Artologist

Making My Day

2009-11-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

Been under the weather this week. I've had a cold that was uncomfortable but not bad enough to keep me home. I could work even though I was croaking or squawking when I opened my mouth. For two days straight I had no desire to open my mouth. The thought of talking made me miserable. The one thing I wanted to do yesterday was come home and go straight to bed. I arrived home, pulled into the driveway and glanced over at the orange bells. I saw a hummingbird feeding off the nectar from the flowers. Our first hummingbird sighting in our garden! There was no time to grab the camera. Frankly, I didn't try, I stood there enjoying the sight until the bird flew away. It made my day...
Today's been 100% better. Luckily, I have these pics from the last monthes to share. Put the two of them together and you'll get an idea of what I saw.
Marissa

Trading Up is Nice....

2009-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here I am, lagging behind on the blogging again. I started to move my pictures files around to make more room for new pics but didn't finish it up. My files are full which has kept me from downloading everything from the last few weeks off the camera. Had to get off my butt because my memory card is just about full.

Has it been about 4 weeks since "Pool Boy" dumped me? Seems like forever ago...
In the meantime, I had some car repairs to take care of but my schedule didn't work well with my mechanic's. We came up with a creative solution. Since I drive stick shift, it'd be no problem for me to drive his Honda Civic while he drove mine and took the time he needed to work on mine.It wasn't just any Honda Civic but a very tricked out one. Lots of bells and whistles. It was nice to trade up, if only for a day or two. Since it wasn't mine, I wasn't too comfortable driving all over town. I did have some fantasies of flooring it and driving on the freeway... a girl can dream, right? I'm happily driving my own car now. Got the bird bombs washed off too.Fall break has come and gone. I swam a ton. Managed to make it to the pool 5 out of 7 days with no problems swimming a 1/2 mile. Yea! Perked my tan up a bit too.
I think I made it to the Desert Botanical Garden about 4 times. Once for the Fall plant sale, once on a date, once for the Pumpkin Festival and one more time for a Girls Scout event with the Chicklet and friends. Um yes, I did say I went on a "date."

Let's call him "RV Guy" and the timing was a little too sooner than what I would have wanted after the Pool Boy but often enough I'll go one a first date and it's a last date so I figured, what the heck. Turns out Mr. RV Guy and I have hit it off and I've lost count of how many dates we've been on.

I don't pick my dates by their income or car they drive but it's nice to be with someone responsible, mature, and has a career, for starters. Trading up is definitely a plus!On another note, The Chicklet was checking out the Popcorn plant and found we had some little "friends." Caterpillars!!!!!The doggone critters were all over the plant. In all stages of growth too. I found some tongs in the kitchen and went to work picking caterpillars off. Yellow ones, green ones, skinny ones, fat ones.....We did that for a couple of days until we stopped finding them. The plant is coming back to life.

I guess everything comes full circle. We get a little beat up and with a little help, we come back to life...
Marissa

2 weeks already???

2009-11-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

Has it been two weeks since I last posted??? Yikes! Sorry about that. Haven't been sitting still much lately.

The Chicklet has been away for a few days on a school trip. It's been three days of peace at home but I haven't been around much. She comes back tonight and then she's off to her fathers' in the morning until Sunday afternoon.

So far I have no big plans for the weekend and I like that. The weekend will end up filling up fast. There's a new vacuum to pull out of the box and try out. The kitchen is clean, groceries are in the fridge. I'm cooking dinner for a friend. Maybe I'll make some salsa too. MMMmmmmmmm...
Marissa

Getting Domestic

2009-10-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

Fall break is at an end and I've spent little time at home this whole week. Swam 5 days in the last 6 days. Been to the Botanical Garden 3 times between Girl Scouts, an afternoon walk with a friend and visiting the Pumpkin Patch. Had lunch with the Gal Pals. Took the Chicklet to the State Fair-a first for both of us. What a blast! Taught the Arizona Journal class yesterday at Frenzy, (and put another 2 on the calendar).

I woke up with a list of what I want to do today going thru my head. It's a looooooooong list and so far, I'm up and the Girls had breakfast. I'm moving s-l-o-w-l-y. Aw well, been moving fast all week. Got my NFL buddies, chatting in the background. I'm sitting at the kitchen table in my robe and jammies debating whether to make coffee or not.

Courtesy of the lovely ladies, I'm started to get shag carpeting. I don't think of Maica as a blond but there are light hairs everywear! Now I remember why I always have had dark haired dogs. Oh, but she is such a super crack up. Just looking at her face makes me laugh.

Looks like I have a date with the vacuum. While I'm at it, it's really a good idea to tackle the disarray in the kitchen. Looks like I'm going to put on some sweats and get domestic.

Maybe, maybe.....I'll finish in time to get cleaned up and make a little trek to the Phoenix Art Museum in the afternoon. I want to see the other part of the botanical illustration exhibition. One part is at the Desert Botanical garden and the other at PAM. Beautiful, inspiring work. I drew my breath in at the sight of the pictures hanging at the garden. But the of course, I'm a sucker for beautiful botanicals.

Happy Sunday! Vacuum cleaner, here I come!!!!!!!!

Relief!!!

2009-10-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Grades are in the teachers' mailboxes. The Bosses' have gotten their goodie for Bosses' Day. I have a student helper going around to get their cards signed.... I think I can relax now....

I pulled another bird brain move yesterday by leaving behind my Grade book with comment codes and class lists. I improvised with old class lists and left the comments for this morning.
My Kindergarteners were rambunctious today. Had to keep a handle on them while in putting grades on the correct list. What a mess! I'm still trying to calm down.

I could use another one of these:This was my payment for helping out the Music teacher with getting the chorus kids to the bus. Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Don't let the District know I work for chocolate!

Being me, I cleaned the wrapper off for some collage, some day. I hung it up to dry.The printing next to the bar code caught my attention. An expiration date of June 2010. Oh yeah, right! Like this candy bar ever had a chance of lasting that long!!!!!

The Chicklet is out sick today although she's looking just fine now....Dragged her to school with me today 'cuz those grades had to get handed in. I stuck her in a corner most of day.It's a 1/2 day. The kids are gone and I will be out of here shortly. The Desert Botanical Garden is having their plant sale. I have my wish list ready. Only two plants but if I find them, I'll be up to my elbows in dirt this weekend.

