I'm not missing, I'm right here!

After a long online hiatus, especially from this here blog, I am back! It's been a busy summer so far, moving to Chicago, looking for jobs, catching up with friends both old and new (it's good to be back), having my brother visit from Seattle with his new wife and baby (and dogs!), and having Sierra's eleventh birthday party. Whew!

So there it is. The short version. Stay tuned to future posts for adventures of a girl looking for a job in a city full of competition in a bad economy, where the shotgun approach keeps it interesting. That's right, I actually apply to EVERY job I find I qualify for, even a little bit. In one day, I applied for a Miller Girl, administrative assistant, bartender, server, window washer, personal assistant, and child care provider. On one hand, I stay busy and get plenty of interviews. I even land some of the jobs, albeit part time and often not starting immediately, leading my friends to admonish me with a Jamaican accent, "your brudder has fo-ty seven jobs, quit being lazy and git to work!". Another friend asked me why I needed three jobs, "wouldn't it be easier to just find one really good job?" Geez, why didn't I think of that?

Anyway, some highlights of the month:

Sierra turned 11

We all met Plato, my brother's baby, for the first time.

Rad Things to do in Springfield, Illinois

For Thanksgiving this weekend, Sierra and I traveled (by bus, mind you, the longest trip EVER) to Springfield, Illinois to see my dad. While we were there, we had a lot of fun getting our homeschooling on, and visiting some local sites. First, after battling early Black Friday shopping crowds, we went to Lincoln's Tomb:
I told Sierra it was lucky to rub Lincoln's nose, not thinking how hard it would be to lift her up high enough to do it:

We also went inside the tomb to see the actual deal, where no flash photography is allowed. Nothing about cell phones though:
Perhaps one of the most undiscovered museums and wierd but cool sites to see is the Museum of Funeral Customs, where you learn about the difference between coffins and caskets, and the history of embalming and the evolution of funeral traditions. Here's some cast iron caskets. My favorite is the one with the window that is finished to look like wood:

The only thing cooler than the exhibits here is the gift shop, where you can buy the most awesome Christmas ornaments ever (if you appreciate irony, that is), and these sweet shirts:
Or you can go across the street to the unofficial Lincoln gift shop, where you can buy all things Abe Lincoln, or a stuffed and mounted Jackalope, with his lady love:On the last full day of our trip we went to the The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, where no photography is allowed, save these freaky, all too real wax sculptures of the First Family in front of the White House:
Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving weekend too!!

I'm thankful for...

family, and that I am getting to go see my dad this Thanksgiving for the whole weekend. I'm also thankful and excited that my little brother is having a baby (well, his wife is) in March!! But most of all, I'm thankful I finally mastered my techno-stupidity this year, proved not by the fact that I have set up a website and Etsy shop, MySpace page or Flickr account, or even by the fact that I have fixed my computer (ok, I called tech support a few times, I confess) not once but three times from major farts. No, my triumph in the battle of Corinne vs. her gadgets is proven in finally getting her pics off her cell phone and onto the computer. Even though they're both Bluetooth and are supposed to just magically go back and forth-somehow-that never worked. I did finally realize, though, that I could send all my pics to HP's Snapfish, which I never normally use, but is the photo to computer for dummies, if you are ever wondering. Laugh all you want, I know I'm not the only web-tarded one out there.

At least I can finally show off great pictures formerly trapped on my phone like these:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

A short story by Sierra

We have been very blessed with gorgeous weather, high 70's and a light breeze, the kind that gently blows the faint smell of burning leaves in the windows and makes even the cat and dog happy. The leaves have all started to change colors and fall this week and it is too pretty too rake. It has just been postitively inspirational.
While I have been busy painting and finishing up some custom orders before I start cranking out ornaments next week for holiday craft shows, Sierra has been hard at work with some creative writing in homeschool. I liked her newest story so much I wanted to share it with you all! The assignment was to write about a day as a frog.

