The Little Magician...
Current mood: Proud of my little tiger!
Category: Proud of my little tiger! Life
Remember when you were little, and you saved up something like "proof of purchase" labels, UPCs, or other tickets or coupons for some kind of prize?
well, my son Logan has discovered this fine Marketing technique, and has been eating Kid Cuisine frozen dinners for a special Magic Kit. It finally arrived today, and I'm watching him perform his magic show with instruction book in one hand, and various props all over the living room. He's actually not half bad at it... it fact, it's rather amusing.
His little magic show is precious...makes me think of someone very dear to me who would love this moment as well.
So here he is with the Disappearing Ball trick, the Expanding and Contracting wand trick, and Disappearing & Reappearing coin trick. It's too funny! When he gets better at this, I'm going to have to post a video...
The Birthday Party....
Current mood: Tired, but happy!
Category: Tired, but happy! Friends
My friend Michael had a birthday party last night. His lovely girlfriend, Jennifer put it together- and she made a most fabulous cake!
But better than that- we had a BLAST!! I can't remember the last time I laughed and laughed so much in an entire evening! First we went to this lovely little place called Llewellyn's Pub in Kansas City. It was an old church that has been converted to a true Irish Pub- and was very enjoyable! :) Turns out that I had known the building before it had been renovated, and it was extraordinary on the inside. :)
There were six of us there, then another friend stopped by to wish Michael a happy birthday as well. :) After we ate, we went to Michael's apartment to grab his camera and visit awhile until it was time to get to the bowling alley.
Sad but true: The Angelbear has never bowled before. I might have when I was little, but I highly doubt it was at a real bowling lane or anything.... but last night I tried it, and it was quite fun! I did manage to hit quite a few pins here and there- and managed a few gutterballs too- but it was awesome!
But even more fun, was watching the other bowlers. We had a nice family to our right who seemed to be quite good at bowling, and they were having a great time. Then, to our left, we had a group of men... who were having a few, (which is all good, so were we.. lol) and they enjoyed just chucking the ball down the lanes. Sometimes their bowling balls would stray over into other people's lanes... but it was all in good fun.
There was another guy, a few lanes over from us, who had the most peculiar bowling stance and dances we'd ever seen. Truly the star of our show- bar none. Everything from waiving the pins good-bye for every strike, to pointing at the pins and telling them to "stay" as if they were really listening to him. At one point, he did some kind of ballerina pirouette thing that just about had us all in the floor laughing because it was pretty damn funny....
We had a great time- even down to "Tramp Stamp" spotting all from the confines of our table. :) But even then, we had our own highlights. Michael, our birthday boy, has a powerhouse stance similar to Steve Balboni the baseball player. (For those of you who don't know Balboni- he had this bizarre stance with the bat straight up in the air nearly pointing to the sky, and he swung much like a golfer. Michael would practically do "rock out windmills" with the bowling ball, and send them pummelling down the lanes with some grim accuracy.)
His girlfriend, Jennifer, has the most graceful of bowling approaches, and she did pretty well!
Ann, being the smallest in our group, was by far the best bowler there. She had a very accurate eye, and just the right amount of speed and spin. (She's going to love that sentence... HA! ) Then Chrissy had a much different approach. She made her way up to the lane and pretty much gave her offering to the lane gods with a mere, "here ya go" and just set the ball gently- and would get strikes and spares and lots of pins down! Oh yes, she did "bowl" per say, but it was just so cute because it did look like she was giving it a gentle nudge and BOOM!
