Yeah!

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:48:30 -0700

"There's only one way to succeed in anything
and that is to give everything."
- Vince Lombardi

home again home again jiggity jog

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:46:09 -0700

Finally home! Yes, it was a marvelous trip, though completely exhausting! So I’m here with my girls curled up in their usual places, they seem none the worse for their week at the doggy hotel. The lady that kept them said they were "bossy." LOL! We've got two bossy bitches! We are all in our usual places tonight and all is well with the world. It is good to be home. I am soooo tired! I have had some serious back pain today from helping with putting on the shingles (yes, I love me some nail gun power tool!) but hopefully that will fade away soon enough and I’ll be back to normal.

I sold a tremendous amount of soap over the last while. There was a huge wholesale order, followed by sales at the fund raiser. Then there were a few private sales from friends of family and family and now I’m down to the bottom of the box and I’m going to be scrambling this week to get enough product together to even do the show this weekend. I've been out of town so making more wasn't an option. Now that I'm home, my "to do list" is set! It’s going to be a busy week!

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Fund Raiser Decompress

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:43:25 -0700

I dreaded this event more than any fundraiser we’ve been a part of so far. This one was the wild card – the room full of people that we might or might not know… the usual questions where the answer I want to give is “none of your business” yet somehow I have to work out something a little less rude. There were so many ways this could go so horribly wrong. Combine that with sleeping in a strange house and some strange nightmares the night before… well… I was strung a little tight. I can only say that I’m REALLY glad this fund raiser is over and done with!

Ok, I haven't been able to complain to anyone else about this... But when we heard where the event was going to be held we asked them to check and make sure the venue was air conditioned. July in Indiana can be unpleasant. Well... I don't know whatever quite happened to that but the place was decidedly NOT air conditioned and as I hot flashed and sweated all over the place... oh never mind. I'm so freakin old!

At five the crowd descended and we weren’t quite prepared for them. It was a flurry in the kitchen as I sped around putting together the final details. Thank God for Bob and Marla who showed up early on – the only people I recognized at first. After I saw them I knew it was going to be ok. A little while Ginger Sister came and I snuck into the hall to let off a little steam with her. Thank God for these people who help me retain (hey, it's all relative) my ginger grasp on sanity some days.

More and more of our own friends showed up and it was fun to go from table to table and catch up with people. Ginger Sister stayed through to the end, hearty soul. Even though this is so bittersweet for her. She’s an amazing friend! And it’s so fun to get to know the Shush Butt family, having learned to know Butt Rock Ken years ago and meeting Shush Now only a few days ago in person. (Although I used to sell her beautiful seed bead creations in my gallery years back.) Their children are delightful! Zion is a doll baby and Mark and Amanda are such cute parents!

And my crazy/favorite aunt showed up. She drove in from Elida, Ohio. That just blows me away. After just a few moments with her I remembered that I used to adore this irreverent mouthy woman who speaks her mind and has a delicious sense of humor. I hadn’t seen her in 18 years! I hope it’s not so long next time. That was such an amazing surprise!

The money – whew! Can’t believe there was that much of it – all in one place. And plenty of it from folks we don’t even know (friends of the family.) Uh… speechless! Even me! Ok, so maybe speechless isn’t the word… how about astounded! That works. Lunch is on me! Ha ha, just kidding! Yeah… kid…ding… This was all about our adoption. It’s getting closer… I can just feel it. Good thing! It’s time. I want my kids.

Yeah, I want my kids to come home.

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My Weekend on Shuffle

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:19:05 -0700

Well, it’s been a quiet week in Staunton, my (adopted) home town…

The morning of the Farmer’s Market I awoke at 5 am to the sound of a steady rain on the roof. We toyed with our options and finally decided to go on site, talk with some of the other venders and then decide. Selling soap in the rain didn’t sound like fun to me. The van was already loaded, everything was set, it was just a matter of getting myself together. So we went over, realized that all the venders – more than usual actually – were setting up. So we decided to stay, in spite of the rain. We got the tent out, set up and the rain vanished. The sun came out and the tourists descended. Hours later I was tired and happy with the day’s sales. We’d sold cookies, cherries from our cherry tree and lots and lots of soap. Best FM ever! What a delightful treat! Plus I'm getting to know the venders on either side of me and that is fun. Scary, because I'm dreaming of working in alpaca and angora right now... but fun.

Sadly, Saturday was also the day of Adam’s Burial and Funeral. I missed both because of the FM but spent some time there after finishing up. I’ve never seen so many mourners in one place, all dressed in black and white. Adam was young, 27 and a gentle and loving man. He went out of his way to make outsiders a part of the family. (Very much like his dad.) He went far before his time and his loss is tragic and life altering for his parents. I did go to the viewing and it was really rough to see that lifeless body in the casket, it hit home in a way I hadn’t expected for me then. His parents would glance that way every now and then - he was still there. His foster brother is a friend of mine and I think my heart broke as much for him as for his parents. John, Adam’s dad hugged me tight and looked at me and said I was getting a couple of these to worry about – meaning the children we are adopting. It was a moment. Yeah, nothing puts the heart at risk of being broken like having a child. Parents are supposed to die first, it is the natural order of things. Such wretchedness, to see our dear friends lose their son.

