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A little doodling I did a few of months ago. Hopefully, it'll start feeling like spring, soon.
Submitted to Illustration Friday: Spring 

5k Training

In case you missed my earlier post in January, I'm running (!) my very first race in September. I'm really quite petrified, but I have a lot of people encouraging me.

I started training this week. And I have to admit, it's not that bad. Phin's helping with the training and she's making it very doable. I'm following Hal Higdon's 30/30 Plan to get started since I don't run at all. It's a very precise plan, but essentially, for 30 days, I'm suppose to run/walk for 30 minutes. The first 10 minutes, I walk. Then the next 15 minutes, I jog 30 seconds then walk till I recover then jog another 30 seconds. The remaining 5 minutes I walk. After that, I should be able to run/walk up to 2 miles. Then, in July, I'll start Hal's 5k training.

The goal? To finish, of course, but ultimately to get that shiny Disneyland innaugral race medal.

Spring?

Yes, it's offically been spring for a week and a half now. But it's still really cold and raining and somewhat miserable. And I live in California where it's always suppose to be a mild 72 degrees. Well, I guess particular stereotype is reserved for S. California, but I know it's been cold and raining down there, too.

I was im'ing my cousin who lives in so-called soggy Seattle. She said it was sunny and somewhat warm, not in the 70's or anything, but nice. I told her it was wet and 49 degrees, at 1pm.

I'm currently sitting here, typing these words and my fingers are about to break off because they are so cold. Totallly shivering even though I'm wearing a sweatshirt, sweat pants and Uggs.

Anyhoo, I keep posting these beautiful spring flowers with the hopes that it'll make me feel like it really is spring.

Looking at my Yahoo desktop widget, the 5 day forecast shows...rain. 

Tulip Town

Skagit County, Washington.
Last spring, I went to Seattle to visit my cousin. We went up to Skagit County to see all of the tulip farms. It was amazing! If you ever find yourself in the Seattle area in April, you MUST make the 1 hour trip north.

We visited two tulip farms, Tulip Town and Roozengaarde. They grow daffodils, too! So if you're there early in the month or maybe even late March, you'll see the daffodils, too.

Smooth

...waters on New Melones Reservoir.
submitted to Photo Friday: Smooth

PG&E Trail

A loooonnnnggg story goes with this photo.

I’ll spare you the details, so lemme just say:

Phin said this would be a 6 mile hike. Liar. It was 4 miles UPHILL! Then there was the 4 miles back down.

I almost fainted because I started the hike full of energy and trekking fast and mighty. Till I forgot to breath and my lungs felt like they were collapsing. Turns out I have asthma…maybe that had something to do with it?

NO COTTON SOCKS! Ok…so, we did this hike as a precursor to a Half Dome trek. Eric, my BIL (organizer of the trek) said not to wear cotton socks b/c they’re prone to creating blisters. Wear wool socks. Well, I thought, since this hike is short, a mere 6 miles, cotton socks wouldn’t be an issue. Wrong. After 8 miles, cotton socks and ill-fitting hiking boots, my left foot was a bloody mess of a stump.

Energy you may ask? The trail follows the PG&E trail at Rancho San Antonio Preserve and by the end of the hike, I was out of it. But the view was nice, yesh? Overlooks the South Bay.

submitted to Thursday's Challenge: Energy

Parliament

On Vancouver Island. Victoria, BC.
submitted to Lensday: Government

Banana Slug's Home

Is in the clover. At least for this one.
Russian Gulch State Park, Mendocino
Submitted to Photo Hunt: Clover

Emotional

March is an emotional month for me.
submitted to Moody Monday: Emotional

Let's Party!

Spring is nature's way of sayin, "Let's Party!"
-Robin Williams 

Hands at FDR Memorial

A few people asked about the photo I submitted for Macroday's Hand theme.This column, one of five, represents FDR's New Deal.

Here's another perspective of the photo I submitted.

The mural next to the columns had the inverted images of the ones used on the columns.
I originally thought about submitting the following hand to Macroday, but liked the element of my own hand within the photo, too.
More information on the FDR Memorial can be found here and here.

Flaunting Their Stately Heads

Dutch tulips from their beds
Flaunted their stately heads.
-James Montgomery
submitted to Pxite: Spring

Spring

Wisteria blooming in the backyard...
aaaachoooooo!
submitted to Tuesday's Photo: Spring

Hands

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, Washington DC.
Submitted to Macroday: Hands  

Snow in Jamestown

Jamestown is a very small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills. In 1848, gold was discovered here and it's downtown area still retains a Gold Country era charm.
At an elevation of 1,405 feet, Jamestown rarely sees snow. But a cold storm blew in late last week and the town saw a dusting of fresh powder.
submitted to Photo Hunt: Landscape 

Bear Tat

Several years ago, one of my cousin's got a tatoo. I went with her, watched the tatoo artist infuse the ink into her skin. Afterwards, she said "You should get one."

