This morning I had the opportunity to meet this fabulous young lady for a photo shoot back behind the poplar tree. She wanted me to tell you that squirrels are really not all that bad. They have a soft, sensitive side – just like you and me. So in an effort to portray their inner “enjoying nature and foraging for food and shelter like the rest of us” beauty, she asked me to share with you these wonderful shots from her own personal portrait session.

I really have to applaud her for these shots. They’re personal and revealing, they tell a story about how sensitive and playful a squirrels’ personality can be. I’d be surprised if your heart doesn’t just melt. You’ll never see a squirrel the same way again. Maybe.

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I’m buried in another blog design over here, but had to stop to check the news – you have to see this if you haven’t already – it’s hilarious! A must have, just for fun! (Get one for your teenager. heh!)

Clocky gives you one chance to get up. But if you snooze, Clocky will jump off of your nightstand and wheel around your room looking for a place to hide. Clocky is kind of like a misbehaving pet, only he will get up at the right time.

I can think of a few people who would just HATE to get this for Christmas!

I got to work on the climby squirrel yesterday, Robin and Lesley knew exactly what I had in mind for this climby squirrel. He’s SO COOL. I finished up this wicked neat graphic design using his photo and I think you have to have one of these t-shirts. Go here to see my broad selection of Climby Squirrel Shirts in my new CafePress store.

Of course I need a caption, or two or three, so this is where you come in. Got any good ones? (I know you do. Spill it.)

In an effort to dispel any untruths out there about my obsession with squirrels, I’ve rummaged through hundreds (cough) of photographs just to prove that they are, indeed, cute as hell and I have a justifyable urge to capture them from every angle.

Now I’m faced with an even bigger dilemma – which one to put on a shirt? If you can stand the cuteness, go on and pick your favorite from the seven squirrels I’ve chosen. I am, seriously, going to design a shirt. I can’t disappoint Mr. Dell dude, now can I?

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I captured this video to keep for future reference. You know I’m going to be digging it out of my archives in about 12 years, when she’s screaming at me that she can’t stand our rules (blah blah blah) and is going to run away.

Heh.

Welcome to my Birthday! Today is the day. Help yourself to a nice piece of cake! Yes, that is my cake. Except that I put the words on there. The rest is totally edible. And the frosting? Buttercream, of course!

I woke up at 6:00, and nothing happened. So far, turning 36 hasn’t proven any different from yesterday. Here are some non-eventful events that have (or have not) unexpectedly occurred today.

• None of my Birthday Wishes have come true (yet). Bummer.
• I do not have the urge to hide my age or pretend I’m any younger. (I thought I would. Can any of you old people tell me at what age this occurs?)
• I didn’t spontaneously lose the rest of my hair color and turn gray. (it could happen.) (yes, I was worried about that, too.)
• I had an uncontrollable, unexplainable urge to wear red today. And so I did.
• I got a new zit. It’s all shiny, and red. Hey, do you think that’s why I had that urge?
• My husband put gas in the car. What a man.
• He also woke me up with kisses and happy birthdays. Again. What a man.
• He ALSO wrote an e-mail to John Mayer’s management team to request John make an appearance on my blog today or something. Well. Like that’ll happen. (I’m still gonna cross my fingers in hopes that he’ll think I’m cuter and more lovable than Jessica Simpson, and that he won’t be able to resist the urge to check his new amps with a nice jazzy rendition of happy birthday and upload it to YouTube just for me.)
• One of my girlfriends sent me a GC to Amazon for a backyard birding book I’ve been eyeing! She rocks!
• My other bestest buddy send me a GC to John Mayer’s gift shop. Does that girl know me or what?! She also rocks, of course!
• My Catybug was so sad about having to go to school and missing spending my birthday with me that she got sick! Isn’t she so sweet! (Damn flu.)
• I did not fall down on the sheet-of-ice parking lot taking the Chickeymonkey to school!
• My hubby is going to make me my Birthday Lasagne for dinner!
• My nonfat vanilla latte tastes the same as it did yesterday! Yes I was expecting it to be better. I thought I’d appreciate it more. Sadly, that’s not the case.
• No wrinkles have appeared today to mark my age. Somehow, I keep thinking I’m a tree, and that I’ll get a new “ring” every year. Phew, I’m glad I’m not a tree.
• I didn’t break a hip. Thank God. I was worried. Fortunately, I have nothing to report on the Brittle Boned Old Lady thing.

