Curvily Yours: Prepping for Teacher Training

Over the past few days I have been hunting and gathering for all things necessary to start my new adventure tomorrow. I hit up target, victoria's secret, mika yogawear, and then target again.

On the docket...warm comfies, journals, and some workout wear.

I was just discussing tomorrow with one of my fellow trainees. I was saying how it kind of felt like the first day of school. Picking out your outfit for the day, getting your supplies together, feeling a bit nervous. And she stated how she felt a little like we were joining a sorority or a secret society.

It does feel a little like we are training to be in the insider's club. Learning all of the secrets.

I'm feeling just...I'm not sure how I am feeling. Excited, a bit nervous. A bit ambivalent. Maybe even a little disbelieving.

Portrait Painting SMC: Class #5

I woke up today and was just a great big ball of whiney. Exhausted and not looking forward to the events of the day to come. First on the agenda was a tangle with our storage unit which you can read about here. Second was my fifth week of Portrait Painting. Even though I was tired I was partially looking forward to class after the positive results from last week. Unfortunately, class today was to be a bit of a disappointment to me.

I just can't seem to follow our instructors formula even when I try. Today we were really working hard on warm vs cold light. What I learned was that when you have warm light hitting your subject you get cool colored shadows. When you have cool light hitting your subject you end up with warm shadows. We had both types of light hitting our model so we were supposed to paint one side warm and the other cool. Again, the instructor took up the first hour of class demonstrating and explaining how we could make this happen. I think I started out ok, but towards the end my brain was mush and I think I just stopped caring about what color I was mixing as a warm or cold versus just getting my painting to at least look like the model. Sigh. Hopefully I will have better luck and more time with the assignment next week. Two hours really isn't long enough for me to sketch and paint someone.

Initial Sketch and "underpainting"

Final Painting at end of class.

Portrait Painting SMC: Class #4

Hurray! We finally got to take an entire class to sketch and paint the model. I'm still not quite getting the technique that my instructor is using but I was happy with the results from today's class.

The initial sketch

The end painting

Curvily Yours: Class #1

That's right my friends, yours truly finally officially started back at her pole classes. It was a very interesting experience. Kind of like starting at a new school. My class still has a few of my girls in it. But there are a lot of new faces to get used to. New energies to figure out. One of the girls who is "new" to my class is one of my life long pole friends. She and I took classes together in the very beginning and all through the middle. Sadly Ms Soarer and I haven't been in the same class for probably about 4 years. Sure we have had run-ins over that time. A make-up class together here and there, chance meetings at our studios dance-a-thons. But it's different, and frankly we both dance completely different than we did 4 years ago. So the next few weeks will be a learning curve for me. Finding my place in the class. Meeting new ladies. On a happy note, my body is stronger than I thought it would be. I didn't do anything too crazy. But I can tell that the strength in my arms has returned as well.

For my dance I chose one of the studios suggested songs for the week "Underneath" by Adam Lambert. I wasn't sure with this being my first dance back, just how it would go. Would I love the song? Hate it? Would I be able to connect?



I'm happy to say that although initially I didn't really feel myself sinking into the song, eventually the annoyance and anger at the song built to a level that I was able to let it out. So it was unexpectedly a great dance for me. A bit all over the place and I felt like I had so much to say I wasn't even sure what to let out first! Fortunately, I don't do a whole lot of thinking while I dance, so most of that was subconscious. It was great to be back. I'm looking forward to my next class, but I might just wait until my regular class time next week to take it. Trying really hard not to push myself too fast. Not an easy feat since I just want to go, go, GO! I love being active again. It felt exquisite to move and bend and stretch my body. To feel the rhythms and beats pouring through my soul. It's good to be home. 

Portrait Painting SMC: Class #3

Phew, painting class is exhausting. I'm beat. Today instead of using the limited Zorn palette we added a bunch of additional colors.

Today's Palette.

New Palette Colors:

Raw Siena
Burnt Umber
Violet
Ultra Marine Blue
Veridian Green
Alizarian Red
Cadmium Yellow Light

I wish our classes were four hours long instead of three. That extra hour would really make all the difference. Every week I  feel rushed to try and finish my paintings. I think it's also a matter of I haven't done much sketching in the past few years so I'm pretty rusty too.

Figure drawing was never one of specialties but I am really enjoying this class. Even being rushed it is fantastic to just be painting every week. I still feel really far behind the rest of the people in class, but I am trying not to judge myself too harshly. Trying to accept where I am and just acknowledging that I have a long way to go.

Initial Sketch and "underpainting" start.

Final Painting end of class.

