Day 1 of Thanksgiving Weekend

Greetings!!

I thought I'd share a little of my Thanksgiving food adventures with you. I made the drive up to my parents house and helped with some of the prep and making of the food. The clean up after the nights cooking was quite large.

Mom and I decided we needed some homemade chocolate chip cookies to keep us going through the night. Nothing like a nice warm, sweet and delicious cookie to motivate you, no?

As you can see we got plenty of motivation...... We needed it though for the turkeys!

Next we were on to the peach pies. In the words of Rachel Ray, Yum-O!!

Fresh peaches, cinnamon, nutmeg, whole cloves (removed before baking), sugar, and plenty of butter and pie crust on top. Forgive me for not having a pic of the completed product, but trust me I say it was might-a-lee good!

We also made macaroni and cheese, dressing, AND cream mashed sweet potatoes. Do I really have to tell you everything was homemade.... This wasn't even all of the food. I'll tell you about TG Day in the next post. Until then I hope everyone is having fun with family, eating great food, and being very thankful.

Peeeeeeace!

A. Sparkle

The Broke Version of Adventure

Greetings and salutations,

There are certain times in life when you are ecstatic about getting paid and you have sugar plum fairies dancing in your head with the fun ways you're gonna blow all you're new money. Nevermind the fact that you have bills... big bills to pay with said money. Then at some point when you're mapping out all the fun times you're gonna have, you come to a realization. You've decided to actually be an adult this time...... this time.... and go ahead and pay the people who are harassing you and calling you ten times a day for every last cent you've ever made in life!

Yep. It's true. You're broke.

Shout out to Sallie Mae for perfecting the technique of legal stalking. lol. For all of you that don't know.. Sallie Mae is a friendly and evil student loan company.

So yes, that was this weekend. What did I do with no money? I took pictures of cool art, of course! I happened to be traveling through downtown Decatur when I ran upon this mural.

I absolutely love this and I'll tell you why. I'm a really big fan of color and this packs a full punch and it's also like poetry in the form of art. Obviously there is a lot of symbolism going on and it seems like it's telling a story and not one of those fake ass stories that people try to make up for their art to seem like it's important on a deep level.

The #1 reason I like it though is because of the eyes!! There's character, feeling, and intensity coming from those eyes, almost like it's someone really looking at you. Like you're being transported some where else when you stare into the eyes. I'm getting a little dramatic I know, but I just really like it.

I've been holding out on you with this one below. I was in the village at the time and happened to see this guy whoever he is in the process of actually painting this cycloptic, happy, furry thing.

It was pretty awesome to watch and there was even a little crowd gathered around to take a peek at what he was doing. I've seen his work some else around town and the only reason why I know this is because it was another blue hairy creature just like this one. It always amazes me what people can do with spray paint, because I have no idea whatsoever on how you would be able to control it to make it do what you want it to. Kudos to you spray painting masters!

Until the next mural spotting...

Peace,

A. Sparkle.

The Heinousness that is the Radio

Greetings peoples,

Lets just get down to brass tacks... I've deemed it Rant Wednesday!! I figured you should be prepared that I am going to have a rant today. It's allowed at least once a week....

Say what? You didn't know about this?? Well its true. So here... I've taken the liberty of pouring you a glass of wine, so sit back and chill.

Ok so I have this theory about my job, right? All day long.... ALL......... DAY......... LONG........... we have to listen to the same radio station every s-i-n-g-l-e solitary day. I've finally come to the conclusion that this is to brainwash us.

No! Stop laughing... hear me out. Here is the rundown..

It's the same radio station day in and day out..

It plays everywhere in the building (i. e. the office, the break room, the waiting area, and even the bathroom!!!) For crying out loud!!! I mean really.... Isn't the bathroom supposed to be Holy Ground or something? I can't get a moment of silence to pee??

Aaaaaaaaand only one guy has the authority the change it to one of two approved radio stations and its in a room under lock and key............

LOCK AND KEY!!!!!!!!!

Alright.. admit it to yourself. After looking at all the facts, this doesn't seem right at all does it?? I can see it now... We all for really real look like this poor sap sucka below.

We just don't know it because we are brainwashed to the max! I'm probably sitting here right now as we speak and don't even know that I have dark circles under my eyes, and am going bald! It's really a shame. Now that I think about it, my hair has been shedding a lot and the top of my head has been feeling awfully cold lately. (j/k)

Honorable Mention Rants:

Socks - What is the deal with the seam on the toes?? They annoy me to no end! Sock makers of the world... I ask... you couldn't find a better place to put that than on my toes? Someone should look into this.

Being Cold - Have you ever been sitting somewhere that you couldn't control the climate and it was just dumb cold in the building/room? Is it really necessary to have the air on when it's 57 degrees outside?? Do us both a favor and just turn the air off. I stop chattering from being cold and you save on the electric bill. It's a win/win for both of us, I promise.

This concludes my ranting for the day. Although I did rant, I did have a good day today. Sometimes you just have to let off a little steam. Feel free to share your rants with me. I have my wine glass filled and I'm ready. :)

Peace,

A. Sparkle

Daylight Savings and the Dead Eyed Girl

Happy Sunday!

