Art and the lack thereof

This week, my hubby is on a much needed outing, Brenna has art camp, (which she loves and tickles me to no end!) we have a totaled car and are looking for a new one (no one hurt), which is what happens when a Mustang rear ends a Ford Explorer's tow hitch. My mom's house is just about ready to close escrow, we have been to the dentist, gotten hair cuts, I have bloodwork to do and company coming for the weekend. Do you notice how everything is crossed off my list except sketchbook and blog?
And I wonder why.
There is always Thursday and Friday, right?

Hope your week is sweet!
xo
Lynn

Sunday Sketches

I'm jumping in to join the Sunday Sketches over at Blue Chair Diary.

I was led to this by Fran over at We Three 3. Check out both places-Fran's are crazy good and you will get to see lots more over at Blue Chair Diary!

My mantra for last weekend. I'm needing to pick it up again for the week. The hardest part is being still.

I'm finding I don't do it very well.

Being still would either be first, or a close second to "taking care of you." But I'm learning.

Hope your Sunday is sweet and still...

Ours is full of graduations and open houses, so I'm definitely looking forward to Monday and truly beginning summer vacation!

Friday Ramblings....updated at 7:30 Friday evening.

Please scroll to the end to see update ....

Happy Friday!!

Oh, it's a glorious Friday. Why? Two words:

SUMMER VACATION.

I love summer vacation. 

We sleep in. We play in the pool. Brenna attends camp, we swim, go to the beach, BBQ almost every night, eat outside, watch movies, it is the BEST.

I can't say I like beginning the first day with Brenna's IEP, where the school psychologist will tell me what age level Brenna tested out for reading and math. Nor do I really want to tell them our goals for her for when she finishes school. Who can say those right now? I always begin these meetings a little on the testy side. I'm usually on the defense when someone tells me my child is at the level of a 7 yr. old academically and they haven't seen her work in the nursery or hang with her friends at school or watch her do her laundry. 

Any way, Monday is coming and we will begin in earnest our summer days.

I spotted this in and Anthropologie store last week:

See that little price tag on the bottom left? It had $800 written on it.

On an old dresser that someone decopaged muslin on to it, then painted it.

I'm on the look out for old dressers.

This is me when we drive to see my eldest, which we did to celebrate Brenna's last day of school. I don't get out much.Brenna has been asking me when is La-La coming home on a daily basis. It was really fun to surprise her. Uh, no. I'm not taking pictures while I drive.

 This is how Miss Party travels.

This dog makes me nuts, but she can be pretty sweet. I have never had such a tumultuous relationship with a dog.  One minute I want to tell the girls she ran away and secretly take her to the shelter. The next minute I'm taking pictures of her in my car. Go figure.

Remember this movie?

We were in a thrift store and I spotted it. Talk about flashbacks....I have seen exactly two scary movies in my life. Amityville Horror with my dad and this one. This one scared the snot out of me. Yes, Adrienne Barbeau scared me spitless.

Gotta go get ready to talk to the crew of people who want to give me goals for my child's early adult years. Wish me luck. Better yet, wish me a strong voice and wisdom to hear good direction.

Additional rambles this Friday evening

Today, I came away from the IEP meeting a little shell-shocked, as I always do. The psychologist this time around was fabulous and was very determined to tell us that all the numbers and testing are all held loosely as each child is different and she as she was not able to observe Brenna in her natural settings.(A first for me.) All the same, I sat at the table thinking how surreal it was to 

be sitting at there, listening to people tell me about my daughter's brain synapses, how and why she does things in a repetitive manner, what things we can (and will) work on with someone who has a capacity of a seven-year-old, and things began to click in my head. But not in a good way. I began to panic.

 WHAT will we be able to teach her? Dear God, WHO will care for her all of her life? HOW much will she be able to learn???? WHEN will I teach her all of this??? WHAT IF...

Then, I did something different. Instead of going home and burying myself in work or ignoring my feelings,I sent a text to my sisters, spilling out my fears. They reached out in tenderness and some good advice. 

Then I went to Trader Joe's and bought peonies. (good advice.) Just because they were beautiful. And I needed something beautiful.

Then I took a nap.

I brought Brenna to a hair cut appointment this afternoon,and the most amazing thing happened. At the salon, we met a woman who has a 15 month old daughter with Down Syndrome. They are also in the process of adopting a 17 month old little girl with Down Syndrome from the Ukraine, through Reece's Rainbow. I was able to hold this woman's daughter and play with her toes and make her smile and giggle and show her to Brenna. We gushed and oohed and ahhhed over her every move. 

In holding that sweet child, I was overcome by awe. Awe in a sweet, sweet life that is loved by so many and overawed at her purpose in this life. Awe in a healing balm that was put over my heart in holding that bundle of goodness. Awe in realizing even though I'm honest and it's rough and it hurts like the devil at times, there is a beautiful, beautiful BEAUTIFUL gift in our lives. Who else would teach me to love so deeply? Who else would teach me God's goodness in the midst of being real and honest with my pain? Who else would work in making me able to allow my  heart and soul be open and raw and receive what I never think I should get by being honest and vulnerable--healing, a little at time. 

And besides, Who else would blow spit wads at me at Baker's restaurant and let me blow straw covers back in her face? 

