My Life is a Cartoon

Trying to be a Housewife

2012-02-02T20:49:00.001-02:00

I am working on it, but being a housewife is something I have not had much practice at.

Well I'm married now

2011-12-02T14:06:00.002-02:00

So much has happened and I have a lot I need to write about, but just haven't taken the time. I still have a lot to do before I have time to keep up with a daily blog.

I can't believe it's almost September

2011-08-23T00:13:00.002-02:00

I'm set this up so that I can post from my cell phone, which I am with most often. Things are going well and I still think I need to do a cartoon of a lot of the things that happen in my life, but I just haven't been drawing lately.

New Things

2011-01-29T13:32:00.005-02:00

I know I need to be posting. I'm spending a lot of my spare time on a new relationship. I'm still doing the bible cartoons. One really neat thing is that Nov 14th 2009 there was a page out of the bible that had blown onto my driveway at the exact same time and spot where I went out to put something into the back of my truck. Then Nov 14th 2010 I met and began to get to know someone who is really wonderful. After 16 years of being alone and many years before that in an abusive relationship it's really a really wonderful thing to have God's hand in this.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T13:48:00.001-02:00

I'm going to a masquerade ball tonight. I don't really plan to dress up a lot, but I think I will get out and see if I can find a mask. There are 130 people most of whom I don't know signed up to be there so there really shouldn't be that many people who recognize me. It was funny to me that they advertised it as alcohol free and then I got an email from the guy who organized it explaining that alcohol was not free, there was no alcohol.

This year I actually have a date with someone I have been dating for about a month. I also am a little under the weather, so I'm just hoping to be well tonight.

Quote: Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. - Benjamin Franklin

I know I know I haven't been posting

2010-12-21T08:31:00.003-02:00

I just got carried away with other things. As usual I will try to get back to it. I have been doing a little better about creating my bible verse cartoons, but not so good about posting them. I got contacts and learnin to get them in and out has been hard.

Quote: Skill is fine, and genius is splendid, but the right contacts are more valuable than either. - Conan Doyle, Sr.

I'm always surprized by The Bible

2010-11-16T10:10:00.002-02:00

I guess there is so much in the Bible that I always find new things. I liked this verse because I have to admit I am a little taken in by flattery. After watching Eddie on the old Leave it to Beaver show you would think I would know better.

Quote: Wally, if your dumb brother tags along, I'm gonna - oh, good afternoon, Mrs. Cleaver. I was just telling Wallace how pleasant it would be for Theodore to accompany us to the movies. - Eddie Haskel

Losing Weight

2010-10-26T09:42:00.004-02:00

Don't worry I'm not this skinny.

I have lost 13lbs on my new diet and this seems like a way of eating that I can keep doing. I really like some things like cucumbers and cabbage and grapefruit that I really hardly ever eat. Years can go by without a grapefruit being on my plate. I don't really know why, but I think it's because things like potato chips and candy bars can be so handy that I forget real food even exists.

It's not that I haven't had chocolate, I made the best candy out of coconut oil and hershey's cocoa. I would have never thought I would be someone who ate healthy, but now I'm thinking that it is possible.

Quote: Older people shouldn't eat health food, they need all the preservatives they can get. - Robert Orben

Much too busy

2010-10-14T08:50:00.002-02:00

I'm up early, but it's a big day today. First I'm going to the Dr. to have blood work (AAAHHHH) then my friend who was laid off from work is picking up her stuff, then I'm giving a speech at toastmasters (which I am not really ready for) then back to the Dr. for the yearly physical. And in between all that I need to get a lot of work done. And I'm starting a new diet today.

Quote: There is nothing so annoying as to have two people talking when you're busy interrupting. - Mark Twain

2010-10-12T04:44:00.000-02:00

I was at Church tonight and I couldn't find my keys and I thought they were in my truck so I popped out that little center back window and crawled in. They were not in my truck, but my cell phone was (because I had left it charging). I used my cell and called someone to come and get me and .... I found my keys in a little zippered pocket of my big purse right after they got there. I do not need a big purse ;-/

Oh and first I took off my antenna because I thought maybe I could fish my keys out. Then on the way home I could not figure out why I could not get any of the radio stations to come in good. Well duh....

Quote: Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. - P. J. O'Rourke

Things Change

2010-09-30T22:36:00.003-02:00

Sometimes it seems like nothing will ever change in our lives and then they suddenly change completely in a split second.

Quote: All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France (this one was really not longed for)

My strength is small

2010-09-29T22:29:00.003-02:00

I actually thought that was okay, because I was trusting God to be strong for me. However he might like for me to be a little stronger.

Quote: Just as the body cannot exist without blood, so the soul needs the matchless and pure strength of faith - Mahatma Gandhi

Lowering the level of my lawn

2010-09-27T23:50:00.002-02:00

I need to get my mower fixed or get another one or borrow one once before winter, but..... I decided to try using my weedeater to cut the lawn. I have often wondered why people don't do that.

