Happy New Year!
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

To all of you, I wish you a happy, lovely 2007. :)

Boas Festas! - Happy Holidays in Portugese

Boas Festas!
Originally uploaded by Marcos Fontes.

This was from a flickr friend... :)

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday and ate lots of yummy food. I had a great time, seeing family and my two little nephews. One a year and a half old, the other 6 mo. old. They're a hoot.

Little E., the one year old, got a wagon and my dad took him outside to give him a ride in it. When they came back in he kept saying Moo in kind of a low voice and pointing at the sky. Dad translated, Moo is Moon. Ha!

Little J. is a squealer. He's pretty entertaining, but can get pretty loud. He's got a Johnny Jump up so when you hold him up so he's standing on your lap he jumps and jumps, squealing all the while. :D

Gotta love the munchkins!!

Frog Christmas

Frog Christmas
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

10 very unscientific ways to deal with holiday stress.
By Polly

1. Shorten the gift list. This is not a joke. This year, buy only for the people closest to you. Give cards and a hug to the rest. You will feel like a thousand pound weight has been lifted. Don’t feel guilty.

2. Admit you’re human. There are only so many days, and only so many hours. If you’re not ready to admit that, check out the dark circles under your eyes and the vein popping out on your forehead. It will be okay.

3. Play A Charlie Brown Christmas – The Vince Guaraldi Trio every chance you get. It’s like a sedative.

4. Have an eggnog, hot buttered rum, hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps, or the holiday drink of your choice. A little glow from the drink and a glow from the Christmas lights and all will be right with the world. (Drink in moderation.)

5. Avoid the situations you know will make you mad. I can’t drive into the parking lot at the mall after Thanksgiving without feeling like I have a severe case of Tourette’s syndrome. So I don’t do it. There is always somewhere else I can go to get what I need. Saving a buck isn’t worth feeling like the top of my head is going to come off.

6. Manage your expectations. It’s just a day. It’s an important day for many of us, but it’s still 24 hours long. Then it’s the next day.

7. Wrap every gift alike. Go with me on this. It will look like your signature wrap, and you will not have to deal with 50 of those obnoxious rolls of gift wrap and 85 shiny bows. It streamlines the process and saves you time and money.

8. Buy what you can online. This is not original, but it’s still valid.

9. Set your own limits and stick to them. Family and friends may demand a lot of your time, but don’t let them suck you in beyond what you are willing. You will end up resenting them, and resentment does not lead to holiday cheer. Refer to #6. They need to manage their own expectations, too, and you’re not responsible for that.

10. Have fun, laugh about it and repeat #3 and 4.

Liverpool 1960

liverpool 1960
Originally uploaded by bazchimp.

Look close at this great old image from Bazchimp. These people had the right idea about Guiness!! :D

Pancake Meow

Pancake Meow
Originally uploaded by queeneshell.

Check out this cute website, with yummy edible looking jewelry! :) www.pancakemeow.com

Neat Painting from Flickr...

weeping ship, acrylic on collaged canvas, 9x12 inch oval
Originally uploaded by Bird in the Hand.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)

Thanksgiving...

Turkey
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Hope you have a lovely holiday with some great food and family time. :)

Things I love about Thanksgiving (in no particular order):

Family (this year there are two little nephews, next year there will be a wee niece too!!)
Turkey (ummm...)
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Stuffing
Jello Salads
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Roll

Eat a bunch of food, hang with the fam. Then for dinner, yummy Thanksgiving leftovers... Thanksgiving is a little slice of heaven in my book!

What are you favorite Thanksgiving traditions? :)

In Heaven

In Heaven
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Happy Thursday everyone!

I found out that my sister-in-law is having a daughter this time! Two nephews and a niece to be. The little ones make the holidays much more fun! :)

Sia

Sia
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Sia's show last night was amazing. She's got such a big, lovely voice. I adore her music. :) She did some of her songs and some Zero 7 songs. **sigH**

She was a complete goofball, making funny comments to the audience (are you all alright? need anything? some legs? did you say you needed some legs?? well, that's a tough one, but i'll see what i can do... ha!)

Fantastic show!

Tuesday...