Sunday was rather low key at church, it was subdued in face of this tragic loss among us. I was at the piano so I didn’t see much of how people were reacting, but the tone was a little more somber than usual I guess. Pastor’s sermon captured my attention and I liked what he said and the spirit with which he said it. He’s in a series of sermons on the parables of Jesus and this week happened to be on three parables about loss. The lost coin, one other and then the parable of the lost son. He made the point that I’ve never heard a preacher admit to… that God’s mercy and redemption come before His law. I think it’s a profound truth of scripture but we’ve seen the law come before mercy so often we think that’s the way it should be. He made the point that right and almost right are not the same thing – almost right is still wrong. The Pharisees saw people through the law first, they missed the loving compassion and there was no redemption in their perspective – only cold hard law. So when we allow law to be the way we relate to people, missing God’s foremost desire for compassion, redemption and mercy… we get it almost right. And almost right is wrong. I couldn’t help but wonder if he realized the ramifications of his words from a political perspective. If the religious right started acting a little less like Pharisees and a little more like Jesus… then the community of faith wouldn’t cast their votes based solely on two issues. Cold hard law is wretched. Compassion and redemption… now there’s something miraculous. There is something amazing about this grace!

Today has been a wild ride. I took soap to a local shop and they bought more than I had expected them to. Almost double what they had agreed to initially but they seemed to really like everything I brought so I just got my first wholesale order as a soaper. He seemed genuinely excited about the product and excited to have this box of soap. And I was thrilled! Now THAT was fun! I’m now really really low on stock and as soon as we are back from our trip, I’ll be full tilt into production to catch up.

I also got my first Etsy order today! They ordered alphabet photography and I’m very grateful for the order! I had wondered if that venue would ever yield anything for me and it’s nice to see that it finally has. Maybe this will lead to more. I hope so.

We’re packing up to spend almost a week in Indiana among friends and family. I’m really looking forward to catching up with people and I really hope that people are not all out of town on their own vacations. It will be time away from the daily ritual and that’s great. When I stay in the home of family I do not get the private quiet time that I’m used to having and I often find that this wears thin rather quickly. I’m just one of those weird people on the borderline – neither introvert or extrovert – just stuck right there on the line in the middle. I need both the private moments and the public ones! Plus we’ll be putting on another fund raiser event – only I haven’t been the one doing the planning for this one so it could really be interesting to see how it all comes together. I’ll be setting up a small display of my artwork and doing a cake for the event as well. It will be an intense week full of much activity. Not exactly a vacation but a welcome break from the routine.

I should go pack, especially since we leave first thing in the morning. Chow for now foxy voxers!

Hug your children, tell your family that you love them, you never know what tomorrow holds!!!

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I hate the 4th of July!

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:58:12 -0700

The golf course behind us puts on a huge firework display each year which means our normally quiet neighborhood gets swarmed with rude people who think they are entitled to park in everyone's yard, driving all over anything in their way. If you put up line, they'll cut it. People have to chain off their land to protect it from these rude people - yes real honest to goodness chain! People bring their own fireworks and the fireworks from the city bring the noise level to an incredible level. The golf course is covered with humanity, and I can't believe that they allow this on the green! The noise shakes our windows and makes the groud beneath us move. It drives our two border collies to a dangerous place. And me right along with them. I hate this! I hate it with a flaming purple passion! Would all these patriots just please go away and leave me alone?! Why in God's name do we celebrate this holiday with such extreme NOISE?!!!

Another reason to hate the 4^th of July. Our neighbors are out in their yard setting up a pair of stereo speakers that come up to the shoulders on the teenager. Of all of the portions of their yard, they party in the part that is right outside our bedroom window. We struggle with them playing their music too loud most of the time. And now they’ve brought out those things. I hope it rains.

Oh merciful heavens, they’ve just plugged them into the getto buster and turned them on. They are both pointed directly at our house. Their music drives me up the wall. In my own house, with all the windows closed and the loud air conditioner on… Please rain! Please please rain! Wasn’t it calling for a thunderstorm this afternoon? Please ?

I guess I'm going to be THAT neighbor. I hate HATE the 4th of July. We have to go to a viewing this afternoon of a friend's son who died. That is horrible enough. But we don't know what we'll find when we get back to our property. I hate this holiday! Rain? Please? We need rain!!!

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Get Yours Today!

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:41:41 -0700

Shameless of me I know, but I was really happy with how these turned out so I decided to share them with you all. I designed these from photographs I've taken of the letters of the alphabet. And from these I've uploaded the images and had a line of t-shirts, etc made on cafepress.com

Obama plain

Obama 2008

Check this out: http://www.cafepress.com/carmenrose

That's where you can view the clothing options with the above designs on them. Here are two examples I liked:

Obama shirt

Organic cotten obama tee

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Could it be?

