A Quarter of a Century Ago

Twenty five years ago at 9:28AM today, I gave birth to the most gorgeous, beautiful daughter. This is a fact (her gorgeous-ness)! I chose not to know what I was having. A very intouch physician told me that it is the only great surprise that God gives you in life and advised me to wait. I am so glad I did. My deepest part of my heart wanted a baby girl. She is my greatest joy; she has the largest part of my heart. Happy Birthday Kristin Marie Bryan aka Pix. I love you more ~ Dix

Artist's Way Graduate~That's Me!!!!

The title says it all. Wednesday, March 25, 2009. I completed my 12 weeks, of the 12 chapters, of The Artist's Way. Was this journey life changing? Ooooh Yes! It has been added to my life's bucket of best experiences. It began last year in the fall when I saw an art class called Itty Bitty Pretties taught by Dayna Collins. I emailed her because I didn't see it on the calendar of classes being offered. Several emails and months later, and I was signing up for an Artist's Way class she was offering in Salem. I honestly had no clue what the class was about. I thought it was just making some crafty little objects in Salem each week for 12 weeks....boy was I wrong!

Each week was a chapter of reading, tasks and awakenings. Morning Pages (daily journaling) and Artist Way Dates (taking and treating myself to a date by myself of my choosing) was new to me. Unloading my Crazy Makers and Poisonous Playmates, a week of Media Deprivation and the chapters' Weekly Tasks; I found myself becoming more honest with myself and others. I shared with people outside of the group; some welcomed my new growth, others did not.

The lady that took me and the others through the chapters each week was Dayna Collins. There are no adequate words to describe what she has done for me. Each week she would welcome me into her home to listen and guide. She has one of the most warmest hearts I have ever known. She gets what life is about,what it has to offer and what needs to be given back. She takes the high road and she IS BOLD.
If I could give you one gift in life....it would be for you to have a Dayna in yours!
There is no greater gift!!!!

My Artist Way Gals!!

The final night we had to present our "Omega" projects. Mine was a accumulation of the 12 weeks, the 12 chapters, my Artist Way Dates, my weekly Angel Words, the return to "The Hood" and re-embracing my sister Pam. On my 12 stairs, to the right are the Artist Way girls that so greatly supported me each week, and to the left are my Fab 7 who unconditionally support me in my life (each were symbolically chosen).






And....I got to see Dayna's art studio..... Nothing but the biggest "Post-O"!

Serendipity

Tuesday was suppose to be my Artist's Way "graduation". It was moved to Wednesday night because Dayna was still battling that dang bug. But what should appear...."Serendipity"!!! My card teacher Dawn Sorem, was having an "Easter Card Class and Come See My New Art Studio". I had originally said I couldn't make it, but as luck would have it, I could go.


After meeting new friends and making our cards......



...we then got to see her new studio!!!! Every nook had its cranny, every embellishment had its bin. Her card making studio is superb and splendid!!!!





Thank you "Serendipity" for this wonderful treat!!!!

Happy 79th Mabes!!!!

March 20, 1930 ~ the birth date of Mabel Florence Schaffer!!! On Sunday we celebrated the 79th birthday of Mom, Nana, Great Nana, Mom-In-Law, Friend aka Mabes!!!

Mabel and Baby Phillip loved her birthday tiara!


Kristi & her Nana!!!!

Baby Phillip!!!! Can a kid get any cuter?!

Mabel's BINGO Gang!! I did ask them for their favorite "to live by" quotes in life (Mabel-isms) ~ Mom's favorite "Just Tryin' to Matter" by June Cash. (And then there was one in German about being thirsty and swallowing a sausage or ??? It rhymed but just sounded nasty!) And adding quotes from ex-Husbands turned into One Big Tango!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!! Can't wait for the BIG "80" Party Bash next year!!!!

Ashlynn with Two N's

Saturday afternoon I was invited to the Welcome Home Emily party, a beautiful baby girl born to Jamie and Devin (Yina's niece). Oh what a gorgeous baby she is!!!!

