From Florida to Oregon

Mom, Dad? Where are you? When will you get home? We miss you!

But we were having so much fun on our first vacation together since 2006! If only Luke were a little older he could have come and enjoyed everything we were doing. It would take AnnaMae a few more years and she could have come with us. As it was, we had 4 flights to get home, and running through airports with the kids then shoving them on airplanes would have been a supreme pain. All things must come to an end, but not without lots of fun and enlightenment in between...

USS Alabama
Saturday we left New Orleans and headed toward Pensacola FL. To get there you cross the bottom of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and then Florida. It's only a 3 hr drive, but you see 4 states. On the way along the Gulf Coast we stopped at the battleship USS Alabama where they have a giant museum just outside of Mobile. It's really an all-day event, though we only had about 3 hrs. There was so much we didn't see!

I'll leave you a few pictures from the experience. The thing was massive...A true marvel of modern engineering, and it was de-commissioned over 60 years ago! All the wires, steel, and maze of hallways. With a full crew it held 2,500 men. I don't know where they all fit because once you get inside everything is so small. Where did they fit all the food for that many hungry men?

The thing was covered in guns. Almost every inch of open deck space was a weapon. We climbed into gun turrets, around gun turrets, and over gun turrets. Brian sat at many gun stations, some of which still moved around. We got photos of guns, saw the munitions storage, gun repair facility, and training areas where people practice loading the guns. This truly was a weapon of war. In 1944 it was on about 11 different missions, mostly in the Pacific, attacking Japanese positions and defending Aircraft carriers. We were interested to note how many Japanese tourists were visiting the battleship, taking photos and climbing around. How far relations have come in 60 years!

It took over a hundred men alone just to operate one battery of the giant guns you see in the photo behind me. A hundred men! I know little about today's military, but I have a feeling that it takes many fewer men to run our current large guns.

And think of the conditions- humidity, heat, storms, surrounded by enemies. All alone on a desert of blue. This is what sat out there protecting our Western shore from Eastern invasion. This ship was authorized to be built in 1934, although it wasn't commissioned until 1941. or '42. We knew early that we were going to war, and we had some incredible technology for the day. You can read typed reports of the Kamikazi attacks and what they recovered off the bodies of the dead pilots. Think of the honor and glory the Japanese were bestowed by their Emperor to attack the American ships. We also bestowed honor and glory for defending our way of life, and they proudly show how many Japanese airplanes they shot down painted on the superstructure as well.

What an honor to be allowed to travel back in time to see the real live tribute to our grandfathers. Boy Scouts can stay the night on the sip and really get a flavor of life on the sea.

On the ship they have a list of all the men who served there. I found a "Carl Hallock" which is the name of my uncle who has passed on- though I don't know if it's the same person (all Hallocks are related). He would have been the right age. My dad always lamented that he was too young to go to WWII, so his older brother was enlisted, and my grandpa Hallock was too old, however he was still re-commissioned as an electrician on the large ships (I don't know if he went out to sea or if he just worked in dock though). Every able hand was needed back then. America was pulling out of the Great Depression and we were more productive than we had ever been before.

An interesting side note, but when I took economics in High School, we looked at market trends. In America we go through 7 year cycles. Every 7 years we cycle from prosperity to recession. Every 70 years we have a much larger recessionary event. This current recession falls perfectly in line with the cycle and we had been warned a few years ago to be prepared. We should know better, and learn from history.

A question- do I look better with or without my glasses? I have the same glasses that I got back in 1994. I only use them for seeing things far away and driving at night. My office-mate, Justin, says that I act smarter when I wear my glasses. I think I just look more like a know-it-all librarian. Sophisticated or snobby? what do you think?

Pensacola, FL
We got into Pensacola late Saturday nite and found the house of the dear, sweet lady we were staying with, Jan Marie and her husband, the Colonel. Both were retired military, which is not surprising, since there are 7 military bases in Pensacola, and even NASA has a base within an hour of there. Pensacola is the oldest city in America, and it is celebrating 450 years this year. The King and Queen of Spain visited just last week (as all the locals were quick to tell you a dozen times while we were there).