It may be because it throws grass all over you. I did about half the yard and will try to get out early in the morning to get some more of it.

Quote: A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. - James Dent

forcing myself to be social

2010-09-26T14:50:00.006-02:00

I think that if you read my blog you probably think that I am very busy and that's true, but it's not the same as being social. I don't let people get too close in my life a lot of the time.

There is a book study that's been going on for a while and the part they are in today really interesed me, so I'm going to try to make myself go.

But first (and this could be a problem) I'm going to cut my hair. I have this wild idea that I can cut it using a bananna clip and a pair of sissors. I guess there is a chance that I will look so weird that I will not want to go after that ;-)

My neighbors are moving today

2010-09-25T17:16:00.002-02:00

It's been noisy today with them putting stuff in a u-haul. I really like them and hope that when I get new neighbors

Quote: Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. - Benjamin Franklin

Chocolate gets me everytime

2010-09-23T02:50:00.001-02:00

I was standing in front of a group of people at Church and I wanted to encourage them with this verse. So I said the first part of it because that's all I could remember and I didn't remember where it was in the Bible.

I really don't know the bible very well and so I had to look it up when I came home.

What struck me when I read it is this. When I am doing good and something comes along and I slip up I often don't just get back up and keep going. One of the things I have trouble with is sweets. I like sweets a little too much, much better than say cabbage or carrots or spinach.

Quote: Human beings, vegetables, or comic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player - Albert Einstein

I am renewing my effort

2010-09-20T09:52:00.002-02:00

To eat healthy. I have been able to overcome my habit of drinking sodas, but the candy is a little harder. Maybe it's because it's been a habit for longer. When I was a just a tiny baby my brother (when my Mom wasn't looking) gave me some chocolate. I didn't really start drinking cokes until much later and didn't really get pulled into feeling like I needed them until I was working and there were vending machines all around.

Well I have got to get ready for work and leave time to think about some healthy snacks for today.

Quote: Intuitive eating is a way to recognize all those influences and learn ways to counter that in terms of hunger and satisfaction. The idea that you can eat what you want is very threatening. But our bodies don't want junk food all day long; they want a tremendous variety of food. - Steven Hawks

Painting Group - today

2010-09-15T10:13:00.002-02:00

This is where I am with the painting I've been working on. I need to take a picture of the photo I'm working from and put it here too. It's an old photo from some kind family get together. There are tables in the back ground and people. I wanted to separate out The Girl and her cousin and focus on how he is leaning back into her and holding both her hands.

Quote: It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny. - Anthony Robbins

busy busy busy

2010-08-31T10:34:00.001-02:00

Sorry I haven't been posting, but I am so busy. Painting group tomorrow. And getting ready to go camping.

I cut my hair again

2010-08-30T02:12:00.001-02:00

I didn't have one of those static balls that makes your hair stick out all over, but I may get one. I think it would help in cutting my hair.

Quote: Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself. - Samuel Butler

Meal plan for next week

2010-08-21T14:55:00.002-02:00

I ordered a meal plan for next week online. I'm going to see how it goes. It give you a list of all the things you need to purchase, so I will try to get them this weekend. I've never been much of a planner, but I think this will be a really good thing for me.

I did a cartoon this morning, but it's a lot wider than my usual ones, so I need to break it apart to post here.

Thursday was a good day

2010-08-19T09:27:00.003-02:00

I did the daily bible reading first thing in the morning. It's not an easy thing for me to do, but I think it is a habit that I could learn.

Quote: There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued - Thomas Henry Huxley

Wednesday Painting

2010-08-18T09:18:00.002-02:00

Wednesday I worked on a painting that I have wanted to finish. I got a lot more done on it. I want to wait to put color on it until I'm sure I have the tonal painting the way I want it.

I also found out that the room I paint in it going to be used as part of a haunted house. I think they mean for me not have my painting group for a while. I have thought of just sitting out in front of the haunted house with my easel and painting vampires.

Quote: One thing vampire children are taught is, never run with a wooden stake” - Jack Handy

Priorities

2010-08-17T09:13:00.003-02:00

It's hard for me to keep my priorities straight. I know that my day goes much better if I first think of God and pray.... but when I wake up I tend to think about things like breakfast, coffee and what am I going to wear.

Matthew 6:31 "So don't ever worry by saying, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?'

Maybe I should pray first and then get something to eat, drink and figure out what to wear.

Quote: Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Sprint

2010-08-16T09:44:00.003-02:00

I had a few phone issues. First my phone stopped working. Then I went with The Girl to Sprint and she got a new phone and gave me her old one. That would have been great, but just after they transfered everthing to her new phone all their computers went down. So they were not able to give me a working phone.

Next day I went back and they were able to activate my new phone and I left. It stopped working.

Next day I went back and they said the battery was not good and gave me a new one.

