A Thought...

I normally don't mention political ideas on my blog, but I have been engaged in a non-holiday conversation with some friends about gun control. I am clearly a pacifist and a non-gun guy. I spent the other day reading some extreme pro-gun bloggers and extremists as well as actually having conversations with some moderates.

Interesting ideas. But none could change my POV. Some argued about the religious ideas of having more freedoms... To them I asked, so do you support abortion? Which they said was completely different. Hum. It sounds like a freedom to me. So what's the difference?

So during this study I stumbled upon some gun death statistics (really cheery, huh?). Here are some facts I discovers:

US Deaths by Firearms- 9,146
UK Deaths by Firearms- 39

Oh, I know. These statistics must be faulty because the UK is one-fifth the size of the U.S.

OK, let's inflate those numbers and show the truth...

US Deaths by Firearms 9,146
UK Deaths by Firearms- 195

Hum. The numbers are still super low in the UK. I wonder why...

Perhaps one factor may be the strict gun laws.

Maybe it is the tea or the Queen, but whatever it is, we need to consider a change.

America is too bloody bloody.

Just my two cents. Feel free to disagree with me... but you're wrong.

More Angels...

Today I am continuing my Christmas Carols with "Angels We Have Heard on High". I like this one, but I think it is a little absurd when you get the chorus. Nevertheless, it is a a good one to sing.

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o’er the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains

CHORUS:

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song? 

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him Whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King. 

See Him in a manger laid

Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

With us sing our Savior's birth. 

Angels...

This year I am ALL about Christmas and Advent. Greg Burtnett posted an advent book on his Facebook page which gave me the idea to do my own advent celebration with Christmas Hymns and Songs. So everyday this month I will read my advent book and sing a Christmas song and consider its meaning. 

Today I kick it off a day early from advent in the A's with "Angels from the Realms of Glory":

"Angels from the realms of glory
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story
Now proclaim Messiah's birth:

Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
Watching o'er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing,
Yonder shines the infant light:

Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Sages, leave your contemplations
Brighter visions beam afar,
Seek the great Desire of nations,
Ye have seen his natal star:

Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Though an infant now we view him,
He shall fill his Father's throne,
Gather all the nations to him,
Every knee shall then bow down:

Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

All creation, join in praising
God the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising,
To eternal Three in One:

Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King!"


I really like the simple ideas contained in this one and how the Christmas Story is told in each verse. The central focus is to worship through this song--I can dig that. My favorite line is "Sages leave your contemplations/ Brighter visions beam afar." I think this is a good check for us all to remember to keep our focus in our lives and not be distracted by the minutia that so often consumes our lives. I hope to have this song on my lips and in my heart today. 

If you run into me, we can sing it together. :-) More tomorrow...

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Memories are great. When I write them down I learn something different about myself than what I had intended on expressing.

About two months ago I started writing down some memories in a memoir fashion. I like memoirs and I appreciate their lessons. Read more on my other blog by clicking here.

But what's really on my mind this morning is Christmas. I know I'm not supposed to be thinking of red and green before the turkey and gravy are served up, but I am. I can feel it in the air--I mean, we rarely have nights that touch low into the 30s and possible 20s, so maybe that's why.

I think this year Christmas will be filled with magic and wonder for me as I view it through the eyes of the Doodle.

Now... All I have to do is get through the giant stacks of grading and I bet Christmas will be here...


"Let Christmas come tomorrow
Not just Christmas Day
Have good will in September
And peace on Earth in May..."

Huzzah!

I have been working with the local Reading Association for the past year and a half as their "Authors' Chair". My job is to promote our yearly author dinner and bring authors to the event... Last year it felt like pulling teeth to get authors to come. Strike that, it was like extracting wisdom teeth from a crocodile.

Needless to say, it was the most difficult part of the journey. In the end, however, the authors came and we had a great event.

This year I thought I would start early and e-mail the authors in November--after all, the event in March and I was sure to get a slew of rejections. But low and behold my in-box runneth over. That's right, the first 4 authors I contacted responded with big fat yeses!

 I now have 4 authors set and am as happy as a clam.

Woot woot for early plans!

:-)

Huzzah!

Ad

Here is an ad for the event I am helping out with...

Anna Wintour and Such...

Blogging is back in style and I am always in vogue... That means the Shaws have the Internet and I am back to this and my other blog. I am happy to bring you back up to speed with the musing and adventures of my life.

