#15 - Ode to an Old Pair of Shoes

This is my first published poem. I sent it to an editor of a children's magazine on a lark. Made enough money to buy myself a meal at Burger King.

:)

ODE TO AN OLD PAIR OF SHOES

We laughed in the rain,

We played in the sun,

You always were with me,

Especially when I had to run,

You hid under my bed,

With hardly a care,

But our new puppy found you,

Alas! I can not wear you anywhere.

Ah!

My poor shoes,

To shoe heaven must go,

At least I can find consolation in knowing that...

My poor shoes have soles!

#14 - Project Runway - Armchair Quarterback

I confess!

I am the biggest Project Runway fan.

:)

This season, in order to really have a hoot and a holler with the whole thing, I decided to try my hand at the challenges too.

This week (Episode 3) the assignment was to design a "My Scene Barbie" lifesize outfit. Then for funsies, the designers made a duplicate outfit for the Barbie doll.

The winner of this week's competition got to have his Barbie design featured as a limited edition Barbie.


Well this looked like so much fun that I decided to try this out for myself.

I went for a bohemian scene look.

Something that I would actually wear.

I used a doll base for this painting.

Please visit the link to see some truly delightful doll designs:

http://mapetitepoupee.free.fr/

Then rest of this was created using free hand painting with JASC PaintShopPro9 and some creative layering using JASC and Microsoft Picture It.

http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/

#13 - Newsletter Now Available

I am now offering a weekly newsletter to keep you up to date on Life with Lupus and my other writing projects.

Below is a sample newsletter that was sent out this week.

If you would like to be on my newsletter mailing list, please send me an e-mail and write newsletter in the header.

Life with Lupus – Newsletter #3

This week featured the ongoing essays regarding social isolation and lupus:

http://lupusleftovers.blogspot.com/2005/12/10-lupus-and-social-isolation-in.html

Look for the final installment of this series next week.

Regarding my own struggles with Ms. Lupus this week, I am now on double the dose of Baclofen (for tremors and spasming).
My rheumy has emphasized that I increase my Imuran intake. I continue to try, but it does make me sick to my stomach.
BLEH.
My stamina is starting to return… YIPPEE!
I had enough energy to start transferring the majority of my writing to Blogspot.

You will find nine archived entries here:

http://lorettaherstory.blogspot.com/

You will find two new paintings, one new entry and four archived entries here:

http://lorettassalon.blogspot.com/

I have started Finding Jesus.

This blog addresses the challenges of being Catholic and defining a relationship with Jesus outside of the constrictions of organized religion.

http://lookingforjesus1.blogspot.com/

As Christmas rapidly approaches I will be taking a writing break in order to save up some spoons for my guys.I

will be back to blogging after the New Year.

Have a blesssed holiday season everyone, and may this New Year be the best year ever for all of you!

Loretta

Did you miss something?
Please e-mail me if you would like to receive archived newsletters.

#12 - SpongeBob Squarepants Revisited (archive - Sept. 2004)

Daddy came home early from work yesterday. Daddy has been running a fever and sneezing a lot.

So, Little Bear woke up this morning with a genius five year old idea. He decided he was going to "get sick" so he could skip out of school today.

My, my...how fast these little people learn!

About the last thing our family needs this week is a little five year old elf deciding to begin a school career of sneezing delinquency.

So being the type of parents we are...we checked over Little Bear...nope, no fever, he's chugging down breakfast, color looks good...all systems go... nope, the kid is not sick.

And still Little Bear insists he is too sick to go to school...and now genius idea comes into play.

"I can't go to school, Mommy. I got the SUDS."

Yes, you heard it right. THE SUDS.

Now only a true SpongeBob Squarepants affecionado is going to get the gist of Little Bear's logic.

Last night's episode ... poor SpongeBob gets a cold, but he's a sponge...so he doesn't get a people cold. Hesneezes out bubbles. His malady is called... the SUDS. If he holds in his sneezes really tight... he swells up...full of bubbles. (Remember: He is a sponge.)

So there we sit at the breakfast table, watching our five year old try to blow himself up full of bubbles while eating breakfast sausage...enough said. You do not need the elaborate details of witnessing that event.

As bus time draws near...the SUDS sneezing grows louder and our lame parental attempts to rationalize with a SUDsing five year old fail miserably.

Enter the FAIRLY ODDPARENTS (yep...another cartoon).

We had bought Little Bear a little light up pen that looks like a fairy tale wand.

So I tell Little Bear that he needs the SUDS eraser to help him with those nasty little SUDS.

I pull out the pen, light it up and wave it over him while reciting this little ditty (born out of desperation & time constraints):

Inky Dinky Dinky Do
No more little SUDS for you
You feel good, you feel fine...
Now you are ready for bus time!
TADA!

Believe it or not...this worked....phew.

He had some leftover SUDS sneezing which included getting them out of his system while brushing his teeth.

Splattered with toothpaste, I hastily ran him out the door and shoved the light up pen into his hand in case he needs more help with his SUDS.