I did figure out the good thing about going to Sprint was that I had guys asking for my phone number. That doesn't happen everywhere ;-)

Quote: So I got home, and the phone was ringing. I picked it up, and said 'Who's speaking please?' And a voice said 'You are.' - Tim Vine

The Greatest Artist

2010-08-08T10:05:00.000-02:00

I caught a small picture this weekend of the beauty of nature. When I think that this kind of stuff is multiplied many times over in this world it makes me think of that old song "how beautiful heaven must be"

Quote: It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to. . . . The feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures. - Vincent Van Gogh

Being a Volunteer

2010-08-06T09:51:00.002-02:00

I have been a leader at one of the ministries at my church for a while now. I felt that I needed to because we didn't have a lot of volunteers. This week most of our women learders were out and driving there I was thinking I was doing a good thing to just be there. The more I think about it, I don't think that is enough. I ended up not actually being needed and not stepping up to offer to do anything.

Quote: Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him. - Henry Miller

What were they thinking

2010-08-02T00:31:00.002-02:00

I was going to post the first time this happened to me. I was filling my truck with gas and loosened my grip on the nozzel. The rubber spring looking thing caused it to jump out and get gas on my clothes. Well today it happend again, not quite as bad. I guess I was more ready this time.

Quote: The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don't let it get the best of you. - Will Rogers

Date Nite

2010-07-31T10:00:00.000-02:00

I don't date a lot, but I did have a date friday. I met him at chili's. It actually went better than most of my dates, which is a good thing. We talked a lot and I ate so much that he actually got a chance to talk some too ;-)

Quote: I had a lot of dates but I decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows. - Andy Warhol (I love it when I can find a good quote from an artist ;-)

I hate it when that happens

2010-07-26T09:35:00.003-02:00

Lucky for me it's only happend a few times. I guess that people who have ears that do not stick out at all don't ever sleep on them. It is really not a good feeling.

Quote: Drawing is speaking to the eye; talking is painting to the ear. - Joseph Joubert

Soft Drinks

2010-07-25T20:24:00.003-02:00

I have been trying to improve my habits. I was able to stop drinking soft drinks. I did almost slip up one time. I was visiting a friend and was offered a Dr. Pepper. I was of course thinking how great it would taste and said yes.... as she walked away I rememberd and said "no...wait" really loud. A narrow escape.

Quote: Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.- Robert C. Gallagher

What am I susposed to do?

2010-07-11T14:29:00.004-02:00

Ceiling fan dryer instructions
( I wrote a few years back, when I was without a dryer)

If you use a ceiling fan to dry
Don't turn the speed up too high
or accross the room, your clothes will fly

The speed you choose will be your call
Set the fan first, then turn it off at the wall
You'll need a chair if your not too tall
Next be sure you clean the blade

Turn off the light, so your clothes don't fade
and If you have neighbors, I'd pull the shade
Now after you have hung up all your stuff
turn on the fan and your clothes will fluff

See being without a dryer is not so tough

I need to listen better

2010-07-10T12:02:00.000-02:00

Yesterday Sears told me I could get a thermal fuse for my dryer at the Service Center at Valley View. I assumed they meant it was at the Sears store at Valley View Mall in Dallas. I drove all the way over there. Well No, they meant the Sears Service Center on Valley View Road in Carrollton, which by then was closed.

Quote: I find the great thing in this world is, not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Something is not working

2010-07-08T10:12:00.004-02:00

I haven't had a chance to really look at it, but this is my guess as to what's wrong. I'm going to look at it when I get home from work.

Quote: It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear . . . . It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to. - Marilyn Ferguson

Display Day

2010-07-07T09:34:00.002-02:00

I'm really trying not to grab every painting I have, it's just hard to choose. My paintings are like my children and I don't like to leave one behind.

I also have my painting get together today. Last time I really didn't have anyone show up and it's hard to say what will happen today. If It wasn't my own group I would probably not show up either, because I'm not ready.

Quote: Don't show off every day, or you'll stop surprising people. There must always be some novelty left over. The person who displays a little more of it each day keeps up expectations, and no one ever discovers the limits of his talent - Baltasar Gracian

Happy 4th of July Weekend

2010-07-03T10:40:00.003-02:00

I looked back at my blog yesterday and realize that I really need to stop paying so much attention to facebook and get back to keeping my blog up. I want to start painting daily along with my cartoons.

Today I'm off to see my parents and to a family reunion. I am really trying to not be so lazy, but that still seems to be an issue with me. I come home from work and don't want to do anything else.

Quote: You can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they don't. - Dagwood Bumstead

How embarrasing

2010-06-28T09:42:00.002-02:00

I got a letter from the city about my backyard. Yes I do need to mow it, and fix my fence. My Dad is going to come tomorrow to help me and I know that they don't know that.

I think some of us just don't notice that kind of thing. I hardly ever go in my back yard. I guess I need to start going out there more often. I may have to start a garden just to force myself to go outside.

