Lisa's Day

The Rest of December

  12/26/08 1:18 pm

12/26/08 8:42 pm

12/26/08 8:58 pm I had a Sick Day today. Definite sinus infection. Bleah. I've had so much tea today. Steve ran out. He brought home a warm fresh baguette from Panera, and Progresso tomato soup. I took a nap this afternoon. I did scan Dec. pieces. That's all.

12/27/08 7:36 pm Another Sick Day for me. No nap today, though. Had a hard time falling asleep. (last night.) I coughed and coughed. Dry itchy throat. Chloraseptic didn't help. Bah. Night time is the worst when you're sick. Ugh. I slept in till 8:00 - my dry throat woke me up.

12/27/08

12/28/08 6:40 pm Lazy Day. Lazy Sunday. Sort of a Sick Day. I didn't go out today. Again. Steve ran to the store. I had trouble getting to sleep due to coughing. Then I got up at 6:00 to go down the hall. Then couldn't get back to sleep due to coughing.

12/28/08 I finally got back to sleep. I'm getting better, but I still have the itchy scratchy throat. Ugh! Still feeling blah, too. We started a game of Starcraft today. And cooked a pork roast - just plain. Garlic cloves and orange juice. Over rice. That wonderful sushi rice.

12/28/08 This evening I tore up or cut up all the little drgs on paper and all my reference photos - all of them. Destroyed. But I still have no idea what to do. Nothing.

12/28/08 What are my issues right now? What defines my life right now? [.] Disappointment. *Not getting anywhere and I'm SO LATE. *Still not reaching my goals. *Still Feeding the Fat Girl

  12/28/08

12/29/08 12:20 pm We are at La Madeleine, a cafe in Columbia. We had lunch at Panera, went to Target to spend the gift card from Susan & Steve (oven mitts and cleaning supplies). Now we're here, spending the last of the gift card from Mike, from last year. And I think this is what we got last year.

12/29/08 Two desserts and coffee. I'm going to shop Jo Ann while Steve browses Borders.

12/29/08

12/29/08 7:48 pm I'm freakin' tired. Monday. But still off! Yay. I slept in. Then we went out. I hadn't been out in three days. I'm getting over my illness, but I'm still tired and dragged out.

12/30/08 4:13 pm Wow, what a Lazy Day. We slept in. I've reached the point where I can't take any more Robitussin. I finished the bottle. No more. It's making me feel ill. Still coughing. Dry hacking cough. Blah.

12/30/08 We finished our game of Starcraft today. Steve won. We did a total conquest game. He conquered me. Then, later - he conquered me. But in a different way. Messy --- I'm still tired.

12/31/08 9:54 pm New Year's Eve. I slept in till 10:00 this morning. 10:00! We did massive cleaning today. We did all the dusting and vacuuming - the entire apt. All the walls, baseboards, all surfaces - ent. unit, computer desk. Window sills. Everything. The place is so clean!

12/31/08 I've just been Lazy today, since the cleaning. We had a great early supper of bratwurst, cabbage (cooked in the skillet after the bratwurst) and mashed potatoes (with a touch of Horseradish). Really good. We had beer with supper.

12/31/08 I had a Troeg's, then a Boddington's. Then we had ice cream. Steve ran to 7-11 for milk and vanilla ice cream. (With Hershey's syrup and Starbucks caramel sauce.) Then we opened the Beringer sparkling wine - really good. I'm being lazy - flipping channels, listening to Walkman.

12/31/08

12/31/08

12/31/08 2008 totally sucked. No recap necessary: it sucked. Totally. Really. When we opened the sparkling wine, we drank to 2009. Steve said 2008 did not deserve a toast. Amen.

And More December

  12/21/08

12/21/08

12/21/08

12/21/08

12/22/08 12:56 pm *Sick *Cookies *Dec drgs - small canvas ---NEED MORE ---NEED EMOTION / 7:47 pm I'm tired. More tomorrow.

12/23/08 5:08 pm So, Sunday I woke up sick. Scratchy sore throat. Ugh. Feeling wiped out. Ugh. Yesterday, not so bad. Today, either. I think I have a sinus infection. My sinuses hurt. Ugh.

12/23/08 I made sugar cookies yesterday, with the cookie press. I poured a thin icing over the top. WHY didn't I do that with the Mickey cookies?! These are so good. It's all the butter. While baking, it smelled like Christmas!

