Get out of here

December 5 was my last post? Wow, you might think I have a life or something. You would be soo wrong. To catch everyone up, let's quickly sum up the last couple months. I had back surgery, it went well, thanks for asking. My family had every nasty flu bug ever created. What else? Hmmm... I had dental surgery, which unfortunately won't be covered under insurance. That is awesome! And at work, our bookkeeper stole somewhere in the neighborhood of $80,000. That is really good news. Back at home, one of our cameras broke, and it may not be worth fixing, too pricey. Anything else to throw on the heap? Well, I better quit now because I am depressing myself.

Now, let's focus on some of the better things that have been going on. Another quick summation, anyone? Graham is talking and eating more, not sleeping much more, but hey, two out of three ain't bad. Chandler has improved his school performance in almost all categories! Take that, auditory processing disorder! He consistently gets perfect 15 out of 15 on his spelling tests and does great in his reading program! Also, it has been a little nicer outside, so the kids have been able to play and run around. Thank you, global warming. The kids really needed some outdoor time, they were driving themselves and us crazy!

Note: I am getting to wrap a train. Not like a present, but I created the bold graphics that will wrap a CTA Train and platforms around Chicago. Pics coming soon.

Also, if you get a chance and want to donate money to our elementary school playground, check out http://www.littlelatte.com/glennplay.html

Is that it? Well, Chandler is having a b-day party this weekend, which will actually be a sleep over for 3 boys with all the pizza and soft pretzels you can eat. I think it will be a lot easier than the theme parties of the past. And enjoy the pics of Graham, I took them on Sunday while he was running around in the yard. Now get outside and play and quit reading this!

Hack

We have all been sick, I know, so what else is new? Not much. Karla had bronchitis yearly hospital visit, Chandler had a cough, now a runny nose and a possible case of impetigo! I have been down in my back and found I out I have two herniated disks. I am old! I have been trying to get better, but am still hurting pretty bad, so I opted to under a very small knife next Wednesday for a little relief. The doctor said I should have a short recovery time and get to go home the next day. I will believe it when I see it, but this pain does necessitate some immediate action. Next step is to call for blood work, but I need to get over my bronchitis first. I have been taken A LOT of meds to get me all healthy, but I haven't had a major breakthrough yet. Oh well, maybe next year!

Who is this?

I know... but I 've been busy.

I went to Washington D.C. yesterday morning and came back in the afternoon! Talk about modern! I am fancy! Wasn't time to do anything except take a cab to hotel and drop off a package, and then back to the airport! Wheee!!!

On Friday, Chandler and I went to Wildlife Prairie Park with the entire Glenn Second Grade! It was lot of fun, and a little crazy. I only had to chaperone five kids, so it was pretty easy. I had Chandler, his buddy Cameron, Jalen, Brooklyn and Rebecca. They were a really good group to have. We all enjoyed seeing the bison, snakes, cougars, wolves and other critters around the park. Chandler liked the gift shop best (shocked?) and picked up some sea shells (in Peoria?) and some sharks teeth (in Peoria?). He had his wallet burning hole in his pocket the whole day! Cameron liked watching the smelly sheep drop trough. His quote was, "It was awesome that we got to see them poop". How can you argue with that? Pretty much everybody liked the 50 foot slide and the train, even though Jalen kept threatening to "jump out because it wasn't going fast enough". The kids were good (for the most part) and it actually is fun to hang out with a bunch of second graders, once in a while.

We went to ISU's homecoming parade on Saturday. Man, that was fun! Chandler was running all over to gather candy, and we eventually filled the stroller with the sweet goodness! There were a lot of bands, a few costumed characters, some big trucks and a whole bunch of cheap politicians! I got some really good shots of the kids. I hope to put up pics soon.

Graham has been talking a lot more and is able to explain a lot of things. He still struggles with his sentences, but he really talks up a storm! He finally seems to be warming up to school. Occasional boo boo faces, but that is it. Yay, Graham!

Chandler is going as an Star Wars arc trooper for Halloween, and I have to mod his costume, yikes! Graham is going as Yoda, which should be pretty cute! He tried on his costume and he is too small for the hat part and too big for the jacket, but it will work. He will look pretty cute either way.