Quote: Nature poets can't walk across the backyard without tripping over an epiphany - Christian Wiman

Ignorance is not always bliss

2010-06-26T14:43:00.001-02:00

I was going to to do a bible verse cartoon everyday this week and I was able to do that. There are some things going on that I don't want to post about.

I found out that I trusted someone I should have known not to trust and now I am suffering the consequece of that action. People don't come with lables so you can clearly see if they are lying or just not telling something. I am a trusting person and I would like to remain trusting, but I don't want to have people fool me.

Quote: Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest. - Benjamin Franklin

fence repair time

2010-06-25T07:48:00.004-02:00

When I got home yesterday I had a note from the city that I have to repair my fence. I know that I do, but I still hate to be told.

Quote: Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up. - Robert Frost

sort of silly

2010-06-24T07:46:00.000-02:00

Wednesday Already?

2010-06-23T10:34:00.002-02:00

I'tve been wanting to be able to do a cartoon everyday, but it's not easy to get around to.

Quote: Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian - Dennis Wholey

Tuesday Troubles

2010-06-22T10:16:00.003-02:00

My friend just called and was in a car accident and I have a very sore throat today. It's easy to focus on the bad stuff sometimes and sort of push all the good stuff away.

Quote: When we are working at a difficult task and strive after a good thing, we are fighting a righteous battle, the direct reward of which is that we are kept from much evil. As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed. Indeed life is a have to defend and protect ourselves, and with a cheerful and brace spirit we must battle; we plan and calculate in order to make progress. - Vincent van Gogh

Monday Monday

2010-06-21T10:11:00.002-02:00

I stayed late at work and then didn't get much done when I got home. It's really hot here today and I think that Humpty Dumpty would probably not have to worry as much about falling as he would about being cooked.

Quote: A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg. - Samuel Butler

Painting Group picture

2010-06-17T09:47:00.003-02:00

I decided to try something different. This is more me - in a way. I started out painting something like this. It's more folk art and I really like it. The problem was that I wanted to paint like this by choice. It's not a choice if it's all you can do and so I have worked to learn to paint in a more "old masters" style which I also love.

So now I can have two styles of painting. I'm going to try to continue to develop both. And who knows maybe I will pick up another one. ;-)

Quote: I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them. - Pablo Picasso

Painting Group - June 16th

2010-06-16T02:32:00.004-02:00

I will post a picture of whatever I end up painting. I haven't decided yet.

Also.... It's not that I haven't had things to cartoon about lately, but I have been too darn busy to get them on my blog. I'm going to have to start drawing them on a pad and then just take a picture or scan them and post them here.

Wild Grapes

2010-06-07T09:09:00.003-02:00

My Dad told me there were some wild grapes growing outside and when we went out and looked he didn't see any on the vine. Then he said "I bet I saw them when I was up on the roof.

He climbed up a metal ladder onto a metal roof and this was in the middle of the day in the Texas heat, to pull off a branch and show me.

He will be 80 this year. I really need to be more active so that I can be like that when I get older.

Quote: The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the Universe to do. - Galileo Galilei

Herfe is the proof.

Painting Group - June 2nd

2010-06-04T09:40:00.003-02:00

I worked on this painting. I don't usually paint animals, so it's a little different. I'm also trying a little different style of painting.

Quote: If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around. - cowboy wisdom

My air conditioner is broken again ;-(

2010-05-30T16:24:00.002-02:00

Not the one in my truck, the one at the house. Great way to spend a three day weekend. I haven't called the repair people yet, but I will soon. I had driven two hours away from home when I found out about it, so now I'm back home trying to keep "The Cat" cool. poor thing. Once again he is in need of a hair cut.

I was looking back at the last time this happened and it's been about a year. This is about the worst time for it. It's so hot outside this time of year.

Spewing Dr. Pepper fountain

2010-05-27T11:52:00.002-02:00

I went to eat at lunch and they had one of those serve yourself soda fountains. There was a wet spot in front of it and one of those yellow foldout "wet floor" warning signs. I didn't think too much about it, till I tried to get a drink and the drink got me ;-). I have never had that happen. It was like if you shook up a can of soda and then opened the top. It got all over me.

Fill in for later - 5/22

2010-05-22T11:49:00.002-02:00

I have been thinking of what I want to post, just haven't had time. Today I helped my Dad pack up some stuff he wanted to put into a garage sale. We had his trailer full and started down the road and the wheel was loose. He tried to tighten it and one of the bolts broke off. He was able to get it back and I think he ended up working all day on the repair.

Bad Math Day

2010-05-21T22:46:00.001-02:00

I put in 95 cents for a candy bar and the candy stuck in the vending machine, so that’s 95 cents for nothing right. So then I put in another 95 cents and got only one candy bar. That’s $1.90 for just one bar and that’s way too much and beside there was the chance if I tired again that I could get two, so……... Yes I tried again. Now that’s $2.85 for two bars which brings the price down to only a little over $1.74 a bar. You get the picture the more I spend the less I pay for each bar. ;-)

Quote: Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty.