Final Painting by Instructor:

Portrait Painting SMC: Class #1

Today was the start of my six week painting class at SMC. I was a bit nervous earlier in the day. But after all the last minute rushing around and dropping off Mr. Mine I forgot the nerves and was eagerly anticipating class. The teacher, Ms Bledsoe, was kind and efficient. Starting the class out with lots of explanations and how tos. Today our assignment was a value scale painting using only black and white. I got too class about 15 minutes early so was able to get an ok spot. Although i think next week I will opt for more of an angled position.

This was my first time working with oils so it was a bit off an adventure. I did feel as though everyone else in class seemed to sink their teeth into the assignment while I was only just starting to graze the surface. I'm a very slow painter and we had probably about two hours to work on this. It was also hard because the model seemed to only sit for short periods of time. Then she'd get up, stretch, then get back into the pose. Every time i swear the light hit her face differently. Which was a little frustrating. I'll have to get used to this.I'm not used to dealing with moving subjects. But overall i loved the class and it was exceptionally fun getting my hands dirty.

Curvily Yours: Secret Class

I took a secret dance class the other day. Just to see how my body would take it. The result? My body felt fantastic. My back groaned a little through all of the stretching but has felt absolutely fabulous since class. My biggest complaint once I stopped PT was that my back was always tight. It's amazing how much one class loosened me up. Ok, well MOST of my body felt fantastic after class. There was a little bit of a groin strain incident. But that was my own fault for just not acknowledging mentally how inflexible I have become. Thou shalt not try dropping into a split from a standing position if one has not done the splits in over 9 months.

So I survived class with flying colors. I mostly just warmed up and danced. No pole tricks at this time. I'm not planning on pushing my luck. I have an MRI scheduled for next wednesday to officially clear me ( I hope) to start taking classes again.  I know that my family is going to throw a fit about this, and I don't blame them. But I want to dance, need to dance and if I can completely bounce back from this injury I am damn well going to do it. It makes me happy and it keeps me fit both mentally and physically.

How do I know that my family is going to throw a fit? Well because they have already made their position quite clear on the issue of me being back to playing soccer. Yes soccer, I know I am probably crazy, but I'm not ready to stop playing yet. Although I know there will come a day when I decide, enough is enough when it comes to this sport. Dancing for the rest of my life is one thing, soccer, well, we'll see.

In the meantime I am enjoying the ability to move freely. To run and jump, to bend and twist all things that I definitely missed. 

Simply Divine: Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels

I absolutely adore these Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels that I bought from Trader Joe's. I picked up a bag on a whim for our New Year's party and have been eating them regularly every day since. They are rich enough that I find I can stop after only a few but it does take some effort. The salty buttery goodness swirls around your tongue and it almost feels like a shame to swallow. Each seven ounce bag contains about 55 pieces of divine deliciousness. If you loved the Salty Pretzel Carmel ice cream  and you love dark chocolate I highly recommend giving these a try. You'll be in heaven.

Peppermint Candy Cookie Deliciousness

We had our KTG Holiday Party a week or so before Christmas. This year we decided that not only were we going to do a White Elephant Gift exchange but we were also going to do a Cookie Exchange. So I decided to look on pinterest for some inspiration and found these adorable cookies by Bakerella that I wanted to try. My first batch I attempted to make Vanilla Lavendar Sugar Cookies but you can read about that disaster here.

For my second batch I decided to follow the recipe exactly. I used this recipe from Bake at 350. I got the idea from Bakerella. The recipe for the frosting I modified from Bake at 350's Royal Icing Recipe. She has some great tips for trouble shooting the icing as well.

Peppermint Royal Icing

(This will cover 2-3 dozen 3.5 inch cookies in 2 colors)


4 TBSP meringue powder

scant 1/2 cup water
 
1 lb powdered sugar 

1/2 - 1 tsp light corn syrup 

2-3 drops peppermint extract (optional) 

I also used Americolor's Bright White and Electric Pink for my frosting colors.

First you outline with the royal icing.
Then you flood the icing to fill the centers.
Which means that you fold in a tsp of water at a time
until the frosting flows back together into the bowl easily.

Once the centers are filled let them sit for a minute.
Then use your second color and place dots around the edges

Using a toothpick slide the dots towards the center.

Starting in the center slide your toothpick around in a pinwheel motion.

TA DA! Peppermint candies!

Wrap in clear bags with ribbon. I used self sealing wrap and twine. 

Another Marathon

I have been sucked in by The New Girl, and I LIKE IT. I love when I find a new show. It fulfills my need for marathons. Mindless hours of entertainment induced emotions. Laughter, tears, anger, and none of it weighs heavily on your shoulders because it's not your drama. Ok, that may seem weird but it's similar to getting lost in a good book.

