Saturday, January 14, 2012

Guess Who's Back!

Hello to one and all who have stopped visiting my blog due to inactivity. My last post was a heavy one, and since I know you all want an update I'll give you just that. Shortly after writing my last post I definitively told my husband that I wanted a divorce. Things have been super tense since then, because he refuses to move out of the house. The good news is that I am only about two weeks from obtaining an official divorce and there is nothing more awesome in my mind than to be free of this dysfunctional relationship. My hope is that he will move soon, and give me the space I need and deserve. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for that.

I also have one major personal achievement to report. I actually got my butt in gear and lost some weight. I am relatively happy with the 23-25 pound loss (since September!). I guess I wouldn't be sorry to lose more, but I think I am liking the healthy curves I have going. Plus, if I'm being really honest the fact that I have breastfed 5 children has taken quite a toll on my breasts, and I'm not sure I want to lose any more fullness in that area. *ahem* Okay so maybe that was TMI, but I am being more straightforward these days.

In just a few days I'll be starting two more classes. I am happy to report I received an A in my color and composition class. I am less happy to report the B I got in my drawing class. I think I should have been graded on progression. I really hadn't worked with charcoal at all beforehand, and by the end of the class I had begun to like it and show a good amount of mastery. C'est la vie. I think the grading was actually done on the body of work presented instead of progression. The thing is that compared to some people in class my work may have looked like complete crap.

My new classes will be Writing 101 and Lighting for Photography I. I am actually excited about both. I definitely want to brush up on some writing technicalities, and the Lighting class is not just about studio lighting but light itself. The class is so popular that I almost lost my chance to get in by not registering the day registration opened. I feel kind of bad about the way I got in, because it was that students were dropped out of the class for non-payment and I swooped in on one of their spots. Is it strange to feel bad about that while still feeling totally excited?

In case any of you wanted to see some of my work from my art classes here it is, but keep in mind that this is the first time I have actually worked with paint and with charcoal. If you think my work sucks eggs I understand completely.








Well, That's it for now folks. I hope you all enjoyed this little update, and I think it is safe to say you'll be hearing from me more often, because I finally got a new keyboard.

13 comments:

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

MARJORIE ~
I hope you're back to stay. I missed you.

>>..."Plus, if I'm being really honest the fact that I have breastfed 5 children..."

That is, like, the most beautiful thing I can think of in the human experience. (I once wrote a little bit about that in one of my 'Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends' posts.)

I realize that saying something like that makes me seem very... I don't know... wimpy, unmanly, ...gay? I realize that saying something like that in some ways seems to contradict the image or persona I may have fashioned for myself on my blogs (the hard-drinking, tough-talking, sports-minded, "real man" wannabe type) but I'm nothing if not a very multi-faceted person. And I do have my tender side as well.

"...has taken quite a toll on my breasts, and I'm not sure I want to lose any more fullness in that area."

Oh, Marjorie, you couldn't even BEGIN to imagine how that plays right into an Email discussion I've been having for the last two weeks with my friend The Flying Aardvark (a female friend from outta state).

As I've told her, I think there is a terrible misconception on the part of women about what many men REALLY find attractive in the female form. She and I have gone back and forth, discussing it, and my contention is that the media, and entertainment, and jokes, and cartoons, and nudie magazines have perpetuated what is largely a myth.

I won't say anymore because I don't wish to embarrass anyone (least of all me), but suffice to say that I have often considered writing a blog bit about this very topic, and have always decided against it for fear that it would make a lot of people uncomfortable (and make me blush).

[My friend Anniee, who unexpectedly passed away last Summer, had even invited me to post my thoughts about this on her blog, anonymously, because she knew I was hesitant to post it on my own blog and under my own name.]

So, let me just say this: You go after and attain the body size YOU want - YOU, and YOU alone. Give NO consideration to ANYTHING or ANYONE else. (And please just trust me... that "fullness" thing is way overrated.)

You just be the "YOU" you wannabe, period.

I could say more, but I've embarrassed myself enough for one comment.

~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'

Cruella Collett said...

Marjorie, this was such a wonderful read, especially in that it shows me that you're on the right track. You seem much more confident and happy about yourself and your life than I've seen you in a while, and as your friend, that warms my heart. I think your classwork is absolutely stunning. I love that "fluid" quality to the charcoal - don't know how else to explain it, but that some of them look almost liquid - and I haven't really seen that in charcoal drawings before. So cool! I agree that in theory one should be graded based on progress, but in reality that is quite difficult to do. I'd rather focus on the A you did get (yay!) and that a B isn't so bad either. Also, your new classes sound great.

Best of luck with all your plans and progress, so happy to hear you're doing better :) Oh, and you already know this via Facebook, but still - you look HAWT, girl! Keep on rocking those curves!

Leovi said...

I like those compositions, delightful drawings, lovely.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Lovely to hear from you again Marjorie and welcome back.
Your artwork show much talent and good luck in your personal life.

Take care
Yvonne.