Painting Group

2010-05-20T10:35:00.002-02:00

I started a new painting group and I was able to go from a blank canvas to this in 3 hours, but it still needs a lot of work. I am going to have to do a lot of work to make the picture less angry and sad. The picture doesn't look that way.

Quote: Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy. - Aristotle

I just want to sit here

2010-05-14T10:25:00.003-02:00

I have the day off, but I have a lot of things to do. I do feel that I am beginning to allow God to lead me in some things. Then sometimes I do just stubbornly sit around doing nothing or doing whatever I want to.

Quote: I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. - Helen Keller

Daily Bible Lesson

2010-05-04T00:53:00.001-02:00

Beauty Adventures

2010-05-01T18:17:00.002-02:00

Today I went to a beauty school to have my hair done. It's a pretty large open room with lots of students. They had a really big speaker with really loud music and guess where I was sitting. I was next to the speaker and they put color on my hair and left me there to enjoy the music. At first it was something like some really angry rap music, then someone one put in a tape of country and after that it sort of went all over the place.

I would have thought after that I would have had some really trendy hair, but the girl styled it in an orderly old lady fashion (oh well) I fluffed it up a little after I got home.

Toward the end of the music I heard this song, so there was a lot of variety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYdk89hMyss

isosceles triangle

2010-04-18T00:35:00.007-02:00

Today I got a refresher course in Isosceles Triangle's and Quadrilateral shapes. It was fun. I was visiting a math teacher friend. I actually danced and sang about isosceles triangles. (I don't think I could explain, you would have to have been there.)

So I made my outfit out of Isosceles Triangles and my shoes are quadrilateral (I think)

I found a good website for the quadrilateral chalanged.

Quote: There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air. - Stephen Wright

Wasted Days

2010-04-17T10:56:00.000-02:00

I've been thinking more about how much time I have wasted in my life. After all that's what our life is made of.

Quote: I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments. - Oscar Wilde

Another Costume Moment

2010-04-10T02:11:00.001-02:00

It was Scarbrough Fair Weekend for me. It was a lot of fun as it always is.

I think I have been going at least once every year since I have been writing this blog.

Quote: I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance. - Stephen Wright

Well Easter's Over

2010-04-05T09:42:00.002-02:00

Now it's time to get busy for me.

I'm going to Scarbrough Fair this weeekend, so there are costumes to get ready and I need to work a little extra each day so I can get some time off friday. I have been in a bit of a slump lately so I hope that I'm coming out of that. I am praying for God to work in that area of my life has he has done in others.

Quote: Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. - Dale Carnegie

I started this painting really late

2010-03-22T11:20:00.000-02:00

When I saw this picture I really loved it and thought it would be a good painting. I have the dog's head a little too small and the boys chin too big, but all and all.. I think I will like it.

Vicks on the bottom of your feet

2010-03-21T02:06:00.001-02:00

I don't know if anyone has heard of putting vicks on the souls of your feet to make you feel better when your sick.

Why do I not know about all these old home cures. I did try this and I can't say for sure, but it seems like it did make me feel better. I looked it up and it seems to work for some people.

Quote: Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?
Lily Tomlin

Wearing of the Green

2010-03-17T10:14:00.002-02:00

I am feeling a little better, but not really up to par yet.

Quote: May the strength of God pilot us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore. - St. Patrick

I'm under the weather

2010-03-14T00:58:00.000-02:00

It's been really windy here and that wind has been carrying pollen around. I haven't felt like doing anything all weekend.

Maybe all those trees blooming out wasn't such a great thing.

Quote: Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind. - James Russell Lowell

Visitation and Funeral

2010-03-11T10:43:00.000-02:00

My Dad's brother passed away and I'm driving down to go to the visitation then Friday to the funeral. Sometimes it seems like things will not change, but then they change suddenly. He was a good man and had a good life and still it's hard. It makes me want to be good because I think how hard it is to get to the end of your life and have a lot of bad stuff to deal with.

the trees bloomed today

2010-03-11T00:59:00.003-02:00

I didn't see them bloomed on my way to work, but on the way home there they were.

Sometimes I can get so busy that I forget to look around at what God has created. That is not a good idea, because we need to see and appreciate that stuff. Maybe even remember to thank him for his creation and for sharing it with us.

Quote: One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today. - Dale Carnegie

PaintingForCertification1

2010-03-10T11:01:00.003-02:00

I'm working on this painting so I can get certified to teach portrait painting.

This time the instructor sent me a picture to work on, so it's not someone I know. I can't explain it, but in some ways this has been my most fun to do painting.

I just could not find time to get started on this and ended up taking it with me to the laundry mat. I think for me it was like going back to the freedom of how I painted when I first started. No easel, just the canvas held in my lap.

