Tagged again!

I've been tagged by Poppy Letterpress. I'm supposed to list 5 things about myself (some random and some weird) and then tag 5 other bloggers. Well, most of the bloggers I read have already been tagged so I'm going to forget that part. I've been tagged a few times in the past year so I need to be creative with what I write...hmmm.

1. Sometimes I find myself in tears over cute commercials with animals in them. Usually when I'm feeling hormonal.
2. I have a terrible potty-mouth. I know it's bad, but I think I could rival Will in "Good Will Hunting" in a swearing contest.
It's a terrible habit. Luckily, I'm ok in the workplace. It's just with family and friends...not that it makes it ok.
3. I taught myself to oil paint when I was 11. I would watch Bob Ross on public television and try to copy what he did. It at least got me started with finding my own style and way of painting.
4. I don't know my cell phone number by heart. I never use it. I turn it on, but it's just for emergencies so only about 3 or 4 people even have the number. When I get asked for my cell number I always feel so embarrassed that I don't know it.
5. When I was around 4 years old or so I got a fishing lure caught in my upper lip. It was all an accident...my older brother who was around 9 at the time was fishing and I was running around behind him pretending I was a superhero. I had a towel tied around my neck and such. Anyhoo, I thought I was far enough back. He flung the pole back to cast it out and it snagged me right in the upper lip. He tugged a bit because he thought it was stuck in the grass; but when he turned around I was just standing there as stunned as could be. My Dad ran over and scooped me up and off to the E.R. we went. I just remember getting a tetanus shot and everyone looking at me with horrified faces. It healed up nicely and I went on to love fishing.

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday! I am waiting for a bunch of letterpress plates; so I will be pretty busy with printing in the studio next week. I'm looking to now go into the studio and work with some watercolor and ink. I need to get reacquainted with the supplies I used to love and see what turns out. Until Later!

Oh deer!

I love this melamine plate from Savannah College of Art and Design's Working Class Studio. Here's a quote from an article about products from Working Class Studio:
Working Class Studio, a product development venture of SCAD, selects student interns each quarter who form an interdisciplinary design team led by studio directors. Based on the team’s market research and designs, the studio manufactures a line of products that are sold nationwide.

What a great idea and such a great way for students to experience actual business applications for their work. And the rest of us get to enjoy it!
I just love the design...it's fun and colorful and the perfect snack holder in the studio.

bowled over

I found these cute little tiny bowls at Smitten (Route One in Wiscasset, ME).
I love how there is a cute pattern inside the dish as well as outside. I've put them in the studio and will probably put tacks/pushpins in one and some other little doodads in the other. I decided I could get basic office supply holders at the office supply store, but I'd rather look at something cute or pretty. Just had to share them with you!

Thanksgiving! and a story or two

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving; so "Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!" On the work front, this week I've done a few bits of client work and it's pretty slow because of the holiday. My holiday cards aren't selling; so I'm hoping it's just because it's still early yet. Fingers are crossed! I'm working on a birth announcement and some custom notecards so I'm at least having fun with those.
I never spoke much about our Curacao trip...so I will say that it was a lot of fun and involved a lot of sun exposure...I also read 7 books and did a lot of laying around. I think I have been so exhausted with everything that has happened with my health and our "issues" this year and I just needed to get lost in another world for a while (hence all the laying around and reading). I finally feel clear-headed and ready for life again. When our plane landed in Miami we had to rush to make our connecting flight to JFK. As we got on the elevator, a man rushed in at the last second. The doors shut leaving the three of us alone. The guy was behind us and started to talk to us (in a familiar voice) saying that he would bet money we were coming back from our honeymoon. I turned around smiling and said "naw, that was over 2 years ago...I'm sorry you'd have lost your bet...but we definitely like the compliment." I realized then that I was chatting with Joe Pantoliano. (has been in a bazillion tv shows and movies and is also popular for his work in "The Sopranos."
We exchanged jokes and jibes until the elevator doors slid open and we each rushed off to our destinations. What an outgoing and energetic man! Living in northern New England, I have never actually been near a celebrity like this before much less talk to one so it was a bit of a thrill. It feels funny even talking about it since he's just a regular person. But I talk about him like I've seen some sort of zoological treasure. Like "I've never seen a three-toed sloth IN PERSON before...Wow!" Anyway, the encounter added some extra interest to an otherwise dull day of plane travel. Speaking of seeing animals...we saw a cayote behind our house the other day walking along the edge of the treeline. It seemed to be looking right into our house. Peeping friggin' tom. It didn't look rabid or sickly or anything so I knew it wouldn't QUITE maul me when I tried to go outside...but still. It made me remember that there are dangerous things in the woods and going for a walk alone on that path would probably never be the best idea. I saw a fawn and a momma deer the other day in that same spot and my mind creates all of these sad scenarios between predator and prey. What I don't know won't hurt me. Anyhoo, I'll check back in another day or so, friends, after I've stuffed myself with food tomorrow in honor of the harvest and of all of our blessings.

Animal love...

I totally forgot to mention that I was featured on Domino Magazine's website in their gallery section for affordable art. The gallery I was featured in focuses on animals. Thanks to Holly Becker from the Decor8 blog for adding me to her list! Check it out here. Have a great weekend everyone!

