Goodbye 2007

well here it is my very last blog post of 2007, sigh.

sitting here in my jammies and having a morning coffee I realize that, I did it, I made it...I survived my first year of being an artist full time.

wow.

now if I can survive doing my taxes (my receipts are a total mess) then all will be good in the world. Actually strike that....if I can make it though the winter and the huge heating bills for this old drafty house, well....then I will be safe.

SO now that we are on the precipice of 2008 I know it's time for the old resolutions, yes...I need to lose weight, yes I know I'm not "fat" I am curvy which I am sine with, I love my curves I rather look like an old timey movie star bombshell than a stick figure....and I know my bubs loves me and my body....but still it would not be New Years if I was not vowing to lose weight.

So there you have it....

I also, need to manage my time better, I need to work a little more and lurk on the internet a little less, now I am not talking about blogging mainly about my etsy forum lurking and my obsession with celebrity gossip, I mean really...how many times to I HAVE to check Perez Hilton every day???? I am sure I can cut back to just once, right? I mean, I don't even know who half these people are.

I do need to draw more which I always say, but most importantly I really need to be less hard on myself, not everything in the sketchbook needs to be a masterpiece, and when things don't turn out....well, who cares.

I do need to broaden my horizons a little, and so far the beginning of 2008 will be doing that, I have some shops interested and gallery in MA too, I need to be unafraid of taking chances...I also need to work bigger and better, after recently doing a few larger commission projects I realized how satisfying it is to work on a large scale, I know etsy is not really the place to sell pieces like that as they are pretty expensive, but this may sound strange but there feels like there is something inside me that needs to work bigger, and I should listen to that.

And last but certainly not least....I need to get my health in order and start feeling better, no matter what it takes, not to sound like my mom, but I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

there are countless more things I need and want to do in the next year, some I will share with you here when the time is right....some are things that are just all me.

ok enough of the long (inane) ramblings of me.....what are you all doing for New Year's Eve???

my bubs and I will be appearing at a local party and wandering the streets of our lovely little town, most likely we will be intoxicated, after all we will be walking everywhere tonight so we need to be drunk enough to not feel the cold.

if you do not hear from me tomorrow, well I am probably hung over.....so until then, have a happy and safe New Year....

oh and no Drunk Driving!!!!! Seriously people don't do it!!!

xoxo
j

Petite Heights Sunday December 30, 2007

(please click on image to enlarge)
art - keith cousineau
story - jennifer gordon and keith cousineau


yes....this is a true story, lol

how is it Friday??

Good morning.

it is still morning right? You will have to forgive me if this entry makes no sense, you see my little inner schedule I keep it all messed up because of the holiday.

So things that normally happen on Wednesdays, like getting our comic book order etc are all happening today. So Wednesdays my darling bubs has the day off so when the comics get here well either of us can handle it or we both do it, no big deal. Without my bubs here I can still do it it's not a problem, but.....I cannot hear UPS from my studio, so I actually have to stay down stairs and wait for them....so now on a day that normally I would be hiding in my studio and getting as much work done as possible before the mean cheese invasion tonight, I instead will not be doing that.

I did work on a lot of art cards (aceos) yesterday, which I have once again been having a lot of fun with, they were the things that I first started selling on etsy, so it does feel good to go back to them. The picture today is of the cards I did yesterday, many already sold and some are not listed yet, I am running a BOGO, buy one get one half off on the cards as well as my reproduction prints you can mix and match the prints and cards for the sales too, just write BOGO in the message and I will send you a new invoice.

Oh and one last thing...............I have a TON of Sweeny Todd movie posters and postcards, all with hottie Johnny Depp plastered all over them. I will be giving some of these goodies away with purchases too, so yeah.....now I am bribing you with Johnny Depp.

ok enough nonsense, I am going to have to cut this short if I want to dance and do some stuff before the comics get here.

xoxo

Is this a vacation??

Good morning!

hope you all had a lovely holiday, I know I did....you see, though our family is far way and my darling bubs had to work I took.........time off....yup, I have been resting and resting.

