how geek

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

2010-12-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas time again.

Mustache birthday

2010-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

I joined Zombie squad!

2010-09-20T08:47:00.001-07:00

Zombiehunters.org

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2010-08-04T20:22:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Inside this marble house.

2010-08-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Okay... update time.
It's been a fantastic summer!
I fell in love.
Morgynn decided she wants to rock.
I camped outside.
I learned to shoot a gun.

Morgynn learned to embroider left handed.

Walking dead.

2010-07-23T17:36:00.001-07:00

Summer time..

2010-07-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

twitterpainted.

2010-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

x's o's, Heart, fluffy kittens, rainbows, unicorns and cherry pie!

times have changed as we often rewind the clock.

2010-06-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Avatar the last air bender

2010-05-31T10:27:00.001-07:00

ouch.

2010-05-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

So I am a couple of weeks late posting this because I wrestled with the idea of whether or not I wanted to post the most unattractive pics of myself. Vanity it seems is not my greatest sin. ;)

I broke my front tooth a few weeks ago and this was horrifying to me. I have not always had the most luck with my teeth a genetic predisposition for sucktactulor enamel. So it snaps when eating hard pretzels.

So being a photographer? I take a picture of myself right after surgery. This was up there on the things I would care not to repeat.

(face hurting)

Red coat and Ostre

2010-04-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

Dr. Horrible

2010-04-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Stephens family and my unit of two went to see "Dr. Horrible's sing a-long blog" present by the Blue monkey theater group. Fun times had by all!

Star Wars Japanese style.

2010-04-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

すごい

I don't usually put too much up about other artists but I thought these were quite inspired!

Weight watching.

2010-03-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

So I have decided I wanted to loose weight. It was inevitable. I quit smoking now it's time to shed some lbs. So far my spirits are high and I have dropped 11 lbs in two weeks. (Word up)

Sleepover!

2010-02-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

Hilarity ensued when Morgynn had her friend Bryn stay the night last weekend. The girls happily played games ranging from pretending to be various animals to Pokemon masters.

Love show.

2010-02-01T06:13:00.000-08:00

Working on my piece for the love show, Morgynn was feeling left out so I shot some photos of her as well.

Dr. Steel Show

2010-01-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

h1n1 humor

2009-12-24T21:56:00.001-08:00

Royksopp

2009-12-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

This is fantastic!

Puricute!

2009-12-15T18:55:00.000-08:00

Cute Purikura Online cute

Cute Purikura Online cute

Molly.. Morgynn you tell me.

2009-11-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

My friend Angelique pointed out that my daughter Morgynn looked like Molly from the comic "The Runaways" .

You make the choice.

Alice in Wonderland...

2009-11-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

But I don't want to go amongst the mad people. said Alice.

Oh you can't help that. Said the Cat.

We're all mad here... I'm mad, your mad..

Before the "Trick or Treating" began we did a little photo shoot in her costume.

In the spirit of the season..

2009-10-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some images from the Disney animators "Twisted Princess" set.

OMG

2009-10-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Morgynn & Bangel

2009-10-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

When she walked, she stretched out long and thin like a little tiger, and held her head high to look over the grass as if she were treading the jungle. -- Sarah Orne Jewett

My kid cracks me up.

2009-09-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Carl Sagan

2009-09-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Actually..cake.

2009-09-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Seattle

2009-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

This Year's annual paternal grand parent visit. We all decided to spend a few days in Seattle. Riding the train up and back. Good time.

Summertime...

2009-08-16T08:52:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow's parties

2009-06-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is officially the kiddo's Birthday she turns the mighty 8 .

This is a pretty bittersweet moment for me. Partly because this is the age! All the really amazing things that I remember from childhood came about 8 not to mention that she is officially past that whole little kid age and is now a bigger kid.
All this lead me to look for facts about turning 8 or quips so to speak and I came across this list. 44 things you should do before turning 8.

Here's some of my favorites:
8. Make up a recipe, cook it, and name it. (Bad example: "Anchovy Peanut Butter Surprise.")
31. Experience the strange and wonderful feeling of wandering around one's house alone, very late at night.
24. Realize that you should never outgrow hugging your parents.
22. Realize your parents are just some old kids trying to act grown up.
14. Travel to the moon. Nothing is impossible before you're 8.
19. Write a song, then sing it for three people and one animal. It could be a stuffed animal. But they tend to be more critical than live ones are.

interim

2009-06-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

Some phone pictures.

flashbacks

2009-06-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

June 1st.

