Sea of Love

To me it seems like there are times in this life when every emotion rears it's head simultaneously. The wonderful, the good, the bad, and the ugly all show up at the same time, and like it or not...you have to face them all equally.

For me and Aaron these last two weeks were exactly like that. There was the rush to tie up loose ends before we left town for the Art is...You retreat in Memphis. Then there was our week in Memphis, spent with so many amazing people...people you think about in your quiet moments and say to yourself "gosh, I'm so lucky to know them." And also when me and Aar go on these teaching excursions it reenforces our connection with each other. We'll stop throughout the day on trips like this and say "We get to do this...together." We really are very lucky.

And then we came home and within 24 hours we lost the little love of our life...little baby Jack. Our nerve endings were already open from soaking up so much love and friendship all week long in Memphis. And then, everything felt like it was sucked out of us all at once. This loss was so hard to comprehend, so hard to process. We weren't ready for it.

Or maybe we were. 

Maybe those connections we made with others and reconnections we made with each other were exactly what we needed to survive the storm of loss we'd soon face. And then in the following days...the outpouring of condolences, well wishes, prayers, gifts, happy and healing thoughts from our friends everywhere...further bolstered our hearts against breaking.

And of course there was Carlos. Our little old man, who has been with us through so many crazy ups and downs. He was there when we first opened our retail store way back when. He was there when Aaron came home from the hospital after his car crash. Aaron had been in the hospital for a while, and then in a rehab facility for so long that when he finally came home to Carlos he couldn't believe his eyes. Aaron said "I forgot how little he was!" 

We have so many memories with little Carlos. He has now lived with us in three different towns. We first considered looking for another pup because we thought Carlos needed a little brother to keep him active and young. And sure enough, little Jack did the trick.

So in the wake of losing Jack, here was Carlos...still by our side...and he was holding it together very well. We tried very hard to keep the energy light and to keep Carlos as occupied as possible after losing Jack. And in some ways our behavior with him and his reaction to this energy felt a little like old times...it felt like a dozen years ago...playing with puppy Carlos in our small apartment...and making him the center of our universe....worrying about if we were "raising him right." ha!

 Another factor that played into this feeling of going back in time was our anniversary. Right smack dab in the middle of this emotional whirlwind fell our 21st anniversary. So of course this brought up feelings of the beginning...our first years together...as two kids figuring everything out and pretty much living on luck.

Currently we live right up the road from the beach. And of course, we don't go up there nearly enough. But we knew that Carlos needed to get out. Most of his hours are spent here in the house with us just watching us do art stuff. He desperately needed some being-a-dog time. And we needed to share that time with him. We actually outfitted him in little Jack's harness. We had to majorly adjust the straps because Carlos is way bigger then Jack, and miraculously it fit!

Many of you will be happy to know that the army corp of engineers is currently restoring our beach in hopes of protecting us from any future storms that resemble Hurricane Sandy. There are massive pipes way out in the bay that are sucking up the sand on the bottom and spitting out on the shore...building up the beach to be ten feet higher. The project is progressing fast. We hope it's effective.

Ok, so many people told us that we should look for signs of Jack. Everyone seems to have a story about their departed pet sending them messages from beyond. And I don't doubt it for a second. 

But at the same time, me and Aaron weren't looking for signs. We weren't really in that mind space. I remember this day on the beach being so peaceful. It was the first time all week that we were not crying. The weather was perfect, the water was still and flat, the visibility was endless, the sun was going down, and Carlos was having a great time. 

And then we came home. A couple of days went by and I transferred these beach pics onto the laptop. And in doing so I came across this pic and felt it all wash over me. At home...pretty much the only thing I called Jack was Pumpkin Baby....ya know, because he was part Ginger. While walking right along the water that day we came across this pumpkin that the waves washed ashore. It's May...it is certainly not pumpkin season. It's strange to see a pumpkin wash ashore...it's doubly strange for it to wash ashore in May! Upon discovering it we hadn't made the connection with Jack...but Aaron said right away, "you have to take a picture of that." And it makes another appearance in these photos. If you scroll back up to the pic of Aaron and Carlos where Aaron is standing up on the upturned log, if you look right in front of Aaron, down at the edge of the water you'll see a little orange dot in the distance...that's the pumpkin. This second sighting we hadn't even noticed until I was putting this blog post together right now.  Yes, I'm crying as I type this right now.

We know little Jack was with us up there. And the pumpkin was in the exact same spot where he and Carlos played a year ago...they were wrestling like crazy right there at the edge of the water.

Signs don't always present themselves to you at the expected time. For us, this sign from Jack came later, when we were home together, getting Carlos reaccustomed to living with just the two of us...a few days had passed and we were finally ready to see the sign for what it was. 

It was his peaceful reminder that he's still right here with us. It was him letting us know that everything is gonna be alright. The same way he let us know that when he was here with us every day. No matter how dark some days might have been...his sweet face always pulled us out of it...for real. I mean that.

And now he's letting us know that he's alright, Carlos is alright, and we're alright.

