Little Red

Moving

2008-06-11T19:20:00.001-07:00

This makes me a little sad but I'm leaving this blog behind to combine blogs with Clark. I do, however, reserve the right to return to Little Red if Clark starts blog-hogging.

Hope to (virtually) see you there.

www.clargaret.blogspot.com

Echogenic Intracardiac Focus

2008-05-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't think it was possible to have too many ultrasounds but today I reached my limit. Ultrasounds are so advanced nowadays that they're finding things that I just don't want to know about! This morning the tech spent an unusual amount of time looking at the baby's heart- in particular, a small white spot on the left ventricle. When I asked her about it, she clammed up and told me that I had to talk to the doctor. So I left her office in tears and waited to see the doctor. I cried while they drew my blood, while they weighed me, while they took my blood pressure... I couldn't keep it together, imagining life with a sick child.

Well, word must have spread around the office that I was an emotional wreck because the doctor came breezing in and immediately assured that I had nothing to worry about. Its called an echogenic intracardiac focus and its found in roughly 3-5% of pregnancies. Its like a cyst or calcium deposit, they're almost always benign and usually disappear eventually.

Now, why couldn't the tech tell me that instead of letting me wait and worry!!! Ugh. I'd be much happier in my ignorance. I don't want another ultrasound for a long time.

My Uterus, My Choice

2008-05-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

I generally don't like to use my blog as a soap box, but there's an issue dear to my heart (and my growing uterus) that I feel like hashing out- the oh-so-controversial VBAC (or Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). I'm almost embarrassed to bring it up in such a public forum. I still get nervous and sweaty when I talk to my own doctor about having one, like I'm asking permission to poop my baby out in the bathtub by myself in the middle of the night. And that's exactly how it feels... like I need permission to do what most other women do all the time- have a baby the good old fashioned way (not in a bathtub, but vaginally). A little background...

Its estimated that 1 in 4 hospital births will be via c-section (in 2003, 27.6% of women gave birth by cesarean). The reasons for a c-section are vast. I liked this quote, "In the US, a woman is likely to have a cesarean is she's too big or too small; too early or too late; too old or too fearful; too tired of being pregnant or too tired of being in labor; if she's having twins, if she's breech, if she's previously had a cesarean; or if she's due and so is the weekend, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Year's Eve. Then again, she's also at risk if her doctor is in doubt, scared of a lawsuit, too busy, going out of town, or convinced that a cesarean is always safer... the reasons go on." (See this article for the source). And on top of it all, c-sections are "cool" nowadays... you've got Victoria Beckham telling us she's "too posh to push." Its out of control.

Don't get me wrong, I thank Heavenly Father on a regular basis for c-sections- without them, either Booker or I would probably be dead. I wasn't about to deliver a breech baby, in fact I've heard the only place that will is called The Farm in Tennessee and it involves something called spiritual midwifery- yeah, totally not for me. My point is that a c-section is MAJOR abdominal surgery and its a procedure that's being performed left and right at the drop of a hat and unfortunately sometimes unnecessarily.

Anyways, what's done is done. I had a c-section and I can't change that. It was in fact, a pretty decent experience. I've never felt such pain in my life, but then again percoset and morphine are kinda fun drugs to try. I had no complications and I recovered in the usual six weeks. But now as I consider my upcoming labor and childbirth, I have a decision to make- a decision that some women aren't even afforded thanks to the growing number of hospitals and doctors that flat out ban VBACs. Repeat c-section or VBAC?

You see, the big hullabaloo about VBACs involves something called Uterine Rupture. Basically, with a prior uterine scar you face a small (about 1 in 500) risk of having your uterus rupture at the site of the scar and having the baby come out into your abdomen (awful, I know). At worst, the baby and/or mom could die. More likely though would be damage to the uterus (resulting in no more children). Doctors and hospitals just don't want to deal with the lawsuits/malpractice insurance and so they refuse to do them. Finding a pro-VBAC doctor these days is nearly impossible. Once a c-section, always a c-section. But VBACs are possible, yet only 13% of women who have had a previous c/s will attempt one. As of now, I'm hoping to fall into that small percentage.

Here are some of the reasons I want to attempt a VBAC:

I want a big family but I don't want to have multiple major surgeries to do so.
I want to be able to care for my child right away. Things like changing diapers, nursing and holding my child up will be possible immediately instead of a few days later.
I want to be able to care for Booker right away. For the first few weeks after your c-section, you can't drive, vacuum, go up and down stairs, pick up heavy objects, etc. There's no way I'm keeping up with Booker with an incision like that.
A small (very small) part of me has this crazy desire to experience labor. Icky, I know. It must be instinctive.
Babies born vaginally have higher Apgar scores and are more likely to be breast fed.

Here are some reasons why I'm a good VBAC candidate:

The reason for my previous c/s is no longer present (well, actually it is at the moment but hopefully this baby will decide to turn sometime in the next 12 weeks).
I have a horizontal scar and not the vertical one which increases the risk of uterine rupture.
I am in good health and currently face no complications such as preeclampsia or placenta previa.

Here are some of the small roadblocks I've run into as I "fight" for my VBAC:

My Mesa doctor does not perform a lot of VBACs, maybe 5 or 6 a year.
My Mesa doctor has to be at the hospital with me the entire time I'm in labor. Neither of us are too happy about that.
My Mesa doctor would prefer it if I had a c-section and wants me to have an epidural in place in case they have to wheel me off to the OR. I'm ALL for epidurals, but it kinda feels like admitting defeat before the battle starts. There is also some evidence that epidurals slow labor and increase your c/s odds.
My Mesa doctor will not allow any type of labor augmentation or induction such as pitocin. That means its all up to me to get this baby out. That's a lot of pressure on me, quite literally. However, he has agreed to stripping my membranes and breaking my water if the conditions are right.
I will have to have continuous internal fetal monitoring to make sure the baby is doing alright. I'm fine with this, but I do worry a little bit because I'll be confined to a bed which might be annoying.
My Tucson doctor (although they advertise on their website as being pro-VBAC) has given me an "expiration date." Meaning, she won't let me go past 40 weeks. If this little guy doesn't make an appearance before that, then they'll come in after him with a scalpel. Normally 40 weeks is considered full term, but some women can go as long as 42. Not me apparently. Again, that's a lot of pressure to deliver on time.
I think I'm the type of woman to have big babies. Booker was early and he weighed 8 lbs 1 oz. My mom had large babies- my brother Danny was 11 lbs. The bigger the baby, the more stress on the scar site and higher risk of rupture.

Overall, I've haven't had a lot of positive support from friends, family and even medical professionals about having a VBAC. Its makes me feel self-indulgent. Why not just take the "safe" route with the known outcome? What if I somehow hurt the baby by attempting a VBAC? But there are risks for both c-sections and for VBACs. The truth is that there's a chance that I'll end up with another c-section anyways. The VBAC success rate is only somewhere around 60 to 80%. But if I don't even try, I'll never know. And the chances of having a VBAC after TWO c-sections are slim to none. So this is my one shot. I'm going in with my eyes wide open and well educated on the matter, happy with either result as long as I have a healthy baby and I don't have to list The Farm, Tennessee as the birth place.

Toddlers

2008-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some observations I've had lately about toddlers... I'm sure they're completely obvious to anyone who's ever spent five minutes with one, but its been fun for Clark and I to experience Booker at this age.

1. Toddlers like options. If I tell Booker he's having Mac & Cheese for lunch, then a tantrum will most definitely ensue. If I ask Booker if he wants Mac & Cheese or a hot dog, then he'll happily eat one or the other.

2. Toddlers react strongly to small levels of respect. At least mine does. Booker gets tired of being told what to do all the time. If we use "please" when we ask him to take a bath or go to bed, he's much, much happier. He's still trying to learn "thank you" but somehow he says "come" all the time for "you're welcome."

3. Toddlers are independent. When we get together with Clark's family and there are 30 other kids around, we usually say goodbye to Booker as he runs off with his pack of cousins and see him two hours later when its time to go. If we happen to bump into him and try to say "hi" or "we love you," we get an emphatic "NO!" He then runs in the opposite direction as fast as he can.

4, Toddlers are like sheep. Especially with their pack of cousins. Booker isn't a great eater but when he's sitting at a table with his buddies then he'll eat as long as they do. Its been especially fun observing Booker as he interacts with his older, cooler cousin Seaver. Booker adores Seaver. When Seaver does cartwheels down the driveway, Booker puts his hands on the pavement and tries to lift his feet. When Seaver climbs a tree, Booker holds the trunk and smiles up at him. When Seaver plays out in the freezing cold rain, Booker is two steps behind him shivering and shaking but having the time of his life. This level of respect is also reserved for cousins Dax and Jarem.

5. Toddlers can do the same thing for hours. For Booker, this is puzzles. He probably spends a total of two hours a day doing puzzles. We line up his puzzles and he goes down the line putting them back together. Of course, this level of attention quickly disappears as soon as we walk into the chapel for Church.

6. Toddlers are sticklers for rules and routine. We live in a gated community and I like to take Booker's car seat buckles off once we're through the gate so he can just hop out of the car once we're home. He absolutely hates sitting in his car seat, but if I try and take his buckles off a moment too soon he freaks out.
Now that Booker is in a big boy bed, our night time routine involves shutting him in his room and walking away. He yells, cries and bangs on the door but will not, under any circumstances, read his books or play with his toys. Once he decides to go to bed, he must slide his bathroom door closed, crawl under his covers and keep his sippy cup in one arm and Dora in the other. We find him asleep this way every single night.