I may try that again off and on and see if it works better for me.

I will get a better picture of this, both the picture of the photo and the one of the painting were taken with a cell phone and don't really look right. The painting is actually closer to how the picture looks in real life.

New Hairdo

2010-03-04T03:26:00.002-02:00

It's always hard to explain to someone else exactly what you have in mind for a hairdo. I spent over 3 hours getting my hair fixed. I had an idea of what I wanted. Yes sort of a bowl cut, but I had in mind a sort of feathered around the face feminine look. I may have ended up a little more like Davy Jones, but it's not too bad. ;-)

Maybe I should be singing "Here I come ...walking down the street... I get the funniest looks from...everyone I meet. Hey hey I'm the Moggy ....." ;-)

We should not compare ourselves with others

2010-02-26T11:33:00.002-02:00

I sometimes compare myself with other people who I see in some way better than me in some way, how they look, what skills they have, how good a person they are. That can be really discouraging, but it's no better than the reverse of looking at people that I think I am doing better than in some way.

We should not compare our self with other people God made each of us unique.

Quote: The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves - William Penn

I I I made a stepping stone

2010-02-25T11:34:00.003-02:00

I couldn't help but think of the old Monkees song "I'm not your stepping stone" I found a recipe that I wanted to try for yeast bread, but I was distracted and it didn't rise like it should have. I decided to bake it anyway and then got to talking (surprize) and it got sort of burnt. It ended up really hard and so I thought it would make a better stepping stone.

Quote: I put instant coffee in a microwave oven and almost went back in time. - Stephen Wright

Moggy can't dance

2010-02-22T10:51:00.003-02:00

The girl invited me to a small concert and the band that opened up moved off the stage and put their instruments in the back.

Later I tried to dance in the back not far from their stuff. I ended up tripping over a case ;-/

Quote: To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love. - Jane Austen [I don't know about the love part, but I think I got the falling part down ;-)]

Team of three - Myself, I and Me

2010-02-17T10:32:00.003-02:00

There are three people in my department. My coworker retired and Monday was the first day of that retirement. Then Tuesday my boss told me he was moving to another department. I hope one or both of those jobs get filled soon, it's too quite in the middle of two empty cubicles.

Quote: Many hands make light work. - John Heywood (and the reverse would be :(

If you thought it was over ;-/

2010-02-16T10:34:00.004-02:00

I was at my parents over the weekend and my Dad has been clearing away the remains of their house that burned up. Sunday Morning he noticed the the snow had caused the roof to cave in on the shop he built about 30 years ago.

We know that things of this world are not permament, but when you build a heavy steel building with your own hands I think it's a bit of a shock to see it damaged.

Then he drove out to see if the old barn had also collapsed and his truck got stuck in the mud. I was able to help him get that out. He pulled it with his tractor and I drove it.

Quote: To appreciate the beauty of a snow flake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold. - not sure who said this, but... I think that to really appreciate the provision and comfort of God we have to be in need ot it at times.

Looking at the words

2010-02-04T10:38:00.003-02:00

I’ve been thinking more about how we live our lives and any “crowning” achievements we have.

I’ve never been very interested in the concept of laying my crown at the feet of Jesus, because I didn’t really want a crown,

but when I think of being able to lay at his feet any achievements made because of him (and it’s all because of him)

….. I kinda like that idea ;-)

Quote: Conquer we shall, but, we must first contend! It's not the fight that crowns us, but the end.- Robert Herrick

wednesday painting - dog painting

2010-02-04T09:15:00.001-02:00

I tried to work on this painting a little different than the way I usually paint and I don't usually paint animals. I think I need to study up on painting animals.

Quote: If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around." - cowboy wisdom

Something I wrote long ago

2010-02-03T10:55:00.007-02:00

As you may know my parents house burned down in January, it was pretty complete and the things that we salvaged from it would probably fit in a plastic storage tub. When that happens the things that you do pull out are more meaningful than they were before somehow. Things that were in a box in the bottom of a closet in the center of the house and somehow managed to only be slightly burned.

We brought a handful of photos home to dry out from all the water that put out the fire. In with that I unfolded a page that had a poem/song I had written sometime over 16 years ago. The edges were only slightly burned. Here it is.

I asked the Lord to come into my life
but not too far

I asked the Lord "please change my life
but leave things the way they are"

I ask the Lord to be my guide
but just where I wanted to go

I ask the Lord to show me truth
but just what I wanted to know

Now I'm asking you Lord to come into my life
all the way

Lord please change my Tomorrow
starting with Today

I did get two paintings done

2010-01-30T13:43:00.005-02:00

One was of my Dad.

I took an old photo.

Then did an underpainting in burnt umber.

Then added colors over that painting.

It's hard start adding color because the painting looks pretty good in burnt umber and at first the color makes it look worse.

