BOGO Half Off SALE on Etsy!

Check out my Etsy Store! And if you want an even better deal - check out my forum post!

Happy shopping - I cannot believe that I am finally moving! And I LOVE sales! YAY!

~ Alex

Sleep Sleep Anti-Freak

Sleep sleep anti-freak
Bedtime stories wait
Wander through dreams and seams
A cushion in your wake

Secrets linger in your mind
As dreary as you feel
Fill your head with misery
A jacket on your wheel

Find a line to bite your teeth
Jumble up the madness
Assume your tongue will follow through
And sleep, sleep . . . sleep.

By Alex Whatton

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Happy Summer Solstice to all!

CHEEEEEEEEEEESE!

Where do you look for inspiration?

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When I'm having a bit of an "art" block, I can easily look through my old photos or look-up local artisan fairs, but one of my favorite things to do is to head to local food markets! This photo is from Borough Market in London, England when I was visiting family in March. I personally love cheese, but the art that I will create from looking at this photo will last longer than any aged cheese ever can. I'm off to create for now, but I hope to post something soon!

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And if you're wondering...the move is going fine! Our furnished apartment is great and I'm just on the lookout for a new job. Shameless plug: my resume is located on the bottom left of this page! Thank you! Also, the Litchfield Hills Road Race was this weekend! (Yup, during that 100 degree heat wave - it was brutal!) I ran the 7+ miles in 1 hour, 34 minutes, and 52 seconds! I cannot believe that I ran over 4.5 miles in that heat...but I am so proud that I finished it and I cannot wait to try a 5K (maybe in 75 degrees on a cloudy day - that would be nice). Yay!

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Of course, if you are feeling hungry now: check out the Organic Consumer Association for local farms and markets and see whats happening in your neck of the woods!

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Happy blogging!

Get Out and Do Something

I challenge you to get out and do something with yourself today. Plan a DIY project, write someone a letter, sit in the sun with some friends. Do something you aren't doing but want to be and write about it.

Smile...it's YOUR life!

Buying a House and Making it Green

So...we might have found a house in New Jersey! But, there's an underground oil tank.

UGH. All we want to do is buy a house and make it green!

Any suggestions?

Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD)

Do you know what GSD is? Did you know that there are close to 10,000 people with this disease, very little research has been done, and there are no real treatments at this time? Thousands of children have already died...and I had absolutely no clue. Not one little idea that this even existed.

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Until I went to a fundings meeting the other night that my mother knew about. (Okay, I'll give you the basics but read all about it here, on the Feldman's non-profit groups' webpage.)

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GSD (Type 1a) is when a person cannot form glucose since they are missing a certain enzyme. Like diabetes, this can affect blood sugar levels to such an extent that thousands have died. Many parents do not realize their children have this disease since their is no test to find it and both parents have to be recessive carriers to pass it on. Parents have found out that their children have had it after sudden seizures and long hospital stays were luckily (sadly, "luckily"), a doctor has been able to recognize what it might be. And once a parent is told what it is, they realize that their lives will be changed drastically. If their child does not receive Agro Corn Starch (yup, straight from the supermarket shelves and proved to be the best therapy at this time) EVERY TWO HOURS, their blood sugar levels will drop to a dangerous level. And when I say every two hours, I mean that the parents have to set alarm clocks for the middle of the night to go put a mixture of water and corn starch through a tube directly to their childs' stomach just to make sure they stay alive. They can never be late by even fifteen minutes or their child could die.

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I cannot believe that I have never heard about this. They not only need donations to help fund the research...they need researchers! I hope that I have explained it well enough and that you will feel compelled to learn more about it...I know it will indirectly affect me for the rest of my life.

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http://www.curegsd.org/

Get CapoFit!

I just realized that some people may think that this "personal trainer" thing is coming out of nowhere! Well, here's a little piece of unknown history that will make some sense out of it all - I was in a fitness video!