Then we had Ryan. Ryan is darling- he truly is. He's our comedic relief at work as he is at play. Ryan would go up there and try to copy all of our bowling patterns to the letter and achieve pretty decent results. The best part of that was even though he was doing his impressions of us and our bowling skills, he was incredibly funny in the process! At one point, he went up there and bowled it as though he were giving a softball pitch- and it WORKED! Then, being clever that he is, he did this twirl-around and whipped the ball under his leg in a backwards "granny roll" and got a strike! Unbelieveably funny- and unbelievably amazing shots. :)
Yours truly, being the new bowler fresh with beginner's luck, used a strategy of imagining I was playing the Nokia cell phone bowling game. Sometimes I'd lose the ball in the process, and it would spin off in unintended directions- but I still got a 76. :D I didn't quite understand how the throwing part goes- so I sort of walked right up to the edge with the bowling ball at my side and threw it. Chrissy and Ryan were asking me how it was that I could throw the ball and get little to no spin on it at all. "It just glides down the lane- it doesn't spin.. how do you DO that?" I honestly have no idea... I just pretend it's my phone game...
We then went to Michael's place and played Wii games, and had a blast just creating bizarre Mii people. :) Then we played Wii Tennis, Bowling and Air Hockey. We probably stayed much too late- but I do hope Michael had the best birthday ever. :) It was really awesome to have friends and family around and it was a great time!
I really must get a Wii and work on my bowling skills! :D
Zai Jian!
PS- thank you Jennifer for putting together such a lovely party, and Happy Birthday Michael!!!
what’s been going on lately..
Current mood: Sleepy
Category: Sleepy Life
I’m sitting on the chair across from my son, as we’re watching Ratatouille...
Tonight he’s got a fever of a 103 degrees, and I’m keeping a close eye on him. He’s been sick since Friday morning, so it’s concerning, but kids do get fevers from time to time.
Also yours truly has had something come up lately. A few weeks ago, I noticed there was something raised in the white of my right eye. At first, I tried to remove it myself, thinking I just had something in my eye- but it did not budge. I asked a friend at work who said that she had something similar, and her doctor told her that it was from rubbing her eyes in her sleep. And, like she said, this bump in my eye went away in just a few hours. This went on for a few days- it would be there in the morning, and gone by the afternoon.
It doesn’t bother me- nor does it effect my eyesight. But it does look like a drop of rubber cement stuck to the side of my eyeball... LOL!
Last week, unfortunately, it wasn’t going away anymore.... so I immediately made an appointment with my eye doctor. It turns out that it is a cyst- and we are keeping a close watch (I was about to say ’close eye’... HAHAHAHH) on how it behaves. He gave me some drops that I need to put in my eyes a couple of times a day, and so far- so good. I haven’t seen it re-appear in a few days, and I’m relieved about that part.
Reason I bring this up on here, is that we don’t really know what has caused these cysts to appear. My doctor says that it could be a whole shopping list of reasons that could cause them, and there’s no surefire way to tell at this time.
Naturally, I immediately thought of all the years I spent in front of the glass furnaces, bead torches, and kilns.... were my didymium glasses strong enough? You bet they were. I was always careful when working with the hot glass- and I was very sure to stress this point strongly with my students.
The main thing is, the one source that would most assuredly be an area to find fault-- was the very one I was the most extreme careful about, and while we may never know what caused it to appear- I’m 100% positive that it was NOT from exposure to hot glass work.
Now that being said, perhaps it’s time once again to stress the high importance of proper eyewear protection when working with any kind of hot glass equipment. You are only issued one pair of eyes- it’s extremely important to take good care of them! If you haven’t been using Didymium glasses during lamp and kiln working- get some immediately, please...
For the time being, I am changing my diet a little more drastically, not just for health purposes- but to rule out diabetes as a source. (Diabetes does run in my family, unfortunately.) This part probably will be the hardest thing to do, as I dearly love my one can of Coca-Cola a day. When I was in my early 20’s- it wasn’t unusual for me to inhale a 2-liter of Pepsi or Coke a day. Gradually, I got to where I didn’t want soda as much, and then had it down to 2-3 cans of soda a day. Now I’m down to one, and it looks like that still is one too many. That is a bummer- because I look forward to that soda every morning. The next item to cut will be breads and cereals- and that will leave me with veggies and meats again, which I don’t mind that at all. If left to my own devices, I prefer a small bowl of mixed frozen veggies any day!