Laura had visited here about a month ago, so when she was doing my nails before the trip she made me get my toes done in glitter so I could have pretty toes for walking on the beach. Everyone in my Sunday workshop LOVED the glittery toes, since papercrafters love "bling". Here are a few feet shots, just for you Laura, proving that my glittery toes out-sparkled the white beaches of Pensacola.

I had a workshop Sunday evening, so lunch time on Sunday was my only chance to visit the beautiful white beaches of Pensacola. Pensacola proper is on the mainland. To get to the beaches you need to drive across a 3 mile bridge and then out another bridge to get to Pensacola Beaches. This is a strip of land 1 mile wide at it's widest and 28 miles long.

All we could think of while visiting the beach was "Why would anyone be stupid enough to build out here when it is in a hurricane zone?" And according to our hosts, sure enough, during hurricane Ivan or something, the ocean water completely submerged the area.

The day we were out it was super cold and windy. They were also getting ready for their own local Mardi Gras parade, which we couldn't attend since I needed to be teaching a class that afternoon. So we had to park as close to the bridge as possible as not to get stuck by the parade. There were thousands of people out to see the parade. Parking was nearly impossible, and cars were parked between palm trees on the meridian of the road.

We really wanted more time to look around, but since it was so cold we ate our lunch and headed home. Brian went down to the water front the next day when I was teaching and he said it was warm, with no breeze, and no one was around. Go figure. As it was we wandered around the first main shopping area on the beaches, got some touristy photos and tried to stay out of the wind.

Did I mention it was cold? It was cold. I was in capris, a sweater, a scarf, and a jacket. Brian was without jacket or anything since he thought Florida was supposed to be warm. It's February for crying out loud! It's gonna be cold! I get cold just thinking about how cold it was, OK, maybe it was only in the 50's. But with the wind it was cold.

My class on Monday went very well, with about 30 - 35 people attending. I somehow picked up a cold on Sunday, so I had a sore throat sunday afternoon for my evening class, then was fighting a stuffed nose during my Monday class.

Monday during my class Brian headed down to the Navy Base to visit the air museum. They had over a hundred different restored planes. The best part is that it's free to visit.

Brian didn't have the camera with him, so no photos. If you ever get the chance to go he says it's great. Perfect for little boys wanting to climb in and out of airplanes, ride the flight simulator, and listen to war stories. If anyone needs a place to stay while in Pensacola, they can go look up the family we were with, since they have 2 guest rooms and a pool (too cold to go swimming though). Their house is a fabulous collection of antiques and trinkets from around the world.

Tuesday we flew home, and let me tell you- having your sinuses stuffed with 4 flights on one day was not a pretty event. Pensacola airport is about the size of Eugene, so we had to fly Pensacola to Dallas, Dallas to Denver, Denver to Portland, Portland to Eugene. In Portland we met up with Peter Raven who was on his way home from Arizona. Since it was fat Tuesday we left him with a few Mardi Gras beads to take to the family (out of our 80+ lbs that we shipped home). We got in around 9:30 to Eugene and got home around 10:15 pm.

Wed. I stayed home since I was sick and still recovering. The kids were thrilled to see us, and we promptly made a mess of the nice clean house we left last week. AnnaMae loved all teh beads we brought home. I think she would have played with them for hours if we let her.

Thursday I felt a little better, so I was hoping to only do a half- day of work. Hah! A week being gone and I had over 200 work e-mails waiting since Friday plus 70 some personal e-mails (most of which are work related). I am really behind on my artwork. So I had to work all day on Thursday.

Today is my 29th birthday. I don't feel 29. I don't know how old I feel, but it's not 29. Either older or younger. Younger when the kids aren't around, older when they are around. I guess it's the same with most people.

I gotta get going back to bed, but I had to update my blog, since it's my family journal. Have a great weekend!

Mardi Gras!!!

Brian and I are here in New Orleans, it's Mardi Gras weekend, and we're exhausted. We got in late Wed. nite/early Thursday morning. The flight from Eugene to Denver was gorgeous. Frost was forming on my window as I watched. Tiny, delicate patterns etched in an ephemeral crystal while I stared intently at a blank slate. The segment from Denver to New Orleans was delayed, so I got to chatting with a lady named Risha from Toronto. She also had business in New Orleans, and was going to her first Mardi Gras. She was my age, an engineer for some oil pipeline company, and was so sweet that we gave her a ride to her hotel as we headed to ours.