12/23/08 I need to write about my drawings, but will later. We ran out to a few places today. Tonight we're going to Mike's. [drg] vs. [drg]

12/24/08 11:32 am Christmas Eve! We opened presents this morning. But then Susan called to cancel today, so we're going out there tomorrow (her mother-in-law, Steve's Mom, is in the hospital). So, we're out and about.

12/24/08 3:04 pm We're heading home from Bowie. Earlier, we went to the Silver Diner for brunch: Eggs Benedict. The guy who works there and lives in our building chatted with us a bit. Last time we saw him by the elevator and he said, "Hey, weren't you guys just at Silver Diner?"

12/24/08 Then we swung by home to gas up, then up 198 - Steve ran into Shoppers for rice while I ran into Jo-Ann - store closing, 40% off - However, everything was still full price. I'd have done better going to another Jo-Ann with a coupon. The red velvet was all gone. No more space fabric either.

12/24/08 Steve wanted tan "desert" felt, so I got two yards. That was all. The woman ahead of me in line spent $82. Then we went to Panera for our loaf of Holiday Bread. I guess it's just for us, since we aren't spending the night in PA. Susan said come at about 11:30, and we'll eat about 2:00.

12/24/08 Then we went out to Bowie. We parked near Safeway and walked to Starbucks. Then browsed Barnes & Noble. I spent the last of my gift card on a meditation CD. Really. I need to meditate and clear my mind. Then Steve went ahead to Safeway while I went to Bed Bath & Beyond.

12/24/08 They were out of stock of coffee carafes. Crap. Now we're heading home. Enough of the HOLIDAY TRAFFIC for one day. Oh, and I'm still sick. I had to get up at 6:00 am to blow my nose because it was hard to breathe. Definite sinus infection.

12/25/08 7:32 pm Christmas Day. We got up at 8:00 since we had a road trip. I am still dragged out from my sinus infection that isn't going away yet. Ugh. We drove to Susan & Steve's. At least there was no weather. It wasn't even very cold - 40s.

12/25/08 Janet and Randy were there. Randy liked his bottle of Maker's Mark. Janet liked her Reindeer White Zin and garden butterflies. They gave us a ham & cheese box. Susan & Steve gave us a Target gift card. Susan wanted to get us decorative stuff.

12/25/08 What are my colors? Um, what?! I was trying to explain that I don't have any. I do not decorate! We had a great meal - rare beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and wine. I had four glasses of wine. (!)

12/25/08 When we got home there was a message from Mom, so we called them. She loved the little snowman on a sled I got them at Michael's. Jami left us a message on the 23rd that she just loved her whole box of stuff I sent.

12/25/08 I feel like I didn't even work that hard this year to get really cool stuff. I guess I did without really trying. Jami sent a big envelope of stuff that was belated birthday and Christmas: a set of cards with a Mooshie and a notepad w/Griffin.

12/25/08 I didn't even see the Mooshie at first. It's a painting of a cabinet full of quilts, with a black cat lying on top of them - a black cat with bright green eyes. Inside the birthday card was a $50.00 Jo-Ann gift card. Also a pack of four Batik fabric fat quarters.

12/25/08 And a Mooch and Earl book - it's a children's book, but it's so sweet. It's Mooch and Earl! (Mutts.) And for Christmas, $100.00 cash! I didn't even write what Steve got me - we opened gifts yesterday.

12/25/08 The other day he let me open one early - Prison Break Season 2. I watched the extras from Seasons 2 and 3. Yesterday he got paid so he ordered me Season one on Amazon. He got me all four Star Wars Commando novels. - Clone troopers.

12/25/08 The Sia CD and the Cars' Candy-O. And the Coldplay 2003 Concert DVD. He said he got that for me before I put it on my Wish List. We're watching it right now. It's really good. It came with a live CD as well (like the Madonna sets).

12/25/08 He liked the stuff I got him. Flags of our Fathers and Iwo Jima came with a bonus documentary DVD. He liked the books from his Wish List (Osprey Essential Histories - Russian Civil War and Boer War). And the new headphones for the computer are fantastic.

12/25/08 The other day I finally drew another face on the other 8x10 canvas. The eyes are open on this one. I kept smudging the lines so they wouldn't look too "correct." I resisted "fixing" any perceived errors. I like it.

12/25/08 And after looking at it, and the drgs I've done in December, I realize why I'm so dissatisfied with the drgs. I don't want to do ghostly figures with no faces. I need the faces and the expressions.

