TWT March 16.....CONTEST!

Recovery, by Tyndall

In a stroke of good fortune with the health powers that be, my sinuses are getting some much needed surgical TLC.  If that stroke of good fortune continues, I will get some much-loved, potent meds that either knock me out flat or float me over the next 2 T-w-T’s.  So over the next couple of weeks, I am posting some oldies but goodies.  But before we get to that…

In what I hope will be my uber-zen (pharmaceutically-high) state of being, I will need some entertainment.  I want you, the LL readers, to post your favorite blogs and some sage&hilarious comments to get me through my recovery.  Whoever posts the blog I find most entertaining, alongside some tried&true healing wisdom (or downright, laugh-out-loud commentary), wins a Lace Edge 1x1 Supima Modal Tank (color of your choosing-one of my very tops of all time-& yes, I mean a new one, not the one I’ll be wearing for my 2-week recovery).  

In order to have a robust competition (and a winner), at least 10 different people have to post blogs or comments below. Don’t send me emails.  I want comments on LL’s blog.  I also show favoritism to those readers who regularly comment on LL’s other blogs. The deadline is this Saturday midnight (the 20^th).  Meanwhile, here are some staples that regularly mend me:

1. Obviously the Michael Stars tank.  My favorite color is cement. Or deep gray. Or soft baby pink. Oh who the hell am I kidding, I have them all.  I want you to have one, too. So post. And get your friends to post. And then beat them out of a lace-beater-tank. With the love of the Lord, of course.

2. UGG® Australia 'Classic Short' Boot.  They have some great summer/ spring colors.  Current favorite: FERN. A perfect post-operative shoe. They can noodle you through pretty much anything. Right LL?

3. Exuviance Intensive Eye Treatment Pads. You’ve heard it before. LOVE them.

4. Love’s RECOVERY by the Indigo Girls from Indigo Girls (expanded edition).  It’s a constant rediscovery. Good for all types of recovery.

Now, it’s your turn…

Laura here and up there (see picture.... Yin and me).  Jasmine Star took this picture two years ago and I'm wearing thar yellow Michael Stars tank (Ty told me to), same kind that's being given away (and that I am hoping to win). When I wear them I pretend Jessica Biel and I shop at the same stores and they are longer than most so one's rear isn't exposed when one bends over to tie Stride Rites. Always a plus.

squeezed in the middle

This morning Husband took a deep breath and closed his bathroom drawer, aghast that his toothpaste tube was violated once again.  He came looking for the culprit.... Who me?  Don't make eye contact.  We are ssoooo different.

Most days our yin and yang balance quite nicely.  I make the messes and he bites his tongue.  This time of year however my yang really gets on his nerves.... tax season.  

Below is Yin's filing system for important receipts.

And Yang's filing system....

Becoming and being are the yin and yang of our lives. One inner one outer....The secret is balance.  ~Unknown

kelly's creative weekend

Art Journaling, written by Kelly

I really like words and seek out artists who incorporate language into their work.  I often clip words out of magazines and tape them in a journal.  ~LL

Art journaling is not just for artists that draw. There is an entire visual journaling world out there to fit anyone's needs, personality, and talent. A photographer, like Laura could print her pictures, cut them up and collage them into her journal with inspirational words. This journal could be a place for her engineering husband to explore the dynamics of that aerospace anatomical rocket ship. Can you engineer an anatomical rocket? I have no clue. What I do know is that even a left brained engineer can benefit from visual journaling… and that something about aerospace anatomical rocket ships sounds pretty hot! I guess the point is that you can have a mind of an engineer completely left brained and still benefit from visual journaling…(Laura, was that the point??:) ) 

Everyone can relate to words and words can really get that inspiration flowing. Here are some ideas for adding text to your journals.

1. TAPE-  You can be like my friend Laura and clip words out of magazines and tape into a journal. Laura uses tape to affix her words. Let tape be part of that collage tear the edges of the masking tape to create a worn texture, use it as a stencil, paint over it and let the tape add texture to your work, cut into shapes, use as stickers/letters, create a border around your page and/or photo. Home Depot has tape in just about every color or try for a more industrial look- graffiti style. 

