Getty Villa

So Tina and I and 92 other people went to the Getty Villa on the Joslyn Center Tour. We paid $15 and got to ride a bus with a bathroom, And someone else fought the traffic. The weather was perfect and we saw some fabulous antiquities We ate in their cafe and had some fabulous food. And then the bus drove us home! What a deal!
There were a few glitches here and there, but all in all great! I will upload some of my favorite pictures later.

Decisions and Paperwork

That was my day. I tried desperately to get to the art room, but no luck. I am way too stressed with all the paperwork I need to do because I am retired.
I'm discouraged and I am going to bed. Tomorrow will be a much better day!

Dia de Los Muertos Already?

Today I had to make some big decisions about my future. As ominous as that sounds, it's actually good news. I really tried to prioritize my needs and my wants in an adult and responsible manner. And then I went to the 99cents store! I bought little water balloons for Dia de Los Muertos paper mache skulls. I know it's August, but I need to get the balloons ready and the paper mache on the balloons. The painting goes quickly.(She said optimistically). I will start the paper mache-ing tomorrow and continue this week. There is a lot of drying time in between each layer and there are three layers. Did I mention that I am making small ones and will string them like a banner??? Oh yeah! A girl must have a project!

Sunday, Sunday

I made it to church with time to spare this morning, but I was up all night worrying i wouldn't wake up in time! I hate that!
I went home and took a long nap! then of course, the laundry, laundry, laundry! Stanley likes this whole nap thing.

What a Day!

Sometimes at the end of a day, I will discount all the things I have done during the day. So I will list them:
1. Went over my August budget. Since I am now on a "fixed income." I want to monitor my finances carefully. I did that anyway, and it wasn't like I wasn't on a fixed income before, but now I am SERIOUS!
2. Made an appointment with B of A to see about setting up a rollover IRA. Their site was extremely helpful in guiding me to decide on a Rollover IRA. So I want to see if this is really for me.
3. Did some research on a trip I want to take. I want to see Europe. I wanted to see how much it would cost so I could budget (I hate that word!)--financially plan for a trip next year in April.
4. Worked in the Mandala Journal. I wanted to use a human figure as a starting point for a Mandala. It's probably not a real Mandala but it's okay.
5. Found a quote from Marianne Williamson and typed it up, printed it out and put it in the Judgement page of the journal.
6. Printed up some helpful pages from whenigrowupcoach.com, the coaching site from Michelle Ward. I will read them tomorrow during church (or after :)
7. De-trashed and washed all the dishes. I have a clean sink, Mrs. Fly Lady!
8. Talked to my sister on the phone about her new house. She is painting the inside yellow-ish. Nice!
9. Did my exercises! Ha!
10. Prepared the calendar for flowers for the Church florist. I use iCal.
11. Changed the bed linens and the quilt--with the help of the perrito blanco.
12. Went to church to deliver the linens I ironed and to set up the flower calendar for the rest of the year. I was hoping that the Altar Guild assigned people had done their job, but they did not. So I did that too!
13. Went to Stater Brothers to get the rest of the groceries that I needed for the next two weeks.
14. Made the P.F. Chang's Orange chicken for two. Not that Good! For One, two or seventy!
So this was a productive day! I did a lot! Whew! Now I need to soak my hurting foot and watch the rest of the movie I started.

Project Runway Episode 1!

Danielle came over and brought salad and a really good Caesar dressing and black olives and we sat down to pasta and rosemary rolls and lemon bars and swooned and heckled. What fun! Heidi's hair on the sides looked wonky (but I get my hair cut at Fantastic Sam's, so what do I know?), but the bangs looked okay. I think she will look back in couple of years and wonder why she wanted bangs though. And the color is different. But Tim! What a guy! The Times had a fabulously complimentary article about him here:Tim Gunn: 'Project Runway's' dapper dean - latimes.com . But really the woman from Utah with the dreadlocks? Come on! They should have let Casanova go but Danielle has a theory that they keep obnoxious people on for a while to give the show some excitement. Could be.
I am going out on a limb and choosing Gretchen as the winner. I think she is extremely smart and seems to know how to get along with Tim and the other people. I hope I am right. But really! Who cares?
So Danielle's surgery is today and all good thoughts and vibes go out to you, Danielle.
I was blog surfing and found Michelle Ward's career coaching site: whenigrowup.com. On her blog she lists 101 things in 1001 days. It's like a brainstorming/wishlist. So I decided to make a list and right now I am only up to 31.So I think I will add 32: I am going to blog every day!--yes--even on Christmas! Daily blogging from me about knitting, Stanley, art. How will you stand it?

Project Runway!

Starts tonight! I can't wait! Heidi has a new haircut and I have totally missed Tim--"Make it Work!" and "This troubles me." I invited my friend Danielle to come over and have dinner and talk back to the tv with me. I am making pasta and she is bringing some salad and I will make lemon bars--and she will take the left overs home. She is having minor surgery on Friday morning and she can have a lemon bar treat when she feels up to it. The good thing about Direct TV is that because it is on Eastern time, I can watch PR and know all about it by 7 p.m. This year I am going to predict the winner as I have done in the past. Last year I picked Seth Aaron from the very start and I held out even though all my PR friends thought I was wrong. Ha! Ah! So little excites me!
In the Art room, the mandalas continue. Yesterday's mandala was about eyes. The mandala is Sharpie pens and watercolor. When I was little I was carefully watched every moment and all my movements were commented on and judged. In their defense, none of the people who were watching me had a real childhood. So I think they were watching me to see what a real child would do. But there was a judgement aspect that transcended pretty much everything I did and it is difficult to leave that behind. So the Eye Mandala is about that struggle to go on and to do what I need to do and to do it whether people are watching or not. (But they aren't)
Anyway, I get to watch someone else tonight!