Keep Calm And...

Following a random thread of thought down a rabbit hole, I found these gems sprinkled across the internets.  Which are your favorites?  I rather love them all. :)

The original sentiment

Over At Lucy Jane's...

Lucy Jane has a recent post you may all be interested in.  It hints at a GIVEAWAY COMING UP HERE SOON!!!  (So subtlety was never my strong suit!)

Read all about it HERE and please pass Lucy Jane's blog along to anyone you know who may like it. Please, please, please!  And thank you! :)

Off to fix supper (Flounder fillets with herbs, parmesan pasta salad, green beans, garlic italian toast), and then back to work in the studio for a bit before bed. :)

See you soon, my lovelies!

Placeholder...

No, I don't look this pretty while I'm working. :}

I am feverishly working in the studio.
I have a to do list 3 miles long.
Unfortunately, it all has to be done before I am allowed to blog. :(
Thanks for hanging in with me and I promise I will be back soon and get all caught up.
More Music Monday, Illustrator Tuesday, Video Wednesday and General Mayhem and Nuttiness, plus a few puns thrown in for good measure will return, as soon as these deadlines have been met.
My 10 minutes are up now, so I have to go.
Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!
Hugs!

RRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

That's the sound my sewing machine makes.  And it has been making it a lot the last week.  I'm working harder than ever, because several newer, shorter term goals have presented themselves to me, and I want to meet them.  I'm sick of where my life is, so I'm going to change it.

I know that I have obligations and responsibilities.  Duh.  But I'm not going to defer to everyone else and all of their goals and needs for the entire rest of my life in the name of being an unselfish person.

I'm important too.  There are people I want to meet and thank for having an intense and profound impact on my life.  (70% of those are musicians.)  I don't think it's right to let other people to persuade me that simply buying albums/soundtracks/books/products or sending an email is enough to let my heroes know how much they are appreciated.  I've been quietly told by the naysayers in my life how impossible or frivolous or impractical my dreams are, that I got to the point of not being able to look anyone in the eye.  That's just pitiful.

I will change this.  I want to meet people face to face and look them in the eye to tell them how happy I am for the moment they came into my life.  To do this, some extensive (and expensive) airfare will come into play.

New York.
Brisbane, Australia.
San Diego.
London, England.
Los Angeles.
Wellington, New Zealand.

But really... who cares?  People fly into and out of those cities EVERY FREAKING DAY.  Why not me?  Absolutely no reason why not.

Patiently feeding fabric through a sewing machine may seem an unusual way to reach my goals.  But I love what I create, and apparently other people do too, because orders are pouring in.  I'm going to meet my financial goals and live my dreams.

It starts in my soul.  Way down deep.  Stand back, y'all.  I'm spreading my wings.  And I am going to fly.

Lucy Jane Pennybright

I know I sound like a broken record about The Other Me, but that's pretty much all I've been working on lately!  I just got new business cards in the other day and I'm looking forward to giving those out at the Hydrangea Festival. (5 working weeks left!  AAAUUUUGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!)

I seriously need to get a bunch of stuff that's "in the works" finished and have a photographer friend of mine do a photo shoot.  It's tough sometimes, being a photographer and not really having the time or ability to do your own portraits.  Self portraits are nice, but they take more time and effort than I have on hand at the moment.  I have some great local colleagues, though, so I will try, try, try to get that done soon.

Here's what Lucy Jane finished up today and will deliver to the client tomorrow.  We're pleased with it. :)

Made from a Funky Friends Factory pattern.
She's around 12" high.

Lucy's working on a bunch of themes to have at the festival.  Military, Christmas, Autism Awareness, Music, Fall, a Bumblebee, Watermelon for summertime, Back to School prints, Breast Cancer Awareness, Bridal, Floral and many, many more!  The cutting table looks like the fabric store was picked up by a tornado and dropped onto it. :)

What kinds of colors and themes would you like to see?  Open to suggestions and custom orders! :)

Attitude of Gratitude

Welcome to the first day of the A-Z Challenge!!!  It's going to be a great month, full of fun posts!
As it's also the 1st of the month, my A entry is all about attitude today- An Attitude of Gratitude!  Here is my list of things I was grateful for in March:

• 3.31- A few hours with husband home. And that he has a job. Even though I really hate it right now. I'm grateful that he has one.
• 3.30- Making a phone call that ultimately saved us a lot of time, hassle and gas money
• 3.29- Tea at the Vineyard Cafe in Marietta Square
• 3.28- Good friends bringing their kids for a play date
• 3.27- Novacaine
• 3.26- Fun shopping by myself and getting supplies for Lucy Jane
• 3.25- Getting to snuggle with husband before he had to leave for another week away. I sleep so much better when all of my family is at home together.
• 3.24- Spending all day at the zoo with my family
• 3.23- My Grandmother, who has a birthday today
• 3.22- Clean jeans
• 3.21- Cute Gremlin #4 is 4 years old today!
• 3.20- Sewing time and Things Accomplished
• 3.19- Good things showed up in the mail. :)
• 3.18- Church with my whole family. Also thankful for prayer warriors
• 3.17- HUSBAND IS HOME!!!
• 3.16- Parcels from England that contain bath salts, which made everything else smell heavenly! (including the mailbox!)
• 3.15- Today I'm thankful that I'm not Julius Caesar. He had it pretty rough.
• 3.14- PI DAY!!! :)
• 3.13- Really, really, really awesome dental hygienists. And pain killers for the migraine I sported later in the day
• 3.12- Nimble fingers
• 3.11- Getting to spend time playing Nancy Drew games with my kids
• 3.10- Getting my Nikon out again after a 3 month hiatus and photographing the evidence of Spring all around me.
• 3.9- Nice receptionists who treat me with respect and courtesy when I decide to act like an adult and make a dental appointment.
• 3.8- Being given the chance to enter a giveaway to WIN new patterns on the internets!!! :D
• 3.7- The magic of ordering new patterns on the internets!!! ;)
• 3.6- An amazing day out at Marietta Square!
• 3.5- The gentle whirring sound of my sewing machine
• 3.4- 50% off coupons
• 3.3- Spending time with friends all day long
• 3.2- Straight pins
• 3.1- Getting some much needed sleep

What Up, Moon-pie!

I'm still here!  I'm just REALLY busy with a lot of good things!!!  Such as:

• Lucy Jane orders are pouring in which is AWESOME, so if anyone seriously needs me, I can usually be found at the sewing machine with both it and my iPod blazing full speed ahead!  Some new things just done will be posted on the Lucy Jane blog very soon.  Hopefully by tomorrow.

• Also Lucy Jane related, she's been booked for a hurrah-and-to-do Art thing in Marietta in August, so we have that to prepare for! :)

• Cute Gremlin #4 turned 4 years old yesterday!  (Picking myself up off the floor from the reality kick of that one.) We're having her party on Saturday so that Husband can be here from working out of town. (Still. More. Again.  This majorly sucks.  Lots.  SO grateful he's back for the weekend at least.)

• Cute Gremlin #2 is being inducted into Beta Club tomorrow afternoon! :D  For her big project this year she's getting me to teach her how to sew a basic skirt.  Cause she's awesome!

While I do all of this, I manage to do regular life on some level.  Groceries.  Laundry.  More fun things (than groceries and laundry), like letter writing and taking the Cute Gremlins to the Zoo.  

I'm trying to keep caught up here too, and I discovered this week that The Modest Peacock just hit 40,000 pageviews!!!!!!  WOW!  Y'all keep me amazed!  I'm humbled and grateful, especially since I have been neglecting a regular blogging schedule.  I promise to work on that, particularly with the A-Z Challenge and my 4th blogaversary coming up in April!

I have still been frequenting the library and reading amazing books, some of which have prompted a new scheduled feature here very soon (when I get the Lucy Jane stuff down to a dull roar and figure out the time tables.  It's all a delicate balancing act...).  Also while at the library, I've been borrowing the completed seasons of the TV show "The Big Bang Theory".  If you've never seen it, please do!  It's hysterical!  I identify with the Penny character on a lot of levels (I even just figured out how to do one of her super cute hair styles!), but there is a huge part of me that is a closet nerd too, so it's a great way to de-stress.  I especially love this clip*, which is what I'm going to leave you with as I fall in the bed and get back to my sewing in the morning.  I still have to clean up my messiness of scraps and thread and pattern pieces and whatnot before Husband gets in at lunchtime! 

*YouTube has disabled embedding, so you can watch it by following this link. Enjoy the clip!

Come and Visit the Other Me!

As some of you know, I have an Alter Ego that is picking up steam as a business venture.  A lot of good developments are falling into place, so I want to shamelessly beg you to show some blog love and check out

from time to time.  Especially in the next 6 months, there are going to be all kinds of posts relating to costumes being constructed, Douglasville's Hydrangea Festival in June, and other various and sundry lovely things.  I'll be scheduling a photo shoot or two when the weather decides to cooperate, so you can see me in my natural habitat. (In clothing that went out of style at least 100 years ago!) :)

52 Weeks of Mail: Week 20

ALREADY?!  Flying by fast! :)

Here is the fantabulous mail I got this week:

Letters from Kendall C of Happy Little Mailboxes (Look
at the peacock feather goodness!), and Cathy in OH.