Just Chillin'
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Rare Earth - I Just Want To Celebrate

I just want to celebrate another day of livin'
I just want to celebrate another day of life
I put my faith in the people
But the people let me down
So I turned the other way
And I carry on, anyhow
That's why I'm telling you

I just want to celebrate, yeah, yeah
I just want to celebrate, yeah, yeah
Another day of living,
I just want to celebrate another day of life

Had my hand on the dollar bill
And the dollar bill blew away
But the sun is shining down on me
And it's here to stay
That's why I'm telling you

I just want to celebrate, yeah, yeah
Another day of living, yeah
I just want to celebrate another day of living
I just want to celebrate another day of life

Don't let it all get you down,
Don't let it turn you around and around
And around and around

Well, I can't be bothered with sorrow
And I can't be bothered with hate, no, no
I'm using up my time by feeling fine, every day
That's why I'm telling you I just want to celebrate
Aw, yeah
I just want to celebrate yeah yeah
Another day of living, yeah yeah
I just want to celebrate another day of livin', yeah
I just want to celebrate another day of life

Don't let it all get you down, no, no
Don't let it turn you around and around,
And around and around, and around
Around round round
'round and around round round round
don't go 'round

Autumn Love

Autumn Love
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

The leaves are all changed. Most of them are on the ground at my house. And the weather is cool. Ahhhhh, autumn. :) I really enjoy all the seasons. For a while at least. And fall is easy because it's so short.....

Happy drizzly fall day! This would be a lovely day for napping and reading.... **sigh**

You gotta see Sia!

This is a show that you're gonna wanna see! I saw Sia with Zero 7 in Boulder and she's got an amazing voice and a whole lotta heart. I can't wait to see her solo show! :)

Happy Halloween Everyone!

batdog
Originally uploaded by frenchpants.

Photo credit to Frenchpants.

Hope everyone has an fun, spooky Halloween. :D

~~Magpie

Freedom

Freedom
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Here's yet another zombie painting of mine, "freedom". I wasn't overly fond of this one when finished it,but the more i look at it, the more i like it... She's got pretty eyes. :)

Anyway some bloggety quiz to tell all my nonexistent readers a bit about myself. :) found on Sara with an H's blog....

1. first name? for blogging purposes - Magpie

2. were you named after anyone? No, my parents liked that my name was uncommon and then about 6 mo. after I was born it became more popular. figures huh? :)

3. when did you last cry? I cried a little on Sunday, I was moving and quite stressed out. My last big cry fest? I don't remember...

4. do you like your handwriting? Sometimes, but mostly it's kinda sloppy. I don't have one particular way of holding a writing utensil and it makes my handwriting a smidge unpredictable.

5. what is your favorite lunch meat? Hmm.. probably mesquite turkey

6. if you were another person would you be friends with you? I hope so. I guess if I were another person who liked the same things I'd probably think I was the bomb. haha!

7. do you have a journal? Of sorts... I find myself only writing in it when I'm grumpy or P.O.'d so I try to make it a Gratitude Journal and only write things that are going good for me.

8. do you still have your tonsils? Nope, removed when I was 6, I believe. I got all sorts of presents and got to eat a lot of ice cream. Not too bad of a deal....

9. would you bungee jump? Maybe, if it was free... I can't really see paying to do it, but I'd do it for free. Maybe. I'd rather go paragliding again, I've done that before and it was a hoot!

10. what is your favorite cereal? Well, that'd be Lucky Charms I do believe. But I never get them cuz I try to avoid all that sugar. **sigh**

11. do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

12. do you think you are strong? I used to be stronger, I don't work out or exercise as much as I used to. I need to start mt biking more. I lived near the mountains for a while and I mountain biked a lot in the summer and snowboarded in the winter. I was pretty tough then. :)

13. what is your favorite ice cream flavor? Rocky Road, with almonds, not peanuts...

14. shoe size? Size 8 usually

5. red or pink? Both! I used to hate pink cuz I thought it was too girly, but I love it now.

16. what is the least favorite thing about yourself? My moodiness and lack of patience. Sometimes my voice.

17. who do you miss the most? I have some friends who are far away, doing cool things. I miss them. And I miss my family, we're spread all over and don't get together like we used to.

18. do you want everyone to send this back to you? I guess, or just post it on their blogs..

19. what color pants, shirt and shoes are you wearing? Gray pants, black shirt, black shoes, pretty exciting outfit today!!

20. last thing you ate? A mini Heath bar.... doggone Halloween candy

21. what are you listening to right now? Toots and the Maytals - Never Grow Old

22. if you were a crayon, what color would you be? Today I'd be Cornflower Blue

23. favorite smell? Hmm... peppermint, lavendar, chlorine of a pool on a warm summer day, fresh sheets...

24. who was the last person you talked to on the phone? C, my boyfriend

25. the first thing you notice about people you are attracted to? I think eyes possibly...