Thursday I worked for a few hours- I went and made presentations at a Fine Art distributor here that carries our product, then we headed down to the nearest spot to catch the parades for the evening. The locals are amazing! We are NOT in the French Quarter, nor were we down by Bourbon St. so we were in a group of locals who come to the same spot for over 50 years! They were really nice, with their kids, their friends, and they told us lots of lore about each parade. No flashing to get beads, you just stand there and wave and cheer. However, everyone had way too much to drink around us, so there were a lot of high-spirited people all trying to get the cool beads.

There were 3 parades on Thursday - Knights of Babylon, Knights of Chaos, and Krew of Muses. We got 2 LARGE bags of stuff that they were throwing from the floats. The Krew of Muses was loading right outside our hotel so I was able to get a few snapshots in broad daylight. Good thing, since the parades were so dark you couldn't get photos. This photo is the flavor of the Krew of Muses- lots of satire about current events, politics.

It was all women on the floats. To ride on a float you have to be a member of their club. It costs thousands of dollars, and you have to buy your own beads to throw! However, Muses has some of THE best throws (the locals can also vouch for that). I got some really cool stuff from Muses. Knights of Bablylon were a revival of one of the parades from the 1800's so their floats were on the original wagon beds of the old parade. We're talking wooden wheels creaking along under modern floats. Wow!

Between floats are regular parade things- Lots of stunning high school bands, dance teams, cheerleaders, and people on horses. Someone fell off their horse about 2 buildings down from us, which stopped the parade for 10 minutes. By the end of the evening (parades came from about 7 pm to 11:30) we were exhausetd and ready to trudge the 6 blocks back to our hotel.

Friday I had to teach my all-day workshop. Luckily there were only about 10 people in the class, so I wasn't asburned out as I usually get from my workshops. At luch I went to Mulates, a famous local restaurant. I had a fried-Alligator Po-boy for lunch. When we asked teh waiter what Alligator tasted like he said "Like Chicken, squid, and frog-legs". I don't know what frog-legs taste like (nor will I ever, thank you Muppet Movie) but now I do know what Alligator tastes like. Like sweet, rubbery chicken. I liked it. Brian didn't care much for it. For our evening repast we had Asian Fusion. We figured we'd had our share of local food, now we could get what we wanted.

Krew De'Etat, Morpheus, and Hermes were the parades on Friday nite. We thought they said "Herpies" as the parade name,so the locals really got a kick out of those two crazy oregonians. Friday night we had signs saying "love from Oregon". That was the best idea we had all weekend! I got so many piles of beads thrown right at me- it was great!! The locals just thought we were the most exuberant, happy people that they'd met in a long time because it was all so new to us. If anyone wants a good, clean Mardi Gras parade experience, head down to the corner of St. Charles and St. Joseph. On the south side of the street, on the East corner, go down about 1 building. There you will find the nicest, sweetest locals who will give you the best advice on what beads to get.

I gotta get going now. We're driving to Pensacola today. Have a great weekend! I'll try to post more photos later...Until then, we want you to ponder the name of the New Oleans Police- NO PD!

a cozy chair...

Friday night we had the Elder's Q. Valentine's event. It was a cozy little gathering, with only about 3 couples our age, the rest were older. That's what happens when they don't offer child-care. They had a men's dessert bake-off and Brian was so bummed that he didn't win (if he had about 3 more hours uninterrupted time he might have got his real baked idea done). As it was, he made my favorite fudge recipe and it came out tasting great. Three years ago he won 2nd place with some peanut butter/coconut chocolates he made. He and James Shimanek worked really hard on the decorations for the event, and they were able to keep each other company nicely during the party. I felt like I did when we were dating... Me, Brian, and James. Or, was it Brian and James on a date and I was the tag along...? Whatever. I left early to get the kids (and so I didn't have to clean up).

When I went to my mom's to pick up the kids I found this happy scene and snapped a photo. In my mom's recliner were all 3 of them, asleep (though my mom woke up when I opened the door). How Luke was able to sleep on the arm without falling off is a mystery. He was perfectly balanced on the arm, with one half of him completely in the air (the quilt over the back of the chair is hiding how small it is). If they had been leaning back I'm sure it would have tipped over, the way Luke was hanging off the edge like he was.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Brian and David spent some time down at the Asian celebration. The Celebration committee sold out of the shirts again this year, and I am so glad I snagged one early on Saturday. The feedback I got was that everyone loved the theme this year, and the Fish I drew were very popular.