Fantastic letter and postcard from Vanessa in Germany.
Visit her blog, Vanessa's 52 Weeks of Mail.  Middle letter
is from Donovan of the LWA.  London postcard came from
fellow Month of Letters challenger Mary in the UK.  I've been
working on a letter to her and it will go out on Monday!

And here is what I sent:

A long reply was sent to Hilda C. in MS.  After not being able to get an
outer envelope for it for a week or more, I finally got Svenja's off to her
in Germany.  Krista E. got all kinds of fun glitter alphabet stickers on hers.
The bird envies are to fellow Month of Letters writers: Val F. (Day 8),
Eleri H. (Day 9), Melissa T. (Day 10), Hannah D. (Day 11), Melanie W.
(Day 12), Laura O. (Day 13).

Hannah D. writes the blog A Lost Seamstress and loves to
sew/knit/embroider/all that stuff, like I do.
So I used a split stitch in red floss on a piece of off white felt
 to embroider her name and address.  It was fun to make and I hope it makes her smile!  I also paired it with a scarlet tanager because red is her favorite color. :)

My dear friend Taylor in Jasper, GA is working hard on her senior year of
her undergrad.  Over the last 6 months, I've been saving up little things
 that I found that I knew she would love.  I didn't see her at Christmas and
her birthday is in the spring, so I figured I would split the difference and
send this lot now. She got a box of salt water taffy, some otter paper dolls
and the first installment of a story I wrote about them.
I also got her a mini clip-on otter.  (She's in love with otters and I happily
feed her addiction.)  Notecards aren't complete without a dip pen and ink
to write on them with, and the pen isn't complete without a seal and sealing
wax, and some stamps to send them. :)  Also included was a blank journal,
and an Avon airmail envelope pouch, like the one I gave away here a
few weeks ago.

Taylor's box, all packaged and ready to go.

Lettermo-ers Rose L. (Day 14) and Flora A. (Day 15) were mailed out to this week.

While out shopping with my mom on Friday, I found these beauties and could not pass them up:

Yay, peacocks! :)

My friend Cayla in TX often gets cards with Chickadees on them from me.
Loved finding these!

As it is Week 20 of the 52 Weeks of Mail challenge, I thought it would be fun to count up what I've sent and received so far.  It looks like (if my records are right) I mailed out 105 items through the USPS, and received 72 in!  WOW!!!  That's more mail than I normally got in an entire year not too long ago! And we've only been going for 4 months!  I LOVE sending mail.  And I LOVE getting it! :)  I don't know how much has been spent on postage the entire time of the 52 weeks project, because I didn't start recording that until January, in my new mail log.  But so far this year I've spent $50.27.  Considering that just ONE reenactment would cost us around $100-$200 to attend, and we attended 6-8 events per year, this is a MUCH less expensive hobby!!!  And more lasting, as I'm forging relationships with other human beings and can re-read the letters over and over again whenever I like.  Totally worth my $50 bucks so far! :)

What about you?  Do you have any idea what kind of send/receive numbers you are sitting at currently? What about the postage?  How much have you happily shelled out for stamps?  Isn't it a completely worthy cause? :) :)

The Theatre, The Theatre

What's happened to the theatre??

No, not 'especially where dancing is concerned', as Danny Kaye muses in a musical number called "Choreography" in the classic film "White Christmas".

I'm talking about theatre etiquette.  But before I go off on that mini rant, let me first tie it in to my experience at the Fox on Sept 22nd, when Jake and I went to see "Wicked".

As I've mentioned (a million or so times, by now), my first date EVER was to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Fox Theatre.  So that I don't repeat myself (much), here's my previous post on the Fox.

My Review of the Show:
1. Vantage Point:  There are no "bad" seats in this venue.  Period.  I've been in there a dozen times, and all dozen I have had the privilege of sitting in a different section than the other times.  The ONLY problem that I had with our seats for "Wicked" was that the balcony overhang slightly obstructed my view of the full set, so I didn't get to see the Time Dragon thingie billow steam from his nostrils, flap his wings, roll his glowing eyes or loll his head around.  Though cool effects, none of that is pivotal to the plot.  From our seats, I got to see every one of the actors, at all times.

