the fall pics I took along the way, and at the pumpkin patch.
Proud of myself for opting to not go to the new Mexican place for dinner, I drove to the grocery store and bought ingredients for last nights meal. I made tortellini with meatballs and garlic bread. So when the hubby comes come from work he's dishing up his dinner...
He: "Dinner looks good - I'm surprised you cooked tonight"
She: "Ya, I was going to go out, but changed my mind"
He: "Did you eat already? I know you don't like to eat your own cooking"
She "Ya, I had a few bites.... then busted out the salsa & chips" (he knows me so well, I rarely eat anything I cook myself)
He: "So what region are these meatballs?"
She: "What REGION? What are you talking about?"
He: "Well what region? Where did they come from?"
She: "Are you high?" (what the hell is he talking about?) "They are from province de la Safeway" I said almost shrieking by now.
He: "Why are you freaking out? .... I just wanted to know what they are made from"
She: "Well why didn't you ask me that????? What's with this region crap? I don't have a clue what you are talking about when you talk to me"
He: "Oh you know what I mean, silly"
She" "UGH"
then in the background I can hear my son laughing "you guys are funny"
My mom loves to tell the story about when I was in elementary school, in math class were supposed to find a body part that closely resembled a unit of measurement, and measure the hallway around the school with it. Most people chose their foot, an arm length, etc, but not me... I chose the length of my index finger between the first and second knuckle, because when I bent it, it measured a perfect inch. So I crawled the hallway, on my hands and knees, measuring how many inches the school was. You'd think after all that effort I might remember that number, but I don't.
So in true "Tracy" spirit, I have found a new way way to measure my space... living space that is.
When I plug my vacuum into the bathroom outlet, I can vacuum the entire house, without having to unplug and relocate. (minus the kitchen, but there's no carpet in there anyway) Hmmm, I live in a 'one cord length' apartment. My next place will have to be bigger than that, lol.
We are studying Lynne Perrella's Alphabetica in the ZNE book club this month. Week 1's assignment was to choose a word that has some meaning for us and adorn an art journal cover with that word.
Here's my journal...
I chose the word strength from my favorite quote, from a Kleenex commercial of all places: "My tears do not compromise my strength." I really like that one. This year my strength has been challenged... with my spirit, my health, my creativity, etc. so I thought it would be a good word to focus on.
Oscar is Sandy's pride and joy, so I just had to showcase him for her birthday. The little dog in the doghouse is Oscar's own dog, Corky.
The photos are a bit blurry, sorry.
This is a mixed media painting on paper mache using acrylic paint, scrapbook paper for the pillow and crown & hat, and Swarovski crystals. Happy Birthday Sandy!
They are back, my wretched hives, or something like it. I'm bumpy, itchy, and hopelessly scratchy. The worst place is having them on the inside of my eyelids... I feel like I've rubbed all my eyelashes off. They are on my scalp, forehead, face, neck, boob, butt, stomach, back, legs, arms, and top of my feet.... on an off throughout the day. The ones on my eyelids, head, face, neck and back are constantly there. Stress sucks!!!
The silver lining... staying home from work and making art.
I have a poll going on the right side, under my profile. Take a moment to fill it out. You can choose multiple answers, but of course the less answers you choose, the more precise it will be.
(I think anyone can vote, not just Blogger members)
Update: the poll is closed
.... we were just talking about these balls today, weren't we Sandy? While admitting that I read nearly 200 blogs on the weekend mornings, we chatted about the ball. (to my defense, I quickly see if there is a new post, read it and move on) OR if I get side-tracked by links in those blogs, I can be lost for hours like I did with this dude's blog.... An old post, led me to this.... it's so stink'n funny, I wish I could write like he does.
Powered by ScribeFire.
the blog isn't nearly as fun as used to be because I can't bitch about anyone here anymore, since 'the locals' are reading it. My online 'dear diary' is no more, LOL.
I'm so bummed
my green inchies that I made for a swap are lost in the mail.
I have to file a claim for them now - I hate postal paper work.
theme is patterns. I took this at the Portland Chinese Gardens. It was our first time there and it's so gorgeous. These sakura flowers were all over, 'paved' with smooth, black stones that had been turned on their sides. So pretty.
I took a beading class yesterday, from the fun and amazing Kelly Angeley. She's been seen all over the pages of Stringing Magazine - including the cover of the Spring issue!
So below is the bracelet I made.... click on any of the pics to see them larger, directly on my flickr page, where I've stuff written about each shot.
At long last, I have made something new! This will be the first in a series that I'm making with this gal.... this one is called The Escape Artist.
Credits and steps taken to create it can be seen here.
