Morning Has Broken

 This morning, just as I was starting to feel a little down and lonely, my dog started barking outside. When I went to see what he was looking at, I found this little guy! 

 

I was so happy to see this little turtle for the second time since I got here to Alabama. I have to admit, the warmer weather, the rain, the flowers all in bloom...all of it makes me feel much happier and help makes the time feel like it's moving more quickly towards May. Some days I just need a little kickstart to help the day go well and not feel empty. I hope to see this little guy again. I think he's made his home in the yard.

Some things should be left to your childhood

Here comes Michael Bay looking for another two hour product placement opportunity. Are you ready, America?

Michael Bay is remaking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you're like me and are young or nerd enough to have loved the original Turtles, you will understand my concern over this. First of all, let me tell you a little fact about this movie: it's just called Ninja Turtles.

But, Sarah-Lambert, what happened to the Teenage and Mutant part? Is he just trying to be hip and minimalist and make the title short and swanky? Yes, if by "hip" and "minimalist" you mean he is going to remake the story in a way that won't please fans.

These turtles are not mutant, they're alien. They're not teenage, they're just really immature...or something like that because he says they will still act like teenagers. Will they still want pizza, Michael? Will they? With his product placement love they will probably become huge Chipotle fans instead.

My biggest question is this: if the Turtles are aliens then how do they explain Splinter (their rat teacher) being large and able to speak? Will he be the only mutant?

The movie isn't slated to release until 2013, but whether they do a good job putting this together or not, I'm not holding my breathe for greatness.

BUT while I'm on about things that should have died in the '90s, let me just throw out this idea:  I want to see Michael Bay make a Captain Planet movie (if you don't remember this click here ... Yes, that's LeVar Burton speaking in the intro). Yes! Now, THAT would be a challenge. Picture it:

The scene opens on a lonely gull perched on the beach when suddenly he finds himself surrounded by oil! His heart is racing. Where did this sludge come from? Not to fear, tiny water-fowl, between a weird dude and five lowly teenagers with freaky rings, you shall be saved! 

Five teens rush into the scene, say something profound about the delicate ecosystem at risk, and then slam their rings together.

"Earth!'
"Wind!"
"Water!"
"Fire!"
 "...Ability to Communicate with Dolphins!" (updated from "Heart" to suit a more modern generation)
 "With our powers combined we form CAPTAIN PLANET!"

In swoops Chris Hemsworth looking majestic with blue skin and green hair, his costume updated for a new era of global (and fashion) awareness. Fear not, gull, your habitat shall be saved by humanity!

Verbal Vomit and Writing Letters

First of all, let me tell you that my husband is at Air Force basic training (Oh, you know already? Good. Let me repeat it a thousand more times to make sure you read that clearly. I'll get over reminding you of this fact by the time he's out). While he's there, he's cut off from communication in a way that is certain to make him miss home a lot, dislike being there, and miraculously bond with the other dudes in his group.

I get to write him letters while he is gone.

For some people, this would be a chore. For me, I think I need a restraining harness pinning my right arm down to prevent me from writing him such long letters. Tolkien wrote his son the Lord of the Rings during war times? Sweet. Let's see if I can't hammer out at least War and Peace in the 8 weeks he's at basic.

But really, he loves the mail, so I write it and send it. Normally, letters are sweet and talk about the day with a few jokes here and there because I think life is funny (especially the incredibly crappy stuff). Sometimes, though, I experience what I like to think of as verbal vomit. It happens to me a lot in conversation. Can you sense it happening now? Good, then you're experiencing it first hand.



"I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."

Tiny Business Tip: Utilize Social Media

Spam Mail -- original painting necklace

 One of the funniest facts of selling online is how much more comfortable I've gotten with social media. When I first started sharing on Facebook and Twitter I felt like a complete fool throwing out comments into the void and wondering if anyone would even care to hear what I thought. By that time, I was already selling fairly steadily and had gained a lot more confidence about my work. Still, I had some old habits about not posting too much on Facebook and was unused to the way Twitter worked.