Florence: The Bad

In light of the fact that this blog is about my personal AND creative life I need to vent a little bit about the last day of our trip in Florence. I woke up that morning to discover I was having an apparent miscarriage. We'd happily found out we were pregnant again not long before the trip, so I was a bit nervous each day. The nurse at the practice I go to here at home had warned me saying that if I saw even the slightest speck of blood to go to the emergency room. She was nervous due to our experience with the cornual ectopic pregnancy I had back in May (you can read about that experience here); and thought the odds were higher for a dangerous ectopic again. I was scared something bad would happen to me in a foreign country where I didn't know the procedures or speak the language. Anyway, when I saw the blood I panicked. We ran to the front desk where they got us a cab to take us to the "English speaking" hospital. Well, when we got there we couldn't find anyone who spoke English (which I can understand in a regular hospital...but I thought people were able to speak some English at the "English speaking" hospital which was the reason we'd asked to go there). We couldn't read the signs or figure out where to go once inside. I was in a crying frenzy and we felt so confused. Anyway, eventually we found a nurse who I managed to communicate with via Charades and gestures. She found one doctor who spoke English and we were off...they hooked me to an iv and took a bunch of blood. The next thing we know, he was explaining that an ambulance was going to take us to a "gynecological hospital" where they had the right equipment. So, I get strapped to this gurney and covered in blankets and whisked into the ambulance. Still crying and in a panic I still couldn't tell what anyone was saying...and then the sirens came on. I thought "are you kidding me?!" We jetted through the streets of Florence for about 10 minutes...I had to guess that the shocks were out in that vehicle because I swear I felt every cobblestone and pothole we went over. Anyway, at the next hospital we found that most of the staff didn't speak a lick of English there (which we'd assumed), so I was doing a lot of gesturing and sign language to get across what was happening. They wheeled me into this sort of open area with an exam table and an ultrasound machine. It was the sort of room anyone in the hospital would have to pass through to get to other rooms so I felt like I was on display. To my relief, the doctor spoke enough English where we could understand each other and my exam began. It was HORRIBLE. There was so privacy, no private exam room, no gown to put on, no sheet to cover me. NOTHING. I had 3 nurses staring at me, and not at my face. Which I imagined would be the scene one day when I have a baby, but not NOW! And they all looked horrified at the grisly scene and ended up putting a METAL BUCKET under me where I sat at the edge of the table. I felt like some sort of cow.
Of course, the ultrasound showed nothing and he told me what I already knew, but confirmed it was not ectopic. One nurse could see the fear and panic in my face as I shook and cried...she came over to me and stroked my arm and my hair and said soothing words I didn't understand. That simple gesture made me feel so much better. Later, we were released and wandered out in the daylight to find it was raining and we had no idea where we were. Hmm. No coats, no umberellas, and a crying Megan. We shuffled through the streets trying to get to a main drag or someplace that looked like taxis would frequent. Finally, we found a taxi stand at a different hospital and the whole ordeal was done. The good part? From start to finish I was back at the hotel and resting in 2 hours. It was quick, efficient, and to the point. It wasn't what I'd planned for our last day, but that's what we got. I know now that the pregnancy never really progressed past implantation and that is the thought I cling to. It was all a "routine miscarriage" as they say, except this experience was anything but routine for a girl from a small New England town! Anyway, onward and upward. Two pregnancies down, hopefully the third time is the charm, right? I have learned that anything can happen. The third may not work out either. Or it could. I always thought that I might be the one to beat the odds and have a healthy normal pregnancy right away and now I realize that trying for a child is a solemn thing that cannot be planned, predicted or controlled. There is no fairness involved; only the hope that someday it will all work out for the best. Thanks for letting me vent!

Florence:The Great!

We went to Florence for 5 days and it was amazing. It was always a lifelong dream of mine to see Florence and it's artistic and architectural treasures...And it did not disappoint! We also indulged in a lot of food and wine to boot! There was so much we saw and most we weren't allowed to take pictures of. But we saw the famous sculpture David, saw the Medici Chapels (the hidden Michelangelo drawings have been closed to the public for 3 years now...which I DID NOT know so I was quite bummed about that), ate a ton of food, climbed the Bell Tower of the Duomo (all 400-something steps), toured the Boboli Gardens, saw the Pitti Palace and the costume exhibit there, shopped, went to the Uffizi Gallery (amazing and amazing!), walked on the Ponte Vecchio, saw the tombs of Michelangelo and Gallileo, toured many amazing churches and saw many precious frescos, perused many museums and went to the nearby town of Fiesole and toured the Etruscan ruins there. My favorite parts of the trip were climbing the bell tower and seeing "The Birth of Venus" in person at the Uffizi. The views in Florence were so amazing. The Italian countryside is so breathtaking. I took a gazillion photos (well, some number close to that) and picked some stand-outs to put in a slide show so you can get a sample of some of our sights. See the slideshow here. The weather was quite gloomy or rainy a good portion of the time, but that didn't seem to stop us at all. This city is not one for the lazy person...if you are going there be sure to have lots of energy and be ready for little rest!

Home!

Hello everyone! We are back home from our travels...and now I am getting caught up and getting my bearings. Florence and Curacao were a blast...it was so great learning all I could about these places and soaking in the cultures. It was a lifelong dream so see Florence in person and it was so incredible. I'll be sure to post more soon and show some photos (once I weed through and pick some favorites). I loved traveling but was starting to get a little homesick at the end. In other news, as I'd promised, I just posted my holiday cards for sale on my Etsy shop...get 'em while they're hot! I'll be back soon with tales from our trips and other bits. I hope everyone has been well and it's lovely to see you!