Proudly proclaiming as I lounged on the couch that I was not going to do "anything".

well that's not entirely true, I did watch movies like Little Women, I did eat A LOT, I read books, we snuggled, we went to the movies, we tried to make cookies (they were a disaster) and had awesome conversations like this.

me- Do you think there is such a thing as a squirrel whisperer?

my bubs- what? like the ghost whisperer?

me- no like a horse whisperer

Bubs- like squirrel girl??

me- no.......you see I was watching the squirrels and I saw beauty (this is what I call the albino squirrel) on the roof of that house (this is when I pointed to the roof of a house 2 doors down) and then I said out loud "come here please" and even though I did not say it loud and I was inside, beauty came all the way over to our fence right away.

bubs- (he gives me a look that is part "you're adorable" and part "you need meds")

me- it's true it happened, I think she knows me.

so there you have it that was my couple days off, there were also gifts given and received both good and bad.

SO like with any days off I am finding it really hard to get back into wanting to do anything besides eating cookies, I was going to dance today but could not bring myself to do it, so tomorrow for sure I will, you all have to guilt me into doing it if I don't.

promise???

Merry Kiss-Miss

Good morning everyone!!!

we it's Christmas Eve and it feels like there are tumbleweed blowing through the internet....is anyone out there???

hello?????

(I think I heard an echo)

well today is not only Christmas Eve, but also a very special little non holiday for my bubs and I as it was 4 years ago today that we saw each other again after not seeing each other for many many (way too many) years.

the rest is history, our history, but as you can tell by the name of the fake holiday "kiss-miss" well when we saw each other there was a kiss that changed out lives.

So Happy Holidays to all of you out there, and a very special Merry Kiss-Miss to my bubs!!!

tonight is when we celebrate and do gifts as he works tomorrow, so I may be making merry and bright tonight...so, no bloggy blog tomorrow, this little Christmas elf is going to take a day off.

xoxo

Petite Heights Sunday December 23, 2007

(please click on image to enlarge)
art- Keith Cousineau
story- Jennifer Gordon and Keith Cousineau

Thank you

Good morning

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who showed such wonderful support during the crisis of the mean cheese, it really means a lot to me, I was very upset by her comment that she made as well as her subsequent email to me afterwards, but you were all so very right, I have to let it go. I am comfortable with myself, who I am and how I love the little meanie cheese, so that is all that matters.

Besides, there is one thing I remember from Catholic School besides getting detention for asking the priest if it was cool if I converted to Judaism....is that you should judge not lest ye be judged (I think that's right).

So there you have it.

So the holiday is fast approaching and things seemed to have sowed down in my shop, yesterday I spent the day working on a large commission for someone, and now that is finished I have a huge weight off my shoulders and am looking forward to making a bunch of aceos, I started making them the other day so I do have new ones in my shop, I took a long break from them but now I am back and I did miss them (isn't that strange?).

So besides making some little things I am planning my work schedule for the next few weeks, which involves 6 pieces I am making for a shop in California, as well as another commission, and several pieces for an exhibit for a gallery in MA (more details on both of these later).

So, it seems January is filling up for me with work, which is what I love. I also wanted to let you know that seeing as Valentine's Day is really just around the corner, I am accepting Valentine's commissions now, for a while during the x-mas rush I had to cut the list off, but right now I am back open, so get to me soon if you are looking for something special for your someone special....or if you just want to give a Valentine's gift to yourself.

:)

Oh...so yesterday my bubs' family sent us a ton of sweets and foods, so after eating some (a whole bunch) of cookies yesterday I am really really feeling sort of sluggish and sleepy and all I want to do is eat more cookies and take a nap...eeep.

Instead though I am going to play my new Taylor Swift CD and just pretend I'm her for a little while.

yeah she's 16 and blond but other than that....we're almost the same.

have a wonderful weekend, oh and the pictures today are of some new prints in my shop (I'm like totally in love with them...see I sound 16)

xo

Dear (Insert Name Here)

Dear Santa

I know, I have sort of waited for the last minute to write to you, but by now you probably realize that I am a procrastinator and well....a little lazy.

So I will get to the point....

for Christmas this year can you please make sure that you do not overload me with sweets, you see my bubs' family sends boxes (AND BOXES) of food to us, filled with all sorts of things that I cannot resist...cookies...cough...whoopie pies...cough. So you see, if you fill my Christmas sock with assorted chocolates I will most likely be diabetic by New Years, if you want to give treats, maybe some Cheese-Its, or some Luna Bars and Red Bull (sugar free)

Also, as you know I am really hard to buy clothes for, what with the being short but still having really long legs, also there's the whole "boobs" thing that Santas are always mystified by...so please just a gift certificate would be best, maybe something from Macy's...you know, if your looking for ideas

Books are always good, please check with my bubs, he has the list of vintage Nancy Drew's I still need, I am sure you could swipe some of those from your lazy book reading girl elves.