7. Toddlers hate rules/routine and will flout them at every opportunity. No example necessary.

8. Toddlers are peculiar about their appearances. Lately Booker refuses to take off his plastic gym band (the one that identifies him at the gym's daycare). He wears them in the shower and to bed- day and night. I have to sneak in when he's sleeping and carefully remove it from his arm. As a result, we've worn through several bands in the past few months. Another example, Booker has several pairs of cute Old Navy flip-flops- perfect for hot Arizona summers. But the kid refuses to wear them or even acknowledge them as shoes. Sometimes I'll casually pull them out and try to place them on his feet. Its useless- he freaks out. No flip-flop style shoes period.

9. Toddlers have an exaggerated sense of achievement (and defeat). You should see Booker when he completes a puzzle. His face lights up, he starts clapping and then he has to run around getting a high-five from every person in the house. Every puzzle. Every time. Its quite tiresome for everyone, him included. On the other hand, when Booker has a poopy diaper he becomes sullen and withdrawn. I'm not sure what Clark and I have done to make him feel so ashamed of being poopy, but I feel terrible because of it. We're trying to teach him that EVERYBODY POOPS! But still, its always his darkest moment of the day. I can't wait until he learns how to poop in the potty. His sense of accomplishment on that one will be a thrill to witness.

10. Toddlers are power hungry little tyrants. Ask Booker any question and his immediate answer is "NO." This is usually followed by a well-thought out, "OK" once he processes the question. "Booker, do you want some fruit snacks?" "NO!!! OK." This takes some patience on my part. I've also learned to pick my battles. I never thought I'd be the mom who lets her kid run around the chapel without shoes on. But if his bare feet mean he won't be throwing his grapes at the family behind us, then I'm happy and he's happy. Won the battle, not the war.

11. Toddlers may be completely self-involved and manipulative, but they're also incredibly sweet and sensitive. Booker's sweetest moment of the day always comes as we're carrying him off to bed. He desperately tries to charm us into keeping him up later. He starts pointing out body parts, animals noises, colors, numbers... anything he's learned and thinks might impress us. Its always so hard to part with him after that. I also love his hugs and kisses, even when he's coerced into them (which he usually is). And even though I hate it when he somehow sneaks out of his bed and crawls into ours at night, I love cuddling with him and he's the best alarm clock to wake up to ever.

New Used Car

2008-05-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

At 9 o' clock last night I bought a car in my pajamas. It sounds terribly irresponsible, so let me explain. As you know, Clark and I have been shopping around for a second vehicle. We're in no hurry (we need a second car by mid-July) so its been nice walking in (and then out) of dealerships after a lot of wheeling and dealing without any skin off our noses.
We test drove a TON of vehicles and decided that the Hyundai Santa Fe would be the best fit for our family (thanks for voting, btw). Once that was decided, I spent a lot of time searching through internet classifieds and craigslist for the perfect car.
Last night I found a promising listing that was super close at a Superstition Springs dealership. Without our usual Thursday line-up of shows to watch, we loaded Booker into the car and headed out thinking we'd be gone for 45 minutes tops.
Long story short, if it hadn't been for the receptionist with whom Booker became enamored we might not be the proud owners of a 2004 Santa Fe. She gave him balloons, goldfish, crayons and she even let him sit in her lap while they watched Dora on her computer. It made the whole experience a MILLION times easier.
But it wasn't just the receptionist. I feel like we got a pretty good deal. I won't say exactly how much we paid, but after tax, title, registration, blah, blah, blah we ended up paying just a little bit more than we had originally planned AND the car only has 36 k miles on it. My Aunt Diane always says that things are cheap for a reason, so while we wanted the best deal we could find, I also didn't want to end up with a lemon of a car.
I had a lot of fun driving it home in the rain... its seems so big and clean and eager to be filled with two little boys, strollers, and groceries. I'm excited. In all honesty, I don't think I've ever driven a car with so few miles on it, much less owned one. Its a strange feeling. I wanted to inform all the salesmen that they shouldn't be selling us a car... only real-life adults buy cars, and they usually do it in normal clothes and during business hours.
I know it seems terribly reckless to buy a car all of a sudden, but I promise that this was a well-considered decision. Plus, I feel like I'm so overwhelmed with major life changes lately that I'm glad to have one out of the way. In May, I'll buy a car. In June, I'll find a house to live in. In July, I'll move into that house and cheer Clark on as he passes the bar. In August, I'll have a baby. I can't wait for September when things are normal again, and hopefully we'll have good, reliable car to get us there.

Deep Car Thoughts

2008-05-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

So with baby bringing our family total to 4 and Clark's mom coming home from her mission and needing her car back, we are in the market for a new vehicle. We think we want something on the big side so it can hold all four of us and all of our junk on a trip somewhere, but not something absurdly large that gets 12 miles per gallon. We also want something with less than 85,000 miles and costs less than $10,000. We have narrowed it down to four finalists that you can vote on below. Any comments/suggestions/horror stories/advice will be appreciated.

Lost Toenail

2008-05-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

I thought my crazy pregnancy mood swings were all but gone, until last night when Booker's toenail came off. Booker was playing around with his feet, when I noticed that he was quietly saying "Owie, feet, owie, feet" over and over. A few months ago someone opened a door on Booker's toe and ever since the nail hasn't been the same. I should have seen this coming, but for some reason I was REALLY upset by the actual falling off of the nail. I cried and cried and cried... and then cried some more. Booker gets especially concerned when I cry, and kept hugging me and saying, "Mommy?" It was sweet, but every time I thought of him as an old man with only one toenail the tears came rushing back. Has anyone ever lost an entire nail? Will it grow back? Will my baby go through life as a one-toenailed-freak?!?!

Fetus Footage... Feetage?

2008-05-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

Another ultrasound yesterday confirmed that we are still having a healthy baby boy. He is quite the little acrobat... babies usually are. In fact, when I saw Booker for the very first time I didn't comment on how beautiful he was, instead all I wanted to know was "Why is his foot up there?!?" His leg was behind his arm and his foot was right next to his ear. He had been curled up in my womb that way for quite some time and wouldn't budge- not even when they came in after him.

Anyways, this little guy likes his foot near his face as well... just check out the feetage. My doctor assured me that everything looks great but ordered yet another ultrasound in 4 weeks, which makes me a little nervous. I shouldn't complain though, most women just get one ultrasound per pregnancy and have to shell out hundreds of dollars if they want another one. I love every chance I get to see this little guy.

Tagged by Erin

2008-04-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

These are sometimes fun...

4 Jobs I have had:
Museum Registrar (best job ever)
Taking pictures of people's irises
Peon at the Embassy in Riyadh
Server at the Marketplace Cafe in the Tanner building at BYU (worst job ever)

4 TV Shows I watch:
30 Rock
America's Next Top Model
The Soup
Top Chef

4 Places I have been:
I'll stick with Gulf States...
Kuwait
Qatar
Dubai
Bahrain

4 People that email me:
My dad
My husband
My Tueller family
My Proffitt family

4 of my favorite foods:
Cafe Rio Pork Salad
Hummus
Jannalee's (or Callie's) orange rolls
Thai food... specifically, peanut sauce

4 Friends I Tag:
Julia, because she doesn't blog often enough for me
Jen, because she also doesn't blog often enough for me
Sherry, because she tagged me for something else and I still haven't answered (I can't remember ANY of my dreams lately, let alone pregnancy dreams)
Cassie, because I'm hoping that one thing that she's looking forward to in 2008 is another ADORABLE baby!

4 things I am looking forward to in 2008:
Getting off of welfare... FOREVER!
The annual Proffitt beach trip... even though I'll be 8 months pregnant and camping, I'm still counting down the days.
Halloween so I can dress Baby #2 like a hot dog and Booker like a chicken (I love after holiday sales at Old Navy, both costumes were only $5!)
Moving to a city that is 5 degrees cooler than Phoenix.

Gay Pride

2008-04-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm sure its not as cool as San Francisco's or New York's, but Phoenix has a pretty impressive Gay Pride Parade. It was a hot day, but Marie, Chris, Booker and I decided to check it out. Clark, sadly, had to help his sister move. He missed out on some gay fun...

Gay hat

Gay Rodeo Association

Gay Alien... Gaylien?

Gay Cowboys

Gay Native Americans... Gaytive Americans?

Miss Indian Transvestite... she was way prettier than me.
Her bodyguards, however, were not. Yikes.

Gay preggo... we're having a gayby!

Free hugs from a gay man... this guy was brave considering how HOT it was today.

Gay Siblings

Gay protesters... they weren't very creative.
Although, I did chuckle when one of them screamed,
"GOD SAVE THAT QUEEN!!!"

Under African Skies

2008-04-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Its official. The acceptance letter is in the mail and we're moving to Tucson. Its been quite a job search journey these past few years. I think Clark and I counted 32 interviews with various law firms and companies around the country since his first year in law school. That's 31 rejections- ouch! That doesn't even factor in the HUNDREDS of resumes and cover letters I personally assembled and mailed to different law firms (and all those rejections). I'm a little bitter that all my effort turned out to be such a waste of time... of paper... of postage.

