Project 30 of many. . .

14 weeks. . . that's how long I have until I have to go back to work. In the last few weeks my mind has felt free to think creatively for the first time in . . . months. No classes to think about, no students to worry about . . . just a house to keep clean, a family to feed and take care of, and perhaps a house to move. . . I feel so liberated!

I teach a textile design class and one of my first orders of business is to create a course manual for my students, myself and any teacher who may have to teach the class in the future. Yes, I just realized that one of my projects I have set for myself has to do with work. Oh well. Anyway, in this agenda I will be teaching myself how to better use my Bamboo digitizing pad. So far I really hate this thing. It draws when I don't even have the pen touching the tablet, and it is very difficult to control my brush movements. Perhaps I should have read the manual better. . . I feel like I am past that stage now though and can't force myself to go back and actually learn the right way to use the thing. Thank you, but I'd much rather struggle along by myself than ask for help!

I prefer using the Bamboo in Illustrator, maybe this is just because I enjoy Illustrator better? Okay, it's not that I enjoy it more, I love Illustrator and hate Photoshop.

The following is the first part in a series of drawings that I am doing for a photoshop textile project. Last semester I assigned each of my students a foreign city and instructed them to create a storyboard for that city and to then use that story board as inspiration for two textile designs. I then asked them to give me a city so that I could do the same project and they all agreed on Guatemala City. I couldn't be more thrilled with the city they picked for me! The markets in Guatemala City have a wealth of beautiful textiles and colors to be inspired by!
 Back in highschool I would come back each new year and be completely surprised how my drawing skills had increased over the summer - despite my having not picked up a marker or brush all summer. I would look at work from the previous year and realize that what I had thought was well done before was actually quite amature. I am hoping for the same thing to happen with the digitizing pad. . .

Heliconia in Photoshop. 4.24.12

Frozen yogurt

I don't know why it took me so long to discover this and I almost feel silly even sharing it. But, I started making my own frozen yogurt and it is delicious - best of all (except for the spoonful of mango sherbet) I know exactly what is in it.

To make I took a carton of yogurt and stuck it in the freezer. This really wasn't the best idea, because now I have to cut chunks of frozen yogurt off which is a little difficult - in the future I will freeze the yogurt in an ice cube try.

Then stick the frozen yogurt in your blender with whatever fruit you have lying around . . . I used a banana and some frozen cherries. . . blend. Eat. Delicious. Eat it for breakfast, chances are you already have, it just wasn't frozen before. 

In light of extreme sorrow and suffering I often have a very hard time expressing joy. But, My God, it is the most beautiful day and I am so thankful for each and everything in my life! My cup runneth over.

Grace makes beauty, out of ugly things. 

Kombucha

"It's an acquired taste" - Jacquie Palmer

Well, it's taken me about 6 years, but I've finally acquired the taste, and I gotta say, I'm a little in love.

Spread

My mom just told me about a great butter spread that a Dr. friend recently told her about. It sounded delicious, simple and best of all. . . I already had all of the ingredients.

Here it is folks:
Equal parts: Butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil  <- blended together.

Viola! You are done. I added a little real salt too.

Tastes delicious and the smell of the coconut tricks you into thinking you are eating something sweet . . . always a plus.

My son has re-set the answering system on our home phone. Many people have called and thought that Jonathan was answering the phone, you hear him breathing and then you hear him say something inaudible, followed by a long stretch of things being moved around. One person called twice, got the same thing each time, and was convinced that since I wasn't answering my cell phone that this meant Jonathan was in the house with an injured/unconscious adult who could not get to the phone.

I just spent the last hour trying to figure out how to re-record the messaging system. . . no luck. So for now, we have no answering system. It's probably time to get rid of Vonage anyway.