My set-up and latest product

These two pics represent my latest watercolor painting of my cat Salvador and my new workspace. I got the lamp and accessory extention from my dear husband for Christmas and birthday. I love them!

Salvador has been a challenge for me to paint for years because he is purely black and white and it's hard to depict white using other colors. But I am happy with the results. He just looks a little sad!!

Starting resolution early

This is a sketch I did of "The Happy Elephant"! It's watercolor, micron pen, pencil and white out.

More to come...at least I hope!!

Tis the season

The holidays are always a crazy time for me. Always have to travel whether to NC or NJ; birthday is 2 days following Christmas, and New Years. I have a good time so far, but discovering quality time with loved ones is the most valuable gift!! I have decided that one of my New Year's Resolutions will be to create more art, and I may even post it every once in a while on my blog. I think that will push me to blog more and explore my art in a way I haven't in awhile. I got some fun art supplies for Christmas so I can't wait to use them.

I am sorry I missed the Top Ten blog list last Friday but we were out of town. I like that concept where everyone posts a similar idea but different content. Maybe we can try that again sometime!?

Here is one of my drawings I made while watching Jeopardy with Templeton. We keep score while watching, but my nervousness leads to sketching while competing against him! The other picture is us travelling to NJ with our cat Salvador. He was Templeton's sidekick while driving and I thought it was really cute.

Christmas 2006 with the Elliott's

Templeton and I traditionally make ornaments for our Christmas tree each year. These are some examples. See my flickr page for more!!

Duvet Dilemma

So I thought everyone would like to see responses to my Myspace dilemma:

We are struggling with our duvet. Is there a trick to getting the stuffing to stay in it's proper place while in the cover? Ours always shifts down to the bottom, or crunches up, and it's very frustrating.

Sincerely,
Frustrated Duvet Owner

Responses:
From Brendan: man, it sucks. it just is that way i guess? let me know..
hehehe. haha h a .
i just put my hand between the covers (of the duvet) and pull the foamyness, part towards me.

From Carol Ann: I'd try either getting a bigger comforter for inside or just use safety pins. Good luck!!

From Heidi:
If your efforts to maneuver your duvet inside its cover are more reminiscent of a wrestling match than a simple bed-making, you may be pleased to learn about an easier way to get the job done.

First, turn the duvet cover inside out. Usually the cover comes off this way when it's removed for laundering, so you can put it straight into the washer and have it ready for use after drying. Lay the duvet down on the cover, reach in and grasp the top two corners of the cover along with the corresponding corners of the duvet, and flip the cover right-side out. Shake the duvet into place, close the buttons, and the job is complete.

From Leslie: If you get any hits on this let me know, my duvet always becomes wop-sided when I try to make up my bed - revealing it's plain white center. The only thing I've found helpful is cursing at it.

Tax Credit for phone bills

Taxpayers are eligible to claim a reund of the long-distance tax billed for any phone service (cell, fax, computer or lan line) in the 41 month period from Feb. 28, 2003 through July 31, 2006. See full article here:
http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/excise.asp

Stuff I am In to

I'm bored, procrastinating, and thought I'd come up with a random post of stuff I am presently into:

• The Shin's new album "Wincing the Night Away"
• Martha Stewart cooking recipes
• Riding my bike to class in nice weather in 10 minutes as opposed to driving and looking for a spot for 30 min.
• Not traveling in holiday traffic for Thanksgiving
• Owning a home that we do what we want to, when we want
• Learning in school what I care about and not feeling like I am wasting my time
• Working on a laptop-on top of my lap
• America's Next Top Model, Veronica Mars, General Hospital
• And especially America's Funniest Videos
• Competing with Temp in Jeopardy
• Pumpkin pie....yum
• Taking a nap with my cat on my stomach
• New coat
• Having my husband around to laugh with, constantly
• Hearing our wedding song "The Way you Look Tonight"
• Having H&M at the MacArthur Mall
• OK magazine
• Developing websites
• Having my curly hair back
• Renting movies from the Naro

Tab commercial

This was shown on the Ellen show, TOO FUNNY!

Some fun stuff, 1 a day

As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

ipods CHEAP!

At the Apple store, they have refurbished ipods for cheap. Here is a little idea of what I am talking about:

iPod Shuffle 512MB: $33 Shipped
iPod Shuffle 1GB: $59 Shipped
iPod Nano 1GB: $109 Shipped
iPod Nano 2GB: $99 Shipped
iPod Nano 4GB: $149 Shipped
iPod Video 30GB: $179 Shipped
iPod Mini 4GB: $99 Shipped
iPod Mini 6GB: $129 Shipped

So if you never had one, or need another, these deals seem great. Caught it on Slickdeals!!

