The Random Dilettante

Today I have to pick up my husband at the airport, his birthday is tomorrow and he hasn’t been at home on his birthday in over 4 years, so the plane ticket was my present to him. It will be awesome to see him again, I’m pretty excited about it.

So excited that I was up until 4 am last night trying to get the house perfect and make up for a week of lost chores. It probably wasn’t the best move…..but the house is IMMACULATE. I’ll be a grumpy witch and wanting to pass out by 9 tonight…but hey..look how clean the house is…derr (that’s worse case scenario, I’m hoping it doesn’t go that route ;))

Anyway, it’s sorta bitter sweet though (as always) because he has to be back on the plane Sunday afternoon. It’s great having him home, but there’s always this glooming thought of the “good-byes” soon to come, it’s getting really old. There is a bright side of it all though! In about 4 weeks he will be done with his school, and home to stay for a while. It will be weird! Nice, but weird.

Last year Andrew went to Iraq for about 3 weeks as part of a recon team, and it just happened to be over his birthday, anyway, when he came back he told me that when he stepped foot back in Kuwait (they in & out process there) it felt like he was “home again” — Tell me that isn’t pitiful. He is so used to being the single bachelor that when he comes home to a loud and onery toddler, a mouthy 9 yr old, and a clingy wife, it’s sort of a culture shock to him! hehe

All right, well I actually had quite a bit more to say, but I really need to get moving. It’s going to be a full day! Thanks for all the well wishes this week from every one, I appreciate it. I’m feeling much better, inside AND out I’ve never been happier to say TGIF!

Have a good weekend!!

I’m excited, I finally have an official business name! A lot of the other names were good, but none of them gave me that “Aha!” moment and really clicked with me, so today I did some serious brainstorming and came up with a really cool and original name, all my own!!

I’m not sharing yet though - I’m going to wait until it’s all up and running to do the final reveal, so you can join in on the excitement too!!

– I found these at Chefs.com..and they are to die for. They are so perfect, you have no idea. All my dishes are either plastic or hand me downs..not because I can’t afford to get dishes, but I’ve just never found a set that truly “spoke to me” hehe. So I find these, love them…now just tell me why they have to cost so much!?!?! No fair. Over $350 for a 20 piece set, and everyone knows you can’t just get 4 plates and 4 bowls..you’d have to buy 2 sets. You do the math. It’s wayyyyy out of my range. Darn it. I’m not sure it’s smart to pay that much for dishes anyway though. Especially with kids around to break them!

I’m back from the vet and $103 poorer. Geez man. Damn dogs aren’t cheap. It makes me feel good that I’m taking care of them though. The doctor said Gatsby has lot’s of build up on his teeth and could use a good deep cleaning before he starts getting cavities. Care to guess how much that is? 85 smackers. Ouch. He needs it though. I remember my moms dogs, ewww..every time they came near you and opened their mouth it was like death was crawling out to eat you alive. It was wretched. I loved them to death..but it was hard to take at times. Like when they got all excited or hot, they could stink up a whole room, no lie! Plus Ginny, her girl dog, didn’t even have much teeth left cause they had one by one fallen out. At some point she had to have some killer tooth aches, wouldn’t you think?

Hmm. Anyways. In other news, Sarah is working on a business site for me to sell my paintings on I’m pretty excited about it. She does logos too, and business cards..all that. She rocks with web design too, so I know it will be awesome. I really should be working on some stuff I need to give her, instead of posting more on here. Procrastination is not always my friend..I admit it.

Real quick though. I’m trying to decide on a name for my business, and I’m having a hard time making up my mind. (imagine that)

So I’m going to list a few of my favorites and I encourage my dear readers to share which one you like the best, or even your own name you like. I might still go my own way, but it would be neat to hear what some of you think

1. Nadira Abstract Designs (nadira means rare)

2. Kali Designs (means black)

3. Pekoe Designs (pekoe is a black tea)(Sarah helped with this one)

4. Graphite Studios (this is a spin off of a suggestion from Sarahs husband)

Keep in mind, I’m not planning on all my paintings being real dark. I want to make some more simple contemporary stuff too.

But anyway..let me know what you think sounds good. It would be greatly appreciated

Somewhere along the line I’ve become very bad at planning things & making decisions. Or maybe I was never any good at it, and I’m just now realizing it? It’s a mystery. The fact remains though.

I’m going to my brothers this weekend, and it’s really taken me forever to decide on how and when to go. My dogs throw a wrench in things (as always) - but even more than that, there’s this whole “what time do I have to leave to get there at XYZ time”

That requires me to count on my fingers and everything. And I can’t just do it once, and then remember, noooo, that would be too easy. I have to keep reminding myself of the plan and count on my fingers each time.

It’s so exhausting. That’s what my man should be here for. I mean, I’m all about some feminism but men are just good at planning things and reading maps..all that stuff.

Anyway, this is what my horoscope told me today:

Glenda,

It’s hard to believe that things are getting better, but they truly are. You just need to get through the next couple days of focused planning and practical thinking. The rewards won’t just show up out of the blue, but they will come if you apply yourself now to the work at hand. The more you do today, the greater the recognition to follow.

Is it just me, or is this intimidating? What could I possibly do today that would make that much of a difference? Eeek.

I have to take both of my dogs to get their annual shots in about 30 min. That should be fun. And costly. Don’t know about any recognition.

