The Number I Am

I was blog hopping this morning and found this quiz that someone had taken to find out what number she is. She thought the number it came up with fit her pretty well, so I thought it would be fun to see what number I am. I answered several multiple choice questions and submitted them, waited a few seconds, and following is the answer I got. It does fit me pretty well, I think, and I'm in some pretty good company. Love Anne Rice, Johnny Depp, & Jim Morrison. :) Here 'tis:

You Are 4: The Individualist

You are sensitive and intuitive, with others and yourself.

You are creative and dreamy... plus dramatic and unpredictable.

You're emotionally honest, real, and easily hurt.

Totally expressive, others always know exactly how you feel.

At Your Best: You are inspired, artistic, and introspective. You know what you're thinking, and you can communicate it well.

At Your Worst: You are melancholy, alienated, and withdrawn.

Your Fixation: Envy

Your Primary Fear: To have no identity

Your Primary Desire: To find yourself

Other Number 4's: Alanis Morisette, Johnny Depp, J.D. Salinger, Jim Morrison, and Anne Rice.

If you'd like to see what your number is you can go here:http://www.blogthings.com/whatnumberareyouquiz/

Have a blessed day!

Getting To Know You Day: Ghosts, Are You A Believer?

This is a meme actually from last Wednesday over at Create A Connection. Holly, the hostess for the day, came up with some very interesting questions and I enjoyed reading the other participanats answers, so I decided to play. Sorry it's a little late. Here goes.

1) Did you grow up in a household that believed in ghosts and spirits?
There were only my parents and me, and I don't remember ever hearing them talk about whether they did or not. I remember my grandparents and their friends telling ghost tales that happened around where I live, but don't know if they actually believed in ghosts or not.

2) Growing up, did you attend camp where you told ghost stories around the camp fire or were you one who found scary movies when you were in high school? What intrigues you most about ghost stories or scary movies?
I never went to camp, but my friends and I used to tell scary stories sometimes, and my grandpa and older cousins used to tell me ghost stories that were supposed to have actually happened in areas very near where I live.

I discovered scary movies when I was eight or nine years old and a much older cousin was staying with us. We would watch Shock Theatre late on Saturday nights in the mid-fifties. I was terrified of the wolf man for years afterward. I'm not a fan of monster movies though, although my husband is. I hate the torture, zombie, slasher, demons, and gore movies. I prefer the psychological thrillers and I enjoy many of the paranormal movies and some of the TV shows, although I'm not sure how much of it I actually believe.

3) Did your family ever have a story about a ghost/spirit that visited? Did anyone in your family ever see a ghost?
I have experienced things during the night several times, which I won't go into here. My husband says I was dreaming, but I'm not so sure. I would declare that my eyes were wide open. A couple of times I was afraid, but most of the time I wasn't. It would just feel kind of weird and I go back to sleep. I also remember some other family members saying they'd experienced things.

4) Have you ever been anywhere that you felt a strange presence you couldn't explain?
Oh, yeah. There were always certain rooms in certain houses I was terrified to go into by myself and it felt creepy even with someone. There was no reason for me to be scared. There have been other places as well.

5) What's the scariest or spookiest thing that's ever happened to you?
One of the scariest recently was not too long after my dad died unexpectedly three years ago I was still asleep one morning and I was awakened by his voice calling my name from outside the kitchen door. It sounded like he used to when something was wrong. I jumped out of bed, ran to the door, and opened it. I then remembered that he was no longer with us physically, which made me think it might be a warning that something was wrong with mom. I called her and she was ok. It could have been a dream, but it was so real that I was shaken for a while.

6) Have you ever known anyone who was not a believer suddenly have something happen to them that changed their mind?
I think so.

I guess that's it. Thanks Holly! This was interesting and fun and kind of spooky. :)

Dialog Day: Doing Nothing At CAC

The hostess, Charlotte, for yesterday's project at the Create A Connection site asked us to tell about a blog or website that we read just for fun and why we read it. It was called doing nothing, but by doing nothing it meant reading, listening to music, etc., relaxing and "just being" instead of bouncing off the walls with "busyness." (Paraphrased)

I read a lot of really good sites/blogs about all kinds of things, but one of my very favorites is a daily blog by Laurie at http://www.crazyauntpurl.com . I found her site in a blog roll on a fellow group member's blog, and I absolutely love her.

