Phoenix

Slowly but surely I still am creating art. I've been pretty busy now that summer is here and I have other projects going on like Moly_X, which is really interesting and a challenge.

The whole idea of the Moleskine exchange is that you have the Japanese fold Moleskine and each artist draws on two and a half pages making sure to blend into the previous drawing. Then the book is passed on to the next artist.

This drawing above is in my personal book but I was trying to get the feel for drawing a Phoenix for a Moly exchange.

It may see a little dark, and I think I am going to post it on ElizaDeath as well - But the over all message is being able to overcome mental illness.

I've been tagged by Caroline over at Caro's Lines and thought, 'why not'.
I haven't been blogging like I used to and have been horrible at leaving comments - It's as if I am just looking for an excuse to stop blogging. Instead, I have a reason to blog. And with no pressure, here goes:

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I only had 3 months left wearing braces
2. I was planning a London vacation
3. I had a miserable full-time job
4. I just started taking anti-depressants
5. My weight was a lot lighter! boo-hoo!

What 5 things are on my 'to do' list:

1. Clean Litter Box
2. Go Grocery shopping
3. Make Reiki Art (above)
4. Do some laundry
5. Make dinner

5 Things I've done today:

1. Did some laundry
2. Made Reiki Art
3. Paid Bills
4. Meditated
5. Listened to the radio

5 Snacks I enjoy:

1. Kettle Corn Popcorn
2. Iced Coffee
3. Jello Sugar free Pudding cups
4. Ginger chews

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Travel
2. Embark on a spiritual quest
3. Embark on a mental health quest (a healthy quest) ha!
4. Adopt a baby
5. hmmm... still thinking...

5 places I've lived:

1. Rolling Meadows, Illinois
2. Crystal Lake, Illinois
3. Woodstock, Illinois - And that's it! How boring!

Well, that's it for today - I still have that 'to do' list to work on.

:)

Michigan

I'm back from Michigan. (actually for a week)

I never realized how "woodsy" Michigan is - Or at least in the U.P.
I kept worrying about ticks and spiders although I don't think they have poisonous spiders up there. I loved all the nature and believe me, there was a lot!

We spent hours watching and taking pictures of the humming birds. They were buzzing us before we could get the feeder out - They must have been hungry!

Then there was Lake Michigan which went past the horizon. On Sunday night there was a huge storm where lightening fingered out - we tried to take pictures of that but were too slow.



We did all sorts of out-door things like walk in the woods and combed the beach for shells and at night we built camp fires and watched the sky.

I completely ate like crap yet only gained one pound, which is not too bad.
The only thing now is that I want to continue to eat donuts for breakfast and s'mores right before I go to bed.

Alas, 'yummy-time' is over.

Look at me now.

Wow, look at me now. For someone who is usually a 'stay-home' kind of person, I sure have been out and about!

This picture is at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, where Lisa Williams was performing live. Luckily, it is the same driving time to either Milwaukee or Chicago from where I live. This was a treat because I have never been to the Pabst Theater. It is absolutely gorgeous.

I love Lisa Williams but I have to say I had way more fun at the Oak Brook book signing than at the actual show. At the book signing there were little 'magic' things that happened that night that were really lucky and felt 'wooOOooo'. Where as the live show was exactly like watching her 'Life Time' show except without the editing, so, we sat through a lot!

No more news about the ghosties in my garage and most of the time when I go out there I don't even think about it - And the funny thing is that I'm usually taking out the garbage and have to walk all the way through to the front - it's always dark because I don't bother turning on the light but I'm never scared - I am more than positive they're nice ghosts.

So, I'm off again - This weekend I'm going to Michigan with my friend to her parent's lake-house for a really nice and relaxing time. I must remember to bring my camera and take pictures.
Note to self: remember to charge the battery!

With all this social-ness that's been going on, I think my social anxiety has been getting better. Who knows maybe I will actually get over this whole social-phobia someday.

:)

Back to normal...

I still feel like I'm reeling from last week - Even though everything is back to normal except me. I still want to go out and do exciting things, I want to drink iced lattes, and have someone else make dinner while I relax on the couch. God, I'm spoiled!

After my parents left I had to go back to my normal life. I've finally am caught up with all the postcards and letters I like to send and return. And I finally had the chance to go over to my friends house and hear the EVP that was recorded in my garage.

There were four distinct sounds that they heard and couldn't explain - And I agree, but my mind keeps telling me that there has to be some kind of explanation.

1. Two chimes of a Cuckoo clock is the best description although the last note is one pitch higher.
2. What sounds like someone blowing on the top of a bottle.
3. A man saying something or someone "said". This one was very hard to make out.
4. A mans laugh.