I've been watching the episodes back to back on Project Free TV. Which Ms Bliss introduced me to about a year or so ago. It's great for watching shows and movies. I knew I had found something special when after the Pilot episode I had a huge smile on my face and couldn't wait to watch the next one. I was a little disappointed with the absence of "Coach" but over the next few epsiodes I got over the loss. I'm not sure what makes me love this show. I think it's the feel good nature, be true to yourself message on top of it's great to watch people who are good friends interact. Or at least it makes you want that kind of interaction in your life. I think that most of us crave that kind of comraderie with people. Knowing there are people in your life that "have your back" for better or for worse.

I think one of my weaknesses has gotten worse recently. If I start a book, I have to finish it before I go to sleep. Even if it keeps me up until 5am the next morning. And with TV Shows I can't just watch one episode. If it's available I have to watch the entire season, and I will admit I watched the entire first season today. Stop me, it's madness I tell you!

Love at First Bite

Tuesday, July 24, 2012                 

I had been dreaming of the soft pretzel's and queso at The Flying Saucer for weeks leading up to my trip to Charlotte. They are so unbelievably scrumptious. They come out of the kitchen piping hot, salty and sweet. Indulging my craving, Ms Ianthine made late lunch/early dinner plans for us to meet up at The Flying Saucer with her dear friend Mrs Grey. Mrs Grey and Ms Ianthine teach together at one of the local High Schools. She has been wanting to introduce us and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium is a local bar and restaurant that has an entire wall of beers on tap. They also have a UFO Club so that people can not only keep track of how many different beers they try, but they also win free stuff along the way. Ms Ianthine and Mrs Grey are both part of the UFO club and in keeping chose two new beers they had not tried yet. I decided to go with the Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I love chocolate beers. 

I was in heaven the moment I bit into my piping hot pretzel. The queso dipping sauce is the perfect compliment with just enough spice. I highly recommend that you give it a whirl should you find yourself thirsty, hungry, and ready for adventure in East Charlotte.  

Sadly Mrs Grey had to leave us to get back to her herd and could not join us for dessert. The other food I have been craving since arriving in the midwest was frozen custard. Initially, I had really wanted to visit Erma's in Utica, MI. My mom and I used to stop there occasionally during the summers and it brings up fond memories. But unfortunately my path was just not destined to cross that way. 

Not to be completely thwarted, Ms Iantine did a search for places that served custard in the Charlotte area and came up with Rita's Italian Ice. I was just as delighted to finally get my fix. (I really do need to stop being lazy and find a place in LA that has custard. We seem to have a little bit of everything here so why not, right?) We opted to sit outside and watch the sun setting after our long day of driving. It was nice to just be still for a moment and enjoy the deliciously creamy cold custard.

Once the mosquitoes started coming out we headed home to all the furr-baby love and our funky romance novels. A perfect way to end our day!

Pizza and...

Monday, July 23

You know that you are in good company when just chatting away makes a 13 hr trip seem like a 3-4 hour trip. Even with our numerous pit stops for drinks, libations, and gas. After waking up at 4am and doing the shortest 13 hr drive ever, we arrived, and it was only roughly 4pm. There were still many hours before we would be able to retire at a reasonable hour. So we ordered pizza and curled up on our respective couches with books to do some well earned reading.  Having brought only What to Expect Before You’re Expecting and The Devil in the White City with me Ms Ianthine was more than happy to suggest several of the books in her enormous library.

Delighted to have new reading material, I settled on a quirky romance novel which involved women jousting and men in tights. It was extremely nice to just spend some companionable time inhaling nonsensical hilarity and just allowing ourselves to breathe after the long day cooped in the car. I love that we share the joy of reading and that we were both perfectly happy to just be in the same room no entertainment necessary. 

Sunlight, Porch Set, A Little Me Time

Sitting on the back porch of Mr Timbre's house enjoying an absolutely lovely Michigan day. The temperature is perfect, the sun keeps skipping behind the few clouds in the sky and there is a nice light breeze. Even the humidity is barely noticeable today, or maybe I have finally re-acclimated to it. Yesterday, it rained and I thought "wow, nobody does a warm rain downpour like MI". It's strange that even with the beautiful weather we have in LA I am still so nostalgic about the weather patterns here. I really miss the thunderstorms. I can remember as a little kid sitting on my front porch with my parents and just watching the lightning. Watching the sky turn different colors, pink, to orange, to green, to a weird yellow. I remember being allowed to run out in the rain (if there wasn't any lightning) to splash in the gigantic puddles that always occurred at the end of our driveway. Bending down to watch wriggly pink worms as they worked their way out of the grass. I never did understand their tendency to come out during the rain. 