Plus, it’s only bathroom’s and cleaning the floors day! Is it asking me to do more?

Hmmm…maybe it’s a call to paint, and whatever I come up with will be a true masterpiece?

That’s a nice thought.

See? You tell me which one you like the best! haha. If you click on the pics, you can see them even larger.

This weekend I tasted a Green Tea Frappuccino from Starbucks, and I’m in love. It’s the best With all the “frap” I’m sure it takes any and all nutrition benefits away, but it’s totally worth it.

Anyway, that was the highlight of my Easter. Saturday I got up at 5:30 in the morning, which is just wrong!! It should be against the law to be up that early on the weekend. I was trying to make it out to my birth fathers (or as Andrew likes to call him now - my “bio-dad” - which sounds so weird!) for an Easter egg hunt they were having locally at 9 am. I was early, but we were still late to the hunt. So it was all in vain. Ah well, what can you do?

All in all it wasn’t a bad day, just a little exhausting because I had brought both of my mutts, who are huge pains, and then also having to keep an eye on Audrey most of the time. She worries me because she is so fearless, and just plain ornery.

I did sneak out at one point and went to a new shop in town, “trade post” something..I can’t remember the exact name. Anyway, it’s a used shop with a bunch of cool antiques, and other rare things found at auctions and stuff. The prices were great too.

I’m proud to say that I finally got my turtle I was wanting for months now!! I mean, sure he’s got a glass shell that lights up from a light bulb from the inside..but regardless, he’s a turtle, and he’s mine. Of course I named him Ernie. I will post pics of him later. I got him at the shop for $10! I think it was meant to be.

So those were the highlights of my weekend, at least it wasn’t totally boring.

Yesterday the girls and I stopped at a scenic overlook right outside Manhattan and I took some pics, they turned out pretty good, I’ll post them later too. I have one pic “as is” and then another one where I adjusted the color and made the sky purple and the trees and hills a lush green. I have to say, I like it better with the purple sky!

I’ve been tagged again! I don’t really mind though, cause I really have nothing else to blog about today. My week has been cool and very productive with the exception of Tuesday. Physically productive though..not mentally productive. Derrrr.

Anyway, back on the subject - I actually totally luck out on this one because earlier this year I did a post called “10 weird things about Glenda”, so basically all I have to do is pick out my top 6. Easy enough

I’m lazy, so I just copied Sarah’s “Rules”, so here they are!! -

Here are the rules:

3. Leave me a comment letting me know you have completed your mission
(should you choose to accept it)

And here I go..I’ll try and keep this short :

1. I’m still, and probably always will be obsessed with the smell of Pinesol. It actually has a great way of calming my nerves.

2. Kind of a spin off of #1, I have a little phobia about germs and dust mites. I wash my hands at least 15 or more times a day, wash my sheets at least once a week, vacuum my curtains, etc etc…and don’t even get me started on bathrooms.

3. I love cold food. Most of the time better than anything warm/or hot. Especially cold soup.

4. I constantly bite my lip through out the day. If I’m nervous/excited about something, it’s even worse.

5. I’m a grinder (my teeth that is)

6. Balloons freak me out. They are so damn unpredictable! I hate the “POP!” that comes out of nowhere.

Now for the tags. I’m going to choose 6 people that I would genuinely love to hear about their weirdness…Basically to get to know them better and all that fun stuff. The only catch is that one of them doesn’t have a blog anymore, so I’m kind of breaking the rules!

1. Deawn (come on sis..ya gotta answer one of these!)
2. Damon (Cause you also passed up my last tag! Plus you’re so quiet..it would be cool to hear something like this out of you ;))
3. Tim (because it’s fun learning about Tim!)
4. Dwain (He doesn’t have a blog..but I’m still curious)
5. Linsy (I doubt she’ll do it..but I had to try)
6. Blair (” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” “)

All I have to say is that it’s a good thing I was on my game Monday, because yesterday was perfectly USELESS. My mind was moving in slow motion, and my body just followed a long.

Now all my chore days are messed up, it’s a total disaster. In fact, I can’t even remember what chores were for today..I just know I’m a day behind on something. Hmmm. Now I have to look back at my old post, and consider writing them down, if it’s ever going to work, anyway…

I just finished with a double dose of caffeine, so it should produce good results.

We shall see!

*update* -

Excellent! I just looked back at my chore days, and yesterday was supposed to be laundry and giving the dogs a bath. I couldn’t bathe them anyway cause they just got Frontline put on them (keep the fleas off) and I think I’m supposed to wait a few days before I can give them a bath so it has time to absorb into their skin. Anyway, I can totally handle today, just a little laundry and bathrooms..oh and some floors..it’s doable.

Writing on here about it isn’t getting me anywhere though, hehe.

Have I ever shared that Procrastination is my best friend? It’s always there for me when I need it, and never asks too much from me. It’s a true gift.

One I’ve been working on for a little while.

It’s an emotional piece, and evident that I was working through/expressing things in my past. There is something very liberating about making them, and if I was communicating with my mom at this point, it would just feel great to let her see it and tell her that this is what happens when I think of my life with her. I don’t think any other words would be needed.

Think of some adjectives that you think describe the feel of this painting, and you’ve probably summed up quite well how I felt and still feel regarding her.

I guess that’s the beauty of getting it out on canvas..sometimes it can say more than you could ever put into words.