Friday, May 30, 2014

I can do All the Things!...

...I just have to not have a job, is all.

I started my stay-cation Wednesday night, and have been doing more or less whatever I want, when ever I want. Yesterday, that amounted to painting my fingernails all glittery, painting some stuff, reorganizing the music on my external drive, making cocoa krispy treats, visiting a house we want to rent, and finally mustering the energy and attention span to pull through on the Shepherd's Pie I've been promising for months. And somehow I still felt lazy.



Part of that feeling was me rebelliously procrastinating, and part of it I attribute to medications. After another argument with doc ending in tears, I ended up with new medication. I should have followed the transition plan a little better, but I was so frustrated that I basically stopped taking the gabapentin and Efexxor to semi-detox my system, but it left me feeling like crap yesterday. Begrudgingly, I started the Cymbalta yesterday. I get to the point where I feel like the meds aren't helping the chronic pain and fatigue, but if I stop taking them, I feel even worse, like I have the Black Death. So far I can say I feel much more 'normal' on the Cymbalta, however, the nerve pain in my hand and feet shows up more easily.


Anyways. Point was, I felt lazy yesterday [and enjoyed every second of it that I didn't feel like I was about to pass out]. But today I got a random bee in my bonnet and did even more things. I started by undoing the destruction I had released on the kitchen. After that, I attacked the living room, and even put away about half the things cluttering up my desk. Not that I use my desk, mind you, but the clutter drives me nuts. I can never seem to take care of it because all I really do is work and sleep--hence why I asked for some time off. I took my time cleaning up and let the ADD have it's way with me: tidy this, paint some stuff, tidy that, find a photo to hang, put away clothes, feed the fish... something like that. I packed up the cardboard and took it to the dump, stopped by Goodwill for some job-interview-pants, got lost in Michael's for a while, and finished my outing with a trip to Wally World. Picked up some Sonic for late lunch, put new sheets on the bed, dyed my hair, and painted more. I'm having a blast, and I can't wait til I can do this for more than five days. I know I'll get bored with that eventually and want to work again, but... worth it.






Last but not least, obligatory kitten cuteness. Lots of fetch was played, and many lasers were chased.


PS. Almost forgot that I am also a secret nerd and SO excited for this.

Monday, May 26, 2014

More Adventures in Art


Behold, my latest foray into the world of mixed media art. I'm starting to develop a bit of a style. I still find myself running out of letters, or getting frustrated that they don't match up as well as I'd like. I had started this piece on a burlap canvas, but the wax worked too far into the texture, so I had to grab some actual canvas and try again. I also didn't plan out the lettering as well, so it got a little crowded in the last few lines. I really like the silver drips. Each work is a bit of a learning experience. At least I found a nice way to combine "art" and words.   I've already started on my next work, for a friend's housewarming party, but since they are somewhat time-intensive I don't have pics yet--Each layer has to dry before I start a new one. Not sure what quote I'm going to pull for the dynamic duo, but I'm sure they'll love it. 

In other news, cat gets the "command hand," fears for his life.

Looking to move soon, getting very excited to have a house again [instead of an apartment]. Can't wait for epic game nights and having a art/craft/work room. And the other best part... house generally comes with yard, which means, it might be time to add a doggy to the family again. A friend's sister has some half pit, half lab-doberman mutties that need homes. After playing with her new pup for a night, I've got puppy fever.



Saturday, May 17, 2014

Third Time's a Charm

So here are some pics from my third attempt at mixed media art. I picked up some more paint, some distress ink, and some squirt bottles. I didn't get quite the effects I was going for--and the distress ink sure is messy--but I'm making progress and getting some good ideas. This piece is a birthday gift for my Bestest ever... It doesn't even begin to compare to the blanket she sent me on deployment, but it's a start. For reference, one of her favorite bands is the Eels, and the song is 'Beautiful Freak'. I couldn't pick out good lyrics, so I just went with the song title.


 

  

Sunday, May 11, 2014

First Forray

Below are pics from my first attempt at mixed media art. I've always been more for words, but I managed to find a way to combine words and art in a way that might work. That being said, this was a sort of test run. The main idea kind of came to me on accident. I have lots of other ideas I'll be working on soon, and of course there will be plenty more pictures to come.