12/25/08 Man, I'm wiped.

Still More December

  12/14/08 4:47 pm Blah Sunday. I feel SOOOOO unmotivated. Can I just say that 2008 sucked?

12/14/08 Friday night was the [Holiday Party], at Union Station, in the Thunder Grille. It was fun. The House Ale was fantastic. I had six glasses. Wine glasses. Probably the equivalent of three beers. Had an interesting conversation with Mrs. Boss.

12/14/08 She finally came to find me by the bar and said, "Hi! The woman who spends more time with my husband than I do! Sorry about that." Ha! Then she tells me the nephew wedding they went to in June fell apart. Four months into it she up and left him.

12/14/08 Then their daughter, who got married in August, is on the verge of leaving her husband, due to clash of personalities which everyone saw beforehand but them. Wow. Soap operas. So, we rode Metro home late, like 9:00 pm.

12/14/08 Saturday I got paid - YAY! Monday is actually payday. We went out shopping. First to Corridor. I made a list on my computer at work, and had a sparkling wine picked out for the Girls and a Sake for my Boss. But I ended up getting different stuff.

12/14/08 Near the door, I spotted this cute White Zin with reindeer names - don't even remember which ones. I was going to get one to try first, and this guy wheeled his cart past us and said he got a case because his kids love it. (His adult kids!) [It is: Prancer & Vixen White Zinfandel by Eight Tiny Reindeer Winery in California.]

12/14/08 So I grabbed three more. We opened it last night - it IS good. And a store employee saw us looking at Sake and recommended one, so I got it. Then we went to Target for a ton of stuff. Then home to dump the stuff. Then to Michael's. Steve went to Best Buy. Then Starbucks (of course).

12/14/08 Then Harris Teeter for grocery shopping. Last night I wrapped up Jami's stuff, in the square ramekins I got at work, forgotten by a caterer. I'm four gifts short! So I need four more little thingys. I found something for Mom and Bob at Michael's.

12/14/08 Decorative Snowman on a sled. And I opened my paper from Daniel Smith and they sent the wrong thing! Aargh! It's soft. It's NOT Stonehenge! I emailed them today. Today I also scanned and posted the end of November.

12/14/08 I'm so behind on blogging, but it's hard to get motivated when nobody is reading it. And I have no artistic motivation to speak of. I'm getting nowhere. Nowhere. Utter failure.

12/15/08 8:59 pm I forgot to write about my Anaheim Pepper chemical burn yesterday to my hands. I cut up two for the pork roast and chili. I dug out the seeds and membranes with my hands. Later, I sneezed. I put my hands over my mouth.

12/15/08 Then happened to lick my lips. A few seconds later: AAAAHH! PAIN! TINGLING! Steve had to pour me a glass of milk! Later, after doing some dishes - the hot water - my hands were ON FIRE.

  12/15/08 They were tingly off and on for most of the day! Last time I do that. Today - my bangs were CRAZY.

12/16/08 9:20 pm Messy. I told Steve I felt like my life was just slipping away, and he said, "What did you just say?!"

12/17/08 8:14 pm I forgot to put out butter last night for chocolate chip cookie dough, but this morning I put it in the oven. Before we left, I mixed up the dough. It's Martha Stewart's recipe, but I'm aging it 36 hours per the NY Times.

12/17/08 This evening I mixed up dough for Martha's Cowboy Cookies (they have oats, nuts, coconut and chocolate in them). I broke up two Lindt milk chocolate bars for those. I will bake tomorrow night. They're for gifts. But I sampled the dough. Yum.

12/17/08 Now I'm kind of liking my poufy bangs.

12/18/08 12:37 pm At lunch. I better make a note and a drg before I'm scrambling out of bed for paper. Tonight I have to bake cookies. And take the bus home, because Steve woke up sick, with a scratchy squeaky voice.

12/18/08 I also have to run out to Corridor for some mini liquor bottles for Jami's gift. I am still two items short to fill all the ramekins. And I need to find something for Steve's birthday. He said awhile back he wanted whisky for sipping.

12/18/08

12/18/08 I trimmed my bangs this morning, and the rest of my hair. But I have to trim again - my "tail" right in the middle in the back. It's nice and tapered, but too long. Not bad for pulling forward to cut.

12/19/08 7:58 pm It's Steve's BIRTHDAY today! But he stayed home. I took the car. He still needed a day of rest. I let him open the whisky this morning before I left. After I got home, I saw that he'd gotten into the Maker's Mark. He liked it.

