MT art~ a smorgARTbord:varied collection of art & photography

Woo HOO! another Treasury!!!

2009-08-10T11:49:00.003-05:00

I am excited that the shop Feltsewcrafty created a beautiful, calming, makes you want to jump in the water Treasury titled, "Seaside Pleasures." The screen-print is below, but it does not do it justice. Click the photo below to view the actual Treasury on Etsy.com.

Featured in an Etsy treasury!~

2009-07-08T14:29:00.005-05:00

I am honored that the shop Harvest Moon by hand created a lovely treasury for children and included one of my items! I've included a not-so-great screen shot of it below, but the link is under that if you want to check out the treasury and go to each items shops! Please be sure to check out Harvest Moon by hand shop as well! My item is the Custom Name print. THANKS, have a wonderful Wednesday!!!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=69434

Happy Father's Day to all!

2009-06-21T12:08:00.004-05:00

I would just like to say Thank you to my husband for being an amazing Father! He adores his daughter and is very active in her life. This slide show is just some moments Maya and Mike shared over the past year. Happy Father's Day! We love you!!!

Don't worry, I didn't make this one too long, like the last slideshow. :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Mtvdik Photography

2009-06-12T14:36:00.003-05:00

My husband Mike and I have finally decided to persue a dream of ours one step at a time. We have been encouraged by many to start portrait photography and we have taken the leap!!! All we need now is clients, if you our anyone you know would like to be photographed, please contact us. We are looking for children, family, newborn, infants, maternity, graduation, portraits,animals, engagement, birthdays, and events!

I did a photo shoot of a 3 1/2 week old baby girl named Ava the other day and LOVED it! I added a few sneek peek shots below, but to see more samples of our photogaphy, please visit Mtvrdikphotography. For booking, e-mail Meredith at mtvdikphotography@gmail.com

THANK YOU!
Meredith & Mike

Johnathan Cassian Vernon Turns ONE!

2009-05-31T19:26:00.010-05:00

My little nephew is one years old, I can hardly believe it! I offered to take photos of his birthday bash since photographing children is my passion and I know how hard or should I say nearly impossible it is to capture that day when trying to host the party. It was almost a disaster, our camera battery was pretty much dead and our charger was no where to be found! I was very very bummed and told Kelly I would use her camera. We had headed up early to help with the decorating of the glorious 'mix 'n' match robot cupcakes! Three cupcakes makes one robot and they were fun! Prior to the party I experiemented with Kelly's point and shoot digital camera and was having a tough time getting a non washed out, not to dark, and/or focused photo. Starting to get very discouraged I decided to run to the camera shop in town and see if they had a charger; bite the bullet and buy one. They did have one and I charged it up enough to take photos, charged it more during the eating and then took more photos. I do not regret buying one, though I like to know where the original one walked off to! Johnathan had a great day! He had many friends and family members come to see him walking already and celebrate his special day. He enjoyed his cupcake and received wonderful gifts! Here are a few of my favorite moments of the day.

He's saying, "YAY, I'm ONE!"

We had fajita, tacos, and delicious sides.

The fun bags for the kiddos.

Walking!

Johnathan with his Daddy

His Mommy and her Robot head.

Gift openening lurkers

3 generations

Johnathan and his Great-Grandma

Annabelle

Maya and Annabelle, silly girls!

Wren

Maya and her Daddy

WOW, balloons!

Maya and Johnathan; Cousins

HandmadeMN May Challenge:Beach

2009-05-31T10:20:00.006-05:00

The theme this month was "Beach." I debated over what to do, should I paint, drawn or photograph? I painted last month and failed, so this month I decided upon photography! I sorted through many photographs to find the perfect one in which to me says, "beach!" The winning piece was taken by the other half of MTart, my husband Mike and it was the chosen one because to me a beach is a family place. It is where people spend time together swimming, laying in the sun or even taking a walk down the pier. It is a place that is warm and inviting. Sometimes it is too warm and beach goers bring umbrellas to shade the sun, sunblock to block the sun as well as beach toys and your own children who are just a little too big for your already filled arms to hold so they slide down and cling onto your leg as your waddle down to the water.

"The Beach" by Mike Tvrdik

Watch for "The Beach" this week to vote during the challenge at the HandemadeMN BLOG.

Featured!

2009-05-28T12:02:00.006-05:00

"Reach out and Grab Ya"

This MTart photograph was featured in the article:

"Spring and Summer Delight" by Jessi Sawyer

posted on the HandmadeMn team blog which is at http://www.etsymn.blogspot.com/

It was a pleasant surprise for me this morning!

I hope you enjoy the sunshine of this photo too!

Meredith

The Associate by Michael Nelsen and Jason Danzeisen

2009-05-21T13:00:00.005-05:00

The Associate is a comic book (in the works) created by my brother (in-law) Micheal and his friend Jason. One of the characters is named after Mike and Kelly's uncle who recently passed away from cancer. It is in a comic book idol competition and has made it to round three where only three comics will make it to round 4. The three judges gave them solid YES's, but they were down by votes in comparison to others in round 2. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take a moment to vote for them. They could have this comic PUBLISHED!

