Tuesday, April 27, 2010

If I Could Turn Back Time.........

Today I was thinking about Cher. When I was a little girl, my favorite show was the Sonny & Cher show. Later, after her divorce, Cher had her own show. Did you watch it?


Robin and I had Cher dolls and we loved to dress them in that leopard jumpsuit that she'd wear with the blonde wig. Do you know the one I'm talking about? It was one of the characters that Cher played on the show. I also loved the part where she'd sit up on top of the piana and be a "vamp." Funny show for a young girl to enjoy, but I loved it. Cher was beautiful and glamorous and talented. She did that thing where she'd swing that thick, dark hair of hers. It was pretty cool.

When Max was born, he wasn't the best sleeper. I can remember sitting up in my bed late one night, nursing him while my husband, Todd, slept beside us. I was watching Cher again, but this time it was a concert on a big ship.  She was in her 40s and wearing something crazy and see-through - you could see her tattoos through the outfit and she wore a curly wig, a leather jacket. I remember thinking that I wanted to be Cher-like in my 40s. The jacket, in particular, was nice, a really great jacket.

Unfortunately, I am smack-dab in the middle of my 40s and I am not very Cher-like. For example, I have no young, handsome "bagel-boy" like Cher had. Where is my bagel-boy? I love bagels, but that doesn't seem to help at all with the boy aspect of the bagel boy equation. Plus, I only have 2 tattoos and I don't wear see-through clothes. I do not own a leather jacket.

I remember reading about Cher in her 50s. She didn't enjoy them much and now in her 60s, she looks different, although still very glamorous. I think I'm satisfied with being Michelle from here on out.

And just to be random..... Have you watched Justified? That Tim Olyphant, he's in his 40s. I do appreciate a man who is going gray around the edges. Brown eyes, also very nice.

** Blogger won't let me load a photo. Grrr**

Saturday, April 24, 2010

It's a Good, Good Day.......

Just a quick note.... I am having a really great day. Mom brought me by some bush beans for my garden and my neighbor upstairs gave me some tomato plants last night. It's not raining, sun is shining. I think I'm going to split my day between inside and outside chores. Not, oh-man-I've-chores type chores, but I'm glad-I'm-getting-this-done stuff.  I hope that you have a wonderful day!!

One last thing..... Don't forget to enter my skin care giveaway at Girl Looks Swell!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Max Needs A Jogging Stroller

I think I've mentioned before that my son, Max (19), is disabled. As a young disabled person, he fits within the requirements to receive some wonderful services. I appreciate these services very, very much. I am lucky that I live in a state (California) that offers these services.


Sometimes the service organizatons refuse to work together. Three years ago, Max's school nurse suggested that Max would benefit from a jogging stroller. She knew that I was a runner and she also knew that I was concerned that Max wasn't stimulated enough, that he was always sleeping. By having a stroller of this type, I'd be able to take him running with me, plus it would make it easier to camp, go to the park, etc. I'm unable to take his seating system - a wheelchair that doesn't fold - with me in my vehicle, so we end up staying home. All the time.

Far Northern Regional Center will pay for a jogging stroller for Max. To do so, they need a letter from California Children's Services saying that they will NOT pay for one and they need two examples of chairs that would work well for Max (CCS is the one who is in charge of Max's OT and PT). Each organization says they have done what needs to be done on their part and then they tell me to "keep on" the other organization. They say they can't take the next step without something from the other organization. Both places say that their last communication was August of 2009.

Why don't they talk to each other, instead of me? I realize that I'm asking for something for free here - a therapy-based stroller that will make me son's life better. My problem is this - these people are not volunteers. They are paid to do these jobs. If there were not kids like Max and families like my own, then their jobs would be unnecessary.  Please give my kid the stroller before he's too old to qualify for it. PLEASE!!!! I wish that I could buy one myself, but the therapy people say he needs a special setting system which puts it out of my price range.

Tomorrow I'm calling both agencies. I want to talk to someone who can cut through this and get Max the equipment that he needs. I haven't asked for anything in years and I don't forsee having to ask for any special equipment again.
 
Thanks for reading this. I needed to vent a little

Happy Earth & Win Free Organic French Skin Care

Hello! Just a quick note....... I'm giving away some wonderful organic eye cream over at Girl Looks Swell today. It's from France, oo la la, and I've been using it for about 2 weeks. Good stuff. You can find the Bioethique Eye Cream giveaway here.

Now it's time to get Buddy to school and me to the eye doc. Have a wonderful day!


Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Running On Empty-ish

I'm running out of ideas for my Shutter Sister's 365 Project. I've taken photos of my patio before and after the flowers bloomed, before and after the rain fell, plus the rubber lizards, plastic spiders, the little Eiffel Tower, and the cherub.

I've shot Sarah mulitple times, Kitty even more. I've shot Bay and PJ, Mom and Pam. I've shot my fish, Goldie,  and a few dinners. Breakfasts, lunches, too. I've shot inside my car, outside my car, and my reflectio,n as caught in a puddle, on the way back from my car. I've shot a bit of the park and the front of Raley's Supermarket.

What next?  Tonight I shot my dinner - a beer and peanut butter toast (girls were elsewhere). Boring.  Also, shot the patio, yet again, but the light was bad. About 11:30 pm I picked up my camera and shot Goldie, but he wouldn't hold still. I shot a photo of a photo - Max when he was little, then the mini bird clip that holds my time card until time card turn-in day. I'll share a few below.........





Sunday, April 18, 2010

Art Pact, Check!

I finished my Art Pact. Sort of. I want to go in and work on it with my pencils, now. Or maybe I should crop the part out that I don't like?  I'll figure it out. It was fun to get my paints out and I have some ideas about what I'd like to do for my next project.

My daughter and her boyfriend broke up yesterday. I had no idea that I'd get so attached to my daughter's friends, but I do. They are currently "talking it out." I hope they are able to come to a compromise, because I'll be sad if I never get to see him dance a little jig as we drive up to his house again. (Yes, he really does this, it's cute.)  He's nice to my daughter, Sarah, which is another thing that I appreciate. 

I mentioned this feeling to my mom today and we talked about an ex-relationship of mine that she mourned back in the day. My whole family loved that boy. Later, as adults, we tried again, but he wasn't the same. He seemed to be, he was good at appearing to be someone that he was not. My mom does not miss him this time. Not at all.

Bay picks sweet, shy boys. They have a touch of goofy, which is a plus, in my book. I wonder what sort of boys Sarah will pick?  I have a feeling she will go for goofy, too. It's a quality we value in our family.



Saturday, April 17, 2010

Art Pacts and Pancakes

I think I mentioned that my friend Cherie and I made an Art Pact last week. Last night I finally got started on it. I said I'd be done by today. D'oh! Here's what I got so far.


I really need to work on my watercolor basics. I forget about 80% of what I learned. The next one will be better. (I hope). You can see Cherie's progress here.

Sarah and  I found a great recipe book in the latest Food Network magazine. It has 50 Pancake and Waffle recipes. Today,  I made my own version of a combo of three recipes in the book.  I made Yogurt Pancakes with Chocolate Chips. They were so fluffy and good. If you want to try them, you can find the recipe at my food blog here.


Image credits: Michelle Hamor Smith

Monday, April 12, 2010

Ruby Tuesday: Crayon Colors

Something colorful for Ruby Tuesday........ Can you tell what they are?  If you want to take part in Ruby Tuesday, click here.


Saturday, April 10, 2010

We Made an Art Pact

My friend, Cheir Burbach, who is currently in the midst of a virtual book tour for her book, 21 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Someone With Diabetes, and I were talking today and we've made an art pact. We have given ourselves one week to do a painting. She paints with acrylics and I paint with watercolors, but neither of us has painted anything in a long time. 

I thought that by doing something creative, but not writing related, it might jump-start the whole creative process. My girl, Bay, reminded me the other day about how much I enjoyed drawing. She said something about my paintings (completed YEARS ago) and I've had the urge to get my pencils out and doodle ever since.

Not working for b5 has really opened up my ability to brainstorm new ideas. I don't feel so bogged down because of a daily deadline and because of this new freedom, I feel able to write more, come up with more ideas. Except for the days when I'm fighting with my teenager. On those days, I have no ideas, no energy, no anything good. Stress is not good for any sort of creative process. 

I've been looking through my Flickr photos to get an idea of what I might like to paint. So far I have these photos in mind. If you have a chance to look and you feel any sort of inclination to push me in the direction of one or the other, please let me know which one you like best in the comments. I put this one up last night, a purple iris,  or maybe a pansy, or maybe I should try something like water on a leaf?

And if you get the chance, I've reworked my beauty blog Girl Looks Swell blog and I plan to write there regularly now.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Saturday Update...........

Busy week. I haven't updated in awhile. My date went well, but no spark. Here are a few of my pictures from the week.

Lots of cool temperatures and some rain this week. I am always trying to catch the rain drops.

My flowers are waking up. This is a bright pink pansy, but I kind of like it in black and white, too.
Happy Easter to you!