It's time again for daylight savings time and we gain an hr, which is always sweet. It turns bitter though when you're sitting at work thinking it should be time to go and normally is, BUT! you still have one more freakin hour to go. (sad face) What can you do? I'll appreciate the extra hr of sleep though!

So yesterday I had to get my brakes done, which actually turned out easier than I thought it was gonna be. Not that it's hard....... but I'm saying, the last time I had to get my brakes done... it cost me 400.00 smack-a-roos and that's just not kool. AT ALL! This time it was less than 200.00 so I was very happy about that, since I still have money for important things like buying shoes and pay-per-view movies. (just kidding) I did go to Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand though.

I must tell you that I have this talent of sorts.

I can look at old restaurants and tell what they used to be. This one was the great greasy spoon of the south, Waffle House. It has the same windows, lighting, and even tile on the floors. I guess Delia liked Waffle House decor. So of course it had that warm, inviting feeling of WH, but with a hip new twist and I'm digging it till I run into this mug below.......

Yes..................... She looked exactly like this and was damn near rude, even though everyone else was very friendly. You've all seen this expression before. It's the 'I'm at work on a Saturday when I should be doing (fill in the blank) and I'm gonna take my revenge out on you since you have the nerve to actually be here standing in my line whilst I'm at work of all places!!!!!!' look.. Notice the uninterested dead look in her eyes...? Yep.. It was just like that. No exaggeration. It's times like these that you try to restrain yourself from punching people like this, because they are messing up the rotation of your good day. Oddly enough there was a glass pitcher right in from of her that had a message taped to it that said, 'Sexy People Tip.' I guess I wasn't sexy that day, because dead eyed girl wasn't about to get a tip of any kind except for 'Don't eat the yellow snow.' lol!

I ended up getting what they call "The Hot Mess". It was weird ordering it talmbout (=talkin about), 'Yeah.. Lemme get a hot mess....' There's no reason for you to ever say that in real life! You talk about someone being a hot mess, not eating one. lol. Anyway, it was a chicken sausage link, jalapenos, tomatoes, black beans, cheese, and some kinda chili sauce all on a toasted bun. It was decent. Good alternative for when you want something a little bit different.

Yep.. so that was my Saturday adventure.. A little time playing

adult, deciphering restaurant architecture, drawing cartoons of dead eyed girls, and eating hot messes. Can't beat it with a stick right? (smile)

A. Sparkle

And a New Breed was Born..

Greetings everyone,

It's 12:17 am and I'm still up. I tried to go to bed, I really did. It just didn't happen. I dunno why, it's just one of those weeks where your sleep pattern is all jacked up. I've meditated... I've have some relaxation tea... I've even laid in the bed, shut my eyes tight, and demanded myself to go to sleep. Obviously my brain has a different agenda than I. This is good for you though, because here I am actually writing to you. You might as well see my new projects since you've dropped by. Would you like some tea?? No, you say?? Ok, you just get comfortable then.

Well I finally started on the 2nd piece for my 'Purple Haired Gurl' series. As you can see below right now all I have is a bald head scallywag..... I've been procrastinating on finishing it. It's been so long now since I've worked on it that it now faces the wall. I just can't look at it being all unfinished. I hadn't continued at first because I had no idea what kinda hair I wanted her to have and I just wasn't finding anything suitable.

I just have to tell you that I'm not that artist that can draw from memory or imagination in some cases. I need something to look at not to necessarily copy it, but to have some kind of guide. I also have to tell you that I don't like re-doing things either. I get real pissy. I just like it done right the 1st time. Hence...... having the guide so no mistakes are made. That's probably the perfectionist that lives within me like a parasitic twin that causes that pissy reaction I mentioned. lol. What can you do though, right? So anyway, the 2nd reason I haven't finished it yet is because this project scares the crap outta me. No.... for really real... I've drawn faces plenty of times, but painting them is a bit more tricky and I'd be upset if I was to mess it up. Plus this painting involves 'props' and I'm still trying to work out how it's all supposed to go down. You'll see the props later when it's a finished painting.

So in the meantime I've created a little playmate.....

His name is 'Odd Bird'. Yes... that's right. Odd..... Bird..... He got created through a lively conversation with my mother. She said something about someone being an odd bird and I blurted out, 'Wouldn't that be an awesome series to do?' So we now each have our own version of an odd bird and a new breed was born. I'm still refining him, so there is an initial rough sketch not shown and he will more than likely change a small bit for his final look as well.

I'm really kinda in love with the idea of 'Odd Bird', because often times I have felt like the odd bird among my peers. So this will kinda be like an ode to all of us who felt like the weird kid who had their own unique way of dressing, was quiet and thought to be a snob and really wasn't, who had an 'odd' hobby that no one else understood, who had a bunch of piercings, who wasn't apart of the so-called in-crowd, who dared be different than their peers and said step off because I have my own identity, mind, and I'm a non-conformist dammit!! (Shout out to CMF) Yep... here's to you my fellow odd birds and I say be proud of your odd birdiness. Go forth and be odd!! (smile)

Ok that felt good... Maybe I can get some sleep now. Goodnight!

A. Sparkle