Financially, we are on the bottom rungs of the societal ladder.  I think we might be that bottom "safety step" thing that can't even really be considered an actual rung.  But anyway.  It took us 2 months to set aside money for tickets.  $60 (+tax and processing fees) per seat, plus $20 to park, plus dinner out, plus something nice to wear, gas to get there, and a small souvenir mug, put us back somewhere around $300.  That's a lot of money.  But for a date night out to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary, it was worth it to us.  These were the cheaper seats in Orchestra, which ensured we could go without getting put in the last row of the balcony where we'd have to install a telescope on the back of the seat in front of us in order to see the details on the costumes. (I'm fairly certain the Fox has a "no construction of telescopes" policy somewhere in their rulebook.)  Closer seats, like the ones I saw PTO from the first time 15 years ago, now run $150 each.  We just don't have that kind of money to spend on one night out.  So, yes: for the value, the vantage point was awesome.


2. Sound:  I will admit that I was a bit disappointed that the sound didn't carry as well, under the balcony as we were.  It was alright, and I didn't actually miss anything that was said (I don't think I did, anyway.)  But a few times I found myself straining to hear quiet dialogue, as though a mic wasn't on somewhere.  And "Defying Gravity" should always, always be cranked up just about as loud as it can go without actually making people deaf.  Just sayin'.


3. Costumes:  Hello, people!!!  I'm a costumer! (No, NOT 'customer', costumer.  One who sews and creates costumes!)  This is a Broadway musical!!!  This is a Broadway musical that WON a TONY AWARD for best costume design in 2004.  There are over 200 costumes in this show and I kept having to find a bucket to drool in with every scene change!!!  Here is an amazing page about all of the Wicked costumes from Stephen Schwartz's website for you to peruse at your leisure.  And here is a photo of me, before the show, with Glinda's "Bubble Dress" from the original show, that was on display in the front windows of the Fox.  This is me turned around for the brief moment of taking the photo.  The rest of the 5 full minutes he allowed me to linger, I was pasted up against the display like a kid at Christmastime, leaving nose and fingerprint smudges on the glass.  If it hadn't been raining, I would have forced Husband to take photos of me with Elphaba's and Madame Morrible's costumes too!!!  WANT!!! :D

Check out these breathtaking creations from the show too!!!

4: Plot/Acting: Easy to follow, without being boring in any way.   Engaging and heartfelt.  Professionally well played by amazing actors.  Hilarious one-liners!  My favorite scene was the "cat fight" after Nessarose's unfortunate run in with the farm house, and this exchange between Elphaba and Glinda:

Glinda: "What have you been doing anyway, besides riding around on that [gestures to Elphaba's broomstick] filthy old thing?"
Elphaba: "Well.  We can't ALL come and go by BUBBLE!"


5: Recommend/See again?  YES!  I'm tossing all of my change into a jar (not even kidding) so that by the time Wicked comes round again to the Fox (next year?!  Please, Mr. Vella, please!!!), I'll have the extra saved up to go ahead and splurge on those 5th row Centre Orch seats that I wanted so badly but couldn't afford this time around.  Definitely. Going. Again!


Now that I've given my glowing review of the show, here is that little rant about the other patrons.

Hey, my generation-ish aged (and a little younger, like 20s or so) people who go to the Fox to see evening performance musical plays: You do know this isn't like TV, right?  That the stuff going on up there on the stage is not prerecorded and that the real live people who have spent their time and energy giving you a few hours of entertainment can also see you sometimes.  I'm talking to you, girl 2 rows up and a couple seats over who would not leave her cell phone closed.  The backlight on your phone was like one of those Hollywood searchlights.  No one needed Batman; TURN OFF THE BAT-SIGNAL!

To the other 200 people (mostly women) taking your sweet time in the restroom: the intermission is only 15 minutes.  It doesn't take that long to go pee!!!  I don't care how many drinks your date got you during the first Act! (I'll get back to that in a second...)  And you other people (also mostly women) who cut through the little cafe area there and back down the stairs on the other side to "merge" in with the line for the potties?  That's still cutting!!!  Also, coming back from the restroom, you hanging out in the doorways and not letting people through cost me the first song of the second act because I couldn't get back to my seat.  Being short, I couldn't even see it from the back of the house until the ushers took the rope down and let the 300 or so late-to-return-ers back in.  I missed Glinda's "Thank Goodness" number, with the cute one-sleeve angular cut dress.

Yeah, that one.  That was rude of you.  It really was.