12/19/08 I gave out all my presents at work, and got all mine. Everyone liked their wine & cookies, and Boss Man liked his Sake. He gave me a $100.00 Barnes & Noble gift card. He said since it was my last day, he had to go out shopping last night.

12/19/08 Then I opened Darla's gift - the Peanuts Holiday DVD set! She said, "You know we just ask Steve what to get you." Michelle made us all Bailey's - homemade Bailey's. Can't wait to try it. Sharon came in around lunchtime - she's still sick.

12/19/08 She got me a big cat calendar, which I put up at my desk. And this plastic figure of Charlie Brown, with the "Pathetic Tree," complete with Linus' blanket and a red ornament. And a Peanuts card that plays Peanuts music when you open it.

12/19/08 And a $50.00 Lands End gift card, because she knows I hate my work clothes. She went home when she took me to the Metro station. I stopped at Safeway on the way home for frozen lasagna. Stouffer's Italiano - yum.

12/19/08 Strange drg. I'm tired. Really tired.

12/20/08 8:39 pm Jason called last night! I heard Steve pick up the phone, but I was ZONKED OUT. I mean ZONKED. I don't feel so good today. We did lots of shopping today. I'm wiped.

Some More December

12/7/08 3:38 pm Lazy Sunday. We got a slow start. After lunch we started a Fed Comm ship battle. We're hanging around before we go out - have to make a few stops before we head out to Mike's for gaming. It snowed last night. It's all gone, now.

12/7/08 I don't really know what I'm doing with my drawing. I think I just need to keep drawing and work it out. I probably won't come to any conclusions for awhile.

  12/7/08

12/8/08 8:15 pm Did anything happen today? Not really. Still on the bus. Both ways today. Actually, all week. Except Friday. That's our Holiday Party. And Steve only works till 2 pm that day.

12/8/08 I really should:

12/9/08 9:30 pm OMG! Almost forgot today!

12/10/08 5:58 am Cooling off on the couch. After my shower. Naked. This week I've been getting up at 4:30 am for a short workout. And I've been doing short evening workouts, instead of just sitting on the couch watching t.v. I haven't really gotten much drg done. I feel like I just don't know what to do.

12/10/08 I feel like I'm just drifting - no plans, no progress. Just get up, go to work, come home. Sleep. My tedious life. So I had to start working out again. We'll see if I make any progress. I feel like my brain is disengaged. And I don't know how to re-engage.

12/10/08

  12/11/08 8:03 pm What?

12/12/08

12/12/08

  12/12/08

12/13/08

Some December

12/1/08 8:06 pm

 

12/2/08 8:13 pm

12/3/08 12:57 pm

12/4/08 12:54 pm

12/5/08 6:52 am On the bus. Yay. I'm having a better morning today than yesterday. Yesterday I tipped over my coffee before I got the lid on. Sploosh, everywhere. Even in the metal pan where we keep the oil and pepper shakers. I only had time to mop it up with paper towels. Steve cleaned it later.

12/5/08 Then, on the bus, I notice black marks on my ugly khaki pants. From resting backpack in my lap? Mishap in the laundry? And at work some renters tried to start a fire. They put a small pad of paper under a projector to raise it up, instead of screwing out the legs. It burned a circle on the pad.

12/5/08 I stepped outside our office to go down the hall, and it smelled like a campfire. Stupid people! And I'm so bored at work. It was very quiet yesterday. And dull. Bah.

12/5/08 12:48 PM

12/6/08 4:59 PM

Finishing up November

11/28/08 7:50 pm Quiet Day After Thanksgiving. We slept in. Steve wanted waffles for breakfast, so we went to the Silver Diner. We haven't been there in the longest time. We went to Starbucks. Then the mall. Yes, the mall. We saw a screaming match in the parking lot over a parking space.

11/28/08 I found a few things for Jami, for Janet, a few others. And we got a new kettle at Bed Bath & Beyond with our coupon. I went to Bass Proletariat. A little cashier had a meltdown. My older cashier had to go console little crying cashier...she came back and said, "She's new and she's young!"

11/28/08 Sunday night, due to frosting cookies - with too much frosting I might add - I never wrote about Randy's salmon dinner. He said we were having smoked salmon. I thought he meant that stuff in the package that I really don't like. Um, NO.

