So. Has anyone ever asked you for your advice regarding decisions about their business?

I think I might.

I’ve just spent the morning re-tooling (because not much has changed, really) my ordering information and contact form pages. Why? ‘Cause I must be awfully confusing, but I don’t realize it. I’ve been told that I’m one of those people that’s “hard to get” as in “I just don’t get her”. Ah well, I’m one of those artist types. What can I say. Deep, thoughtful, sensitive, confused, expressive… my mind is wired a little differently, that’s all. What I think makes perfect sense ends up only making perfect sense to me! Okay and a few cherished others, trust me when someone understands what I’m saying, I grab on and don’t let go. (Unless that person uses force, well then, I run and hide under the nearest table. But I digress.)

Help me out here, wouldjya? Does my ordering information page make sense? Is my contact form clear? Is it obvious to the passer-by that I’ll paint anything for money?

I tried really hard with this new design to tie it in to my gallery so that it would be “seamless”. So that visitors to my gallery would be prompted to come here to my blog, and so that my blog visitors would go “hey, look at that menu up there! There’s more than just a blog!” So are you doing that? Have you SEEN my gallery? Do ya care? :sniffle:

Then there’s the issue of sales and specials. Sheesh. That’s a toughie.

I’m stuck at the moment. Any suggestions? Are you waiting for me to have some amazing giveaway or sale so you can order something?

Seriously, I’ll take everything into consideration. Got any ideas?

Hardee’s advertising executives must really be struggling after having one of the Hiltons wash a car for a burger half nekkid. (What’s with the half nekkid theme this week, anyway?)

I used to be interested in watching thir commercials. Now? Not so much. Come on people.

After seeing the current commercial for their wonderful and tasty breakfast biscuits, I’ve come to the conclusion that they no longer want my business, they would prefer the business of idiots. Preferrably men, illiterate men, who grunt and can’t read simple instructions.

The scene, if you haven’t caught it, goes something like this:

Apparently hungover man dressed in a hardly washed t-shirt and boxers, unshaven with mussed up hair stumbles into kitchen, opens refrigerator, retrieves prepackaged biscuits in a tube.

Stares at the tube, wondering how the tube will manage to open itself up and the biscuits, now freed from their confinement, will find the oven and hop in before he falls over from starvation.

Gets frustrated with the tube, I presume because it hasn’t opened itself yet.

Smacks tube on counter several times.

Glares at tube, shows tube who’s boss.

Gnaws on the end of the tube with, hey… wait! Well polished teeth! That’s wierd. Still. I worry, because chewing on tin and cardboard can’t be good for those pearly white puppies.

Continues chewing and gnawing and pounding.

Leaves the tube of biscuits on the counter, frustrated and hungry, and stumbles out of the room.

Deep man voice starts talking, shows a picture of Hardee’s breakfast biscuit, and explains how they’re made just for neanderthals like this guy. Without Hardee’s, idiots like him would go hungry.

end commercial.

I like Hardee’s. When I get really hungry and would like a meal that has a quantity of calories and fat grams that oversaturate the average human heart, that’s the first place I think of. Their burgers knock the socks off of any other burger on the planet, imho. Still.

So what do you think? Would you run out to buy one of these breakfast biscuts after seeing this commercial? What food commercial leaves you shaking your head and wondering “how did THAT get on the air?”

“Jack Skellington” from
Tim Burton’s animated classic, “A Nightmare Before Chistmas”.
by Beteljooz

“Darla the Punch-Drunk Pumpkin”
by MommaK @ Petroville

Clickity click for the final tally, it was a great contest! Thanks everyone for playing!!

147 minutes and 43 seconds later, my sister posted her first entry in her new Blogsome Blog (Big Sis modified & personalized her design for her in the same period of time!)

GO SAY HI! :wave:

(p.s. I made a spare one too, just for giggles, artistbynature.blogsome.com)

Just a quick recap of recent goings-on in my life:

There are new entries in the Pumpkin Carving Contest. View them HERE. They’re cool! Hey! Where’s YOURS?!