Saturday, May 10, 2014

Best Friday Junior.

So, here is a post-game recap of my Thursday. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

First things first. PT, followed by uniform inspection. Boooo. Then begins a rewarding day off work. I stopped at the dry cleaner to see if they could fix my [used-to-be] white shirt... alas, they cannot, so more work for me; and wandered into the wonderful hipster/yuppie grocery store that I sometimes visit. Not for morality issues or anything so noble, mind you, I just really love their deli and such. They're a local fave. Picked up some groceries and boy I can just never resist plants. I think I have a problem. After a brunch of everything bagel topped with sun-dried tomato cream cheese and smoked salmon [I am le connoisseur!] I settled in for a couple hours of Diablo 3 with mah love. Found myself a little sleepy, so I took a quick nap. I looked at houses for rent, and talked to one of the property managers while arranging the flowers I picked up... because I'm a little OCD+ADD and can't stand to only do one thing at a time. After that, I used the leftover homemade chicken soup with no less than five green veggies [did I mention that I've been sick all week?] to make a buttermilk-biscuit-topped chicken pot pie. Didn't come out quite right--it ended up like more of a cobbler--but it sure was tasty. While working in the kitchen, I also prepped an old candle jar to hold the new baby orchid. Then we watched a movie, and I went to bed early because sadly, back to work on Friday. But! It was nice to have a break, and to know that after Friday, it was the weekend again, and I could be Freeeeeeeee. Mwahaha.

 This is the lil' baby orchid I bought. It was too adorable to pass up! Plus lots of pods means it hasn't really started blooming yet... my big one was in full bloom when I brought it home and the flowers didn't last long. I'm using them for art now. It's still alive though and I hope it keeps growing, but this little guy [see comparison to coffee cup] was just too much. Except when I pulled it out of the original container, I found lots of very sad, squished roots. I did some impromptu plant surgery, gave it a lot more room and some fresh moss, and I hope it survives. Because orchids--although the new floral trend--are just beautiful. 


These are the flowers I arranged. Any time I go to a grocery store, the floral department always catches my eye. I can't bring myself to buy the prearranged bouquets; for some reason I think that $14.99 is too much--and then I spend more than that by picking out my own flowers. Alstromeria are my complete favorite, doesn't matter what color they are. The purple roses really struck me; usually I am not a fan of roses. Then there's some whaddaya-call'ums to add bulk, and two "black" [super dark purple] calla lillies. The "tropical foliage" in the back is a nice touch. You'd think from this that purple is my favorite color... but let me assure you, it's not. Flowers just don't come in my "favorite" color much... not naturally anyways. 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

A New Medium

I am a member of a local [secret] crafting group. It's kind of like a round-robin or Secret Santa style thing; there's a handful of us that deal with different media, we more or less draw names secretly, and craft something for the person every month or two. Usually I stick to yarn things, because that's what I've got the most experience with, but you can only make so many scarfs before you start getting bored and feeling that they're kind of... impersonal. So with this particular 'assignment' [for lack of a better term], I had a bit more to go off of from her profile. The idea just kind of clicked. I had this old vintage-y wooden globe sitting around, a remnant of my mother's failed attempt at relocating to WA. I wish I had taken a before photo, but I didn't do a whole lot to it. I went a bit outside my crafting-comfort-zone, and man, I have got to do that more often! I just hope I continue to have epiphany-style ideas on what to make. I also intend to get into sort of... mixed media painting type stuff, like Ms. Medium, an inspiring friend whom I miss very much--and the first person I turned to with my paint questions. I haven't started that yet, but you can bet your booty when I do there will be plenty of pictures. I've got so many ideas for that, and had spent most of the morning cutting and ripping old magazines to shreds, searching for letters and common words. My only problem is going to be a) getting started, and b) streamlining my ideas so I don't try to do too much within each project. Anyways, without further ado, here are the pics I know you're all waiting for... it's kind of a found/art slash up-cycled craft kind of thing. Nevermind my clutter and the giant wall of books.


'Home is where you drop Anchor'