Not only do they need daily (not hourly) but just once a day votes, they need new voters to move on, so ask everyone you know to participate and vote for "The Associate"! I mean come on you forward those jokes and cutesy stories and this could really benefit some real people's lives, including MY nephew! :D All you do is sign up at the link below. (you won't get spammed, I promise) it is no scarier that getting an e-mail account.

http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php

Make sure you are signed in and Then click the word "idol" in the left menu. Then on the right side of "The Associate" click where it says: Click To Voting Poll/Comment thread.
Then vote where it says you are a fan. Simple as that, do that one day til June 7th.

Note:The formatting of these comic panel is not the actual format I had to chop it up to be able to put in on my blog.

I've included an interesting writing from Michael about the backstory below:[I thought I'd give our fans and readers a little backstory info on the abandoned hospital seen in this portion of our story. The building in question is an actual historical site that is still standing.:The Fergus Falls state hospital for the insane in Fergus Falls, MN. We actually chose this particular abandoned asylum solely for the fact that it is in our homebase state of Minnesota. But as went about doing research for the story we became aware that the building at Fergus Falls is from a group of hospitals built around the turn of the century (roughly) that are all based on a similar design scheme and architectural layout.
From the internet "All across the United States stand great buildings erected in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as hospitals (or asylums) for the mentally ill. There used to be more; many have fallen under the wrecking ball. Few of those that remain are still in use; the rest are abandoned, falling prey to the elements and lack of upkeep. The thing that these imposing, eerie, typically Gothic-style buildings have in common is that they were all designed after the plan of pioneering psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride."
So we discovered that were MANY such hospitals scattered across the country. We've been able to include this bit of real life into our narrative in a very serendipitous turn of events. It's these sort of happy accidents and lucky connections that spring up during our creative process that never ceases to amaze me!
Fun stuff! More to come!

To all you Mom's out there:

2009-05-09T23:45:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hope your day is a special one!
Meredith

JUST LISTED!

2009-05-08T20:18:00.011-05:00

20% of May proceeds will go to "AUSTISM SOCIETY OF AMERICA"

"Two pads in a pond"

Photographed by Mike, edited by Meredith,

This is an 8x8 and is listed at Stormtrooper1

You've heard "two peas in a pod" well this is "two pads in a pond" just as cute! What does this photo mean to you? It could represent two people in love sharing the same space, snuggling up, or how you are trying to live "green" or maybe you just like green, perhaps you grew up near a pond and it reminds you of 'home', either way it needs a home.

"Slid'n Flute"

Photographed and edited by Meredith,

This is a 8x10 and is listed at MT art

If we were an ant, this is what a flute slide would look like, though I think we'd have to hop down it or it would be one lumpy ride. I'm just being a dork here, but I like this composition, shadows and general feel of this photo.

"We can say that the FLUTE of God is actually that great sound current which soul rides upon in its journey to Its true home."- Paul Twitchell quotes

Just like my Birthday!

2009-05-07T14:08:00.010-05:00

"The Flute Rocks" by Mt art

I just logged into our Stormtrooper1 Etsy site and it said "You need to leave feedback for 2 items" which made me feel like it was my birthday because it means I made another SALE today!!! I sold one item yesterday and I was just as excited. :)

This photo was taken as a custom request series with flute and butterflies as the theme. It went out and shot two seperate days, one day was by my work in downtown minneapolis. The other was at the como zoo butterfly garden. We made it a family day and Mike and Maya came with and we had fun following butterfiles around inside the tent. I had fun photographing a flute since it is an instrument that is often ignored. The lady is was created for ended up needing the money for a family emergency and never bought any prints, so today's purchase was special to me. :)

The person that purchased the "The Flute Rocks" 8x10 print is giving it as a gift. She said, "Great picture! It will make a wonderful gift to a graduating flute student!"

In addition todays and yesterday's print purchases are helping autism research!!! Check the right column of my blog right below the followers (are you a follower yet?) to keep track of how much has been raised through the month. You can add to the amount raised by purchasing anything from either Mtart or Stormtrooper1 shops. 20% in May is being donated to Austismspeaks.org. :D

FREE 8x10 print at Walgreens TODAY only.

2009-05-06T11:58:00.003-05:00

Hello all!

I just wanted to let you know that Walgreens has a mother's day promotion today and today only for a free 8x10. You just enter the promo code "Mother" in the check out and you pay nothing. :) Have fun with it!

My pick was a photo taken a little over a year ago, last April of my daughter looking out the front window of the house we used to own. It is the house she was born in (well she was born at a hospital, but you know what I meant) so the photo has a lot of meaning to me, personally. I really like how it turned out. :)

HandmadeMN ANIMAL challenge

2009-05-04T16:35:00.007-05:00

The 12 submission of the talented group of people from HandmadeMN have been posted and are up for voting!!!

I submitted too small of a photo of my piece to truly see it's depth. I had posted last week with with better photos. (click the image CLOSER look) More photos in the next link as well.

http://mtartists.blogspot.com/2009/04/quad-dino-chaos-by-mtart.html

I NEED votes (for my ego, lol), but vote for whichever you like best.