Ok Seriously, could this bunny be any cuter? My uncle and his wife have 8 new bunnies hopping around. Oh how I miss my old place, with our bunnies all about. Don't worry animal lovers, no bunnies were harmed for this photo :)
My X, his wife and 3 additional (since ours) kids are in town. Bless his little heart, he's here visiting his son, for the first time in 10 years. Despite my sarcasm, I'm happy he came to see Tyler, in Tyler's environment. They are having fun and it's about time.
Tomorrow, we are driving up to Portland for Tyler's last INS stuff.... his fingerprints. Yahoo, the whole immigration thing will be done, finally. Now he can get a job - woo hoo! While up there, we are picking up his best buddy Ian from the train, from Canada. I love Ian - so I'm tickled pink he's spending a week here. I just wish his mom was coming too. I miss my best friend SO much, it's kill'n me. One day.....
I'm a wee bit bitter that not a single person in my family called to wish us a happy anniversary. Jeepers.... 10 years folks.... well at least Snoopy gives a shit.
You will need:
Yesterday I was featured at Sprito de Zne!
They wrote a really nice blurb about me - how cool. (thanks gals)
Check it out here.
I just signed up for a fabric inchie swap. I'm coming in on the second round, which is green. (darn it - I missed the first round which was pink!) I'm going to make my own set of pink as my 'practice' squares, so I'll be all primed to make my little greenies.
Melissa Cobb Hubbell of Art Erratica is the hostess with mostess. Her inspiration for this swap came from the blog photo you see to the left. You can click on that photo to take you there.
We made the treck to Portland for Tyler's INS interview. We got up at 3am to leave by 4am, to make sure we were there by 8am, in case there was commuter traffic on the I5. We got there on time and the whole interview lated 10 or 15 minutes. So, we had the rest of the day to toodle around the city.
We went the Chinese Classical Gardens. It was so beautiful. I would go again anytime - it's so peaceful and pretty. Enjoy the slide show.
Yesterday I turned 38. I'm sliding down the slippery slope to 40, pretty darn fast now. It just feels so weird.
One of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings, like today, is read my fave blogs and see what my fave artists are doing, creating, thinking about. It's almost a bummer when they start getting recognized and they stop blogging and creating art because they are out touring around the country teaching classes or writing books or something. It's a natural progression, and they need to 'out there' - I understand that, but it's a drag that it seems to change them.
Personally, things are changing too.... my friends are moving or changing and well, sometimes I just hate change.
I'm feeling creative this morning, so I'm happy to have the day off to have fun. I've been working hard all week and this will be a great reward.
Over on Flickr, they held an event where people took pictures throughout the day of 5-5-07. You could take as many photos as you liked (last call I saw almost 16 thousand uploaded), BUT you could only submit one to the group for consideration to be part of a book that's published. There are over 7 thousand submissions, and they chose 122 photos to be published - and mine was one of them! Mine was taken shortly after midnight, so it will probably appear in the book in the beginning, as I figure the photos will be laid out chronological. It will be for sale early next week. I'll upload the link when it's ready.
This is the glass house I made for the Habitat for Humanity Auction. This is how it was done:
I really am terrible at creating something when I have to. I've been struggling to come up with something for the Habitat for Humanity auction on June 2nd.... until today. I finally finished the design work for the bird house. I'm making mine from glass, but I needed the artwork to sandwich between the panes. 
Here's a screen shot of what I've done.
This next one is in poor lighting, but you it's just a sneak peek anyway. Because my glass was too thin to cut the hole for bird house , I had to come up with something else. I chose a pocket watch. I stuffed it with moss for a nest, and a teensy tiny mushroom bird that my mom sent me. The spoon that's all bent up in an antique silver spoon that I got at the antique shop a few weeks ago. It's the perch.
Now I just need to get a wood base and some votives to go inside, so when it's soldered up it will be a sweet glow in the highest bidder's home.
Made for the 'Ad Challenge' at Designer Digitals using:
*May 6th Ad Challenge goodie from Jennifer Adams Donnelly
*string by Holly McCaig's Charmed Alpha
*eyelet by Valeri Brumfield
and another version:
*May 6th Ad Challenge goodie from Jennifer Adams Donnelly
*string, photo holders and date stamp by Holly McCaig's Charmed Alpha
*eyelet by Valeri Brumfield
*designer edge template by Shellyrae Cusbert
*peek-a-boo papers, grunge2 by Tracy Ann Designs
Hello, my name is Tracy and I'm NOT a sewer. I'm trying to make a cute Amy Butler purse, but it's not going so well. "How hard can it be?"... I asked myself... "It's only a square". I made sure not to buy a pattern that used piping or trim, or anything to 'throw off my game'. Ha! This sweet little pattern is kick'n my butt :) Let's just say I need to buy more fabric, for round 2.
