March Reading, Part 2

It's been a busy month so I haven't read as much as I usually do. Meaning I haven't finished a book a week. Oh well.

I technically haven't finished "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" yet, but I'll probably finish it tomorrow afternoon, so I don't really count it as part of April's reading yet. I really shouldn't be finishing this book tomorrow afternoon, what I should be doing is working on my Scenes of Tustin entry and/or doing last last last minute reviewing of "Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal" and "Risen Today" for my choir concert, which is tomorrow night. Yes. However, every hardworking girl needs some time to relax...

Is it Time For Cake Yet?

It's getting to be a super busy time in our lives right now, and our apartment is suffering for it. James and I both have big art projects on the go, and we end up sharing the dining room table - he frames on it in the morning, I cut fabric and sew on it in the evenings. And in the meantime, we have piles of fabric, sketchbooks, matboards, laundry and dirty dishes stacked everywhere. (The dishes aren't really our fault - our apartment had no hot water over the weekend and we're still not caught up once it was turned back on.)

Here's what we got up to before life got so hectic:


Enjoying a beautiful southern California day



Saw a fabric exhibition at The Muckenthaler in Fullerton - don't you love the Spanish tiles?



Succulents at The Muck

 

Time out in the garden



Our sweetpeas are growing



The first of the ranunculus at Trader Joe's



There was a huge sale at Art Supply Warehouse. So huge that the lines extended allllll the way back into the asiles. This is where I waited for over half an hour, suck next to the Fimo.



The cash registers are now in sight



At home with linolium blocks, acrylic paint in Raw Umber, a new paintbrush, a brayer, a baren, and a photo portfolio book

 Coming up, I've got this art project to finish, photos to go out and take, a choir concert to sing in, Easter music to be mastering, the day-to-day of work, laundry, dishes, food etc, a wedding to attend, and then it will be the end of April and my husband's parents will be arriving from London just in time for his 30th! I need a slice of cake just thinking about it all.

March Reading

Only two books on the go this month. So far. I'm sure there will be more.

I'm in the middle of the first one. A completely rediculous story about time travel between modern day Cornwall and the early 1700's. Completely rediculous but still an enjoyable read. I like the author of the second one, so I'm sure I'll have fun reading it.

Is it completely evil of me to contemplate a Kindle? It would be AMAZING to use while traveling, and it would mean that I could download books like "The Hunger Games" without feeling embarassed that I was being judged. (I haven't given in yet, but as the hype grows, I'm sure I will. Sigh.)

Am I Showing My Age?

It's been a week of R&R. Sometimes it's just the best thing in the world to take a step back and say, "You know...I need a break." And that's okay.

Look! Spring Crabapple! Southern California really does have changing seasons!

  

I've been a little obsessed with this jigsaw puzzle lately. Also, my mom & dad gave me this rad teapot and I've been enjoying my tea out of it this week.



This is Country Roads, my favorite antique store in the Orange Circle. I especially like the displays of white vintage-y goodness.



I painted my toenails a happy coral/tangerine color, which goes perfectly with my new favorite dress. Sorry to those of you who think feet are gross. Hopefully you won't think mine are.

  My lovely friends and my lovely husband took me out for a belated b-day outing. We went to the Holiday Skate Center, the roller skating rink that I've gone to since I was in elementary school. It was great to go back and see what's changed and what's different. It was slightly disturbing seeing children getting all excited for "I'm Sexy and I Know It" and Ke$ha - what ever happend to the good old days of Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul? (Am I showing my age?)



Alas, the multiple disco balls are gone...

Also what was quite disturbing was that there was a couple who thought it would be a great idea to take their stroller with a very tiny baby in it out onto the floor of the roller rink. And no one made them exit the floor. Am I the only one that thinks it's a miracle that nothing happened? (Am I showing my age again?) 

More fun across the street at Jimmy Bones

The ladies room was my favorite part of Jimmy Bones

 Okay, if you go into a sports bar with your friends and get told by some sweaty drunk men to turn around and give them a little curtsey and you spend the first part of the night huddled in a corner protected by your male friends, you don't really expect to find an amazingly hilarious ladies room in the joint. However, this was fantasticly tacky, wallpapered with headshots of the Thunder from Down Under. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

And that's just the kind of girl I am.

February Reading, Part 2

Remember how I said I love to read? Yeah...I finished all of my books and had to make another trip to the bookstore. 