Halloween '06

Virginia & New Jersey

Baby Panda, so cute

Doing homework on a beautiful day

Log 6: 11:55am

So I am home and pretty groggy from anesthia. Great news is, is that I don't have the diseases they were scared I had. I just need to be on medicine for the rest of my life, but nothing life threatening. I had my bagel with cream cheese and orange juice and it was YUMMY!!
Doc says i will end up sleeping all day...sounds about right.
End of logging.

Log 5: 5:02am

So last night I couldn't really write because Temp needed the computer. Hunger-wise I was hanging in there after some Italian Ice held me over. Had trouble sleeping, and needed to wake up at 4:15am to take medicine for procedure. My alarm didn't go off, and I woke up at 4:45am---(set it for pm instead of am). Whoops! I have been pretty shakey and cold, not too hungry. Just looking forward to this being all over. I can't leave the hospital until I can change into my own clothes, so that should be entertaining. I talked to the doc yesterday, and I won't get my results till around Friday, so I am not too nervous for today anymore. By the next time I write, everything will be done with, and I'll be able eat again!
YAHOO!
(came to the realization this morning that BK will not be serving BigFish's this morning, will have to resort to the everything bagel with veggie cream cheese!!)

Log 4: 6:06pm

I am hungry, but in good spirits. I have had like 5 jell-o cups, a mug of chicken boullian, 2 boost drinks, and glass of ginger ale in the past 24 hours. Every commercial I see makes me so hungry: Red Lobster, Thanksgiving dinners, Burger King, NAME IT! I hate sushi, but I could sure eat it now! I have a little headache and feel more nauseas than anything. I am thankful for that because I am not as hungry as I was earlier...

Mmmmmm, BK Big Fish (when I normally don't eat fast food)

Log 3: 2:02pm

Oh my gosh, I am hungry! I am shakey, little dizzy and super hungry. Time for my jell-o.

Log 2: 11:38am

So I just got back from getting bloodwork done, had to chill there for a couple of minutes to collect my bearings. Went to Food Lion to get some Jell-o. Drank a thing of Boost, Vanilla drink (was pretty unappetizing). I am getting pretty hungry, I feel like I just want to lay around. Gosh, it's not even 12pm yet! I keep thinking about food.

The Fasting Log

So tomorrow I have to have a little minor surgery/procedure to hopefully rule out some diseases. I have been suffering for a long time with bad stomach pains, went to the doctor, and they want to check my insides. A part of me wants to know a tiny something is there that can be fixed super easy, just so everything goes away. But on the other hand, if nothing is there, they will give me medicine the rest of my life and that should help. I have had these pains for 14 years and never had it checked out, so wish me luck!
I have to fast starting this morning until tomorrow after my procedure (10am). The crazy thing is, is that I am hypoglycemic. (Meaning I have to eat every couple of hours to keep my blood sugar leveled or I get really weak, dizzy and sometimes faint). I can have liquid stuff like Jell-o, Chicken Bouillon, but nothing of substance. So I thought I'd journal throughout the day on how I feel! I have to go get bloodwork done this morning, run and errand, then I think I will submerse myself in TV, cause I THINK, the more I move around and burn calories, the quicker I will get hungry. My theory...we shall see....

Log 1: 9:07am. Had lots of dreams last night about almost accidentally eating. Haven't eaten anything, just a sip of water. Not feeling hungry. Will bring a bottle of lactose free "Boost drink" to hospital to get bloodwork. Feeling AOK at this point. Last night, knowing about the fasting, we went out to dinner and I ate way more than I wanted to. Had 4 slices of Cogen's pizza, half a caesar salad, apple sauce, and mini-3 musketeers bar. Desperation I guess....

Ninja chipmunk

how cute is this?

From yahoo news

UFO's invade campus

(a funny assignment for art ed class!)

FREE COLD STONE TODAY

Free 3oz ice cream @ Cold Stone Creamery from 5-8pm. You are encouraged to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

A little President Humor

President Bush, First Lady Laura and Dick Cheney were flying on Air Force One. George looked at Laura, chuckled and said, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy."

Laura shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I could throw ten $100 bills out of the window and make ten people very happy."

Cheney added, "That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window and make a hundred people very happy."

Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his eyes and said to his co-pilot, "Such big-shots back there. Shit, I could throw all of them out of the window and make 56 million people very happy."