2009-06-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

As I said before Morgynn was going to start taking medication for her ADHD and it has been nothing but amazing! It really helped her and she has gotten rave reviews from her teachers which has definitely been a self confidence booster for sure! It was quick how well it worked too because the first night we sat down and she watched a entire movie without budging or walking around, she was able to eat her meal without being on the edge of her seat. This has really helped my girl in so many areas and I feel bad because I had waited so long when she had truly needed help to focus herself.

Maleonn

2009-05-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have to share this artist because his work is so amazing! His staged pieces range from the disturbed to surreal beauty.
Maleonn
http://www.maleonn.com/v2/

some old cuteness.

2009-05-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

After the break-in we had our pictures found but they were not in such good shape so here are some of the baby photos of Morgynnchan that her grandmother in Mississippi sent.

Cuteness!

Zombie Nation.

2009-05-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Some delicious photos of Zombie Prom 2009 (Courtesy of Michelle and Courtney)

Art 4 life & First Thursday.

2009-05-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the BIG event! Art 4 Life had it's annual art show for the kids at a gallery space.

This year's was great!

The kid's work was really cool. It amazes me how much talent they have.

What cracked me up the most is one of the normal "morning drop off" parents I see, grabs my arm as I -crutch- up "They just ran out of wine and there are teeming masses of children. Time to go."

good times.

Tragically my child was all blink when trying to force a posed picture out of her.

Time slips by.

2009-05-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

The apartment was broken into and I have to say almost everything has been replaced !
Everyone has really come through for me. my close friends especially.
Now my focus has to shift. Morgynn's going to start medication for her ADD. At first I was really reluctant to do this but after seeing how much trouble she has had staying focused on class and staying seated.. she really has the bad fidgets. We did try some diet changes and behavior mods, but I think this will really help her. My biggest worry? I lose my charismatic girl. But I & her loved ones will be keeping a close eye on these things.

onto less stressful things:

Morgynn and I have a new craft passion. Cubeecrafts. Little paper cut figures. It's pretty fun I have to agree.

www.cubeecraft.com

Sometimes... people surprise you.

2009-04-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

I had my faith in people totally restored today. my co-workers (sneaky buggers that they are) got together a fund for getting my jewelery replaced! I am so thankful for every one's kindness to me when I have been so down.

Thank you.

New favorite song. MGMT "kids"

2009-04-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yosh!

2009-04-16T13:35:00.001-07:00

My daughter really loves this song from Kotoko

potter

2009-04-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ment to be found.

2009-04-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

My friends Leek and Arthur saved the day yesterday. I was still feel doom and gloom and barely making it through the day. Thoughts : "I won't be able to afford a new camera".. "I won't have any ability to preserve memories." " NO art?" " No photos of japan.."
But they rescued me. They replaced the stolen camera with the same kind and type as I had.
Silver linings exist.

Stuff and lost.

2009-04-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

My apartment got broken into today. The kiddo and cats and I are all safe and sound just shaken.
I am seriously upset because they took a lot of stuff. They stole my camera, my pain medicine for broken foot, a antique suitcase that held all of my kiddo's baby pictures before I had a digital camera so age three and younger, Jewelry that would be junk to most but it means a ton to me. MY coats! I just cannot believe it. I am so disappointed in people.
It has broken my heart because I have worked so hard for what little I have and now it will take me forever to replace it.
No new pictures for while ...nothing to take them with.

Happy Spring

2009-04-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

We in my household of two (not including the cats) are not the "old time religion" types. So we do a little spring time basket and have a new tradition of planting.

Showing off that the deer was not real

Bunny Bread.. I almost felt guilty.

Basket O` Stuff

Cupcake balls that didn't turn out so well.

Glittered and Dyed.

Crafty and geekery.

2009-04-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Ah... So. I love craft books ! They give me quick flashes of inspiration when I am having "artistic constipation".
Here are some recent buys for me.

hmm?