She is divorced (3 yrs now, I think), lives alone except for three cats, loves to knit, and is a writer. She really has a gift for writing and humor and always makes me smile if not downright laugh out loud. She has just finished the first leg of a book tour with her first published book, "Drunk, Divorced, And Covered In Cat Hair", which she shared in yesterday's post. Reading it was like I was on the tour with her. She shares the ups and downs in her life with great humor, but also with lessons learned.

I read it because I enjoy her writing and humor so much, but I have also learned a lot from her. I hope you will check her blog out and enjoy it as much as I and many others do.

Thanks Charlotte. This was a good idea! :)

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday. I don't get excited about birthdays and holidays. Wish I could, but I don't. I never did really. I don't want a party or to go out and eat or do anything special. A simple "Happy Birthday" from people who care about me and a quiet day at home is enough of a celebration for me. Is that weird? Most people seem to think so. :)

I didn't realize that it had been so long since I posted. I just haven't been in the mood to write anything much lately. I wonder if anyone is reading the posts anyway, but that's ok. I enjoy sharing when I do post in case someone does drop by. :)

Not too much going on with me right now. I've been kind of down for a couple of weeks because of a weight gain, which I really, seriously do not need, especially when I'm due for a Dr.'s appointment. I joined an online weight loss support group, which is a great group of women, but I haven't really gotten started on an exercise/healthy eating routine yet. I meant to, but a few days after I joined J (hubby) had to go to Paducah, KY for a brush up on fire fighting. We spent part of two days traveling there and back and two days with him in school and me holed up in a very nice motel suite of rooms.

I took some art/writing supplies, my laptop pc, my camera, and two novels to keep me busy. I meant to finish my writing assignment, which I've had to extend the deadline on yet again, but I didn't. I spent the time re-ironing our clothes, straightening up, watching TV, looking out the window (we were on the 5th floor overlooking the pool house and lounge area), taking long soaks in the tub, napping, and eating. I did take some pictures and work with them on the pc and do a little reading the second day.

We had bought microwavable breakfast and lunch food and junk food snacks for in-room eating. The first night J had to study, so we ordered a big pizza delivered to the room. The second night he went out and got tacos, etc., and we ate in the room. He was really tired. We stopped in Murray, KY at the Cracker Barrel going and coming to eat lunch. I finally had one of those delicious chocolate cobblers with ice cream. I always want one, but am usually too full to have it. This time we ate salads, then shared the cobbler. It was worth the wait. Then we stopped and got BBQ sandwiches to eat for supper when we got home.

Point is I gained four pounds in four days. I wanted to cry when I stepped on the scales. I knew part of it was water retention, but I was miserable for a week, all puffy and feeling sluggish. I finally lost it, plus another half pound. I was so happy. Well, I got on the scales this morning and have gained two and a half pounds back, so that wasn't too good a birthday present, but I'm thankful to be alive and ok, and to have family and friends that care about me and that I care about, and THAT is a good present. :)

I did get to go to Michael's the morning we left Paducah. I felt like I was in Disneyland. Now, I do get excited in art and book stores. :) I got some gorgeous decorative papers, a couple of new stamps, some yarn fibers on sale, and some beautiful glass beads. J got some beads, as well. He enjoys making jewelry. It keeps his hands busy while watching TV.

Oh yes, I also found a small piece of fabric at Michael's for the contrary art doll that refused to wear what I already had. It's kind of antique background with inspirational words written on it. I cut it so that the word "Joy" is "tattooed" on her cheek. I have her sewn and stuffed with a painted face and am in the process of finding hair and embellishments to suit her. Of course, she's nothing like I had in mind when I started her, and she's full of imperfections, but that's part of the fun of creating. You're often surprised by the creation. :) I'll post a pic when she's finished.