Gotta go do something else
PO
Mark

Get to Seven Eleven Quick

A few weeks ago, a small number of 7-11's were transformed into slightly more animated environments. Coincidentally, one of these shrines happened to be 60ish blocks from my UIC photoshoot. So I decided to travel slightly westward and meet up with Bob, Izzy and Teresa for some "fan"tasizing.
The new and improved "QuickieMart" did not dissapoint. It had displays of pink sprinkle doughnuts (mmm, doughnuts), a squishee and buzz cola machine, as well as strategically placed stand-ups of the most popular Simpsons characters. They even had Jasper in the cooler! Unfortunately, all the limited edition merch was bought by scalpers, so we got jack nada. Still, it was fun to see all the other Simpsons fans! And the movie hits theaters in four oh so long days. Aye Carumba!

Yeawwwn!

Anyone else been really busy? I have been swamped.

Busy as a Japanese Beaver.
The good news is Overtime! The bad news is very little sleep. I have accumulated 26.5 hours of overtime in 8 days and more is on the way. I have pulled an all-nighter and a couple of 2 am shifts in my pursuit to get caught up on work for UIC, Country Insurance and and AR for CHI.
Last week, I travelled to Chicago for a 2-day, 1 night whirlwind of art direction. We started taking shots on Monday morning and finished up at 6:30pm the following night. I was pretty tired, but I met Bob, Teresa and Izzy at the 7-eleven turned QuickieMart (near Midway Airport) to bask in Simpsons glory! We made it back around 11:30pm and I turned in.
While I was up there I had the pleasure of eating the Berry Almond Swiss Oatmeal from the Corner Bakery. Man, that's good eating! Did mention my car broke a spring in Chicago? The good people at UIC helped me find a local mechanic and they fixed it the same day. It sure rides nice now!

No rest for the wicked.
I had a lot to get accomplished when I got back including the premiere issue of a newsletter and an Annual Report comp. I just finished the first issue of the NEW Country View! It goes to press today and I hope it turns out. I really worked my hind quarters off on this one. It is a square format and I got to do illustration for the cover and inside story. You can see the cover shot above. Hooray!
Tomorrow I have to get to the airport at 5am for a last minute photo shoot in London, KY. It is going to be a long day! The next day I take another early flight back home! Fun!!!

Doody Call
Karla has been called for jury duty and I will be out of town. Isn't that convenient? Hopefully, they won't need her.

Boys of Summer
Chandler is immersed in swim lessons and is doing pretty well. Hopefully he can keep up the momentum and enjoy swimming. He starts a reading program this week until school starts. I hope it gets him up to speed for second grade. Graham has been saying a few more words and he slept for SIX whole hours in his OWN BED last night! Props to Karla, she has really been working with him. I usually don't even see the whipper snapper at bed time. Darn work!

The Wiggles
Before I forget, Chandler has got one wiggly front tooth. It is really concerning him since he has never had one like this before, He can twist it almost all the way around in his mouth. I will try to take a pic of the gap it leaves when it finally falls out! Wish him luck!

Alabama

Also on our trip we saw this little wonder on the side of the road. I found out ArtWurks is a folk art shop in Brundidge. Above is a link with other sculptures by this artist. Below is a little description I found on the internet.

On Highway 231 between Troy and Dothan.
Just south of town, huge metal Chicken, and other sculptures by NYC artist, Larry Goodwin, who has returned to his hometown and his brother's folk art shop. "The 3G's" sell paintings, and metal art along the hwy. Brundrige is a nice "antiquing" town also.

Boys of Summer

We actually made it to Florida this Summer. We drove down this year with Izzy in tow. They were all pretty good travelers, we made some stops and stayed overnight in a hotel with the worlds grossest swimming pool. The next day was fine unitl we ran into Georgia construction! Needless to say, it took several hours longer than predicted. Once we arrived in Leesburg, we enjoyed the pool and the walking trails around the area. The kids ran around, watched movies, played cards and went swimming, with the exception of Graham. He wasn't allowed to go because of the no diapers clause in the pool regulations. Boo!!! Anyway, we had fun and even went to Epcot while my mom watched Graham. Thank you mom! It was awesome. Chandler got a lot more autographs for his book and we (the parents) even convinced the kids to eat in France. Thank France for bread and chicken!!!

Then Karla and I got to go to Orlando's Florida mall and out to eat for her birthday! We went to a Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant chain. I really liked it and talk about a lot of food! It was really delicious and we had a really good server, Patti, who turned out to be from Springfield, Illinois. Small world.

Afterwards, we traveled to the airport to pick up Chris and company. Then the next day we played cards, went swimming and got packed up for the trip back to the Land of Lincoln.

We got going early and trying to avoid Georgia, we took a different route home. That route went through Alabama, which sucked too! We couldn't make it to our hotel, so Karla called another one a few exits away in Birmingham and they had a room. That hotel rocked! The kids got to swim, play in mud puddles as well as catch and chase several bugs. You can't beat that! We also ordered carryout from Landry's, a chain that started in San Antonio and had the hotel's large breakfast buffet! Man, that was some good eating! Anyway we eventually made it home and chalked up the vacation as a winner.