What was with people getting up at random to get a beer?!  Seriously!  This guy in the row in front of us got up in the middle of "One Short Day" and came back about 5 minutes later with a beer for his girlfriend!!!  This is not TV, people!  Remember what I said a minute ago??  The actors (and everyone else trying to watch the show) can SEE you getting up, scootching past all the people in your row (blocking my view while you do it, thanks) and walking out.  What is wrong with you?!  Randomly through the show you'd hear empty cups being knocked over on the floor.  How is the beautiful Fox going to stay pretty and clean if you're bringing in food and drinks like it's your local Cinema 18?!
I remember when you weren't allowed to take food and drink into a fine arts theatre.  I still don't, and I wish you wouldn't either.

Lastly, even the inexpensive seats were a $50 date.  At least.  So what is up with you not being bothered to put on appropriate clothes?  Cut off jeans and t-shirts with flip flops?  Really??  This is live musical theatre!  I understand that not everyone may be able to afford a tux and an evening gown.  But you dressed up for prom, didn't you?  Isn't this at least fairly comparable??  Do you not care at all? (Obviously not, but this is a rant, so let me fume!)

Jake and I worked hard to save up the money for tickets.  This was an evening show at the classiest venue in Atlanta.  We wanted to show our appreciation to all of the people, from our dinner waiter to the ushers who helped us find our seats to the actors we saw as we left the show, that we appreciated their efforts to give us a nice evening out.  So we dressed to the nines.

7 years of being married to a photographer, and I still can't get Jake to relax in front of a camera.  Sigh.
Anyway.  We looked hot.  We were on time to the show when the overture started and the curtain rose.  We didn't get up during the show, except at intermission.  We didn't lean our heads together and talk.  We put our cell phones on silent and didn't get them out until we got back to the car.  We gave a well deserved standing ovation at curtain call.  We tried to show grace, courtesy and class to the actors, Fox staff, and other patrons.  (Well, except for maybe those 5 minute stints with my nose against the display glass, like I said earlier.  Admittedly, that may or may not have exactly exuded "class".  But at least it was outside the theatre.)

Wicked the musical was a wicked good date night!  Thanks, Fox Theatre!  Top marks again! :)

Butterfly Fairy Giveaway!

I am just so pleased and flattered that y'all love me enough to show 50+ followers and over 15,000 pageviews on my stats in so short a time!  Wow!

I've mentioned before that I have an alter ego, Lucy Jane Pennybright, who makes artsy craftsy things for sale and show.  Well, today she (I. We. Whomever!) created this peacock inspired Butterfly Fairy to give away to my Modest Peacock readers:

Striped stockings!

She has a peacock feather embroidered on her tunic

One of the Cute Gremlins will be drawing the winning name for me in 2 weeks, on October 9th.  You may enter by commenting below, and you may also get an additional entry for each friend who becomes a new follower! (Have them mention your name in their comment/entry.)  You may also get an additional entry after that by following Lucy Jane's Blog and then telling me so in another comment here!  That's a lot of chances to win this beautiful fairy!

She will be shipped to the winner beautifully and securely wrapped.

Best of luck!

Have You Entered My Giveaway Yet??

Hi!  I have 3 posts from last week that I got behind on, because of craziness going on here.  Don't worry, I'm getting caught up quickly and should be posting on time by 7/27's Poetry Wednesday.

But the real reason of this post is because I wanted to be sure and remind everyone that there is only one week left until I draw a name for my giveaway, and mail this Peacock Blue Butterfly Purse

to the lucky winner!  Go to This Giveaway Post and comment to be entered!  Best of luck!!!

It's Better to Give!

Dear Readers,

I thought about waiting until I reached 50 followers before hosting a giveaway.  But so many of my other blogging friends are hosting giveaways on their blogs (2 Bags Full and The Feathered Nest, just to name a couple) that I got so inspired and just couldn't wait.  41 is close enough to 50 anyway, right? :)

So here is what I made for you:

In pretty peacock blues and greens, this crocheted purse is approx 8" wide and 7" high (ish).  The strap is approx 2 feet long from purse edge to the top of the "curve", so it hits the average person around waist/upper hip level.  (I'm short, only 5'2", so it hits me mid-hip.)  It features a silver and crystal butterfly embellishment in the lower corner.

The butterfly is courtesy of my Aunt's random jewelry
findings that she gave to me a few months ago.

Yes, I am very short. :)

You may enter by commenting below.  You are allowed up to 3 entries.  I will have Miss Emily-bug help me draw a winning name on AUGUST 1ST.  Best of luck!

Oh, and I have been busy getting things cleaned up and ready for me to go back to Destin Beach for a few days next week, so you haven't missed Poetry Wednesday, Go Here Thursday or Frank Friday this week.  I plan to get those up by tomorrow at the very latest, just as soon as I get this mountain of laundry put away and my beach bag packed!