But that’s what’s been going on here lately. Just trying to figure out the eyeball mystery- and how to keep them as healthy as I can for as long as I can.
Logan has fallen asleep on the couch, with his bears close by.. and the movie is now over, so I guess I’ll get some rest myself.
Yeah, eyes like that kind of thing... resting. :)
Zai Jian!
A
Currently
watching
:
Ratatouille Release date: 06 November, 2007
Friends and how we love them...
Current mood: introspective
Category: introspective Friends
Because I’m all "up front" like that:
1. No, this post isn’t about Stained Glass at all. (Well, it might get there eventually, but not initially..)
2. It’s about some of my friends, and a public forum way for me to express how they mean the world to me.
Ok, now that the disclaimer is out of the way- let’s just start with:
Friends I haven’t talked to in awhile. Namely, Jennifer and Wanda. Jenn is out tonight at the Sister Hazel show here in KC, and I did get her email, and I’m very proud of her becoming a Tastefully Simple rep. She may think I’m ignoring her, but I’m not- I really do read her emails. The bad part is that I don’t get to them until AFTER the party at her house occurred... So I’m calling myself out, Jenn. I suck. I’m a horse’s ass, I readily admit... but I still love you, chiky! I’m sorry I missed the party, and I want to hear all about the SH show...
Wanda is out in Cali, and while I don’t generally "see" her- I do think about her a lot, and I’m hoping her wedding plans are every bit as perfect as she is. I know she’s busy these days (as I have been) but I miss her telephone calls. (Which, I hope you’ll be home tomorrow- I have something bizarre to tell you!!)
Queenie is my friend in New Jersey, and while I’ve talked to her a little more lately, there are often times when we go long spans of weeks to months where we’re doing our own orbits. When we do eclipse, it always seems that she’s there right when it needed to happen in my life, and that is truly amazing. Q is truly amazing. She should really blog about her days at work. Blows mine right out of the water sometimes... (She’s a special education teacher at an elementary school.)
JY is my friend at work. She and I would go have dinner together before class, as we both went to different schools, but had classes on the same nights. I miss hanging out w/ her because she’s damn fun to talk to, and she has excellent taste in Chinese Restaurants... :D Unfortunately, JY is taking a break from classes right now- so I tend to spend class nights at McD’s or Taco Bell... heheheheh But it’s still cool, because I get to see her during the day and she does a fabulous job. We’ve been meaning to go have dinner some night again. It will happen soon, so life is good.
Pam is also another friend at work, someone I see most of the time, but we used to work on label projects together. (She’s with TVT Records, and I’m with Aware Records) Sometimes she needed help with her gigs- and I was the first one she’d call. Unfortunately, I haven’t really had that many gigs for this market, and haven’t been able to reciprocate. We’ve made plans to hit various shows and things, but things don’t work out sometimes. It’s cool, but I still miss her when I’m at a show thinking... Man, Pam would REALLY love this band!!!
Friends that I see everyday. Mike sits next to me at work. I told him about Flight of the Conchords, and now he and I play Conchords trivia all day long and quote song lyrics all the time. We’ve done it so much that now other team members finally got curious and did their own searches for the Conchords, and now get our inside jokes. It’s terribly geeky of us, and it’s sad in a way. However, Conchords rule, and we’re not *even* going to be sorry for that. .... because you know what I’m trying to say....
Ann sits behind me at work, and she’s Mike’s sister. She’s hella cool, and I love it when she starts cracking up at stuff that she’s looking at on icanhascheezburger.com , or the LOLs-Kitties you see people ripping off everywhere. Ann has her own collection of these photos that are more inside jokes- and when the both of us get to cackling about them, well... I’m sure there’s a good 50/50 split of people who love us- and hate us in those moments.