(click the link above and check out my writing progress)

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

Working is exhausting. I love it, but I work my butt off at times.

I love the world of English, but this year I feel extra tired when it comes to getting ready. I feel the urgency of their needs and hope to meet them all.

In contrast...

I have been sleeping like a mad-man on the weekends. Each weekday I sleep for 8 hours, 7 if I am naughty and watch too many episodes of Gilmore Girls. I get much more than the average bloke, but I'd like more...

On the weekends I have been clocking in 9, 10, and last weekend 11 hours per night. Love it.

My favorite moment is waking up to the foggy Santa Maria mornings. The brown curtains protect the little bits of light that try to sneak in the room and I roll over and smile as I realize my phone, alarm clock and anything to do with the weekend are turned off.

Love it.

Weekends are great. Add a day to the weekend and I'll call it glorious.

Room 9

I love the start of school.

I really love seeing the apprehensive faces of the students as they walk in my room.

The 9 on the door greets them, reminding them they are new here, 9th graders. Nothing more than the youngest kids in the big pool of high school. The lowest on the totem pole. The bottom of the... Well, you get the idea.

They step into the room, backpacks full of clean sheets of paper and untouched BIC pens. They settle into their chairs and feel the cold composite material on their backs.

Their eyes glance around the room, looking for something familiar. But this is the first week of school. The walls are bare and sterile. 

Their eyebrows knit together and seem to call out, "Is this one of those teachers who makes us read long books?"

They fumble with their zippers on their backpacks and retrieve a blank piece of paper, wondering, "Will he make me write a lot?"

As they uncap the BIC pens, they let the pen touch the paper and whisper to themselves, "Will I have to learn a bunch of new words? The kind of words that don't make any sense to me?"

I smile down at the students, crack a joke, but the students remain silent. They uncomfortably look around the room, wondering if they are permitted to chuckle, laugh or even giggle in the Temple that is 9th Grade English.

Role is called and the students sheepishly call out, "Here!" when I butcher their names. But then, in the crowd, as I make a lame joke about the missing student on the list and his apparent painful, and torturous demise, I see it. A smile. The student lets his shoulders relax and he spots it. The faint curl of a grin at the edges of my mouth. He knows. And then it spreads. Like a cupcake sale in front of Jenny Craig, the students begin to figure out who I am. And I they.

And that's how the year starts.

Turning it in...

I will be laptopless for 24 hours, maybe even 96 hours. This scares me and makes me worried about my future.  Oh well, outside I will go.

Dreams...

For those of you who keep forgetting to look up my other blog, I just posted about a very intense dream I had last night. Check it out:

www.michael-shaw.blogspot.com

Weeds and thorns no more...

We have been working in the backyard for the past week. Prior to that, Westly and would water the lawn with a hose--he absolutely loved it. Every day for three weeks, the little Doodle and I would water it for about 10 minutes with the hose. He would laugh and splash in it and I would run around pulling weeds and telling him the dog next door was coming.

Fast forward three weeks to today:

Thanks to our friends, Kevin and Rebecca, we now have a new concrete patio where we can finally set out our table and chairs. They put us in contact with a guy who took on Phase 1 on our plans (Extending the fence and laying concrete). The last part of Phase 1 was getting our patio furniture from the abyss known as our garage. Phase 1... COMPLETE!

Phase 2 involves working on the planters, making a mini-sand box in a corner, getting a small slide, and re-seeding the yard. I am proud to say I started Phase 2 this morning by seeding just before the sprinkles started to pour down on my efforts (I'll stay positive by noting the seeds will be well watered thanks to God's humorous timing).

Phase 3 involves getting a little kiddy pool where we can store balls for West to kick and throw. In addition, I'd like to make a checkerboard a la Kaleb Baker. He made me one a few years back, and I'd like to have one in our yard for when guests come over.

Needless to say, I am excited.

Here's to giving Westly a place to play (and hopefully his Mama a break).

Pictures coming soon...

Olympic Fever

 I have Olympic Fever today!

I am remembering all the great things London and the Olympics have done for my life, and I am a happy guy. Above is the cardboard cut-out I made a year ago for Multicultural Day at school. Students took photos with it and enjoyed the beauty that is Kate. But that is in the past, so here are today's decorations:

 Yup, you are seeing correctly. A piggy bank shaped like a red-phone booth, complete with British currency. Next is the Queen, a solar-powered hand-waving lass. Next to it is the Brit-Red Tea holder with a working model of Elizabeth Tower (you probably mistakenly have been calling it Big Ben, but you're wrong). Then comes the "This is London" children's book we use to indoctrinate Westly with all things British. And finally, at the front is the beautiful double-decker that Westly plays with. All of these items are displayed above the TV to enhance our viewing pleasure.