Yea. Right. Not gonna happen.

But I had to wonder if I would, what would I get? I knew almost immediately - a bear fetish. For as long as I can remember, I've felt a connection with Native American culture. I've also felt like the bear has been my animal spirit, a talisman, so to speak.

This is the first time I've sketched what my tatoo would look like, with the help of some PS brushes from Miss M. I probably never took the time to sketch one because I'm never gonna get it. What's the point, really? But with this week's topic to Illustration Friday, I finally had a reason to. Now I have a virtual tatoo.
Submitted to Illustration Friday: Tatoo

Vision

There seems to be a running theme in my posts lately. Eyes, vision, etc...
submitted to Thursdays Challenge: Vision

Crystalline

submitted to Lensday: Crystalline

spoiled

Yes, I am. I admit it. He's working hard shoveling snow while I sat in the warm car.

Civic Duty?

I’m on call for jury duty this week. I’ve been anxious about it ever since I got that little note in the mail about 2 months ago. I fully understand and respect that it’s my civic duty and will go in honorably if I have to, but I do not want to be in the position to have to judge anyone. No matter how clear the evidence is, there’s still the possibility of being wrong. What if essential evidence is left out because it was insubmitable for some reason? What if the lawyers are unscrupulous and deceptive? I don’t want to be in the position where I have to make such a life altering decision. It could be said that the person under trial is the one who ultimately made the decision of her/his fate. But what if, just what if, even with all the evidence pointing guilty, she/he is actually innocent?

Maybe I’ve been watching too much law television. Recently, we’ve been watching In Justice. They start the episode out with a scene that says “This is what the jury believed”. And in every episode, the jury was wrong. Even though they were presented with evidence that proved guilt, there were other extraneous circumstances that were left out. And I’ve watched Law and Order for, oh, a dozen years now. There’s so much evidence that the prosecuting lawyer can’t submit. And what about the dirty tricks that both lawyers and detectives use. Ei yi yi.

Ok, almost 5pm. Have to see if I have to appear tomorrow.
-
photo of the Supreme Court, Washington DC.

I'm All Eyes

Earlier this week, when I read the theme for Studio Friday "I'm All Eyes", I felt challenged. No ideas came to me. Until I woke up this morning and remembered that my post to last weeks SF said that all I had to do was open my eyes and I can find inspiration. I was embarrassed that I so quickly forgot what I had just said. So, I opened my eyes, flipped though my art journal, went into my stamp room, gazed and voila, found what to submit.

Since I'm new to Studio Friday, I should briefly explain to anyone who isn't familiar with it that it's about the studio, your tools and what you've created in/from your studio. And it doesn't matter if your studio is a fully dedicated room or a corner of your dining room. Ok, now that the semantics are done, lemme get back to my submission. ;)

Well, truthfully, there isn't much to explain. I created the layout in my art journal using oil pastels and a magazine cut out and collage sheets from Teesha Moore (I'm buying more right after I finish this post!!). And just a few of my "All About Eyes" rubber stamps. If you enlarge the image, you'll notice that top most and the left most stamps have the earth for the pupils. Love that.

Red

Campbell Farmer's Market
Submitted to Photo Friday: Red 

Quoth the Raven

"Nevermore."
Submitted to Tuesday's Photos: minimalist 

Clark Fork

Immigrant Wilderness
submitted to Thursdays Challenge: Nature  

Great Customer Service - Marvy Uchida

Just wanted to send a little note to the universe about the great customer service I received today.

I bought a Marvy Uchida punch a little less than a year ago. Don't remember the store I bought it so I can't return it, besides it's been over 30 days and most stores return policy is 30 days or less. But the punch is defective. I tried the typical fix-it techniques but they didn't work.

Anyhoo, I sent them an e-mail at 4:01pm. At 4:41pm, they replied with an apology, an address to send the defective punch to, and a "we'll replace it" without any questions whatsoever. Love that.

I know a couple of paper crafters visit my blog now and then, and I just want to say:
Support Marvy! They take care of their customers. :)

Tagged By Cate

This is the first time I’ve done one of these for my blog. I keep pretty vague about who I am aside from what you can gather from my art or photos. But I love reading these things on other people’s blogs so when Cate tagged her blogger friends, I happily obliged. I also LOVED slam books as a kid/teenager. So…here you go!