Bryan Goebel (yes, the professional bowler) sits to my left at work. He doesn’t give himself enough credit for all that he does each day. He works hard, and has his system of morning procedures that I’ve come to rely on. He’s now semi-retired from pro-bowling, but he does make my day every day. He is all about apples. Not just ANY kind of apples- he brings in a different kind of apple every morning, and shares apple slices with anyone who will have one. We are all now becoming apple afficionados... I have to say, that the Pink Lady apple he brought in today was tasty, but I still like the Braeburn ones the best so far. Unless we count the time he brought in a Fuji apple- THAT was fabulous! He also brought in some of his legendary chocolate chip cookies- which were divine...
Friends I never see, but know they’re there. This would be the little Shadow Seraph who keeps lurking about from time to time. Seraph, you’re probably crazy as hell, or certifiably bored out of your skull. You will either show up - or not. I can’t make you come out, so lurk all you want. But I can lurk too, and maybe I’m just a step closer than you’d like to think I am...... heh.
Band Friends are some of the best friends in the world. I’ve been a member of several band sites and forums, and nothing’s better than talking with folks who love the same things as you do. That being said, I have some band friends who are not only IN bands, but also like to frequent concerts and the like. Peter Nisenkier of Ancient Creation has been a friend of mine for a few years now, and while his witty remarks will often have my sides splitting- that man can literally shred a guitar like the devil himself. I have seen AC perform dozens of times- and every time they keep just getting better and better. Peter has also introduced me to some wonderful gifted musicians in Ancient Creation (Mike, Jason, Steve, and Andy... who still looks a little like Jesus right now...) but also to the local music community. Because of him, I’ve met Big Jon Willis (luv you Jon!) and the kind folks at Heavy Frequency Magazine. (Heather and Jodi ROCK!!)
As it would turn out, there is an event coming up later on this year that will be a blast to attend, but also Guitar Pick Wear is helping with. So I guess in a way, some friends end up as connectors to bigger and better things...
Glass Community Friends. This is also where Wanda comes in, as Wanda and I met through StainedGlassHall.com when she emailed me one day and we chatted for hours.... But another glass friend of mine is David McArthur, who is a glass legend in his own right, but is also a foundation I lean upon now and then when I get to a project that I haven’t seen in awhile, or a technique that I haven’t explored before. Dave has been doing stained glass for just about 35 years or so, and has produced amazing work. Dave suggested that I go to a local glass shop- Stained Glass Station here in Lees Summit, and it turns out that I know the owner, Rebecca. If it weren’t for Dave, I wouldn’t have gotten re-aquainted with Rebecca, and while I may not always take his advice right as then and there... eventually, I do come around. (Right, Dave? )
Friends are wonderful things, because they bring so much to one’s world that it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without them.
And with that, I’ll just hope that all of my friends know that I love them dearly, and hope they can forgive me for my lack of attention. (Yes, Lucy, I’ve got some ’splainin’ to do!)
Video blogs... of sorts... well, we’re working on it...
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
I've been dying to post a video blog from the moment that I saw the little webcam on my new laptop. What's stopping me? Editing. As in, I'm not sure how to do that stuff... yet.
Granted, the quality of these things is well... rough at best. But I'm not one to sit here and pretend to have all kinds of cash-ola to spend on high-end cameras and AV equipment right now. I mean, c'mon.. it's a blog- not television, for pete's sake. One must take baby steps in this process...
I actually have about 8 hours of footage (yes my laptop has KILLER storage!) but much of it is.... well.. me working on a large window, and that's not very exciting. Sort of like watching paint dry, until we get to the shot of where someone is deciding to have a cigarette in the background... In their underwear. ummmm yeah. Not.
So you can clearly see why editing education is clearly needed before I go posting this stuff. (Even though it *is* funny, and I am saving the uncut version for future blackmail against said smoker later...)
In the meantime, look for more video posts from yours truly- we're looking at creating a pair of lampshades for a lamp base that we found at Hobby Lobby!