To vote for your favorite animal piece, click HERE

Autism Society of America

2009-05-03T17:17:00.014-05:00

My autistic cousins, Nolan (top) and Bradly (bottom)

Autism...what is it?

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

Did you know…

1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
67 children are diagnosed per day
A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade
Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
There is no medical detection or cure for autism

incidence vs. Private Funding

Leukemia: Affects 1 in 25,000 / Funding: $310 million
Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 20,000 / Funding: $175 million
Pediatric AIDS: Affects 1 in 8,000 / Funding: $394 million
Juvenile Diabetes: Affects 1 in 500 / Funding: $130 million
Autism: Affects 1 in 150 / Funding:ONLY $42 million

I know many boys, some are family, some are friends, all have amazing Mothers and Fathers who love these kids more than life themselves, executing patience beyond what a parent of a non-autistic child can only dream about. More and more children are diagnosed everyday, possible our own future sons and daughters.

This month (MAY) Mike and I are giving 20% of all proceeds to austismspeaks.org to help fund research for a cure. Please take a moment and check out our two shops at MTart and Stormtrooper1 Decorate your home with something you love while helping out others who are loved.

Don't like anything we are selling???? You can donate directly to the cause at http://www.autismspeaks.org/donate/index.php

Thank you for your time! God bless all the autistic children of the world!

Meredith & Mike

Still in Awe! Maya and I made it to the next round! THANK YOU!

2009-05-03T02:59:00.004-05:00

I can not THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH for voting!!!!!!!!! Our photo was in the TOP 5 picked from round 5 of voting!!!!!!!!!!! I was about to go to bed way past my bedtime at 2am and now I am wired with excitement...way more than coffee or mountain dew could battle for!!!!!

The downfall is I will have to bug you all a bit more.... Voting starts Monday May 4th through May 8th for the next round of 25 contestants. There is tough competition but I have great friends and family! Pretty please go get the word out, forward this e-mail get people voting from all over the country! :D

Don't worry if you missed out on the action this round, you can join in the fun this Monday and vote (I hope it is still hourly and not per minute) for ONE WEEK!

I know you competitive folks will love the voting challenge! Let's see if we can make it to the next and final round.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
Meredith & Maya

Click image for a closer view of that "Round 5 winner" title. :D I feel so loved!

HAPPY May Day everyone!

2009-05-01T09:06:00.004-05:00

(First thing first, if you are reading this and it is after 10am Central time, please go vote for Maya and I in the Mommy and me look-a-like contest by searching "wrapped up" at http://startribune.upickem.net/engine/Votes.aspx?PageType=VOTING&contestid=6329#SubmissionDisplay" (you can vote hourly if you so choose......THANKS SO MUCH!)

Believe it or not, I lived 27 years without knowing of the Mayday tradition of buying flowers and knocking on a neighbors door, leaving them flowers, and run and hide for them to get there wonderful unexpected Mayday flowers! I learned of this when a co-worker of mine asked me to create some Mayday flowers to mail to some relatives for her. I was excited to be a part of this special day! She could not afford to mail 5 baskets of flowers, so I created the next best thing. Homemade paper flower-basket cards from the Brent-Wade card line. Brent-Wade is named after the creators late Fathers. My Dad Brent passed at age 37 when I was 16 from a heart aneurysm. My business partner and friend Wynter from RootWater lost her Dad, Nelson Wade to a car accident on his way to his postal route in 2000. We know they would be proud of our business so we named it after them.

These cards are "post-card" Style, just one sided.

See more Brent-Wade Cards at Mtart and Rootwater

We LOVE custom requests too, so don't be shy!

"Quad-Dino-Chaos" by Mtart

2009-04-29T23:16:00.006-05:00

I am part of a group called HandmadeMn made up of artists with many different talents. Each month we have a challenge with little to no rules. (My sort of challenge!) April's had to be relating to "Animals." All submissions will be posted on the HandmadeMN BLOG and voted on by the public starting in May. Be sure to check it out and Vote! You don't even have to vote for mine if you like another better, I won't mind. A little ego knocking is good for an artist once and awhile. ;) Of course ego boosting is ALWAYS welcome. The choice is yours!

I haven't decided if this piece will be listed on my MTart etsy shop or not yet, but I call it "Quad-Dino-Chaos." This Mixed media piece is 15.5 inches tall by 24 inches wide. The materials used are cardboard, tissue paper, gesso, acrylic paint, chalk,recycled caps from pop bottles, milk jugs and a toothpaste tube, paperclips, staples, electrical tape, glue, yarn, nails and wire.

(For an UP-CLOSE & PERSONAL look, click the photos and you'll see a lot more detail,

but go "BACK" not "X" or you will close the entire blog window)

I initially thought to create a piece with fun furry animals, but then the more I thought about animals the more historical animals came to mind; dinosaurs! I though dinosaurs would be fun since this was a piece for me to experiment with, to push myself to try new things, to go beyond where I had been before. I liked the idea of using one of the OLDEST animals known to man to try something NEW to me.

This piece has a lot of depth to it that is difficult to capture via a photograph, but hopefully these few shots do some justice as to what it looks like in "real" life.