Here is Westly in front of our new drapes. Well... They will only last for two weeks, but still.

Here is our viewing schedule, thanks to EW.

Here is the Sherlock Holmes wreath Suz made for Fauf. It normally hangs in another room, but for the Olympics I have moved it to the family room.

So there it is! Bring on the goat and all good things British this week!

More Dreams

I had another weird dream.

I was teaching at my high school and suddenly the administration decided I could teach a preschool through 10th grade Honors class. I had two preschoolers, about five K-2 kids, then 20 high school students. It was the first day of school and we all gathered round to hear about the schedule. The first class was, I think, my 10th grade Honors class--of course there were two preschoolers in this class.

I wasn't ready for the additional two kidos, but I went with it because I know better than to argue against an income. So the morning started and I said "crap" or something like that and the little kids started to cry because they thought their teacher was cussing. I rolled my eyes and gave them play dough and told them to make a sculpture of whatever we were doing.

I then yelled at half of the class because they didn't do their Summer Reading homework. I sent about three of them to the office to transfer out of the class. Suddenly a kid named Adam shouted, "A twister!"

I look out the window, which my white board had now magically transformed into, and I saw a giant black twister whipping through the campus. I shouted for the kids to evacuate, but I had no clue what to do. I didn't know if they should run outside, hide under the desks, or what. I told them all to stand really still like an arrow. In my mind this was the best way to stay safe, so long as you hadn't gained too much weight, the tornado would zip by you without any trouble.

Well, eventually I lost control on the class and they all ran outside to see their friends who had evacuated. Soon, my class was gone and I was now wrangling up about 50-60 kids on the lawns. The administration came by and told me how happy they were that I took on the extra preschoolers and elementary school kids. They said I would be featured in a teacher journal or newspaper.

After that I think I was handed the keys to the bus and was told to take the kids home.

I'm not sure, but I think this dream means I am worried I will have too much work in the fall. Just a guess.

Doofus.

I still don't know if this is a telescope, megaphone, or a bottle of something. Either way, this guy is a doofus.

Curious

I tried to recreate a character from Curious George... It is OK, but his chin got a little Drazin-ish. Still learning...

Grandpa at the Movies

And the Facebook Caption Winner goes to:

(I'll post on here once I pick a winner!)

Random Kid

Still learning how to use my e-Doodler...

06-24-04

Happy 8th Birthday to my blog... I missed its June 24th blog-day birthday, so I will wish it a happy one on my anniversary instead.

07-07-07

Five years ago.

Wow.

I can't believe I have been married to the girl of my dreams for 5 years.

It has been really cool to watch her develop and grow over the years. As a wife, artist, author, teacher, mother and home-maker... So great.

Five years ago I remember folding napkins on the ivory tablecloths. I remember meeting her in the orange grove. I remember praying for our futures. I remember the violin music playing as she walked down the aisle. I remember hearing "Boot Scootin' Boogie" from the "Cowboy Hats and Butterflies" wedding that was going on at the place next door. I remember carrying around a cardboard cut-out of one of my groomsmen. I remember our first dance. I remember our Thriller dance. I remember the smell of the coffee beans on the tables and the people in the barn. I remember walking across the bridge to Sycamore. So many memories... Some of them have probably already faded... But...

Most of all I remember the excitement and love I had for my wife... It isn't hard to remember that part of it... 'Cause I've still got it for her!

Hooray for love.

Dreams

Last night I was tossing and turning. I had a weird dream. A stressful dream:

 I was cast in a murder mystery by Mz Jean Byrne who made me play Maggie Smith from Downton Abby. My favorite character from the show, who reminds me of my mom (though Maggie hasn't had as much botox).

I told Mz Bryne I was a man with a beard so I wasn't the right person for the part. She assured me I was right for it since she casts people based on their ability to become a part. She also added, "Women of a certain age have beards too."

But somewhere in the middle of the two week rehearsals, I took ill. I had to ride my bike through UCSB to get home, which was exhausting. Somewhere in the middle of it I saw a giant dinosaur model/skeleton. But in the end, I got home.

I got home and went to bed early in the evening... Maybe 7, 8 or 9. Then the next day I wake up and it is the day of the play. I had slept a long time. It was 1 pm and the play started at noon.