Eliza said...

I love your drawings. Hope your personal life gets on the right track soon too! Glad to see you back in the blogging world, I haven't been around much either.

Arlee Bird said...

It's so good to see you back. Sorry to hear about the marital problems but you have to pursue what is best for all parties involved. I wish you all the best in the years to come.

Love the artwork. You have a keen eye for composition and tasteful coloration. I especially like the desert landscape. Beautiful!


Lee
A cat's memoir?
Wrote By Rote

Crystal Pistol said...

I'm so glad you are back and feeling better. It is good to see that you are becoming healthier both physically and mentally. Taking classes is a great idea! I should really do it myself.

And of course I love the saguaro pic the best! We are both Tucson girls afterall! :)

Michael J. said...

I don't think your art sucks eggs at all. I just got my first "how to sketch" book, pencils and drawing books. I could not draw stick people and now can actually sketch a reasonable building. If I can do it YOU sure can.

Sorry about the divorce but also congratulations if that is warranted. I won't touch on your TMI comment with good reason but suffice it to say that if you keep your curves and lose whatever weight you want - good for you! Keep me/us posted.

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

Hi, MARJORIE.
I can read and comment on your "comments" again. (Thanks for switching.)

Did you see the link I left for you on the "Reincarnating Jesus" topic?

~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'

Marjorie said...

Stephen,
I did see it. I read it too! it was really great as usual. I always believed Jesus had other lives. One you didn't mention that I do believe was one of his incarnations was King David.

Stephen T. McCarthy said...

MARJORIE ~
King David is one I had considered and have examined closely over the years.

I eventually came to the belief, in the final analysis, that King David more likely was not a prior incarnation of the "The Master Soul" we know as Jesus. I won't/can't make that statement in anything resembling a "definitive" way (who is in a position to state anything in a definitive way regarding this topic?), but I think there is more evidence to ultimately dismiss that idea than accept it.

There are a number of reasons I've reached that conclusion, but here are just a couple:

In Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, and He mentions King David's observation in Psalm 110, where David acknowledged a coming Messiah (or "Lord"), who was a higher authority than himself.

I find it awkward and unlikely that David would refer to the Jewish Messiah as his "Lord" if in fact the future Messiah would actually be himself. In Psalm 110, David is clearly referring to TWO other entities beyond himself: The Lord God & The Messianic Lord to come.

Also, the Edgar Cayce readings state that Asaph was a prior incarnation of Jesus, and Asaph and King David were contemporaries who knew each other. Asaph wrote Psalms 50 & 73 through 83.

Now I'm not prepared to accept Asaph as a prior incarnation of Jesus on the say-so of the Cayce readings. (I eventually came to disbelieve plenty of things I found stated in the Cayce readings.) But it did cause me to give some serious consideration to that possibility and to examine the writings of Asaph with an eye toward that.

I find several interesting things in the Psalms of Asaph that might indicate he was "The Master Soul", but none more so than this...

In John 10:31-38, Jesus quotes from Psalm 82:6 (which Asaph wrote) to defend Himself against the Jews: "I said, 'You are gods'..."

It strikes me that Jesus may have been using a Divinely clever play-on-words here. When He quoted the passage, "I said, 'You are gods', etc.", I think He was not only borrowing the God-inspired words of Asaph, but He was quoting Himself simultaneously!

It's actually kind of humorous, and heavenly in its cosmic cleverness, if we consider that when Jesus said, "I said, 'You are gods'" He REALLY MEANT "I", as in "I AM the one who first said it, back in the time of King David" ...and now I am saying it again!

Of course, that play-on-words would have been totally lost on His audience at the time, but we, looking back on it in 2012 with the idea that Asaph and Jesus were one and the same soul, can "get it" and be amazed at the depth of The Bible and incredible riches that can be found in it if one has an open but discerning mind.

Anyway, for those reasons (and some others that are less interesting) I believe it is more likely that Asaph rather than King David was a prior incarnation of Jesus (if in fact either of them was).

And then of course, we could go on and really discuss in detail the implications of that Psalm 82:6 verse - [What? The Lord says we are "gods"?] - but that would get the orthodox Christians all worked up and we don't wanna do that, right?

~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'

Anonymous said...

免费交友有联繫方式 , 免费徵婚交友网站 , 单身男女免费交友网 , 一夜情免费交友 , 寻爱网 , 视频聊 , 毫米聊视频社区 , 看聊天室视频 , 国际聊天室 , 国外同志开放视频聊天室

Bruce said...

Dr Itua email: drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com and whatsapp nUmber +2348149277967 Dr Itua herbal medicines cure my herpes and hepatitis completely and it has been 3 years now there has been no outbreak, I'm so happy that I'm finally cured.
Dr Itua can cure the following diseases; Herpes, Hiv, Copd, Diabetes, Parkinson, Hepatitis, Cancer, Lymes, Dr Itua Herbal Store www.drituaherbalcenter.com is very safe to use.