Carefree Art and Wine Festival

On Friday afternoon I headed up to the Carefree Art & Wine Festival.  I didn't get up there until about 3:00 so the crowds had thinned out a bit.  I had a chance to meet one of my favorite artist...Pat Stacy.  I found her by going this past Fall to the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour.  I searched that website for studios to visit who had art that I really liked.  I saw her artwork and was completely amazed.  She wasn't there at the time of my studio visit, but I did finally get to meet her at the Carefree Art Festival.  I just assumed she had been painting her entire life, but she told me she just started painting in 2008.  WOW!  I couldn't believe this talented artist just started painting only a few short years ago.  This only goes to show you that when you are aligned and in the Vortex...anything is possible.

I also had the chance to hear the beautiful music of Dolce VAS.  If I ever get married again...I want them to play at my wedding.  hahaha...just kidding hubby.  :-)

Love, Loss and What I Wore

On Sunday I went to see Love, Loss and What I Wore at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.  It was very funny and heart warming as well.  The cast included actress Loretta Swit who I saw over 20 years ago in the one woman play, Shirley Valentine in Chicago.  WOW!  She hasn't aged at all.  The whole cast was superb!

Colorful Afternoon at Me The Artist

I spent last Saturday at Me the Artist painting a picture called "Colorful Afternoon."  I always come home from my painting sessions and think I could have painted it a little better, or sometimes I touch up on what I already painted.  But this time I came home and decided to paint this picture all over again.  I really did not care for my first attempt, but my second attempt at painting this picture came out better.  Well, it should have...it took me about five hours on Monday to paint it all over again.  :-)

Back from Winter Break

I'm back from my little Winter Break and ready to get into 2012 in a BIG way...can't wait!  2012 looks to be a  very exciting year...the old energy is breaking apart and dying, and all the new energy and light is flooding the planet.  All GOOD!

Over my little break I did some painting.  I mostly copied other peoples works, but I did paint one original painting myself.  I call it Funky Angels.

I only saw one movie over my little break, and it was The Descendants.  I liked it very much...not as much as Up in the Air though.  I wonder how many people were aware at the end of the film when they are all sitting on the couch watching TV what is playing on the TV?  You hear Morgan Freedman's voice narrating March of the Penguins.  This was very fitting ending to this film.  In March of the Penguins, the mother penguins go out to sea, and many don't come back because they are killed, and the father penguins are left alone to take care of their young.  Also, the same yellow quilt is seen on the mother in the hospital room, and it is the same one the family covers themselves with in the final scene.

I also participated in a LIVE Global Meditation on December 31st.  It was already 2012 in the southern hemisphere, so we all gathered from all over the globe online to seed our future 5D timeline...we are co-creator beings and our time has come to manifest a New Earth. Are you guys ready?  Okay,  LET'S ROLL.

Trio Three-Eighty

Today I heard Trio Three-Eighty perform holiday classics at the Mayo Clinic.  It put me in a very good mood.  So good in fact, I didn't even mind the long, long, long line at Best Buy or all the crowds shopping for groceries at Trader Joe's and Costco.  Listening to great music always puts me in a relaxed, calm mood...the perfect antidote for holiday shopping. 

Phoenix Boys Choir

On Sunday evening hubby and I attended our first Phoenix Boys Choir "Spirit of the Holidays" concert.  They had their little guys in training there along with their Touring Choir and their Master's Choir.  Also at the end they had their alumni in the audience get up on stage and sing along with them.

I sat next to man who flew in from Wisconsin just for the concert.  He has been coming to this concert every year.  He had a nephew in the Choir for many years, but now even though his nephew is grown up and has moved away, he said coming to hear the Phoenix Boys Choir every year has become a tradition for him.  I certainly can understand this.  Even hubby said as we were leaving that he would love to bring his mother to the concert next year. If my hubby is already thinking about coming back next year, you know this was one GREAT performance. 

Fry's Fresh Attractions

On Sunday afternoon I attended a cooking class at Fry's Signature Marketplace.  The class featured a semi-homemade Holiday Pot Luck of Chicken Tetrazzini and fast & easy Tiramusa.  The phrase "semi-homemade" appealed to me.  I am not or have ever been into cooking or baking.  I do it because I have to...not because I want to.  Shopping for groceries, preparing and cooking a meal, and cleaning up is a big waste of time to me...I have better things to do with my day.  I'm not even into going out to dinner...I would rather spend the money on some form of entertainment. 