Have a great day!
Marissa

Some "Artologist"

2009-10-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

That would be me... where's the art???? While I must admit that there isn't a whole lot of of art making going on in my studio, I've had some opportunities to get out there and see more of what's going on.

Two weeks ago I broke my streak and attended my first Phoenix First Friday since 2002. The date is easy to remember. It was the last exhibition in the history of MARS-Movimiento Artistico del Rio Salado. It was an artist cooperative with a focus on Hispanic and Arizona artists.

When I've spoken of MARS to a few people, they refer to it as something they've heard in passing. Like some kind of mythical dinosaur of long ago. I've felt ancient....Crowds make me nervous but I focused on going to see these two exhibits. First we visited Chaos Theory X. (Sorry don't have the address info here but google it and it's sure to come up). The gallery was located on 5th Avenue south of Van Buren.

Great space, big, well lit. It was a good show. Plenty of quality art to look at. Good food for thought. I'm so far removed from the art seen but it felt good to be in it again.

We also saw "Wonderland." An exhibition at (merz) Project located south of the Phoenix Art Museum. The New Times invited artists to make art reflecting the theme of Phoenix as "Wonderland." The pieces were smaller than I'd anticipated but they invited the viewer to take a closer look. Some pieces were just fun, some made me scratch my head. Overall, in my humble opinion there's a lot of good work generated in the Phoenix art scene. I'd had an experience that left me really wondering about that. Relief!
The Chicklet had an all day Girl Scouts event at the Heard Museum the following Sat. Six hours was a long day to be sitting around so I wandered. I wandered on the grounds and took pics. I wandered to McD's and bought coffee. I wandered off as the girls toured the museum. I wandered into the Berlin Gallery...

Oh heaven! The Berlin Gallery is a treasure! I missed seeing it last time we were at the museum over the summer. Wow, so much cool art to describe. Just go see it for yourself. (Perhaps it's cheating but since it's off the Museum Store, entrance to the gallery is FREE).

After my visit, I'm looking at brown paper bags in a whole new way. Isn't that just perfect? Don't I have enough crap as it is??????
Marissa

(This) Girl(s) Just Wants to....

2009-10-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

.....move on!

Bubble head moi left all of my class lists, seating charts, grade sheets and 2-d projects at school last night when I'd planned on going through them. Half of my grades would have been done if I'd had them with me. Today has been a bit of a scramble. Even with a half day, it's still been stressful BUT do-able.

At some point I realized that I didn't know where my cell phone was and I called myself. Found it! I also found that I had a text. From the ex BF, no less. WTF?

"Hi, had a friendly favor to ask. What's the name/number of the hair place you took me to? My hair is getting long and crazy and I got some......."

WTF?! I already said that, didn't I? I was so ready to keep my mouth shut but I couldn't believe the gall. I texted back: "I'm up to my neck in grades. Please refer your questions to your GF. My girlfriend duties ended on Sat. Try Supercuts." (I thought that was pretty good. Bitchy but appropriate). He shot back a "Thanks for nothing...yada, yada, yada....." He had the nerve to get angry at me????????

I picked up my phone and called him to set him straight. He answered but then we got cut off because my classroom is such a black hole but I tried again on my school phone. He seemed surprised taht it was me. After I told him he had nerve to text me and get pissed at me he was all, it's not a big deal, I was only asking a question.... I asked him to leave me alone and honor my request of not contacting me. If he wasn't going to respect me and apologize for his behavior, then he needed to leave me alone. He was on the other end but he wasn't. I could feel that he'd shut down and couldn't take in anything I'd said. Wow....I wished him all the luck in the world and hung up.

It's the first time I'd heard his voice since Friday. Everything started to hurt all over again.

I could start drinking to dull the ache. Indulge in something else perhaps? Nope. Got all the grading done I needed to do here. I get a rush when I see the cool stuff my kids have created. Some of the work is on display now. The glass is clean from a lot of elbow grease too...

It's time to head out of here. I'm driving with a realllllly fierce sound system. The last couple of days there's been plenty of Green day, Oingo Boingo, Social Distortion, playing to match my feisty mood. I may have to roll up the windows and belt out a good yell while I'm driving.
Watch out! (I'll be east bound on Bethany Home). LOL!
Marissa

The Anatomy continues... but I think I'm almost finished

2009-10-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

I am easily reverting back to my night owl ways. I went to bed late last night only to be awakened by Maica gagging. I shooed the girls out to the patio and almost slipped as I stepped in her "redeposited" dinner near the bed. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..... CLEAN UP on Aisle 9 at 3AM. As a result I'm sure to have one of the cleanest feet in all of Phoenix!

I find myself wanting to write all the time. Purge every thought and feeling that's spinning in my head. I haven't made it to the journal yet. It's all out here in the blog. I never would have thought that this was where I was going to go with this blog.

With all communication broken off and no opportunity for dialogue, I felt muzzled. That's not a good thing-to muzzle me. I come back hard. I know the power of words. I've used them, I've held them back. The power to speak and the power of silence. Weapons and gifts, depending on how they're used.

Yesterday as I chatted in the parking lot, I received a text. It was from the Ex BF. He was letting me know he'd stopped by my house to drop something off and pick something up. No more loose ends. (I'd emailed him late Sat. night asking him to take care of these things when it hadn't been possible to reach him and he didn't return my call or text). That he stopped by when I was sure to be at work was no surprise. He wasn't going to risk coming face to face with me.

We arrived home to find he'd written a note. "Sorry how this all went down. I'm still kinda confused... Somewhat. However, it's not fair to you about this and I want to thank you for everything. You're such a sweetheart. I will miss you all. Seriously!"
BF

Kinda confused????????? After what he did, he's still doubting himself? Wow...... Have some conviction that what you did was the right and true thing to do. This is really sad and I don't mean that for myself.

Of course the Chicklet started asking questions which I wasn't going to avoid. We ended up on the couch and discussed the situation. She was sad too. The exBF was friendly with her too but she was empathetic for me. We cried but kept the conversation going and had some laughs as well.