Zai Jian!
PS- The new Guitar Pick Wear Dragon Mantra Limited Edition guitar picks are in- and they look AWESOME! The Chinese characters read: He ping Ai Yin yue, which means "Peace, Love, Music". My friend Queenie, who knows all there is about dragons, says that the most powerful dragon is the White Dragon, which was chosen for this guitar pick design. There are only 100 of these picks, and currently at the time of this writing- about 74 left!
Currently
listening
:
Evolution Bound
By
Ancient Creation
Release date: 27 November, 2007
Guitar Pick Wear is supporting this event by offering some items for the Raffle. I'm just happy to hang out with fellow music folk enjoying each other's company. Can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday!
Ok, I know you're thinking, "How do clearance sales translate into a Glass Tech 101 topic?" Let me share with you one of the most exciting ways to help your bottom line while at the same time breathing new life into left-over items found at nearly every store this time of year.
Throughout the year, retailers host all kinds of clearances, however, none are better than the ones at the first of the year. Why? Because retailers are going through their inventory process for tax purposes, and want to reduce their in-store volumes by slashing prices like crazy from the previous year's merchandise. They want to clear it all out so the new stuff for spring can come in. This is a perfect opportunity for glass artists to pick up items like:
Picture Frames - Make a stained glass mirror or wall art, and frame it. If the frame is not too heavily damaged, you can touch it up with some paint- or you might opt to cover the frame in stained glass mosaic and just use plain mirror glass inside. Picture frames have all kinds of uses- I like to use the ones with broken glass for cabinet doors for little wooden "shadow box storage" displays on the wall. Use larger frames for stained glass cabinet doors on bookcases if they fit the opening properly.
Candle holders - Wrought iron or metal bases that might have lost their glass cups are just begging for original stained glass mosaic or stained glass fittings.
Lamp Bases - Think that cracked lamp base is ready for the dumpster? Think again- the working electrical parts inside are probably worth more than the marked down price. Just disassemble the lamp parts and design your own custom original stained glass base and/or shade that fits the electricals! Or save the pieces for spare parts for a more detailed lamp project later.
Tables and Accent furniture - This is my personal favorite. Tables can be covered in mosaics- or completely replace the insets with stained glass if applicable. Chairs look beautiful with glistening beaded wires binding the joints and corners, and thinner curtain rods make great yard stake poles with a stained glass or fused glass attachment to one of the ends.
I once found a rattan table with a hole right through the top. I removed the top, and discovered that the base was completely intact, and made a stained glass window for the inside of the table base. Next, I drilled the old nail holes (that attached the original top) a little larger to fit small sized "rubber feet" and glued them into the holes. These feet would secure a new plate glass top for the table, and the stained glass window insert could be viewed clearly and protected beautifully!
Metal Frameworks- Wrought iron has been so popular that all kinds of metal objects turn up in stores. Candle holders, to desk organizers, planters and even fireplace screens are all wonderful items that can be used for your glass creations. One of my students found a metal quilt rack that she made into a stained glass fireplace screen. She made the window, and used heavy-duty S-hooks to attach it to the rack! (By the way, she found the quilt rack for a mere $10 on clearance, because it had a bent bar on one side. She bent it back to shape and re-painted the entire piece.)
These are just some of the many possibilities of turning the markdowns into magnificent! But where to shop? Here's my personal list:
Pier1 Imports Hobby Lobby Kohl's Gordman's Michael's Dillard's Lowe's Home Depot Office Max Office Depot World Market
You may have your own personal favorite places to shop for your clearance bargains, but be sure to always keep your eyes open for creative possibilities!
(PS- at the time of this writing, I found two completely mint custom made frames from Hobby Lobby for $7 for the pair- perfect for a stained glass window to fit in!)
Happy New Year!
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Life
Happy New Year!