Most importantly this year I want happiness and health for my bubs, the mean cheese, my mom, me and everyone else I love.

oh, I also want a thicker skin and a better self esteem.

yours respectfully
Jennifer Gordon

Is this what it's turning into???

Good morning darling ones.

well....last night I could not sleep, my brain was swimming with panic last night because you see right before I went to sleep last night I got a comment on my blog that sent my head reeling.

Now, in the past I have had someone leave anonymous comments about how awful I was because in a satirical letter I made fun of Marie Osmond....but last night I got a comment that really got to me, you see, the comment basically said that I did not know Christmas, or god, because I referred to little Sarah as the "mean cheese"...it went on to say how awful I was, that I would make fun of her like that, and that I did not love her.

Now before any of you go looking for this comment, I deleted it, not because I agree with what she said, but because she was not anonymous and I really did not want her to get a pile of emails or nasty comments on her blog, she has the right to her opinion.

Though it got ma shaken up, that someone could actually believe that a funny term of endearment, a blog nickname, meant I did not love her.

wow, what a sad thing.

Now to set the record straight...I love the mean cheese, I know...shocker, I am a caring feeling person...wow...I know, strange huh?

She is called the mean cheese because I hate using her name on the blog, call me paranoid but I don't like it, it "too personal". She is known as "the mean cheese", and has been for years, most people in our real life refer to her as that too...it's a silly thing, but for some reason it's her, like my bubs (Keith) is my bubs.

Years ago we met a woman from Greece, still with a wonderful thick accent, we used to call the mean cheese munchkin because she is so small, when this woman tried to say munchkin it came out...mean cheese.

It was adorable.

We laughed because you see that name seemed to fit Sarah's little funny personality. You see, she has a host of health problems, and severe mental and physical problems, I don;t talk about it much because we treat her like a normal kid, and we like others to treat her that way too...so anyway, part of her problems involve the fact that she cannot have any dairy, this is awful for her, because you see....she loves cheese above and beyond all things.

When she is here the cheese is hidden so she cannot get to it, she repeatedly tries to find it, but we don;t allow her to play in the fridge. Anyway, it really is only a matter of time before I (or my bubs) has to leave the room, and use the bathroom or something. It never fails that in those moments she finds the cheese, and by the time we see her again she has a slice of cheese in one hand and a huge smile on her face.

This is what is awful....we have to take it away from her, every time. Now....when we do this, well she gets mean (note, she gets mean ABOUT the cheese....see the clever play on words starting), she has communication difficulties so expressing herself is hard, and can often end in a little violent outburst on her part.

She hits, bites, scratches, sometimes to us, and worse, to her self.

So....long story short, when we first heard the term mean cheese, well we giggled, it fit...it seemed right.

Now, for the record, when I or anyone calls her mean cheese, it is just to each other, she can't hear, she's deaf after all....so the notion that we are berating her with this "awful" name, is a fallacy.

Her little nickname took off, on the weekends when we have her, my email box is flooded with "how's the mean cheese" e mails. When she is sick or in the hospital people care. And one of the most wonderful things in the world, my friend Megan actually made her a little "plush" mean cheese, it's a triangle of cheese with a funny angry mouth.

Our mean cheese, LOVES that little plush. She hugs it, she makes her "love" noise (hard to describe but it's the noise she makes she she hugs us. She calls it her monster cheese, and out of all the toys she has (of which there are more than I can count) that is one of her favorites and actually has to be in the dining room table when we eat.

so...this is long and this is rambling and for that I am sorry.

I am also sorry that I feel I have to justify myself so much on my own blog, I am really unhinged by negative comments like this.

I start to second guess myself, I start to wonder why I am doing this, why am I opening myself up to this...it's scary. Then I realize all this second guessing of myself has made blogging a lot less fun, because now I am worried that people will take every little thing the wrong way.

It's my blog and I am beginning to wonder if I can even be me on it.

It makes me want to stop, to just curl in a ball and hide.

Now I know, that was only one person...but it might be more, she has me very paranoid, as she implied that everyone thinks I am cruel and heartless...

