I'm RUBBER and you're GLUE...

And whatever you say in front of a 4 year old STICKS! Hahaha!  Thank goodness my sweet niece has only heard good things from me so far! Whew.

So, now that I've got your attention... I'll share the fun that Little Lou shared back with me! And quickly, cause I'm so very tired.

~ "Oh, I just love this piece of art work Aunt Les!"

~ "You should draw an elephant standing on top of a rhinoceros with a ..."  My reply, "I'm not sure I can draw all that."  And >>> "Well, if you don't think you can draw that... you can just draw them abstract!"

The grand finally was shared with me via my sister.

~ "Daddy, I am going to do some abstract art. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about abstract art."

On this note, I will say goodnight!

Goodnight!

Aunt Les,
Your Favorite Oxymoron

How fast is a 2 legged turtle???

Well, I guess it depends on which legs still work... and if the other legs are still hangin' on (dragging it down... literally) or if they are just out of the picture...  And, does it count if it's moving backwards???  What if it's has the back legs and they keep dragging the tenacious little turtle in the wrong direction?  What if the turtle figures out how to get the head and the tail to work with the lonely legs to form a four appendage team?  Is the turtle allowed to buddy up and form a strange little sack race type stance?

Thank goodness I'm not in charge of the rules in that race!

I have no idea why this particular question is plaguing me as sit on my bed ready & willing to go to sleep at a reasonable hour (for the second night in a row! go me!)...  I know ;-) this... I feel like a one legged turtle around 50% of the time.  A two legged turtle? 75%... but, they are both on the same side... 

I guess a turtle with any appendage is better off than a turtle on its back.  Then all the legs could do is flail about... until it finally gives up...

And, this brings me to the serous stuff...

My aunt, Ada Lou, is sick. She in the hospital. She is my mom's oldest sister, a tough woman, who has combatted an array of diseases since an early age.  I'm talking an almost constant battle with one serious thing following another. What she will not be able to kick is (to me) scarier than any of the others... something I have seen take my Uncle Chuck and their mother... my MawMaw.

Ada Lou has Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's Disease is so ugly. It is so scary.  And, I think (at this point at least) that's all I want to say about it.

But, if you don't mind, keep my Aunt Lou and her family in your prayers.  And my mom, Betty, who has witnessed way more of the ugly than I'd ever wish on anybody.

Be gentle to yourselves and your families this weekend...

Goodnight,
Leslie,
Your Favorite Oxymoron

DANG!

I can't tell you how many times I have told someone I love (and random people on the street... probably)... "Remind me of this when I forget!"

SO... if anyone actually attempted the gentle reminder??? I am sure I would spit fire! Who knows what could be turned to cinders... yikes

I've just been wondering... When you have so many things to remember and practice BUT they aren't things that come up on a regular basis... H O W D O (I AM CURSING MYSELF RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I JUST SAW MY ANSWER WRITTEN IN THE SKY!!! Metaphorically of course...)

PRACTICE!!!

SON OF AN UGLY DONKEY! I should have seen this one coming...

I'm gonna have to get back to you on this one though.  I've got to get up early and do my (orange) yoga practice.  Long story.  Need sleep.  And practice.

Nighty nighty!
Les,
Your Favorite Oxymoron :-P

opposite action... sometimes it's BACKWARDS!?!

Well, have I got a doozy for you?!?!?  I re-recognized this weekend that Opposite Action isn't always the "action" you think it should be!  Well... LA-a-ah-TEE-DA (as Grandpa always said)...  I really wish someone had written a rule book for me here!  Funny (aka SAD) thing is, I might have gone ahead and read it! I know I would have bought it! haha... Who knows if I would have understood it!?!?  [insert smiley face with one of those ptdhhhhhhhhhAHHH!!!s]  Well, I guess it's time for me to explain myself...

Sometimes... Opposite Action... is saying, "I can't.", "I don't understand.", "No thank you.", etc.

Maybe I am the only one who seems conflicted here?  All I know is that sometimes my immediate and SUPER POWERFUL instinct is to say... "Sure!!!", "I'm so glad you asked!",  "I'd love to!", "I'll get right on that!", "No problem!", and on and on and on and on... I have an instinctual feeling that I should DO.  Even some things that I am just not capable of doing.

It seems the mountain I am about to climb will sound more like... "I don't know if I have time.", "I don't know how that works.", "Are you speaking English?!?!?!" and my favorite... "NO!" 

So, this is one of the greatest quandaries of my life...  When to STRIVE for GREATNESS and when to say... "I give!"???

My example includes frustration, confusion, fear, shame, procrastination, hope, great ideas, trust, last minute cover my butt's, disappointment AND a lesson.  Unfortunately, the lesson is not my first and probably not my last on this particular subject. So, here goes...

I was asked, to my great honor, to create a picture for the front of my mom's 4th grade Vacation Bible School class.  The theme is ironically FEAR.  Ha!  And, I had HUGE ideas bubbling up in my head for a week or two!  Well, because I want you to keep on reading, I will try to be concise... I started way later than I should have.  I was WAY too detailed!  Just to give you an idea... I was trying to make the roller coaster car sparkle NOT with glitter (which seems so obvious now...) but by using a heat fusible fiber and shaping it to give dimension.  The greenery was made from the funny papers wadded up and smeared with green acrylic paint. And the sky needed wool!  I mean DUH!  Also... pictures of my nieces/dads hands enlarged and used to be lifelike. All of this was going to hang on butcher paper for a week and then torn down and thrown away.  I was sure I could do it. And I knew there was NO WAY. Oh, and do we think that I let anyone know what was going on or NOT going on with my door hanging? No... not until I had given up and sat staring... day dreaming about how it should have been and trying to figure out how I could make it work... and watching (almost tangibly) the panic build in me as I tried to figure out how to tell my mom that I just couldn't. When I finally got the words out (and tried like mad to not make my mom feel bad for asking me!!!) we were in to the final 24 hours before the kiddos would walk through that door...

Don't worry... Mom and Pops got their heads together and whipped together a perfect door hanging! And, I tried to explain myself. I was honored to be asked. I wanted to do it! I think I will be capable of doing something like this in the future. This time... I learned a lesson and got my butt saved again.

So, Opposite Action Day and Opposite Day ARE NOT THE SAME! The idea behind Opposite Action is to do the most effective thing possible. Effective Action Day just doesn't have the same ring to it...
:-P

Have a great Opposite Action Day!
Leslie,
Your Favorite Oxymoron  

Soylent Green! It's PEOPLE!!!

I have no idea how that title relates to this post... aside from the fact that I have been drawing some "people"... I think they are... "my people"... Sounds very science fiction-y/futuristic(?). ;-) I guess.  Maybe that is the relation?  (Soylent Green is an awesome movie by the way!)

Here be de peeps!

When You're Hot, You're Hot (soft pastel) 7/3/13

They are all named after songs so far... Although the songs have always come during the cropping of the pictures so they really have nothing to do with the creation of the drawing.  But, I thought you all should experience the songs that now sing along with them. :-) 

So... here is Jerry Reed singin' her song... When You're Hot, You're Hot

And now... The Archies singing... Sugar Sugar (i'm gonna make your life so sweet!)

Candy Girl (soft pastel) 7/3/13

I have one more. AND... I haven't quite decided if it's finished yet... look for it and possibly more (???) in the future!  Hahahah!  Future... I crack myself up.  Haha...

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th!  The sheep and I were a little under the weather yesterday.  Today? Today I am just tired. They are about the same but I believe I have had a lightbulb about them!  Anyway, I am looking forward to working on the door decoration that my mom asked me to help with for her Vacation Bible School (VBS) class that starts Monday.  And, I have a very important art therapy assignment that I am looking forward to working on.  

Be careful out there!  It is a holiday weekend so keep you eyes OPEN on the roads.  Alright? Alright.  

Leslie Cooper,

Your Favorite Oxymoron ;-)

P.S.  I just named the "collection" (ain't that fancy???) Soylent Green! It is my first "collection" and for some reason that whole syfy theme fits with "my (alien) people" in appearance and in my own "alien" existence... berry berry eeeeenteresting...

Ready for Departure??? NEVER!

Ahhh… Getting ready for a departure…

It is an event for me to get ANYWHERE, let alone in a hurry… and on time? Yikes! Mornings especially are not my forte. Haha. So, this morning as I tried to beat my mom to the punch on the "Are you asleep in there?" (the shower.) and the "Maybe you should start putting things in your suitcase?" questions... I thought of a couple of strange and very "leslie" topics. I thought I might share while I wait for the plane to board.

Does anyone else have trouble waking up in the morning? Does anyone lose track of time in the shower BECAUSE THEY ARE FALLING ASLEEP OR DAYDREAMING? (just to be clear.) I have a couple of strange tips for those of you who are not morning people.

1st ~ If you love a warm shower but it seems to hurt your chances of snapping out of a dream? You can… Talk yourself through the steps in a really goofy voice. Sometimes I use a combo of -ish accents. I'm talking British, Scottish, Irish. You know? Or you could go more vampire/French. Whatever your proclivity… ;-)

2nd ~ Again… If you love a warm shower but need to wake up… Nearing the end of the cleansing process try this:  Tell yourself, in your preferred dialect, "Now I will begin to start turning the water down in small increments." And every time you do adjust the water a tiny bit to the cool side... say it again! Don't get it TOO cold! If you do… there is a chance you will just jump back under the covers! A nice, gentle, cool temperature will do a body good. At least in the hot Texas summer…

3rd ~ If I had a third to start with the plane ride with the kid pooting next to mom and the sad girl next to me… I forgot. I'll let you know if I remember.

So, as I just revealed… I am back in my part -o- Texas! Hello Dallas! Hello Luby's Cafeteria! Hello Daddio and Sis and Bro-in-law and my GIRLS! I'm goin' to eat some of the best macaroni and cheese in America!

Leslie,
Your Favorite Oxymoron

I can't let my girls wait on me now can I?  I am the fabulous Aunt!!!