Believe it or not, it is called "QUAD-dino..." because it there are in fact FOUR long-neck dinosaurs in this composition. Look hard and you may find the 4th one. hehehe. It is easiest to see in the photo below or by clicking the 1st photo. (hint: it is created from wire and nails)

Don't forget to go to check the handmadeMN blog in May and VOTE for your favorite April animal piece, I'm anxious to see my tough competition. We are a talented Minnesota bunch!

PS. I enjoy comments on my blog!!! (as long as it's clean and not to harsh)

Mommy and me look-a-like contest!!!!

2009-04-27T13:38:00.004-05:00

VOTING begins FRIDAY!!! I'm in round 5, scope it out. ;) You will only have 24 hours to vote for Maya and I, please go vote on Friday and it can be HOURLY!

The voting for Round 5 takes place Friday, May 1 at 10am - Saturday, May 2 at 9am. Maya and I are in the 11th row, 2nd picture in. :)

http://www.startribune.com/projects/43426297.html

I can not vote at my work, the site is blocked. Boo hoo. :( Please help!
Meredith

More like Toddlers

2009-04-21T18:51:00.004-05:00

I've been away from writing for a little while since I was out of town visiting my longest (ha! that makes it sound like she is really tall but it means we've been friends since 1989) friend because her son turned THREE years old! We had a great time visiting with her, her husband and her son and 6 month old daughter. The second day we were there, my daughter and her son wanted to go out and play but the weather did not permit. Maya started crying and that fed him to cry and as the photo displays, we had two frustrated toddlers.

This photo really had me thinking if we were more like toddlers maybe we'd be happier. Not so much in the way of allowing others emotions to trigger our own; that we already share albeit not always a positive aspect of life. I'm referring to letting our emotions show instead of hiding, pushing it down, putting up walls, and so forth. Toddler tantrums, even through the obnoxiousness, they are short-lived and the toddler levels out and life is grand once again! I can picture it now, hmmm, no Etsy sales again today, "whaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" I believe if it was acceptable to throw a tantrum for frustrating things such as no sales, it would allow us to more quickly rebound into the inspiring, creative mode so many artists start losing without sales. I am guilty myself, I've had a hard time trying to dig up some inspiration. Maybe I'm just digging in the wrong spot, who knows.

Futhermore, toddlers do not care what others think of them nor stifle their creativeness.They do and say as they please. "What you see is what you get." Granted, that can involve some embarrasing moment as parents of said toddler such as: "mommy TOOTED, look at that FAT man, or I POOPED!;" however, they are so true to themselves. They are not "fake." A toddler is the life of a room, they are enjoyable to be around. In my opinion, we may have been the most creative when we were toddlers than we will ever be. I mean check out the boys pants, inside out and backwards and he is just proud that he thought to put warm pants on to go outside. No matter that he is half in pajamas, and half backwardly dressed!

The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe. " Lawrence Kutner"

THE ASSOCIATE, needs YOUR votes!

2009-04-14T13:31:00.005-05:00

My brother-in-law is in stage 2 out of 4 of 'Small press idol 2009,' It is the American idol of comic books and needs voters! Michael and his friend Jason, the men behind 50footrobot Studios at http://www.50footrobot.com have submitted "The Associate" for this challenge. I've included some (not all) of the background and art on this project. Check it and and if you dig it, like I do and want more of this project; please vote.

When governments and international corporations uncover ancient secrets and occult powers beyond their understanding - wicked powers that they cannot control - they call The Associate.

The Associate is a politically charged, action thriller with occult and supernatural overtones. The main character, Agent Donald Cain, known commonly as “The Associate”, is a work-for-hire, occultist special-ops agent, who’s job is to contain and suppress the strange happenings that arise near hot spots of conflict and strife around the Globe.

But the Nine Unknown Men have other agendas, and Agent Cain’s usefulness to them is coming to an end...

You can view more artwork, create a log in and vote "YES" daily at http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t34281-0.html

Having trouble?
It's super simple to vote:
1) Register at the DimeStoreProductions.com site: http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/content312.html
Click on the register button near the top left.

2) Fill out the simple form like you would when registering for any message board. (Don't worry they won't spam you!)
You will receive a confirmation email with a link to click that confirms you are you and not a robot.

3) Now you're ready to vote! Simply go to out page http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t34281-0.html
and reply to the board with a "YES"!

You can do that by going to the bottom of the page and clicking "Post Reply", typing "YES" in the box that appears, and then clicking "Reply To Thread". You can also type "YES" in the Quick Reply box at the bottom and click "Reply to Thread"

It's that easy!

You can vote once per day, every day, until April 30th.
Please vote as often as you can!

THANKS!

HademadeMN

2009-04-13T14:52:00.003-05:00

I am part of a ETSY street team made up off all Minnesota artists named "HandmadeMN." I am also on the Charity and Blog committees within the HandmadeMN group. The charity committee function is to figure out ways we can give back to the community through acts of charity. The Blog committee does just that; write articles to post on our team blog.

