Canvas

When we moved one and a half years ago, I decided to update the master bedroom's decor. Previously, I had gone trendy and used darker colors and animal print accents. Don't judge me...it was very "in" ten years ago.

I went with color. My life was missing color. I chose a beautiful quilt with vibrant blocks of color, overlaid with floral prints. I have been blissfully happy with it, but have had trouble finding a large enough piece of art to hang over the king-sized bed - one that would match the color and vibe of the room. One without animal print.

Finally, I found the perfect canvas. The colors looked hand-picked for the room, matching wonderfully with the quilt. The size was made-to-order. What luck!

As it happens, the artist is local. And I LOVE her work. Not only that, she has the cutest little boys...they remind me so much of my own.

Look how well this matches:


I love how the artist "grunged" it up a bit:


I wonder if I should have gone with overlapping squares instead of stripes? I could always paint over it. What do you think?

Parenting a PreTeen

First of all, if you came here for advice or some insight into successfully parenting a preteen, run away. I know nothing.

I take that back. I know one thing. It's hard. With no instant gratification. Which means if you are into instant gratification, you're a bit out of luck in this situation.

One of my Rowdy Boys is 12 and 1/2. It's the 1/2 that's important here, because that is where all the male hormones start raging. Trust me on this - if you think 12 is bad, just wait 'til that 1/2 rolls around.

He is moody. We argue.

He refuses to talk. I pry.

He picks on his baby brother. I mediate. A lot.

He is getting a mustache. I sigh.

Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we yell.

And sometimes.......

we dance!

Favs

First of all, I don't watch that much TV.

I like saying that. It makes me sound so.....so busy. But, it's not entirely true. Not anymore.

These are my favorite TV shows, in no particular order. Well actually, if you look closely enough they are in a particular order. (See notation next to MONK below.) And no judging me.

American Idol. I watch this every week. I'm just not sure it's cool to admit it.

Burn Notice. Does no one in Miami notice that there is stuff blowing up around this guy every week?

Cold Case. I love the idea that justice can be found, even years after the fact. And I love Lilly's name. And her hair.

CSI:NY. I just started watching the reruns of this show on Spike and love, love, love it. It has totally bumped Law and Order off the radar. Sorry, Lenny.

Home Design Shows in general. Ahhh, HGTV. It takes up most of my morning. Don't tell anyone, okay?

Monk. What can I say? I'm OCD, but at least I can find the humor in it.

Psych. This is outrageously good TV, folks!

Survivor. I've watched every single episode. And because I have long-term memory issues, I can't remember who has won any of them. Except for Richard Hatch. Who can forget an overweight, obnoxious gay man on a desert island? That's what I would like to know.

The Closer. I love me a good Southern accent.

The Mentalist. Patrick Jane. Oh my. If I wasn't already married and he wasn't a fictional TV character.....

Without a Trace. "Gone missing." Two words that trouble me greatly. And who knew there were so many people sleeping with their coworkers?

That's it. Just a little peek into what entertains me. Explains a lot, doesn't it?

An Appropriate Greeting

xoxo from the Martens 5 + a dog

Minute Maid

Disclaimer: there will be no photo to accompany this post. The visual you will create will be bad enough.

What I picked up from the Living Room and Dining Room this morning:

1 boys manicure set
1 pair kids scissors
scraps from cutting out 3-d glasses
1 boys tie
1 Little Rock phone book
1 chip clip
1 men's ball cap
2 cocktail napkins from Embassy Suites
4 pair of 3-d glasses
1 calculator
1 photography book
2 ink pens
yesterday's newspaper
1 empty Sierra Mist can, in a huggie
1 empty plastic shopping bag
various notes and papers
1 box GNC men's vitamin pack
1 travel tic-tac-toe game
1 bottle of eyeglass cleaner
1 frisbee
1 pirate sword
1 light saber
1 bed pillow
1 mini-basketball
1 mini-soccer ball
2 pair of boys jammies
1 pair of clean socks
1 Ranger Rick magazine
1 flashlight
1 hairbrush
1 water spray bottle
1 watch
1 large empty box
1 candy necklace
1 dime
1 broken paper clip
1 Foosha
1 pair of kids tennis shoes
1 pair of men's tennis shoes
3 wooden tv trays
1 aluminum jerky shooter
2 ladies coats
1 ladies hat

Now if you will excuse me, I have the kitchen to clean up......

Fifteen Minutes

Andy Warhol coined the phrase "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" back in the sixties, referring to his belief that everyone briefly experiences some level of celebrity. Clint is no exception.

Over Christmas break, Clint came running from his room, bubbling over with excited utterances about Grover and drawing and TV and Sprout and hurry up and Grover. And would I please help him. And Grover.

As it turned out, he was watching Sprout TV (a PBS channel) in his room. The next day Grover was going to guest host during the morning shows and they were encouraging children to draw pictures and send them in. They would choose a few to show on-air. He was certain they would choose him.

He drew. I scanned and emailed. He smiled and did a victory dance. And I tried to explain that the chances were pretty slim that they would choose his drawing when they receive so many. He didn't believe me.

The next morning, more excited utterances. THEY CHOSE HIM! They showed his drawing on TV. Twice. They said his name and city and state out loud. Grover even touched his drawing. And everyone that was watching Sprout that morning saw his drawing. (He kept saying that over and over.)

Clint was famous!

This is the picture Clint drew. I just couldn't let his fifteen minutes go by too quickly!

I Love Your Shoes

Hello, there. How are you today? I love your shoes....

Oh, okay. I know what you are thinking. The last thing I wrote was a resolution to be better, right? So where the heck are my daily posts?

I was right, wasn't I? You WERE thinking that. Right? Right? It's okay, you can admit it here. I won't even be mad. Probably.

The truth is, my creative stream has been running a little low. Sure I have a gazillion stories, and I'm a funny storyteller. And I have even more photos....good ones. But I've become a little...what's the word? Oh, yeah. Overwhelmed!

So what's wrong with being a better lay-on-the-couch-er. That's what I would like to know.

While I'm working all this out, I'll throw you a bone.


And now, I'm gonna go be better at cleaning the bathrooms.

RESOLVED....

Ahhh.....New Year's Day. A day of rest, a day of renewal...a day of resolutions!

And yet, I don't really want to make any resolutions. I struggled all day yesterday with my dang resolutions. Statistics say that very few people actually keep their resolutions anyway. We set lofty goals - goals we really, really want to reach but that are unreasonably high. We set ourselves up to fail.

Well, not me. Not this year. After 24 hours of head-aching, soul-searching, mind-boggling thought.....I have come up with the PERFECT New Year's Resolution.

This year, I will be better.

That's it. I'm not gonna say "the best." That's not really very realistic. I'm just gonna say "better." And I can do that.

This year, I will be a better daughter at least once. A better mother, wife, and friend....at least once. I will be a better business person, a better child advocate, a better neighbor. At least once.

I will take better care of myself. I will take a better photograph. I will give a better piggy-back ride.


What is YOUR New Year's Resolution?