She understands that when she starts to date, if a guy ever breaks up with her by text, I'll drive up to his house, yank him out by the collar and make him be a man and tell her face to face. Mama Bear will allow no one to mess with her cub, lol. (Anybody out there a lawyer? We'll have some assault charges to deal with...)

Later in the evening I received an email from him. I hadn't responded to his text. What for? maybe my silence was too loud. His email was along the line of his text, wrapping up loose ends. Plus he wanted to repay me for one or two things, thanked me for everything, apologized again, wished me well... Yada, yada, yada...

I responded this time. Got the stuff, no need to repay me for anything... I went on to write that he could text, email, leave notes & notes & notes but the only true and sincere apology that I could accept could only be done in person. Since I didn't expect that that was going to happen, it was something he was going to have to carry around with him.

I could have stopped it there but I had one more thing to say. I called him a coward for going about this situation in the manner he did. I know it is a strong word that is emasculating to a man, (Sandy, if you want to run and get a dictionary, I can stop writing for a few minutes). Although I knew the word would sting, it was heartfelt and honest and sometimes the truth really hurts. In the end I wrote "Good-bye."

Closing doors is not my usual M.O. but as long as he has gone elsewhere, he has no business contacting me. The door is closed.

Later that night I received a terse reply: Good-bye, "the Coward"
For someone who has chosen to cut off all lines of communication, I found it ironic that he felt the need to get the last word in.

He was angry at me. Well what the heck did he expect? That I was going to gush and sing his praises and thank him to no end? It felt like he was fishing for something by texting and emailing. Reassurance perhaps? Maybe he wanted me to say that all was good and well and he wasn't a jerk. I couldn't let him off the hook. That's something he has to come to peace with for himself. I feel for him. After all the crap, I honestly do.

In one of the emails he mentioned "too many red flags." Like what he did was to be expected or that he's caught up in a cycle that he can't get out of. I responded to that comment by saying that my concerns had nothing to do with my trust in him or any worries about him and his ex-girlfriend. I felt secure in our affection for one another and for any concern that I had, it was outweighed by good qualities that I saw in him. I was with him by choice and my choice was to see where the future led us.

I guess the future led us to this blog......

Marissa

Blog-o-Rama-Lama-dama......

2009-10-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

....or maybe I should title this "The Anatomy of a Break-Up" LOL! What do you think? Oh g-d, dare I ask such a question?
I woke up this morning not knowing what was going on. The alarm went off but where was my morning light? I don't remember hearing it was going to be cloudy today. In fact I did catch the news last night. We're expected to be close to triple digits again this week.

Almost tripping over Maica, I opened the curtains and the sun was barely making it's way over Squaw Peak. There was my morning sunshine. Oh yes, autumn's shorter days have truly arrived.

Turning off the light and going to sleep was hard last night. I had to let Sunday go and get back to the real world of grades and art and school. My Monday mornings are actually something to look forward to. I have a long prep on Mondays. It gives me the time I need to be back at work and transition into school mode.

This morning was going to be tough. The routine has been like this-the Chicklet gets dropped off, I make my way away from school traffic. Once at the stop light, my phone usually comes out and the BF and I would chat until I arrived at work. No phone today. Not even sure where it is...

One of my first thoughts this morning was the realization that the phone call I've been waiting for isn't "Baby, I made a mistake, I want you back." Nope, the phone call I'm waiting for is, "Marissa, I made a mistake by not respecting you enough to tell you my news face to face. I'm sorry, you deserve better." Neither call is coming anytime soon. When it does come, it'll be too late.

We have unfinished business. You can't just break up with someone out of the blue by texting them the news and then disappear. I hate loose ends. So today I felt the void but I'm also feeling the frustration. I want some closure. There won't be any. In the face of conflict or confrontation his M.O. is to run for the hills. What a woos! No, let's really say what I mean. He's a coward. I'm going to have to look under the bed and see if he left his balls there. The worst thing a person can do is lose my respect. He's done it.I'm sure some of you were waiting for me to get pissed off finally. Yeah, I'm there. The tears came today too. I was with my friends on Saturday but my first reaction to the news was to get my walls up.

Work is my second home. Many of my co-workers are like my family. Through the last 14 years we've shared the highest highs and the lowest lows and everything in between. After my beeline for my morning cup of coffee, my next stop was the Music Room. Thank you g-d for Music Teacher Extraordinaire, Kelly H! What I fear to say to myself, I can share with Kelly.

Coach G. and I shared some choice comments. She made no judgements. In the scheme of things we know this isn't much more than a blip but she said "I'm sorry you're going through this." It's amazing the power of those few words.I promised The Chicklet I would take her to the book release of the latest in the "Dairy of a Wimpy Kid" series. Ms. Dwana and I headed out to the parking lot at the same time. She asked how I was doing. I said, "just fine." She started digging because according to her, I wasn't. I thought I was doing just fine. I wasn't? It showed?

Ms. Dwana and I had one of our parking lot conversations. This is where our paths meet and we can let our hair down. Oh my g-d, I love her! We often talk among eruptions of hilarious laughter. Today was no different. Turns out she hadn't been updated on the latest with Aqua Man and his late night texts from a few months ago. More eruptions of laughter. Men and their texts....What gives?I leave home, to go home. I am surrounded by Sisterhood. I am so truly fortunate that way.

Took the pics outside of Peggy's house in Prescott Valley on Saturday. The pampas grass was such a big ball of fluffy fuzz. Fun!
Marissa

Beautiful Sunday

2009-10-11T21:17:00.001-07:00

Days like today are the reason why Phoenicians put up with Arizona Summers. What a gorgeous day to wake up to. Yep, and this is the face I wake up to.Yes, this one....
Or maybe this one....
Or this one....
We're getting closer...Here she is!
I thought after being up so late last night I wouldn't wake up to catch my morning shows but I did. Caught the last part of CBS Sunday then enjoyed listening to these guys banter. Don't ask me why but I enjoy watching then NFL show on Sunday mornings even though I don't follow sports.Took the Girls outside for fresh air and breakfast. Maica looks good out there.
The lantana is thriving. This one is right off the patio and has gotten a little extra water from washing down the patio. After getting the Girls squared away it was time to get dressed and get going. My one rule: Never leave the house without mascara AND when the chips are down, dress your best. I still have some tan left. It was going to be warm today so I put on a nice tank top with shorts and big, flirty earrings, that I don't often wear.