Iphone fun for the week:

Lots Of Fun Going On In Blog World

Hi friends!

There are a couple of really fun events going on this summer in blog world, that I thought I would share with you.

The first one is over at Kat Sloma's blog. It is the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap for the summer of 2012. Is that a great title, or what?

So. Much. Fun.

You take photographs of your art, or just photos and have them made into postcards. Then you send your postcards to Kat, who then divides all of them and sends them to people around the world-as in LIBERATING your ART!!!

These are what I received last year:

I had them hanging from my kitchen window for months. They make great conversation starters!

Next up on the party scene is Where Bloggers Create, over at Karen Valentine's blog.

It's a GIANT gathering of bloggers that are given the chance to share their creative space. Big or small, professional or part-time to anything in between, you can link up to the party and share photos (on your blog) of your creative space and visit a ton of other's gorgeous spaces. You will make new friends as well as be inspired. The party date is set for July 14.

A party like this makes me think I would like to spruce up my space. This is in NO WAY required, it just gives me a good excuse to clean....

Hope your week is sweet!

Friday Ramblings

I have good news for you on this Friday Rambling.

I have an easy way to give yourself a black eye.

Really easy.

First, go to the local mini-golf course with your child's class and spend five hours in the heat playing laser tag, mini-golf, walking an inner tube up the water slide for your child, and then play more laser tag because it's so darn much fun.

Second, go home and page your husband and promptly collapse on the bed under the fan.

Third, when the phone rings, grab it as fast as you can because in 30 seconds you will have begun to fall asleep.

Fourth-this is important. Drop your phone directly on your cheekbone. 

Then next morning you will have all KINDS of attention.

From your husband, who is peering at your face first thing in the morning while you are making a turkey sandwich for your child and says, "What happened to your face? Is that a bruise on your face?" Or from your best friend, "you look like a bad-ass!"

Then again, your child's teacher, "I was wondering what happened!"

The added delight is that your dark circles will be enhanced. Yes, you too can have dark circles on ONE side of your face that extend almost a full inch. For FREE. 

Plus, you can look totally cool when you put on your leather jacket. Except if I were to do that right now and look even more "bad", I would be sweating and then what ever make-up I have on to cover the bruise would come off and then I would be left with a looooong, dark circle under my eye.

But, who knows? You could be the first on your block to have the easiest make over ever.

On to bigger and better ramblings.....

Meet the eagle:

Now, THIS guy is BAD.

He is huge. Gargantuan.

Every day, Brenna and I eye this eagle on the way to school. One day I pointed out to Brenna how eNORmous those claws were.

Absolutely HUGE.

We were in Awe.

Then, me, being the bad girl that I apparently have become said, "Brenna. One day, we have to touch the claws on that eagle." To which Brenna replies, "O.K., sure!" 

That's my girl.

And so we did.

Really!!

One day after school, I said, "Brenna," I said, "girl, it's time. It's time to touch the claws on the eagle." Only Brenna didn't think so. It was hot and she wanted to go home and get a snack. But I persisted. "Brenna. REALLY???? This is our chance. Let's do it. Let's get out and GO TOUCH THE CLAWS"!!!

She agreed, cause she's bad that way.

But, she is very, very brave. 

It so happened she had her school shirt on. PERFECTION!!! Eagle meets eagle.

And claws were conquered.

Which we felt pretty darn good about!!!

Plus, she had a great story to tell at school the next day.

Happy Friday!

Linking up this week with Heather and Vanessa over at 

Inspiration Friday

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end of the week iphone photos. 

now it's getting ridiculous because I'm having so much fun taking pictures on my phone for Fridays and I'm not taking any of them off..........

The Tour Hits L.A.

We went as a family to see the Sketch Book Tour.

It was held at the most obscure little gallery on Sunset Blvd. in downtown L.A., called Iam8bit.

(No, that's not a spelling error.)

(Please excuse the quality of the photos. In the midst of packing for the day, I promptly left the house without my good camera and had to rely on my iphone!)

I was overwhelmed and excited, and weepy. Maybe even all at once.

I was a slight nutcase about getting my "Library Card" to check out books to look at and checking out my very own book.

There it was.

A part of something big.

By the time the tour is completed, my little book will have traveled the United States.

I was hesitant to give it back.

This is where the weepy part comes in.

This silly little book is such a part of me.

I hope that when people look at it-and it's a random choice if they do- that they will be filled with hope and rejoice over beauty in life.

I looked at other books as fast as I could before the exhibition closed.

They were stunning.

They told stories, shared hopes and showed great abilities at being ultra creative.

Brenna had fun at the coloring table.

If you color a postcard, you get to pick out which state it goes to and then you get to pick out a postcard that someone else did and designated for L.A.

It was an amazing experience looking at art from all over with people you don't know.

Many thanks to all the people that travel with the tour and load up books and work computers and keep our beautiful extensions of ourselves in perfect condition.

If, by chance, the tour stops in your area, (check here.)

You won't regret it.

It's a cool thing to do.

It's also free.

Even better,

Order your book HERE, and join in the fun for next year!

pssst...Carol, it's in Oakland from June 1-17!

and, Debbie, it's in Georgia Aug. 29-Sept. 1. I made a postcard and stamped it for Georgia. Hope you get it!!!!!