2009-04-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

So on top of a being a slacker I am bored with the design of my page so in the next few weeks I will be messing with it. So heads up if you like or hate something . But basically I am just going to try and keep in a "geek" light of page design.. or is it that I am a geek because I care about the page design?
Let's see the end of the school year is fast approaching and I am once again planning my daughter's birthday party. This year's theme is Fairies and my brother has graciously offered up his back yard for the setting of fairy land. However the trick for me this year I am trying to do this on a budget and as Eco friendly as possible. So for starters the plates will be fallen palm and sugar cane and the utensils bamboo. I am going to sew the cloth napkins . So pretty excited about this. Maybe I'll photograph some sewing and crafting projects.
As for now here's a picture of Morgynnchan's hand made "space invader"

I am a slacker

2009-02-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

December

2008-12-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Thanksgiving.

2008-11-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

A day late in my post for this.

I give thanks everyday.
I am thankful for my Family in how we all pull together at any time or need for each other.
My fantastic daughter who has shown me many things throughout her life. How to be amazed at what most would consider the mundane, How to laugh even at inopportune times and How to see beauty in everything.
My friends who are always on my team even when I'm not.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-08T09:40:00.001-08:00

Halloween 08

This is Halloween.

2008-11-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

(Parade)

(storytime) (Blue group)

(star fire!)

(awww)

(Mogi Sensai and Morgynn)

Halloween party and Parade at Richmond school.

Halloweeney

2008-10-26T19:36:00.001-07:00

Back in September we all had gone to the Halloween Bizzare and Leeky had taken the only Photo from that event of Morgynn.

So here she is in all of her pony fall spookiness.

And thanks too!

2008-10-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Teh Doom Kitten for the great idea of googling Halloween photos of the year you were born.
So here's mine.
Halloween 1976

Girl : Almighty Isis
Boy: The Fonz

Vampire hunt

2008-10-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Imagine; 7:00 am carrying 4 dozen cupcakes on the bus while trying to manage a 7 yr old glued to your ipod. Sounds fun?....
Art 4 Life (normally her before and after school program) are having a "all day" event because school was out. But for today's field trip they are going vampire hunting, so I thought Morgynn and I would make some themed cupcakes. Vampire bite cupcakes.

They turned out pretty cool!

(Thanks to Etsy for the idea.)

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

Voltaire!

2008-10-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Kid's cartoons are great these days especially "The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy", Music by Voltaire.

Cthulhu

2008-09-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Vadar Project

2008-09-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

I tend to be a little behind in "buzz" things but I saw a special on G4 (yes... I watch g4 on occasion). This was a stars Wars in Japan epsiode for the Clone wars cartoon movie and I was blown away by the "Vadar Project".

Basicly it took a bunch of artists that designed Vadar helemts for this project and the display travels to various conventions.

School Days

2008-09-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

It has returned, the begining of the school year.
Morgynn is a seccond grader at Richmond this year.
New things this year.. more Kanji.. lockers.. Taiko lessons.. finally being considered a "big kid" at Art 4 Life ((her after school care))a 8:30 bedtime... and let's not forget EARINGS!

Fingers crossed for a fantastic year.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2008-09-01T20:35:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family reunion - Vintage images

Teach your grandmother how to suck eggs.

2008-08-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

Morgynn's grandparents from Mississippi came to visit for a few days and we all had a great time!

And to top it off? Morgynnchan got her ears pierced.

HIGH ROLLERS!!!

2008-08-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Last saturday was my sister (Heidi go seek)'s first bout as a High roller at the rose city rollers. What made the event even more great was that her boyfriend Donnie proposed to her on the arena floor when he first walked out on in the center I was thinking "holy crap is -he- going to sing the national anthem?" But he proposed and she said Yes!.

voodoo doughnuts, gellato and art shows

2008-08-14T09:47:00.001-07:00

Saturday, first snow cones, balloon dragons and Greek cuisine.

2008-07-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Whew!

Kappa

2008-07-22T18:03:00.001-07:00

One of the more interesting mythological creatures of Japanese folklore.
The most notable feature of the kappa, however, is the water-filled depressions atop their heads. These cavities are surrounded by scraggly hair, and this type of bobbed hair style is named okappa-atama for the creatures. The kappa derive their incredible strength from these liquid-filled holes, and anyone confronted with one may exploit this weakness by simply getting the kappa to spill the water from its head. The kappa possesses a deep sense of etiquette, so one trusted method is to appeal to this, for a kappa cannot help but return a deep bow, even if it means losing its head-water in the process. Once depleted, the kappa is seriously weakened and may even die. Other tales say that this water allows kappa to move about on land, and once emptied, the creatures are immobilized. Stubborn children are encouraged to follow the custom of bowing on the grounds that it is a defense against kappa.

(A neat interpretation of the Kappa)

Wordle junk

2008-07-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

This was my first attempt ..oh there shall be more.
We can thank Rachael for letting this cat out of the bag.

High Rollers!

2008-07-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

So my little sister has been on the Fresh meat team for the Rose city rollers, and she has practiced really hard and was first draft pick to the High Rollers!
Congrats Heidi-go-seek!

slackerslackerslackerslacker!

2008-07-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed I have been a slacker. *gasp*
And I now realized that I haven't even been caught up enough to talk about the kiddo's birthday and a few fun events that have gone on in our family adventures.

Let's see Kiddo's b-day was great she had all her good buddies show up and they had a fantastic time of bowling and rocking out to My neighbor Totoro on the screen. A BIG HUGE thank you to Grand Central for making that event as stress free as possible!

(Hard to see but the Bowling alley put a Happy birthday on the screen for her)

(Birthday girl)

(Before we got told "not" to be on the ball machine)

(Cake time)

(the god family)

With mah brain!

2008-06-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow... I have some seriously wacky customers.
Today's winner was this cat who came in wanting to get his photos developed and he was doing this crazy ramble where he was talking about how he was:
1. a Mexican Jew..(uh huh)
2. A terrorist
3. trained by the palatines
4. a quote un quote "crazy puertorican"
5. A Ted Bundy look -a- like. IN which I responded "Do you -want- to look like Ted Bundy?"
6. A fire starter.
Best of all he shook his body like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum scrunching up his face and balling his fists

" ARRGGG FIRE!"

Hat's off to you Captain crazy!

Taiko

2008-06-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

2008-06-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

Terribly cute..

Okay it's not -Trauma-.

2008-06-13T18:12:00.001-07:00
So the new cut is cool.. comfy functional.. and not much to mess with.

Impending hair trauma

2008-06-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ialways get traumatized after a big haircut change. Well lately I have been getting haircut happy and been wanting a change in style so to speak.. and it has taken a LONG time to regrow my hair after a terrible cut a year or so a go. So going through some older pics I relized I want shortish hair again.. nevermind the color changes cause yes indeedy I like myself as a brunette.

I cannot wait.

2008-06-11T21:42:00.000-07:00
So I loved the book and the animated movie is coming out soon.

She's crafty!

2008-06-11T21:37:00.000-07:00
It begins, summer vacation. To start things off Morgynnchan and I did some crafting. Little magnets that are supposed to look like a peach, sushi, mochi and onigiri.

School days.

2008-06-02T19:04:00.000-07:00
A great day for a Spring Festival at my daughter's school.

Animal crossing movie

2008-05-24T19:12:00.001-07:00

Heat waves are tiresome and Online dating.

2008-05-19T17:49:00.000-07:00
Got to love the single parent life.
There are the goods with the bads I must say. Most of all it more has to do with the fact that it's really hard to meet people that understand that you have separate lifestyles.. 1st and foremost Mommy.. 2ndly the person you are outside of that spectrum (which you are always mommy ).

I'll admit I am very selfish with my time, to the point of almost reclusive. I have a full schedule of mommyness, work, art, friends.. so the relationships tend take the last spot. Maybe in the case of "love" I would change this mix up. Not to say I'm not open to the possibility just that it would really take a understanding and assertive person to get that. I just hate the hurt feelings associated with these moments when dudes realize that I'm not "one of those" girls that -need- them. I like them.. maybe even care for them.. but not a needy person in any way shape form or fashion.
So thus the online dating has started, my friend Rachael signed me up for a site and I went on my first date last Friday.
The guy was nice.. odd but nice. He had good manners, but truth be told we had not a single thing in common.. he was rather inexperienced with women so claimed. I had little red flags shooting up but I was being optimistic nonetheless we were not compatible. Just as well I'm really looking for someone more self sufficient. And so it goes, there have been a few perspective people that I have talked to via email that seem descent thus far.. but those face to face moments are always truth telling.

Heat waves are the suck.

Last of Zombieness for now!

2008-05-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Liana, Arthur, ME!