2. FONTS-  Flip through your magazines and cut out words that inspire you, combine all of the different words and fonts to create your own sentences. I love mixing the different fonts. In fact, try mixing up the fonts, letter sizes, and combining lower case and capital letters. Use your computer to create varied fonts print them off on white, colored, or patterned paper and collage into your work. Print them off to use as visual guides and add your own unique twist. Invent your own fonts, incorporate pictures, and designs into your letters. Use scrolls, spirals, wavy, zig zags, and straight edges.

For example: LOvIngLife (I'm trying to be inspirational here) DrEAM Big (insert your idea for an aerospace anatomical rocket ship here.) Remember the style of font you choose will create a mood in your art. Spirals give a more whimsical feel andcalligraphy has a feeling of nostalgia.

3. PAINT- Paint over some of your words with watercolor or a thin wash of gesso (gesso+water).  I love this look where the words just peek through the thin veil of color. If you don't want your words to wash away use Sharpie's. However, sometimes I like the blurred look of a water soluble pen or graffiti. You can even completely cover parts of the words leaving the rest to the imagination. This is an especially great technique for words like: that BI*%$. Use the paint like you might hide them w/ text.  SH@%. Laura has uses this text technique in her blog on more than a few occasions. No, I am NOT encouraging you to use naughty words in your journal. But let's face it there are times when no other word will do.  Lately unfortunately or fortunately I have had to take this route in my journal. Here's hoping that next week I'll see less paint and more letters. Look at it this way, your journal a much better place to express yourself rather than in the company of your kids, spouse, boyfriend etc….

Stay Tuned…. next week I'll show you what one of these anatomical aerodynamic aerospace age rocket ships really look like. Picasso, wherever you are I may need a little help….with the drawing of course.

4.  DRAW- use Sharpie pens they come in an assortment of colors they metallic (love!).  To draw your letters make them thick and thin, use different colors, have colors blend.  Blue to green.Pink to red, After you color them in with the Sharpies go back with Gel Pens and outline some or all of the letters. Create patterns with the gel pens on top of the Sharpie. Use crayons to write and then paint over with watercolor for a cool wax resist texture. Use watercolor pencils and blur the text with water. Write over the pictures, write fast. Don't worry if you can't see the words. The marks itself will add another layer to your page.

5. Random word and phrase generator -This is a cool tool for words, phrases, etc check it out have fun!

Words are the voice of the heart. ~ Confucius  

Buzz, killed.

My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery- always buzzing, humming, soaring roaring diving, and then buried in mud.  And why?  What's this passion for?  ~Virginia Woolf

smooth as..... sandpaper

Have you seen on morning shows when they take a woman not having a bad day, put her behind a real age skin imaging machine and poof she is having a bad day?  I was the fool behind one of those machines this morning.  Husband gave me a spa gift certificate for Christmas (seems like a nice gesture, no?) but once I started perusing their cosmetic services I became overwhelmed by all my parts that needed fixin'. Unable to decide where to begin I went with the free skin consultation.

If water hits my face in the shower,  I call that my cleansing routine and apparently that is not enough. My skin is no smooth baby's butt that is for sure.  The woman helping me today was friendly and tried her best to contain her horror with my not so skintastic situation.  She spoke in metaphors to soften the blow as we looked at my speckled face, aged by the computer on the massive screen (I heart HIPAA).

It's kind of like a pair of underwear, she said with a smile.  You know, when you wear them for the first time the elastic has not stretched at all.  Then you wear them, again and again (I think she said 3 or 4 agains, not sure) and the elastic gets all stretched out.  It won't go back to how it used to be no matter how hard you try...  

I got the analogy yet as I cannot toss out my face like I can a pair of undies she didn't leave me with a whole lot of hope. Instead she gave me a slap on my free radical affected wrist for not wearing sunscreen or having a skin care routine. Then she started grabbing products off the shelf that I need and jotted down notes of services I must schedule asap.   

I compare this experience with registering on the Wii Fit-- excited to start exercising then defeated by the process of inputting weight, etc. and getting your body mass index spit out.  Overwhelming, isn't it?  Speaking of.... I don't have time to write on this blog right now!!!  Approximately 35 years behind, I have a bag full of serums, abrasions and scrubs to go apply (before my three year old smears them on the tub floor to increase the slip effect for tonight's bath bowling).

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. ~ Victor Hugo