Funniest Commercial Ever

Ok, I think this is the funniest commercial I've ever seen. I've been waiting to be able to find it on You Tube, but it took awhile. Warning: If you have no sense of humor about sex then don't watch it. For everyone else - Enjoy!




And here are the outtakes - almost better than the original...

Starry Night Comes to Life

First of all, thank you Gary for sending this to me - it was very interesting to watch. First of all, let's look at the original...


Now, watch the video...

Thank you

Thank you for the response to my painting! Several of you came out of the woodwork to comment - some I've never heard from, and I really appreciate that. To answer a question -

Yes, at some point I will make these available commercially. I have about 3 or 4 completed ones in my head already and I'm almost halfway finished with the second painting. But, before I ever sell any I'm going to be developing my skills and techniques. The first two pieces are rather large, so I'm going to buy some smaller canvases to play with different ideas.

It'll also take a little time because I'm working on building a foundation in Grandma's name. A percentage of the profits will go to that foundation, which will make an annual contribution to several cancer research organizations. But, I have to make sure it doesn't interfere with anything in her will, and get all of the legal stuff straightened out first.

Just as an update - Nora had her brain surgery yesterday. They got what they went in there for, but noticed a branch of the cancer cells heading into her spinal column. They tried to remove it, but there was too much bleeding. Right now she's doing fine and faces a hard decision - continue with radiation, if possible, or just stick with the homeopathic stuff and let nature do its thing. There's a lot of thinking and praying to do. But the good news is they got what they came for and that she's doing well.

Icy Weather

So, the ice is about a 1/4" thick on the roads today. It's below freezing with a windchill of about 12 degrees. It will get up to 45 by noon, so we'll all be going in to work around then. Mark went back to bed, I'm up and - OH SHIT - I need to make coffee...

That was a close one! Mark's up now - he'll be going in at noon too...or staying home...we don't know. Last night I started my Grandma's painting. I'm very excited about, so I'll probably work on that for a couple of hours.

Anyhoo...nothing exciting - just waiting for the ice to melt.

Winter Lace

The first of many to come. I have a whole series running in my head and if it continues there's no end for awhile. This is the first and has long story behind it. It's the culmination of a lot of years of artistic blockage, a lot of anger, some resolution, emotions in general, painful recovery, lessons learned - forgotten - and relearned, deaths and illnesses, relationships old and new, tearing down and rebuilding, and suddenly - epiphany thanks to Nora and Mark.

I have always loved a bare tree in Winter. It's just so exposed - nothing to hide. I get lost in the branches - it's the only time I really feel peaceful (it doesn't have to be Winter - but those are the best ones.) It's the closest I ever get to meditating anymore. Anyway, I've been lost artistically, but knew I wanted to do something related to trees. Hmm...

I had no medium - no outlet. I thought maybe quilting? I love quilts - not only because they're comfortable as hell but I see a lot of symbolism in piecing together all of those little pieces to form a larger picture - like a mosaic. Hmmm...

Still stumped as to what I should do. I didn't feel like I could paint - why should I? My limited attempts were never very successful. But, there were three blank canvases sitting in our storage area and a place on the wall above the TV. Hmmmm...

Then I read a post by Nora called Winter Lace. It was a very emotional blog post for me personally and came at the right time. After a couple of emails with her things were starting to roll. Nora has been battling Cancer for several years now and is having her second brain surgery Wednesday. She's a very strong, very inspirational person - a presence I hadn't felt since Grandma passed away a year ago this week. Hmmmmm...

I started the painting. It's my Winter Lace. While in the planning stage Mark said, what about doing different colors in different spaces instead of the negative space being all one color. I turned to him and said, "like a quilt." And then I got excited. I just got focused and went with it. There are so many options - so many design/pattern/color/shape/size options available. I think I'll be busy for awhile. Who knows - after I have a pile of these things laying around maybe someone will actually want to buy one...

Everyone beware - I have years of "stuff" to paint about - I'm finally unblocked!!!

Giving Back

Abe's (center) "Cherry Ride"

I've been looking into different ways to help injured veterans. I think I've finally decided on Rebuild Hope and USA Together. They allow you to choose the soldier/family you want to help and let you send either money or needed items. While I was looking for ways to help and give back I heard this story on NPR about Veterans turning to online help because the military doesn't take care of everything. I decided that's what I needed to do.

So, this next paycheck I'm going to start budgeting for regular donations to a couple of specific veterans. I just haven't done enough.

Another good site that has lots of different ways to help soldiers that are currently serving is Soldiers' Angels. It has anything from sending birthday cakes and cell phones to fostering pets while soldiers are in Iraq.

I don't know what sparked this sudden need to give. I think it's a combination of it being more personal with Abe and Ersan in Iraq and new hope for the future. Yes, Obama has had that effect on me I have to admit. For the first time in years I feel hopeful for our government and our future.

I guess it doesn't really matter what caused it - what matters is that I've turned that corner. Now I just need to get paid...

Trimming the Fat

Looks like things are getting back to normal. Allergy symptoms are all but gone and I feel great.

I filed my taxes today. I get a decent little refund which, as much as I would like to buy some glass, is going to bills. Mark and I have budgeted out for the next few months and our goal is to have most of our debt paid down by the time for our trip to San Francisco in June. The catch to that of course is that we don't have spending money in the meantime.

I know that given the economy we're sitting pretty good overall and I shouldn't complain about not having spending money because we can pay our bills and still pay down debt. There are many out there that can't even pay their bills, much less get out of debt. We have just both always enjoyed shopping so much and it's a big part of our lives that we are learning to live without, but again I'm grateful for what I have and what I'm able to do.

I'm looking into where I can trim even more fat so I can start to give to people less fortunate. It's not that I have extra money to give, but when I see that there are people much worse off than myself I have a hard time complaining about not getting to buy some piece of glass I've had my eye on. Not that I can afford to buy glass right now anyway, but I can cut some more corners somewhere.