I race over to Telephone Road where the play is being housed. I find out they still want me to do my part--I am told all this by Cindy Giorgi who has a part as a southern belle. I argue with the group that I'm not confident, I don't know the part. But they say I can do it.

So I agree to do the part. I read through the play... Well, I skim it, and discover my lines are fewer than I thought. But I keep forgetting to mark my lines.

Suddenly, Mz Byrne's stage hand comes calling for me.

This is it.

I walk up the stairs, only to discover we are looking out on a lake. There are 8 people in the room. All of them senior citizens ages 80 and up.

I stare at the room and Mz Byrne says, "What did you think of the murder? Was the man violent to you? Did he beat you?"

I look at her and say, "Preposterous!" with a spitting emphasis on the P's and S's.

She smiles and sits down and lets me do my thing as on old man laughs finally realizing I am a man dressed as an old woman. I wobble around the room, mimicking the walk I had seen in "The Rivals" at PCPA.

I continue on, "Preposterous! He didn't beat me. I beat him with my cane." Lots of laughter. "But he was violent. It's preposterous to think he wouldn't be. You saw him."

I look out the large window behind me, the lake sparkles as the sun starts to set.

I ramble on about Americans and their stupidity and Mz Byrne interviews me in front of the group, then sends me on my way.

I waddle down the stairs and am greeted by laughter from the other actors. Farah shakes her head at me and says, "See. He does this all the time. I knew he'd pull it together. He goes from deathly ill to the star of the show."

I run over, cane still in hand, and give her a kiss. She smiles. Perhaps she's never kissed an old British woman.

Door-to-Door

I am working on a campaign for SLOCRA (the local reading association) to put on their yearly (well, this is the second year they've done it) Membership Drive. In years past I'm not sure much came of the drive, but this year I am in charge of it and I want it to be as good as it can be.

My mind starts to fill up with ideas on how to do this. And yesterday my feet were on the move.

I visited 42 businesses here in my hometown city asking for donations. It was odd to me how some were excited and ready to give while others questioned me. Some said they needed to check with the other managers but they were going to certainly give something and some just looked at me and said things like, "See's Candy doesn't donate." What kind of a statement is that? They had their reasons (they do school fundraisers in store ONLY), but still.

Needless to say, if my wife is right about me, I will be consumed with this concept for awhile. Such is life.

:-)

4th

This is a great time of year.

I love the 4th of July...

Flags flying...

Fireworks crashing...

Hotdogs cooking...

Hooray for Independence (though, I would like to live in England)...

Thought Bubble

This is my new Facebook Profile Pic. It is to remind people when you read my posts, they are my thoughts. Hence the arrow pointing directly to the words I post.

Today Show is Wrong.

I love morning TV. It is frivolous and entertaining.

Normally I agree with a lot of the things they say... But today's episodes? Nope.

The woman on the TV just said the greatest gift you can give your child is sleep-away camp. Really? Really? I get it. Sending your kid away for a week or two can be a lot of fun, but in no way is that the greatest gift. I think quality time and family vacations are far more profitable.

Ugh.

Just sayin'.

First doodle...

...since February. Sorry about that, blog world. My writing has consumed. Now time to get doodling.

Here is Geometric Man.

Blogs and Such

Sorry, I have neglected this blog. I have been busy writing and raising a child with my lovely wife. At any rate, today I loaded my Bamboo drawing device onto my new laptop and plan to start working at that hobby.

Until then, I will re-direct you to my www.michael-shaw.blogspot.com blog to read about my writing life.

Looking forward to starting the drawing process once again...

Until then...

Still Blogging...

Again... I am spending the summer posting on my Nedge Blog. Enjoy... I hope.

Other blog...

I hope you are following my other blog at:


michael-shaw.blogspot.com 

I just added ads to the blog.

One year ago...

Here is our birth story. I wrote this one year ago:

Our Birth Story…

This is my version of the story, not the only version—but my version.

On Tuesday, April 5th, at 3:30 Farah and I decided we would go to work on reducing our mortgage at our bank. So we sat through a long, boring session where we discussed the options for our future. I noticed Farah was uncomfortable sitting down while we were there and would take long, abdominal breaths every ten minutes or so. I suggested she walk or go to the bathroom.