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:27:31 -0700

The Honda Momivan

I said I’d never own one of these. An old VW vanagon maybe, a station wagon maybe, an SUV maybe, even an old hearse or limo, even something that has been spray painted with huge flowers in neon colors and has something welded to the roof. But NEVER EVER a mini-van. Oh the aesthetic horror of driving something that resembles a shoe box. Oh the amazement that we own something designed to trap and amplify squirmy loud baby humans and all their accoutrements. Oh the nightmare of trying to find this one among all the others in the parking lot at the store! I do not approve of this choice or this automobile. Have we no originality whatsoever? Have we completely sold out?

It is nice inside though. And drives beautifully. And its doors pop open when I push the button. I hate to admit it. Me likey. Well… maybe that is a bit hasty. I don’t actually Like it or anything. But it’s growing on me. Yes, I’m the owner of a Honda Momivan. I might as well buy a cause ribbon, a soccer ball sticker and an honor roll student sticker. Oh wait, maybe we should finish buying the kids first.

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Mourning

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:44:28 -0700

Today I mourn with our friends the Sprouls who lost their son at the age of 27. He was found dead in his hotel room this morning. Exact cause of death unknown, but alcohol appears to have been a factor. Thus ends the long saga of an adult son who never really seemed to find his way. He lived the life of a vagabond, dumpster diving his way from music festival to concert. His parents paid his bills and repeatedly bailed him out of jail. Finally his journey is done. My heart goes out to his parents.

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The Longest Ride Home

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:37:38 -0700

I got to work and everything was fine. Hubby dropped by and we walked down to the court house to get my passport, only I forgot that I needed passport photos. So we headed back up the hill to King’s photo, had the photos taken (urgh!) and then waited around until they were printed and cut and ready. Back to the passport counter to pay the lady and sign on the dotted line.

I drove my packed car to Harrisonburg and unloaded my work at a gallery there. I went through and priced everything, made nice labels, etc. I worked with Sarah to make a nice display and stepped back thinking to myself that it looked pretty good. I had a little headache then but didn’t think much of it.

I did a little shopping, killing time mostly because there was a birthday party in the evening and I didn’t want to waste the gas to drive all the way back up there. So I putzed around town for an hour or so. I visited a fabric shop and then Ross, followed by Michaels. It was fun, and every now and then I wondered why my head was hurting. What am I allergic to? I don't know. Finally, I checked out of Michaels thinking I’d better get something to eat because the headache came with a little nausea, so I stopped by Micky D’s for some Sprite and Chicken nuggets. Ok, dumb move I’m certain, but when one’s head starts to hurt, one doesn’t want to be in a loud supermarket looking for real food.

The headache grew. The food didn’t seem to phase that headache and didn’t seem to help the nausea all that much either. But at least I wasn’t in danger of passing out from hunger. I finally pulled over to consider my options. I could go to the party in this iffy condition or else try to make it home. I tried to make it home. What followed was one of the worst drives of my life.

By then it was moving from headache into migrane. And as my vision narrowed I held on to the stearing wheel tight, trying to keep myself together while trying to obey enough of the laws so that I wouldn’t face a policeman in this condition. The bright sunshine was driving me crazy. I had on my sunglasses, the moonroof was closed and all the visers were down and I was driving in a forced squint. The nausea threatened to hijack the whole deal and I was beginning to think that drive-urping was eminent. There really aren’t places to pull off very often on the road between here and there and each time I passed something I wondered if I was doing the right thing by trying to continue. I kept thinking I was just going to pull over and make hubby come get me. But then I’d think of what a hassle it would be to go back and get the car later on, how much gas it would waste and I just kept thinking that I needed to make it home. I just needed to make it home. At times the headache got pretty fierce, even with my tolerance for pain it was really something else.

After fourty five minutes of that I finally made it home. I wasn’t thinking clearly so I lugged in an arm full of stuff that I didn’t need from the car (don’t ask me why.) And when I got to the door I was hit full in the face with a very fragrant dinner on the stove and I thought I was going to hurl right there on the spot right from the fragrance. This is not the kind of response hubby was expecting, he knows I love it when he cooks for me. I headed for the bathroom on the double and managed to keep down what little was in my tummy. I washed my face and crawled into bed with a washcloth over my eyes and the world vanished from my view. That was six. I didn’t come to until 9:30. I got up, tried to eat a bit and lay on the sofa petting my puppies as they came to investigate. The head felt better. Way better. Shortly later I was back in bed and slept right on through till this morning.

I feel more rested this morning. I had a lovely breakfast and my head feels strange but not painful. I’m going to take it very easy today! I have a show tomorrow afternoon so I need to get ready for that, but otherwise, I’m taking it very easy!

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Cool Quote

nobody@vox.com(Artzy Carmen) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:59:29 -0700

Ladder

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run
into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through
it, or work around it."
- Michael Jordan

Amen

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