i am a peanut

i am schroeder....check it out and see
what peanut you are!

big news on the home front....the new baby
has arrived. i just need to charge her and
feed her with a cf card and i will be ready.
hope for no problems.

happy monday!

grateful thursday

"if you ask me what i came
into this world to do, i will
tell you;
i came to live out loud."
{emile zora

grateful....

the shining sun....2 new checks
to deposit...1 found check...my
cosmos still blooming...my new
black coat...miz bloom...new
ideas...my new two-hole punch...
talking to my nephew [mac] this
morning on the phone...finding
a new book to read [a million little
pieces]. the warm and toasty
down comforter...ahhhh and
all the birthday wishes near
and far....amen

forty-first big list

...in katroo every year, on the day you were born
they start the day right in the bright early morn
when the birthday honk-honker hike high up to mt. zorn
and lets loose a big blast on the big birthday horn.
and the voice of the horn calls out loud as it plays:
wake up! for today is your day of all days!
{happy birthday to you - dr. zeuss

today i turned 41, so i am following suit with a few others
who made a list of things to do before their next big day....

1. believe in myself 2.build a larger desktop in my art
area so that i can get a better flow 3. produce at least
3 small pieces a week. 4. teach my kids basic everyday
chores, so that they are more productive 5. take time to read
6. smile more.... 7. be nicer to my family 8. take a trip
9. finish my website 10. be more frugal 11. volunteer
12. invoice in a timely manner. 13. write smaller
14. get new clients 15. exercise 16. send notes to friends
17. run in another 5k 18. eat more sushi 19. learn to crochet
more than just scarves 20. lose 10 more lbs 21. keep it off
22. organize the garage 23. buy more clothes
24. buy 3 more bras and some undies 25. take art classes
26. attend gallery shows 27. make better meals 28. get a passport
29. plant lots of flowers 30. be happy 31. be less judgemental
32. keep my computer station clean 33. buy more art
34. stop procrastinating 35. pray more 36. visit my siblings more
37. have a list notebook - only one! 38. drink water
39. work on concepts 40. submit artwork
41. BE GRATEFUL

studio friday [invented tool]

as you can see i love to use
red stripe beer [don't worry
i am not a daily drinker]containers for
all my artistic needs. these
little six packs are not only handy
for toting ones cool beverage, but hold
my markers, colored pencils, mechanical
pencils, scissors, bone tool, pliers,
knifes....pretty much whatever will
fit.

yes and once again i am way behind
on this project. i can't wait for my
digital camera to arrive...happy!

dear miss rosa

when i get to be a composer
i'm gonna write me some new music about
daybreak in Alabama
and i'm gonna put the purtiest songs in it
rising out of the ground like a swamp mist
and falling out of heaven like soft dew.
i'm gonna put some tall trees in it
and the scent of pine needles
and the smell of red clay after rain
and long red necks
and poppy colored faces
and big brown arms
and field daisy eyes
of black and white black white black people
and i'm gonna put white hands
and black hands and brown and yellow hands
touching each other natural as dew
in that dawn of music when i get to be
a composer and write about
daybreak in alabama
{langston hughes - daybreak in alabama

Rosa Parks 1913-2005
"i am leaving this legacy to all of you...to bring peace
justice, equality, love and fulfillment of what our life
should be. without vision, the people will perish and
without courage and inspiration dreams will die - the
dream of freedom and peace." -r.p.

baby it's cold outside

goodness it is chilly.
yes i know, i know...it is only the end
of october.how am i going to handle
the next 4 months? i really struggle with
the cold. i tend to wear liteweight sweaters
in the summer. i am always wrapped up
in something.

my nailbeds are already showing signs of
winter aches. they have the burning
sensation today and show a tinge of blue.
i can't even imagine dealing with january temps.
i may have to invest in an electric blanket for
the studio.

i am going to have to go to sam's so i can buy
coffee and green tea in bulk!

happy

sabrina ward harrison
visit her newly decorated site...
happy . happy . happy

random things about me

i have been tagged my miz melanie of
navylane. just in case you can't read
the collage above, here they are.