Four Jobs I've Had
1. Hostess at Kentucky Fried Chicken
2. Teller at Bank of America
3. Sr. Accounting Clerk at CBS Radio
4. Web designer for a rubber stamp company

Four Goals I've Set for the Year
1. participate in a 5k, my first race ever
2. stop eating Mc Donald's french fries (french fry free since Dec!)
3. Finish my Shiloh Art Journal
4. Eat less red meat (here fishy fishy)

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again
1. Chocolat
2. Funny Face
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
4. Dogma

Four Places I've Lived
1. Apple Valley, CA
2. Whittier, CA
3. Bay Area
4. Sierra Nevada's

Four TV Shows I Watch
1. Lost
2. Ghost Whisperer
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Grey's Anatomy
-really, I do watch more than just 'G' shows besides Lost

Four Favorite Vacation Spots
1. By the pool in Kauai
2. Vancouver
3. New York City
4. On the beach in Kauai

Four Websites I Visit
1. all the ones listed to the right
2. Photo challenges like: Moody Monday, Lensday, Thursday's Challenge, Brookston Photo Hunt, Pxite
3. Art challenges like: Nudge-Nudge, Mama Says Om, Inspire Me Thursday, Illustration Friday, Studio Friday
4. Amazon

Four Favorite Foods
1. Camerones a la diabla @ La Morenita in Palo Alto
2. Ice cream, almost any flavor
3. my MIL's pies, especially apple and pecan
4. sausage and cheese pizza from Boston Pizza in Canada

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now
1. Kauai
2.
3.
4.
I recently got back from a trip so I'm lovin' being home 'right now'. Kauai is the only place I'd leave at the drop of a hat for. But...say...in a couple of months...I'd love to be almost anywhere across the Atlantic Ocean.

Wanna Play, too?
Then tag, you're it!

Have Faith

I'm lovin' these art challenges. I just started a new one and mentioned that faith is a source of inspiration for me.

Last night I painted the acrylics in my art journal but left it at that, with the purple, blue and white shimmer.
Woke up this morning and stamped the white flourishes.
Set it aside for a few hours.
Worked on the collage for Studio Friday.
Went into my stamp room, stared at my stamps deciding on what to use for this page.
Still no inkling what it would become.
Finally an angel cube stamp with these 4 images (Judikins) jumped out at me.
I finally knew that it was going to become a page on faith.

Which leads me to another art blog I belong to, Nudge-Nudge. I had just posted a note about Claudine Hellmuth's book and how she says "Collage thrives on serendipitous discoveries; sometimes you are not sure if you are creating the artwork or if the artwork is actually creating itself".

When I threw the paint onto the blank page last night, I had no idea it would lead to faith. But through the theme about inspiration from Studio Friday, a post to Nudge-Nudge about creating art or art creating itself, I found myself nearly mindlessly yet passionately creating this page.

Inspiration is everywhere. My eyes are open. 

Inspiration

This is my first entry to Studio Friday. I’ve lurked for almost 6 months, but this week’s theme, “Inspiration” finally inspired me to create something that fitted the theme.

I draw inspiration from…well…opening my eyes. Just being aware, I can be inspired by anything. Nature, advertisements, reading books and magazines, browsing the web and reading blogs, shapes, textures…you get the picture. I don’t have to search for inspiration, it’s always there. Unfortunately, much of the time, I’m blind to it. Those times when I’m feeling uninspired, unmotivated, in a slump or in a rut. It’s not because of a lack of inspiration, it’s because of a lack of seeing it as such.

The feminine spirit is extremely inspiring. The way we handle challenges, the way we pour our hearts into everything we do, the way our eyes see the beauty in life, the way we nurture and care.

Faith, too, goes hand in hand with inspiration. Faith goes much deeper than religion. It’s having faith in humanity and the truth. Faith is kindness, graciousness, love and the belief in goodness. If you have faith, you will be inspired not just creatively, but inspired to…um…to quote Oprah “Live your best life”. LOL!

But what inspires me most are the people who surround me. My friends and family (including my dh even tho he’s not pictured here to keep to the theme). They help me see things creatively and I’m uninhibited. And they willingly join me along the journey.

Pet me or else

It's good to be home. We were only gone 3 1/2 days but it's taken me almost a week to get back to my normal routine. Wake up, do some work, run some errands, cook some meals, play with a very needy cat, catch up on email and blogs. Mundane, but nice to get back to. Decided not go head up to the hideaway this weekend. Hopefully seeing the parentals sometime, I miss them! Have an Academy awards watching party tomorrow night. I love to travel, but nothing compares to home. 

Flutterbug

submitted to Illustration Friday: Insect