I was running throught the forest from the evil witch. I didn't realize that she had stolen a fairy's wand, and that I should be hiding, not running. Suddenly I felt a blast of energy all through my body. After that, everything went black. When I woke up, I realized that I was back at the witch's cabin. I saw that I was tied up on the floor of a hamster cage. I suddenly saw the witch step in the door, with a small pet carrier. In the pet carrier there were two fairies, five rats, and three squirrels. The witch walked up to the cage I was in and dumped them all into the cage. Then the witch left taking the pet carrier with her. The fairies quickly became friends with me, and they untied me. They told me that if I could use my long frog tongue to get their wands, that they could get me and everyone else out before sunset. After hearing that, I happily hopped to the side of the cage. While I was there I saw many more cages. Many with creatures I've always thought weren't real. When I got the wands I felt myself beginning to change. By the time I got back to the fairies I was a small person. I saw through a window that it was sunset. In no time at all I was back in my home, as a person- not a frog.

Good Friends, Great Drinks!

This week has been exhausting for me and Sierra as she heals. When you are living off "soft" food, and keeping clean and sterile is a battle, it seems like everytime I turn around I am feeding someone or cleaning something. Of course the cat and dog add to that too. It was Wednesday before I realized the fish hadn't been fed since Saturday! But after a long week, and a lot of prayers (and baths!), she is healing nicely. I also realized how many good friends I am blessed with. All week we have been recieving well wishes via phone calls, emails, comments on various things online, and visitors. Everyone I know close to here has offered to run errands for me and get whatever I needed. Yesterday, when I literally washed away scabs that have already healed in almost miraculous time, it occured to me every prayer that has been said for us has made a difference, so for that I thank anyone reading this! Every prayer and kind word has helped!! All there is to do now is offer good friends a good drink! How about an Apple Crazed Martini?

Apple Crazed Martini

1 oz Apple Pucker
1 oz apple vodka (like Smirnoff Twisted Green Apple)
1 oz apple juice
1 oz sweet and sour mix

Shake over ice, strain into chilled martini glass, and garnish with a maraschino cherry. Yum!!

Drink of the Week

It's raining and gloomy here. I can't take pictures of all the new jewelry I made this week. Which is too bad, because I have some great new stuff. Keep an eye out next week! I will also be having a sale (details announced tomorrow) to coincide with the FAM Back to School Fling. The Fling is and event sponsered by the Fabulous Artistic Moms (FAM), specifically a fun back to school treasure hunt. Visit various FAM stores on Etsy and look for the hidden owl in each shop. You can win FAM bucks, good for merchandise in participating FAM shops (including mine)! For more details, visit the FAM blog.



Sierra is just now finally recovering from her Brown Recluse bites, of which she managed to get not one, but two, this week on her arm. For those of who who don't know, Kentucky, specifically this part apparently, is lousy with these nasty spiders. We have both been bitten on a few occasions since our move here in 2005. I got a crash course in what not to do when bitten when I almost lost my leg to one a month after moving here. Needless to say, we're experts now, and Sierra is fine. But it has been a long week. Our new kitten, Tramp, also went missing, but is found again and also fine.



In addition to all the other activity around here lately, Lea, the exchange student from Germany I found a host family for, arrives Tuesday. We are very excited to meet her and show her around. In the spirit of friendship, my drink recipe of the week is one I created for my lovliest of friends, Andrea, or Dre:



Behold, the most refreshing and tasty of all martinis, and sure to be your favorite too!

Fruit Punch Martini (aka Dre-tini)

1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz triple sec
1 1/2 oz Rose's Watermelon Mixer
splash grenadine
splash cherry juice from maraschino cherries
Shake over ice, strain into chilled martini glass.
Garnish with a orange slice and maraschino cherry.

To chill a martini glass, fill with ice and water before making drink. Dump out right before straining drink into glass. Enjoy!! xoxo

The diorama queen does it again!

We are studying Rainforests in this unit for History/ Geography in Sierra's homeschooling, and she had so much fun making the first diorama she HAD to make another one! So, one can of play-doh, one box of air dry clay, and a bunch of paper and paint later, her masterpiece was revealed:
If we weren't already running out of boxes as it is, I would make one myself. I am actually pretty jealous I couldn't! My favorite thing is hard to see here, but she has a cool little lake full of fish surrounded by real rocks! You can see the line of rocks that makes up the front of the lake. Nothing went unnoticed, and there is a ton of detail up close. The research for this went way beyond Rainforest Cafe, thank you very much. Hey, in this house, learning is fun!

I have had such a good time teaching Sierra lately, that I went ahead and added on to my long list of services: art classes!! For the less than the price of your typical park district art class, I now teach privately in my studio!! How can you beat that?