Lately....

So, lately... I haven't been blogging. Surprise! Right?! HaHa! I have an excuse, I promise :)
I've been working frantically to finish my summer to-do list since I recently realized that my summer break will soon be over. The end of summer is such a mixed-bag for me since I've been teaching. Sleeping later, not having a set schedule, working on fun projects, etc. are great but I'm almost always ready to get back to a regular routine and start a fresh, new school year. This year, I'm anticipating a great year (and that doesn't always happen to this tends-to-be-pessimistic person!).

So here are a few photos to show you my "lately":

So, basically, this is it. This is a snippet from my summer to-do list. It feels great to cross through these things as I finish them :)

My dresser makeover reveal that I promised to show you last week, but didn't quite get to. Sorry for the poor photo quality here. It looks so much better, believe me!

And another poor quality photo- but this is what the former baby dresser is doing nowadays- housing my TV and DVD player. It's working out well. 

And these are my stitched figures I've been plugging away at. I really like the subtle effect of the off-white stitching against the unbleached muslin. But I also love the bold effect it has when light is introduced. So...I'm pondering what to do with these at the moment. They've been hanging in the window for a day. Then they were spread out on the table for a day. Then I had some text on them. Then I removed the text (thank goodness for water soluble fabric markers). Well, I'll force myself to decide soon :) I usually end up with some sort of "vision" and it all works out!

Caregiving is always on my to-do list. It's actually my favorite thing to do. Lately, it's for Si- the half beagle-half-basset hound, crazy grandpuppy!

• And of course, my little Peanut. He is the main reason I dread going back to school. Hopefully we'll live close enough soon, that I can visit him in the evenings, after work. I'll love that! This picture cracks me up. It's been unseasonably cool here lately (mid 70's today-CRAZY for the end of July!) and I had to wrap my sweater around him while we were taking a walk. I'm sure he'll just love this picture when he's older! haha

And....golfing in Palm Springs, California. Just kidding! I wish. But, seriously, this is what my boys and Falicia have been doing lately. Lucky!!

 I hope your "lately" has been good! Till next time ~ Juli

No Word Wednesday, but....a giveaway instead!

No Word Wednesday this week, as my brain has turned to mush from 5 hours of scraping and peeling wallpaper today. No fun at all! But I am feeling generous. So Word Wednesday will be replaced by a giveaway! Just comment on this post and your name will be entered into a drawing for this original oil painting titled "Organic Symmetry" (8" x 10" oil on canvas board, unframed). A winner will be chosen on July 30 in honor of Little Man's 18th birthday :)

Merry Monday

Just a few merry moments for this Monday....

A few things that I parted with this week- Mr. Robot Clown and chocolate bunnies from 2005/2006. Oh, my. Why do I keep these things? Yes, this was one of Eddie's favorite toys, but really. He takes 2 "d" batteries (does anything even take "d" batteries anymore?), the battery cover was broken off of the back and he obviously had not been touched in 15 or so years. So, I took his portrait before I put him in the trash and I didn't feel quite so bad about parting with him. Now, the chocolate bunnies, I have no excuse for. I didn't eat the mommy bunny at the time because she was just too cute. Same story the next year when I got the baby bunnies. So, I kept them. For 8 years!! Like I said, no excuse. But, they also had the guilt-erasing photo taken before they hit the trash, so it's all good!

Trying to get into the groove of "Wentzville living" again by going to the flea market Sunday morning to get some fresh produce. If you find nothing to buy at the flea market, at least you have entertainment in the people watching. You know the saying, "It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round"? There you have it!

And more entertainment at my favorite winery Sunday afternoon. A regular, Steve Leslie, was playing solo and during breaks a trio of young girls sang harmony (they were very good!).

Finally, the weather has been unseasonably cool, which has led to some front porch stitching. Stay tuned.  More to come on that :)

 

 

Don't forget to visit Experience Union here for a chance to win my 'Cabernet Sauvignon' original oil painting!