First stop: JoAnn's to look for copper alphabet brads needed for the Arizona Journal class. Would you believe they were all out? All but one JoAnn's in metro Phoenix has them at the moment. Geez! I decide a trip to Mesa wasn't on my agenda today.This is soooooooooooooooo wrong! Tapes whores, look out! JoAnn's is now carrying patterned packing tape. This was planted on that impulse aisle at the check out line. It worked. I own these now. My name is Marissa and I'm addicted to patterned tape....What's that screeeching sound I hear? It's Kelly K. heading to JoAnn's right now!

While in South Phoenix my next stop was Gardener's World. I had a coupon to buy a Lantana to replace the one the painters demolished. I bought "Radiation." In keeping with my warm color theme, it has orange blooms. I think the one above is a "Samson." I look forward to my honeysuckle looking this good. It's grown but doesn't have many blooms yet.Next stop: Half Price Books near Paradise Valley Mall. I was hoping to find Arizona Highway Magazines for paper weaving in the AZ Journals. I have a pile at school but I can't bring myself to cut those up. I don't think anyone is going to be able to get close to this Agave issue...Half-Price Books is a dangerous place. They have 2010 calendars which I usually don't touch before everyone lowers the prices in February or March. Well these are already marked down with a little more incentive with my teacher's discount...Um, yes, found this too. All the black pattern is embossed on the cover.There are some collages inside. Beautiful!Each page had a poem or a quote. Plus there's plenty of room to write a few legible lines every day. Last stop: The Big Box store down the street to pick up some dog bones. I was looking for knuckles but had to settle for these. Unfortunately, these are only going to last about a day versus a week for the knuckles.

Today has been remarkably easy. I could let the thoughts creep in but I haven't let myself go there. No, don't want to go there. The one thing I don't wonder is "why?" I think I know why and it has little to do with anything I could do. It's about how he feels about himself and what he believes he deserves.

Perhaps I'm still in a state of denial and expect the phone to ring when he realizes what a mistake he's made. Ugh! Can't do that to myself. The Chicklet didn't ask about the BF so that conversation hasn't taken place. At least we can take this situation and use it as a learning experience. How to handle getting dumped...When all else fails focus elsewhere. Plenty of that to go around. Art grades are due by the end of the week. The Chicklet has Girl Scouts tomorrow but wants to go to Borders for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid new book release. Kids after hours, not my top choice.Give me Yellow Bells moving in the wind and this eager, beaver, mug.
Marissa

Relationships

2009-10-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

Can't sleep. For the first time in what seems like months, I have words and thoughts swirling in my head that must come out. My journal has gathered receipts, brochures, some sketches from museum visits, artists names...but not my words. I haven't felt the urge.

Blogging has been sporadic lately. The internet glitch, being busy at work and "distractions" have played their part. Discretion too.

My longest relationship in my adult life has got to be Carmen, my dog of 15 1/2 years. I was her "Alpha." Next comes The Chicklet, my daughter. My relationship with my Ex husband, from dating to divorce, was 6 1/2 years. Is it a wonder that I'm a Lone Wolf?

It took me awhile to get back on the dating scene after divorcing but after awhile I met Jim. We dated for 2 1/2 years. We became engaged and moved in together. After 3 monthes under the same roof, we decided to "dis-engage." We parted on good terms with no regrets. We can pick up the phone any time knowing that a friendly voice will be on the other end.A few years ago, I met Don. Another great guy but he once asked me if I thought I was "too independant." My response was a flat out, "no." I may have been too independant for him but I was fine. He was smart, funny, attentive but there was a void in his life and he was looking for a relationship to fill it.

When we weren't together, he still needed to be connected. I felt suffocated, he felt neglected, we were miserable. Misery must have loved company because I wanted him to be the one to break it off but he wouldn't so I finally had to end it. He's still upset with me... (Oh, grow up)!

I've been pretty gun shy ever since. I had the peace of mind that I had my daughter, the Girls, my art and my job to fill my life. This past Spring "Aqua Man" came into the picture and that was one see saw of a fiasco. Never-the-less, it sparked the memory of what it was to have someone in my life.

This Summer I met the BF, my boyfriend of the last few monthes. He's been mentioned in the blog before but I'm not big at shouting on the rooftops. It's hard to chip away at the "Lone Wolfness." I was enjoying his company, settling into the security of having someone there, someone to lean on, someone I could be real with. We both agreed that the ease of being with each other was new to us and it was good...

There were some red flags from the beginning but I don't need to get married. I'm done making babies. I'm in no rush-so there were no deal breakers to keep me from progressing and seeing what the future brought. We've had some glitches. He called them "hiccups." I liked that term. We moved on. Little by little I felt confident enough to tell my friends about him and our relationship.

Today was the yearly gathering of the Gal Pals in Prescott. After not seeing the Thursday Therapy Gals since school started I was looking forward to today. Shortly after arriving in Prescott I read a text from the BF. "Hope you're having a good time. I need to let you know that I got together with my ex girlfriend last night and we're going to give it another try..."

Did I see it coming? No way. We had a great conversation yesterday afternoon and were supposed to get together after he met with a (guy) friend. When I didn't hear from him, I figured they'd gone out for some beers. No biggie.

That he broke up by text is Chicken Shit. My once ringing, buzzing phone has gone silent. Find your balls, man......

That he chose to give me the news when I was out of town, knowing I was hanging out with my girlfriends-more chicken shit. AND perfect timing. Surrounded by friends-empowered Amazons of all that is scrapbooking, cutters, motherhood and life's highs and lows, I was right where I was supposed to be.I had books to prep, snarky remarks to make, games to play and friends to laugh with. During the quiet moments I took in the news. There was no big announcement, no pity party. I was in shock at first but what was I going to do? Go on. That's what I've always had to do and what I know I can do.

