a giggle...

This is a legit giggle for your hump day morning...

stuck in the moment...

some ruminations on customer service...

so yesterday I went to ace hardware... because my dad loves it in wisco... and mackenzie's dad loves in it houston... and well, because "Ace is the friendly place"

there is SO MUCH truth in that statement.

I had to get a few things... and I walked in an a man greeted me.... with a sincere... "What are you in for... how can we help you"

Usually in shops I say "just looking" but honestly is Ace a place you go to browse (well maybe if you are my dad).

So I asked for help and I received... The man took me to the varnish questions where I had a lot of questions so that was great... then I needed some plexiglass cut so he helped me with that too... well actually he passed it of to John to cut... then he cut a key for me.. while all this is going on... my friend (whose name I later learned is Lee) had me sit in "his sitting chair"... I sat there while my friends at Ace did all this work for me.

I teased Lee about his hidden cookie container in the battery rack next to his chair. He offered me one.

Finally Lee and John finished their thing and sent me on my way (not after a compliment about my eyes... "are you wearing contacts because your eyes cannot be that naturally blue")

I put all my goodies in the trunk of my car. closed it... and naturally realized that my keys were in the truck.

and then I was STUCK.

at this friendly ace.

LUCKILY mackenzie to the rescue with a plan and a AAA membership.

A while and a interesting unlocking contraption later... I was back in the car.

But not before sitting in  "Lee's sitting chair" and some good conversation... it is interesting what you can find out about a person... like they have to sit in a chair because they were hurt in a war, or that they once saved some one's life or that they love just helping people at a hardware store....


Thanks Lee, John, MACKENZIE! and the Ace Hardware crew (and AAA man)... for making lemonade from this lemon!

contour line.

Definition: 


Contour Drawing

Contour drawing shows the outline of the subject, and not the volume or mass of an object. Blind contour drawings are those created by looking only at the subject, and not the paper while drawing.

Continuous. On-Going


Recently my students completed a unit on "line" in my drawing class. For the final piece the students did a project that I did in high school (thanks Mrs. Larscheid for letting me beg, steal and borrow... and for being a great teacher (then) and resource (now)).

The students worked on a self-portrait contour style... BUT with a "twist"

Instead of using pen and paper they used WIRE!

I was SO proud of the kids... they are now on display (a first for our school)!

two big thumbs up

to my students!

some like it hot... some thoughts on bikram yoga

over the weekend, it occurred to me that bikram yoga is really weird. very strange. and if you walked into a class without knowing what was going on... I think your mind would first jump to some sort of seance of sorts.

here are some notes/things:

in general there isnt a lot of small talk or conversation once you enter the studio... "practicioners" tend to respect that everyone is here to push themselves and spend time with themseleves

you enter the yoga room to place your mat and towel over your mat.... you need a towel over the mat or else your yoga mat would have puddles of sweat

once in the room... no one talks except the teacher. except for maybe at the end of class... when we all say namaste

the first 11 (or 26 poses) are done while standing...

the teacher doesn't do the poses, rather she talks through them calmly... each teacher has a very similar way of doing this.

each pose is done twice

each pose has some strange bikram official language name followed by a more colloquial name like.. "awkward pose"

the standing poses are pretty tricky in my mind... some i like better than others

the teacher says funny things like "be like a cobra, your legs should be one" or "your heart might be beating fast like a rabbit"

the floor series are my favorite. in between each set you get a break! called "savasna" or also known as "dead body pose" let me tell you... i love me some savasna...

it is not abnormal to literally hear the sweat dripping of people onto the floor

no one is supposed to leave the classroom during class

the studio always smells specatcular despite the ever presence of sweat.

I thought I would just share some strange ruminations about my adventures of doing bikram yoga... sadly my living social coupon is complete... I will probably not be returning to the studio I was practicing at even though I LOVED it... but it is just too far. but I will be adventuring elsewhere

that is a good looking dragon.

 

Don't freak out... the Dragon isn't real... but I really did make him. I sewed him up last weekend after a pattern I bought on etsy.com.... I went back to the seller's website and she sells the completed dragon for $65 YIKES. Can you believe that much for a dragon!?!?

It was a fun adventure... It was for an "Advanced Sewer" which is NOT really what I am (self taught, only been sewing for 2 years but have only lived in the same city as my sewing machine for a few months)... but I was able to handle it. OK so the head wobbles a bit more than your average dragon head should... but such is life. 

halloween wreath.

 

I can't remember if I mentioned this but Halloween isn't my favorite holiday (I think it makes me miss homemade costumes with my dad.)... but doing crafts does certainly help me get in the mood. Check out this neat wreath I made... It's versatile too (I'll show you come Thanksgiving). 

Halloween does make me miss Pat and Frannie (godfather= Pat) who always have candycorn at their house.

it's beginning to look a lot like....

 

Well Halloween of course!

Look at this little decoration I painted. I think I might give it as a gift to my Yoga studio for being so wonderful to me!

technology...

I thought, in tribute to Steve Jobs, the last great American... I would make fun of my parents. 