Another highlight of the day was getting to meet Miss Ashlynn. I have met her briefly on several other occasions and have been the recipient of many hilarious stories delivered by her Aunt Yina.

I had a Happy Baby Day gift for her and even before she opened it, she looked at her card and exclaimed, "SHE SPELLED MY NAME RIGHT, WITH TWO N's!" And then she took off through the house to show everyone the spelling. To be that happy with just someone spelling your name right. Made me think. The real treat was when she pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to come and see her room. Newly painted a vibrant pink, she showed me her drawers of crafts, her awards and her most cherished pictures. And then it was to the closet to show me her glitter shoes, one red pair and one pink pair. A quick turn to the shoe rack behind her door yielded a silver pair.

She was in her glory, she loves herself, see loves her artwork, she loves her pink bedroom. And she was not shy or afraid to say it. How I wish (when I was listening to her) that I could be like that (daily). I sent Dawn an email today changing the name of my Artist's Way doll to "Ashlynn" (with two N's!) as I think she is my alter ego.

And then there was Mr. Dillon who loves those tiny boxes of cereal, so I included one of those in his bag of Happy Baby Day presents. What cracked me up about this kid was his overly enthusiastic squeal when he pulled out the cereal. Not only did he want his picture taken with the cereal....

....it was also really important to him to get his picture with the "other" side of the cereal package.

The birth of a new baby, sparkly shoes, tiny boxes of cereal and a Great Aunt named Yina makes for a spectacular day. Oh, and also spelling Ashlynn with TWO n's!!!!

One Thing Just Leads to Another

Saturday morning I attended a class at PCC called Your Brain and Neuroplasticity: How to Develop it. The class description was "Neuroplasticity is the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural paths based on new experiences. When you learn, there are persistent functional changes representing the new knowledge. Have fun learning to keep your brain nimble."

The class was filled with half lay people and half medical professionals and/or teachers. The discussions were extremely interesting and the insights shared were great. The instructor was a lady that went back to college and got her degree at age 50. There were several others in the class getting their degree in Gerontology or getting an extra certificate in that arena for the current medical field they are in. I looked at Stan and said, "I think that's it". Not that I want a "job", but the knowledge (and degree) in Gerontology, just so I know and am aware of things to come and options.

Besides discussions of facts and theories, she had us do a couple of exercises. The first "number/order" was a breeze. The second took a couple of marker tries, and was only accomplished when the "pink" marker was brought out.

Another part of the class she had us do Double Doodle. Stan was worried about "coloring outside of the paper". I assured him it was quite okay, no grades were to be had and that the police were not watching him. The man went from markers, to chalk, to pastels.....he was a doodling maniac.



Gabriel did what appeared to be two horse heads, almost identical using both hands at the same time

and Laura Lou drew a fantastic troll gnome using both of her hands!

Laura Lou also told me about a "Laughing Yoga" class she goes to once a week on Tuesdays at 7:10am on 12th & Belmont Portland Laughter Yoga. I could feel my eyes lighting up as she was telling me about it and some of the laughing exercises you do there ~ I'm definitely signing up!
So, from an early morning class on The Brain and Neuroplasticity, I am now headed for some sort of Gerontology degree and a class on Laughing Yoga.

One Thing Just Leads to Another....

$5 Exploring Resin~Warming Up & Ooh la la

Another GREAT "$5 Fridays-A Recession Busting Art Escape". This week Maria Raleigh taught us about resin (not as frightening as I thought it would be).

The class was held at the Woodstock DIY Lounge location and had 16 students.
Our take home project using resin would be bottle caps that could later be turned into magnets.
We found the image we wanted and glued it in and then found little embellishments to add...

...before pooring in the resin.

Our final masterpieces turned out fantastic (can you guess which tray is mine?)


I arrived home to this beautiful sky in my backyard

and felt so delighted in feeling the warm pink sky and holding my 6 tiny yet dazzlingly resin filled bottle caps! Ooh la la!!