I know I haven't posted in a while

2010-01-18T00:33:00.002-02:00

First we were working an extra 3 hours a day at work for a couple of weeks, then my parents house burned up. They were okay, but about a week and a half after that one of my Mom's feet and that same leg swelled double. She went to the Doctor and got sent to the Hospital to get checked out. They let her go home, but she has to go get checked out tomorrow.

I am maybe going on another painting trip next week, if she is okay Monday.

Potato Soup

2010-01-04T02:10:00.000-02:00

Today was really cold and so I decided to make some potato soup with carrots and turkey bacon. It turned out really good and I will probably make it again soon. I'm trying to create a simple recipe book for myself of things that I like to cook.

I want to try to start eating healthier.

Quote: What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow. - A. A. Milne

It's the first day of the New Year

2010-01-01T11:37:00.007-02:00

I went to a New Years party last night. I'm not really much for parties, but it was fun. I didn't take pictures, but I did get this one that someone else took.

I noticed that the light on my tiara and glasses made it look like I had horns and glowing eyes. I don't.

This morning I woke up thinking about the parable of the talents and how sometimes were afraid to use the talents we have because we don't want to be judged or laughed at. When I first started painting I have to say that my paintings were pretty bad and I am so glad that I didn't just stop there. Whatever Talent that God has gifted you with (yes it is a gift). I hope you will be encouraged to use and develop it.

One thing that got me to thinking about this was my shyness about dancing. Not that God has gifted me in dancing ;-), but sometime I do want to be able to just go out on the dance floor and leave that shyness behind.

I have this little song in my heart this morning.

The Lord gave him Talents
and even though they were few
he used them and grew them
and now has some new

The Lord gave you Talents
he meant you to use
so don't hide them away
because your afraid to

Listen with your heart
and you'll hear God say
Try me and trust me
I'll show you the way

It's a White Christmas

2009-12-25T04:09:00.002-02:00

I went for a walk in the park Christmas Eve and it was really pretty with the snow coming down and covering the ground.

I read that it's been 83 years since we had a White Christmas in North Texas so that makes this pretty special.

This is a picture I took of a couple of ducks in the park.

Singles Christmas Party

2009-12-13T02:41:00.002-02:00

I don't think I impressed anyone at the singles party I went to today. I wore some really light color pants and spilled coke in on them.

I guess the only good thing was that the weather was not too cold and I was able to hold my jacket in front of me as I walked out because there were a LOT of people walking into the building. I was at a GIANT church and people were coming in to go to a Christmas Pageant.

Quote: Your Business clothes are naturally attracted to staining liquids. This attraction is strongest just before an important meeting. - Scott Adams (I guess I'm not the only one who has this stuff happen ;-)

Book Fair today

2009-12-09T11:33:00.002-02:00

Every now and then we have a book fair at work. I love books, but I didn't intend to buy any. This book caught my eye, because it has a lot of pictures in it.

It shows you pictures of food and tells you which ones are the best to eat and which are the worst. I haven't made use of it yet, but I'm going to make a new years resolution and try to start eating better.

Quote: The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook - Julia Child

Blindsided by my hat

2009-12-08T01:48:00.000-02:00

This morning when I was going into work I had my hat slipped down over my eyes. I could see just a little ways in front of me. I had made sure that the cost was clear and then headed for the door.

Suddenly there was a man in front of me and I came VERY close to running over him. Then when I went inside I went to the basement and got on the elevator. He went up the stairs and in to the elevator, so there I was when he got on. I almost ran over him again leaving the elevator. I guess he will be wary of pink hats from now on ;-)

Quote: Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year. -
Fred Allen

Getting Ready for Christmas

2009-12-07T12:51:00.002-02:00

I'm not really into a lot of what has become a part of Christmas. Santa, blow up lawn ornaments, shopping, spending, and the crowds are not for me. I do love the plays, the lights and the manger scenes.

Quote: Tinsel is really snakes' mirrors. - Stephen Wright

Freeze Warning

2009-12-04T03:01:00.001-02:00

It felt like Easter and Christmas all rolled into one. We had snow and then I had to hunt through the grass for something (well not an egg).

I let the grass get tall beside the house and then I had to hunt for the faucet to cover it from the cold.

It is pretty cold here now and I don't like it at all. I don't think we should get this cold of weather.

Quote: The quality of the imagination is to flow and not to freeze” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ignorance is Bliss

2009-12-03T10:28:00.006-02:00

Today I'm up early because I'm taking The Cat in for a bath and a hair cut. Right now he is scrunched up next to me purring blissfully unaware of his fate.

I am going to have to dress up, so that they don't mistake me for stray.

Quote: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance” - Derek Bok

Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T11:06:00.003-02:00

My grandfathers brother got to come to my thanksgiving dinner. He will be 95 in January and he is still in pretty good shape.