11/28/08 He had prepped a salmon fillet (something about salt and sugar?) and then cooked it in the smoker. MY GOD was that good. I mean, really. Then, yesterday, Thanksgiving at Mike's, they smoked a turkey. MY GOD was that good.

11/28/08 I MEAN, REALLY! That was the best turkey we ever, ever had. It was moist end to end. I'm wishing we had a smoker. You have to smoke it for 14 hours, though. They put it on at 12:30 am! And had to tend to it every few hours!

11/28/08 They had a guy over from church, and Corey. We had so much fun. There was so much food. We brought Chex Mix made with Frank's Hot Sauce, cranberry sauce, and the cookies with TOO MUCH FROSTING! Geez.

11/28/08 I mean, really. And everyone wanted my Sugar Cookies - the better ones - so we brought home the last couple of Gingerbread. Next time: Sugar Cookies in the cookie press and thin pouring of icing. Which is what I should have done.

11/28/08 I should have poured a thin layer of white icing, then piped a thin line of chocolate icing for the features. Oh, well. I swear, I am never doing that again. No more rolled and cut out cookies. I mean, really!

11/28/08 Okay, the wine is finally taking effect. I got a bottle of Beringer White Zin. Even though our pantry is turning into a wine closet. We have like nine bottles of wine. And I still have three bottles of wine under my desk. Sharon raided the wine again on Monday.

11/28/08

11/29/08 7:20 pm We drove all over creation today, in crazy MD traffic. We went to find Steve's two temp jobs, so he'll know where to go. This involved driving on 495 a lot. One job is in Bethesda, one in Gaithersburg. We were in the neighborhood, so we also went to Penzey's Spices.

11/29/08 We both got kind of pissy due to traffic, bad drivers, lack of road signage, wrong turns, etc. At Penzey's we had to run to the Taco Bell next door for a snack of tacos, because our blood sugar dropped. Next time we are paying $6.95 to have Penzey's freaking shipped.

11/29/08 Then we finally came back towards home and went grocery shopping at Harris Teeter. Then finally home. Steve tells me I look tired. He told me to go look in the mirror at the bags under my eyes. He told me I was tossing last night.

11/29/08

11/30/08 3:50 pm Well, it's been a Sunday of cooking. Steve gave me a sleeping pill last night, so at least I got a good night's sleep. Every time I woke up in the middle of the night (it was a few times), I could feel I was still under the effects of it.

11/30/08 This morning I made Cheese Biscuits. Then peanut butter oat bars. Then we roasted vegetables and made a tomato sauce for a recipe I found in the paper - roasted veggies layered with cheese (we used Havarti) and tomato sauce. Tomorrow we'll cover w/3-cheese and bread crumbs and bake.

11/30/08 We prepped for Pad Thai. Then we made dinner: chicken in iron skillet w/oven-roasted balsamic potatoes and cranberry sauce. We had salad to use up, so Steve suggested putting the chicken and cranberries on a bed of lettuce. I suggested finishing up the Blue Cheese dressing on top. Yum!

11/30/08 We're going to Mike's tonight for gaming, so Steve made the Pad Thai, and we're taking it with us to eat cold for dinner. Steve starts a 3-week temp job tomorrow, at three different locations, so we won't be able to make Tues. night gaming.

11/30/08 So, Mike rescheduled. Oh, and Steve's 3rd temp job is in DC, which is why we didn't need to find it yesterday. He'll Metro in for that one. It's been gray and dreary and rainy all day, too.

11/30/08

More November - the Week of Cookies

  11/24/08 8:39 pm Frak! It happened again!! Remind me NEVER to do this again. Rolled, cut and frosted cookies are too much work. TOO MUCH WORK.

11/25/08 6:55 pm And tonight I'm just too freaking tired. I frosted all the cookies last night. Oh, is that why my upper back hurts.

11/25/08 Then I covered all the chipboard in foil. I didn't tape them or anything. I just folded the foil in on all sides. Then I had to watch all of Prison Break. Exciting! BUT: GUYS, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! They just handed over Scylla to that dorky agent?!

11/25/08 When he shows up alone in a car?! Saying, oh a van will be here in half an hour?! I can't believe they didn't hold Scylla hostage, like: Oh, it's at a secure location and you'll get it when we get what was promised. Oh, well. As one online reviewer keeps reminding us: this is television.

11/25/08 So, I went to bed late. And got up early, at 5:00 am. Well, after one snooze. I spent half an hour wrapping all the cookies. When the first one slid off the foil, I remembered to anchor them all with frosting.