Brains part 2

2008-05-12T22:37:00.000-07:00
So I had to post this from my friend's livejournal.. she's totally going to kill me. But it was humorous nonetheless.
So a little back story batgirl and willowtree (using thier onliney names -I'm headphonegeisha btw)) were watching my kiddo Saturday night while I went to the prom with batgirl's hubby.

Batgirl: As you may or may not know, I despise Zombies. For serious, I hate them. I think my inner 5 year old thinks that it's just too close to a reality. Anyway, so I offered to watch Miss Morgynn ( headphonegeisha's progeny) so that my hunny could go. So he, headphonegeisha and her friend Liana ( who, incidentally did all their makeup!) went while willow_tree and I Morgynn-sat.

We had a prearranged code for the returning zombies- they had to answer correctly the answer to this question-
"Which is better, brains or pudding?" Or they couldn't get in, get it?

In fact that came up while Morgynn was eating her macaroni, she didn't want to finish but willow_tree pointed out the following,
"Well, if everyone comes back as real zombies, you're going to need your strength because we're going to have to run". Kind of freaky, but it worked.

So in the end.. we answered properly.. we wanted to eat Pudding.. not Brains.. lol

Brrrrraaaaaiiiinnnnssss!

2008-05-11T19:25:00.000-07:00
"Brains Brains.. I love em! I eat.. em.. my tummy jumps for joy when I see.. em!" - Voltaire -Brains!

Saturday night was the First annual Zombie Prom, It was a sea of the living dead. All dancing down to various Zombie themed music.
Prom photos
Corsages with bugs in them.
Undead tonics of choice.

Sprouting begins.

2008-05-03T20:15:00.000-07:00
I have -never- considered myself to be one those gifted with a green thumb, as a matter of fact I always thought I was the anti- green thumb in the sense that .. the only plants I have ever kept alive where purely accidental.. I once had a rosary vine when I lived in Memphis and it died away.. but I watered it faithfully and low and behold it came back!
But my friend Rachael had faith in me. Friday after we did our usual errand running she told me we were going on a "surprise trip". Pulling into the Portland Nursery I was growing concerned, she insisted that the state of my outdoor apartment was how to put? Dire need of some landscaping (more to say that the front of my apartment looked like crap.).. since I live on a ground floor apartment north facing I thought the only thing that could survive there was moss. But we headed straight for the shade plants and she treated me to a beautiful array of Hostas and Siddium as well as a Fuscha.

Ah now the front is starting to look descent and .. almost inviting?

I love these plants they remind me of lanterns.

My shade growers have survived the replanting...

Zen and the art of flower arrangement.

2008-04-28T19:44:00.000-07:00
My daughter goes to a after school program called "Art 4 Life" And with all my complaints of the laxness the staff have with me.. (aka they don't seem to have much fear of me. Because most of them are about my age, and "I'm cool and all")
in any case today's project was Ikebana.
Here's her piece, she's so very proud.

Heaven, Earth, Man

This gun's for Mutiny!

2008-04-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

Captain Bogg & Salty show last summer

I took Morgynnchan to see "The ghosts of treasure island" It was fantastic !
The setting on the stage was amazing and she was really impressed by how they did set changes, by rolling various pieces on and off the stage.
The band played as the ghosts themselves, it was a take on treasure island itself , but was rather endearing.

Tonight we shall be relaxing and finishing up homework. *sigh*

The man with the power.

2008-04-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

This so reminds me of Mardi Gras!

And now for something completely different.

2008-04-24T20:58:00.000-07:00
Hmm.. beginnings are always trying but here's some background on me and my little family.

There's me. Gretchen

Single mom, geek chic (so I'd like to think) ,photography lover and exhibitor, singer, tattooed, crafty lady,vegetarian, Buddhist and etc....

My daughter. Morgynn otherwise known as "morgynnchan" , "morgynnhead", "Morgynnputthatdown", "morgynnquitit"(which I'm sure she thought was her real name from ages 3-5) and morgynngirl.

She's my rock star, costume maker, Pokemon lover, littlest pet shop collector, Japanese immersion student (go-er?),artist extraordinaire and my one and only baby.

Our two kitties

Hana the sycophantic devon rex (or the Japanese word for flower "haan nuh")

Bengal the ("only cute when he's fat!"- as per Morgynn) Orange tabby.

So there we are !

(bat girl last halloween)