I hope you're having a Merry Monday!  Juli

Word Wednesday- Lullaby

Well, today I was searching for a pretty word. I make a habit of writing down interesting words when I hear them, but none of the words that I had written down were "pretty words". So, I did what most people do nowadays when they can't come up with an idea of their own, I googled it :)  So, my google search resulted in a pretty good article on beautiful words vs. ugly words, which you can read here.  Then, using their list of beautiful words, I chose the one that appealed to me the most today and that is ...lullaby.

 lull•a•by
n., pl. -bies, n.

1. a song used to lull a child to sleep; cradlesong.

2. any lulling song.

v.t.

3. to lull with or as if with a lullaby.

   Such a nice word, don't you think? I'm a huge fan of reminiscing, so my thoughts were immediately of my kids and the songs I played for them when they were babies. Sister's lullaby (not sure if it is officially a lullaby) was definitely "Jesus Loves Me", as her grandpa would call her almost every day and sing it to her and then they would sing it together, over and over again. It was so cute. Eddie, on the other hand, can't remember any lullabies from when he was little. And neither can I! I feel really bad about it. I guess his assertion that he is just the middle, forgotten child is true. haha (Just kidding, Eddie! You know we all love you!) Anyway, he does remember the lullabies I played for Little Man when he was a baby. And those are also the ones that are the most fresh in my mind. Here is a little sampling of my favorites, in case you're in the mood for a mid-day lullaby :)

*even though lullabies are timeless, please keep in mind that Little Man was born in the mid 90's ;)

Sister, Eddie and Little Man.

Brahm's Lullaby by Celine Dion

Angel's Lullaby by Richard Marx

*both of the above are from the album, 'For Our Children Too" to benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins
*from the album, " Return to Pooh Corner".


And the last one... My Maria by Brooks and Dunn. Not a lullaby, but it saved our sanity on many occassions. We popped this cassette (haha) in when Little Man was having a "moment". It worked like a charm EVERY time :)

Oh, my. These songs bring back such good memories :)  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 What are some of your favorite lullabies??    Juli

Merry Monday, posted on Tuesday :) Again!

So, not that I haven't been merry on these past few Mondays, my schedule has just been completely off. I apologize, once again! Here are some pics to catch you up on what's been going on in my world....

You know how I promised a giveaway to be announced this past weekend? Well, just after I announced it, Michelle,  from Experience Union, asked if Olive and Ash would sponsor their 'Where in Union' this week with a giveaway. Awesome, huh?! So go to the Experience Union facebook page here for a chance to win my original oil painting, Cabernet Sauvignon :)

Meet Phil. He is soooo glad to be on summer break. You see, Phil, is a shared (by me and M.T.) classroom plant. He was given to me by M.T. because she believed he was suffering in her room with no windows. So, he came to live with me in my bright, sunny classroom, only to be completely ignored and forgotten most of the time (except for the occasional watering from a half-empty bottle of water left behind by a student!). Well, needless to say, by the end of the school year, his condition clearly reflects that of his incompetent caregiver- completely spent, weary, dried up, etc. So he comes home with me for the summer and he thrives! He gets to live on my sunny front porch, gets water almost every day and gets food once a week. He's coming back to life! Pretty much a perfect metaphor for the life of a teacher, huh?

Well, even though I've been trying really hard to get rid of things and not accumulate any more stuff, sometimes I just can't help myself. I won the print on the left from an MK Designs and Photography giveaway. If you haven't checked out her Facebook page or blog yet, you should. She has fantastic photos for sale (prints, canvas prints, aluminum prints, handmade  jewelry, etc.) and has incredible deals on photo sessions. Check it out here and here  The silver platter on the bottom right belonged to my Great Grandma- Pearl Tabers, who I wrote about on this  post. When my mom asked if I wanted it, my ready response was "no, I'm getting rid of stuff", until she said it was Grandma Tabers'. Uhmmm....yes, I'll take it!  And, one of the joys of cleaning out and packing up is finding things that you had long forgotten about. Like this note(top right) from Eddie when he was 18, letting me know he made some cookies! I love, love, love finding things like that. And I'm so glad I keep random notes that would normally be thrown away.

