(Photo from last year in November)
If feels like I went to bed in August and woke up in Late November/early December!
The tress are already full of color and are slipping out of their leaves. If I remember correctly, this happens after Halloween. But it is only October 14th! I suspect this is going to be a COLD winter for sure.

I slept with my socks on last night. Not sure it that was out of being lazy and tired and forgetting or rather a primal instinct which said-YOU MUST SURVIVE this utterly chilly night. Ha! AND like a dummy-I slept with the window open no-less! Fine before bed at night when it is still a little warm from the sun of the day, but so cold in the morning for sure. Even the cats were on the bed. Poppy with Thomas, Virgil with me, Duck between the both of us, and Vespa-well...he was on his favorite blanket downstairs, curled up tight like one of those fuzzy caterpillars. He is a moody teenager.

Today I will prepare for class which means wearing messy clothes for pouring plaster for casting and carving. I also give back grades for the first project. It is the last of the must do's for the week. I then can look forward to doing a few things for myself. The forecast says rain for the next two days which is just fine as it should make me stay put in the studio and get down to working on sorting all of my jewelry supplies. After all of this traveling, everything seems to have merged into several giant piles. To me, staying in the studio while it rains seems just fine. I know I am going to feel much better once it is all rearranged and I can get down to some real work.

Looking ahead to this weekend, I will be heading north to New York to visit my Uncle, to stop in & say hello to my friend Pepper at her new salon, and anything else that I can come up with. It is just a quick trip so I do not think I can get to the museums very easily. I tend to loose LOTS of time when I am walking around looking at art. I love it! But there I think I will try to just do more sightseeing and perhaps go to Pearl Paint or some other interesting stores... Sadly Metalliferous is not open on the weekends... sigh. I am hoping that I will be able to find some place similar and just as exciting... any thoughts?

Okay- I gotta get moving. I have to get cleaned up, eat something and get into some serious grading.
Looking for 4:00pm!

xox

HA! I am going to try to post something each day. Something... nothing huge. I feel as if I have lost the Blogging bug. It is all because of Twitter & Facebook I suspect. They allow you to say with you need fast... Same with Flickr- post a photo and go go go...

SIGH

So I am going to try and retrain myself to post again. Both here and on my other blogs. I allowed Live Journal to just return to a basic account since it was the one I seem to use least. I keep Xanga because I have been here the longest and have SO MUCH documented.

Okay-lets get to posting shall we?
It is Tuesday and feels like Monday. I thought I had off yesterday and discovered that Towson did not have off- so I managed to get to school and teach without fail.

Last night I was really grumpy after having a REALLY good dinner- because I knew I had to go out to that TERRIBLY Messy studio and begin cleaning. It seemed so overwhelming but somehow my frustration helped to get it done. Not to mention Thomas, who really managed to get things cleaned along with me.

This morning, I am up with a cup of coffee and I am going to go back out to the studio and attach that studio-more so- my area with all my messy supplies. I have new containers to sort things. Later tonight-Teaching... (Night classes are a little more challenging than day ones of course-much different pace and LONG! I don't finish until 9:50! LATE!)

Okay- So that wasn't so hard. Lets see how tomorrow goes...
xox

Photos from a delicious simple dinner:

AMAZING Fish Tacos! New for El Salto-New favorite- for sure!

Thomas being silly!

Kitten is doing great-trying to get close to Poppy when she is sleeping

Ahh my little man! Such a love! Follows me around like a little duck...
After some thought-and planning to name him Vegas it seems his personality aligns more so-with a silly duck and so we decided call him Duck!

He is truly an amazing little creature!

(*Did I mention he sleeps between Thomas and me? All thought the entire night...)

More from me soon- Now back to making some shrines... I have not created any in a while and found some inspiration to make a few for Art & Soul in Portland.

Today my Mom would have been 74.
I miss her and love her each day.

Thinking of you Mom...
xox
j a n e

(New Found Object Jewelry piece-work in progress!)