It’s been nice to get some quiet moments to myself. I’ve been trying to have a much more balanced trip this time around. Usually whenever I am in my hometown I am lining up people to see every minute of every day. Which just ends up being more exhausting than enjoyable. So I’ve made only loose plans with people, and although it makes me look a bit flaky I have kept my sanity this trip. While really enjoying the company of the people that I have gotten to see.

Family Day P3: Picnic in the Park

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to pick up the cat food and then some Chili from one of our fav places, Tubs Chili. We then headed to one of our favorite little parks in Culver City for a picnic. There is nothing better than an afternoon reading in the park. I was looking forward to cracking open my latest acquired Diana Wynne Jones novel.

When we reached the park I was delighted to see that there was a vintage yard sale going on. We perused through their goodies and enjoyed some delicious tea. We even managed to find some great items for my Sis's new place! Including some great candlesticks which I chose to give her as a housewarming gift :)

Family Day P2: Kitten Love

Since Mr Mine and I were out of cat food we decided to swing by the pet store across the street. Of course we couldn't escape without being tempted by some cute kitten cuddles. The one little darling was obsessed with my Sis's necklace and kept attacking it. Adorable! A Five minute stopped turned into about a half an hour by the time we were satisfied. Only Mr. Mine escaped the clutches of the kittens and kept a cool head. I have to admit he had to drag us out of the store. It was a very close call.

They looked a lot like my Ginger and made me miss him. Wherever he is I hope he's being well taken care of. I'll have to tell that story some other time.

Curvily Yours: Confessions

Ok, I admit it. I went to a pole class today for the first time since my accident. Did my doctor tell me it was ok? No, I just couldn't stand not going. And frankly, it felt fantastic. I've missed the movement, the freeing of muscles and limbs. There is just something about being able to feel each of your muscles interacting, engaging, stretching, pulling, pushing, that just makes you feel alive. That you are more than just breathe in a space. That we are not just here, just being. That we are meant to move, to do things. To become bigger and fuller. It is raw energy and release. And I love it, crave it. Cannot get enough of the feeling of power that comes over you. Power and strength coupled with vulnerability and trust. And it's not about anyone else, but you. You, and your body.

It was nice to feel reconnected. To be able to embrace my current limitations and move through some and around others. This injury has had me so detached from my body it has been extremely depressing. It was good to be home. It was great to see some of my girls as well. I have missed them and even though they have been texting and emailing. Hugs in person still just can't be replaced!

This song seemed very fitting for my first dance back...



My dance was delicious, it felt just like one gigantic stretch and yawn. Just what I needed today.

Pillow Perfection

Meet the latest addition to the bedroom. It's taken me a while to find one that I thought fit well with our crazy color scheme. But I think this one finally works. Or works enough anyways :)

 

For more pics on the color scheme click here.

IT'SUGAR! Kids in a Candy Store

Imagine two grown woman skipping around a candy store exclaiming excitedly about every five feet. This was the spectacle that you would have found had you followed Ms Countrygirl and I around Universal City Walk last night when we walked into IT'SUGAR! Holycow this store is filled to brimming with not just candy, oh no, this is candy on steroids.

I felt like we had been zapped with a shrinkray as we walked through the aisles. Thinking surely that is not really a 5 LB Gummy Bear sitting on the shelf in front of me or a packet of 2 foot long Twizzlers. Not to mention Jawbreakers the size of baseballs!

But OH yes, that is exactly what I was seeing. I picked up one of those Gummy Bears and had a rather comical moment as I almost dropped it. Who expects to pick up a piece of candy and have it weigh 5 LBS!!!! Boxes of Nerds the size of cereal boxes, Hershey Syrup jugs the size of laundry detergent. They even had kingsize boxes of Pop Rocks. Good thing Mrs Country and I had both left our wallets in the car or we might not have gotten out of there alive.

Easy on the Senses

Even though I know that I will only get to enjoy them for a week or two I love cut flowers. I always feel guilty about buying them though because I know they are a frivolous expense. But they make the atmosphere in the apartment immediately more cheerful and so I indulge.

I also love flower arranging and get a kick out of playing around with new flora. These beauties are straight from the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. I adore the flowering cabbages.

The eucalyptus and pine branches make this one a delight for the olfactory senses as well. Looking forward to coming into our bedroom at the end of the night :)

Our Newest Addition

Since moving into our current apartment I have been very slowing building our nest into what I someday want our future house to be like. After much debate, some finessing, some (I'm ashamed to admit) pouting, and finally victory Mr. Mine and I purchased a new rug for our bedroom and have therefore solidified the colors of our bedroom for many(many, many, many) years to come.

Here is our new love child:

Because I am a bit of a nerd here is the approximate color scheme we chose: