And one that is rectangular

This is my second painting of Rocket. My first one I accidentally gave to my mom and she refuses to let me correct my mistake. While I was painting this one, Rocket instructed me to not make the same mistake again. My goal with this one was to capture the obnoxious enthusiasm that makes Rocket so lovable and so unlovable at times. I think it is what will eventually make him really great at something. Yesterday, a friend on Facebook posted a link to this article which claims that there is a link between overexcitability and the gifted. It says:

A small amount of definitive research and a great deal of naturalistic observation have led to the belief that intensity, sensitivity and overexcitability are primary characteristics of the highly gifted....
One who manifests several forms of overexcitability, sees reality in a different, stronger and more multisided manner.

I can relate to that too. I take comfort in that fact that when no one else thinks my really awesome ideas (like being Windex for halloween) are as awesome as I think they are, it's really just because they are not as smart as me. I'll definitely be pulling that card in the near future.

Yesterday, Rocket came home from school in an overexcited mood. He said that he and his two friends had a really great idea, and he needed my help. He said at recess he and his friends wrote some really hilarious poems, and he just needed me to type them up, because tomorrow they are going to try to sell them and make lots and lots of money!!! He said that this was a really exciting opportunity for me because if I did the typing for them, he would give me one fourth of all the money they made. YEEHAW!!! (the identifying sound of an overexcited person). Here is a few examples of the poems they had written. Please enjoy (but try not to get too overly excited).

There was a wimp
That climbed a chimp
And turned into a shrimp

There was a skunk
That stunk
And climbed under a trunk

There was a ducky that was lucky
Because it lived in Kentucky
And drove a mucky trucky

There was a man
That invented ham

There was a boy named Tommy
Who ate a bucket of salami
To please his mommy

Two Paintings that are Round

This painting I sculpted into the old frame of a thermometer and clock that had been damaged by moisture outside. I removed the middle and salvaged the frame. Then I used wood, paper mache, spackle and hot glue to build up the surface into a semi sculpture... then painted it. I don't think I'll do in again any time soon. It's called "Bottom Dwellers Examine an Unexpected Visitor".




This one I made out of a mirror frame that I got at an auction. I also picked up a second frame just like it, and I hope that when I get around to utilizing that one, I will do a better job. I had hoped the shark baby sacs would inspire a better painting than this one, but that's OK- it was more fascinating in person. I think this one is called "Mama Shark and her Babies."

This Calls for a Head Transplant

When Jodi left for Scotland, she left me with lots of treasures. Unfortunately, most of the treasures were living things, and I am not good at keeping living things alive... I've been exceptionally lucky when it comes to my children and dog. The cat, I give the neighbor credit for because he feeds her more than I do. One of the things she gave me was a luscious flourishing vine, and I told her I would treasure it as a symbol of the life our friendship will have despite our distance. But when it started to die, I got nervous and changed my mind, saying that the cactus that she gave me would be the symbol instead, and I thought for sure I would be able to keep a cactus alive. Up until about a week ago, everything was just fine. But then one day I noticed that the stem had suddenly died. I am certain that it must have decided to die very very suddenly, because it didn't look sick or anything prior to dying. But it turned into mush. The head still looked healthy though, so I did some research and found that there was still HOPE for the cactus... and my friendship with Jodi.

After much internet research, I found that these common cacti, called "moon cacti" are actually transplant patients to start with. They are actually grafted in mass in Korea and then shipped over to the United States where consumers are always impressed. Most professional cactus enthusiasts snub their noses at these novelty cacti, though. How they are made is sort of interesting. They start with a round green cactus growing in the ground. Then they somehow zap the chlorophyll (the stuff that makes things green) out of it, which makes it turn red. But the cactus can't live without chlorophyll, because chlorophyll is what makes the food for the plant, SO they cut the top part off of that cactus and then graft it onto the top of another cactus (which gives it it's chlorophyll). And so I thought that if it can be done once, why can't it be done again?

So I went and got a cactus that looked like it would have a good body and then performed a head transplant. Actually, it is either a head transplant or a body transplant, depending on where you think the soul of the cactus resides. If it resides in the head, then it is a body transplant. If it resides in the body, then it is a head transplant. I realized this concept after reading "Stiff" which talked about the possibility of performing head transplants on people. If I were to have a head transplant I would choose the head of Hillary Duff, Taylor Swift, or Lara Flynn Boyl (but only before she had the lip transplant, not after).
Also, the original cactus had two very large buds growing on it that were getting very large and looked as if they might soon be too heavy and fall off. So, I also purchased two other smaller cacti body donors, and grafted those two bulbs onto the tops of the smaller stems. In this case, I think we could say that I have multiplied the cactus Jodi gave me, symbolizing our compounding love over time. Of course, all this is depending on all of my transplant patients surviving the operation in the long term, and I am praying that they do, but not keeping my hopes up in light of how I did with the vine and all of our tadpoles.
Clyde commented to me that since my children and dog are about the only things I have had luck keeping alive, perhaps I should have transplanted the cacti heads onto them. Now that's a great idea, except that then it would probably hurt to hug them.

Happiness from my Inbox

I got an email from Rocket's teacher yesterday. When I saw a message from him in our inbox with the subject line "Rocket", I have to admit I thought "uh oh". But when I opened it and read it, I felt sort of teary eyed, and not for a sad reason. This is significant because all the emails I've gotten from Rocket's teachers were not so positive (Rocket loves attention, especially when he's the center of it, even if it is negative attention). And when I came down stairs and said "I just got an email from your teacher", he immediately hung his head, probably because conversations starting like that usually don't go well. But this time was different and it made me so so so so SO happy. Here's the email:



Now I feel as though maybe I should have had Mr. Kollar sign a media release for before posting this to my blog. :/ Oh well.
And I was worried at the beginning of this year that teachers would discriminate against him because of his mullet- especially since it makes it hard for me, his own mother, to be nice to him sometimes- but I'm getting used to it and it's kindof growing on me.
This is him after coming home sick from school on Thursday. He's better now.

9 Years

It is the 9th anniversary of Matt and I's marriage today, and I think this says a lot:



When I woke up this morning, Matt had left me a card, pretzel M&Ms (which Rocket took credit for) and a cactus- to replace a certain OTHER cactus that I have been mourning over. But I haven't told Jodi about that cactus' death yet. Just so you know, DON'T ever plant a cactus too deep in the soil as an attempt to stabilize it. It won't stabilize the cactus- it will cause the bottom of the cactus to rot and then the whole cactus will die. Maybe if I keep this new cactus until Jodi moves back from Scotland, it will be about the same size as the one that didn't make it.

I stopped by Matt's work to deliver him some quickies... I mean cookies. And I got it right this time- Kroger brand, not Safeway brand. Then I left a message on his car window:

(That's me taking a picture with my phone in the window's reflection). And then I also left a random somebody else a message too:
I might do that more often.

But, lastly, I'd like to treat you to this delightful song, and dedicate it to my love, Matt, on this day. We've lived in three different states, and many different houses over the last 9 years, but home- home is wherever I'm with you.

A Mention of Rocket

Here is a news article written about Scum of the Earth Church- I was in Utah on the specific Sunday it is written about. But Matt was at church with the kids. It also explains the mask Rocket is wearing in the above picture- he intends to complete the Mexican wrestler outfit in time for Halloween.
The article:

"Denver church named 'Scum of Earth' tends to Christian outsiders"