But none of that matters anymore. We have so much to be excited about. I think the best thing about this job is that it forced me to pull out one of my all time favorite albums, Paul Simon's Graceland and give it a good listen to. Ever since Clark's first encounter with this Tucson firm, I've had Under African Skies on repeat in my brain. Specifically, the line

"I said take this child, Lord
From Tucson Arizona
Give her the wings to fly through harmony
And she wont bother you no more."

So as Clark continues to make my head spin with talk of car loans and mortgage payments, this is really what I'll be hearing...

A-oom-ba-oom-ba-oom-ba-Oooooooooooooh

Charlie Bit Me!

2008-04-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

I don't know why, but this video made me laugh SO HARD. I hope Booker and his new little BROTHER are just as funny together.

Moving Images

2008-04-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I'm sharing moving images of the tiny fetus growing in my belly with the entire world. That's weird.

Ultrasound

2008-04-04T13:39:00.001-07:00

We had our ultrasound this morning and I swear, it was exactly like the ultrasound I had with Booker two years ago. The baby is in breech position (which is no big deal at this point) but combine that with a tilted uterus and uncooperative baby and you don't get great results. After about 15 minutes, the tech wasn't too hopeful about finding the gender. With Booker, they told us "maybe a boy, but don't buy anything" and made another ultrasound appointment for me in FOUR WEEKS. It was devastating.

Well, just as I was tearing up and preparing to wait another four weeks to find out the gender, the tech got the money shot. Clark saw it right away and then the two of them tried in vain to show me how obvious it was. I'll have to take their word.

She wasn't able to see everything (the heart and spine weren't too clear) so I get to come back in 4 weeks without the burden of not knowing the gender. Its ideal. I LOVE ultrasounds, especially when everything looks normal and healthy, and they can tell without a doubt that we're having a...

We're Having A...

2008-04-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

View this quiz on Quibblo
More quizzes on Quibblo

Dreams and Egg Hunts

2008-03-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

This morning when I heard Booker wake up, I told Clark that I needed to sleep in for another half hour... just one half hour. Well, during that half hour I had the most distinct dream and guess what...

We're having a boy. Well, only according to my dream and my gut feeling so far. In the dream, I had a 3-D ultrasound and this little boy looked exactly like Booker. I wasn't disappointed at all... actually, I was a little excited knowing that Booker would have a little buddy for life.

Anyways, we'll find out for real in a few weeks. But I really think this one's a boy. Of course, I was convinced Booker was a girl until shots of his little hot dog proved otherwise.

On another note, I'm really proud of myself for going to a ward activity without Clark and knowing that my only friend in the ward wasn't going to be there. I usually avoid most ward social activities, but I thought that an egg hunt would be fun for Booker. It was, and it was even fun for me. There are like 7 other pregnant ladies in my ward and if pregnant ladies like to talk about one thing... its about being pregnant. Fun stuff.

Here's Booker with his loot. Once he realized that the eggs contained candy, he was a man on a mission. It took him awhile before he would release the eggs clutched tightly in his little fists so he could pick up another egg. Once he did that, we were on a roll.

Tucson

2008-03-16T15:59:00.001-07:00

When Clark and I were dating, I told him that I didn't want to settle in Arizona ever. I would do my three years time while he was in law school, but that was it. I was raised overseas, I just assumed that obviously my children would be as well. And if not overseas, then at least the east coast or something similar.

Now that my three years are drawing to a close, I'm definitely singing a different tune. I think there's something to be said of having a place to call home. And I'd be quite happy to call my home Arizona, if Arizona will have me. Its actually not all that different from the deserts I grew up in.

Anyways, with graduation on the horizon, there are three options we are considering for the Fall: Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson. Clark interviewed with an IP firm in Tucson a few weeks ago and things went so well that they invited us back to get a better feel for the firm and city.

So this weekend was a Booker-free vacation for Clark and I- many, many thanks to the Dunyon family for watching him. I'm pretty sure Booker didn't even notice that we were gone. He loves his cousins (and their cool new toys) so much. The firm put us up at the most beautiful resort/hotel. It had its very own waterfall and koi pond and there was even a TV in the bathroom!

Here's the view from our balcony... lots of golf courses in Tucson. We had lunch at El Charro Cafe, a Tucson establishment. We viewed a few neighborhoods and shopping areas. Then we met for dinner with one of the firm's associates at a very, very nice restaurant. I had my first ever amuse-bouche and Clark was well-behaved enough to refrain from making lame jokes about being amused by bouche or whatever he had in mind. Well done, darling.

This is an unrelated but cool side note- I ran into my senior prom date's mother at the restaurant. She was visiting from Belmont, MA for her niece's wedding. It was the CRAZIEST thing. She even remembered my first name. I was so impressed. What a small world.

Anyways, it was really nice to have dinner with this particular couple for a few reasons. They are LDS and are expecting their 6th child around the same time we are expecting our second. They seem to be living proof that the firm would be family friendly- with six kids he still manages to leave work early sometimes to coach tee ball. They were a wealth of information when it comes to good neighborhoods, places to eat, things to do, good schools, etc. In fact, they pointed us toward a neighborhood in North Tucson that would be a half hour drive to the office for Clark and an hour and a half drive to Mesa (for me :) Not bad.

Here's the sunset as seen from the restaurant. Aside from being informative, they were such great company. I wasn't too excited about our Tucson option at first, but now I am. We'll see what happens.

Easter Pageant

2008-03-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

I've lived in Mesa for almost 3 years now, and never attended the Easter Pageant until tonight. I was so impressed with everything! I can not believe this is FREE. Totally free. And tons of people just volunteer a huge amount of time and effort to make it such a cool production. I'm amazed. I guess its just a reminder that the Easter message is definitely worth sharing.
Booker was pretty freaked out by the guys with the beards. Although he really liked the centurions because they had swords. I thought since the show started at 8, he would just fall asleep. Nope, he was alert and quite animated throughout the entire show. He spent his time standing up in his stroller and screaming JESUS or WHOA every time there was a set change or some triumphant music. It was quite distracting.

If you get a chance, its definitely worth checking out. It runs next week from the 18th to the 22nd at 8 PM. Spanish shows run on the 14th and 15th. And, hello, its FREE... so go.

One of my Favorite Things...

2008-03-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar.Don't knock it until you've tried it. Its to die for. Is this just a weird thing my mother made up when we were kids or has anyone else tried it before? I'm totally craving some right now.

Which reminds me of a somewhat related story. When I was pregnant with Booker I was desperately craving some of my Aunt Diane's Seafood Salad. I was going to die if I didn't get some. So I bought all the ingredients (which include imitation krab and a ton of mayonnaise) and set out to make some. I wanted it so badly I even made Clark go out at 8 o'clock at night to buy me a food processor because we didn't have one.

Well, I spent the evening in our tiny little Tempe apartment alternately cooking and running off to the toilet to puke from all the krab/mayo smell. I was pretty new to cooking so I overestimated how much I would need. In the end, we ended up with a ridiculous amount of Seafood Salad- like bowls and bowls of it... big bowls.

I took one bite and my craving was MORE than satisfied. And it turns out, Clark doesn't even like the stuff. For a few days, I was kind of irrationally angry with him for this (stupid pregnancy hormones) so he tried his best to eat some to make me happy. Luckily, we had a family gathering that Sunday and I was able to unload some of the Seafood Salad.

Bring on the Sun

2008-03-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

I think it might be safe to say that pool weather has arrived in Arizona and I'm thrilled. Maybe not in-the-water pool weather but definitely some lay-out-next-to-the-pool-to-get-some-color pool weather. Either way, there's no hiding this growing belly. I'm not sure what's bigger here, my belly or my double chin!

Almost 15 weeks.
I think there's a dirty fingerprint on my camera lens...
conveniently placed right where the summit of my belly is.

Website

2008-02-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

Its finally happened! Clark was gone over the weekend, so I used all that free time to neglect Booker and make a website. I really appreciate my mom's offers to help and even Spencer's offer to actually do for me, but I wanted to learn myself so I'll know how to update it in the future. It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't impossible like I was expecting.

Anyways, here's the site. Check it out:
www.tinytaledesign.com

I feel like somewhat of an impostor, acting like I know what I'm doing. But I promise that if you tell your friends and family about me, I'll try my hardest to do a good job!

In other news, isn't that baby to the left nasty looking? Ick. I seriously hope that isn't what it looks like inside me.

Julia's Wedding

2008-02-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here's my report on Julia's wedding- it was awesome! She was a beautiful bride, he was a handsome groom...
The sealing was wonderful and I felt really lucky to be there. I think Elder Bednar was originally slated to perform the sealing. I must have been the only one who didn't know about the change and didn't immediately recognize Elder Scott when he walked into the room. I had to run through the names of the quorum of the twelve before I realized who he was. How embarrassing. Here are the gal pals and my ONLY picture with Jen in it. I'm so mad at myself for not getting a photo of the two of us. Grrrr.
Here are all the pals and a better view of Julia's dress. Not pictured: the other bride who was sealed that day, who wore a hooded, fur-trimmed CAPE. It was awesome.Carly, Mel, Jules and I at the luncheon. Not pictured: Jen. I'll forgive her though since she was behind the scenes making sure everything went smoothly. Julia and David cutting THE COOLEST cake I've ever seen. Seriously, take a close look. Those are calla lilies running down the middle. I loved it. I thought it was a shame to cut it... that is, until I tasted it. It was so delicious- key lime with a marzipan fondant. YUM! Carly and I, sans our husbands for the weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I love Clark & Booker but I really enjoyed hanging out as one of the girls again. I felt like I was back in high school. I ran into tons of old friends, teachers, bishops, etc. from Belmont. It was really fun to see the Clark family again. Honestly, I don't think I'd be where I am today if it weren't for their friendship. I'm so glad they've found such wonderful men to marry!

HAND OUT

2008-02-19T12:25:00.000-08:00

Booker has a problem. He can't keep his hand out of his pants and its DRIVING ME NUTS. It started off out of habit, but now he does it just to bug me. I'm serious. When I catch him doing it and scream "HAND OUT," he pulls it out only to look me straight in the eye and pose his little hand at the edge of his diaper, threatening to plunge it back in. It is so infuriating. Now, he's even doing it in his sleep. Unbelievable.

I've tried dressing him in onesies, but I only have so many (two to be exact). I try yelling at him and smacking his hand, but it just makes him want to do it even more. We're this close to coating his hand in curry powder. Any suggestions?

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

I decided to keep Valentine's Day simple this year. We aren't exactly rolling in cash at this point in our married life, but we are, however, quite rich in food stamps (yes, folks, we're that poor).

So instead of giving Clark a gift, I wanted to give him something he hasn't had in a long time (well, two things he hasn't had in a long time but we'll keep this blog PG rated): A DELICIOUS HOME-COOKED MEAL!

I can count on my hand the times I've cooked dinner since I've been pregnant. The past few months have marked a very selfish period in my life and I've had the terrible attitude of "if I can't eat, then no one else should either." Clark has been a trooper and subsided on cold cereal and fast food without any complaints.

But recently something miraculous has happened and I've been hesitant to admit it for fear of jinxing myself. So here goes nothing... I've been feeling much better. Yes, its true. I haven't thrown up in days. Perhaps its a combination of Zofran/Phenergan or just my entry into the second trimester. Whatever it is, I'm grateful and a little hopeful that perhaps the difference between this pregnancy and the last could be the sex of the baby ;)

So this Valentine's Day is special because I finally feel like I can return to being the spouse and mother that Clark and Booker truly deserve. And I'll prove it with this wonderful menu:

- Lemon, garlic and rosemary chicken
- Taboule salad
- Asparagus and butternut squash with mango/chile dressing
- Garlic Bread
- Macaroni salad
- Cantelope

And for dessert:
- Martenelli's & chocolate covered strawberries
(I considered for a brief moment, chocolate-coating a hotdog for Booker but instead, decided to make him some chocolate-covered Nilla wafers so he can also partake of the yumminess).

I know this seems like a lot of food, and it is. I'm hoping that the left-overs will provide for Clark and Booker while I'm in Utah this weekend for Jules' wedding!

** This meal was made possible by Fresh & Easy. If you live in Arizona, California or Nevada you ought to check it out. They're popping up like weeds here in the valley. Its like Trader Joe's- fresh food, a great variety of food, and cheap food. I'm a huge fan!

Buckley

2008-02-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

I'm not really a dog person. They're smelly and drooly and hairy and sheddy and all over yucky-filled. I actually kinda hate all dogs... all dogs except my own.

Brody has been gone for one week, and I missed him so much. When Booker dropped his hot dogs on the floor, they just remained there... uneaten. When I vacuumed, I didn't have to worry about Brody whining. At night, I had trouble falling asleep without the sound of Brody breathing. Every little thing reminded me of Brody's absence. It was so lonesome without him.

So I spent the week scouring pets classifieds and Craigslist for the perfect puppy. Our criteria- big, cheap and young. Which was hard to fulfill, it turns out. People ask for a ton of money for their dogs. Finally a listing came up that was promising...

So here's Buckley, half Akita and half Golden Retriever. The last to be picked from a litter of ten. He's 9 weeks and already as big and heavy as Booker. He's gonna be huge. So far, he's really mellow and affectionate. He's young enough that we hope to train him to act like a dog, and not like a human.

He's named for Ari & Uzi's ill-fated beagle in The Royal Tenenbaums, which was (according to Wikipedia) Wes Anderson's tribute to singer/songwriter, Jeff Buckley. So in closing, I'll encourage you all to go listen to Jeff Buckley as he sings Hallelujah because, well, to be honest, it made me cry really hard.

In Need of an Actual Website

2008-02-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

I need to thank my sister-in-law, Cassie (and her sister-in-law, Kim) for generating some more business for me. Thanks guys!

Blech

2008-02-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Clark and I usually take turns getting up with Booker on the weekends, so at least one of us can sleep in. This morning, however, was a two-parent kind of morning.

When I walked into Booker's room, I didn't have to see him to know that something was terribly wrong. The SMELL coming out of that kid's crib was so disgusting it kicked my morning sickness into full gear. Sometime during the night (I'm thinking immediately after he went down at 7 PM) Booker had thrown up an entire day's worth of food... and then, quite contently, he slept in it.

When I picked him up and walked him to the shower, he left a trail of partially digested pasta, hot dogs and raisins along the way. He cried because I had to pry chunks of dried food out of his hair. It was so fowl... why, oh why did I ever decide to have children?

Later on, Booker threw up again while sitting in a shopping cart at Costco. He did it discreetly and before I knew it, he had smeared it all over his shirt and jeans. Needless to say, he wasn't allowed to have any more samples.

Anyways, I hope his little bug doesn't last any longer than today. If it does, I'll need to find some chewable phenergan because I just can't deal with vomit that is not my own.

Ruby Tuesday

2008-01-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

I'm finding myself very emotional lately. Pregnancy hormones, I guess. Clark let me watch the entire 2008 Miss America pageant the other night and my eyes welled up each time one of the contestants spoke. How lame is that?!? I find myself crying at the strangest things.

Anyways, this version of Ruby Tuesday made me ball and Clark's blog about Pres. Hinckley just kept my tear-train rolling. I hope you enjoy both.

Tagged By Erin

2008-01-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

What is his name? Clark Edward Proffitt
How long have you been married? not long enough to have a baby and one on the way- 2.5 years
How long did you date? I think it was 2 years
How old is he? 28
Who eats more? probably Clark, but I definitely think about food way more
Who said I love you first? it was me, on valentine's day :)
Who is smarter? clark would say me, i would say me- but, honestly, its probably clark, but just by a hair!
Whose temper is worse? mine
Who does the laundry? i do it, clark folds it
Who does the dishes? we both do
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? clark, i sleep by the bathroom :)
Who pays the bills? me
Who cooks dinner? me, clark cooked once after being inspired by a cooking show- it was a yummy meal.
Who drives when you are together? always clark
Who is more stubborn? hmm, myself
Whose parents do you see the most? 2 outta 4 parents are out of the country, but usually clark's mom
Who proposed? clark
Who has more friends? oh definitely me
Who has more siblings? definitely clark- 10 vs. my 4
Who wears the pants in the family? i'm with erin, we think we each wear one leg :)
I tag...... cassie, allyson, jen, michelle and the soon-to-be-bride, jules

Sad Day

2008-01-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

Today as I was crouched over a toilet bowl, Booker came walking in and started imitating my barfing noises. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry.

More Cards & Announcements

2007-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here's what I've been working on the last week. Over Christmas break, I want my brother to help me set up a website for these cards/announcements. This blog just isn't cutting it. I especially like baby Calle Roy's.

(If you don't want your card posted here, let me know and I'll gladly take it down.)

Too Much Blogging

2007-12-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a terrifying dream. I dreamed that a moose broke into our house and started wrecking everything. Booker got in its way and somehow got caught up in its antlers. Amidst all the chaos, I was yelling at Clark to go find the camera and starting snapping pictures. It was going to be the greatest blog ever- the time Booker got moose-attacked.

I'm such a terrible mother.

An Extreme Makeover

2007-11-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Thanksgiving dinner at Decision Point in Prescott. The best thing, besides the pumpkin cheesecake, was seeing the amazing transformation that my sister has made. I know this seems like a lot of pictures, but I can't help but show the world how HOTT (yes, this actually warrants 2 T's) my sister is. She's so beautiful. She has color in her skin and her hair is vibrant. Her smile is amazing. She was wearing the cutest outfit with a stylish pair of hoop earrings. In fact, she's so sexy that she's been put on a "No Contact" status with another patient. Apparently he has developed a crush on her and contact between them would be detrimental to his treatment. She's so hot, she's dangerous.

Marie was so happy and comfortable. She was definitely quite popular with all the other patients and she didn't hesitate to show Booker off to anyone who looked his way. In fact, Booker was the only kid among 40 or so adults and he received a RIDICULOUS amount of attention. It was so out of hand- no single person should ever be as doted upon as Booker was tonight. One of the patients missed his son and was eager to take Booker off my hands and over to a nearby playground. I was nice to be able to eat with two hands instead of one. It was such a fun night. With three of the Tueller siblings together tonight (Marie, Danny and myself), it made me look forward to Christmas when all five of us will be reunited. I can't wait.

Thomas Barrett

2007-11-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

This is my cousin, Thomas. He's truly amazing. Like actually quite good. I promise. Booker likes to bop his head to "Cough It Out."

He lets me make his flyers. I'm a groupie. Check him out.

Pregnancy Rant

2007-11-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

As I begin to contemplate a second pregnancy, I feel the need to make a record of how terrible my first one was and to remind Clark, who, naturally, is eager for number two, that PREGNANCY SUCKS.

The heartburn was terrible. The stretch marks... like zebra stripes all over my body. The overall discomfort and body aches were BLEHAAWFUL. But all of that was bearable. It was the morning sickness, actually the Hyperemesis gravidarum because that's what's its called when it gets out of hand, that was my undoing.

Losing twenty pounds in the first trimester was kind of fun, heaven knows I needed too. But after awhile, I started to miss food. And then I started to miss liquids. Apparently you can't go more than 48 hours without them. That particular incident warranted the first trip to the ER, where I went home with several suppositories of Zofran and Phenergan. Lovely.

Phenergan is a wonderful drug that made me sleep 20 out of 24 hours each day. It took away some of the nausea, but I think that's mostly because I was too sedated to vomit. At night, Clark would come from school and we would watch TV "together." This meant I would lie in bed in the bedroom with the lights off and Clark would sit in the living room with the TV volume turned up nice and loud. I would listen in and occasionally ask questions about what was going on.

It got to the point where I would scold Clark for putting the toilet seat down, because sometimes I couldn't make it to the bowl in time. I dotted the streets and parking lots of Mesa/Tempe with pools of vomit. I threw up in an Old Navy dressing room. I threw up in the cereal aisle of Safeway and walked out, leaving behind a cart full of groceries. But the worst was when I threw up on somebody's yard sale. Clark and I were driving in the car when I told him he better pull over. He pulled off the busy road and onto a residential street. I quickly opened the door and released a wave of vomit. When I looked up, there was a family setting up a yard sale. They looked me at and then at the vomit sitting on their driveway. I apologized and then vowed to never get pregnant again.

So to those of you who are considering getting pregnant... DON'T DO IT. Just look at this kid- he's not even that cute. And did you know that stretch marks are permanent? Its totally not worth it. Just adopt.

Another Reason to Love Yo Gabba Gabba

2007-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Today's episode of Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba took pause from its usual awesome computer-tronic dance numbers to show a clip featuring the unmistakable voice of Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters fame. I nearly died.

Four Reasons I Love Booker

2007-11-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

***Warning this entry contains details that only doting parents and grandparents of Booker will find interesting. You've been warned.***

Booker is definitely no longer my baby. He's a little boy now. And not just any little boy, a boy's boy. I was hoping he would be different... maybe prefer puppets and books over balls and cars. But I can tell already, he's going to be a handful. Here are some things he does that make me yearn for the quiet little baby boy he started off as:

1. He's constantly DIRTY. He loves to knock over the trash can when I'm not looking and play with the garbage. He also loves playing in the toilet water, playing with Brody's food and water, and he definitely enjoys rolling around in the big sandy lot that is our back yard. Just within the last five minutes, I've had to strip him of his clothes and clean up a big puddle of V8 juice because he managed to open up his Sippy cup. Last night, he went through 3 different pairs of pajamas before he went to bed. Sometimes he takes two baths a day.

2. He gets into EVERYTHING. His favorite drawer in the kitchen is the tupperware drawer. Sometimes I'll go in the kitchen to find little stacks and towers of tuperware all over. He also loves my underwear drawer and can often be found with a bra around his neck. I have to keep the doors to the laundry room and the two bathrooms closed at all times. He knows where I stash my 100 calorie snacks and is endlessly bringing them to me and eagerly asking, "Dee?" (please). The other day, I left him alone in the empty bathtub for a few minutes. When I came back, he had EATEN half a bar of soap. Truly disgusting.

3. He's covered in bruises and scratches. I think Booker has the same sense of adventure that I had as a little girl but eventually grew out of. He has two favorite games. The first is standing on the table next to the couch and throwing himself like a stiff board onto whomever is cluelessly watching TV. The other game involves a willing parent. We creep up to him while growling loudly and he pretends not to notice. As soon as we get close enough, he lunges at us screaming like a little girl. Once he's free, he runs in the other direction like a madman and the game continues. Oh, his other favorite game which we are desperately trying to discourage is shoving his arm down Brody's throat as far as it can go and laughing as Brody's gags helplessly. Its terrible.

4. He's very independent. When its time to eat, I simply hold up his different choices and he shakes his head if he's not interested. If I hold up something he wants, his face lights up and he says, "Dooooooooo." When its time to go somewhere, I tell him we're going Bye-bye and before I know it he's at the door repeating, "Ba-ba." When I pull him out of the carseat, he likes to be the one to close the car door. When it comes to bedtime, there is no cuddling or rocking involved. We just place him in his crib where he proceeds to throw all his stuffed animals onto the floor. Its a strange routine.

He's loud, he's dirty, and he's much messier than any child of mine should be. I miss baby Booker sometimes, but I love the little boy that he's becoming- even if it means I do twice as much laundry. I even love that he's loud and obnoxious because when he's quiet and inconspicuous, then I know he's up to no good. Perhaps my girl (because the next one will be a girl) will be a girl's girl and I'll have fun with bows, dresses, cute little tights and rhinestone necklaces.

Until then, I have to deal with this lovable sword-wielding, V8-reeking, clothes-hating little monster.

Happy Birthday to Me

2007-10-31T20:35:00.001-07:00

I had a lovely birthday. In fact, as I blog this, I am eating some frozen yogurt brought to me by my wonderful and considerate husband from my favorite place, the Golden Spoon. Half pumpkin and half egg nog. Absolute perfection in only 144 calories and 3 points if you follow Weight Watchers.

I got some wonderful gifts. A beautiful necklace and matching bracelet from Clark and money from both my dad and my loving Grandma. Even Booker cashed in, with a Sacajawea dollar coin from his Great-Grandma Tueller. What a lucky boy!

I have two purposes for this post. First, I'm calling out my mother. She did not call me on my birthday and I am using this very public arena to air my grievances and self-pity. Mostly self pity, because I'm good at that. Even my dad called me from Amman, so there's absolutely no reason you can't call from Provo, Utah. An email would have worked too. A text message could have gotten the point across. I just wanted to know that she remembered me today. I may have turned 23, but when it comes to things like this, I may as well be 5 years old. My feelings are hurt. Humph.

Now that that's off my chest, I'll tell you about my favorite birthday present this year. Today, I got a card from my sister and in it was her 60 day chip. SHE GAVE IT TO ME!!! I can't believe it. Two months of sobriety from my sister is THE best gift I could ever receive. Seriously, how cool is that? Very cool. I love it. I absolutely love this little chip. I'm obsessed with it. Its perfect and everything it represents is perfect. I'm going to put it under my pillow at night and in my shoe during the day. Just kidding, but maybe not. I like it that much.

Anyways, I'm off to take a hot shower to wash away the Halloween grime and to watch some episodes of Undeclared to "wash" away the terrible abandonment I feel right now. I'm only half kidding- I am such a drama queen, I really am. I want to thank everyone who made my birthday so awesome and I guess that includes my mother since I love wallowing in self-pity so much. Thank you, thank you for a great 23rd birthday.

Tagged By Erin

2007-10-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

5 THINGS

5 things I was doing 10 years ago: I was 13 and living in London
1- Growing boobs, as you can quite obviously tell from this photo. (I can still remember my grandmother's disapproving look when I showed up at my cousin Nadia's wedding in that dress.)
2- Taking the tube all the way from Hampstead to Kensington to spend the night every weekend at my best friend, Catharine Tack's house.
3- Taking the #13 or #82 double decker bus to school each day.
4- Swimming two hours everyday with the Camden Swiss Cottage Swim Club (CSCSC for short).
5- Avoiding hamburgers because of mad cow disease.

5 things on my "to-do" list tomorrow:
1- Write my brother David.
2- Take Booker to get fitted for special ear plugs at the Audiologist.
3- Get an emissions test for the car.
4- Go to the gym.
5- Laundry.

5 things I would do if I had a million dollars:
1- Pay off our student loans.
2- Buy Clark a Wii, a guitar amp and some golf lessons.
3- Buy a house/some land.
4- Start saving for an early retirement.
5- Start saving for a month long trip to Cairo to visit my family next year!

5 things I will never wear again:
1- PANTIES
2- Doc Martens and a mini skirt, together or separately. (What can I say? Middle school was hard on me)
3- Anything that will make my grandma give me a disapproving look.
4- A pair of heels
5- A bikini

Favorite toys:
1- Photoshop
2- Laptop
3- Digital camera
4- Fake glasses with nose/mustache from the $ store (heh heh)
5- Any toy that will keep Booker from mauling me every two seconds.

5 people I'm tagging:
The Burtons, the Singers, the Krumperkids, the Wernlis, Purple Petra and the Rabid Paladin (more than five... ohwell).

Elmo's Halloween World

2007-10-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

I know its a bit early for pumpkins but I couldn't help myself. You see, our only neighbors (we live on the corner) have gone WILD with Halloween decorations and I was worried I might offend them by not putting up anything at all. Their yard and driveway look like one of those Halloween stores that spring up in parking lots for the month of October. My favorite decoration of theirs is a human arm that is hanging out of the bed of their pick-up truck. Its creepy.

Every time I pull into my driveway and pass their house, I feel like I need to join with them in their decorating madness so they don't think I'm a Halloween Grinch. So last night, I drew out Elmo (I know, its hard to tell) on a pumpkin and put him proudly out on our driveway. Its too soon to carve it up, but I wanted to post some evidence that it did in fact exist because I'm 90% sure that when its carved, it will no longer look anything like Elmo.

Its nothing compared to our neighbors, but at least now trick-or-treaters will know that they can stop by our house for candy. Maybe one day when we have more money and, even less likely, when I can convince Clark that Halloween decorations are fun, we'll be even more festive.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for photos of Booker's Halloween costume. We won't tell you what it is, but Booker's cousin Will Emmett knows because it used to belong to him. I'll just say that Booker loves it so much that when he finds it in his drawer, he brings it to me and begs me to put it on. Its awesome!

Here's our neighbor's yard...

My Gospel ABC's

2007-10-11T18:53:00.001-07:00

Ever since I entered Relief Society 5 years ago, I've held the slightly irrational belief that the measure of a "good" LDS woman is directly related to her scrapbooking abilities. Only those who attend weekly scrapbooking clubs, document their child's first poopy diaper in a cute little album and own tons of fancy paper, buttons, stickers, ribbons, stencils, cut-outs (the list goes on and on) will make it into the Celestial Kingdom. I always felt my creative skills would never measure up so I really never got into it, even though I secretly wished I would. I knew it was something I would thoroughly enjoy but didn't want to compete with the pros so I never tried. That is, until last weekend.

I always need a little project to keep me focused as I watch Conference. If I don't have something to do with my hands I always end up either falling asleep or cleaning the house with the TV turned up loud. So on Saturday night, while Clark was at the Priesthood session, I went out to Michael's to get the supplies I needed to make something. I ended up spending two hours walking up and down the same three aisles. I was completely overwhelmed with all the choices and I almost backed out, feeling like whatever I made would never be "cute" enough. I came home with a small 6x6 album, several sheets of paper, glue and some ABC stickers.

What resulted after several hours of cutting up Ensigns is... well, something I'm actually quite proud of- Booker's Gospel ABC's. Its not perfect- the lines aren't quite straight and I'm sure there a typo somewhere. But I don't care. I like it and I think Booker likes it too. Of course, he won't appreciate it for a few more years. But there are a couple of pages he really likes- D is for Daddy, with a picture of Clark. M is for Mommy- with one of me. F for Family and G for Grandparents are popular too. His favorite, however is Y is for YOU because I pasted a little mirror on it.

I liked my venture into the world of scrapbooking, but I think I'll stick to my digital stuff. I can always get my edges perfectly lined up and there's no pesky glue involved. And on top of it all, its MUCH much cheaper. In fact, I think I'll make a digital version in case I'm ever called to an Enrichment Committee or to simply give to Booker's cousins.

Anyways, here are a few of my favorite pages.

I'm SO Lame

2007-10-05T19:44:00.001-07:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Think Pink

2007-09-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Callie had me make a flyer for her salon, so I thought I'd post it here for some added publicity. It sounds like a fun event and its for a good cause. Check it out.

Serenity Prayer

2007-09-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Marie asked me to make these for her.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

2007-08-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

A new show debuted on Nick Jr. this week called Yo Gabba Gabba. At first I wasn't sure about it. Just watch this video and you'll see why.

But here are a few reasons why I'm a huge fan. First, one of my favorite bands, the Shins appear on the show and sing a catchy little song about winning, losing and trying again. Click here to see the Shins perform on Yo Gabba Gabba. Also, celebrities like Tony Hawk and Biz Markie make silly appearances. Today Eiljah Wood came on and taught everyone a dance called the Puppet Master. Lastly, one of the regular characters is Mark Mothersbaugh who has a little drawing segment. Today he taught the kids how to draw a potato bug on a skateboard- how delightfully random. Mark Mothersbaugh is the genius behind all the soundtracks to Wes Anderson's films, which makes him a god in my eyes. (He's also the former lead singer of the band Devo, of" Whip-it" fame).

So while it might be a little disturbing to watch a fuzzy green monster have a "party in his tummy," I'll put up with it and even enjoy it if it means my one-year-old is being introduced to the Shins. And who am I kidding? Who cares if I like it or not. If Booker's a fan, then I'm a fan. Plus I'm getting really sick of Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, La la and Po.

Poetry or Production

2007-08-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Clark recently learned that the Law Journal is going to publish his article, "Poetry or Production: Functionality in the Architectural Work Copyright Protection Act." Basically, his article is about whether or not the copyright act extends to the useful aspects of a building. He talks about what test you should use to determine whether a functional aspect (with unique aesthetic qualities) of an architectural work is copyrighted.

You think this would be interesting to me. I handled all the rights and reproduction issues at the Museum of Art and I absolutely loved that part of my job. But I've read some of his past papers and articles, and its like reading a different language. The Clark I married used to write beautifully and well... creatively. I guess there's something about first year Legal Writing that sucks all the imagination out of you and allows you to become fluent in legalese.

I can't complain though. One day, hopefully soon, that legalese will pay for a down payment on a house and maybe some vacations to visit my parents overseas! In the meantime, I'll just remind myself that pre-law-school-Clark is still there, underneath law-school-Clark- who may write differently, but still writes well according to editors at the Journal.

To honor him, here's an etching I did back at BYU. In fact, we were dating at the time and I have fond memories of Clark hanging out in the studio while I was covered in acid, rubbing alcohol and ink. He found me cute even then.

Don't Poke Alligators

2007-08-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

If I lived in Irvine (or anywhere in Southern CA) I'd be there for sure! He's my cousin and he's really good. Plus, he said he'd give me the official title of "band artist."

Baby Hudson

2007-07-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a baby announcement I did recently. Everything is so much easier when you have good photographs to work with. Not mention a dang cute little boy. Congrats, Tarrah!

The Birds

2007-07-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have to compete with Danny to get onto my computer and use Photoshop. Here's what he worked on today.

And here's what I worked on today- a project for my sister-in-law.

Danny's Skeleton

2007-07-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Its been way too long. I'm finally back in AZ after many weeks of vacation in Utah and California. And I brought something back with me- my brother! Danny is staying with us for a few weeks before he leaves for Boston. He had't even been here 24 hours and he found my Wacom drawing tablet, opened Photoshop and drew this.
I think he's pretty good. He's not sure if he's done with it yet, but before he protests I'm posting it for all to enjoy.

Tuellers All Around

2007-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Now I can add T-shirt designer to the list of things I like to call myself. Although, I don't think it counts when you just copy someone else's design.

Two big boxes of T-shirts were on my doorstep when I got home today. HOORAY!

They look great (a little big but maybe they'll shrink) and I can't wait to see dozens of my relatives wearing them!!!

Oh, and if anyone is NOT going to be at the reunion and needs their shirt beforehand- I'll be in Utah from June 18th to the 25th. I can bring your shirts then. I think the might include the Deardens.

Baghdad

2007-05-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'm copying a letter from my dad about his trip to Baghdad last week (I hope you don't mind, dad!) And including a piece a did a few years ago in an editorial illustration class.

It is my last evening in Baghdad before heading out tomorrow on the trip back to Kuwait and I have located a computer on which I can get on the internet and write you my weekly letter. It has been an interesting few days. This will obviously be a demanding year for me, but even with all the discouraging things staring me in the face, I am energized by the prospect of facing all the challenges and having the opportunity to be on the front line of this generation's predominant foreign policy challenge. If I did not do this, I know I would look back later and regret it.

I flew up on a C-130 from Kuwait. As a "VIP" I got a little more comfortable ride than the folks in the back sitting on the canvas jump seats in the dark. I was given a seat in the cockpit sitting next to the navigator and with headphones on I could converse with the crew throughout the flight and also see the city as we made our approach. The crew was so young of course, probably not too much older than you and probably all younger than Marie. They were very curious to be carrying this strange VIP diplomat and so they wanted to find out what I was doing and what that all meant. They lost interest quickly though because it was pretty obvious that for them, the really fun and cool things in life all involved flying and engines and propellors and wind speed and the like. They chatted and joked and seemed like a bunch of kids until we reached the airspace approaching Baghdad and then everything got very serious. They all put on their flak jackets and helmets and I had to don all my protective gear (helmet and an enormously heavy vest that I can tell already is going to leave me with back problems after a year in Iraq) and we began the "combat descent" which is essentially a near vertical dive while corksrewing back and forth till the last minute when you pull up and hit the runway at top speed.

So I arrived happily at Camp Stryker, the U.S. military side of Baghdad International Airport. The helocopter that was due to pick me up was delayed half an hour but it turned out that what is referred to as a PSD (protective security detail) from the Embassy had just dropped off another VIP and so I opted to go to the Green Zone with them rather than wait for the helo ride. I wanted to get the ride on what people call the most dangerous route in Baghdad and get the whole PSD experience. After once again having to don all the heavy PPE and getting a rather discomforting briefing on what I was to do in all sorts of contingencies, I was tucked into the middle seat of the middle of three fully kitted out armored vehicles that looked very sinister with all the gear and devices strapped on. It took about 15 minutes to wend our way around and off the airbase and then we hit the point that is defined as "red zone" and everyone was strapping on their gloves and goggles and loading their guns and we made the last run down the special lane that has been created on the airport road for PSD's. It was shielded on all sides the whole 5 mile route to the green zone so there was not much to see, just lots of crazy weaving around and shouting over the radios. I was dropped off safely at the North CAC where my secretary to be met me and then I was in the bizarre world of the Palace.