11/25/08 Good thing I had some left. I packed eight to send to Pat. Wrapped in bubble wrap. I brought one Gingerbread to Michelle and one to Darla, but one Gingerbread and one Sugar Cookie to Sharon.

11/25/08 And I put Sharon's in a box and mailed them to her, since she's out. When I logged in to ship Pat's box UPS, it said I can't use an express box to ship ground. So I covered it in brown paper. Ha! I was fine all day, till I got on the train home. Then:  ooh - TIRED.

  11/26/08 8:04 pm Still tired. Making cranberry sauce tonight. We'll make Chex Mix tomorrow morning, so it's fresh.

11/27/08 12:53 pm We just left Starbucks, and are on our way to Mike's early. Because the power went out! It blinks a lot, but this time it went out and stayed out. So Steve called Mike, who said come on over early.

11/27/08 I had been watching my tape of Top Chef - the last three minutes! I know the three candidates for elimination, but not who gets sent home! We unplugged the t.v., vcr, etc. I guess we'll have to reprogram everything. We'll see when we get home.

  11/27/08 We made the Chex Mix this morning. Yum. Spicy! I let my hair dry naturally today. Then I pulled it back into a pony tail.

I'm Hoping I'm an Experimental Innovator

11/23/08 9:01 am Sunday morning. We're on our way to Janet's. They actually are getting together at Susan's for Thanksgiving, but Janet didn't call till last week. We're always last on their list. So, she invited us out today. Because we are going to Mike's on Thanksgiving.

11/23/08 I've been meaning to write about these articles I've been reading online either by or about David Galenson. He's an economist at the University of Chicago, but he also has an interest in art. He began looking at artists and the prices for their artwork and quantifying his results.

11/23/08 He found that some artists did their best work when young, but others did their best work when much older. He also looked at poets and writers, but I was more interested in the visual artists. He coined two terms for these separate groups.

11/23/08 He calls the Prodigies Conceptual Innovators. They do their genius work when young. They also work conceptually, meaning they start with a clear idea of what they want to do and they do it. This is NOT me. I am the Anti-Prodigy!

11/23/08 He calls the other group Experimental Innovators. AKA Late Bloomers. When I read the descriptions of these artists, I though: that's me! Their work is tentative and incremental. They repeat themselves, working the same subject over and over, gradually changing -

11/23/08 - in an experimental process of trial and error. They rarely make preparatory sketches. They rarely plan out their work. They build their skills gradually over the course of their careers. They improve their work slowly over long periods of time.

11/23/08 They are also perfectionists plagued by frustration. Frustrated at their inability to reach their goal. Cezanne was notorious for slashing up canvases. And the Late Bloomers resemble failures until they finally hit on something that works.

11/23/08 Also, we tend to think of Late Bloomers as late starters, like they never picked up a paint brush till their 50s and realized they're a genius painter. But that's not the case. They just weren't very good throughout their early career and worked on it for decades.

11/23/08 Most of this info is paraphrased from an article in The New Yorker. But there was an article in Wired where Galenson took the writer on a tour in the Art Institute and pointed out an early painting by Jackson Pollock. He said it was a really bad ptg, and was only there because Pollock did it.

11/23/08 Then he explained one of his drip ptgs, the balance and unity in the image. Then he said - Seurat died at 31 - and if Pollock had died at 31, we never would have heard of him. / I think that I have been trying to work conceptually, and failing miserably because it goes against my tendencies.

11/23/08 It's like in Grad School when Maritza looked at a drg I did and immediately asked, "Where are your anatomical sketches and studies?" as if that were the only way to do artwork. Art schools definitely try to wedge students into the conceptual mode.

11/23/08 But often I feel that if I already have such a clear idea of the finished work, then what is the point of executing it? And I keep trying to plan, even though I hate that. But I don't have enough self confidence to just start working and see what happens. [I'm afraid I'll mess it up.]

11/23/08 8:38 pm Frak! No time for drg tonight! [Due to frosting cookies. More later on that fiasco.]

Galenson New Yorker Article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/20/081020fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all

Galenson Wired Article: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/genius.html?pg=1&topic=genius&topic_set=

More November

11/18/08 12:58 pm I went to lunch late, so I have some time. I brought my sketchbook with me, but I haven't been inspired yet. I've been trying to let go of my mental crutches, but I don't know what to replace them with.