You are welcome to come over for dinner, cake and ice cream! I’ll even make ya a Purple Pig (which is the happiest most fun purple kool aid drink EVER)! I know, I’ve been a big tease the last few days, but aren’t you glad you stuck with me? NOW you can have cake!

::handing everyone a fork::

I’m the holes in his bags, I’m Glad.

I can’t tell you how long it’s been that I’ve gone to the trash can after my hubby has put a new bag in, only to find that there’s too much air in there, you know? Call me neurotic, but it’s a pet peeve. The more air in there, the less junk I can put in the trash. For years now, I’ve snuck in a few minutes after he’s put a new bag in only to let out the air trapped inside, between the bag and the can.

I never say a word – because honestly, who has the heart to tell a grown man how to take out the trash? That’s just wrong. Besides, I would risk having to do the chore myself if I insulted him to the point of (you know what’s coming) “fine, do it your dam* self.” I couldn’t do it.

Air in the bag, I can live with that. I can live with being the “air letter outer”. No problem.

Today, for some reason, I took the plunge. I did. I’m a daredevil, that’s me. Here’s how the whole thing went down:

Me

: “Honey?”

Him

: “yeah?”

Me

: “Could I get you to let the air out of the bags when you put a new one in the trash?”

Him

: “What for?”

Me

: “Well, it’s kinda like wrapping the trash up in bubble wrap. If you take the bubble wrap away, there’s room for more trash.”

Him

: “That air goes away, honey.”

Me

: “Uhm, no, it doesn’t sweetie.”

Him

: “It always does, there’s holes in the bags for the air to escape.”

Pause. For a moment. Just to giggle and snicker.

Me: “Honey, I hate to tell you this, but I’m the holes in your bags. I’ve been letting the air out for years.”

this is a true story, I swear it. It just happened a half hour ago.

  
(they can be played at www.auryn.com)Last night, the girls and I snuggled up on the couch with some popcorn and these two short stories about two very wonderful artists, Van Gogh and Monet. I wanted to watch them together so that I could see how they responded to the stories, if they held their interest, and find out exactly what their interest is in art and art history.

Catybug (10) has mentioned on several occasions the desire to be an art teacher. Of course I was more curious to know what she would take away from these than Chickeymonkey, who was in it I’m sure for the animation.

If you’ve got young kids and want to expose them to art, I highly recommend these DVD’s. The animation was nothing that I expected – because I’m used to typical animation. This, however, was not typical. It’s a touch of Pixar, a bit of “What Dreams May Come” (POP Film), and narrated by a soothing voice. These were very literally (and appropriately coined) Painted Tales.

“Auryn is a unique combination of technology and creativity. Our image synthesists and designers have worked tirelessly together to create the next generation of animation tools that allow us to bring life to painted worlds as never before.”

Each of the stories were animated in each artists painterly style, which made the whole thing so much more interesting – especially for the girls. Swirls of paint moved around the screen and made them so visually interesting, neither of the girls looked away. They’re both short stories – and for some reason we were caught off guard when they ended, like we didn’t want them to end so soon.

Catybug really enjoyed the Van Gogh story – because it was told from the perspective of a young girl (Marguerite). That one is inspired by O. Henry’s classic short story, “The Last Leaf”. She really identified with that one. Me, I was sniffling at the end of Monet’s story – probably because it was sweet and inspirational, and as an artist I’ve always identified more with Monet than Van Gogh. Chick liked them both, and liked both stories.

Both of the girls, of course, are used to having a lot of artsy things around them. I teach them the things that I know – but I am not an Art History buff by any means. These were neat not just for them, but for me, too!

You can order DVD’s or just download them to your PC and burn them yourself – either way they’re just a few bucks, you can go here to view short clips of each story and pick them up for your kids (or yourself)!

Here’s my carving for this year. I drew it up and made the stencil myself, and WHEE it turned out just like I thought it would!

Here it is in daylight:
I’m totally entering it into my contest. I’m just not gonna be eligible for votes.