Let me tell anyone starting out this little gem now: Get over feeling like a fool--social media is kind of foolish, but damned if it doesn't work out better than almost any other way of communicating with your customers!

Why does it work so well? For me, it's because a grass roots style of marketing is much more effective than an ad on the edge of a website. Sure, I'm trying to build brand recognition as much as the next person, but I want customers to see a little more about me, to be talking about my work and why they love it, what makes it special to them, and I want customers to be the ones who spread the word.

Part of what I love about my pieces is that they can be conversation starters. They're different and a little quirky, sometimes elegant, but one thing they all have in common is that they are original paintings which is an interesting enough fact to get people talking!

My favorite thing about Facebook and Twitter is that they really help keep the conversation going between myself and my customers and fans. I love it! It makes running my business on the day-to-day more fun, it makes being a fan or customer more fun because you get a little more insight into where these pieces are coming from, and it makes selling as a small business more financially manageable.

If you're just starting out a small online business or working to build up awareness of an organization, I strongly encourage you to put aside your qualms about sharing on Facebook or Twitter and just give it a try. After all, what have you got to lose?

Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/tuckooandmoocow
And on Twitter @TuckooandMooCow

Thoughtful Thursdays: Know Thyself

This Thursday's thought is one I've been thinking about a lot recently:

How well do you feel you know yourself?

Getting Into Shape

While my husband is away at USAF basic training, I decided I could put some of this impatient energy to better use than just learning military acronyms and figuring out everything that goes on at basic right down to details, so I thought I ought to get into better shape. It was already my goal to walk more and lose some weight, but I decided about 3 days after he left that one thing I really would like to be able to do is run with him when we're together again.

My "tools": shorts, running shoes, and headphones. Yeah...I wear a shirt and have an iPhone the headphones attach to, but who wants to see everything?

Let me preface this by saying: I suck as a runner. No really. Even when I have been in the best shape of my life (which was pretty good) running distances was not my forte. It doesn't help that I have crazy allergies and am used to a life blissfully filled with sniffling and sneezing.

My goals for getting into shape have NOTHING to do with measuring how much I weigh. I'd actually have to go buy a scale to find out, and I'm not keen on that idea. My goals have to do with how my clothing fits and when I am happy with how I feel.

I'm not setting specific goals each day, but I do have a few sort of general ones:

Goal 1: Run one mile without stopping by March 23rd (on good track for this)
Goal 2: Run 2 miles without stopping by April 2nd. 
Goal 3: Run 2.5 miles without stopping by April 9th.
Goal 4: Run flat out for 30 minutes without stopping by April 23rd. 
Goal 5: Achieve all of these goals ahead of schedule in time to set new ones. 

This will bring me up almost to when he graduates BMT (basic training). I've been walking a lot as well since I have to walk the dog each day, so between all of this I can't imagine I won't be ready to keep up at least pretty well with my husband by the time we're able to be together again.

Wish me luck!

The Rite of Spring

It's here, it's here! Spring is officially here! I am so excited about this since this year I just have to get through spring and then my life can start to stabilize again. Knowing I'm already in the right season makes it a lot easier to visualize the time.

I spent some time out in my Aunt and Uncle's garden here in Mobile, AL, enjoying their lovely flowers. It gave me a few ideas for new necklaces too!

I just love their lawn. It is perfect. Trees, stone path, pretty flowers. Now, it's not huge--not even very big-- but it is peaceful and lovely.

I photographed my Orange Blossoms necklace against some little flowers (too big to be baby's breathe and I really don't know what they are). I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The piece isn't one of my newer designs, but this certainly gives a facelift to the listing.

Hope you're enjoying the new season!