I didn't bring it up until some of the group started to break up. (Ooh, no pun intended, lol). I knew what I was going to hear, "You don't need him. " "He's not worth it." "He's a/an.......," fill in the blank. I agree, yes, yes, he is but it still hurts. It will hurt for awhile. That's how these things work.The hardest part will be the silent phone, the lack of pillow talk, not having an excursion buddy to go exploring with. Because I was going to be out of town, I had some fun stuff planned for today. I'm still going to go and do everything, but alone.

Ugh! Alone....it's going to take some time to get used to being alone again. Damn! What lousy timing! There's a leak under the kitchen sink and car repairs to do. So I'll get off my ass and do what I've always done...take care of it.

Someone asked me if I would take him back. ('Cuz we know the re-run is going to have the same end result. Heck, even the Ex BF does). I know what I should have said but I was honest. I said, "I don't know."

I shouldn't take him back because of the sheer stupidity in returning to a relationship he consistantly stated was a battle zone. People do crazy things. G-d give me strength! But I know I have it. There's nothing to worry about. Overall just another hiccup with a different end result.
It mostly means there's more time to harass The Chicklet. There's more time in the studio. More words will get written in the journal and more time to brainstorm crazy, art projects. In the end, life is good. Either that or I'm still on a chocolate high from earlier today, ha, ha.

In case you're wondering. what do the pictures have to do with this post? Absolutely nothing. I've been wanting to share these pics from our garden but haven't had a chance. Looking at our flowers feeds my soul. No chocolate necessary!

God natt,
Marissa

Arizona Journal at Frenzy Stamper

2009-10-07T21:38:00.001-07:00

I taught my first class at Frenzy Stamper almost 2 weeks ago. We had a blast! It was a small group but we managed to take over 4 work tables with our books and supplies. Everyone was able to complete one book and second books were well under way before we packed up. I have pics to share but for now I want to plug my next class.

We'll be making an Arizona Journal on Sat. October 24th. That's 2 weeks from this Sat., right?I've shared this altered composition book on the blog before. I just love this book. I worked on it for a year and add in a little here and there as I come across things that fit.

We'll start by gutting a composition book and using distressed and inked aluminum plumber's tape for the cover. Hardware store samples and alphabet brads will be used for the label. We'll bind our own colorful papers in with a pamphlet stitch. I'll be sticking to a desert inspired palette of browns, rusts and greens....Time willing, we'll work on completing 2 pages. A woven page using colorful magazine pages. (Arizona Highways, here I come)!Then we'll finish off with a little coin envelope magic. This looks so complicated but is quite easy and it looks soooo cool! I'm already digging around in the studio getting the kits together. Join me!
Call Debbie to sign up!

Marissa

A Great Way to Wake Up

2009-10-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

There was some discussion about removing the awnings over the windows when we did the big garden renovation. It wasn't on my list for two reasons. First, it would take awhile before the trees matured enough to provide enough shade. Second and my main reason to keep them was that I like to hear the sound of rain when we're lucky enough to get a storm. The monsoon was awful this year with less than a handful of storms coming through.

We were lucky this morning. I woke up to the sound of rain. Instead of laying in bed and eeking out a few more minutes of sleep, I jumped out of bed, opened the curtains and my bedroom window. Umm...love the smell of rain....Looked out to the east and saw some storm clouds as they were clearing. I have to find a good vantage point to photograph Squaw Peak from our yard. Oh yeah, I guess I can stand on the wall just like Chimi.Have you been introduced? This is "Chimi." Short for "Chimichanga." (The Chicklet is getting pretty good at naming our little creatures...) Chimi is one butt, ugly, ceramic sculpture that once made his home at our Tia Mary's house. We couldn't bear to sell him off at a yard sale or give him up to Goodwill so we had to wait until the yard was done to throw him out there. If he were real he'd be ferocious enough to chase away the cats that treat our yard like their litter box...There's been some hits and some misses in the yard. Mostly hits and this is one of them. Our Popcorn plant is in full bloom. The blooms are pretty but the plant is fun. Rub the leaves and your hand smells like buttered popcorn!

It's a relief to blog again. My Internet is up and running at home after I played around with the wires for awhile on my own the other night. After putting the Chicklet to bed last night I thought I'd go online and get caught up. The laptop made to the bedroom but then I remembered I'd promised the Chicklet I'd go through my Nat'l Geographics and find some articles on Africa for her Social Studies project. It's hard to thumb through NG and not get lost in the pictures and articles... She went to school with a 1/2 dozen magazines. 'Sure hope thy helped.
Marissa

May the Flies of 1000 Camels....

2009-10-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

infest the armpits of the powers that be at Cox Communications!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell that I'm not thrilled by the service I received yesterday?

I'm going to rant for a bit so if you're not in the mood for one, now's the time to bail, LOL.

The Cable Guy from Cox showed up last night. My modem had gone bad and was replaced. According to him, my Internet was up and running. I was in the middle of having dinner, feeding the dogs and taking a phone call. OK, good. My Internet was up again. YEA!!!! Off he went.

After everything had calmed down and the Chicklet was in bed, I was on the laptop ready to look up some websites and planning to update my blog. No Internet..... huh? Checked the iMac. No Internet.
WHAT?!

I dialed the number for Cox as the smoke started to come out of my ears. Luckily we were able to get the Internet going on the iMac. The laptop was a whole other problem. My Wi-fi was no longer working. WTF? It was working before my Cox service went on the fritz... Cox's response?
Cox-I could connect you to Apple.
Me-There's nothing wrong with my laptop. My Wi-Fi was working before, why isn't it now?
Cox-Let me talk to my supervisor.
Cox-Is the Ethernet connection connected to your computer or your router?
Me-It appears to be connected to the iMac.
Cox-You'll have to plug it into your router.
Me-There's 4 places I can plug it into? How do I know which is the right one?
Cox-I can connect you to Linksys......

I HUNG UP! I was so fed up with them basically telling me that they replaced my modem, the rest was up to me to fix. I kept saying that everything was working prior to their service going down. Obviously the tech didn't put the plugs back in place and he'd asked me if I used my Wi-Fi and I said yes, I did. AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm blogging from work. We're going over the new report card system and I'm currently tuning them out as they rehash the myriad of glitches in this new system that is constantly being tweaked. Big sigh..........