I also thought that I would include myself in the picture so you can see my new look (with bangs)

Quote: “The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life. And the body is born young and grows old. That is life's tragedy.” - Oscar Wilde

Redeeming the time

2009-11-23T17:55:00.004-02:00

I have still been spending too much time looking at Facebook and not enough time updating my blog.

I have got to hear some good teaching lately. One thing that really stands out if the "Redeeming the time" verse. That one really hit home with me.

What I have been doing while not posting. Still looking at recipes for thanksgiving and also I tried something different with my hair. Sort of a reverse frosting. It didn't do what I wanted, but it didn't turn out too bad. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time and doing a lot of thinking about how I could make it work.

Quote: As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. - Henry David Thoreau

My loft bed

2009-11-17T02:06:00.004-02:00

This is what my loft bed looks like. I hung some not quite finished paintings above the bed and a few of my paintings under it.

When I sit at my desk under the bed it feels like someone is watching me. I guess that means that some of my paintings are not too bad ;-)

Things that make you wonder

2009-11-14T16:38:00.003-02:00

I went out to put something in the back of my truck and there on the ground was a page out of the bible. I guess it had been blowing in the wind and happened to end up at the same place and time as me. It has some parts highlighted, starting with the verse where it says it's not good for man to be alone. Very strange, but I know that one of the things I struggle with is being sort of a loner.

Quote: God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. -Martin Luther

So far so good

2009-11-12T10:52:00.003-02:00

I'm enjoying my loft bed. I thought that The Cat would not be able to wake me up in the mornings and I would have to get another alarm clock, but he has found a way.

I had my door closed, but he is able to push it open and then stand under the bed and meow loudly.

It works for me and I really do need to get up and get going.

Quote: Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail. - Og Mandino

I'm okay

2009-11-10T10:46:00.002-02:00

Just busy lately and spending too much time on facebook and not on my blog here. I will try to get myself back to this, but this is going to be a busy month for me.

I had a birthday and now I'm REALLY old ;-)

I gave my testimony at Church.

I finially got my loft bed and set it up all by myself.

Work is really busy this month and I'm trying to get my menu and everything together for thanksgiving.

gotta run.

Could not find my glasses again ;-/

2009-11-04T11:31:00.000-02:00

[I will insert a cartoon and quote later, I am short on time]

Mow by the light of the moon

2009-11-03T22:39:00.002-02:00

I had to stop by and borrow a lawn mower (well actually it's mine, but I still had to borrow it) on the way home because I have broken both of my electric mowers.

Then I could not pull hard enought on the pull starter to start it. I had to call a friend to drive over and pull on it and crank it.

Well by then it was dark and it's a good thing that the moon is almost full because I think I got most of it. I can't be sure until the sun comes up tomorrow ;-)

Quote: I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it - Albert Einstein

Resetting your cat

2009-11-02T09:53:00.004-02:00

For years I have used my cat as an alarm and that works great most of the time, but there is not way to reset my alarm. So last night about 9 he decided it was time for me to be in bed.

As I sat at my computer he kept putting his teeth on my shins (this means go to bed) so I went to bed early. He doesn't bit down, he just threatens to.

It was a good thing because now he has me up an hour early. I'm actually going to try to see if I can adjust to getting up early. I think he has a good idea.

Quote: I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Happy Hallloween

2009-10-31T19:53:00.002-02:00

I think this is a good video for Halloween. I think a lot of us have some things that scare us. Today I don't even want to go out the door. That is the way I am sometimes on a Saturday. Once I make myself go out I'm okay.

Quote: Tell us your phobias and we will tell you what you are afraid of. - Robert Benchley

It's Friday

2009-10-30T09:05:00.003-02:00

We can wear costumes today and I'm going to wear my Mogdonna outfit to work.

Oh no I just remembered that I need to find my badge. If I dont find it I hope they will still let me in the building.

Quote: We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that in the end we become disguised to ourselves -
François de la Rochefoucauld

Honesty

2009-10-27T09:40:00.001-02:00

Our pastor had someone come up and play this song. Im sure I have heard it, but never really listened to the words. I am so much more interested in honesty now than I was when I was younger. I don't think I understood how dishonest some people could be.

Who would have thought I could find this with a Moggy pink background ;-)

Same word different tone

2009-10-25T12:22:00.005-02:00

I went to the store with The Girl and as we were walking back to the car she saw a pidgeon. It was under a little tree. She loves all creatures and was saying awww about how cute it was. Then I heard her say awww in a completely different tone. She didn't see the pidegon in the tree and it got her on the sleeve.

This kind of stuff usually happens to me, but I guess she is growing up ;-)

Quote: Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue - not sure who said it

Threading

2009-10-24T09:23:00.002-02:00

One of my friends knew of a place we could go to get threaded. Three of us went, but I went first. I tried to act like it didn't hurt so I would not scare the next person in line. I waited till she was in the chair getting started to say, I was just kidding it did hurt a little. ;-)

Quote: We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects. - Herman Melville