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It all started when I was a sophomore in high school and my teacher told me about Capoeira. (For those of you who know absolutely nothing about it but want to, here's more information. Click on history...and there are videos on YouTube of course!) I didn't actually hear much more about it for a year-or-so until I was accepted into the Center for Creative Youth (CCY) summer program at Wesleyan University for violin. (Suzuki trained...learning a lot about me today, huh?!) Well, the program was not just about mastering your instrument or art, but learning about some other cultures and their arts. You guessed it, Capoeira was offered. For two weeks I got my butt kicked (and learned a little Portuguese...and Japanesse, but I digress) and fell in love with Capoeira. I could not wait to get started - but I had no idea where to look. And like many other teenagers, I soon forgot about this extra activity...what with field hockey, ski team, jazz band, orchestra, applying to college, SATs, blah blah blah - you know the story.

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Well, turns out it wasn't over yet! A couple of kids at the University of Connecticut had started a club. (Look! They even have a webpage now!) I had to try my fair share of other clubs before I found it, including a sorority and Army ROTC, but hey, I got there eventually. In fact, I started getting a little obsessed with Capoeira and stopped nearly everything else I was supposed to be at college for (like English class, apparently). On Thursday and Friday nights a group of us would drive to New Haven, CT to attend Mestre Efraims' school and I even met my husband there!

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Capoeira got me in the best shape of my life, introduced me to my husband, and even landed me in a fitness video with Professor Fabiano Lucas...so you will probably think I am crazy when I tell you that I have not played in about two years! (Yeah, I think I am out of my mind.) But I miss it, so as I move to New Jersey and James and I start our lives together - I am getting back in to it. I just found a few schools to try out and might even see a few friendly faces. I am RE-finding myself and proud of it. Now if I could just find those tight, white pants of mine!

Litchfield Hills Road Race & Featurette!

Woohoo! My best friend and I are off to check out the Litchfield Hills Road Race Trail. This will be our first year running it (7.1 miles) and we want to get a feel for it. Wish me luck! (Thank gosh I still have a few more weeks to train - the womens' record is something like 38 minutes!) HA!
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I've also been featured on Bigib Designs Blog. Read about it here. And check out her store here. It truly is a history!
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Well, that's it for now. Life is crazy busy and I'm off to check out Litchfield!!! Ciao Ciao!

House AND Job Hunting

Sorry for the delay - my husband and I have been HOUSE HUNTING in New Jersey! Very exciting. The not so exciting part? I am also job hunting. I have no idea where to look?! Monster.com and Yahoojobs.com don't seem to be "big helps" in the creative/art world and http://www.nyfa.org/ seems to have all NYC creative arts jobs...and I truly have no idea what I want to be doing! I'm willing to try anything new and I am definitely good with statistics, data handling, research, anything artistic and creative, spontaneity, weird hours, hard manual labor, dirty work, scheduling, organizing, working out, cooking...blah blah blah. If I could find a job hand-painting sports equipment, I think I would be set.
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I'm just so unsure of myself right now and I've never been in this position before. I do not know where I want to go and I am working on who I want to be! I'm thinking personal trainer, freelance writer/photographer, and/or sticking with fine art. There are a couple of contests coming-up, like the Diesel Wall (it's almost due). Maybe I should concentrate on those?
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Gosh, I wish I knew.

Bridal Shower Invitations and Juicy!

I've been a busy, busy girl (those are my bridal shower invitation envelopes - all lovingly handstamped...one by one).

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My husband and I found quite a few houses we like in New Jersey and well, lets just say that I am so excited to move! I have no idea what I will be doing (job-wise) in the next few months, but I am so thrilled that I don't really care! And not only are we trying to sell our place and move to NJ, but I am planning a bridal shower, a bachelorette party, helping with plans for two weddings, marketing my Etsy shop, trying to blog, keeping our house clean, cooking, getting fit, and trying to get more art from my head on to paper or canvas! Oh yeah, and I'm working on being a much better friend by calling and writing more (so far - slow)...I am really poor at calling and writing to people and I cannot figure out why?! But, I promised more photos, and at least I can keep my promises...so here they are, starting with my workspace/dining table for the bridal shower invitations (the theme is "Glamour - Walk the Pink Carpet:"

The actual invitation:

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And I'll end by showing you my newest creation:"Juicy" by Alex Whatton (2008).