My first article was posted yesterday on the topic of a Weekly Craft:Mosaic art. (see link below)
http://etsymn.blogspot.com/2009/04/weekly-craft-mosaic-art.html#links

A special gift

2009-04-09T22:38:00.018-05:00

I was racking my brain on what to get for Haylee for her 2nd birthday. I do not see her often since she lives in California, so I wanted it to be special. She would have enough toys, enough clothes, hmmm. An item she could learn from is always a plus.

A co-worker of mine had brought in a photo book from her past trip and a light bulb went off in my head! I will make Haylee her very own personalized alphabet book! Two is a perfect age to start reconizing your alphabets. I had just created 26 graphics for alphabets and I just needed to come up with some fun sentences for her book.I had a lot of fun creating her book and she really liked it. Even the adults had fun reading it. lol!

Here are some of the sentences from the book:

O---Did you know octopus are not orange, do not eat oats, but can be a little obnoxious.

P--Haylee was pondering the plethora of plundering pirates at a costume party.

Q--The King quietly tucked Queen Haylee Ann in with a quilt before attending his quest for quiche.

T---When at camp Tumbleweed, Haylee sleeps in a tent protected from terrible weather and tarantulas.

X-Haylee was not listening to her Mom and tried to play the xylophone will standing on the chair. She fell and had to get an X-ray.

Y---The green yarn was yesterdays, today I'd like yellow. Yes, that's right, I yearn for yellowyarn.

Z---It's time to turn those zillion thoughts to zilch and close your eyes and catch some ZZZZZZ's. Good night, Haylee.

Do you have a toddler in your life who would love this!? Order your personlized one HERE

April PROMOTIONS!!!

2009-04-07T19:06:00.006-05:00

We are feeling some good Easter generosity and are offering TWO April promotions!!!

When you purchase ANY item from the Mtart shop, you will recieve a bonus, fun, free, 4x6 print of YOUR choice!

IN ADDITION, we have randomly selected THREE SECRET items on our Stormtrooper1 shop to be FREE when purchased! We will announce the winners on the blog and on the esty shop. This promotion will end when all three free items (refunded via paypal) are found or when the month ends, whichever comes first.

Happy Easter and Good luck!

Meredith & Mike
http://www.mtart.etsy.com/
http://www.stormtrooper1.etsy.com

Joseph B. Strauss's "Iron Horse"

2009-04-05T13:21:00.015-05:00

The following Photos were taken Friday, March 27th 2009 of The Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisca, Ca.

The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed during the year 1937, and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California.

The Golden Gate bridge is still the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

The bridge was originally painted with red lead primer and a lead-based topcoat, which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint off and repainting the bridge with zinc silicate primer and, originally, vinyl topcoats. Acrylic topcoats have been used instead since 1990 for air-quality reasons. (Src.Wikipedia)

The flags hung at half-staff Friday to honor 4 courageous Oakland police officers who were lost their lives on duty. This photo of the Golden Gate bridge and the American flag was taken with minutes of the actual funeral procession of the first three officers as hundreds of their fellow Oakland officers rode motorcycles down the highway mourning these men.

These photos range from 4x6 to 8x10 and can be purchased at our Stormtrooper1 Etsy shop.

(Photos Taken by Mike, edited by Meredith)

Our 2009 Vacation

2009-04-02T23:31:00.008-05:00

My Grandparents on my Dad (the first born son, who died in 1997 at age 37 from a heart aneurysm) side celebrated FIFTY years of marriage on Saturday March 21st. They actually renewed their vows with their own written vows it was very sweet. They had a few songs played and many told about how inspiring their love and faithfulness to each other and God is to all of us. Many laughs and tears were shared, it was a beautiful day and we are very thankful to have had the opportunity to share it with them the family.

We stayed at my aunt Meredith's place. {the only girl of six kids and which I was named after :) } Her, my uncle Ron and cousin by blood, niece by relationship; Haylee slept on a air mattress in the living room. They were very generous and let us and our mess stay in the back bedroom so we could sleep in when they had to get up for work. We quickly found out that an air mattress propped sideways is an amazing bouncy slide for the little ones! Who needs to rent $300 bouncy party entertainment when you have an air mattress at home!!! (No girls were hurt in the playing.)
On Sunday, Ron, Meredith, Haylee, Mike, Maya, and I went to California adventure. It is affiliated with Disneyland is basically across a walkway from it. I have no photos of this yet because they are on aunt Meredith's camera to be mailed to me soon.

Monday was BEACH DAY! It was a little cooler but I believe hit 70 degrees. We had to take three vehicles because of how many went. From front to back is Aunt meredith holding Haylee's hand who is not shown, uncle Stephen, aunt Danielle (in the pink), her daughter Sabrina (in the stripes), Stephen's girlfriend Elysia (arm with black sleeve), their friend Danny, Me (all the crazy hair) holding Maya's hand (in bright pink) and Mike is behind the camera.
We drove to Seal Beach and walked down the Pier, had lunch at Ruby's, walked back to the cars to get our swimming gear and then to the beach. The water was 57 degrees! Haylee lost her footing when the wave went back toward the ocean and fell face first, but did not cry. Maya was shivering but kept saying, "go back in the cold water." She is such a water baby! I was the only one who swam in it. I had to, it's not very often I get to have WAVES! It was another wonderful day!