Our new place, click on image to enlarge

Satisfaction

So I felt not only have I had big events in my life, those big events have really changed me.

Getting married has just put life at ease. No more wondering "what's next?" or "is this really forever". There is comfort in knowing I am spending the rest of my life with my best friend. It was nice having the support of friends and family, and having a wedding that we could only dream of.

Templeton and I close on our first home today. This is the first time in our relationship (4 1/2 years later) that I feel grounded--a sense of permanance. I didn't notice how it was changing me until yesterday. I feel motivated to be involved, to invest in friendships, activies and life in general. Anytime before this, we always "might be moving" so it was hard to invest in Norfolk. I feel good, I like knowing--at least for a couple of years, we're owning a home, I am finishing school and going to start teaching, things are good.

Apple Laptop recall

APPLE COMPUTER RECALLING 1.8 MILLION LAPTOP BATTERIES WORLDWIDE FOR
FIRE HAZARD

**Watch FOX News Channel or go to http://foxnews.com for more

K-Fed strikes again

So I am leafing through my weekly issue of OK magazine, but thinks are a little different this week. I see good ol' K-Fed wearing a shirt I designed. I used to work for a company here in Norfolk called ArtFX, it was a screenprinting company. They, along with the legends of hip-hop started a line called Sedgwick and Cedar, and I was the head of the art dept. A whole line was made of these clothes, with old part flyers screenprinted on the shirts from the 70's. This is what K-Fed is wearing....my design. Why couldn't it have been ANYONE else!?

Big steps

So Templeton and I have just taken some big steps in our lives. A little over a month ago we got married, and it was just an amazing time for both of us. Really felt a lot of love and support and made it a great experience.
This past Saturday we looked at a condo and both fell in love. We really liked it a lot, and decided to look further into if we could afford it and make sure it was what we wanted. We heard Wednesday someone was putting an offer down on it, so we had to act fast. We figured stuff out and decided to put an offer down ourselves. Yesterday, we got the great news that our offer was accepted! What a huge committment, but exciting at the same time! As of now, we close Aug. 30. THE BIG DAY! It's hard to say "we bought a place" right now, cause we haven't exactly bought it, we are going through the buying process. But we look forward to calling this condo "our own". Templeton and I are thrilled right now, and look forward to having people over at our new place!! I think I am most excited about decorating. Painting, putting shelves up, making rooms flow. I have been dreaming about it the past 3 nights! If anyone has any tips on decorating or painting, please post comments on anything!

Our place would be the upper left one...

Funny things said this weekend

So, it was a pretty busy weekend. Rachel's bachelorette party & bridal shower, house hunting, food shopping....but it was a priceless weekend for crazy things said....

Bachelorette party: We went to Kokoamos in VA Beach. We actually were heading out at this point, going thru a tight hallway, and a guy stops me. We were all wearing wife-beaters that said something in regards to the Ash/Kuhr wedding. He asks what my shirt says, I said "Ash Wedding, 2006". He says "my shirt is better". I didn't really look at his shirt at this point. I said "Well I made my shirt", he replies "I did too." I notice him grab his crotch area, and wanting to leave in disgust, I quickly glance at his shirt and it says "I am not wearing any underwear."

Bridal shower: So, a pretty traditional thing at a bridal shower is to write down all of the first comments that the bride makes while opening gifts. You make a list, and after opening presents, someone reads all the comments first prefacing it by saying "These are things she will say the night of her wedding..." I read the comments aloud, and one of them was so simple, yet so funny. "Thank you Mrs. Ash." And another one, because someone was leaving during present opening "Thank you for coming."

Grocery store: So I am going to the refridgerated eggs section, 2 doors wide. One woman is standing in front of 1 door going thru all the eggs, and has her cart in front of the other door--that I want to get into. I ask her "Excuse me, can I just squeeze in there and get some eggs?" She replies "You can hold on" short and ubrupt. OVER EGGS! ha, not over easy...ha ha ha.

I feel like more happened and I forgot them, I will add them later if so.

Think ya gotta cavity?

$100.00
Dental Sealant Study

We are looking for people 18-40 years of age who do not already have dental sealants or composite fillings. Dental sealants are tooth colored coatings placed on the teeth to help protect them from cavities, and composites are tooth colored fillings. You could earn $100 for your participation. The study will occur over two consecutive days and require 5 visits. If you have any questions you can call Joyce Downs at
683-4719 or email jdowns@odu.edu

Old Dominion University Dental Hygiene Care Facility and Research Center located in the Technology Building at 47th and Hampton Blvd.