Okay, since I HAVE to cook, I thought I should try to make some different dishes.  This cooking class was not only informative, but also fun.  There were six of us in the class and all were newbies to this cooking school just like myself.  I will definitely make the Chicken Tetrazinni for my next Bunko party, and for some out-of-town guests who are coming to town soon. 

Angel Day

Saturday I spent the day painting angels on all my gift bags and boxes.  I had a lot more bags and boxes than pictured above.

I also painted the same angels on 5 x 7 canvas boards.  Angels have always centered in my holiday themes, mostly because I like them, but also because they are non-denominational.

Pete Pancrazi

It finally stopped raining.  Us Zonies don't like rain because we don't like to get wet...we think we might melt like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz if we get a little water on us.  :-)

Today I heard Pete Pancrazi perform.  He sang and played mostly Holiday music, and the sun made an appearance through the atrium windows while he played.  All was sunny and bright today.

Hugo 3D

Another cold and rainy day here in the Valley of the Sun.  Woke up this morning to a cold and dark bedroom.  While laying in bed I decided what I was planning on doing was not going to work out, and I thought about going to a movie.  I made the decision to go see Martin Scorsese's new film Hugo.  After getting out of bed, I checked the internet for show times, and was also happy to read that just today Hugo received 11 nominations from the BFCA's.  So it was a great choice to see, and I really enjoyed this film.

On a side note:  My favorite actor, Leonardo DiCaprio also received a BFCA nomination for Best Actor in J. Edgar.  I know exactly what I will be doing on January 12, 2012...watching this Critic Choice award show and rooting for Leo.

Sylvan Street

Monday was a cold and rainy day, and my hubby and I had dermatologist appointments.  Not exactly a day you want to spring out of bed to start.  But the day became a lot brighter and cheerier when we headed over to The Musical Instrument Museum to hear Sylvan Street perform. They were fantastic and made the dreary day a whole lot better, and getting all our moles checked out not so bad. 

On a side note:  Andrew Hix, Sylvan Street's drummer and singer is a DePaul University School of Music graduate.  Hubby and I are also DePaul graduates, and I met my hubby in the faculty dining room on the 4th floor of DePaul's downtown campus on February 18, 1980.

I have not been to The MIM in awhile, and I will definitely get there more next year.  That's a promise...because I just LOVE this place.

Purple Blossoms

Me'sterpiece

Purple Blossoms

On Sunday I went back to Me the Artist to paint Purple Blossoms.  Painting has become very addicting.

Gifts of Music

I enjoyed two great Gifts of Music this week.  On Thursday I heard the Mayo Clinic Choir perform their annual Holiday selections at the Mayo Clinic.  The choir consists of dedicated employees who are very gifted with the ability to sing, and also there were gifted musicians as well.  The place was more crowded than usual...it seemed more of the employees at Mayo came to hear their friends sing. 

Then on Saturday, my friend and neighbor invited me to attend with her and her mother a peformance at ASU Gammage Theatre of  a White Christmas.  Her husband got called to work suddenly and couldn't go, so I was invited to take his place.  What a nice gift!  We had great seats, and the production was extraordinary.    Two wonderful, and truly gifts of music.

Mornings At Seven

On Sunday I went to the Desert Stages Theatre in Scottsdale to see Mornings at Seven.  The cast and production was stellar as usual.  The script was...let's say - dysfunctional.  There were four sisters, three the brother-in-laws, a nerdy nephew with a oh-so-nice fiance set in 1939...oh, but what a dysfunctional family.  This script made me realize what a normal family I had...so much so...I need to call my big sister in Chicago to tell her how much I love having her as a sister.  :-)  We have always been close, and she gets along with my husband very well...but not that well.  lol



Mom, Sis and Me outside our Chicago family home.



First Saturday Art Walk in Fountain Hills

This past Saturday I went to the First Saturday Art Walk in Fountain Hills which is held by the great fountain.  The weather was horrible...cold and rainy.  The day looked nothing like the above picture. There were only a few artists who showed up, but luckily for me, one of the best ones was there.  I managed to buy all the gifts I needed for my holiday shopping from this one artist. She gave me a great discount on all my purchases and I bought local...which is a win, win for everyone.