With the sun dipping below the horizon and leaving it's pumpkin orange aura behind we left the beach and headed home...the four of us.

ps. this song encapsulates the day so perfectly. 

(click play)

"Come with me, my love

to the sea

the sea of love.

I wanna tell you how much I love you...

Do you remember

when we met

thats the day

I knew you were my pet."

(yeah, that last line absolutely kills me and Aar.)

thanks to all of you.

xo, Jenny & Aaron

Celebrating Life & Love

This week has been rough. But it's also been so much more than that. Me and Aaron had to face the very hard reality of losing our little baby Jack. I know there are many hard realities in life, but when you're in the middle of a heartbreak like this one you simply cannot fathom that anything in the world could be any harder. Our hearts are hurting to their utmost capacity. 

But while this hurt is very real and very necessary, it shouldn't be endless. There has to be relief in site. But relief isn't something you can pull out of a magic hat. Nor is it something that's just lying dormant inside of you.

 Relief has to come from somewhere...or more accurately...from someone.

In our case, me and Aaron first had to look to each other. It isn't enough for me to know that I love Jack. Or for Aaron to know that he loves Jack. We need something more tangible. We needed to know the we love Jack. The two of us, as a couple, as soul mates, as partners, as confidants.

We need to reassure one another that we did and are continuing to do the right thing. We need to hold each other's hands while we move forward. Going it alone is never an option.

And second, we looked to our little old man Carlos. He misses Jack just as much, only he doesn't have the benefit of being able to fully articulate his emotions. His feelings may take the form of appetite loss, depression, fear, anxiety. These are all things that we're feeling too, but we're people and we can deal with those things. A little pup cannot adequately deal with those things.

So we have to help him. It's our job. 

There's no crying in front of Carlos...no moping...in fact, we can't even let ourselves feel bad if we're in the same room as Carlos. Because he'll sense it and it will hurt him. So, our love for Carlos is a very big motivator for getting over this loss.

And the third part of getting over loss is the most heart warming and magical of all. The third part is friendship. 

The compassion, generosity, and sympathy that has been shown to us from our beloved little community is enough to make us cry all over again...but for the exact opposite reason. We feel that Jack wasn't just our pup...he was a spirit and an energy. And through the outpouring of comments on Facebook, Instagram, and here on the blog we can feel his energy in full force. It has spread out across our little world. We feel like you guys can actually feel his spirit. Somehow, the little videos and photos were sufficient in getting it across. We feel like you all GET who Jack was and is to this world. He was nothing but happiness...joy...funny stuff...good stuff. And when he passed, it was so so sad because we lost something so pure. We lost happy, we lost funny, we lost goodness.

But we didn't.

Somehow, we gained more of all those things. It's our duty to gain more of those things. To look inside ourselves and to look to each other for help, compassion, sympathy. It's what we're all supposed to do. You lose the idea of that in your day to day busy schedule. And it's not anybody's fault. That's just the way life works. 

But then something happens...a heartache, a personal tragedy, a loss...and we move toward that heartache, that tragedy, that loss. It seems to go against basic survival instincts. Why would we move toward pain? 

Well, because we can. We are strong enough to do so. We are brave. And we love one another, and we can help each other out. It's our job. It's what we need to do.

Ok, that said...if I may speak more casually...all of you guys are doing your jobs very well!

The outpouring of support for me and Aaron in this hard time is amazing. And holy cow did we need it. We needed it more than you'll ever know. Ok, this post is at risk of becoming an epic, so I should tighten things up.

Yesterday was our anniversary. Me and Aaron became partners in crime 21 years ago. May 9th is a very special day for us...and it's a gift that this day fell just a few days after one of our absolute worst days together. We needed light to follow the dark.

So, on this special day we planned to celebrate our love for each other. We put work aside, cleared the schedule, and actually left the house. And it worked out well for Carlos too. His grandparents (Aar's parents) were so excited to have him over for a visit. They spoil the little old man and give him all the attention he needs. And, when Carlos goes over to his grandparent's he acts like a puppy. He runs around like a madman and has a blast. So...a visit like this couldn't possibly have come at a better time.

Ok, so me and Aaron were getting ready to leave for the day when we heard a package or two land on our doorstep. One package contained a book "Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals".  It's fantastic and just what the doctor ordered. So many insights into all of the complex emotions we deal with when losing our pets. The book contained no note or return address...so whomever sent it to us...Thank you so very much.

There was also a card from our dear sweet friend Kate, who suffered this same heartache not too long ago. Thank you Kate.

And there was also this package from our sweet friend Kimberlee. One of the gifts inside you can see in the pic at the very top of this post. That incredibly sweet necklace with our little Jack staring out from within a keyhole. I cried my eyes out when I saw it...and i instantly put it on for our day out together.

She also sent this Amazing vintage giant walnut shaped paper mache candy container. Kimberlee really really gets me. We can talk for hours about the rare and vintage collectibles that we covet. Our tastes are every very similar. And we both go for the color black in a big way.