So in the mean time, to keep my sewing spirits high, I bought a beauty off eBay. Also an Amy Butler, and hand sewn.... and perfectly I might add! Check out the seller.... her stuff is amazing.
I snapped a neat shot in the car the other day, waiting for a downpour to pass so I could dash into the post office. I love cell phone cams... so fun when you are out and about.
I'm making a glass birdhouse 'Sally Jean' style, for the upcoming Habitat for Humanity auction. I was lucky enough to get an invite to participate in this and I'm really honored. So... I'm making a glass house, but the front will be totally solid (no bird hole), because this will be purely decorative. My problem is the the 'hole'. I want to put something there to represent the whole, but I don't know what. Someone I know is using the standard wood house, and she's dressing up her hole with an vintage optical lens. Super idea, but I don't want to do that same thing as her. What can I use for my 'hole'? I'm using a vintage spoon or fork, bent up for the 'perch'. The style of the house will be a kinda vintage, kinda nature.... so what are your suggestions?????
I'm going to post pictures from start to finish... I think that might be fun.
So then there's the wood house they gave me... I think I will do that more 'whimsical' in style... fun colors, lots of pattern. I'll keep you posted on that too.
Well this is what I've found out so far.... going off dairy was not nearly as hard as I thought, but I don't know if I can do it forever. At least not 100% forever. I don't think I'm allergic to it, as we previously thought. I do think though that I have a sensitivity to it. What I failed to mention, all along, was that when I started this dairy free gig, I also started Nasonex. I started feeling better and like I always do, I stopped taking the Nasonex. Well 3 days later my ear was aching like mad, and my headache had returned. Back on the med, and voila, I'm feeling better. So I don't think going dairy free has helped that, but it has made me feel better, and all calories that I eat from dairy are gone. Cutting out the cheese alone probably cut those calories and fat in half. I think my stomach feels better without dairy, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I want to have something that might have a bit of cheese on it, ONCE IN A WHILE. I'm doing the dairy free thing because I think it's better for my health. I'm not vegetarian, and I'm never going to become one (Sorry Pearl!)
Ok, so that's that.... I'm tired of recording what I eat and such so the dairy drama is over... at least until I find a really cool dairy free product that I just have to share with you.
Like the Turtle Mountain's Mocha Mania.... oh man they are so amazingly good! Who knew soy could be so yummy!
If some asked me to choose between giving up dairy or breathing, I would have easily ditched breathing. My bf "Pearl" has become a vegan vegitarian this past year, and I told her when she first started, "I could probably do it, if I wanted to, but I could NEVER give up dairy". Well I have given it up for almost a week now, and I'm so happy about my progress.
Tyler wanted pizza tonight. I told him I'm not quite strong enough to handle him eating that in front of me quite yet, so we went out for Chinese instead. I had the best won ton soup. The won tons are SO good, and it's loaded with veggies like pea pods, broccoli, water chess-nuts, carrots, and baby corn. I love the shrimp, chicken and bbq pork in it too. DElish!This past year has given me a few presents I haven't been crazy about.... dark circles under my eyes, weight gain, the discovery of my sinus cavities being full 24/7, and the on again/off again ear aches. And let's not leave out my old 'friend' the migraine, who's been faithful at never leaving me. The doc says that my sinuses are trying to drain, but my ears are not cooperating and keeping all the nasty stuff to themselves... thus the earpain, headaches, etc. I'm on a new med for that, so hopefully that will get rid of the immediate trouble, but long term.... well that's in my hands.
My mom has been suspecting food allergies in me for a while and the local guru at the health food store thinks so too. I guess the whole 'dark circles under the eyes' is a big red flag. And here I just though age was catching up to me, lol. I've just been feeling like my body is out of whack because I'm packing on the pounds so easily too. I know, I'm already 'livin large', but I'm a 'maintainer'... I've held the same weight for years, and actually last year, I started dropping since going to the gym, but all of a sudden my face is unrecognizable - even to me, and it's mine. Damn. So long story short (too late for that now isn't it?).... I'm trying the DAIRY FREE thing for 2 weeks to see what kind of difference that makes. She wanted me to go wheat free too, but I told her I couldn't try both at the same time, or I might go totally insane.
I'm a total milk drinker... love cheese, and love sour cream even more, so this is not easy for me. To make easier though, I'm reading all the horror stories I can about dairy, so if health isn't enough inspiration, the grossing me out part will be. I'm such a child.
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