What if...?

Today I found myself wondering what life would be like if I weren't an artist...how all aspects of my current life would be running in a completely different manner. And then I thought of relationships, how every single one of the people I've met along this path have directed it in some way-whether it has been through simply the choice to venture out on the weekend, or something on a more drastic scale such as my relocation to another town or city. It's hard to break it all down and really decide whether being an artist has caused my life to be more or less of any one thing. I know it's helped me to arrive upon understandings, but I also feel that this declaration of artistry is responsible for my restlessness, desire, and never-ending bouts of self examination and heavy handed critique.

But then again, maybe that's just me.

Sundays, MLK, rump shakin' and puppies.

I guess it's easy to tell when I have more time on my hands-I post more blogs! Well, and I basically do more fun stuff in general. If only I wasn't a slave to the 9 to 6-just think about the possibilities!

So over the past 2 days I've done many great things that I normally wouldn't have time for:

-made swedish pancakes and a berry sauce for breakfast one day, and then bacon, egg & cheese biscuits the next (so much better than cereal!)

-downloaded 'Rump Shaker' by Wreckx-N-Effect for my apartment dance episodes
Musical progress:
-wrote final verse to song #1 (called 'Holiday' at present)

-wrote music (on piano) for song #3-a rock n' roll, bluesy tune

-wrote lyrics for song #2 (inspired by Band of Horses)

-bought a rockin' t-shirt on Etsy
-planned out upcoming HeyHeyMachete (aka Travis & Lindsay) project
-bought a slew of feathers online for the upcoming HeyHeyMachete project

(SIDE NOTE: I know this all may make me sound like I had a consumer-happy weekend, but know that I'm really just making up for all the time I don't usually have to purchase things for my life activities.)

-oh, and then I looked up puppies for sale on Craig's List (my guilty pleasure). Unfortunately my landlord won't allow pets of the canine variety, but the picture viewing helps get me through the rough spots:



Well, I've gotta continue on with the 'music progress' category, and have tickets for the DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist show later this evening, so that's it for me. Happy MLK day!

Snow day!

It snowed yesterday for the SECOND time this week! And luckily our 'snow day' fell on Saturday, so the whole day was spent scampering about Little 5 with friends-and did we have the time of our lives! I seriously can't remember the last day that was this awesome. Seriously.

It started with omlettes in bed. Then I found my old earmuffs (!!) and made the biggest snowball Georgia has ever seen.

Took pictures while waiting for friends.

After playing outside, we walked to Best Buy and bought a camera, played RockBand and then bought toy helicopters at Target. Threw snowballs on the way to Ali Baba's:

Ate yummy falafel wraps on the patio and smoked rose tobacco in the hookah:


Then we took a break indoors to fly the helicopters and make warm whiskey drinks, which Travis then carried to Freedom Park.

We found a snowman in the park and took pictures with it:


And then we finished the outdoor portion of the day with skateboard 'snowboarding/sledding':


Unfortunately, I don't have pictures from the morning (before we got the camera), but good lord it was a lot of fun.

Snow in the south=good times!!

On another note, I've started 3 new songs this week! It's lovely when inspiration collides with actual time to practice... The first is almost completed and the other 2 in the beginning stages (I've even written a violin part and a guitar based rhythm part for one!).

Hopeless at summarizing.

Yes, it's true. I've never been able to pass up the long version of a story, which is why it's hard for me to play catch up with things like this. My last 'real' post was before the holidays and so much has happened since then. It really is impossible to summarize, but fortunately I also possess that endearing 'stubborn as hell' quality (which will be bailing me out of this slip of my blog resolution).

Moving on...

So the holidays brought many things-time with family, time with extended family, time with other people's families...well, at least it seemed that way! I definitely realized my need for alone time, and am still hoping for a good dose of some in the near future. I was also reminded (again) of my love for the north-of snow, and manual vehicles, of wide stretches of land, and Carhart overalls, running around at night in the middle of a sleet-ish snowfall with friends...there's something lovely about northwest Indiana. Here a few photos from my travels:

The Appel family homestead sits on a hill across the pond.

Our neighbor's homestead.

Our dog (appropriately named Fluff) runs across the yard.

My horse (appropriately named Tuff) says hello.

My dog Taye (named Taye for the hell of it) is pretty damn cute.

Causin' a ruckass with the pups. (It was only 10 degrees out!)

Walking around the pond...


A few other things happened while I was home as well:

-Travis got to see snow for the second time in his life and throw his FIRST SNOWBALL!!:


-I forced Travis to endure the Appel family Christmas (really not that bad, and actually pretty awesome) and got to see a few of my lovely cousins:



-And drumroll please...my dad played Jesus at the family talent show:


So the holidays were good. Busy, crazy, and a little nutty-but still good. I spent New Years in North Carolina and have since been swept up in a whirlwind involving winter quarter starting at SCAD (my workplace), planning the recording of my first album this February, the preparation for Travis's solo show at Eyedrum (will post photos soon), and basically feeling a bit overwhelmed with possibilities and the lack of time in which to pursue all I'm passionate about. If anyone knows an individual whose resolution was to play benefactor to a deserving artist please don't hesitate to call!

Before I forget..

Here's the video PhotoAwesome made about the 'Word of Mouth' show I was in at Art Basel.

Check it out!



Coming soon: The scoop on my holiday adventures!