Happy Birthday To Me!

Thanks, President Obama.  It's the best birthday gift you could have given me!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama

Life Drawing

I started my life drawing class yesterday.  I've taken this class a few times, but haven't been able to recently because of scheduling conflicts with school.  It's a great class because it's really just model time without any instruction (unless you want it). 

I'm VERY rusty after a few months off, but it was nonetheless wonderful to get back to it.  The human figure is my most favorite of any subject.  I love the complexity of it, the softness of the body, and the way the light gives it form.  For me, both drawing and viewing it evokes more emotion than any other subject can.  I love getting my fingers full of charcoal and zoning out for a couple of hours.  The only problem is that time goes by too fast.  But that's what happens when you're doing what you love...

Anyway, thought I'd post my sketches each week to share (I thought my mom would especially like this) and also to track my own progress through the weeks.  The first are quick sketches - the model moves every couple of minutes - and the subsequent ones are anywhere from approximately 10 to 25 minute sketches.  

Weekend Update

We had a busy weekend.  On Saturday, Joseph and I went to the gym, Long Beach for lunch, and then friends came over to watch the fights.  

Sunday was SAG.  We had a lot of fun and saw all the usual celebs.  I was in charge of Jenna Fischer from The Office (see me in the pic on the right below!), The Entourage cast, and Mickey Rourke.  Joseph had Tina Fey and Mrs. Cosby (can't remember her real name).  Tina was nice, but Mrs. Cosby was snooty.  We had a fun day, the show was really easy, and the after party was crazy and packed so we didn't stay long.  And by the end of the night our feet hurt like hell!

I liked these people best: Tina Fey, Jenna Fischer (and her nice boyfriend with whom I had a long and awkward conversation while we waited for Jenna to come out of the restroom), Amy Poehler (her friends were all calling her "Pole Cat" and she was soooo nice and funny), and the casts of 30 Rock and The Office.  

Oh, and the women were skinnier than ever this year.  I felt like a blimp!  

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some pics of us around the Shrine later from Maggie (the producer of the show), so I'll post again when I get them.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

SAG Awards

Just a reminder to watch for me on the red carpet at the SAG Awards this Sunday.  The show is airing at 8PM EST on TNT and TBS, but the pre-shows of the red carpet can be seen on a number of different channels beforehand.  For details go to www.SAGAwards.org.

Not sure what I'm wearing yet, but it'll probably be black.  And I'll have a headset on.  I'll try to stand behind the cameras this time!

Lazy Weekend

This photo of Joshua pretty much sums up our weekend.  We had a relaxing one, mixed with a little cleaning and laundry.  And check out the new sunset photo to the right.  So pretty!

Friday Night

Had a fun night out last night with some people from work.  We celebrated Dasia's birthday at Buca Di Beppo, then went to see Benjamin Button at the movies.  

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Saab

I am the proud new owner of a 2008 Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan!  The pictures show a pretty true representation of the color - "nocturne blue."  

We had the best car-buying experience we could have hoped for.  After getting $4,000 off MSRP for the GM employee discount (offered to all buyers), another $8000 in rebates (for I don't even know what!), and another $2000 off for credit card points that I'd racked up, I felt very comfortable with the purchase.  

The salesman and finance guy at the dealership were just too nice.  They broke open a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne and some glasses, and did a toast to my new car!  And I learned from them (although I haven't checked for proof yet) that Saab engineers have the highest IQs of any of the car makers.  Pretty cool!

The car is just too nice!  It has XM radio, OnStar, dual climate control, and a bunch of other fun things.  And it's fast too.  It has a turbo-charged engine which makes it really zippy!  AND it received the highest safety ratings possible in all categories.  

Joseph and I have already chosen a name - "Eleanor Blue."  It's after the name of the character in one of my stories and well, because it's blue :)