Your Ad Here

 
I think the first time I noticed advertising--and I mean REALLY noticed it-- was when I was in the 4th grade watching the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998. There were 2 ads whose jingles I constantly had in my head going to school: a Chevy truck commercial using the old "See the USA..." jingle and the Cover Girl theme. They were stuck so firmly in my brain that I couldn't get rid of them. More than just that, I realized the next time I went with my mom to the grocery store that I noticed the Cover Girl make-up right away over everything else in the personal care aisle. That's when it hit me: I'd been sucked in by advertisers.

Anyone who tells you they are immune to advertising is lying. Basically what they are saying is that they are 100% completely immune to the power of suggestion and being subject to the power of suggestion--even to a small degree--is kind of part of being human.

How well advertising effects you or doesn't effect you is really about your powers of perception.

For example: When the Mac Book Air first came out, I remember some friends of mine Ooh-ing and Ah-ing over the commercial where the ultra-slim laptop glides gently from a slim manila envelope. Mac Book Air promised to be no more a burden to you than paper. My immediate thought was, "Yeah, if your piece of paper weighs 2.25lbs and can overheat." The point here isn't whether or not Mac Book Air lived up to its promises, but that if you look through the ads right away and see the irony (most advertising is ironic), then it really can't hold as much sway over you.

That being said, I'm constantly effected by ads. I can hear that sophisticated sounding British dude saying "John Freida collection" as I glide down the aisle for hair products. I notice product placement in movies and even enjoy counting the number of ads in a movie (like Michael Bay films which are like ads you pay $10 to see). I'm sure advertising has helped me choose how I spend my money from what kind of school I wanted to go to right down to what sort of toilet paper I keep in the bathroom (and use from time to time).

As the number of advertisements surrounding us grows, we think we become immune to them. They get more annoying, we pay less attention, and generally like to ignore them. Still, our brains are picking up on what's going on in the peripherals. Just because you aren't looking at it doesn't mean your brain isn't seeing it. Of course, it's so much more effective if it's interesting enough to make you click or make you hungry, but just weaseling its way into your brain is a win for many company names working to build brand recognition.

How effected by advertising do you think you are?

Flying Solo

From here on out, TuckooandMooCow will be run only by me. At least, until I cave and hire an employee to help me ship and do all of the wibbly-wobbly, businessy stuff. For now, though, I'm flying solo. Up until a couple of weeks ago, my husband has been an enormous source of help. However, he's beginning his own career with the US Air Force and a part of that means no more cutting chains, keeping the books, printing labels, packing packages, and taking things to the post office. Basically, I didn't estimate how much time it would take me to do it all by myself correctly and have paid for it by scrambling.

I'm getting back into the groove now--which, if you're a facebook fan you've now heard twice--but I really mean it: I'm getting into the groove. I could say I just needed to figure out my routine better, but the truth of the matter is that I had to learn to get passed not having my better half around.

Hope you've all had a wonderful Saint Patrick's day and are excited to see new things from TuckooandMooCow! I'm certainly getting excited to share them with you.

Cicatrix Manet: The Scar Remains

I've been much slower than I intended originally getting back into things. I'm not a very patient person and if my nerves are being worn raw it makes it hard for me to work on things I actually need to get done.

It's a funny thing, being left behind when someone goes off to start something new. They go off to be tested for strength: strength of character, of mind, and of body. While I, left behind to wait, have my patience tested and learn to do without. It's hard to say which is ultimately harder. My immediate reaction is that it's harder for the first, but for myself here without a place of my own living with family and waiting...waiting...I wonder how much we both will change in the end. Will we?

Within 10 years who I am now will be dead. Almost every cell will have died and I will be a new person. Scars remain. Although I remember, I am new. I am different. Do trials scar our personalities? I think so. Not all scars are bad. There's one on my leg that I associate with so much laughing that I almost forget how much it hurt. Anyone can see it when I wear shorts. People often comment asking, "What happened?" Are the trials in our lives that mark us like scars any less visible in our personalities than they are on our flesh?