The sounds are very clear and distinct. I do not own nor have I ever owned a cuckoo clock. And the man's voice is very low and hard to make out.

It's strange because these sounds are very distinct from the other sounds like when the Ghost Busters were talking or walking and moving about.

I keep thinking what could have made those noises and come up blank.

On a side note, my garage is separate from the house and is not the original garage. The original garage was in the back-yard and more like a mini barn. This garage doesn't even sit on where the old one was. But... The land that the house is on used to be a garbage dump. As it is now we constantly have broken bits of old glass and strange metal bits coming up to the surface in my garden.

The Voice

Since we left off, I had met Lisa Williams the Clairvoyant Psychic, got the very last copy of her book in Borders and then was having the Ghost Busters come check out my house the day before my parents were coming for a week visit. Whew! Talk about cutting it close.

I suspected that the Ghost Hunters wouldn't really find anything - Whether it real or made up, I seem to think that a lot of this paranormal activity is going on inside my mind.

Well, they came over none the less and did several readings with an EMF gauge, temperature gauge and EVP recorder. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and I decided to tell them about my creepy garage and how I think someone was killed in my car. (I can't explain why I think someone died in my car I just get a 'feeling'. ) So they did the same tests out in the garage.

A few days ago my friend called me with the news - All was normal except... there is a disembodied voice in the garage which came through on the EVP recorder!!!

The sad news... I haven't heard it yet.

Being that my parents were in town and my friend now has a cold I have to wait to hear what is exactly on the tape. My hopes are high but I can't make any claims until I hear it myself.

I will keep you posted.

Lisa Williams

I can't believe this is the only decent picture! Blah!Look how tight my hands are - Can you tell I'm nervous!

I finally decided to go to Lisa Williams book signing - only because my sister-in-law said she would go with me. And it was FANTASTIC!

All the stars were aligned perfectly - I got a book even though they were sold out and some really lovely ladies gave us their extra 'first-sign' wrist bands.

When I finally got up to Lisa I was so gob-smacked that I could not think of one thing to say to her. Seriously I was dumb-founded. I was talking while posing for the picture which left me with a stupid picture AND I was so nervous I can't even remember what I had said. I hope it was something nice and meaningful. She was great though - She hugged everyone!

It was such a fortunate and fantastic time I had a hard time falling asleep when I got home.

Today I'm going to spend the day reading :)

The Portal

Here is a picture of my house when it was bought and before it was restored by Dan's Parents.
Looks kind of spooky doesn't it?

Originally the house was owned by L. Gabrielson and his wife maybe as early as 1937 because we found an old round metal vehicle tag in pristine condition dated 1937 hanging in the basement. I know that they were there until at least 1949 because in the basement, L. wrote his initials on the chimney and dated it. Then the house passed down to their son Sam Gabrielson who lived there until 1967. He is the one that passed away in his easy chair in the living room - At that time he was an old bachelor.

Now, I don't know the exact location of Sam's easy chair but I have a really good idea. It's the South corner of the room - The spot where I always see fairy lights. There is a good chance that because I'm watching TV and this is in my peripheral view there is something going on with my eyes but I seem to think otherwise. And I'm a skeptic by nature.

But the strangest thing that happens in that corner is how my pets react to it. Once Arnie with all his hair on end, barked uncontrollably at that corner. And there are many times when Hannah looks into the adjacent room at the same corner and has her head and tail down. She won't go into the room no matter how much I coax her.

And that's enough proof for me. No matter what the Ghost Hunters say, I will always think there is something 'whoooHooo' about that corner.

Made from Stars

I've got a weird one for ya today -
I'm having my house investigated for ghosts.

Yes, you read that right.

Through a friend, I know a group of people who investigate houses for paranormal activity and they want to check out my house. I don't think they are going to find anything but it will be a fun experience none the less.

If you know me, then you know that I get into all that 'WoooWooo' kind of stuff. Besides, I have a great house built in 1897 with one known death in the living room. The spot in the living room where I sometimes think I see weird things out of the corner of my eye (and think I should get an eye check up.)

I don't know, but it'll sure be interesting if they do find something - And of course I'll let you know :)

Sleep Comes Down

After having my ipod for two months I'm still loading music into it. I'm to the point where I pulled out the big box of CD's that is taking up a lot of space in the basement and has all the old music from my youth.

Back when my whole life hinged on music the format for playing music was either LP or cassette. My favorite cassettes were slowly replaced by CD's and now I guess the CD's are being replaced by MP3's.

So, while I was listening to the Psychedelic Furs, I couldn't help but use their song as inspiration for this collage.