And off he went to Kindergarten...with his SUDS sneezes and his light up pen...sure to wreak havoc if he sneaks that thing into class.

Boy..between the raisins and the sneezing SUDS light up pen flapping that will be walking into her classroom today....I bet his teacher is going to throw me in the corner when I show up for Open House next week.

#11 - The Day of the Raisin (archive - September 2004)

Do not take snack time and teacher notes too personally.

Okay...so I am a very new Kindergarten mom. And today was snack day for Little Bear.

This was a big deal for me. I felt like whatever my little guy brought in would be a representation of his home. Food is important. I wanted to send a stupendous, never to be forgotten, spectacular snack. A healthy snack, but one that said, "Hey! This is one cooool snack!"

Oh, and did I mention a snack that could fit into our shoestring lupus mom not able to work budget?

So I have visions of Ritz crackers and cheese cubes in individualized little plastic baggies. But, plastic baggies are not good enough...I want them to be SNACK PACKS!!

Unfortunately, by the time I was getting ready to pull these superduper snacks together...it was near bedtime and my spoons were tossed to the wind a long time earlier.

Hubby being the sweety he is told me to relax...he would run to the store right away and buy something. What should he buy?

So I think really hard....I think of fond childhood memories of getting those little red raisin boxes with the bonneted dark haired gal gathering raisins in her basket. Now those were the best snacks when I was a kid!!!

I tell hubby to buy those itty bitty raisin boxes...lots and lots of them.

I go to sleep after packing Little Bear's backpack with those glorious store bought raisins...secure in knowing that my mothering would be known to all in Kindergartenland...oooh Little Bear's mom bought raisins! YIPPEE.

And off goes Little Bear to school...

And he comes home with a note in his little book bag...not a personal note....a mimeographed note...oopsie...showing my age again...a PHOTOCOPIED note...about snacks!

"Wow!", I think, "I know that was a good snack, but I surely didn't expect a memo!"

Here is the relevant part of the note:

"Dear Parents,
Hello. [stuff about book orders]
We eat our snack everyday at 10:30. The boys and girls are usually very hungry by this time. When sending in a snack please keep in mind that one cookie or a handful of crackers is not enough to fill up the boys and girls. They have been asking for more. Today we discovered that we do not like raisins...
Thank you,
[Teacher]"

So ...I have a lot to learn.

And before I scuttled into the Kindergarten Hall of Shame, I run into my son's former teacher's aide from Pre-K at the PTG meeting tonight.

Still burning in shame about the Raisingate...I ask former Teacher Aide "Hey, did you read the raisin memo sent home today?"

"Yep."

"Do you know who the Raisin parent is?"

Former teacher aide parent looks me dead in the eye, grins and says, "Yep...it was you."
And we laugh.

She has survived over two years of my snacking extravanganzas that Little Bear would tote to Pre-K and Day care.

I laugh some more...

but, I am thinking...

what am I....

some neglectful snack demented raisin mom?

So, I overcompensate.

I sign up for every darn committee and school function.

I even signed up for the refreshments for the October Familyfest.

HA!

No raisins this time!

I'll set to making a much better snacking creation!

Pumpkin muffins...

I can hardly wait.

#10 - Life According to SpongeBob Squarepants (archive August 2004)

Some cartoons are infinitely better than others.

So much of what children view on television is pablum for the mind. I have never understood why adults feel they need to "dummy" down shows directed at a young audience.

Although I am not a big fan of the Nickleodean monopoly of marketing to children...one shining little star pokes through all the drab silliness of children's television shows.

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

My son has gone absolutely flippy for this show. Being the type of parent I am... I watch too, so I know what his young mind is being exposed to.

I thought...

okay...

get yourself ready for some absolutely horrendous television, with lame loud jokes and no plot.

I was happily surprised.

Spongebob is the underdog's hero.

He is purely Spongebob and he makes no apologies for the guy he is. Everyday is an adventure, he likes everyone, and he loves his job...actually, there are so many great lessons being shown on this show that I decided to sum them up.

LIFE ACCORDING TO SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

1. Wake up every morning with a smile on your face.

2. Jump out of your bed happily shouting "I'm ready!"

3. Love your job.

4. Be proud of your accomplishments.

5. Be a good friend.

6. Love your enemies.

7. Everyone is a potential friend.

8. Interact with everyone believing that they will like you just as much as you like them.

9. PLAY!

10. Be honest.

11. Work hard.

12. Sleep well.

13. Eat weird stuff once in awhile, but make sure you include ice cream.

14. Share your imagination with your friends.

15. A little competition is a good thing.

16. Try something new.

17. Have some really great hobbies.

18. Honor your parents.

19. Help someone in need.

20. Never ever pretend to be a lifeguard when you do not know how to swim.

#5 - Salon Logo

#4 - Guess Who Downloaded New Stuff for PSP9?

I wanted to do a "Down By The Sea" collage.
So I did.