I have had several days of useful meetings with many Embassy folks and then I met with some of the Iraqi officials I will be getting to know, traveling out to the Council of Representatives Building or the Rasheed Hotel for those meetings. Wednesday I went with the Ambassador to a full day of meetings at Camp Speicher, the U.S. airbase just outside Tikrit in Salahadeen province. The U.S. military brought in four of the governors of northern provinces for meetings to discuss various political and economic reconstruction issues. That trip involved helos out the airport and then C-130's up to Speicher. The return flight was even more harrowing than my first landing at Stryker as we had high winds in addition to the combat descent. On the helo ride out I ended up sitting in what I was told afterwards by the crew is what they call the hurricane seat on a wide open Blackhawk. The name cames from the backwash of the rotors that hits you square on during the flight. It was probably about a 120 mph wind in my face the whole way, but I still got a good view of the city from about 200 yards up in the air. It is dilapidated, impoverished, and run down and you get the feeling of a place falling into chaos. We were flying over the western areas of the city where many of the Sunni neighborhoods indeed have been abandoned. Near the airport though you see canals and irrigated fields with water buffalo and palms that probably look much like the landscape looked several thousand years ago.

I have learned about trailer life and it is much like the quarters you would grow used to as a college student or missionary, or indeed as a prisoner in a nice low-security federal prison. My life will be substantially devoid of many of the creature comforts and amenities to which one becomes accustomed. I am sure I will grow used to it all. The food is actually quite good and comes in amazing variety. The dining facility serves four meals a day (they have a full spread of what are called midnight rations from 2200 to 0100) to serve the many people on odd schedules. It is basically very good cafeteria food. As I mentioned though, plenty of variety. Wednesday night I called Chris to check on him in Kuwait but also to tell him that at dinner they had Alaska King Crab legs, one of his favorites, as one of the entree selections. I did not have it though since my stomach was a little heavy from the flying experiences. I had the clam chowder and a salad and then grabbed a granola bar for a late snack. Chris however was very irate to hear that I could have had the crab legs.

It is hard to describe the atmosphere in this very strange place. There are hundreds of Peruvians all around guarding all the gates and doors and vehicle barriers. The little servicemen's unit has baptized two of them in the last few months. (I went to their family home evening one night which they hold at the outpatient clinic of the military casualty center just a half mile from the Palace. Two of the military doctors, an anesthesiologist and an audiologist are LDS so that makes a good meeting place. Church meetings are Sundays from 2-3 at the Palace chapel. There are hundreds and hundreds of contractors, many more military than Embassy types, and a generally weird sort of demographic.

Until tonight, all around the pool which is between the housing area where I am located and the DFAC (dining facility) the MWR contractors have organized some theme event and as I wander in the dark to my little trailer I hear karaoke, Baghdad Idol, square dancing, or something surreal going on. Whatever was on for tonight was canceled though because a tripwire was passed regarding the number of successive days of missile strikes in the green zone. All outdoor gatherings are canceled and if you are outside for more than 15 minutes you have to wear your full PPE. We have to have a couple of successive days with no strikes for that condition to be lifted.

So good night everyone, off to my hooch for last night of trying to sleep.

Matt

To Anne and Carly

2007-05-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

While Clark and I were dating, I would make him pose for me. He would oblige as long as he could sit in front of the TV while doing it.

So this post is dedicated to my roommates at the time, Anne Bennett and Carly John. Thanks, girls, for not being totally weirded out when you'd come home and find my half naked boyfriend sitting perfectly still on the couch watching baseball. You guys rock!

Last Post Ever

2007-05-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

But not really.

Jacob tagged me, so here's my task:

"We're gonna pretend the entire Blogosphere is coming to an end! You have the opportunity to make one last post. A chance to summarize your blog, leave people with one last gem, whatever. What do you say?"

Hmmmmm. This makes me anxious, but I thought about it anyway because the last thing I want to do is disappoint Jacob :)

I flipped through my sketchbooks and my portfolio to post something totally awesome, something really beautiful, something mind-blowing. But really, the best thing I've ever created was Booker (I know, really, really cheesy- but true).

He's been so much fun lately. Like tonight, Clark and I kept throwing ourselves onto the bed really hard and Booker kept copying us and laughing, laughing laughing as he did it. He thought that was the best trick ever. Sometimes he'll just become captivated with one toy. He throw the toy a few feet and then talk to it as he scoots over to it. Then pick it up and throw it again. He can do this up and down and all over the house for a long time. Yesterday, he kept biting Clark's arm and then growling really loud. He knew this was funny to us, but didn't break character once.

Sometimes I can't wait for him to grow up just so I can see what type of person he'll be. But most of the time, I can wait. I have a pretty good idea of what type of person he'll be. He'll be easy-going, unless he's tired or hungry (just like his mom) and then he'll be a little terror. He'll talk your ear off (just like his dad), but he'll listen to you as well. And overall, he'll be full of cheer and enthusiasm for everyone and everything (toys and animals included).

So there you are, world (or rather, Blogosphere). My last hurrah- my little boy. The best hurrah of all, in my humble opinion.

Alright, phew. Almost done. I have to tag some more people because that's how it works. Lets hear from Purple Petra and The Singers because I don't feel quite so guilty about bugging them and Indonesia and Ghana are cool places.

Be there, or be square

2007-05-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

Be there in July, though, NOT JUNE!

Subway Guy

2007-05-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Utah, where I stayed with my mom and brother at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake. I don't like driving downtown because you have to share the road with the light rail or TRAX. It was scary. I prefer the undergroundedness of the Tube or the T.

Anyways, the TRAX reminded me of this sketch I did of a guy on a subway.

The Art of Loving DeNeece

2007-04-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of Marie and I at her graduation from the American School in Doha in 2000. And here's another photo of Marie at her graduation from Westminster College in 2004. This Friday, I'll take another photo because she is graduating from the University of Utah with her Master's in Counseling (with an 4.00, mind you). I'm so proud.

But wait, there's more. She was offered a full time position at Cornerstone Counseling Center, which is where she is currently interning. With two reasons to celebrate, I wanted to make something special for her. Something she could hang on the walls of her new office.

So here's a tribute to our mother (because, really, she is the reason Marie decided to pursue her chosen path). I thought it might be appropriate subject matter for the walls of a counseling center. You know, now she can show off her "street cred" to anyone who might be questioning whether or not she really knows crazy. Believe me, she knows.

I scanned in some photos of my mother from her 5th birthday party and incorporated them into this image. In case you're wondering what the significance of "The Art of Loving" is, allow me to explain.

My sister really likes to read non-fiction books about psychology, philosophy, and such. Why, you ask? I don't know. Sometimes she gives me books and sometimes I read them. Mostly though, I read the first thirty pages and then pick up something with an actual plot. I like getting these books from my sister because it reminds me how smart she is, and not just brain smart. Marie has gift and without her, our family would be even nuttier than it is right now- if you can even imagine that.

Anyways, last year she gave me a book called The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm. Its begins with a quote from Paracelsus:

"He who knows nothing, loves nothing. He who can do nothing, understands nothing. He who understands nothing is worthless. But he who understands also loves, notices, sees.... The more knowledge is inherent in a thing, the greater the love.... Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as the strawberries knows nothing about grapes."

If you know my mother, you know that she is neither a strawberry nor a grape, but perhaps a giant fruit salad, ripening all over the place. All five of her children have faced (and will always face) the task of learning the art of loving my mother (my father, of course, is the ultimate example for us). My sister, being the eldest and with her infinite knowledge, love and understanding, is well on her way.

So congratulations, Marie! I'm glad you've chosen to be a therapist, heaven knows we need one. If you decide to write a book about our mother one day, I promise to illustrate it. And I promise to read more than the first thirty pages, because after all, that book would be HILARIOUS.

Coming to a Family Reunion Near You

2007-04-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

The Tueller Shirt is making a comeback. And its about time. My old shirt is so threadbare and gross that Clark seems to keep his distance when I put it on. Its no wonder, this shirt has got to be at least 30 years old.

So in honor of this year's Tueller Family Reunion, taking place in Utah this July, I was hoping to revive this awesome classic.

Last night I downloaded a trial version of Adobe Illustrator (maybe one day I can afford to buy the whole thing, but who has $600 lying around?!?!). I was worried that I had forgotten how to use it, but lo and behold, I was able to come up with this.

The Tueller shirt is back in action.

Perfume

2007-04-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

These are some perfume bottles I painted. I liked the colors and I felt like a challenge (glass is super hard to paint). All three were Christmas gifts from my dad- Asteria, Pleasures and Angel.

Old Guys

2007-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I've been kinda busy lately. I turned in my Tug of War Illustrations and I'm hoping to get a new project soon. In the mean time, here are some homeless guys from my sketchbook.