Call now for more information: 683-4719

Isolation

This photo was striking to me because it was so dark where I was, and I just saw an isolated chair in the sunlight. I could imagine some warehouse worker taking a break, needing some alone time out there.

Deserted

I felt like someone had left the chair, and stormed out of the room. There was a sense of emptiness or even a feeling of desertion. The drab colors gave it a sense that he was forgotten, or maybe he left for an emergency.

Soundtrack of your life

So one of my friends on myspace posted this thing called "Soundtrack of My Life", and what she did was have these categories, and while having your iPod or Itunes open, you hit random shuffle. Each song you fill in the blank of each category. When I looked at hers, I was surprised at how many fit the category, so I did it myself. You should try it!

Opening Credits:
Dashboard Confessional-The Ruined Puzzle

Waking Up:
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons-Rag Doll

Falling in Love:
Belle and Sebastian-Expectations

Fight scene:
Low-In Metal

Breaking Up:
Chicago-Color My World

Getting back together:
Carole King-Will you Still Love Me, Tomorrow (crazy!!)

Secret Love:
The Breeders-S.O.S (crazy again)

Lifes okay:
Nick Drake-Which Will

Mental breakdown:
Johnny Cash-Unchained

Driving:
Aerosmith-Sweet Emotion

Flashback:
Rolling Stones-Rock in a Hard Place

Happy dance:
Coldplay-Amsterdam

Regretting:
Dandy Warhols-Country Leaver

Long night alone:
Belle and Sebastian-I Don't Love Anyone

Death scene:
Fiona Apple-Please, please, Please

Ending credits:
The Beatles-I am the Walrus

(oddly enough - some of these songs actually fit!)

As per request...

I got mail from Wachovia, which I typically throw away, but was bored and decided to open. It told me about Visa Extras. Basically, you can get rewards for using your Wachovia Check Card. When you sign up, make sure to read the directions; when you buy stuff, you have to sign off on it like a credit card, don't use pin number to make purchase, that's how you add up your rewards.
Go to this website to learn more about it, anytime you can more for you buck, I say go for it!

Stuff to look forward to!

MARRIAGE SEMINAR
While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor, "It is essential that husbands and wives know each other's likes and dislikes." He addressed the man, "Can you name your wife's favorite flower?" Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it?

WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. "The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

Wedding week

I'm married. Wow, I have a husband, and I am married... What a comforting feeling, what a relief. Relationships constantly make you desire more...first date you want a second one, first kiss you want more, after anniversaries you want a ring or committment, after ring you "want" to plan....when you finally marry, it's chill time. No more needs or desires, just enjoy!
I had the most amazing wedding week. From a fun rehearsal dinner, to rad hangout session afterwards with everyone...it was great to see everyone getting along and having fun.
The wedding was flawless, I feel I really got to appreciate the ceremony, and seeing my man at the end of the aisle was like a dream. The reception was exactly what I wanted. Good food, dancing, laughter, smiles, great music, and awesome to see all our friends and family together in one room.
The honeymoon was spent with my best friend. We turned a resort-honeymoon into a photo session in the heart of the city, and adventures in the rainforest. Really good food, nice people, and just about the perfect timing of everything.
Here are some links if anyone wants to see pics of the week's events:

• Professional Pics (register in, and find O'Connor 06180601 pics)
• Honeymoon pics on flickr
• Wedding pics on flickr
• Wedding photos by Carrie (bridesmaid)
• Wedding photos by Christiy (guest at wedding)

**Please remember to upload pics on the Temp&Kellie wedding page, everyone! We want to print them!

This weekend

Considering this weekend started out as extremely stressful (Praxis II exam at 7:30am Saturday, bad day at work, and final dress fitting) I had a great weekend. Saturday night got to hang out, outside at Stockley Gardens with good friends. Lots of laughter, debate, and animal lovin'. I was stoked to meet Kristin's new kitten Elliott (as seen in picture), and her dog Toby. Got to discuss "what makes someone an artist" to politics. I was super stoked on the evening. Then today, after going to our weekly trip to Yorgo's Bagels, we spent more quality time at Stockley Gardens lawn. (Where I got a pretty harsh sunburn 7 days before my wedding day, but THAT'S OK!) Frisbee tossing, wedding talk, and a Sunkist slurpee to top it off. Going home to play some lighthearted James Bond, and watch the Constant Gardener. Thanks to everyone for a carefree, fun weekend.
I can't wait for next weekend!