After our unsuccessful meeting (I mean, they were going to save us $30 a month and charge us a higher rate), we came home. Farah decided to lay down on the sofa, and things started to pick up. I started timing her contractions around 4:30, but didn’t start writing things down until her contractions spread out to about 8 minutes apart.

While sitting there, I realized… This is it! I encouraged her to breathe and asked questions, “Is it better to be distracted?” “What are you feeling?” “Should I tell you when you are almost done with a contraction?”

This went on, and then she decided to go to the bathroom. There, she had an intense contraction that lasted approximately 5 minutes. At this point, I thought we were doomed. I didn’t think she could do it naturally, but I kept my mouth shut. I eventually told her she could do it and I knew she would be fine—I lied.

After a few more contractions, I realized she could do it and I was ready to be there through the whole labor. We timed the contraction, invited the Coulters over (they brought dinner), and relaxed watching the evening news. RIP Katie and Arturo...

As the Coulters left and we started in on our Jamba Juice and potato soup, I decided it was time to call in to work and get Beth to be my sub for the remainder. I wouldn’t return for a week and two days. We started noticing the contractions were coming more frequently. Farah called Barb, then about twenty minutes later I called her again to tell her we were in the thick of it and would shower before the birth. At this point, upstairs I knew Farah was in the game.

Watching Farah labor, I was so proud of her and amazed at how well prepared we both were. I reminder her to breathe or counted down the time she would have before the worst was over. I remember telling her (guessing) when the contraction would come down and passing her water and Jamba Juice to drink in between contractions. She liked me to rub her butt (sorry, true fact), but didn’t like me to touch her lower legs—and she hated me touching her stomach.

Barb arrived and I let out a sigh of relief. At that point I felt our team was together and we could do this. Farah lay down on her side and the contractions came in rather heavy. I saw Farah cry and I started to tear up a little bit. At 9:00pm Farah said, “I think we should go to the hospital.” Barb encouraged us to wait, but 10 minutes later I knew it was time—the contractions were 3 minutes apart and at one point 2 minutes. I remember holding up two fingers to Barb, my eyebrows raised, thinking, “Are we going to have this baby here or in the hospital?!”

There was a point where we didn't think we could make it downstairs, until Barb reminded us we could take it one step at a time.

We walked downstairs and Farah, in the midst of a contraction, said, “Michael, don’t forget to get yourself some water.” Amazing. Barb laughed at Farah’s consideration for me when she was in pain. I marveled.

We got in the car. I drove about 45 to 50 mph down the neighborhood streets and at least 75 on the freeway. We arrived to the ER entrance where we were greeted by a nurse walking. I shouted, “She’s in labor. 3 minutes apart.” She ran and got a security guard with a wheelchair for Farah. They rolled us in. I left the car in the ER pull up spot.

We sat in the waiting room for at least 10 minutes. I was a little aggravated at the staff’s loud and inconsiderate tone, “Sign this. Is this your first?… Blah blah blah.”

Once we were on our way to Labor and Delivery, Farah looked like she was totally in the game--see I thought she was earlier, but now this was REAL. We had to stop at least two times on the way up. And we parked outside the Labor & Delivery Desk for a minute or two.

We were greeted by Holly and then were introduced to Eva, who would later deliver Westly. I was excited to see within the first five minutes of us being there they had already pulled up our birth plan and posted it on the mirror for all to see. They greeted us and gave us more options than we thought we had—if patocin was needed we could get it in an IV form or a shot. Either was fine, but we wouldn't need either of them. The use of the tub was there and our nurse, Eva, used counter pressure to assist in the labor.

Barb moved the cars around while Farah got her Hep-Lock just to prove we weren't totally hippy. We talked about the pain and Farah was checked to see how far along she was. 8 cm.We cheered.

At this point, Eva offered the tub to Farah. She wanted it. While it filled up and Farah moved over to the tub, I asked Eva how long she expected the birth to take. She estimated Westly would be here by 1:30 am.

The next two hours RUSHED by. Farah sat in the tub with the Jacuzzi jets running and was even monitored in the tub. It was good to see her relax. But I was coming down off of the emotional high. I felt some heartburn and got rather dizzy. Totally a Michael situation. I told Barb to sit with Farah in the bathroom while I took a quick 10 T.O.

Before I knew it, it was around 1 am and Farah was ready to get out of the tub and I was cleaning up some goop that was—well, leaking out. After this, the time went by so very quickly. Farah screamed, “I fell the urge! I need to push!” and buckled her body as she pushed and screamed like I’ve never heard her scream before. I stood there like a wreck. Barb and Eva took charge as I held Farah's hand and I supported in holding legs and whatever else I could do.

