Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there!  I know that sounds like a crock but today is your, our day.

My mother is 3200 miles away and preparing for a cruise.  She will, undoubtedly, go to brunch today with my stepdad and my younger sister who happens to be in California on business for about ten days or so.   She will iron and pack if I know her.

My stepmother is about 40 miles away.  She will have grandchildren around if my guess is correct.

Both my grandmothers have passed away so there are no grandmothers except my children’s grandmothers.

We will not be having a big Mother’s Day celebration.  Instead, we will be having a bit going away dinner.  My oldest has been home for about five and a half weeks.  Tomorrow is his last day on the local job here and he is heading back to his own apartment and his own cooking and his own cleaning.  So today we will have a barbeque for him.

Sun Protection

I am a bit of a freak about sunscreen.  I haven’t always been.  I can remember sitting in the sun with baby oil on as a teenager.  I can remember sitting in the sun with Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 oil on as a college student. 

As I got older, I started using sunscreen more and more.  As I became a mother, I went through bottles of sunscreen, the higher the SPF, the better.  As I became the mother of a blue-eyed, red head, I started buying sunscreen at Sam’s Club, in bulk.

Last year, after my mother actually called my legs pasty looking, I started buying moisturizer with self-tanner in it.  I will say that I do tan rather easily.  I have noticed, though and especially as I have gotten older, that my arms take to the sun less and less.  We had a few days of summer early this spring and I had sun poisoning.  This did not surprise me as my paternal grandmother always got sun poisoning.

A month or so ago, I was in a Sephora store - a real luxury as there is not one near my home - and signed up as a beauty insider.  This is Sephora’s way to reward those of us who spend big bucks in their brick and mortar stores or their online store.  Part of the deal is you also receive preferential emails.

Last week, I received an insider email from Sephora that was a sample package of sun protection products.  A quick check of my upcoming expenses and the current balance on my debit card and off I went to order it.  Yesterday, I heard the back screen door open - this took a lot as I had to train the UPS guy to open the door and put my parcels inside - and there was the Sephora box. 

First off, I have to tell you that I have only ever ordered twice from Sephora online.  The items ship quickly and come in an appropriate sized box.  I love the fact that the boxes are filled with actual tissue paper as I hate dealing with packing peanuts.  Inside was my Sephora sun safety kit which 100% of the net profits benefit The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Inside the sun safety kit was mdskincare sun protection towelettes (SPF 30), Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream for face (SPF 55), DDF Daily Protective Moisturizer with SPF 15, Sunscreen Face Cream in Watermelon (SPF 30 and made in Greece), Clarins Ultra Protection (SPF 30), Medi Matte Oil Control Lotion (SPF 20), smashbox photo finish foundation primer (SPF 15), juice beauty Green Apple Moisturizer SPF 15,  Murad firming bronzer (SPF 15) and tarte 24-7 in thursday for lips.  Probably even cooler than all the product - and these are all sample sizes but it is cool as I may find the perfect face sunscreen as I have problems with that - is a UV exposure indicator which tells you how strong the UV rays are.  This is a never-ending issue in an area that sees a lot of cloudy sun.

Summer Movie Time

I have to admit that I am a huge “Sex and the City” fan.  I never watched it when it was on HBO as I didn’t have HBO but my daughter would watch it at friends’ homes.  We would rent the season’s DVDs and watch an entire season at a time.  I still watch the reruns on TBS at night.

Of course, I was thrilled when I found out that the original cast had signed on to create a feature film.  I wasn’t sure, if there were major upheavals in the cast, I could watch it.  Instead, I have been keeping a countdown on when the release date is and making plans to go see the movie.

The other day I was at Sam’s Club.  I routinely spend about $20 in May or June at Sam’s buying summer paperbacks to read.  I usually bookcross these when I am done reading them or pass them on to my kids.  I was looking over the selections that were in stock - nothing great for the summer reads yet - and, lo and behold, I saw Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City.  I am normally a big read the book first fan.  I had never read the book so in the cart, with the four cases of water, it went.

It was really difficult reading the book.  I could picture the episodes of the television series that the book is talking about as I read.  The problem is that the characters are different.  I managed to get through it but it took a lot more concentration than I wanted to put into reading it.

I am still anxiously awaiting the end of the month and the full-length feature film.  I have seen trailers and teasers and will be in line the first night.

High School Friends

Okay - I know I don’t want to be the person I was in high school, but I miss my high school friends.  We had so much fun when we were in high school.  With few exceptions, since college, I have not seen very many of them.  I went to my ten year reunion but the people I knew didn’t necessarily come.  I had four kids by then and was thinking about number five.  Most of my classmates didn’t understand.

The one person I have tried to keep up with is my friend Beth.  She moved in high school so was not there our senior year but in New Jersey with her mom.  We kept up as best we could through college, and then her to law school.  We both got married.  We have kids that are similar in age but I have a couple extras.

Last year, her father died and we saw each other for the first time in literally years.  Why is it death brings us together so frequently? 

Today, she called.  She and her oldest, Ashley, are on their way up to New York from the Richmond, Virginia area for the weekend.  They are leaving early evening Friday so won’t be here until Saturday morning early.  She is coming to get items from her father’s estate which is finally almost settled after a year.  We are going to get together.  I can’t wait to see her and Ashley.