I hav included a few pictures of Graham and Chandler drawing, one the activities that sustained us in the early moring as well as several evenings. Enjoy! Oh by the way, did I say thank you mom? You helped out out so much!!!! Oh yeah, if you have a family, stay in the Residence Inns by Marriot. They are a life saver.

Whoops

Soooo, my aspirations of being the next Lane Smith or Dan Yaccarino will have to wait. Tonight I came home from work and found a very very mushy ceiling in the back room of our house. Anyone who has been to our humble abode has probably seen this yucky ceiling with its shiny popcorn finish and its many colorful patches and spots.

We are lucky enough to have a flat-type roof covering a bedroom, closet, bathroom, and part of the kitchen. The ceilings back here look sewn together by half-blind tailors who had many, many different kinds of fabric and many, many cocktails.

I went ahead and started scraping off the icky ceiling so I could examine its underbelly. Our ceilings appear (at least in the bedroom) all plaster under that attractive popcorn! I found some cracks and some minor holes which worry me, but no gushers or trapped water to speak of. We did have an awful amount of rain, and I took a moment to wish for a popped roofing nail or a cracked seam.

It turns out I was right. It was all that and many more terrible and unspeakable horrors. There was also a BIG depression directly above the discolored and mushy ceiling.

I would like to pause here for a moment to mention this is not the first time I have "fixed" this roof. I have been on this pile of tinder many times patching, caulking and cursing. That's right, I said caulking. Well anyhoo, I knew this was going to take some real initiative and creativity. Not to mention some cursing. Lots of cursing. And sweating. Did I mention it is hot outside? I didn't? Well, anyway, I digress.

Sooooo, what I did next you see was to get my trusty caulking gun and some roof cement and go to work. First spreading the cement over popped nails, possible cracks and then applying the remainder of the tube all over the depression area. Why you ask? I don't know. Oh, did I mention it was 9:00 p.m.? Oh, I didn't? Well, just so you know, since I am not a freaking owl or have a budget for night vision goggles, it was just a little difficult to tell exactly what I was doing. OK. Off the subject. AGAIN. I do love to do that. Anyway, I then proceeded to borrow some plastic from my next door neighbor and duct tape a big sheet over the patch and most of the roof from East to West. That's right, DUCT TAPE. YEEHAW! I done fixed it for now! What's next? I am on a roll over here!

It's supposed to rain later tonight and all day tomorrow and it was dark out, did I mention it was dark? Oh I did? OK. So anyway, my options were limited. Were there other options, you ask? Maybe, but when you have no money and it is PITCH BLACK OUTSIDE, a roll of duct tape and 10 yards of plastic seems mighty brilliant. And when the forecast calls for two or three days of sunny skies, I will rip off the sticky mess and try to figure out some more options. Anyone know a roofer who works cheap? I mean like a pat on the back and a couple of beers cheap? Let me know. I'll even splurge for Michelob!

My non-existent books

I few years back I sent an idea, a cover and a bunch of rough illustrations to art directors and editors of some of the most prestigious children's book publishers. I got a lot of positive feedback and requests for more of my work. Wow, was I excited. I figured I would get around to that sooner or later. Well, guess what? I am looking at all of those email exchanges and they are from OVER FIVE YEARS ago!

OK... I will admit it, that's disheartening.

Sooooo anyhoo, I am going to start this process again, and we'll see how it goes. I hope to keep myself motivated by publishing this post. We'll see how it works. I have at least two solid ideas, one for a board book of sorts, and the other for early readers. Of course I also have ideas for merchandising, television spin-offs and plush toys, but I will come back to that after I get ink on paper. I might put roughs, etc...up on my website. Give me a few months, I am up to my waddle with AR's, photo shoots, and newsletters. I think I need to prepare to feel the wrath of procrastination!

Note: Above is the cover from my almost never was book. Look for more possible non-existent titles coming soon.

New Illustrations

These two illustrations were used in an article about metabolism for a regional hospital. I really wanted all of my illustrations to have a simple 2D feel. I started with my basic illustrational approach and combined it with some stock object photography. I then created a lined paper texture and "cut" the photos out of it. After some time playing with layers and composition, I was able to get the look I wanted. Enjoy.