Thousands of people are looking for cool, wicked, animal, and even custom pumpkin carvings, designs, patterns, etc. I can’t believe how many people. Tons of people. Woah. LOTS. People. Go to Walgreen’s and pick up a pattern book, or flip through one, you’ll get ideas from it if not just USE one. That’s what they’re there for. And when you carve it? Go enter my (little, so far) contest, and tell all your friends to vote! Why not? You’re just going to be sitting around eating candy all day anyway! Plain-ol’ Jack-O-Lanterns would be WAY cool. Let’s not forget about Jack!

CAT scan results are in. Diagnosis? I’m making the stuff up! YAY!!! It’s all in my head! I’m just your normal, almost middle-aged hypochondriac. I drank all that chalk to find out something I already knew! Whew! Hey! WOW! The pain is gone! (No, it isn’t!) WHEE! I feel so much better.

I have a cold. No, really! I’m not making THAT up! I just make up all the other pings pangs and dings. Seriously. Colds are easy to self-diagnose. I make up the stuff that costs hundreds of dollars to try to figure out. Hah!

Before I forget this link again, BLOGSOME. For those of you without your own domains, stuck on Blogger and wanting more control over your own blog, they use WordPress. Some of you know WordPress rocks. Some of you don’t. The some of you who don’t need to get a WordPress blog and find out we’re not lyin’! Seriously!

I was going to give myself the day off, but now I’ve thought of a bunch of things I have to do. Including prepping for my next painting, which is going to be seriously interesting to work on.

Recommended reading for today:
Loose Leaves
Pamibe (she just Weathered Wilma)
Mr. MommaK’s Favorite Fall Things
Life (a tearjerker from a Soldier)
Mir and her Hair Experience (read: Trauma)

If you think this just looks beautiful, you should smell it! I wish I could bottle the smell of this rose. This is a Double Delight from our garden that I cut yesterday and brought inside. I figured if it could make the driveway smell so nice, it could work for my dining room, too! Then this morning when I put it on the windowsill to get some light, well, you see what happened. Wowzers. A beautiful home grown rose on a clear fall day. Deep breath in… release slowly. Aaaah.

I’ve uploaded the first entry into the Pumpkin Carving Contest, go look! And get carving, wouldjya?!

Have a great Saturday!

Did ya’ll think I’d look like Demi Moore in Gi Jane? Nah. Not quite. The #7 guard has left about 3/4″, and I’m really choppy at the top, maybe an inch? So. Here ya go, and just for reference? My shirt is yellow. Canary yellow.

Fall has arrived. It’s so pretty, but why does it have to get so freakin’ COLD?!?! :cold:

Today is one of the nicer days, clear blue sky, a little chilly but not freezing (yet). It is supposed to snow. Yes, snow. This weekend. That’s just stupid. Snow is stupid. All due respect to those who love playing in it, but brrr. I cannot justify putting 50 layers of clothes on just to go outside, and still have my eyelashes and nosehairs freeze and break off. It’s just not right. It’s very pretty, as long as you’re looking at it out a window from a cozy room that doesn’t cost $5,000 to heat every month. See? There are fewer and fewer things to like about cold weather every year. haha!

The CAT scan wen’t well yesterday, I guess. I mean I didn’t fall over dead, and didn’t get claustrophobic, not that I’d have any reason to. The highlights were that I drank a gallon of chalk, got there, and was invited to toast the occasion with yet ANOTHER full cup-o-gagmewithaspoon. The dye IV was wierd, just wierd. The whole thing really took the wind right out of me though, for some reason. I’ll get the results on Monday – always the last to know, know what I mean?

Ah well. I finished adding all of the Thirteen links, so go on and visit some new folks! Everyone seems very nice and I am going to try to go read everyone’s TT’s today.

Happy Friday!!

Message on my answering machine:

“Hi Leanne, it’s (me). I just wondered if you’ve fallen over dead yet from all the painting? Well, I guess if you’re dead, you’re not going to be calling me back, so you can disregard this message. Call me if you’re still alive!”

I love my friends! 😆