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Elevated Motivation

I have been so worried with our big move to New Jersey, that I haven't been living my life.

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So I have to elevate my motivation and be ME. For example, I love that American Express commercial where the fashion designer, Diane von Furstenberg, says "I never knew what I wanted to do with my life - just the type of woman I wanted to be." I know it is just a commercial, but I was starting to live my life based on what other people wanted from me...completely losing myself. The "what the heck am I going to do with my life" question has been an ongoing scream in my mind. This commercial (and a few other things - don't worry), have made me realize that I need to rephrase the question to ask "who do I want to be?"

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Okay. So far, so good. I am feeling positive. I love to travel, paint, create, draw, organize, analyze statistics (I know, I know - I am weird...), be spontaneous, write, (blog), work with animals, get a little dirty, try new things, play violin, live in music (yes, you know what I mean), play capoeira, cycle, spin, dance, attempt pilates and yoga (both pretty funny to watch - I definitely need to work on my flexibility), run, and read. I know there is so much more - but that's what I truly LOVE. [Got a job for me?]

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Next step. Wow, this is scary. Exact measurements. Online. For all to see. Which makes me wonder; why am I so affraid? Why are most women so affraid of what are basically random numbers? Our clothing system doesn't even contain "REAL" numbers like the mens' department does. Would it not be easier for my jeans to all say 28 with a 33-35" inseam (depending on heels, of course). I do not understand our 0-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16 system! (Or even S-M-L!) It is so arbitrary! And every clothing line is different! But I digress...here they are: bust: 34", waist: 27-1/2", hips: 36-1/2", and inseam: 33"...oh yeah, and 5'9" and (gulp)...133 pounds.

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There, I did it. Now I can get over it and move on with my life. Why it was holding me back...well, I doubt that I will ever know. So what do I do now? Where do I go from here?

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Outside Magazines May 2008 is a good start. It says "The 50 Best Jobs" on the cover and was handed to me by my husband at a bookstore Monday night. Companies I have always wanted to work for and jobs that I would kill for are listed...along with real people who work for some of them. Like the article says, a lot of work now-a-days comes from who you know rather than what you know, but I think you have to take a chance for love - and just apply. Anyhow, I have been researching all day and applied for a few jobs just to get the ball rolling. (I have found that the best way to apply to work for a company if you really want the job is by contacting their hiring/temp agencies. That's how I got my last job, anyhow.

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If you need a little background on me; I started off at the University of Connecticuts' fantastic School of Business and to the horror of my parents, dropped out of the school of business and in to the college of liberal arts and sciences to study ethology (animal behaivor) or specifically; primatology (basically...monkeys). Since I was at UConn, I couldn't be so specific, so my degree reads "Psychology." I have held jobs ranging from mucking stalls at a horse ranch, to being a photo technician at a pharmacy, to an administrative assistant (and dog-sitter) for an electrical company, to a research associate at a biotech, to an art teacher, blah blah blah...and now I am working for myself (though I'm earning pennies) by selling my art, photography, and surface design on Etsy. Crazy crazy crazy. What's even crazier is thinking that someone is actually reading this.

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Well, that's where I am for now. Where to go? Who to become? I seem to be at a loss for words...but if you have the job for me, please let me know.

Happy Earth Day!

It's that day again - time to revamp and rethink your life...oh, and save the planet.

