What Was I Thinking ....

I have to say that I sometimes make some somewhat dodgy decisions

but this week there was a true what was I thinking moment...

We all know I have a patchy track record on the whole lunch making scenario

and even after years of practice, rice paper rolls still look like some mutated weirdness

 there was a hot dog sushi roll debacle a few years back that is the stuff of family legend

and the cheeseburger tacos incident that only cemented my infamy in the lunchbox stakes

But somehow I managed to forget all of this

and in a rather uncharacteristic fit of lunch related optimism I thought I could make rice cubes

That optimistic delusion lasted all the way home

and I was happily thinking I was finally going to be super mum

until I opened the box... it is like a puzzle, or a lunch torture device

and I know it is probably crazy easy once you actually try it

but just the sight of these hinged little sushi compressing things

made me throw up my hands and shake my head at my own madness

Darcy Wilkinson from http://art-and-sole.blogspot.co.uk/

It will be not be wasted though because I have a diabolical plan

I am off lunch box duty next week while I undergo the dreaded surgery

and for the first time in 12 years Sinus Man will be in charge of Phantom's lunches for school

the poor deluded sod is heading into it feeling quite capable

but I am looking forward to handing this over 

and telling him that rice cubes are her new favourite

and if he wants any sort of lunch box cred he is going have to make them for her

Tammy Garcia from http://daisyyellowart.com/

I see it as win win situation for me

because if he can't make them then I am not alone in my hopelessness

and if he can manage, then I am thinking I should acknowledge his brilliant skills and hand the task over to him for the rest of the year... can't lose I tell you

and the happy anticipation of putting the diabolical plan into play

spread positive vibes through my week 

and helped me get back into some painting of mugs and cups

for the Cuppa With Friends Project

Marji from http://sunbreaksintheforecast.blogspot.com.au/

Over the next few days I am going to cram in as much painting as I can

because who knows whether losing lefty is going to throw my painting style off kilter

sort of worried I am going to start painting with a lean due to being so mightily lop sided

which would be oddly entertaining if nothing else... 

Thanks to you all for your ongoing support and emails and things

Sinus, Phantom, Lefty and I thank you all ...xx

Soup and Heartfelt Thanks...

I need to send out the world's biggest thank you to all of you

who have sent me insane amounts of love, support and encouragement

Sinus, Phantom and I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of wonderful 

that you have all sent our way

it has meant I have sailed through the last week of tests and other assorted rubbish with a smile

and that is saying something as it feels like at least a million people have squeezed, biopsied, scanned, poked and prodded poor lefty

I tell you if I charged them all for the feels they are copping I would be sitting here a rich woman

but it has been worth it to get the news that the prognosis is so good

I know there is a lot of crap ahead but feeling surprisingly ok about it all

and I know I wouldn't be feeling that way without the love and support of this amazing community

I have a week before surgery while they get assorted other rubbish sorted 

and I am going to fill ever spare moment with painting

I should be getting organised and meals into freezers and things

but bugger all that and Phantom and Sinus can manage

they are big enough and ugly enough to jump in and sort themselves

I must say they have both been very cool through it all

teasing me at just the right times, and telling boob jokes at every opportunity

and I am so grateful to have them there being so gloriously strong 

I may even feel guilty at times in the future when I am torturing them in the future

not likely, but there is a chance I might feel bad

I bought these cans of soup so they won't starve if things get desperate

actually I bought them to paint because how could you not want to paint them

and they look wonderful on the shelf in the studio... quite the Warhol-esque installation

and Phantom and Sinus aren't entirely hopeless in the kitchen

so they shouldn't have to resort to tinned soup

but then again you never know

 I am now going to get stuck into catching up some cup and mug painting

and please know that all of you have made my life immeasurably better this week

and managed to bring so much positivity and joy and made a huge difference at this time

you will never know how much it has meant to us....xx

The Unwelcome Cuppa ...

Day 32 of the Cuppa With Friends Project sees me using a mug that is now mine

I am very behind where I wanted to be that's for sure

but after a week of tests and general horribleness it turns out I have freakin breast cancer

which sucks hugely and it quite the unwelcome, scary addition to our lives here

but it is what it is and I am lucky to have access to great health care

and the prognosis is good so I am repeating that to myself at every opportunity

and it is easier to be positive when you are surrounded by the wonderfullness that is Phantom Steve and Sinus Man ... they have been scary amazing

so I am trying to think of the upsides, and while there aren't many, there are some

like having a great excuse for the house being a bombzone

the possibility of wearing a Cher inspired wig to the school pick up 

when the inevitable hair loss begins, plus I will finally find out what the natural colour is!!!

and I can have leaving my prosthetic boob in unsuspecting places around the house

which will drive Phantom and Sinus nuts

Of course there are downsides as well

I am scared witless half the time

and spend the rest maniacally making lists about what I need to get organised

I have cried like crazy and drunk gallons of tea, but I think the shock is wearing off

plus it has played havoc with painting time this week

and will do so over the next few weeks as I have the final few tests before surgery

but as painting is my sanity saver 

and the Cuppa project is something I am loving too much to not continue with it

so I am going to paint your cups and mugs when I can and post when I am able

and  while I will miss visiting as regularly as I do now

I look forward to catching up with you when I do 

I want to thank you in advance for your positive vibes and comments

and know they are all appreciated so much even if I can't always respond ...xx

I Need A Cuppa ...

Mug 32 from Connie Calderon

My Cuppa With Friends project is finally starting to get back on track

after a few weeks of the dreaded winter sinus infection attack

which has seen me doing my best impression of a pathetic needy sick person

I think I may have overplayed it though 

as there was a distinct lack of sympathy over the last few days

they haven't even been making me cups of tea

and I really need a cuppa I have to say

Day 31 ... tea cup from Rebecca Britt

Being unwell and needing a cuppa is bad enough

but combine that with the house being overrun with people on winter break

and in short, it has been a madhouse of noise, sneezing, snuffling,

 fighting over the remote and who ate the last of the chocolate

not to mention we have done some home improvements
so while the area down the side of the house is looking much improved
nerves are a touch frazzled

and the poor Cuppa project and ICAD have suffered mightily

Day 30 ... mug from Jean Zoss

That isn't to say I haven't been thinking about it

because I have been... in fact I spent a bit of time getting some stats together

so I have received 138 emails since the beginning of June

and they have included 208 photos

some emails had multiple cups and mugs for me to choose from

while others sent multiple views of the one mug or tea cup

but even taking them out multiples is a rather magnificent number of mugs and cups

and they have come from 9 different countries

very very cool when I see it like that

Day 29 ... mug from Melissa Dowling

Of course seeing those numbers it got me thinking

the challenge is supposed to end on July 31

and even when I catch up after this little mini break

then there will be soooo many that are going to be ignored

and well that just doesn't seem right

so I am thinking I will extend it as long as people keep sending me cups and mugs
and just do one post a week and update the board on Pinterest until they are done

or until you all get completely sick of them

what do you think... is it genius or madness to extend and attempt to keep it going

do you all think you will be mugged out by the end of this month????

I have to say I am loving this project 

and thanks to so many of you supporting it and being part of it

I can't express how much it means to me... seriously

now if one of you would pop over and make me a cuppa life would be much improved...xx

Exploding Phantom ...

So let's talk about the best way to make your teenage daughter's head explode

I sort of feel it is our duty to make sure our beloved offspring

have something to discuss with a therapist down the track

so on a regular basis I like to see just how far I can push Phantom Steve

in order to achieve magnificent eye rolling and deep sighs

not to mention a bit of mumbling under her breath

all of which make me ridiculously happy and content in my role as mother

Over the years there have been so many little ways you could achieve this

a bit of food touching used to be enough to send her into fits of mumbles

and any attempt to discuss boys, music, movies or fashion

led to such a satisfying amount of eye rolling that she resembled a slot machine

but over the last few years not only has Phantom become immune to most torture

she has become eerily inscrutable 

and does a great statue impression in the face of most of my shenanigans

not to mention the scary development of her becoming alarmingly adept at retaliation

 which adds up to her having had a quiet time of it lately

That is until yesterday when I asked her to hold a couple of teapots

so I could take some reference photos for these paintings

which I wanted to do for this week's Summer of Colour prompt of grey and soft pink

little did I know that some light hand modelling would lead to such magnificent angst

at the two minute mark she was eye rolling, at five we had sighs

and with just one more measly minute we had not only had mumbling,

but also the introduction on foot tapping

she was so twitchy and gloriously annoyed that for a moment I was so nostalgic for the old days

when just a movement of just one stuffed animal could get me such a response

that I sort of teared up

So in honor of such a rare moment I decided to paint her head exploding

and I have to say this is exactly what I think she would have looked like

if I had of asked her to hold a pot for even five more seconds

As an added bonus it turns out that painting her head exploding was great fun

and even though I had planned the exploding head as my warm up painting

I ended up liking it more than the second one I did, though I really like them both

I am going to be exploring the whole black and white thing with touches of colour more

So I now am sleeping happily knowing that I have a new weapon in my parenting arsenal

which I must say was looking pretty depleted of late

and if any of you have any tips for torture of late teens then I would be grateful

I had sort of forgotten how much fun it can be

Happy Week 4 for SoC and also early PPF 

I apologize for the double link up but still sinus blighted 

so giving myself a bit of extra time to get around to everyone ...xx

My last post link is here for you... 

The Sinus Blighted Cuppa ...

The Sinus Blighted Cuppa ...

So June started in a flurry of motivation and inspiration

and ended in a mound of tissues and a truly disgusting sinus infection

which is kind of gross but there it is

it also means that I didn't quite make the planned 30 tea cups and mugs

for the first month of my Cuppa With Friends Project 

which I am combining with the Index Card A Day Challenge over at Daisy Yellow

but to tell you the truth I am shocked I hung in there and completed this many

the only worrying thing is that people may come to expect such consistency and commitment from me in the future

Day 28 mug from Colleayn

I went close to the magic number but fell short on the last few days

mainly because I was buried somewhere under the mound of tissues

quietly moaning and feeling that there was a good chance that I was dying

and even though my nearest and dearest were telling me I probably wouldn't die

I think they were secretly deathly afraid of just how snotty and disgusting I was

Day 27 mug from Michelle

I spent feverish hours composing my last words

croaking out orders for tea and eating vegemite toast

and lamenting that I never got to learn to tap dance

which is an indicator as to just how deathly sick I was because I am not normally a fan

in fact tap dancing is up there with beach volleyball and synchronized swimming

 as hysterically funny pastimes in my book

Day 26 mug from Kristin's Grandmother, Effie

Other than the weird tap dancing moment and not getting my quota of mugs and cups done

the only other downside was that I haven't had any of those mad fever dreams

I love it when you wake up and you realize you have been dreaming of cows doing the hula

while being transported on a giant my little pony who speaks like a mad Irishman

 and fighting off bamboo men who are defeated by your mad manicure skills

those weird and crazy dreams are the fun part of being sick

but sadly this time my brain has been behaving itself

mind you I am not quite free of the dreaded lurgy so there is still a chance

Day 24 Mug from Teresa

I will come clean and admit I have never pretended to be a good patient

and I think a bit of self pity helps the healing process along

but even I am a touch embarrassed by my level of patheticness

not that I am going to be less annoying over the next few days while the magic drugs to do their thing after all I have a reputation to maintain

I will just continued to be a touch embarrassed about it

Day 25 Mug from Jez

Somewhere in there I did get some cards done though

and they were hugely fun, all very different but each one made me smile

and this morning I got to stick them all on the wall 

and see them as a huge group which was even more fabulous

and I feel totally renewed and motivated to get stuck back into it

whenever I am not busy being pathetic that is... xx