The only thing I've been painting lately are doors and furniture. Today I started on this dresser, which will eventually be for the TV. It started out as a hand-me-down from my aunt when Eddie was a baby. So it went from Eddie's baby dresser with a coat of off-white paint, then it went through the 90's with a coat of blue and white splatter paint and was used as a catch-all by the front door. Then it got a coat of red paint and became Little Man's dresser, Peanut's changing table and then a storage cabinet for my painting supplies. Wow. Talk about some use! This is the first time it's gotten a really good, quality coat of paint, though. I'm using Rust-oleum's Furniture Transformation kit in Espresso. If you ever need to paint furniture or cabinets, I highly recommend this product. The stuff is great! (I'll post finished pics when it's, well, finished!) 

So, as I said, I haven't been painting much, except for household stuff. Part of that is that it's what needs to be done right now, since we are anticipating a move soon, but part of it is that I am just not motivated to paint. I've boxed up my paints and put away my easel. For a while. For the most part, painting is a stressful activity for me. As opposed to fiber work, which is a huge stress reliever for me. I've had some ideas in the back of my mind for a while now for some larger scale fiber art pieces that combine painting (with dye) and stitching. I REALLY want to do this and if I have my paints and easel staring at me every day, I'll feel more pressured to paint and put the fiber work on the back burner. It's kind of a huge relief for me right now. We'll see what happens.

Soooo happy to have this boy back! Our Military Police Soldier. So proud!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, my two muses, Olive and Ash. I don't get to spend much time with them during the school year, so I they are another reason I really enjoy summer break. Olive (on the left) after her day at the groomer and Ash (AKA Peanut, on the right) is hypnotized by his spinning top :)

Have a great week! Juli

July 4th, Reveille and Revelry

Today's words come from a bit of confusion. Again, confusion on my part, of course! Here's the story.

We just attended Eddie's graduation from Military Police Training, which included a family day where the soldiers had the opportunity to show their families around the base. At one point, we were outside, looking at some military vehicles they had gathered in a small park area and, out of the blue, a bugle call began. Eddie immediately stopped to salute until the music stopped.Well, we had never experienced  this before, so we needed explanations! He proceeded to fill us in and this is basically what that is all about:

Each day, there are three "ceremonies" that take place:

Reveille:
signifies the beginning of the official duty day, and the raising of the flag.  

Retreat:
signifies the end of the official duty day and the lowering of the flag.
 
Taps:
began as a signal for lights out at the end of the day, although now it's also used for funerals and memorial services


For each ceremony, all soldiers are expected to stop and salute the flag or salute in the direction of the music until the music stops. Civilians are expected to stop and place their hand over their heart. And all traffic is stopped.

To the ordinary person, this probably seems silly. (We were certainly confused!) But, when you are there, and are a part of it, it's very moving. And it made me think  about the lack of "ceremony" in most of our lives and how much better it might be if we had a little bit of that, or at least a reminder of that, every day. Sure we have "ceremony" at certain times- weddings, funerals, religious services, etc., but these things happen once a year, once a month, once a week- maybe. Don't you think it would be a good thing if we all had certain times of the day, every day, where we had to stop and  pay respect to, remember and  honor someone or something?  A time where we are all on the same page at the same time. Think about the positive changes that  might bring about. Especially now, with most people trying to do three things at one time for most of the day, every day. Hmmm.... I think it would be good.

Eddie, my dad and C. during "Retreat". *photo by Alicia Marie

Anywho...enough seriousness!! You are probably wondering where the "revelry" part is going to come in on this little rant of mine. And I'll explain, even though I'm going to thoroughly embarrass myself. Well.... when Eddie was talking about reveille, I thought he said 'revelry'. haha! So, when I looked it up, I assumed I would find a description of a military tradition. Nope. Wrong word!! Revelry is " lively festivities, usually involving the consumption of a large amount of alcohol". Oh,my! For those of you who don't know me, I have been known to have more than my share of "air-head" moments, so I'll just add this one to my list!

Anyway, I thought it was funny that the confusion led to a bit of irony. Today is July 4th, a day that is all about paying respect, honoring and remembering. And how do many of us do this? By having lively festivities involving large amounts of alcohol, of course! So, you see, there is a connection between the two words after all. At least in my world!  That's my story and I'm stickin' to it :)

Have a great 4th of July!!   Juli