I signed up for my very first art swap ever in the Mojo Art Group. It's also the first swap for the group, so several firsts going on here. Tammy is graciously hosting an inchies swap. These are also my first inchies. These are works of art on 1"x1" squares, and they are a lot of fun. She was very lenient with us. The only rule is the size and we have to make twelve to send in to her, any style, any media, any subject. She will then send us twelve back, so we will have tiny original works of art from all the artists who participated. What fun! Mine are in progress. I'll post a pic when they're finished.

OK, here is something that IS finished. The latest Mojo Art Group challenge was "Hand Jive" using our hands as the basis for a piece of art. I tried a few ideas, but nothing would come together. I wanted to play, so the morning of the deadline I inked my right hand with a variegated ink pad and layed it in opposite directions, as in friends reaching out to one another, on one of the decorative papers I bought on our trip. I then used my new brush alphabet stamps to stamp the words on strips of paper, which I glued in place, then used my other new stamps in the palms of the hands. The stamp in the right hand says, "Of all possessions a friend is the most precious." As usual, it looks better than the pic, (I'm not the greatest photographer), but here it is.

I guess this is why I haven't been writing much. I've been more into my art persona, plus J has been home for a month, which keeps me pretty busy. As you can see, when I do get started writing, I don't know when to quit, which explains the long posts. Sorry! Not really. :)

Have a great week and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Getting To Know Me Artistically

Hi, I answered the following artistic questions in participation with the Create A Connection for getting to know you day for Tues., Oct. 2. Thanks to groovyholly, who was the hostess that day. You can also go from there to read other artists answers.

1) Do you do something creative every day? If not, do you wish you could?
Yes, I do something, however small, every day. I feel like something is missing if I don't at least look through my sketch book, write a short description, do a quick sketch, take a couple of photos, prowl through my supplies, or look at creative things in a magazine or online, even if I don't have time to work on something larger.

2) Where do your ideas come from? Are you inspired by others art, music, your children?
I'm inspired by other artists, but I also get inspiration from nature, taking photos, memories, friends and family, our cats, daydreaming and imagination, or sometimes I see something on TV that triggers an idea.

3) What is your favourite art form? Why does it call to you?
I don't really have a favorite. Each has it's own perks and I enjoy learning new ones (I'm about to try making inchies). Oil painting and working with pastels are favorites, but lately I've been more into collage, atc's, altered stuff, and I love linoleum block carving and printing. It calls to me because it's challenging and it makes me happy.

4) What is one art form you long to try? What holds you back from trying it?
I would love to take a photography class where I could develop my own black and white prints in a darkroom, but the nearest class is almost four hours away, round trip, it's at night, and I'm getting old. :)

5) Are you the type of person that concentrates on one thing at a time or do you have many projects started that you are trying to finish?
I'm definitely a multi-project person, and always have a lot of different media projects in progress at once. I can focus on and finish one project if I have a deadline, but there are always other wip nearby. I get bored if I work on one thing too long, so when I start getting bored, or stuck, I switch to another project...or start a new one I'm dying to try.

6) Do you belong to any creative communities, swap groups, yahoo groups that encourage creativity/art?
I belong to a relatively new yahoo art group, Mojo Art Group, of mixed media and creative artists, who are very talented, generous, and supportive of one another. I also have been a member of the Savannah Art Guild/Gallery since 2001, although I haven't been active in it for the last few years. Both of these groups have been invaluable in helping me to grow as an artist. Fairly regular visits to creative online blogs and sites help keep my inspiration and motivation up. I have never participated in a swap, but that's about to change.

7) Is there a group of friends in your community that you get together with to help each other out with your art?
No, unfortunately, I live in a pretty rural area, and the people are more interested in sports than the arts. I keep meaning to become active in my art guild again to have more interaction with other artists in person. It's in another town, several miles away, and I just haven't done it yet.

8) What is the most important reason you create?
It keeps me sane, is better than nerve pills, keeps my mind active, plus I love the challenge that each project presents to me.

I guess that's it. If you choose to participate, let me know. I'd love to read your answers. Have a happy and creative day!
Sharon