I'm not, and those of you who know me know that's not true...but those of you who are new to my blog, I don't know....do I need a disclaimer before every entry that might have a little snark to it.

anyway, I'm tired and I'm feeling raw and over exposed right now. Thank you all for listening and reading, and not judging too harshly.

:(

Le Sigh

Bonjour!!!

How are all of you this fine Monday morning????

well this weekend was filled with the little meanie and cheesie, it was also filled with many hours of snow and sleet....leaving us house bound.

so, what to do with a mean cheese during a snowstorm???

1- read books, well she flips through bad fashion magazines, and by bad I mean if they come in the mail with Jennifer Anniston on the cover they immediately get tossed her way. Anyway, she flips though magazines and I read books, currently I am reading a collection of the old times daily comic strip "On Stage" by Leonard Starr, as well as a biography of Amelia Earhart.

2- you gotta dance...I did a lot of dancing this weekend, the cheese loves it, she hoots and hollers and claps and signs more, more, more....she is especially a fan of the jive, though right now my calves are killing me, my legs hate the jive. So I danced and she cheered, my bubs laughed.

3- watch every holiday themed movie you have in the house, so we watched, It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, A Muppet Christmas Carol, Frosty The Snowman, Frosty Returns, and Batman II.....yes that is a Christmas movie, re-watch it if you don't believe me.

4- Stop the mean cheese from tearing down the Christmas trees

5- Stop the mean cheese from touching the stove

6- stop the mean cheese from tearing apart the bookcase

7- Stop the mean cheese from hoping down the stairs

8- stop the mean cheese from sliding down the stairs

9- there was also a brief bit of outside play, when my bubs (tried) to pull her around on the sled, which turned into her diving out of the sled and falling down, running, falling down, running, falling down and then her taking off her mittens.

10- Stop the mean cheese from taking off her mittens

so there you have it.

When all was said and done and she was back at her mom's house, my bubs and I got to have a splendid movie date and went to go see The Golden Compass....now I know people say it's confusing....but it's not, at all, in fact I am pretty sure a very small child could understand it. There is also hooplah about it being anti Christian or something or other...um, it's not, not at all....It's a fantasy movie afterall, and I am sorry that in this fantasy world there is no "Jesus".

in all seriousness, I LOVED it, though I admit to being a sucker for any large scale sweeping fantasy epic. I do know all the words to the Lord of The Rings movies....I love it all....well except Harry Potter anything, my ex husband, that no good hippie would spend hours and hours smoking pot and watching the first two HP movies, I think he had a thing for Hermione...or Harry...or both, it was hard to tell....so needless to say Harry Potter is just sort of boring to me.

But, Golden Compass...brilliant, so go see it, many times so they have enough money to make the sequel to it.

ok, that's enough blah blah today.

oh and before I go I am having a little sale in my etsy shop, Buy 2 Reproduction prints and get a third one for free...just write which print you want in the message section!!

Petite Heights Sunday December 16, 2007

(please click image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story- jennifer gordon & keith cousineau

I feel as though....

I feel as though I have been missing from "bloglandia", I know I have been very neglectful of many of your blogs, please know I am still reading but commenting has really gone to the wayside...

you see Christmas has kind of thrown me, I was pretty darn busy for a while with commissions and this week has been a bit of a respite from that, I do have one large project due before Christmas, so next week I might be boggled down with that...all things depending.

Today I will spend my day packaging things and (crosses fingers) taking photos of some of the new pieces I finished yesterday...you see the sun has not been out in ages here, and that has made photographing work all but impossible, in my impatience yesterday I did try to photo them, but alas they all came out blurry, I blamed the camera, myself, photoshop, and then myself some more before finally just accepting the fact that it constantly looks like the sun has just set.

So keep my silly photos in your thoughts and hope for a break of sunshine today, as of tomorrow we will be snow covered yet again as this fair city is preparing to shut down completely with the impending storm.

Now some of you familiar with Columbus realize that for some reason, even though we get a lot of snowy winter weather here...the city itself is unable to handle it, and quite literally shuts down with a series of "snow emergencies"

like Level 1 Emergency - 1" of snow, proceed with caution
Level 2 - 2"-3" try not to leave the house, begin stockpiling piles of meat and soda (or something like that
Level 3 -4"-5"- You are only supposed to leave if you have to work, if wherever you work has not been closed.
Level 4- 5" or more of snow - do not leave the house, you are not allowed, everything is closed except hospitals (pretty much) you will get pulled over and given a ticket for being out.

ok, some of these totals might be wrong but I don't think so, at one point last year we got about 8" of snow and the schools shut down for like 4 days.

so yeah....here I am blogging about the weather, and I know that's pretty lame, but bear with me, because this weekend during the virtual whiteout/snow catastrophe....we will be with the mean cheese, miss meanburger.