So tonight instead of hanging out and watching Project Runway, I'll be hunting down the manuel for the Wi-Fi router to see if I can figure out where all the plugs go. I won't be calling the computer geek ex that set everything up for me to begin with. Oh, no...... He's not the only person in the world who can connect some wires in the right places....If only it was more like threading a sewing machine....
Marissa

Disconnected!

2009-09-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hellllloooooooooo out there................ My Internet has been down at home. Humph! Would you believe the timing?! I actually have a bunch of stuff to blog about.

We couldn't resolve the issue over the phone so I have an appointment with the Cox guy to show up this evening. Estimated arrival time: 7:54pm.

Let's hope that gives me enough time to-
*Help out the Music teacher to escort her chorus students out to the buses.
*Make my way to pick up the Chicklet and her "Frenemy" from Hebrew school
*Get the "Frenemy" home and have a Pow Wow with us moms and the girls to see if we can straighten out the "girl drama."
*Get home in time for the Cox appointment.
*What about dinner??????

I've come down with a bug. Wonton soup from Stix is sounding very good right now.

Marissa

Getting Ready to Teach

2009-09-23T23:25:00.001-07:00

at Frenzy Stamper this Saturday. Want something "yummy" or "juicy" or for the "Dude" in your life? Here's some examples of the types of books we're making from found and recycled materials.Check out the Frenzy Stamper class schedule for the class description. Above are finished books and below are a few of the kits I've assembled for the class. Everyone will get kit of their choice for the first book and the second book can be made from a chipboard container brought from home or from another of my kits. The papers are going to be flying!

Hope to see you there on Sat.
Marissa

Gone to the Dogs

2009-09-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

Good gosh! Can't believe I haven't blogged since the end of August. I guess I got stuck when we had a loss in our family that I couldn't bring myself to write about.

We said good-bye to Carmen, our 15 1/2 year old pooch and friend. We adopted her at 4 monthes of age and 15 years later, she still didn't want to let go so we had to make the decision to take her to the vet and let her go in peace.

After having 2 big dogs for the last 16 years, I was hoping to be a one dog family but Friea missed having a friend. We visited the no kill shelter, we put in an application for Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue. We found our new pooch.Meet "Maica," Short for "Jamaica." No, not the island but the hibiscus flower drink I love to get when we go to our favorite Mexican food joints. The Chicklet and I spent awhile trying to find the right "red" name for our new Red Lab. Until I met Maica, I'd never heard of a red Lab before.Maica is more of a "pet-my-head- kinda" gal rather than a "rub-my belly" girl like Friea. She's a real sweetie and has unbelieveably soft fur.Friea is happier to have a friend to hang out with. Our first week has been kinda a getting to know you period. Even with 2 baby gates stacked vertically in the studio doorway, Maica has pushed or pull them down. After 3 days of this and having to pick up everything that's gotten knocked down in the studio, I gave up. She insists on full access to the house. Funny thing is, Freia stayed in the studio.

She must have been trying to score points with me. I thought I'd figured out where she was jumping the 6' fence in the backyard. I was so proud of my hard work of painting some 2 x 4s and drilling them into the block wall. First chance Freia got, she jumped the f-ing fence. What a fiasco.

The Boyfriend insisted on chasing after her and was fuming when he realized that she runs away from us. She ran all over the neighborhood but was finally aprehended blocks away. My fear is that she will get hit by a car. Damn dog... The boyfriend has been pretty much AWOL ever since. What a stupid, disappointing, ridiculous thing to end a relationship over....Now if this one could only get her homework straight, all will be right in our world. Forget the homework, the smile makes a sucker out of me....
God natta,
Marissa

Phantom Sightings

2009-08-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

Have you made it over to the Phoenix Art Museum lately? The Phantom Sightings exhibition is up until September 20th. I highly recommend a visit. It's gotten a fair amount of press. Perhaps you've seen an image of a yellow VW bug made of sewn vinyl. It's a signature piece located in front of the museum store.

I had my own yellow bug for many years but the oil cooled engine wasn't very happy in our desert heat. Some Granpa is still driving that car out in LA somewhere... The museum piece is fun to look at but becomes more interesting when you read the social commentary and influence on the artist.

Some of the art is heavy on the social commentary, some less so. I had a sense of nostalgia and connection to the pieces by LA artists. I was inspired by kites made from plastic shopping bags. I have to find a way to turn that into a lesson with my students in the Spring.It's been so busy but I had some time to sit and write in my journal last Sat. and I came across this flyer. I'd forgotten all about this event. Off we went!I'm not a big car or low rider enthusiast but we did see the lowrider exhibition at the Mesa Art Center last Summer. The artistry and craftsmanship was amazing and we saw more on Sat."Mom, take picture of me in front of this one!"Shining, gleaming, sparkling, wow! Nothing like my little Honda that gets bird bombed because I park under the tree for the shade.My love of circles came alive!Who can resist these dreamy eyes?We fell in love with this paint job. One of many that caught our eye. Little did I realize that some of the painting techniques use in mixed media, are used on this car. Painting with plastic wrap was used for the textured bottom layer here. Hey, I've done that on some of my collage backgrounds, cool!Then, of course, I'm walking around taking pictures of the reflection of the green car on the chrome fender of the car next to it.It was hot but we had fun. Afterwards, the Chicklet recommended we follow the Classic Cars theme and head out to In and Out Burger. That was one yummy meal!

Cotton Candy, Bubble Gum...