Haylee (2) and Maya (2 1/2)

Uncle (more like a brother) Stephen, Me and Maya

Daddy and Maya Feet

Me having fun!

Tuesday was the day to visit my Mom's sister Debbie. She took Maya to Toys R Us to pick out a toy. After telling her "No honey, you can not have the $800 power jeep," she decided on a barn yard set. The box was large, but once you take the animals out the fit in a small bag for traveling, SCORE! Mike and I took Maya back to the place we were staying for her Great-Grandpa to watch her and we went to see 'Race to Witch Mountain.' Mom and Debbie remembered seeing 'Escape to Witch Mountain' as kids, perhaps their first big screen movie. After that we headed over to an old time favorite place of my Dad's called JB's and had a delicious pastrami sandwich.

Wednesday we visited Debbie in the morning, then Stephen in the afternoon (see post below) and then had dinner at my Grandparents. Maya got a high fever and threw up while were were there so that was no fun. We ended up bringing her to urgent care, but it turned out she only had a cold and her fever and lathargicness was gone the next day, an answer to prayer. :)

Thursday came before we knew it; Happy 2nd Birthday Haylee!!!! It was Disneyland Day!!! Ron had to work, so that was a bummer but Meredith, Haylee, Mike, Maya and I went and had a great time! They kids did wonderful (at both parks actually) waiting in 20-30 minute lines for the rides. We went on It's a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean. (yes the ride came BEFORE the movie!) and 6 or 7 kiddie rides. Maya went on her first roller coaster ride! Haylee was unable to go because she is not 36 inches tall. I was surprised Maya was since she is only 2 1/2. Fun times!!!

It was time to say good bye Friday morning and head up to Northern California into Wine country;Santa Rosa. On the way we saw the actual funeral procession of three of the four police officers shot and killed in Oakland from a traffic stop the week we were there. It was very sad, but amazing to see the hundreds of police officers on motorcycles following the hearses. They had closed down the south side of the freeway and we were traveling northbound. The flags were at halfmast, it was an honor to see it.

Santa Rosa is where my Mom's Brother Lenny, his wife Patty and their dog Kiki live. Uncle Len cooked some amazing steak, asparagus covered in delicious white sauce served with garlic bread and of course wine! Maya had to settle for whole Milk. He is such a wonderful cook! We spent the night visiting with them and then packed up the little red Toyota Prius one last time and drove straight home. We drove a total of 4600 miles in 10 days. We had good weather except high winds, our daughter was beyond amazing in the car, we visited those we love and all was well with life...
Uncle Lenny, Patty and Maya

The AMAZING PRIUS, we almost doubled the mileage on it.

It was VERY new when we rented it.

Minnesota "nice and safe"

2009-04-01T14:06:00.004-05:00

sidenote* We got back into Minnesota around 10pm Sunday night. I will post another blog about our wonderful trip when I have sorted through our photographs to include, so stay tuned for that.*

Coming up on 20 years ago, I was very upset with my parents for moving me from sunny California to the bitter cold Minnesota where I knew no one except my parents and younger brother. They never asked me if I wanted to move. It didn't matter, I was only 8 and had no say in the matter. My Dad loved fishing and hunting and claimed it was more affordable (I had no clue about cost of living in the third grade and didn't care) and was a safer place to raise a family.

Twenty years later, on a Wednesday afternoon in my early childhood town of Monrovia, that statement was affirmed in my mind! How, you ask? Well...Mike, Maya and I were invited to hang out at my uncle Stephens place to spend time with him. He is only three years older than myself, so we are more like siblings than a niece /nephew relationship. It was Maya's nap time and after the decision to stop failing miserable on the Rock Star drum and guitar game, she fell asleep. I laid her on the chair on the right side of me. Stephen, Mike and I played Mario kart on the Wii with actual little steering wheels! It was a lot of fun. We do not have such fun toys as a Wii system. It was warm in his place so he had the door open to his second floor apartment. Out in California, they have a walkway on the outside so each door is a separate entry versus walking inside apartment building hallways here in Minnesota. Our race was abruptly interrupted when a young man comes to the door out of breath asking if he can come inside and call his Mom because a dude just chased him with a GUN! Stephen, being the passive person that he is, yes, "ummm, sure." At this point, internally a little panic starts. I picture some dude barging in with a Gun, open fire and my baby is sleeping next to me. I wonder, do I pick her up and put her in the back bedroom just in case? I do say out loud,"Stephen, at least shut and lock the door!" He complied and peeked out of his blinds to see if anyone was out there. The young man called a friend, told that person that he had been chased and he thinks the gunman is mistaking him for someone else. That he is only a few blocks from his home and he was walking from school. He then says he has someone picking him up and he went outside and made a similar call to someone else. We locked the door behind him as he left the apartment. Talk about putting us outside of our comfort zone!!!

We chit-chatted a bit about how odd that was and how we hoped it wasn't all a scam to scope out the place to rob later. If it was a scam, the young man was a great actor because he did look quite freaked out and was out of breath.