1. i hide my shyness by being sassy
2. i am really not a blonde
3. i am claustrophobic
4. my eyes are very blue
5. i don't like driving over bridges
6. i want to be a roadie on a ben harper tour
7. i am a color freak
8. my dining room is orange
9. i love the word happy
10. my husband is 10 years younger than me
11. i laugh loud
12. my husband is a work-a-holic
13. red stripe is my favorite beer
14. i suck at math [pan down on page]
15. my middle name is colleen
16. i am a scorpio
17. i am always cold
18. i used this collage because i messed it up
19. i create
20. i am done

you're it...swirly, michelle ...oops she was already tagged, raquelle, tine

thankful thursday

wabash collage - crawfordsville indiana

i am sure there is a blog somewhere that
supports a thankful thursday, but today
it is me.

it is fall break at our house. we slept in till
8am, bryce ran for coffee and i made him
eggs. good farm eggs. you know the brown
eggs, the kind we gathered as kids. i made
the kids hot chocolate to go with the impressive
breakfast of cherry poptarts.

as the kids play x-box [yes, i know i am a bad mommy]
and bryce reads the paper, our house is very quiet.
i gaze out my studio window, and the ground is wet,
but the autumn colors are still vibrant under the
dampness.

i am thankful for...

a husband who loves me [even though i am moody]
healthy kids who don't struggle in school
a best friend who makes me laugh till my belly aches
my warm comfy studio
many designer friends who inspire and help me daily
my full time job that is at home
walks with my parents
losing 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks
my swirly collage that should be arriving any day
and my "bloom" soul birdie ordered yesterday

and my new circle of creative woman who remind
me constantly that i can do this....amen

small things

"great things are done by a
series of small things brought
together"
{vincent van gogh

thanks swirly...

studio friday [lost and found]

hmmmmm....i could have posted hundreds of
items on this topic. i mean really, i am always
losing something. terrible a.d.d.! but that
is one of the woes of being creative i think.

i found this train last month while cleaning
out a box in the garage. it must have been
in the box for over 7 years. my grandfather
was a woodworker and made this while
my mom was pregnant with me. [he was
for sure i was going to be a boy]. it is
so dear to me. yes i know, if it is so dear
to me than why did i forget it was in the box!

have a great weekend!

and it begins again

well holy shit...it begins again.
i swear my nickname does fit
[schleprock]. i am so like the
schleprocks on the flintstones.
i walk around with a damn rain
cloud over my head.

bryce and i went to his breakfast
meeting this morning, where i had
to endure athletics talk for more
than an hour, then we went on to
pick up my beloved saab. i hugged
and kissed her when they drove her
out. i know she wanted to get me home
safely. for cripes sakes, $2750.00 should
have been a guarantee that she could have
made it the 45 mile trip. well we made
it about 42 miles. right as i pulled off of
the 74/32 exit. i put her in first, then
second and third and low and behold.....
transmission out once again. so i try to
down shift, but no, i coast into the empty
eye soar to the right and wait for bryce
to pull up beside me. of course i had to
say nothing, the tears in my eyes let him
know that i was on the verge of a break down.

now i realize that life could be worse. at this
moment i could be a katrina survivor. i could
be a military widow. or cancer could be affecting
my life somehow. i always know i could have
it worse. but bryce and i have worked so hard
to downsize and live with a lot less. and still
we are constantly bobbing out in the middle
of life, chins barely above surface, waiting for
that next wave to hit.

sorry for such a blubbering post, but i am
whiped. i want a break. i have no motivation
to design at the moment. i need for things to
balance out, so that i can work on these jobs
that are piling up. i want to see the sun.
maybe by late afternoon we will get some
sun and get rid of this gloomy day

the saaba ends

[if anyone wants to keep creating,
they have to be about change.]
~miles davis

holy crap....the saab is finally
done with its stay in the shop.
after 3 weeks i finally get to
cruise with the sunroof open
to steve miller's band [jungle love].

i can wait to go pick her up!
i've missed her.

studio renovate

new studio photos are posted on flickr. take
a look. i still have alot of photos to hang and
it is a never ending battle to keep it tidy and
organized. but such is life!

studio friday [golden yellow]

well this is as golden yellow as i can get for this
week. i am quickly realizes how badly the
digital camera crisis is....i have got to purchase one!
this is gavin my neurotic yorkie. he drives me nuts
and is very camera shy. he literally hides his face
when i pull out my camera. what does this have to
do with my studio....he has a bed under my art table
and he sunbathes while i work! if i did have a digital
the photo would have featured my new golden
yellow and black tool box. i purchased it at
wal-mart for a whopping 4.95! i love that tool box.
i makes me organized!

studio friday

here are my most unusual items
in my studio. i bought the dish...
how funny, it has legs, at artist own.
it is an artist coop for women in lafayette.
i bought it even though i was broke. it
just makes me smile. it is one of my favorite
pieces in my house. the others are funky
bodies that my dad made in his studio. aren't
they crazy? he made them for me. we have
the same warped sense of humor.
i love them!

studio

new studio photos coming soon....
i swear!

float

i posted this last week, but
it seemed appropriate. so for
those of you who have already
seen this, i apologize....thanks
for looking!

see collage below