Fifth disease

We think Graham has this. Chandler had it a few weeks ago, and of course, Graham HAS to do everything his brother does. I'm pretty sure he has a sunburn too, which makes for an itchy Grammy. He hasn't been sleeping much the last few days and Karla and I having been taking turns staying up with him. While he's up, he has been playing with trains and cars and having a lot of fun. That's great, I just wish it wasn't at three in the morning.

Feeling suburban? I am. I have a neighbor who has decided for the last two years to let his lawn go. Why? I am not sure. He spends about 10 hours a day drinking him some Bud Light in that very lawn. Anyway, his creeping charlie and dandelions have invaded my yard, which was pretty much weed free a week ago. They invaded and then conquered it. It is ridiculous. I am going to buy some nasty stuff to spray on my and (covertly) his yard. I also started (only started, it will take a long time) to clean the garage. That task infuriates me, because it is always a mess and unwielding to conform to my OCD tendencies. Oh well, then on to spray the fence. Yikes.

Chandler had the day off of school, a fact that neither Karla or I had any idea about. Man, we rock as parents! Talk about being informed! Chandler and his friend Katelynn, gave us that nugget of info last night.

Going to Florida? I will believe it when I see it. We are going in June and taking Izzy with us. We are going to try to hit Disney and MGM for, yep you guessed it, Star Wars Weekends! What a shock! It should be fun, but we haven't decided number of days or our schedule yet.

Enough of this! I have to go and do some dishes. Yippee!!!
Peace, love and laserdiscs,
Mark

Dear Santa

You know what would be nice? To not be sick for 3 months of the year. I know people have it much worse, so this is for them too. I'm asking for a break from the gallons of vomit, the streams of diarrhea and the endless fevers and headaches associated with this immediate family. Yucky. Enough already.

You know this is April right? Hello, what is with the snow on my car this morning? It is darn right cold out there.

Slayer is coming this weekend for a tour of the glorious campus and to see the Normal upheaval. For any ISU alum who hasn't visited in a couple of years, it will be a shock. Come back in 18 months and you won't believe your eyes. They have torn down or rehabbed or refaced 75% of the buildings downtown (excuse me UPTOWN, whatever). They are building 3 new high tech structures for shopping, dining and living. They tore out the Abe's Carmelcorn caboose and are starting on a new roundabout. There are several new restaurants and many more on the way. I could talk about this all day but I have work to do so go to http://www.normal.org/Uptown/index.asp and check it out for yourself. Prepare to be amazed!

Well, maybe not amazed, but slightly interested.

I am gone!

Appa Plush vs. Hunt for Grievous

Back in December (look at Appa Plush blog post from December 2006), I tried in vain to find an Appa plush doll for the boys. Still no luck and Nickelodeon has no solution either. If you go to the Nick site, the message page is TEMPORARILY out of stock. And by temporarily that means FOREVER. I sent them an email for more info and they sent me back the standard form they send to everyone. Sorry, we have many products and we restock new products every day! Keep visiting!

I also had this same experience with a Star Wars battlepack that has been TEMPORARILY out of stock since last SEPTEMBER. Ask ToysRUs about it. Almost the same form as Nick, please check back, as we restock daily. NO, YOU DON'T.

Google either of these two things:
Appa Plush
Hunt for Grievous
Everyone is looking for them or selling them (for 5 to 10 times their price).
If you had bought 10 of each of these you would have spent about $400. If you sold them today you could get $1000-$2500. These aren't limited or collector items. They are toys that were released less than a year ago. It isn't Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch Dolls fanfare either. I don't understand it. Some wisenheimer(sp?) was selling 75+ Hunt for Grievous sets on eBay back in November for $60 each. Can anyone say store manager?

Anyway, if anyone wants to trade or sell them to me for a REASONABLE price, I would appreciate it. Chandler gets HforG and Graham will get Appa. Even though Chandler will want one too.

I won't need these until Christmas, so maybe I will get lucky. Ha Ha.
Oh yeah, Mattel make the Katara action figure for Avatar. That is annoying and very unPC to not make girl action figures. Fire your CEO now!

Bleck!

New Halloween paper

New monster head for a possible paper line.

I don't want to do this...

The reluctant Jedi Chandler is ready to defend his family and home against any foe. Don't push him. We have been really sick recently, Graham was even in the hospital. But enough of that! Here is some good old fashioned violence!

Lets' roll!

Chandler and Graham really do enjoy each other. Even though sometimes Graham wants what Chandler has and Chandler wants to be left alone, they do spend a lot of time laughing and jumping on each other. They both like to dance and run around the house, and sometimes they ride Chandler's old tricycle around the dining room! I am not sure why Graham is sticking out his tongue. Maybe he wants Chandler to inspect him for thrush.