Tug of War (Revised)

2007-04-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

2007-04-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

I took a Editorial Illustration class while I was at BYU and I had a lot of fun with this particular assignment.

My classmates and I spent way too much time making lame jokes about how the Palestinians ought to make lemonade if life gives them lemons, and other such irreverent ideas.

Tug of War Sketches

2007-04-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on three illustrations for a story called Tug of War for the Core Knowledge Reading Program.

Its kinda a cute story. Turtle, who wants to be friends with Hippo and Elephant, talks them into a game of tug-of-war to prove his strength and equality with them. He tells Hippo to take one end of the vine and he wanders into the jungle to get the other end. Instead, he gives the other end to Elephant. Both Elephant and Hippo think they are tugging against Turtle, who is in fact, sitting at the middle of the vine eating his lunch and taking a nap. When he wakes up he cuts the vine, tricking Elephant and Hippo into thinking they lost the game and that Turtle is not so puny after all. Devious little Turtle.

Here are my sketches. The finals are sitting on my kitchen table, mostly done. They're due this Thursday so sometime in the next few days I'll post them. I thought it might be cool to see how I get from point A to point B.

My soon-to-be Intellectual Property Attorney husband would like to remind everyone that this is copyrighted material that can not be reproduced without my permission.

2007-04-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

Illustrators are basically just graphic designers who know how to paint and draw. Many of them will end up working in that capacity at some point in their career just to make some money. Invitations and announcements are always in high demand, doodles and sketches... not so much.

So here are a few more useful items in my portfolio.

Two baby announcements for my beautiful nieces, Lexi and Addie.

And a valentine from Jan to Dan (I hope you don't mind, Jan!)

I really, really enjoy doing this type of thing so if you're ever in need of a wedding announcement or an Enrichment Activity invitation, let me know. I'd love to help.

Danny

2007-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

In honor of his return to the states, I'm going to have a guest illustrator- my little brother, Daniel Tueller.

Danny drew this for me during Sacrament Meeting at church one Friday in Riyadh. When we were in Saudi Arabia, our family lived on the DQ or Diplomatic Quarters. It was an enclosed neighborhood where all the foreign embassies and their employees lived.

So here's a bird's eye view. Houses, embassies, parks, pools, and more. I'm sure somewhere in there my other brother Christian is on his way to the Greenhouse to buy sweets.

Conductor

2007-04-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

This was the first lithograph I ever did (100 points to whoever knows what BAT stands for without having to Google it).

I relinquish all rights to it if my brother-in-law releases an album and wants to use it as his cover art.

Its all yours, Ryan.

Real Life Drawing

2007-03-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes with all work I do digitally, I have to remind myself that I actually do know how to draw and paint. Its wasn't always that way though.

When I was a junior in high school, in order to take the AP Art class you had to submit a portfolio. I asked my teacher what I needed to do in order to prepare my portfolio and he told me that "if you can draw the human figure, you can draw anything." So I set off drawing the figure.

I found an open draw session that met at an art academy in nearby Lexington. Then I faced the embarrassing task of asking my aunt and uncle (my guardians at the time) and then my actual parents, for permission to go. How unfair that I had to tell four adults that I wanted to draw naked people!

My Uncle Lant (slightly uncomfortable about releasing his 15 year old niece into this situation) insisted on driving me to the class. I was surprised he didn't come upstairs with me and stay the entire time. Looking back, I kinda wished he had.

When I walked into the room, there were exactly four other people, all over the age of 40 and all veteran artists. I only remember a few details from that evening, besides being INCREDIBLY uncomfortable. I remember that the model had long red hair (down to his waist), which he had braided. And when he took his breaks he went outside in his boxers to smoke a cigarette (boxers? New England winter? weird.) He was also very flexible.

When I got home, I was hoping I could sneak up to my room and forget the whole thing. Not so. My Aunt Diane asked me to come into her room and to bring my drawings. She looked through them and the first thing she said was, "Well, I can tell he was circumcised."

This statement made me very nervous indeed. I understood what the concept of circumcision was, but when it came to what a circumcised penis looked like versus a non-circumcised penis, I was lost. In my head, I panicked.

If that was the first thing she noticed, then clearly I put too much detail into the penis. Oh man, she must think I'm a huge penis-obsessed pervert. They probably already think I'm a huge penis-obsessed pervert for wanting to go to the stupid open draw anyway!

My Aunt Diane (oh wise one) stepped in and explained the difference between the two penises. I wasn't a penis obsessed pervert after all. Phew.

It took me several years to recover from that night. BYU helped ease the transition back to real life drawing by providing models in swimsuits. I can safely say though, that I am no longer frightened of penises be they circumcised or not. In fact, there's an open draw that meets on Thursdays at a gallery here in Phoenix, if anyone would care to join me.

I Love Your Smile

2007-03-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

I've been quite busy lately with some new stuff, so here's some old stuff in the meantime. This is my brother-in-law, Ryan. He's a musician and he's amazing. There's a sticker on his guitar that says, I love your smile.

Evil Snail

2007-03-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

When I was younger and my dad's copy of The New Yorker arrived in the mail, he would show me the cover and ask me what I thought it meant. Sometimes there was a pun or riddle involved and sometimes it was just an illustration depicting what was inside. Either way, we would open the issue to see the title of the illustration and my dad would then explain it to me.

When he was done with it, I would flip through and read the cartoons. This particular cartoon is the source of my obsession with snails.

And this was the first thing I ever drew with Adobe Illustrator. Here is my fanged snail.

Schiele Women

2007-03-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite artists is Egon Schiele. If Clark had let me even consider it, Booker may have been named Egon. (I did briefly consider Schiele, but it sounded so trendy.) When I was in high school my mother took me to the National Gallery and after we toured the galleries she let me buy some prints. I bought this one because the dancer's red hair reminded me of my Aunt Diane, with whom I was living at the time.

That image isn't exactly representative of Schiele's work, because, well... the model is fully clothed and her vagina isn't the central focus of the painting. He was a controversial artist during his lifetime because his images were considered somewhat pornographic. I like him because his line quality is so simple and expressive.

Fast forward a few years later to my 20th Century European Art History class at BYU. I decided to write my term paper on Egon Schiele because I was that type of BYU student. While everyone else was writing about Mary Cassatt or Salvador Dali, I decided to write about Schiele's lesser known landscapes and how they fit into his larger body of (more obscene) work. I thought I was being facetious. The professor did not agree.

I went ahead with it anyway and one night I visited the library to get research books. As I searched the catalog, I began to notice that each book about Schiele was "available at the HBLL locked case." Confused, I asked a student librarian what exactly "locked case" meant. He looked at me and lowered his voice, "Oh, you must be looking for 'Between Husband and Wife' for Brother Bott's Marriage Prep Class."

I was mortified.

First off, I couldn't believe that this guy had immediately assumed that I was enrolled in a university level class called Marriage Prep. Second, I couldn't believe that I actually went to a university that had something called a "locked case" in its library. And furthermore, that a book about sexual intimacy within Mormon marriages would warrant placement in that locked case. Yikes.

I guess the librarian saw my face turning bright red (embarrassment? rage? both?) because he quickly offered an apology and explained that "lots of students have been asking for that book lately." Of course they have.

Anyways, I eventually found that locked case and checked out several "illicit" books on Schiele. I took them home and began to draw from them. His catalog is full with simple line drawings of the female figure and each one is beautiful. My sketchbook is now full with similar drawings and if one didn't know better they might think I have an unhealthy obsession with naked women. Here is one such page.

I ended up getting a B- on the paper. I spent too much time drawing from those books and not enough time reading them. But in the end, it was definitely worth it.

Woof

2007-03-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

I have pretty strict criteria when its comes to what I allow Booker to wear or what I like to decorate his room/stuff with.

I try to avoid sports, much to Clark's chagrin, because I don't know what type of sports he likes yet. Plus I'm hoping he's more of the academic type than the athletic type.

There are always cars and trucks, but too often the cars are of the Nascar variety and that is a big no-no. Cute teddy bears are right out, along with anything powder blue.

This leaves dinosaurs and puppy dogs. Oh, and sharks. I like sharks. Booker has two pairs of shark PJs. But I especially like puppy dogs, as long as they aren't too cutesy.

So here's my not-so-cutesy, not-powder-blue puppy dog for Booker.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it quite yet. His walls are already covered in things that meet my standards. I was thinking of making it into a series. Owls that HOOT. Dinosaurs that ROAR. Sharks that ...? We'll see.

(I do make exceptions to my clothing rules when it comes to hand-me-downs. We LOVE hand-me-downs. Keep 'em coming.)

Alphabet Poster

2007-03-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

I made this poster for Booker's room.

Clark thinks Yaks like Yogurt, and I'm happy with it my way.

Yaks like Teriyaki.

A New Beginning

2007-03-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get back into the world of Illustration and the habit of, well... illustrating more. Since I'm an idiot when it comes to creating a website, this blog will have to suffice as a means to get my work out there.

An old friend from the program called me the other day with the possibility for some work and it dawned on me that its been WAY too long since I've picked up a pencil/paintbrush/stylus. So to throw myself back into things, I decided to play around with a line drawing of Little Red Riding Hood. Things progressed into this.

Clark didn't really get it (Little Red's flame/torch is also the Big Bad Wolf), which makes me nervous. But I still like it.