Pinky Swear

Life's Cheerleaders ~ Those people in your life that no matter what you do, think that you are wonderfully great. My longest known girlfriend cheerleader is Miss Becky. We met in the 6th grade when I started attending a new school. She lived around the block and she knocked on my door and invited me to walk down to the record shop, to scour the latest 45's. That knock would be the commencement of a forty one year old friendship. In all of those years she has always been one of my greatest fans; and I am hers. Hard to believe, but even with different views on issues, we have never gotten into one argument. There has never been one day of ill will or jealousy. I admire her HUGE heart; she gets me.

I got to spend this evening with her. We had dinner at Henry's and then went and saw The Importance of Being Earnest at the Gerding Theater.



We have a "Pinky Swear" to grow old together. I know we will. And we're taking our 45's with us to the home!

Phenomenon

He "buys my chairs." It's one of my favorite scenes in the movie Phenomenon. Robert Duvall's character, Doc, is talking to Banes, a man who's having trouble with his woman:
Doc: Banes...how's your lady love?
Banes: We... um... we broke up.
Doc: Really? That's too bad, yeah. Now George has a love at his side and she is sticking with him. You know why? Because he bought her chairs. That's pretty smart to me. You ever buy Lisa's chairs?
Banes: Doc's real drunk tonight.
Doc: Every woman has her chair, something she needs to put herself into, Banes. You ever figure out what Lisa's chairs were and buy 'em?


"Every Woman Has Her Chair". I love this quote because I truly believe that every woman has that "something" that she needs to put herself into. And blessed be the man that buys her chair.

Tonight at my Artist's Way group, we got to take plain white muslin dolls and paint, dress and embellish them. We laughed, wondering if our dolls were really our alter ego's. Hmmmm....Black Stockings and Pink Lipstick? I'm thinkin'.... oh yeah!!!!

Lists and Meaty Treats

I love lists. My 100 favorite things, my 100 least favorite things, my 5 top guys I wouldn't mind being stranded on an island with. Mr Gabe Rodriguez is on that last list, and I got to spend this afternoon with him! I first met Gabe around 5 years ago while he was down at the University of Oregon. He's one of those guys that when you are down, he's there to give you a noogie. He is a lover of movies, and a lover of life and laughter (and just so dang good looking!).

So when he text-ed me last week asking if I wanted to see a movie this weekend, I was immediately just tingly excited...YES!! The four of us (his friend Michael and Kristi) aka "The Crazy Cores" went and saw Race To Witch Mountain.

Surprisingly, it was a pretty good movie and it just proved that sometimes in life all you need is "A Bone and a Meaty Treat"! It's the company you keep that make your life wonderful.

After the movie, we went to Echo. I have decided that Echo will be my first restaurant entry on my Mac N Cheese Blog,
PDXMACnCHEESE. My second time there in the last few weeks and it was (again) fabulous.

It was a great day grasshopper, and remember......


...I am just a wormhole away!!!!

$5 and Post O's

For the next 7 Fridays, I have signed up for "$5 Fridays - A Recession Busting Art Escape" being held at DIY Lounge at Collage. They are being taught by Maria Raleigh. Half are being held at the Alberta location and the other half are at the Woodstock location. For the ones being held at Alberta, my niece Lynda (a Sauvies Island artist) is joining me. Each week is something new and exciting and different AND ONLY $5! This Friday was "The Wonders of Molding Paste".

A very very fun evening of molding, texturing and painting!!



These were my creations for the night!!

These were Lynda's creations!!

And these were Vickie's (Lynda's friend from St Helens)!!


Saturday morning I took a repeat class called "Itty Bitty Pretties" taught by Danya Collins. I took it again because I LOVE THIS CLASS!!. Everything about it is great. Even the bottle of water she brings for you with her card and a splash of color on it just warms the heart. And then there is the huge table of "embellishments" that can best be summed up in two words...Post Orgasmic!! Yina and Lynda took the class with me (and loved it as well) and being that Kristi couldn't make it, Dawn from Salem took the seat for another repeat for herself as well. I'm thinking that this will be one of the crafts for our next "Good Wine, Good Food & Good Craft Night" with the girls.