All I have to say is thank god we are now in this big house, instead of our little apartment, I don;t think any of us would make it through....you've seen the shining right?? It would be like that, except in the role that Jack Nicholson played...well that would be the mean cheese, while my bubs and I hid, and feared for our lives.

lol

ok, enough babble.

talk to you all soon

xoxoxo

Dear (Insert name here)

Dear Bing Crosby's Kids

how are you? Are you still alive? I sure hope so or this letter will go on deaf (or is it dead) ears.

Just this morning I was listening to a tape of the old timey Bing Crosby Family Holiday Special...it's awesome, filled with wonderful carols and all you kids singing. My favorite part is that it is sponsered by Charleston Cigarettes, the only cigarette with out a nasty after taste...it's smoooooooooooth.

or something like that.

Anyway, while listening I said to my bubs, I love Bing Crosby, to which he replied...you know he was an asshole, right?

really??? I mean I think I knew he had a problem with the joy juice and tended to be an oafish drunkard but was he really as asshole???

My bubs told me he read in a bio that Bing would get liquered up and then beat all you kids, and that you never wanted to sing or be on his shows, but the fear of abuse kept you in line.

That made me sad, much in the same way as when I heard the Nun from The Sound Of Music, in real life beat those kids too, that she did not bring songs and joy to the family but bruises and heartache.

so, Bing Crosby's kids wherever and whoever you might be...I just wanted to say, I am sorry he beat you and forced you to sing Silent Night in Latin on the radio...I hope if you are still alive that you can find joy in the holidays, I also hope you did not fall victim to the really awesome advertising plan from Charleston cigarettes....and you are not smoking a pack and a half a day of the only cigarette without that nasty after taste.....they're smooooooooooooooth.

happy holidays
Jennifer Gordon

Is this it? Is it over??

So all you other online artsy types...is the Christmas rush over???? The past couple days there have been actual tumbleweed blowing through my shop.....I am afraid the rush is over and it's still a good 9 days before the shipping cut off date for Priority Mail in the United States....

hmmmm.

ok sorry I am wondering out loud again, and by wondering out loud, I mean worrying out loud.

So, how are you all?? Are you good? All busy preparing Holiday good cheer???

Oh, the other night my bubs and I went gallivanting in town and we stumbled into a bookshop that we had never been in, I swear the bookstores in Westerville keep multiplying (it's fabby) and I swear it was like a little wonderland, my bubs found an old copy of a Lone Ranger novel, I left with an Amelia Earhart bio.

But let me tell you, the place was a treasure trove the walls filled with vintage lovelies for sale....I almost left with an autographed photo of Merle Oberon (she starred in Wutherng Heights with Lawrence Olivier), anyway....we have to go back, because at the time we were being the customers from hell...you see the store was closing and here we are gasping and squealing over the books.

I need to go back because they had a splendid almost falling apart collection of Hans Christian Anderson Fairy tales complete with illustrations including one of The Little Mermaid killing herself....yup the good old days before Disney convinced little girls that the prince loves her and they live happily ever after....call me crazy but I like it when the stories are a tad darker....

anyway so that is really all I have been thinking about, books and reading, books and reading, why oh why can I not be paid to curl up and read books, I mean I don;t want to review them or anything just read them and maybe tell all of you how dreamy or not dreamy they are.

I guess that's kind of a review.

for example, the last book I read was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (finished it 2 days ago) it was dreamy.

there, review done.

read, for serious you will love it.

one last thing before I stop blah blahing (see I am putting it off I swore I would draw today, actually I swore I would draw yesterday but I put it off) the picture today is of a new set of prints I have in my shop, they are very different than my "normal" pieces and are digital collages I did in an old Victorian silhouette style.

hope you enjoy.

Random Holiday Survey Part II

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? well, I like to toss a little egg nog in my hot chocolate, you know, instead of a splash of milk. I am gluttonous like that.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? he wraps them, even though wasting all that paper makes the environment cry....unless the packages are too big then they are just under the tree

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? white lights only...though I'll admit to a string of colored lights on our dining room tree, but that tree is the gaudy one anyway, so it fits.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? no....because I am afraid I would be under it and my bubs would not kiss me and then I would spend the rest of the day feeling neurotic ands insecure.