I'd like to take this moment to THANK my Mom and Dad for raising me in a place that thus far, no one has chased me with a gun nor needed protection from such acts.

TIRED, safe arrival

2009-03-21T12:57:00.004-05:00

We are in California, safe and sound! Maya was amazingly good! We left late evening Thursday night, so Maya slept most of the night. Then she like cow watching and chillin in the backseat with Grandma. She did a lot of napping. We mostly just stopped for gas and potty breaks and let her run and walk a couple times. After 5 hours left of the drive, 22 hours in, Maya says, "maya has belly ache, owie owie owie." She got fussy then and there was nothing we could do. Grandma rubbed her belly and she finaly crashed for the remaining two hours. We discovered this morning by the leakage of her diaper that she was holding her pee in her seat and that is why she had an ache. I did not know kids did that since she is not potty trained. It broke our hearts to not be able to help her. Her ears were bothing a little from the altitude as well. We are very proud of her, its hard enough for us to sit that long. Currently she is happy playing with her 2 year old cousin, Haylee.

It seemed like we were in Colorado forever, and a hybrid doesn't love the mountains.

We saw 18 deer at one time!

My Mom and Maya snoozin' in the Prius.

APX. 4000 Prius Miles here we come...

2009-03-19T19:30:00.002-05:00

Mike, Maya, my Mom and I are leaving in less then 3 hours to drive straight (gas,and potty exception) to Cali! I'm sure I will have plenty of stories before I get back! I may have time to blog on vacation. Stay tuned...

My pride, joy, and humor!

2009-03-18T09:20:00.022-05:00

I can not have a blog whether it be professional, personal or otherwise, without posting Maya. She's my 2 1/2 year old daughter. She is such a huge part of my life, my happiness, inspiration, and laughter!

Last night after Mike had put her to bed I heard her door knob turning like she was getting up. I waited a bit and she never came out of her room. I went to check on her and imagine finding her sitting on the floor by her book shelf "reading" her books. I opened her door and she was by her bookshelf, but to my surprise this is what I saw:

After taking this photo, I scooped her up and set her back in her bed for the night. :)

*Continuing on to other adorable, funny or just some favorite Maya photos:

She absolutely LOVES her Maya pillow created by an Etsy artist pillowhead!

Post bath wrapped up in her personalized towel crossstitched by Carol from GrandmaHansen
She was SO proud of dressing herself, even if her shirt was backwards!

How I feel on monday morning...

Just because I could kiss those feet no matter how dirty everyday of my life!

The photo above was also dear to me because Maya's feet are actually propped up between Mike's leg and arm are they are sleeping perpendicular to each other.

Spreading the Love

2009-03-17T18:48:00.005-05:00

I've always found it to be wonderful thing when you can "teach an old dog new tricks." That saying sounds a little harsh; however, it is quite sincere! I have a co-worker in my "day job" that is very talented. She loves to sew and make crafts and sells them here at work quite often. I introduced her to Etsy months ago, but she was afraid of it since she didn't even have a digital camera and has dial-up internet. Awhile later, her son bought her a digital camera! She has been trying very hard this past week with assistance to learn how to move her photos to the computer and how to attach files and list them into ETSY! She has 7 items up thus far!!! I am very proud of her, it is a lot to learn. She will be a pro in no time. Her name is Carol and she is a kind hearted christian Mother and Grandmother. She sews the most adorable apron and bonnet (like the kind in Little house on the prairie) sets, little girls nightgowns with MATCHING ones for the dolly's, and American doll clothes. The American doll clothes fit other dolls around 8 inches tall.

Carol also will accept custom request for only $3 more, WHAT A BARGAIN! Her prices are really reasonable too, please check out her Etsy shop
GrandmaHansen! I've attached some samples of her work below. ENJOY :)

Not well adjusted

2009-03-16T17:02:00.003-05:00

More than a week has passed and I can not seem to adjust to daylight savings time. Last night I was up til 1am and still not tired. I finally made myself lay down for bed and today I am quite sleepy. I should know better than to go to sleep late on a Sunday night! I have a slight cold and have been trying to figure out if perhaps feeling lathargic was not due to daylight savings but my body fighting off a cold was the culprit. Either way, it makes for a confused sleepy Meredith who would not flinch at the idea of completely doing away with the daylight savings time system. "Let's join Arizona", I say!

Anyone else feeling like it has been harder this year to adjust to the time change or am I alone in this?

Interesting Daylight Savings Info:

-There's a spike in heart attacks during the first week of daylight saving time, according to another study published last year.

-Studies have shown that auto accidents increase by 17% on the Monday immediately following daylight savings time.

- U.S. law signed by President George W. Bush in 2005 extended the length of daylight saving time by four weeks. It now begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. It ends on the first Sunday in November.

-In March 2007, a Pennsylvania honor student was mistakenly accused of threatening his school with a bomb. He had actually called an automated line to get info about scheduled classes. Someone else made the bomb threat an hour later.

-Milking Cows have to be "weaned" 15 minutes at a time to the new schedule otherwise they will not produce as much milk since it is an hour before they are used to their current milking schedule.