2009-08-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

There was a fair amount of confusion this week. I drove up to the house on Monday wondering if the pink was just too much. At least it's not Pepto Bismal or Flamingo pink!I didn't get any pictures of the house painted only in pink. The rim was white, the awnings looked blah and old. I was really concerned I'd make a big mistake.
The taped over windows created some interesting light affects in the house.
Here's my spot from Thursday morning. I picked up the chairs for 1/2 price last weekend. I'm good at packing and could find a way to fit a rocking chair in the back seat of my '73 Super Beetle back in the day but I couldn't get these chairs in my Honda Civic. Another VW came to the rescue. Yea!The house is done. BIG Yea!!!!! Once the trim, shutters and awnings were painted and created some color contrast, it looked a lot better. Relief!I'm not factoring in the growth of the trees. The house is still very visible and somewhat in your face, my face....the trees will grow and add the 3rd color-green.Home Sweet Home... Aside from the house color confusion was the guy with the psycho, ex-girlfriend, confusion. That has been resolved and everything is back on track. Relief!
We got home on Friday evening and sat out on the patio. Everything, back to normal again... We got a monsoon storm. We sat it out until we felt the first big raindrops. What a ride! What a show! There was great lightning off in the distance. It's the second storm since the landscaping was done. Not a drop of water to be found in the carport. Perfect!I drove out to Frenzy Stamper yesterday to leave off my examples for the Juicy, Yummy, Dude Books Class I'm going to teach there next month. I had to take my camera out and get some pics of the mud in the back parking lot. At some point I have to go out and clean up all the crap in the yard that blew in from the storm. It's so tempting to give my neighbor all of his palm tree trash back after all the grief he's given me with the landscape crews. He's not worth the effort.

Happy Sunday!

2009-08-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of sleep was had last night. No more texts from the wacko (ex)girlfriend. No texts or calls or explanations at all.

I'm on the patio. The sun is coming up and I'll be hit in the eyes with sunlight shortly. I'm moving to a shadier spot.

The house is done. It's pink, very pink. And blue, oh yeah, very blue. I figured I'd come out and take a few pictures but there wasn't enough light. There will be soon but I'm going inside. Have to get ready. The painter is going to come by for a final walk through. There's one spot that needs some attention, maybe two. It'll be done today. That'll be good. One less thing to have to worry about.

There's plenty to worry about today. At the same time, isn't that always the case? Everything will turn out as it's supposed to and we will move on...because that's what we do. We Romero Women-daughters and sisters of my Mom. We go on...

Caution: Approaching Dark Clouds

2009-08-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

I don't have "bad days" but today, (Wed.) really sucked. How can that be? Who wants to listen to anyone gritch and moan but......

work was nuts-I forgot my new seating charts and schedule at home. I made do but I was so stressed whipping up a quick seating chart diagram minutes before class. I left my handy dandy, Diet Coke behind. Luckily it was in the workroom and not on the top of my car...Whew! Lukewarm, not boiling!

There are 3 traveling art teachers teaching 4 classes-all today and I had to have stuff ready for them. Then one was sent to the wrong class and one never came by for the stuff she asked for. Ggggrrrrrrrrr.My classroom was a disaster, it's a tiny bit better since I worked until 5:30 today. That's a good thing. Nope, I'm not ready to share pictures. Yet.

The Chicklet and I went for burgers and a frosty. My order was totally mixed up and we were already home when we realized it. GGGGrrrrrrrrrrr... don't mess with me when I'm crabby and hungry. I ate my fries. I've had no appetite for the Frosty.

The Chicklet ate dinner and parked herself in front of the TV with her Frosty. She got very angry at me for making her turn off the TV and do her homework. Yeah, I'm a regular Mommie Dearest.

I went to clean the couch of the dog hair Freia left when she decided to sleep on the couch. Super big GGGGGGRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr..... The dogs aren't allowed on the furniture. I can't handle dog hair all over my derriere. It's OK on theirs, just not mine.I was so hot and fed up, I took a shower. The Chicklet and I were OK by then but then I asked her about something and she gave me the answer she thought I wanted to hear, not what had really happened. Her nose should be a foot long by now. UGH! How do I put an end to that behavior?

The clincher-A friend was supposed to stop by last night but couldn't. OK, no big deal so we re-sheduled for tonight. It was another no-show. I texted and I get a reply from the wacko ex-girlfriend who's claiming to be the current girlfriend and she's got his phone and has obviously read our texts. OMG....WTF?????????!!!!!!!! Yes, my "french" is at an all time high tonight.

Thursday can only be better. For one, I have a Frosty waiting for me. Secondly, my 4th Kinder class of the week can't have as many humdingers as the last two. Thirdly, we'll be here tonight, after all. No child care, no back to school night.Water is soothing, so it'll be good to be here and get a good soaking. See you there tonight!

Blue, Blue, RED!

2009-08-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home....This is what we saw as we pulled up to our house on Friday. The Chicklet and I had appointments to get haircuts. So we went from school to the appointments. Afterwards we turned onto our street and WOW, we caught a glimpse of the blue walls. It was exciting.Gotta love that wall in the carport. I wasn't happy about the overspray getting all over the rock, the plants and the bark of the Palo Brea. Hate to sound like a witch but after taking all the time to decide on the color of the rock and for everything I paid for the landscaping, I don't expect blue rock. After talking to the painter and his helper, they were more careful on Sat.The side yard on the way to the back yard. Ray, the Designer Man, and I discussed painting the planter another color. I couldn't think of what color I would have wanted. Had the planter had right angles, I might have thought of something but with angled walls, the blue seemed the best fit. More color will come with the plants. I'm also toying with the idea of mosaics on the planter.
Walking up the side yard we came to the backyard and looked over. Whoo hoo, check out the studio shed! This was the second color red than the sample I blogged earlier. It's a bit deeper and just what I wanted. It pops against the blue wall.Some of the plants are still struggling from shock and the heat. It's a relief to see some of them blooming. The yellow bells in the back yard have a few yellow flowers. I can't remember the name of this one. It wasn't on my "must have" list but it falls in with the warm colors of all the other blooms we have.

I didn't take any pictures of the pink back patio. The painter said he expected to be done tomorrow. There's still lots to do so maybe they'll be here until Tuesday. I can't wait until everything is finished. I want to be able to put eveything back where it belongs and stop worrying about the next crew showing up.
Marissa

This time last Sunday...