11/18/08

11/19/08 8:26 am I just got to work and texted Steve: Oy it cold.He texted back: *warm hug*  I replied: Kiss Kiss Kiss!  Don't forget carpet of yellow leaves.

11/19/08 7:35 pm

11/20/08 8:25 pm

11/21/08 6:33 am I am on the Green train. Yes, this early. I have to take minutes at an 8:00 am Bored Mtg. At Greenbelt I was walking up the sidewalk and this young man said, "Hello, Miss Klow." It was one of our Fed Ex Ground delivery guys. I told him I was here really early. He said he was running late.

11/21/08 The other day I made a note and never got back to it. I walked up 13th instead of 14th, and at this one intersection two trees had shedded bright yellow leaves and there was this carpet of yellow all over the street and sidewalks.

11/21/08 And on the corner was this pretty dark red brick townhouse with a rounded corner. I wish I had a cell phone with a camera. Oh, that's not right. Next time I'll sketch it. Next time I'm there and have time.

11/21/08 6:35 pm

11/22/08 9:32 am Getting an early start. Yesterday, after SIX HOURS IN THE MIND-NUMBINGLY BORING BORED MEETING - 8:00 am to 2:00 pm - and I helped myself to lunch since they didn't take a break but took their lunches back into the Bored Room.

11/22/08 -anyway, afterwards, I went up to WP for a few things. Steve called me on my cell to say that Pat sent us each a card with a check for $250.00 in it! Early Christmas, Hannukah, Birthday. Wow! She signed the cards Mom/Pat.

11/22/08 Wow! So, we're out shopping today. We're getting some stuff we've been putting off, like new windshield wiper blades, and sweatpants (ours are shredded, like shredded). Steve got a pair of new gloves at Target yesterday. However...

11/22/08 When we got home, he had what looked like black soot all over his face. The gloves? They must be washed! He looked like a coal mine worker. The gloves are like suede. Eventually, he's going to find some Isotoners. He left his on a train during his internship.

11/22/08

11/22/08 9:16 pm So - it's late, but let me catch up. After a quick stop at Michael's for treat bags for cookies, we drove out to Chantilly, VA to go to the gamestore. Steve wanted Fed Comm expansions. We could get them from Mike, but Steve wanted to support our local game store.

11/22/08 He hadn't been there in over a year. We also wanted lunch at the Gyro place, but it's gone - replaced by a Vegetarian-Vegan place?! We asked at the gamestore, and they told us about this Afghan place - a market/grocery store and cafe.

11/22/08 My God was it good. There was a butcher cutting meat in the back. We had Lamb and Chicken Kebabs. Steve chatted with the woman up front, then the guy cutting the meat, who told him it had been slaughtered yesterday. Fresh!

11/22/08 We couldn't finish it, so we brought home leftovers. SO GOOD! Worth driving all that way. We came back - amidst crazy traffic on the expressways - and went to Corridor, then Target. Steve did laundry when we got home, so we have brand new sweats to wear.

11/22/08 I made Gingerbread and Sugar Cookie dough. We called Pat to thank her. Then Mom. Then I scanned and blogged. Late - for two weeks ago. After dinner I baked cookies. That's about all for today. Oh, and: Intruder alert! Intruder alert! [more beetles]

Mid November Blahs

11/9/08 7:14 pm Unusual Sunday. Steve went to work at his temp job. If my writing is a bit wobbly, it's due to having had wine. I didn't do much today. Long workout. Then, it took me awhile, but I did a drg on canvas.

11/9/08 And I SCREWED IT UP. Getting started is always the hardest part. If I mess up, it tends to be weeks before I can get back to it. But I forced myself to get to it today. And I got too far into the drg before I saw a flaw.

11/9/08 Oh, and it SUCKS, too. Steve came home and looked at it and said, "It's still too structured." It's the Grass Cat image, although I then erased the window and Grass Cat, so only the figures remained.

11/9/08 I didn't realize until I was too far along in the drg that Steve's head is over too far to the right to fit with his shoulder on the left. Crap. Only parts of it are as "loose" as I'd like them to be. The rest SUCKS. Bah.

11/9/08 Drawing while drunk.

11/9/08 P.S. We have been invaded by beetles! It's those beetles who gather outside the windows. Some get inside. We say: "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" Fri. night in the middle of the night I brushed one off my arm!

11/10/08 8:18 pm I've had wine again.

