Lemons Into Lemon Meringue

Question: What do you do when your bathroom is having some work done, and you are without a toilet or shower for the night? Answer: Hotel time! This was Champ's answer to this very same question last Wednesday night. And off to the Red Lion we went to surprise the kiddos with a mid-week night out.

Little happy campers in their bed.

"Mom, you never let us jump on the beds at home!"

And the best part?
(other than a great glass elevator)

An indoor swimming pool to hide out from the rain!


Champ and I sat poolside while the kids got their swim on....2 hours. Seriously!



And the next morning, up bright and early for "Crazy Hair Day" at school. This is Deven's gelled and spiked 'do.
Libby opted for starfish buns :0)


Sheesh, I need help fomatting! This was Deven going to sleep (obviously).

The pool was so much fun, I had to leave you with this parting shot! So the lesson from all of this: When life hands you lemons, make yourself some lemon meringue!

Rallying for a Cause

Last week I attended a rally at the Oregon State Capital to promote the Public Health Care Option. This event was organized by the Salem chapter of Moveon, a political action group. It was a beautiful afternoon; sunny, breezy and full of energetic supporters of the public option. Here are a couple of pictures I took of the surroundings.

I'm still figuring out the formatting thing, this guy was supposed to be at the end...he was there solo, promoting his own cause. Would have loved to talk to him about this sign.

One of the speakers...
Some signage.

This was the chairperson of the committee that put on the rally. She was a very passionate speaker, and it was obvious this is a cause she really believes in.

All in all it was a good lunch time gathering. I would have liked to see a more diverse gathering of people....different ages, economic status, and ethnicities...health care affects us all.

From a Child's Eyes

These are my kids, Olivia and Deven. You probably already know that! I wanted to preface this post with that info because this is going to be all about them, or rather, their perspective. As a family, we attended the opening night of the Launchpad Gallery's Family Show. Fitting, right? This is not the first art event the kids have attended, last year we took them to another opening show and they had fun. The secret? Give them a camera, and let them go! So, here is the show from a child's perspective. Enjoy!

Dayna's piece Never Enough Time (click HERE to see her post about this piece)

Ms. Dayna herself! By the way, she did an extensive post about the opening night also, click HERE to check out her blog, and views of the show from Dayna's eyes.

My dear husband, Champ, from the side.
The photographers, out from behind the lense.


My piece Lonesome Wanderer.
Deven and his mama.

The them was 'family' and it was great to see so many interpretations. I would love to talk with this artist to hear the connection. That's the amazing thing about art: it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but the artist.

Deven (with Dayna's hubbie, Howard, in the background)

Shelby's piece All That Remains.


Cute pic of Dayna and I...but who is the curious on-looker in the rear?





Howard is the cutest! I wish I knew which piece intrigued him so...


I guess this means goodbye! I hope you enjoyed the view.

Surreal Uber Awesome

I had the honor and pleasure of taking an art class with the talented and F'in awesome Traci Bunkers at Art and Soul on October 1st. The class was titled Surreal Uber Painting, and it was everything it claimed to be. The techniques she taught for this type of painting really mesh with my mixed media style. Plus, I love the word Uber....meaning BIG. No teeny weenies for me (the pun is either intentional or not, depending on if you laughed).

I didn't take any pictures of the process because I was so engrossed in creating the piece, and absorbing Traci's awesome energy, that I didn't take a pause to shoot some pics. Know this: I will be utilizing this technique again very soon....thoughts of some collaborative work with my talented friends have been swirling vigorously! And of course, I will keep you all posted.

Traci graciously let me take her picture at the end of class. These are her Surreal Uber creations; the one on our left is in progress, the right is a completed piece.

Traci from another angle. Once I hauled out my camera, some of my fellow classmates started snapping pictures too.

The class was really fun, and you should check out Traci's work using the link at the beginning of this post. She sells some really great things like vibrantly-colored dread ponytails and great stamps, journals etc. Probably the coolest chick I've met from Kansas!