In a box

Graham loves to get inside of things. Cabinets, laundry baskets, hat boxes, even oversized packaging. To prove this point, here is Graham putting himself in a rubbermaid bin. It normally holds Veggie Tales toys, but Graham decided to make it his new home.

Bulf

Well, we were going to have the Carrolls over for some games and food last night, but it didn't happen. About four o' clock, Graham starting acting lathargic. I gave him a bath and he started shivering like crazy. I snuggled him tight and dressed him in his warmest jammies. Karla took his temparture with the rectal (ouch) thermometer and it said 102.7. That was that. I called the Carrolls to cancel and then Graham barfed. Karla camped out downstairs with him in case they both got sick. I took Chandler to bed with me in case he would start. Karla and Graham were up most of the night and I finally went to bed for the last time around 4am. Graham is doing ok this morning, he has a tylenol suppository in him (ouch). We'll see how it goes today. If possible, I need to do some laundry, and am ready to rush to the hospital. After all, it is that time of year.

Watch out!

Graham got his new babysitter today, and boy, I'll bet she is worn out. Because Graham doesn't really like it when people leave. And when mommy, Chandler or I go anywhere without him, he wakes the dead with his screams. That being said, we Thought it might be prudent to have the babysitter over a couple of times beforehand to get him used to her. That seemed to work. He had a few tiny fits, but most of the time he kept it together.

This morning, however, was a different story all together. Chandler and I did our usual sneak out the side door on our way to school before Graham see us thing. And that worked. It doesn't always. Then the babysitter arrived, and the world ended. They even try to trick Graham with the old, let's go see the cat in the basement routine, while Karla made a bee-line (etymology?) for the door. He lost it! He couldn't be calmed down and went into a full-fledged panic attack running around and searching for "Momma".

Ring. Ring. "This is Mark". That was the next obvious course of action. So I headed home determined to find a way to keep him from tossing his cookies. When I opened the door he was tugging on the gate to the upstairs and gasping "Mah mah". He ran to me and climbed up into my arms and spent 15 minutes struggling for breath and making strange noises. I 'm not sure how to describe them, kind of a burp and a breath at the same time.

Anyway, he calmed down a little and I proceeded to get out toys from every room. I even went downstairs and got Chandler's old Vespa riding toy and refurbished it with new batteries. He was a slightly hesitant rider but then proceeded to drive it around a little. Not really drive around, since he didn't even attempt to steer. We got out his coloring book and put in the TMBG DVD. Then I kept going from room to room without him hoping he wouldn't follow. Graham looked for me right away for the first few attempts, but then the babysitter took him downstairs and played the LeapPad. Then he came up looking for me and wasn't all that interested because I had untangled the giant mess of Plug-N-Play games that was in Chandler's room and had brought them down for him to play with. I wandered into the kitchen and then snuck out the side door. I called the house about 20 minutes later and they were doing fine. Crisis averted. And by crisis, I mean gallons of puke.

Bee-line
The phrase derives from the behavior of bees. When a forager bee finds a source of nectar it returns to the hive and communicates its location to the other bees, using a display called the waggle dance. The other bees are then able to fly directly to the source of the nectar, i.e. 'make a beeline' for it.

uh-oh

Today Graham said uh-oh. Chandler started by saying it and then Graham said it back to all of us. Cute kid.

Today I walked on the treadmill for a little over 2 miles. I am trying to do 10 miles a week for a couple of weeks and the increase to 20 miles a week by Spring. I know, good luck. I also have this great collection of DVD's that I want to watch while I walk, but I can't find them. Poor me.

Oh yeah, I got in touch with this guy I used to go to grade school with. It is kind of neat to converse with someone who you haven't spoken to in over 25 years. Gotta love the internet.

Karla made crusted salmon, salad and couscous for dinner tonight. It was really good, but it had a spicy horseradish kick. Afterwards, I had an apple with peanut butter to cool my palette. Yum.

I really need to start thinking about two projects I want to work on. My children's book and stuffed toys. I am not sure when I will have time or the energy to start something new, but I want to be able to find the drive somehow.

I finally finished the initial round of scrapbook paper, rub-ons, etc... It was a lot of hard work. The files were enormous and they took over 5 hours just to resave them. I worked from 8am-3am Monday and Tuesday and from 8am-12am on Wednesday. I skipped lunch a couple of days to make it work. I just found out (which I had a feeling) they want different files. Oh well, I will go in tomorrow and covert them all. It should only take 2-3 hours at the most. I hope.