26. do you like the person you stole this from? This was my first time reading her blog, so I don't know yet!

27. favorite drink? Hmm... chocolate milk, red wine, J&C, grape soda, raspberry lemonade

28. favorite sport? Mountain biking, snowboarding. Although I've argued with people over whether those are sports or not. I say yes, they say it has to have a ball and rules to be a sport. Pfft!

29. eye color? Green or blue

30. hat size? Good question

31. do you wear contacts? Yes

32. favorite food? Thai, Chinese, BBQ, Indian, Mexican, pizza... I like it all!!

33. scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings.

35. summer or winter? Summer and winter if I get to go snowboarding. :)

36. hugs or kisses? Both! I refuse to chose!

37. favorite dessert? Hmm... maybe tiramisu, but I like other things too...

38. who is most likely to respond? Dunno

39. least likely to respond? Dunno

40. what books are you reading? Nothing at the moment. I'm trying to stay sane with moving...

41. what's on your mouse pad? Plain ol' blue

42. what did you watch last night on tv? No tv, C and I went to Knuckleheads and saw the RumbleJetts and Cash O'Reilly

43. favorite sounds? hmm.. music I guess and C's voice...

44. the rolling stones or beatles? hmm... Rolling Stones

45. the furthest you've been from home? Czech Republic - I traveled in Europe for a month and that's the farthest point we reached. Interesting area....

46. what's your special talent? Well, I paint, I don't know if that's a "special talent", but there it is. Oh and I can make great faces (so people tell me, i can't seem to recreate the mood and do it in a mirror).

47. where were you born? Colorado

48. who sent this to you? saw it on a blog

49. Favorite animal? Monkeys, meerkats

50. Favorite bird? Owl

Candy Corn Guys

Candy Corn Guys
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Have you ever seen such fiends? These guys love the candy corns. Just CAN'T get enough of them!!

C and I saw the Hacienda Bros. this past weekend (plus the SnotRockets, who were also great!). The Hacienda Bros. showed up in an old van that had the extension on the top, which makes it taller and also angles the top in.

The van was painted white on the top, orange in the middle AND!!! white on the bottom. :( But at first my candy corned brain thought the bottom was yellow. Ha! I was SO excited. I did recommend to one of the Hacienda Bros. that they paint the bottom yellow, cuz then it'd be really cool. :D

Happy Wednesday, 4 more days 'til Halloween.

Looks Angelic

Looks Angelic
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Halloween is drawing near! I wish I had some fun plans, but with moving out of my apartment, I'm too tired to worry about it. **SigH** :) I do love Halloween though, all the funny, interesting and just plain weird costumes!

What are you dressing up as for Halloween? One of my nephews is going to be a lion. I haven't heard what the baby nephew is going to be yet... :) My cousin's daughter is a chili pepper. TOO CUTE!

@',------

Snuggle Buddies

Snuggle Buddies
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Brrr, it's been chilly and rainy yesterday and today. I thought I was ready for fall, but maybe I'm not. :)

Hope you all have your warm woollies ready!! I need to bust out my scarf collection. brrrr...

**happy wednesday**

Stormy Petra

Stormy Petra
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

People seem really crabby today. I know I feel cranky, but I don't think I've taken it out on anyone. Not so with the people I've been dealing with. **sigh**

So I thought I'd post this zombie girl, Stormy Petra and her bear... Enjoy!

Summer Drifting

Summer Drifting
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Ahh, Indian Summer days... I'm ready for cooler weather, but I'm not really ready for winter. This frog makes me feel all warm and summery, outside drinking his iced tea, chillin'...

Happy Friday!

Happy Hour

Happy Hour
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

These two are up to no good and ready for trouble. :)

Prints will be available!

Soccer Girl

Soccer Girl
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

This is a painting i did for a coworker, of her soccer playing daughter. she really liked how it turned out, so i'm pleased. :)

Shepherdess

Shepherdess
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Here is a painting I did for the art fest. I think she turned out lovely. :)

Delaney had a quiet night tending her sheep... However most nights are quiet when you're undead. Dunh dunh da... (spooky right? haha!)

Floating Glass at Bronx Botanical Gardens

floating glass bubble thingies and little orange fishes at the Bronx Botanical Gardens
Originally uploaded by kikafluff.

I saw this picture on flickr. Aren't the glass bubbles lovely?? :)

Argyle Girl #2

Red
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

So here's a little painting I did last night.. I love her green dress and her red curly hair...