I'm in the middle of this book, and it's a really interesting story about a German woman married to a Jewish art dealer during World War I and II who ends up helping to rid Germany of it's so-called degenerate art.

James took one look at me, rolled his eyes, and said "I'm not going to see you for about four days, am I?"

No, my friend, you probably won't.

Seriously, it's a really good read.

Every time I think about getting a Kindle or a Nook, I think about how I won't have a physical copy of the book, and it makes me too sad. No ebooks for me as of yet.

I Sort of Love Giraffes

Ah, Sunday night, when you realize that there's still a whole lotta weekend you'd like to experience...

Took James to the Irvine Spectrum this week. Not being from around here and not being much of a shopper (unlike his wife...), this was a new experience.

Golden Horse, Irvine Spectrum

 When I worked at David's Bridal, one of my brides told me that her fiance proposed to her on top of the Ferris Wheel at the Spectrum. I think of her every time I'm here.


Stormy Sunday

 I turned 29 this week! This is unfortunate timing for James, because it's Valentine's Day the week before, as well as the anniversary of when we got together in college. We choose to celebrate the anniversary, not so much the Valentine's Day. If you look closely, you can see the top of our gold waving cat our friend sent us as a wedding gift. Try not to notice the dust on the lampshade...


Valentine's, Anniversary & Birthday cards

 You're never too old to celebrate your birthday at the zoo, and that's what I did. James and my parents and I drove up to the LA Zoo which I haven't been to in about 20 years, and I looked at animals to my heart's content. I wish I'd seen lions that were awake, and elephants and hippos, and I wish even more that I'd gotten to hug a giraffe, but that's life.


Flamingos



Monkeys, LA Zoo

   

I forget what kind of monkey this is, but I think it had a very bright posterior. No, it's not a baboon.

  

Giraffe, LA Zoo

  I sort of love giraffes. I have a stuffed giraffe from when I was born. His name is Jerry and he's way too disgusting to show you, so you'll just have to make do with these pictures of real giraffes. (I'm sorry, Jerry, you're not disgusting to me.)
 

Me, My Dad, & a Giraffe

 How was everyone else's week/weekend?

Ringing, Dancing, Raining, Drawing

Wednesdays are my day off from everything. It's the one day a week I can sleep in, where I'm not committed to being elsewhere, and can just spend the entire day reading if I want. I can even go on day trips with the hubster, which we just don't do enough of. The rest of my week is taken up with work, choir and handbell practice.

Yes, handbells.

Here's a visual reference for you if you don't know what handbells are. The smaller the bell, the higher the sound. These, for example, are rather high, although not as high as you can go.

To play handbell music, you need a group of people. Each person plays certain notes in certain octaves, and the goal is to ring when you're supposed to and for the correct amount of time and make music. For someone who has to circle every note to play and write in the name of the note above, this is slightly terrifying when it comes to playing for an audience. (Reading music is not my forte...haha.) But, every Sunday for an hour, I slog through handbell practice with the hope of not losing concentration and therefore count of what measure we're playing.


Balloons & Dancers in the church hall

As a run-up to Valentine's Day, the church I belong to had a dance. Neither myself or James are terribly skilled dancers, but there were lessons promised by the friend who'd been organizing it, and besides, it was something different to do on a Friday night. Plus it was semi-dress-up, so people showed up in all manner of outfits, from '50s poodle skirts to 20s flappers to cowboys and '80s rockers.


Dress, Shoes, and Aqua Toes

We tried to learn to swing dance but failed when it came to actually finding the beat in real music. We did much better at line dancing. I ran out for the acapella Hokey Pokey that was sung loud and proud from the youngest to the oldest, and I think that's the only time I've ever danced the Hokey Pokey not on roller skates. 

Dishevelled Rainy Backyard

Back to my free day. It was delightfully cold and rainy today, and therefore the perfect day for starting an art project I've been mulling over for far too long. It feels really good to be working on something, and it will feel even better as I see the project taking shape. I won't say what it is just yet, but I will say that it's for the annual Tustin Art League "Scenes of Tustin" open exhibition hosted at Chemers Gallery. I've entered my photographs before, but never any other media, so we'll see.

Sneak Peek

And yes, in case you're wondering, that is a wind up robot pencil sharpener in the top right!