Sources:U.S.News & world, USlaw.com, Co-worker.

FIFTY Years with the same person. WOW!

2009-03-15T14:40:00.002-05:00

Less than 5 days from now, Mike, Maya and myself will be driving out to sunny California for my Grandparents golden anniversay:50 years! Having only been married 6 years myself it is hard to image fifty years. The thought is encouraging, scary, and exciting all at the same time. The idea of driving a total of 4,000 miles with a 2 1/2 year old is frightening, but have some tricks up our sleeves to keep Maya entertained! In more amazing news, this trip is being paid for by a relative and we are very blessed for that or we would not be able to share this special day!

My grandma is a card lady. She's sent me a card for every occasion for as long as I can remember! Regretfully, I do not send them to her often. I wanted to make a unique card for this occasion, especially since myself and a personal friend and co-etsian Wynter have started selling cards from homemade paper under the name Brent-Wade. Brent is my Dad and my Grandparents first born son who passed away at age 37 in the end of 1997. They will be honored that his name is on the card. Wade is the middle name of Wynter's Dad who passed away in late summer 2000. We hope the cards will start selling better, as well as receive custom requests for cards.

I've been sort of on a button kick lately, I just love those little things, they are just so cute. Hence, "cute as a button." LOL! I came up with an interesting yet semi chaotic design that serves a purpose. I will post what I wrote in the card below and it will explain that very thing!

(note: if you know Grandma & Grandpa and are reading this, PLEASE do not speak a word of it)

[Grandma,you always say you dislike how over the past 50 years we have become a digital world. I have created this card with that in mind. The colored paper is handmade from Wynter and has uneven thickness, the white paper is left over from another project. It is hand-sewn and hand written. The design and colors of this card do not flow as well as they could, and are far from "perfect."

This card represents 50 years of marriage. There were imperfections throughout the years, unevenness, ups and down, colorful bright moments and dull moments. All of which we wouldn't be celebrating today if there wasn't some time and handy efforts put into it to make it strong. You have both 'sewn' your buttons together moment after moment, and even if one got loose or popped of, they are tied together making the marriage as a whole strong. Each button on the number five represents all the people you have accepted as your children. It started with just six, through marriage,divorce and death that number has changed over time and is quite impressive! The number zero represents all the Grandchildren, and the orange button at the top is your Great-granddaughter!

We are so happy to be a part of this special day celebrating life; your lives, our lives, years of love, tears, friendships, family and perseverance! You are an inspiration for our own marriage!

God bless both of you in the time spent together from today forward!

Happy 50th! Grandma and Grandpa!

Love always,

Meredith, Mike and Maya

ps. My Dad; your first born, I know in Heaven is very proud of these 50 years!"]

Patience didn't pay off

2009-03-14T16:19:00.001-05:00

Before I get into the post in which the title relates, I would like to say WELCOME to Mtartists! The obvious hope is to gain fans, friends thus more sales! The less obvious goal to have all of you gain insight into Mike and my minds. Read about our inspirations, projects, frustrations and excitement! We hope you enjoy, becoming a fan and suscribe to our blog!

Back to the title:Patience didn't pay off

Towards the end of February I decided to see what the hype of Mpix was all about an order a print for a client via Mpix website. I thought to myself, 'if I'm going to test out this company's printing quality and shipping time, I'm going BIG with it." I chose to print a 24x36 inch poster titled,"Brokenness" that a co-worker is purchasing for her bedroom. Brokenness is a two part series consisting of about 8 photos all of which have broken glass. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15152555

One week later, I had not received my package yet and needed more prints, I figured since it was a poster, it takes awhile and put in another order of 10 prints ranging in size from 4x6 to 11x14. Wednesday March 11th, I decided I had waited long enough since I still had received nothing from Mpix and e-mailed their help. They said the status was "shipped" check with my post office because sometimes they hold packages. I called the post office and they did not have any packages for me. I then asked Mpix for a tracking number and looked at my order receipt. Upon review of my order receipt, I realized it was my error! I had typed the wrong address number. Mpix replied with the tracking numbers and the poster had been delievered to the incorrect house Feb 28th, and the multiple print package on March 4th. I would have had my prints for over as week already had I not been paitent and did some digging earlier! I called the post office back and they said they were not returned or it would say so on the tracking.

Now, I get to go knock on a persons door I do not know and HOPE they are truthful and return my packages. I stop by there on my way home at 9pm and no one was there so I left a note on the door. The next morning around 10am, I stopped by again and no one appeared to be there and my note was still there. Since it was daylight I could see through the non-curtained door window (though I felt a little stalkerish) and the packages had been set aside the door and appeared to be unopened. This was HUGE sigh of relief. Friday morning, they still did not look home. Mike is off on Fridays, and he sent me a message that evening saying a nice elderly man delieverd them to our door. Whew!!!!!!

Lessons learned: A-always TRIPLE check your addresses are correct.
B-Don't be too patient, investigate your packages!

On a side note. Mpix exceeded my expectations in printing quality. I LOVE my prints and have nothing bad to say about how the company handled everything! THANKS Mpix!