Can you believe how fast the year is going by? September already.... I've got a b-day coming up quick. I'll be 25, again. ha!

If there's anyone out there reading this, come up with a story for Argyle Girl #2. I'm curious what you think she's up to...

Happy Wednesday!

Drusilla

Drusilla
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Drusilla loves long walks in the woods and her bat Monty. She spends her free time reading Shakespeare and loves a good Bloody Mary...

Frog Bliss Onesie

Frog Bliss Onesie
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Hello all,

I've got this onesie as well as infant and kids t-shirts and sweatshirts up at cafepress for sale. :) See them here!

I've been having so much fun with my art lately... I've been painting a lot and my style is improving and to see that makes me more comfortable putting art on other things, hence the recent buttons and kids' clothing release... Hope you enjoy them!

I have some nervous energy because of the festival tomorrow. EEK! It will be fun though. Hopefully the weather is nice and lots of people make it out!

lil brown owl

lil brown owl
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Lil' Brown Owl enjoys when the seasons change. Especially from summer to fall... Nice cool evenings with lovely breezes... Hoot!

Frog Bliss Button

frog-bliss-button
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Here is one of the buttons I had made for the art festival this weekend. I think they turned out nicely. A guy I work with bought SEVEN of them yesterday. :) I'm excited for this weekend, hopefully it'll go well. Purchase yours now for $2.00, S&H $.75.

Happy Friday everyone!

My Tomato Plant

My Tomatoes 2
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Here is a shot of my lovely tomato plant... so far it's only produced two tomatoes, but it has a ton of little ones on it right now. i hope some of them ripen up before it gets too cold. i might have to bring it inside and get a grow light.

Maybe C and I can build a greenhouse.... :) His mom has an adorable potting shed, we could make it like that, but with a greenhouse type roof... Hhmmmm....

Here's a picture of C's mom's potting shed. I love all the stars on it! And her ducks just make the pastoral scene, don't they?

Dating Advice From Quotes

"Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference."

Man! I wish I'd seen this quote when I was dating a certain ex of mine. If you find yourself dating someone argumentative and poopy pants, remember this quote! Or to paraphrase:

Don't date an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. Hahaha! :)

Or here's a quote (from my older bro) that helped me with this particular ex: "You can't rationalize the irrational."

Undead Anita and Margo (and Fred)

Anita and Margo (and Fred)
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Illustration Friday Topic - Play

Anita and Margo were sisters... They had played together as little girls, but once they became teenagers and Anita won the Macon County Undead Beauty Pageant, the girls grew further and further apart... But Margo would always have Undead Fred, her bear.

Illustration Friday Topic - Capture

Undead High
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

You don't want to be caught hanging around Undead High late at night, when school is in session. Zombie Capture!

More of my zombies (aka sickly colored goth girls). :)

The Archers

The Archers
Originally uploaded by verpabunny.

A lovely painting I saw on Flickr, by Kelly (Verpabunny). Check out more of her work, it's amazing. :) And you can see even more of her work

Wednesday

?
Originally uploaded by doubler//dlx.

More flickr fun!

Be queen!

Be queen!
Originally uploaded by Cryptia.

How adorable are Cryptia's Illustrations! :) I found her on flickr and I'm loving her stuff... My drawings are too stiff and I have a hard time making them do anything but stand facing the camera. This is one of many of her cute illy's, check her out!! :)

Zombie Anastasia and her undead dog, Fitz

Zombie Anastasia and her undead dog, Fitz
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

Yet another zombie (aka sickly skin toned goth girl) illy by myself. Don't know why I'm having so much fun with these, guess cuz it's different from my normal sappy sweet illustrations... :) I like the skin tone on this one cuz I think I got a nice gross green... ha!

Hubs about the same, resting and bored.

Not much else going on here... I need to stop and get Pooch some new racquet balls cuz I winged the one toy of his we could find into an evergreen tree in the back and it got stuck somewhere in there. I hope next time it rains or gets windy that it falls out. :D

Line I like from a Carbon Leaf song, Raise the Roof: "The wisest advice to me that I didn't reach was to lock up the heart, but keep the key within reach."

Peek-a-boo Kitty

Peek-a-boo Kitty
Originally uploaded by evil angela.

I saw this picture on flickr. Isn't this kitty too cute?? He's the same markings as my Kahlua. :)

Clean Your Room Lola

Clean Your Room Lola
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

More "zombie" art. I know, I know, she doesn't have bits of her missing, she's just a sickly colored goth girl. But in my world she's a zombie. :) ha!