2008 marks the beginning of the Asian Zodiac Calendar- year of the Rat. (Shu3 de xin1 nian2 hao3! - Happy New Year of the Rat)
So what do you want to do with your year ahead? It is often difficult to say. Many times we want to do the usual things, like earn more money, or lose weight. I'm continuing to learn another culture... :)
I've been taking Chinese at KU, and I've enjoyed my classes very much. During one of the sessions, my laoshi (teacher) told us a story about the Rat, and how he came to be the first in the calendar:
"The Emporer called to all the creatures to come to the palace. The cow knew he moved rather slowly, decided to get started right away, and began his journey. The rat saw the cow making his way, and hopped on the cow's back and went for a ride. The Rat fell asleep, and the Cow just kept on walking...
The Rat awoke just before the Cow arrived to the Palace gates, and hopped down off the Cow's back- just in time to be the first through the gates, and therefore the first in the Calendar."
Clever Rat!
Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you, and wish you xin1 nian2 hao3! (Happy New Year!)
Seems like lately I've been running around constantly working like crazy on various projects and things- and yet I look around and there's STILL more to do.
Such is life, I suppose...
Just the same, I've added some new Bookthongs to the HGS Site , and ordered materials for new necklaces to make their debut on Guitar Pick Wear.com.
For the last six weeks or so, I've been working on the Matt White project, which has been going pretty good! Unfortunately, I missed his show here- I had class that night....
Speaking of which, that has been a WHOLE other burrito of... um... different.. lately. I'd rather not go into details publically here- but let's just say that someone decided to unplug their mental outlet right in class one night, and hasn't been back since. Yikes!
Other than that, I've been studying very hard, and I'm enjoying the challenge of going back to school....
My mother had her 60th birthday, and we had a very happy celebration at her restaurant of choice- TGIFridays. She's crazy for the Fried Green Beans... She got flowers, cards, and many wonderful gifts that she felt very blessed. That's the way birthdays should be, I think.
It's nearing Halloween already, and I wanted to make a new Pumpkin window for the kitchen... and unfortunately, I didn't even START on it... ugh. I feel terrible about that. It might become a thanksgiving-ish project, but that all depends on how school goes.
On a happier note- Art Day went very nicely, and Michael was kind enough to host it at his new apartment. Congrats, Mike!! (And thanks for being a very gracious host!)
OOOOOH speaking of gracious... OH MY GAWD... I had the COOLEST thing in the world bestowed upon me. Oh yes. Those who love and know me well- know that I love tools. I can't help it, I'm madly in love with power tools, hand tools, sharp tools, cutting tools, customized tools...I just have to buy screwdrivers and pliers every time I go into a hardware store. I can't get enough wire, electrical parts, fasteners, and nails. (It's sick, I know...) When my mom last visited her brother and sister in Arizona, she told them about how Dad and I have a fond fascination with Harbour Freight Tools and how often we just take off to go wander around every aisle just to drool over tools that we probably already have. My uncle Jerry asked if he could send me a drill...
.. this is no ordinary drill! THIS drill belonged to my grandfather (their dad) and was his favorite drill. He took extreme care with it- and it still works today. The beautiful gleaming metal casing still shines, and is solid as a rock. It still has the original power cord, and the antique plug for the old-style outlets. I love this drill! Not just because it was Grandpa's, but also because Jerry thought I was worthy enough to be the keeper of such a treasure!
Isn't it just... beautiful?!?!
It makes me misty-eyed just thinking about it. I am truly honored to have the drill, and I will take great care with it the way Grandpa and Jerry did.
With that, it's time for me to get ready for the show tonight... I'm going to see Ancient Creation tonight at One Block East in Grandview!
So I’m calling myself out, Jenn. I suck. I’m a horse’s ass, I readily admit... but I still love you, chiky! I’m sorry I missed the party, and I want to hear all about the SH show...
)
bouncy
One must take baby steps in this process...
artistic
ecstatic
cheerful
happy
enthralled