11/11/08 7:39 pm Uneventful Veteran's Day off. Steve went to his temp job. I did a long workout. Posted to my blog. Made dinner. That's about it. Oh, and I got out my grad school slides to look at the very first loose, gestural drgs I did.

11/11/08 I don't know what I'm going to do about my drg. I'm trying not to let my screw-up on canvas lead to weeks of inactivity. Depressive inactivity. (Sigh.) I like my drg better now that I've erased most of it.

  11/11/08 I need to practice drawing bigger than the j. pieces. I have the tiny j. piece sketch down. It's still the problem of going bigger. That's messy.

11/12/08 7:51 pm SCRIBBLYYY! [Said like Invader Zim in the Christmas episode, when he said, "Jigglyyyyy!"]

11/13/08 12:53 pm I'm so freaking bored.

  11/13/08 8:09 pm I did a face drg on an 8x10 canvas last night. I like it. But I've had wine tonight, so I don't think I'm going to try another tonight. Messy!

11/14/08 7:44 pm Steve said my eyes are dark. He said I need Pamprin. ("Pissy.") And that's what my bangs looked like with 99% humidity.

11/15/08 12:02 pm We're at Panera sitting next to a couple with two bratty boys. One of them threw the paper ad thing on the table at us. (We had to move!) 12:31 pm We moved to get away from the hyperactive brats!

11/15/08 Before Panera, we went to Starbucks, then Michaels. I got silver frosting dust and red paste frosting coloring. We found four wet dollar bills in the parking lot (from the rain). They're drying in the trunk. After Panera we went to Corridor. Now on to Harris Teeter.

11/15/08 5:52 pm very happy and relaxed Lisa

11/16/08 7:42 am So, I spent last evening working on the drg on the big canvas. I'm wondering if the image just isn't that interesting. Maybe it's too vertical. (I ran out of room). Anyway, maybe that image just doesn't work.

11/16/08 I discovered back in Misery that not all the images from the j. pieces translate well to "on the wall." Speaking of which, we have been here longer than we were in Misery. By a month and a half. I got depressed towards the end of the week. Steve says he hates it when I get like that.

11/16/08 I can't help it. I really hate it here. I'm tired of the daily grind of going to work. I'm tired of having to look busy at work when I have nothing to do. I surf the net and cut and paste stuff to read into a Word document. It's still boring. Or else there's a sudden emergency letter to get out.

11/16/08 Sometimes at lunch I just sit there and wonder how my life has descended into Officestan Hell. Blah. I feel like I'm wasting away, and there's not a thing I can do about it right now. With this economy, I'd be afraid to look for another job.

11/16/08 And in this crap-ass area, I'd be afraid of getting into a situation even worse. At least I like my coworkers. I need some new websites to browse. Seriously, I'm so bored with the huge LIST of favorites I have. I don't even know what I want to look at. Besides Prison Break stuff!

11/16/08 I like the face I did on canvas last week. More than the hug image. There. The face only is much more interesting. Maybe I should just start w/faces.

11/17/08 8:16 pm Last night I was stewing over my art again, unable to do anything. During the day, I put a few coats of gesso on the big canvas with the hug drg I SCREWED UP. I wasn't sure where to go next.

11/17/08 Steve came over and sat in his chair and wanted to know if I was stewing. (Yes.)

11/17/08 I told him I thought I was having trouble with obsessive behavior. (He said, "Yes.") I just can't give up all my crutches - the old Memphis images, the reference photos I like, etc. The images I keep redrawing and redrawing.

11/17/08 Steve said I need to leave all my old artwork behind. I still haven't mentally stranded myself on a desert island. I suck.

11/17/08 We stopped at Michael's tonight on the way home. I got a sketchbook. The old size I used to get (8 1/2 x 11). But they are thinner than I recall. Also brushes for cookie decorating - which bombed. Saturday I bought silver lustre dust.

11/17/08 Yesterday I made gingerbread cookies. Steve wanted me to test the recipe and make Cylon cookies. I made four - cut by hand. They kinda looked like this: I piped lines of frosting.

11/17/08 I also made gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The frosting ran. Due to humidity. For the Cylons, I mixed the lustre dust with vodka. I accidentally dumped it all in. Guess what? Not very silver! Not like I've seen on Ace of Cakes.

11/17/08 Never mind! We're taking two to Mike's tomorrow. Oh, well. No silver. / So, I need to start working in my new sketchbook. Steve told me to sketch the emotion, not details.