take me seriously

This part of the post was written second, should be read first.

This afternoon we spent time cleaning. Well they did. I managed the cleaning.

"You never do anything!" someboy wailed.

Sure I do! I'm doing my reading homework and managing the cleaning. Managing is hard work, but you'd probably rather be managing than doing actual cleaning. That's why you should read a lot. Be real smart and go to college so you can manage instead of having clean things when you grow up!

I had gourmetlicious meal planned I think but I also lost track of time reading. I think we also had lunch really late. Which doesn't make sense because they were outside playing in the snow before 8 AM. I know this because they actually didn't wake me up till after they came back in the house, stomping around in their snow boots and whimpering slightly over the sink as they warmed their frostbit hands in cold water... That would scare some people. Oh wait, if they were wearing boots, it's possible they asked if they could go out, because I would have said, wear your boots! Even if I was legally asleep.

So yeah, I have no idea where this day went.

After I finally woke up-ish, I did several jobs of laundry, reading my homework book I am Asher Lev, mending and sewing. I's hoodie lost a zipper pull I guess? The other day in the van after school he looked at me and said, "I'm really sick of zipper hoodies!"

Oh?

"Yeah they're such a rip-off. You wear them 8 months and the zipper breaks!"

So this one I got out of the dryer this morning while I was folding clothes and trying to prop my eyes open with toothpicks. Which works great because the dryer is indeed in the kitchen.

I spent about half an hour trying to figure out how to sew the sleeve cuffs back together. Young People these days have a style which includes cutting holes in the cuffs and wearing that around the thumb. I can't explain why. So I figured I'd sew part of that up, hem the hole part to prevent future raveling... Yeah, great.

Then I noticed the zipper. Easy. I took some wire and wrapped it around the parts that were left, two little posts, wrapped and wrapped, twisted. Attached a safety pin and wrapped wire around that too so it would match/never ever open and poke someone. Instant (somewhat) zipper pull. Later he woke up. Much later. Grunted approval, took a shower and donned the newly mended hoodie. I noticed he had ripped out one of the newly mended cuffs! Listen up, mister, I spent hours and hours fixing that!
Well I want it this way. That's the style.

Ugh.

In other news, I think the frog's in love.

Last month just before Valentines Day a classmate and I were studying in the library and we got e-mail they (the campus) had an event, make your own free feasonable build-a-bear faxscimilie. Thinking upcoming birthday, I did just that. Mr. C. has a bear and I just always thought  L. was too old for that but sometime last year he said he wanted one too. I picked a frog because that's one of the things they had left.  And forgot to give him his birthday frog.  But today I did remember to hand over the frog. He said, "That's so cute!" seemed delighted, and loves it. I don't think we've thought up a name yet. But he's taken numerous photos. There were family portraits too, and several movies were made. I'll spare you the movies. Time for some haircuts! Wow.

As I was saying, I had a delicious meal planned, but we ate a late lunch and I read (homework!) all day. So I was brushing my teeth and suggesting people get ready for bed when I was informed that we had yet to eat dinner! Ugh. Just before I threw chicken nuggets onto a pan and started the oven, I got a request for a backpack. Specifically Mr. C. wanted a blue backpack for the mouse. I don't have blue yarn. I have yellow will yellow work? So that's what we used. I would totally wear a mouse backpack in my size! It was adorable.

He sharpened a little pencil down to mouse size.

A dollar (actually a $15,000 bill) was made for the mouse to carry in his backpack. A dime accompanied the bill. Later he used the mousemoney to buy this book from me.

It is really I Love Nature More by Robert Vavra. This morning during the ritual cleaning of the room, they noticed the book does not appear to have a title. Looking through the book, lucky for us, they discovered it is Fodoegrafs of Anamols, Elestrated by Carson, Rin by Carson. Which he was good enough to write on the cover of the book.

Sorry to whoever either gave me this book, or expected it back one day. So sorry.

This part of the post was written first. It isn't really that great compared to the previous adventure filled section.

mine mine mineoh how I love this litle sketchand how it blossomed!

Seriously.

Today I was looking at this blog, the blog of the author of the book Flow. About menstruation. And that is not what this post is about. I like the idea of her book, which I have not read yet, the same way I like the idea of my drawing (which is slowly becoming a painting.) of a uterus/ovary/fimbria/Fallopian tube... It's something nobody wants to talk about, therefore I am compelled to do it. There's a little girl in my class last sememster who was cute about the uterus drawing. She just didn't know what to say. My angle is, it is beautiful to me. I think the goal was to make it so people can look at it and think, that's nice, then realize later they were looking at lady parts and not be too repulsed. Why is it that womanly things are repulsve? We gave birth to everybody. People are generally in love with their childhood home, their hometown, their alma mater. How more basic can a mother possibly be? But for some reason womanly business is looked down upon?

But like I said, that's not what this post is about. She was talking about taking herself seriously, or other people taking her seriously. I'm wondering about this. I'm coming back to this later! I have to think. Do I even take myself seriously? I experience anxiety. But I can laugh at myself. I watch myself constantly. I try hard not to make assumptions or take things personally. Ugh. Then I think, what if I'm selling myself short by trying so hard to be relaxed and therefore being too self deprecating?

$2Only!

I also have new photos.

How did that get on this bag? What country is their graphic designer in?

My Name is Asher Lev is taking forever still. The idea that being an artist was such a torment. I'm not sure what I am supposed to think about this book. I never copied great masters but I spent plenty of time copying other work. Mostly horses. It is rare that anyone is a worse critic than I am. This is also coming into play along the taking myself seriously vein. What the hell am I doing? I say to myself. What if I'm not great. I'm not ever going to change the world. Will that matter?

I found some clearance curtains I wanted to use as yardage at Pier One. I'm struggling with either using it as curtains or making fabric baskets out of it. If I make baskets I can sell them for money! If I put them on my windows they will bring me joy all summer.

I was playing with the rudimentary and completely satisfying Paint program last night and made some alterations to a doodle.

It makes me happy to play with bright colors.

And little bitty pencils!