Seneca said in De Ira, "In sapientis quoque animo, etiam cum vulnus sanatum est, cicatrix manet," meaning, "In the wise one's heart, even when the wound has healed, the scar remains." I've thought about this a lot in my life and have been remembering it again now that my husband has left for the next 8 weeks to go to basic training. Cicatrix manet--the scar remains. I've thought about getting a tattoo of this before (double metaphor since it really would be a scar) and have been thinking about it once again, but I can imagine my husband would be a little mad if I got another tattoo without consulting him first.

Saying Goodbye

Dear Next Tenant,

We're moving out today and I can't believe our time in this apartment is already over. The months have flown by so quickly since we first arrived a year ago almost to the day. We've loved this place and hope you will find the same joy in it we have. Before we go, I want to share with you what makes this place so special.

For years all I had wanted was to get back to a home in the mountains and when we set foot in this apartment for the first time and could see the gorgeous view of the mountains before us, I knew this was it. This was home. These windows are the best windows. They will let the light in at all times of day without ever letting you be blinded by the harsh glare of the direct sunlight. They'll keep you cool in the summer and let you hear the tiny waterfall down below and the sounds of rain falling on the leaves outside.

Bears may come in the spring. I hope they do so that you can see a mother and her cubs climbing the steep hill across from you. They drink from the stream and then make their way up to this hill--our hill. Don't worry, they're not interested in you at all, but I wouldn't advise leaving anything sweet out. They are attracted to the sugar.

 Sit on the balcony when it rains in the summer. This place is magical! Those trees which are bare now will be so lush that you won't hardly be able to see the sky through them. We spent so many evenings out here or sitting near the screen door letting the sounds and smells drift in. Don't kill the spiders building webs under the eaves. They catch the moths and spin some of the biggest, most exquisite webs I've ever seen.

Autumn--ah, autumn--it's beautiful. The colors will take your breathe away and everyday you'll say it's more beautiful than the last! The maple by the corner of the balcony will be lush with reds and golds. You won't be able to tear your eyes away from it! The colors will shine in through the sunlight and illuminate the floor, so leave the windows open. In fact, never hang curtains--what a wretched waste curtains would be here.

We moved in during winter at the very beginning of March. It snowed on our first day big, wet flakes that barely stuck, but looked wonderful falling. We lit the fire and cozied up. When it grew cold again in November, we lit it again and kept it going every evening through the holiday season. The branches are bare, so this is the clearest view you'll get of the landscape--take it in! Summer will be back again soon and the green will be too close to make the view as easy.

I hope you love this place as much as we did. Enjoy the sounds of the mountains, the cool air in the evening, the woodpeckers on the trees, the echos of children playing down below. Take walks down the hill even though it is a beast to get back up. This is the most beautiful place I have ever lived and the place I have felt most at home. I hope you find as much happiness here as we did.

All the best,
Sarah-Lambert 

Slip Slidin' Away

As the time draws nearer and nearer to move out of my beloved apartment in the mountains above Asheville and for my husband to leave for a little while to begin his career in the Air Force, I am reminded of Paul Simon's song "Slip Slidin' Away." It's a good song and I really--REALLY--like Paul Simon songs, so now that it's caught in my head I can't really get rid of it. It doesn't really have much to do with how I feel right now, but I do find it kind of a comfort.

There is a sense of things sliding away here, isn't there? There's a life that is about to slide away--a life where my husband is home all the time laughing with me, walking with me, helping me run my business. There's a home that's sliding away here. We may not have lived here long, but it was still home for a little while.

I also feel like I'm losing my mind. I forget a little bit, which is pretty unusual for me, and I lose my train of thought more often. Basically, it's like being a bit tipsy all the time only I can drive just fine.

In spite of feeling a bit waning right now, there is a huge sense of adventure in my mind. I'm so excited for everything that is to come! It's an odd place to be, in the middle of a transition like this. So many feelings are all merging that I really just want an ice cream sandwich and a comfy chair.

Slip slidin' away

Slip slidin' away

You know the nearer your destination

The more you're slip slidin' away