Sunday after church the guys went back over to the celebration. At the celebration Brian picked up Heavenly Tamasaka, our babysitter from Eugene 5th ward. She is so outgoing and exuberant that she really helped pull my nephew out of his shell (he's very quiet and reserved, so Brian is having a hard time connecting or talking with the kid). Brian swears that they were flirting, but I think they were just being teenagers. Poor brother Lance Stanley came over to home teach while cheerful Heavenly was there and between Brian, Luke, Heavenly, me, and even my nephew and AnnaMae he could barely get a word in edgewise. AnnaMae really likes Lance- she kept piling our whole collection of Disney videos one by one on his lap. What a nice gift.

In the mornings AM brings my nephew little things she finds around the house and piles them on his pillow while he's trying to sleep. Things like blocks, scraps of paper, bits of random food that was hidden under a couch for goodness knows how long... you know, the kind of stuff you find around the house that only her little, sharp eyes notice and she picks up because it looks interesting, then she has to take it Somewhere, and poor David is the lucky one to get the goodies. She runs downstairs each morning shreiking "Davey! Davey! Davey!" She really likes her older cousin a lot.

Anyways, I need to get back to bed. I have so much to do this week before I head off for Florida. It will be a nice trip. It's been 3 years since I got Brian to go out of town with me, so this "vacation" is long overdue.

Check out my new stamps

My stamp company, Our Craft Lounge, had it's second release today. You can go see the new stamps here. They are showing 28 new sets and I drew 24 of them! Talk about cool. You can buy them at specialty papercrafting stores across the country. Soon they'll be in Hobby Lobby (they're like Michael's, but only for 2/3 of the country). There are over 400 Hobby Lobby stores in the US. Wow!

this is a card I made from one of the sets. this is the kind of thing people make from these stamps. pretty cute, eh? you should see some of the other sets...and come say hi to me or my nephew at the Asian Celebration this weekend.

Asian Celebration this weekend!

Are you going? It's this weekend! I drew the artwork for the poster and you really should go, 'cause it's fun. See what they did with the beautiful fish I drew! There's tons of stuff for kids, teens, and adults. Plus the food is really good and pretty cheap (there are some noodles I get each year, and teriyaki chicken kabobs that are soooo tasty! You'd have to go to their website to find out cost www.asiancelebration.org



Here is a larger version of the artwork I created for them. They really like the fish this year. I think they like it more than the Shoes (07) or the Boat (08) I drew the last couple years. It might rival the popularity of the Manga guy I drew for the 2006 poster, which was the first time they had ever sold out of the t-shirts.

Why the cops came to my door...

I have told Brian many times that if he ever gets arrested I will NOT post bail. Because if he get arrested it will be for doing something pathetic, like this...

Sunday nite, around 9:40 pm I was up in my bedroom drawing. AnnaMae was asleep, my nephew was downstairs, and Luke had taken a late, long nap so he and daddy were in the office playing Super Mario 3. Or so I thought...

"POUND! POUND! POUND!"

Who in the world would be knocking on my door at this time of nite?

"POUND! POUND! POUND!"

Then I knew that the only people who pound on doors like this are the police.

"POUND! POUND! POUND!"

So I gingerly trudge downstairs and open the door. At this point my nephew has pulled off his headphones and is sitting on his bed, listening to the whole event. I open the door, and sure enough it is a couple of Cops, with those flashlights that you know could take out a rhino at 50 paces.