2009-08-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

We ate cake! The Chicklet attended a birthday party and we stuck around to enjoy the festivities.I must say it was a total blast. The kids started out with a "waffle bar." Home made waffles with fruit, spreads and all kinds of yummies to add on. Then they got to work it all off on the water slide.Waffle bar....water slides.....hot day...Perfect! But the fun had to come to an end. We were about to get on the freeway when I decided to take a detour.
A few monthes ago I picked up a local publcation and I zeroed in on a short write up about some local Phoenix merchants who were tired of they're back alley constantly being vandalized and painted with graffiti.They organized local graffiti artists and had them paint the length of the alley. I finally made the effort to find it and see it for myself a few weeks ago.Since we were only a few blocks from the birthday party, I made my way down the alley again. It was blocked. Caution! Artists at work.This was too cool! I could have stayed in the car but my curiousity got the best of me. The "Grafitti Artist Basic Kit." there was another full crate in the trunk of the artists' car.
The guys were cool about letting me take pictures while they worked. This artist identified himself as "York."I'm not sure what I expected but both artists were friendly and polite but focused on their work.
York seemed to perk up when I mentioned I was an art teacher but disappointed when he realized I worked with little kids and not high school.Hello Shari!!!! Shari came into town from Chicago to enjoy the week of Art Unraveled. We met in a class a few years ago and lost touch so it was great to hear from her. We were able to check out some local sites including Grafitti Alley!After a brief breather, we were off again to drop the Chicklet off at Mary Coyles ice cream parlor for a Girl Scout tour and a mountain of ice cream. I helped them finish off a scoop or two of Base Camp 1.I mentioned Art Unraveled. With so much going on, I wasn't planning on participating this year. I was totally OK with that. I'm trying to brainwash myself with thoughts of work more on my art work, take fewer classes. Shari's visit got us to AU. The Chicklet and I spent time with her at the pool and we visited with the other attendees. The art virus spread...
I signed up for Alisa Burke's "Larger Than Life" workshop. Oh my G-d, what absolute fun! Sorry about the sideways pic. It wouldn't come up right side up. The green painting above was a sample Alisa worked on at the beginning of class. Oops! I forgot to take pics of my pieces. It'll give me something to post later in the week. In the meantime, Alisa posted pics from the class on her blog. Good stuff!The workshop was on Monday, the Chicklet's first day of school. We forgot to take that first day of school pictures, yikes! We'll take the first day of second week pictures. She has s totally new haircut.

In a momemt of calm, I noticed the morning light coming through the lace curtains creating a shadow on the leaves. Cool! How long has that been happening until I finally noticed?
This is what my hunger for blue has been about. The painters have arrived! First to get done-the blue walls.
I am happy dancing!!!!!!!!!! I've been making cracks that these walls are visible from the moon. "Vivid" comes close to describing them. They are easily seen from either end of the block. Turn the corner and "POW," the color packs a punch. That wasn't my intention with chosing this color. I've drooled over this color with every turn of a page, with every glimpse as I've driven by...
With so many changes, a new doormat was in order. Turned out to be too hairy. Oh, and belly rubs are required!
Freia says, "Hi!" Now scratch my belly....
Marissa

Here We Are!

2009-08-14T22:59:00.001-07:00

First meet "Kenny" our Sharkskin Agave. As you can see, Kenny received the royal treatment on his ride to his new home, our yard.Front courtyard patio completed! This took place almost 2 weeks ago. Been a little side tracked the last two weeks.
We had a cool turn in the weather-low 100's and we spent an few evenings sitting in the patio enjoying the outdoors.
Yes, it's a fountain. I chose not to connect it to water but the bottom area is filled with potting soil. Once the weather cools we'll plant annuals or herbs. Now you can see what we had in mind for the spaces between walls. 3" x 3" metal grid. Everything was planned so that standing in front of an open area highlighted an agave, the fountain, and the Desert Museum Palo Verde.
The side yard from the carport to the backyard. Oh, how absolutely beautiful!
One of two mesquite trees in the backyard.
Happy, but fuzzy faced, Freia. So far no plants have been trampled on. The girls are doing good. Freia spent a lot of time barking at these gentlemen-part of the hardworking crew from Gardeners' Eden that spent 2 hot weeks working on my dream landscape. Thank you!

Next post: Paint! Think "Blue," think "Red," think BRIGHT!
Marissa

Making Progress

2009-08-05T07:17:00.001-07:00

It's Wed. am and there's no crew outside. We said our good-byes yesterday. My yard is jaw-dropping gorgeous. At least that's my opinion and since I'm going to be paying for it for a good while, it's a good opinion to have.My side yard. Although not too exciting to look at, I am absolutely thrilled at this sight. This is the point of all my drainage concerns and those worries are no longer. You can see the Yellow Bell and Ocotillo planted towards the front. Those aren't quite the same now.Covered back patio. Thank g-d this mess is going to get painted soon! The Lantana plants already are working wonders!Full steam ahead in the backyard. The vegetable planter to the right has been built, stuccoed and filled with soil. The irrigation lines went in next. I'm dreaming of juicy tomatos. No planting for awhile. I'm waiting the tempreratures to come down first. It's going to be 115 today.These babies were waiting in the wings. They have found their homes. The drip irrigation didn't function over the weekend so in addition to being in shock, some of my plants became stressed. A new controller box was installed and I woke up this morning to see a dark spot around each plant. Everyone got a drink this morning.Meanwhile, in the front, plenty of work in progress. My fountain was going up. After spending 20, maybe 30, plus years laying around in my aunt's yard, the fountain she had shipped while on a trip to Mexico has found a new home in Phoenix. Thank you Tia Mary. It's not being set up for water. I'll explain more in another post.The gravel arrived. Three truckloads. One for the front yard, two truckloads for the backyard.Um, yeah....I was slightly freaked. Although the foreman expected the job done by Monday. "Hope," would have been a better word and I knew there was no way that was going to happen. I was concerned about complaints about the gravel in the street. The wheelbarrows got a lot of mileage. There were 4 of them going to and from the backyard yesterday.The design landscaping services and plants have been provided by Gardener's World and Gardener's Eden near South Mountain. I first became acquainted with the company from attending the Poinsettia Festival last winter. I have only great things to say about Ray, The Designer Man, the company owners, Mr. and Mrs. Petterson and the hardworking, landscaping crew. I have more to share but we're getting ready to head to the airport and pick up a friend who's coming to town for Art Unraveled.

There's still workshops available and some of the sold out ones have become available at the last minute. So far, I won't be taking any workshops-my focus has been eerywhere else-but it's possible I can have my arm twisted.Construction equipment has some treasures to admire. The inside of one of the truck doors. peeled paint, rust, scratches... There's plenty of artists at Art Unraveled that are spending time and effort trying to create this effect!