Zombie Mary had a little, undead lamb

Zombie Mary had a little, dead lamb
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny .

I'm feeling a bit morbid. Last night i felt like drawing my version of a zombie. C, as a zombie movie connoisseur, said that this wasn't right, they should have chunks of them missing, etc. And proceeded to tell me about a gross scene from George Romero's Land of the Dead. Blech. I don't like THOSE zombies. I like my slightly goth looking version. ha!

C's about the same. Still muy uncomfortable. Resisting taking vicoden because of the side effects. One of those being weird, vivid dreams. He's still having those despite not taking the vicoden, so I'm wondering if it's not because he's stressed out and wakes up a LOT. Anybody broken a femur, had trouble sleeping and had weird dreams, but wasn't on vicoden? ha! If there is someone who actually reads this blog and fits the bill I will fall out of my chair in astonishment. :) and that's a promise. ha!

We watched Shaolin Soccer the other night. I loved it!! It's different from Kung Fu Hustle, but the same brand of humor and boy, does it crack me up. :) C's Dad caught bits and pieces and I'm sure he thought it was quite odd.

We watched Goonies last night. Ahhhh memories... :) I watched that movie so many times as a kid.

C's broken leg... bummer

C broke his leg... again. This is the 3rd time he's broken this leg. They did surgery Thursday evening and put a plate and lots of screws in there. It is a spiral fracture with detached bone fragments. He's pretty uncomfortable and bored, but he's been in good spirits considering!

This puts quite a damper on the rest of our summer plans. Can't really boat, bike, camp, hike, World's of Fun, Cedar Point, etc. with a badly broken leg. Bah. But I'm cooking for him and his dad and just generally helping him out and that makes me feel better. Poor C.

So he's got a road ahead of him. It'll be six weeks before he can put weight on that leg and who knows how long before he's off crutches.

Boundary Waters, Minnesota

Boundary Waters, Minnesota
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny - Meg.

So this is where C and I went for our 4th of July weekend. It was a long trip up there and it was hard work, portaging our canoeing and canoeing around lakes, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed camping out (despite my fear of bears!).

Friday, whew!

Hi all!

Check out this adorable video about Hippily Bunny, drawn and narrated by a 4 year old. :) It's too cute! I saw it on Green Girl's Blog.

Got back Tuesday from canoeing the Boundary Waters. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work. I'll write more about that later. :)

I have a new nephew!!

The Barn

Barn Trusses
Originally uploaded by MagpieSkinny.

C and J got busy putting up trusses Sat. morning. I was so impressed at how quickly they got them up. The first couple took longer cuz they were figuring their system out. Very nice. It's really looking like a barn now. :)

Tammie's Gift Tag Swap

Tammie's Gift Tag Swap
Originally uploaded by MagpieSkinny.

Here are the great gift tags I got from Tammie at
Head Full of Pixies swap. I think they're all great, thanks everyone!

:)

Illustration Friday - Rain

Rain
Originally uploaded by MagpieSkinny.

This is my drawing for Illo Friday's topic "Rain".

la piccola

la piccola
Originally uploaded by mondopanno.

how cute is this?? :)

I think she likes flowers...

I think she likes flowers...
Originally uploaded by MagpieSkinny.

BUGS!
Originally uploaded by MagpieSkinny.

These are the sweet ATCs I got from Christine . I hope she likes the one I sent her... it was one of my good fortune girls.

I saw the movie, The World's Fastest Indian last night and it was really good. Anthony Hopkins does a great job of portraying Burt Monroe, an older Kiwi man who, at the age of 68 traveled from Invercargill, New Zealand to Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to break the land speed record with a speed of 201 miles an hour. From this site it doesn't sound like this is exactly true to the story, but nevertheless it was quite the feel-good movie and I liked it. You'll like it too, or Bob's your uncle. ha!

Raspberries??

I always thought Pooch was a cool, unique dog, but he continues to amaze me. Saturday Hubs and I were out on his land picking raspberries he'd noticed were ripe. Pooch is out there with his frisbee, which we tossed for him a couple times. I'm picking along on the raspberries when Pooch walks in between Hubs and I and starts eating raspberries off the bushes!! He seemed to only eat the ripe ones and he'd kinda get in there with his teeth and pick them off. Huh.....incredible! I don't know if this is something he just does (cuz he seemed to know what he was doing) or if he just really thinks he's a person and he was imitating Hubs and I. Funny boy.