When Farah screamed her mighty scream, three additional nurses came in, making our total 7. They asked if everything was OK, we reassured them it was fine, but Eva and Barb had a quick pep talk with Farah about the birth and pushing.

14 minutes later, a heavenly multitude of colors later, and a lot of old-fashioned girl power pushing, there he was! WESTLY CAVANAUGH SHAW the love of our lives!

One of my first memories of him was us saying, "Dimples! He has dimples!" The next two hours were just about us. They left us alone and Farah took a shower as Westly got his first bath from Eva and myself.

Happy Birthday, Mini-Doodle. We love you.

Doodle Here, Doodle There

Digital Doodling, is turning out to be a weekend and/or (more likely a) holiday sport. I want to doodle more often so I can improve my skills (or lack there of lately), but bills prove to be more pressing so I have been working on writing a curriculum in my free time and grading college papers.

I suppose there are times when I need to sacrifice some delights and hobbies for the good of paying the bills.

There it is.

Eventually there will be more doodles once I get an afternoon, evening or early morning alone to work on the doodles. Until then, enjoy the Mini-Doodle (with his bottom three teeth and all)!

Sorry... Comment Hurdle

Here is my Valentine for all of my readers:

I have resisted putting the comment word verification on my blog ever since they came out with them back 8 years ago... But I am getting hit with Spam all the time now. Sorry to those of you real humans who are reading my blog and wish to comment. You still can comment, but you'll have to do one of those annoying word verification things.

These are the times we live in, where blogs are popular to robots...

Hmmm... That gives me an idea for a doodle.

Abstract

Sometimes love can be abstract. Or... Maybe I am just looking for an excuse for me to post this a day before Valentine's.

Blue + Yellow =

Two loves.

Blue.

Yellow.

Together they are Green.

Love can only grow when it is green.

Let your Love grow!

Love is blooming...

Love is here...

Can you smell it? Cookies baking. Chocolates being delivered. Roses being displayed.

Love is in the air.

Love Potion

Even witches deserve love.

Nerd Love

Even the GeekSquad deserves a chance for love.

This is cheesy. This is kind of juvenile. But then again... So am I.

The Start of the Love Series...

Time for a series on Love...

This one is inspired by another.

One of my favorite artists is Henri Matisse. I have admired his work since I was in the fifth grade. I remember learning about him and his wild life when I was younger. Since then I dream of making work like his. Mine will never be the masterpiece, but I like to play with figures and shapes like he did. I loved how he said he was "painting with scissors". Sigh. Inspirational.

Bubble Trouble

The wonderful graphic. Well... A wonderful attempt.

A.L.M.

"shaking a lefty's hand"

Poor Lefties. They have it hard. I was thinking about all the things in the world that are not meant for a Lefty. Shaking hands is surely one of them. So here it is...

An Awkward Lefty Moment.

Grump

I don't know why this face came into my head... I think he is somewhat like the Mad Hatter from Batman, but I had no intention of drawing him. I just had this little egg head of a man with a top hat on his head wander into my thoughts... So I drew him.
For those of you who know, I imagine him to be wearing a New Horizons Blue Shirt. Just saying.

Unspeakable Joy

Joy to the Blog... The Doodles have come!

frown

No. I didn't make this one. I just took a picture of her and made her frown. It is my desktop background to remind me how sad she is about my blog. I try to imagine she would be sad if I didn't doodle. But alas...

old to new

Yup. This new blog design is sad, but it is OK... I will someday grow to love it like I did my minimal black design.

Jared

I don't really like this one... But I started messing around with the skin color and I thought... Humf. This guy would have probably rather been somewhere else. Where? Jared's Galleria.

"jared's"

R.I.P.

Old Blog...

I want you back. This new blog makes me sad.

We had 8 long years together... Sigh.

dude

"hipster"

'nough said.

Books to Read

At home, on my nightstand to be precise, I have a huge stack of books to read… I laugh at the tower of terror every night as it looks back at my tired eyelids as they close in exhaustion after a long day’s work. Today, while teaching my class about allegory and literary allusions one of my kids started clicking and WAH LAH! He discovered a sequel to one of my faves! There goes another book on the list! At any rate, here is a list of some of the books I want to read/re-read this year:

There it is. I am pretty excited to read them, but I am pretty sure I need some weekends so I can dig into these books.