"Sorry to bother you ma'm, but how many people live in this residence?" the officer asks, noting my pajamas and sweet/dazed demeanor.
"Ummm, Me, my husband, my nephew, and two children" I reply, slightly bewildered.
"How old is your nephew?"
"19"
"And your children?"
right on cue, AnnaMae wakes up, wailing.
"Small, I see. Sorry about that" this was a nice officer, and he recognized that my kiddos were little and sleepy. I'm getting perplexed.
"Where is your nephew now?" Ummm, strange question...
"he's down here, in the living room" I'm still not seeing any reason for this nice public servant to be attacking my innocuous door at this hour. Until his next question -

"Does anyone in your home have access to a laser pointer?" OK, now I have a clue and a strong suspicion about what's going on. With a sigh, a roll of my eyes, and a knowing heart I invite the officer in.
"Let me go see what The Boys are up to." I snag AM as she comes down the stairs, and I go open the office door. Sure enough, Luke and Brian come bounding out. I tell him there's a cop to see him, downstairs. I just go back in my bedroom to get AM back to sleep and ponder what Brian has done now.

I hear them talking for a while downstairs, then the parting "Luke, tell them what your name is..." "Goodbye officer!!" and the door closes. They come back up and I get the "full" story.

Brian and Luke, getting bored, had pulled out my laser pointer I use for lectures and were waving it around the field behind our house. Brian says they were only doing it for a couple minutes (probably closer to 10, I'm sure). Anyways, they were goofing off and pointing it at things, trees, cars, (he said something about "I thought it was a taxi" so I'm guessing I don't want to know if he was aiming the darn thing at the police car) etc. They saw some dude in black moving around in the field. If they pointed it on him or not, who knows. From their perspective, clean, harmless fun at night.

Not so for the policeman.

They were busy staking out a house across the field where there had been a report of a firearm. They were sneaking around, scoping out the place, when all of a sudden they see a laser dot (just like the dots from a scope) near them, their car, etc. They think the person they're scouting out has an accomplice waiting in a top window across the field ready to take them out. Needless to say, the police dove for cover under a tree and out of sight from the laser scope. Then, he and his police buddy come pounding on my door to find out who the second gunman is that got Kennedy.

Great. This is why I told Brian again, that if he ever gets arrested I'm not posting bail. AND I would NOT appreciate my laser pointer getting confiscated (it was a gift from my Dad and I need it for lectures). Brian has a knack for doing stupid, harmless things at EXACTLY the wrong time and getting caught for it.

Luckily, the officer just got his name, birthday, and all the other vital info on Brian. He was pleasant and I think he could tell that the two in front of him were harmless. According to my nephew, Brian was telling the officer how much of a good citizen he was and how he's called the police a few times over things in the neighborhood, and how he thinks they're underpaid, etc. etc. Brian and Luke would have talked his ear off if they'd had the chance, and Luke could have probably got a ride in a police car if they kept it up long enough.

Brian was freaking out that he was going to get in serious trouble. I'm sure they're not going to do anything more than write it up and put it in his file. I just laughed it off since I know the system is overworked and the officer doesn't have the time to follow up on harmless people like Brian. Luke had some interesting comments, though none were relevant enough to write down.

I am truly grateful that we live in a safe society where the police do follow-up on minor things, so the big things don't fall through the cracks. So many minor events each day that we are totally unaware of, yet they all add up to a relatively safe community.

Except for the second gunman in the upstairs window with a laser sight on his semi-automatic Duck Hunt gun... sheesh.

busy busy busy

Where have I been? It seems like I reel from one thing to the next with no breathing room in between.

Saturday was my Nephew's birthday. His idea of excitement was to go shopping at the local Goodwills with Brian and get a library card, (which meant I missed the baptism) then meatball sandwiches for dinner and The Muppet Movie for family fun.

Friday Brian and my nephew went to First Friday art walk. One of our friends in another ward is having an art show. Gayla Snow is a pretty interesting lady and her art show is made from "found art" or junk that you find and turn into artwork. The photo is of one of her works that was in a gallery in December. January's first Friday Art walk I was busy teaching a lecture on the History of Manga for the Eugene Library so I missed the gallery shows then as well. I didn't see the show because I stayed home with the kids and read The Tale of Desperaux. Luke had a fever after dinner. Who knows why, since he didn't show any other signs of sickness, just a fever.

Thursday was the book fair and reading nite at Luke's school, which is where we got the Tale of Desperaux. Luke had just had dinner, he got a couple cookies and the cheap red punch, which promptly made him lose his dinner. What a great way to visit your school and celebrate reading.

and the eaarlier part of the week just went on and on...

I will be happy to experience some modicum of quietude and time to sort out thoughts. I guess it will have to wait until our trip to Florida in a couple weeks.