5. When do you put your decorations up? right after Thanksgiving, but Christmas music starts in mid November.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? potatoes and bread, and dishes of little salted cashews (does that count)

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? The year there was a giant Cabbage Patch Kid crisis and they were sold out everywhere...my mom ended up getting one for me last minute from someone who had bought a bunch and was selling them at a high price...unknown to my mom, my father had called in some favors to someone he knew in Japan and had one sent to me from there. It was not the presents themselves that made the holiday, but the lengths that my parents went to to make me smile.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? a former bff found out and spoiled it for me....god forbid she allow me to be happy for one last Christmas (bitch)

9. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Well we have one nice tree that is all red and gold Christmas balls, white ligfhts and ribbon, it's beautiful, then we have the other tree that has the colored lights and the misc. ornaments...I am still trying to get one more little tree for my studio. That will be pink, silver and black.

10. Snow! Love it or dread it? love the way it looks until about January 5th, then it should be gone.

11. Can you ice skate? no....there is a scene in The Omen II that sort of spoiled ice skating for me.

12. Do you remember your favorite gift? Victorian Dollhouse my dad made for me. Sadly it is gone now.

13. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? I would say family but I don't see my mom on the holiday so it actually is quite sad, so I would say the holiday is bittersweet now, but it reminds me of all the things that should be important.

14. What is your favorite holiday dessert? I can't play favorites with desserts. I guess I will say Christmas cookies and whoopie pies

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? People giving me presents.

16. What tops your tree? star

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? both, I won't lie, I ,love anything presents

18. What is your favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night

19. Candy canes? no, but one was attached to my latest electric bill.

20. Favorite Christmas movie? Little Women, A Christmas Carol

21. What do you leave for Santa? I eat cookies and skip the whole leaving and waiting game.

Petite Heights Sunday December 9, 2007

(please click on image to enlarge and open)

art- keith cousineau

story- jennifer gordon & keith cousineau

Let it Snow....

morning!!

ok so we had a "snowstorm" yesterday, which for Columbus is anything over 3" of snow (we got about 4"). Now they are saying that we will be getting snow today, tomorrow and Saturday....

um are you serious???? The city will shut down completely!!

But at this point as long as I can get out later on today to get to the printers to pick up my new prints....well then I am happy (hint, hint....it's the photos that I have shown here)

Oh, and for those of you in the Columbus area, my bubs is playing a show at Andyman's Treehouse tomorrow night, the show has a great lineup and all the proceeds go to the Homeless, so Columbus people, if you are interested and need more details email me or leave a comment.

ok, done with the shameless promotion.

Now to get to something really important, if I exercise and when I am done have some hot chocolate....does that cancel out the exercise???

(please say no, please say now, please say no)

I have to give myself a little reward for dancing so early in the morning, and seeing as it's so very cold.....well, you see where I am going with this.

Truth is I am obsessed with sweets and I really don't think I should hide that from you, we're friends here, right???

Or did I scare you away with my I love Celine Dion post from yesterday??? Yeah I scare myself sometimes, but that's just me "keepin it real, yo"

in my head when I said that last part I heard Kevin Federline's voice, just so you know.

xoxo
jenn

Dear (insert name here)

Dear Celine Dion

first I am going to start by saying that you are one crazy, fantastic, diva of a thing. You rule, and I am being entirely serious.

I know, I know...it's sort of hip to hate you, but come on, I really can't do that, you make me smile.

I love that you are over dramatic and beat on your chest when you sing, I love that you speak in a thick Canadian accent (which reminds me of my mom) complete with horrible grammar. I love that you are married to some old man named Romaine or Marcoux....or something. I love that you wear ridiculous diamond rings shaped like tigers and leopards, just because you can.

Now I am not going to say that I have fabby taste in music, there are lots of things I like that hipsters around the world can be united behind....but then there is the part of me that loves, with a fiery passion. Bad pop music.

I listen proudly to the Partridge Family, and The Spice Girls, and I do it without that faux sense of ironic entitlement....I do it because it brings me joy.

