Rejoice, Bubble Writers!

I've got a surprising confession.

I failed penmanship in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades.

And when I say failed I mean as in a big fat "F" in the little square on your report card next to the word "penmanship".

I've got another confession.

I'm a lefty.

Back in my day you couldn't be a lefty. Try it and a big fat ruler would come flying out of the solar system directly on your offending left hand.

I am not a troublemaker, so I switched that pencil over in a mighty quick hurry.

And, then failed penmanship for the next four years. I just couldn't get the hang of it. It became an obsession in the most obsessive kind of way. Seriously, who fails something like penmanship? I don't even think that should be possible.

This whole situation bothered me. It bothered me a lot.

One day, my mother told me she had signed me up for a class at the library. It was called, "Calligraphy". When I asked her what that meant, she told me it was a class to learn fancy handwriting.

Really? I couldn't even handle the regular handwriting, I was really going to bomb at this. I wonder what that teacher will use to smack me in the hand? A fancy ruler?

Anyway, I had no choice but to go.

We started at the very beginning, "Okay, this is your hand. This is a calligraphy pen. You hold the pen in your hand. (Uh Oh, here it comes) Hold it in whichever hand you choose."

Is this for real? Whichever hand you choose?

Which hand do you think I chose?

Wrong!

I went with the right one.  I'm kind of a nut that way. I tend to do the opposite of what most folks would expect me to do.

I was thinking that maybe calligraphy would get this hand into shape.

So I took that calligraphy pen in my right hand, placed it in my hand at a 45 degree angle, and drew a tiny line straight down.

It worked. It was straight and looked just like every one else's.

So, I did it again. And I did it again. And I did it again about a thousand more times. I went home and did it about a million more times. I spent every day after school practicing stroke after stroke until I had mastered the entire alphabet. Upper AND lower cases!

Less than 10 years later, I entered college as an ... ART MAJOR!

No kidding.

Less than 10 years after that, I financed my wedding by providing calligraphy and envelope addressing services to other brides.


Yes, I was a professional (!) handwriter!!

No kidding.

The end.

Pants on FIre!

So, here I am scrambling around the house this morning - checking off all the to do stuff: Dishwasher unloaded, laundry in progress, mop at the ready to tackle that kitchen tile ... and so on and so forth.
You know, I love love love checking off to do lists. Sometimes, I do stuff and then write it down on my list afterward just so I can check it off. Weird, I know, but I love to have a true sense of accomplishment. Especially on Saturdays, when I do this catch up on all the housekeeping stuff.

What?!

You're kidding me.

It's not Saturday?

{imagine me blinking about a thousand times as this revelation sinks in}

How could I misplace Friday?

I should have put it on some sort of list and absolutely not have moved on until I checked it off.

Creative people can be weird.

But you already know that.

Here's FRIDAY'S Challenge. (I pinky swear this one was randomly chosen)

Phoning It In

Due to a whole bunch of early-ish appointments this morning, I'm picking today's challenge and running.

Today's challenge for our Summer Visual Journal is:

"Drip Something on a Page"

I'll be back later to say something funny.

I promise.

And .... We're Back!

Did everyone have a super holiday weekend?

In between unpacking the car, laundering the watermelon stains out of that red, mostly white and blue T-shirt, and getting recharged to take on the rest of summer - I've got a new challenge for you!

Get creative!

I normally remind you to, "Get messy!", but I suddenly remembered where I had heard it before.

So, now I'm channeling Miss Frizzle ...

Have fun, take chances, and get messy!

Just So You Don't Miss Us Too Much

The gang and I are headed out for the long weekend. We'll be back sometime on Tuesday.

We trying really hard to take advantage of the lawlessness of summer.

(For y'all Down Under, it's Independence Day on Monday and that is a huge deal for us here in the States.)

But, for those of you who might simply die as a result of not having enough challenges to keep your creative juices flowing, how about we jump ahead a little?

Here's the next four challenges.

They are in no particular order because I'm not particularly bossy.

I don't know why my kids are laughing. Stop laughing.

You stop laughing, too, Mom. (I'm pretty sure she's reading this)

OK, just get on it when you can. And, puh-leeze send me some of your creations.

Here's my email caroline@shopzazu.com

The Son Also Rises

I am happy.

Yellow smiley face, balloon releasing, clicking my heels kind of happy.

This One awoke before noon and agreed to pick today's challenge.

Guess what it was?

Oh man, this made me happy in a walking on sunshine kind of a way.

So, headed straight to You Tube, of course to get that video to embed into the blog. I figure if I'm craving to hear it, you are too. Right?

As I am previewing the video just to continue my happy groove, That Girl interrupts.

"I know that song! I love that song! But, who's that singing it?"

"That's Katrina and the Waves. This song was popular when I was in high school."

And then she said (this is an absolute quote, I swear), "Dude, Aly and AJ sing it faster."

What!?

 Did she just call me "Dude"?

And who are Aly and AJ?

Well, I still don't know, but in the spirit of learning and growing together, I guess I can learn how to sing a little faster ...

 So draw the sun and enjoy, Dudes.

Schlumpadinka!

I personally think "Schlumpadinka" is the MOST appropriate word to describe That Girl and her feelings toward today's challenge. Thank you, Aunt Oprah for coming up with that one.

So, who needs Websters? Make up your own word!

I've got one.

It's good.

Megudious.

It's pronounced Ma-goo-dee-us.

It's my new favorite word.