I am here... just not so wordy lately-Been on Summer (Mental) Vacation lately!
However- that will come to a crashing halt later this week And starting August 31- as I begin teaching college art again. Just two sections Mon & Wed and Tuesday nights. I think it is going to get me back to a good tight schedule! I sort of love being held to schedules. More ANT and LESS GRASSHOPPER can be good! So when the kids go back to school- so will I!
I hope this brings me to Blog more...
Fingers crossed!
xox

Well- I went to my long time family doctor to talk to him about my year long issue with my bleeding and all around cycle disorder.
He listened as I told him the details. After I was finished with everything I wanted to say, he said, "Welcome to getting old".
HA!
He seems to agree with my GYN. Not only does he agree, he knows him and he suggested that I go ahead and have my lining removed. He said that at my age that I didn't want to even think about getting into having a baby- as the risks of having a "downs" baby was very high let alone other complications, learning disabilities, and a slew of other things... if I could even get pregnant- after Thomas dying and me finding someone who would want to have a baby...
You see- this is all extreme situations of course.

I asked him about cysts, tumors, etc and he said- that with all the tests I have had already and the countless exams, that there would have been something that he could have seen or would have shown up in those tests. He said that he has many patients who have this similar problem and that this is very normal. He joked and said that women are completely screwed up inside! Haa! I AGREE!

He then said- "Get used to it" and that "I am at the beginning of the end of a normal life"! That I have about 10 years of unstable periods, followed by menopause around 50. WHEN HE SAID 10 years and referenced the number 50 I had a serious out of body moment. HOW DID I GET THIS OLD?!?! I almost wanted to cry.

So I left the office feeling better that I asked someone who knew me for the past 13 years, and who I truly trust.

And so... I am going to give that surgery a consideration. BUT right now- at this very moment, the low dose birth control pills I have been taking to clear up my face are actually holding strong- and preventing me from bleeding! WHO would have thought! It has been about 16 days! YeeeHa! (Watch tomorrow I start again! Ugh!)

Anyhoo- I just thought you would want to mostly-final update... From here on out- I think I am just not going to worry so much and left age sink in!

Ahhh... age.
BLORT!

And so I have returned from Los Angeles...
I had a great time I must say. It made me rethink a lot of things about me and my art and what I want to accomplish in the future.

When I got back, I had to go to that Doctor's appointment for the biopsy. It was a little painful of course. Nothing too terrible. I thought I would bleed a lot more but mostly nothing. I thought to myself- OH NOW I DON'T BLEED? Haaa... I will get the results next week. Doctor upped my dose of Birth Control pills because he still suspect that it is just my cycle misbehaving. He says he just can't seem to see anything...wrong. I reserve to make any assumptions or even say anything more than this until I have results. At this point... I just don't really know anymore and I am really tired of even thinking about it...

After all of this- I had a big deadline to attack- which I did and now- Thursday evening- I am done with things which are pressing on my mind.

I look forward to going to the gym tomorrow. I took several photos tonight and saw what 2 careless weeks of crazy food choices can do to a body. It made me have one of those sessions of thinking- HOLY CRAP WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MYSELF! I had gotten on the scale at the doctor's office and it said I weighted 135lbs! To me that is like saying 300lbs. Any little increase on that machine makes me crazy mad. Today, having tried to adjust my eating in the past two days- noticed that the scale said- 132lbs. 

WHAT is it going to take to get into the 120's??? If it means going to the gym each day? Then I shall do it. Does it mean adjusting my food? How so? What do I need to do that I am not doing? No more hot dogs for a long time- is a given! hahaha! No fastfood? Easy for me- as I rarely have that. I guess I just need to stick to steaming veggies and avoiding crap. I also think I can really be stricter with my proportions... But damn- I feel like I eat so lightly as it is?
Ahhh everything in moderation I know.

And so that leaves me with the weekend.
RAIN again tomorrow. WOW- is our weather totally screwed up or what! SO cold and so much rain... It really effects my mood and motivation. Makes me want to sleep and sit on the couch so much. I have not been going out to the studio at night... uuugh.

So this weekend I think I shall work a little on some new art. I also want to work around the house a bit and of course- get outside- as there is promise of the sun... we shall see.

And so- that is all for now.
More again in a few...
Going to bed.
G'Night.
xox

I love funny men and singing puppets...

I think I am in love him!Thank you for posting this John! xox

I know my new direction- I closed my eyes and sat quietly for a very long time and the visions came.
All I will say is-

and a little of that

and of course- mix it together the way I see it in my mind and I think I might have something nifty...
Cryptic? Indeed- so stay tuned!
xox