comic challenge + zombie walk

This Saturday I"m going to have to do some balancing between two awesome amazing events. It is the 18 hr Comic Challenge, but I have also discovered that it's the day Tucson is having a Zombie Walk (complete with Michael Jackson Thriller dance along).

So, I'm tailoring my Comic Challenge just a bit, to make room for a walk with the dead. I'll be doing a 12 hr draw (5am to 5pm) but still hoping to put out 24 pages (the Eastman variation "noble failure" may be an option).

Then me, the hubby, the kiddo (and maybe the dog?) will apply fake blood and head downtown. We'll watch the local undead do the Thriller Dance (in sync with thousands around the world) donate canned food to the food-bank, then meander downtown in a zombie-ish way looking for fresh brains.

Wow, what a day!
Pics of both will be uploaded throughout :)

Greer in October

Heheh, this was going to be the weekend that Abel and I hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim (to rim). But after a little evaluating of our situation, what we actually did was go visit the family cabin in Greer Az.

It was a good move for us :)

The colors were amazing, the weather gorgeous, the evenings relaxing and the whole thing just supremely relaxing. PLUS we did a 10 mile hike on Mt Baldy.

We still want to get around to doing the Grand Canyon. Maybe next year? Meanwhile, for additional pics of the trip, see here, here and here.

to urban bike

It's official, we're gonna be a one car family. Which also means we are going to become an Urban Biking family with Abel and I will splitting use of the car and biking to work/school on the off days (increasing our weekly biking miles to about 60+.)

Right now we're in the prepatory stage; getting a few more bike locks, fixing the tires on the bike trailer, maybe getting panniers for Abel's bike (maybe mine too), figuring out the best ways to handle inclement weather and freshen up once at our destination. I'm going to 'uglify' my bike a bit to make it not quite so much of a shiny "Steal Me!" target when I bike to school, etc...

We are also in the excited stage; I love riding my bike! I am really really excited about the increased rate of debt demolition we will do minus a car payment (plus car insurance, plus gas, etc). And the possibility of having to change a flat tire in the pouring rain and arriving to work wet, muddy and covered in axle grease is still just a vague "I'll deal with that when it happens" worry. Plus I'm thrilled about decreasing our carbon footprint in this way. We are finally in a situation (mostly regarding Max's school location) that makes this lifestyle a possibility. A challenge, to be sure (we don't live in close convenient proximity to a lot of stuff) but doable.

I'm hoping that the honeymoon phase lasts a good little while, and that we have only a few of those changing-a-flat-in-the-pouring-rain incidents.

Meanwhile... any suggestions? from you, friends and family (etc) who have done this before?

in support of the art community

The Tucson Drawing Studio is doing something fascinating and new this Saturday (Aug 29 2009). They are hosting a Downtown Drawabout. Part artist community building, part downtown appreciation effort, part fundraiser for TDS.

Anyone who wants can participate in the Drawabout, and the artwork made will be dislayed at The Drawing Studio for the rest of the month.

Now, the FUNDRAISER part of this (cuz times are hard, especially for the arts); this Drawabout is a bit like a walkathon where family and friends can pledge a certain amount to be donated to the TDS. For example, say you pledge a $1 for every drawing I whip out between 9am and noon. Then I end up doing 5 drawings so you donate $5 to TDS, and yay! You've just supported a great artist community. Now, if you fear I may whip out 100 plus drawings, you can always just say "$5 flat donation please" (or whatever the budget will allow) and that will do just fine too. (BTW, you can pledge/donate via Credit Card if that's easier, either by paypal on their website or by phone. Let me know if you have any questions.)

(For your reading entertainment, an article on the Drawabout.)

So, anyone want to come draw with me? Or pledge some pocket change (or whatever)?

Bowling

Yesterday was Max and daddy day. Got our haircut, ate tacos, and went bowling. We played 2 games; the first with the bumpers up and the second time he told me to take them down. He still posted a decent score (39 or so) without the bumpers. Anyways, we had good times!

hiking and other news...

So, Abel wants to hike the Grand Canyon this fall. Rim to Rim. To Rim. Two days, 50 miles. Actually, I'm excited; a few years ago I hiked rim to rim in a day with a group of women and it was an amazing experience. It was funny, we all felt so tough, I mean, we were hiking rim to rim, in ONE day (which EVERYONE says not to do), 25 miles, killer decent, killer ascent etc... Yeah, we all felt so tough. Until we got talking to other hikers on the trail with us and found that the previous day THEY had hiked Rim to Rim, and were now merely on the (25 mile) return trip (back to where the car was parked). And then, a bit later in the morning, we got passed by these hard-bodied freaks who were RUNNING from rim to rim. Hmmm... we're not so tough after all.

So now Abel wants to do rim to rim to rim and I'm thinking, yeah, sure, the next level. All right! And then I remember that the day after I hiked rim to rim the first time, I could barely walk. Hmmm.....

In other news, a few days ago I did the Firecracker Triathlon and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our Utah trip to visit Abel's family was delightful (and to all my Utah friends I neglected to call... I'm so sorry! I'm a loser that way sometimes. I'll be back next month and have more time to spend with friends.) Nana and Ish and the kids are in town and we are having a blast together, last night I cut mom's hair (and think it mostly turned out okay... mostly), this weekend it is supposed to hit 100 degrees, and I am suddenly realizing that there is only about a month left of summer vacation before Max starts school. Kindergarten. Wow. Life on fast forward...

Hope your summer is wonderful!!!

In Your Face[book]

So I'm a relative newcomer to facebook, was a bit of a snob about it at first actually "no I don't facebook, I BLOG" (with my nose in the air, so superior.)

But now most every day I gotta check in at least a few times just to see what's happening in everyone's lives. (All those status updates happening every minute!)

I discovered the joys of linking on facebook; linking to articles all over the web to share with my friends and family... oh the INFORMATION that's out there! So facebook has become for me not just a way to share little annecdotes about my life and family but also a way of being able to say "hey, check THIS out!" Humor, special interest, and yes; Politics and religion too. Ya know how they say you should never discuss politics or religion at family gatherings? My family disregards that advice. Which is probably where I get the twitch to put up potentionally controversial stuff on facebook.
And a few times it has sparked lively discussion. :)
(Yay! LOVE lively discussion!)

So how do you use facebook?
To keep up with friends and family?
To share jokes?
To find and share news items?
To start discussions on various topics?
To ask deep philosophical questions?
To take all those personality quizes?
Have you ever pissed anyone off by something you did on facebook?
Have you ever been 'un-friended'?

Ah, social networking... :)