Let's start with some background.

My mom was most likely the reason for the invention of the term "crackberry," however, since this last may the entire Milwaukee Niemer Nuclear Family is iPhone wired.... that's right.. iNiemer.

My parents have loved their new iPhones...

Thus, for my mom's birthday (see previous post)... my dad bought her an iPad.

The truly fascinating thing about this, is how the iPad has come to revolutionize their lives. While most people are excited about its sleek, portable nature that provides easy use for email, maps, research and work... my parents seem to be impressed by some of the (in my opinion) less technologically significant apps.


Conversation with my dad on Tuesday:

Me: Hey der (we are from Wisconsin) whattareya doing?
Dad: Well, Mom is at a meeting so I was just playing with her iPad... the technology is quite amazing. You wouldn't BELIEVE what it can do. I've been downloading some pretty cool apps.
Me: Wow. What is your new favorite App?
Dad: I just downloaded this app that records your voice and then makes it sound like a dog is saying it.

My dad then continued to place his iPhone up to the iPad so I could hear the unbelievable technology from the iPad.

Steve Jobs... you've won my dad over.

Conversation with my Mom last night...

Mom: I am just loving my new iPad there are just so many neat things you can do with it. I downloaded the neatest App today while I was at my conference.
Me: Oh, really? What does it do?
Mom: It has ALL of the state capitols. I've been quizzing myself.
Mom: Montana
Mom: Helena
Mom: New Jersey
Mom: Trenton
Mom: It really has them ALL!
Mom: Kansas
Mom: Topeka!

Steve Jobs (while I am sure you didn't create this specific App) THANK you for creating a product that can entertain my mom.

Can you believe it... it has ALL of the capitals!

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life... Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition... they somehow already know what you truly want to become"

-Steve Jobs

some like it hawt...

Did I tell you I started doing Bikram Yoga?

110-115 degrees

26 postures (each done twice)


But really, a ton of fun. I am really enjoying it these days (when I can make it to a class).

in other news... I bought this orchid.. but I know little to nothing about orchid maintenance. I did a lot of googleing BUT I don't know what specific kind it is.

Anyone know how to identify orchids and/or have suggestions as to how I can keep this guy alive!

state of the blogion (blog-union)

let's recap.

I finished my year of service BUT I stuck around for some more fun in Houston. So what does this mean for the blog.

Will I continue to share my thought on life, randomness and photos from my iPhone...


...of course!!

But I think I am going to try to start giving you more of a glimpse into my creative brain... I am really trying to tap into my art side more... because


1. when I think/reminisce,  I often link art projects I am working on with fond memories of that time period (thus more projects... then more fond memories)
2. creating art makes me a better art teacher (my class mantra is "everyone is an artist"... I need to keep being one too)
3. creating things makes me a better person.

so look for some of my new and old projects in the coming posts... I hope to pass along some glimpse of where I am headed these days (hmmm.. If I think of it I should probably take some snap shots of the funny things I made when I was in high school... I often share these with my students).


so that is the state of the blog.

I'll leave you with a little glimpse of a present that Tomás made me awhile back.

He etched this cup himself! It had my initials on it... Isn't that pretty nifty? I sure think so!

Happy Hump-Day!

the osmand family vacation

So it began. 

The Osmand family Vacation for Richie and Katie Niemer. I hopped on a plane, not last Thursday but the one before and headed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where my brother vacations during the work week (he lives in Chicago but is flown to Florida weekly). 

We hung out around there and then ventured to the keys...

Most importantly we only listened to the Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffet the whole weekend. 

I took the above picture of Richie outside a tourist shop... Just kidding, that sponge animal is not my brother. But Richie does have a vicious amount of facial hair these days.

 

We went Ernest Hemingway's bar... Sloppy Joe's (in Key West)... it was spectacular. They have great drinks and live music. A police officer on a horse rode his horse into part of the bar.... and the band started playing "Horse with no name"!

I got a '90s style water bottle... Think straw with a cap AND a koozie cover... new favorite cup.

 While we ventured out to the various Keys (Key Largo for snorkeling, Key West for adventuring etc...) we stayed in Marathon (a middle key). Next to our hotel there was this AWESOME bar called Hurricane. And they have a band that was Exceptional. A few pitchers later I snapped this picture. It is hard to tell but behind the AWESOME singer... is a giant map and the have stickers for where the current tropical storms are!

 

This was a street art performer who was GREAT.... some of you may know that I have an exceptional passion for street performers (I miss you Boston Feneuil Hall performers).

  

I took this picture (above a few minutes before... and below, right during) sunset. We went to the famous Mallory Square to watch the sunset... AND a couple at the table next to us got engaged!

 It was an awesome weekend with Richie (thanks for being an awesome host and brother).. and I cannot WAIT to hear about the adventure when my parents visit!

happy birthday to a special woman!

hurray!

it was my mom's birthday yesterday...

I love you Mom!

Also... I got my mom this card... I thought it was fitting... you know because she is SO AWESOME!