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Most people don't realize how they are messing-up our Earth or that our planet can survive like this for much longer. Can you believe that? Walk outside and look around. How much garbage is on the ground, is there smog in the air, is anyone lying on the ground dead? Well, hopefully the last one isn't true (actually, I hope NONE of them are), but it probably got your attention. Yeah, you. You are killing our planet. Relax. You still have time to change your habits.

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Here are a few easy fixes that don't cost anything and can possibly save you money:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave an empty room.

2. Skim a few minutes off of your shower time. On average, a shower-head uses five gallons of water per minute (wpm). Even if you just shut it off while you lather, you could save 10-30 gallons! Even better, share your shower and lather each other...trust me, you're saving the planet!

3. Recycle! Take a chance to think about what you are throwing away. If you can recycle any part of it (paper, plastic, metal, glass?), think twice...and recycle it! "In 2006, US residents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 251 million tons of MSW, which is approximately 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day" (the United States Environmental Protection Agency's data on Municipal Solid Waste, view full article here.) 4.6 pounds!!!

4. Walk or ride your bike when you run one errand today. Here is an article from the National Safety Council called "What You Can Do About Car Emissions." Better yet, try not to use your car at all today.

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They seem simple, but integrating "green" habits into your life will not only help our planet but they will help you! Positive thinking and altruistic acts actually make people feel proud about themselves which helps your mind to relax and can actually boost your daily productivity! So go ahead, be selfish...AND save the Earth! But who am I to tell you what to do...I'm just a blogger.

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Happy Earth Day!

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PS: I will post those photos I promised this afternoon! :) Oh, and I changed some colors to make it easier ready...how's it look?

M.I.A.

Wow - sorry everyone...have I been M.I.A. or what?!

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My only excuse is that I have been making my best friends' bridal shower invitations (I will post photos soon!) and getting my house perfectly clean for the realtor photos...yup, as of last night, my house is officially on the market - byebye Connecticut!

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Anyhow, I just got an email from Photojojo - check out these FREE PRINTABLE PINHOLE CAMERAS! Oh yeah, life just got a bit more exciting! Go out in to the great outdoors (with beautiful sunny weather) and take a few photos on your new cameras!

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Speaking of camera's, here is my latest birthday purchase:

Hine's Camera CD Case!

I have been craving her camera cases for awhile, but this is just the second cd case that she has listed AND IN MY FAVORITE COLOR! I was so excited that I bought it immediately. I have found that with Hine's shop, you have to purchase an item the second you realize that you like it because otherwise, YOU WILL MISS YOUR CHANCE! So I did...my birthday is tomorrow...and I bought it for myself! (Now if she would just make me a matching camera case...hint hint!

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Happy hunting!

Martha Stewart and Timothy Adam Designs

TimothyAdamDesigns "Product Test 2008 Necklace"

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Soooooooo, here's the story from A-Z, you wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully...

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Just kidding. Anywho, I am in a great mood - the sun is out and it feels like Spring and I was just "SUPER-FEATURED" on Timothy Adam Designs' Blog (as well as his Etsian Critiques and Reviews Blog in an Etsy Mini Ad)...my photo is up and everything! Feeling totally exposed.

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Okay, so this is what happened: I have been admiring his stuff for some time now (really coveting the camera earrings), so I decided to product test his newest necklace design. When it arrived, I loved it so much, that I decided to wear it the next day to the Martha Stewart show on Wednesday, April 9th! It was such a hit that I am suprised Martha herself did not come over and ask me about it! Well, I was shown on television quite a bit during the episode and Timothy decided to do a feature about it on his website! He is so talented, it really was his necklace that did it all - check out his Etsy store!

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Enjoy! I love karma...what goes around comes back around. (Sorry, song mode today.) Have a great weekend!

I dedicate this to you, Dave Delmonico

"Mourner" by Elizagauger.

To all my friends and family and those who knew Dave Delmonico - here is a little tribute to him, in a way I know how. The funeral is on Monday at 10am, please leave a comment if you are friends (or family) and would like the details emailed to you. Thank you.