CYO Volleyball

In my area, volleyball is a school sport that is now in the fall and is female only.  My sons have all loved to play volleyball and are very athletic.  Consequently, when the Catholic Youth Organization started a volleyball league that goes for about eight weeks in the spring, my kids jumped at the chance to play. 

When my first son started playing, the team always had trouble getting guys.  The teams are co-ed and there were always enough girls, just never enough boys.  The times they are a-changing.  This year, my youngest’s first year, there are not enough girls on his team.  Below are some shots from the first week in powerpoint.

cyovolleyballweekone

Celebrate Your Creative Self - Seascape

In the workshop I am doing this year that is working the way through Mary Todd Beam’s Celebrate Your Creative Self, we are working on a seascape this month.  I have been behind due to some unforeseen and some foreseen life circumstances.  I just started mine today.  This post will be a continuing one with the various phases of my seascape.

 

 

Well, the initial work - gesso and making some imprints and salting - are dry and I have worked on the watercolor part of my seascape.  I had a Pearl Ex-Press palette from some years ago so I decided I was going to use those as my watercolors this time.  Below is the result.  This is still not the finished product.

 

 

April Art Partner Challenge

I finally managed to be one of the first ten people to sign up for the Art Partner Challenge, sponsored by Inka Stamps on The Latest Trends in Mixed Media Yahoo! Group.  I was so excited when I saw the stamp that was enclosed as I do not normally work with photo stamps.

I was driving about 175 miles the next day and thought about that little girl the whole way.  I could envision many items that would go well with her on a card front - flowers, a covered bridge or wagon (I looked for a covered bridge on my travels).  But what to do with the Scrabble tile that was also included?  I couldn’t remember the letter that it was but then, as I started today, I decided she would be Rebecca - for the R tile.

Then, I was in a discussion about techniques and the one where you stamp on stickers and then put the stickers on the card or item was being discussed.  I use to love this technique.  I decided, then and there, I needed to marry Rebecca with this technique somehow.  The result is above. 

Road Trip Report

While I normally post in advance of my trips, the one last weekend was too hectic due to life and prep by the Science Olympiad team to get to my computer and type.  Last weekend, I went to New Paltz, New York for the New York State Science Olympiad competition.

I always help the team load themselves on the school bus and drive down myself.  I do this for several reasons.  The first and strongest reason is I have ridden the school bus before and I do not like the trip via bus.  Second, there are always items that are fragile that need to and they can go in my car so that they are not thrown around on the bus.  Third, I like to have a leisurely time in New Paltz on Friday afternoon.  Once the team is there, all focus is on the competition.  Before they get there, I enjoy myself.

Once I arrived in New Paltz, I had lunch at The Gilded Otter.  The Gilded Otter is a brew-pub and restaurant.  Not only are the local brews delicious, the food is magnificent.  This year I had a delicious burger with carmelized onions and feta cheese on a kaiser bun with my pint of Crimson Lager.  I also picked up a growler for the coaches to share later in the trip.

 

I also took a leisurely stroll through downtown New Paltz.  My stops included a quick one at Luna Blue to get a new pair of earrings.  This is a wonderful store that has handmade, local artisan work.  I stumbled on it during a previous visit to New Paltz.  I have two beautiful pairs of earrings that have wood inlays.

I also made my annual pilgrimage to Manny’s art supply store.  This is a wonderful visit to me as I do not have access to a real art store in my area.

Saturday was competition all day.  It was busy and exhausting.  The team - 15 competitors and one alternate - placed third in the state.  It is a wonderful job by the middle school kids and all the coaches and parents.   

ICE - Who is your “in case of emergency?”

I know this is not a topic we like to discuss in this society.  It usually becomes a family issue with older family members.  The question is who is your in case of emergency?

If you are a healthy mid-life adult, do you even think about items like this?  If you have children, do you think about it in conjunction with their travels?

Here is the story.  My ex had a nasty accident on his bicycle about a month ago.  It showed all the signs - cracked helmet, messed up handlebars, stitches in his lip - of an accident that should have required the doctor to think head injury or concussion at the least.  Evidently not.  Last night he went with his friend to the ER due to a loss of use of his leg.  After finally realizing this was a big issue, he was tranferred by ambulance to the hospital in the area that has a nuerological suite.

So why, do you ask, does this bring up the question who is your ICE?  Because at 11:30 in the evening while awaiting ambulance transport to a different hospital, he thought our 19 year old daughter was the one to call.

This entire incident has got me thinking and I thought we should all think about it.  Who is your ICE - your “in case of emergency?”

Leather Paper

I know it sounds odd - leather paper.  This is a paper technique in Julia Andrus’s Paper Transformed.  I did not have the Perfect Ink Refresher called for in Julia’s original instuctions so I simply spritzed my cardstock with water.

My first attempt did not turn out in any way, shape or manner to look like leather.  I didn’t even bother to try to put it online.

My second attempt was a lavender cardstock to begin with.  It was not a real heavy cardstock so wrinkled up easily.  I did have some issues finding the right ink to highlight the wrinkles with.  This was a part of my first attempt problem.  I also found that I liked the way it looked if I used a stipple brush to apply the ink as opposed to direct to the paper from the ink pad. 

I am also working on a piece that looks more like real leather as it is brown.  You can see how it looks more in the image below.  I wanted the lavender for something specific I have in mind.  The brown was a heavier cardstock.  I had to really get it wet to get it to crinkle and wrinkle up good.