That is how I feel about you, when I hear you bust out with that overly sentimental crappy song from Titanic....well it never fails to give me the chills, and makes me glad the Leonardo DiCaprio died in that movie, just so this song would exist so that many years later you can sing it on Dancing with The Stars....and I can watch you, tears streaming down my face while I shovel apple pie in my mouth.

thank you Celine, for giving me that moment.

I love you and your huge hair.
Jennifer Gordon

(this post is dedicated to you Tara!)

It's Random Holiday Survey Time

this survey recently made an appearance on Aaron's Blog, and Michelle's, and in lieu of any good ideas today...well, here you go.

Do you send out Christmas Cards? Explain. I will be sending out limited Christmas Cards...I am part lazy and part poor...

When do you start shopping for gifts? all year long I amass things, some people say I am prepared, I call it OCD

Who do you shop for? my bubs, his family, my mom...lots of people get things that I make them.

How are you doing so far with your shopping? almost done.

Do you put up a Christmas tree? If so, is it real or fake? Currently we have two trees and I am hoping for a third, they are all fake, as I have a horrible allergy to evergreen trees, so having one, well....it would put me in the hospital.

Do you like tinsel? nope, looks too trailer trash.

What do you do for Christmas Eve? do presents with my bubs, he has to work on Christmas day so this is our holiday, plus it is "Kissmiss" which is a special holiday for us, it marks the anniversary of us seeing each other again after many many years...and yes there was a kiss.

Do you hang your stocking? yes

Does your family read ‘T’was the Night Before Christmas’? no, then again, I am not a small child and the mean cheese does not have any concept of Christmas nor could she hear us if we read to her....though she does have a great concept for getting presents, so she's happy

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Carol, followed closely by Little Women.

What’s your favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night, but only when sung by a male, and he MUST be a tenor....Maraih Carrey....nope, not at all

What’s your favorite Christmas TV special? Charlie Brown Christmas, and the Victoria's Secret Fashion show....they always play it around Christmas.

Eggnog or Cider? yes. Um both. That's like Sophie's Choice and I am not falling for it

What do you have for Christmas dinner? um....potatoes and peas and corn and bread, I guess...or chinese food, whatever

Do you participate in Secret Santa? no

Who gives you the most presents? my bubs.

Do you bake cookies? I eat them.

I feel like Mary Tyler Moore

Good morning,

ok, this is it, the beginning of a new me, I know, I know....it's not new years but I am easing into things, starting with this morning.

you know what I did...I danced for a half hour....and my body is not used to it anymore and it really hurt, but now, now I feel good.

you see after my knee surgery so many years ago and all the pain that came with it and followed, I stopped dancing, afraid that I would hurt myself...but you know what, I think that was more an excuse, I think it was less fear of pain and more fear of looking ridiculous and with that cams bad body image stuff and the like, but today, I turned the mirror around so I could not see myself, and I danced.

baby steps.

so that in and of itself is good, and I am really going to focus on some creating today, and worry about packaging a little later, you see my wonderful bubs is helping me with that, so it will no longer take the whole day...YAY!!

so, did you all have a wonderful weekend??? Ours was filled with mean cheesiness...and yes our Christmas Tree is still standing!!! She did wake up at 12:30am on Sunday morning, shortly after my bubs and I finally got to sleep, she was awake for most of the night after that, with no concept of time she does not really get that she is awake in the middle of the night. She was not feeling well either, she kept signing "ouch" and pointing at her ear, and head...poor thing.

So yesterday we took it easy we were having lunch when all of a sudden we heard sirens, tons of them, and shouting and lots of noise, it was like we were living back in the ghetto...looking out our side window we could see people rushing out of their homes...what the hell is happening, we of course figured something was on fire so rushed to the front porch and you know what we saw?????

a parade, going right by our door, marching bands, the most pathetic floats you have ever seen (seriously they were just people in the back of a pick up truck wearing Santa Hats), cheerleaders, more bands and then finally...SANTA.

kick ass.

My bubs and I were more excited than the mean cheese who could care less really....but come on, Santa drove by our f-ing house.

sweet.

next year I told my bubs we should get a float because it would surely kick all the other floats asses, he told me that was not "the spirit of Christmas" but you know...that did not sway me.

ok, now to get some work done, I am sorry I have been a bad blog friend lately....I have been very busy with orders and the like..

xoxoxo
j

Petite Heights Sunday December 2, 2007

(please click image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story- jennifer gordon