She also sent Aaron this little Jack pocket watch/good luck charm. Aaron slid it into his pocket and said he'll carry it with him always...he loves the way the horseshoe rattles in his pocket when he walks. She also sent Aar that dark chocolate he was craving the other night! Geez. So so kind.

Train rides are great. Here we are at our local train station getting ready to head into Red Bank for the day. By the way...from this point forward my hair became a disaster. It was gloomy out all day yesterday. It didn't actually rain...but this very fine hair frizzing mist came down All Day Long. Oh well. 

Red Bank has a bunch of antique shops that me and Aaron had frequented since we were teens. So we took a walk over to one of our old haunts. This amazing vintage medical cabinet is from our friend Cheryl's booth. I LOVE it! 

These are also Cheryl's.

And so are these.

And yeah, these old aluminum folding chairs are hers as well. I want these bad!

And check out that globe light fixture! She had a set of two. I don't think I need to tell you that Cheryl has got style and taste to spare. We ran into our old friend Carla as well...but wouldn't you know we started gabbing and forgot to take photos of her shop. Next time!

Down on the other end of town we stopped in this place. Antoinette Boulangerie.

Yep...

uh huh...

I think you get the picture. 

And then it was time for dinner. Good Karma vegan cafe is fairly new. We almost went here with friends back in winter, but when we walked up it looked way too packed that night. This time we planned our attack in advance and got there way before the dinner rush.

The food is nothing short of stellar. These are Crispy Baked Tempeh Buffalo Wings. We both realized how long it had been since we had hot sauce. We use Sriracha often, but they are seriously two totally different tastes. These were classic Buffalo Wing flavors. What a treat these were!

This one's mine. Live Pizza, from their raw menu. Raw crackers with sun dried tomato marinara, cashew nut cheese, marinated dark greens, shredded zucchini, and walnut sprinkle cheese. AMAZING! 

And here's Aaron's tower of awesomeness. Pineapple Mango Tempeh. Which is coconut crusted tempeh served with jasmine rice and sauteed seasonal vegetables. Served with creamy thai coconut sauce and pineapple mango chutney. 

We switched plates with each other a couple times needless to say. SO GOOD!

And I hope you didn't think we'd leave the joint without first inhaling this chocolate ganache cake! Deeeeeelish. What a great meal...what a great day out together...despite the hair frizzing misty rain. We're so thrilled that we went. We really needed it. 

Ok, now here is where I cry tears of joy all over again. More gifts showed up today. I don't know if I can fully express what it means to us when we receive the gift of art. That a person would take the time to make or render something for us...to take their valuable time...to use their talents. It's priceless. We balled our eyes out when we saw this painting by our friend Shannon...aka Danger S. Jones. Full disclosure...me and Aaron kissed this painting lots and lots of times already...right on his sweet little eyeball.

And Oh. My. Gosh! Our sweet friends Kitty, Dan, and Bono Baby (he's a chihuahua...but I'm sure he had a say in the process) enlisted the amazing Amanda Atkins to paint this portrait of Jack. Jeez, I'm trying so hard not to cry. It is so unbelievably sweet. I love it so much! Thank You guys!!!

And this picture frame arrived as well. I don't think the message could be any more fitting...any more perfect. My heart melted. I don't know who is responsible for sending this but it's made by Etched in My Heart. We love it and we'll find the perfect little Jack photo for it right away. Thank You!

Over in Jack's favorite spot we've got all of his stuff. Everything will find it's proper spot in our home but for now we're keeping it all close and where he'd like it to be. That's the sympathy card from the vet with little Jack's paw print. It's beside our sunny yellow vintage stuffed bunny who's wearing Jack's favorite shirt and harness.

I really didn't think it would be possible for me to utter these words so soon after our horrible loss...but we feel lucky...we feel blessed...we feel gifted.

We can't believe the friends we have. And I couldn't possibly express how deeply this outpouring has effected us. We can feel the love for Jack so very profoundly. He hasn't gone anywhere. He is right here where he will always be...right here in our hearts...right next to you guys.

xoxo, Jenny & Aaron 

We really really really miss you little baby Jack

Our sweet little Jack passed yesterday, so please forgive me if I ramble or if I don’t make much sense. I’m having a lot of trouble trying to make anything make sense at this point. Aaron and I are crushed. We are trying to go about our day but we keep getting stopped in our tracks. We just can’t make sense out of the fact that we won’t see and rub Jack’s little white belly ever again. It doesn’t make sense that we won’t see him spin around for us ever again. (which he did on command if you said those words quick and mashed together: ”spinaround!”)…and after a spin he’d be rewarded with his favorite thing in the world…a bite of pancake from our plate.

We keep looking over at his bed and we expect him to be curled up under the blankets like he always was. He loved snuggling up. He even had his own heating pad in the winter months. We’ve got pics of him on the desktop of the laptop and every time either one of us opens it we can’t help but click one of the photos open. He stares out at us from magnetic pics affixed to the door of the fridge. Aaron emptied the dryer today and in the load of laundry was Jack’s pillow and pillowcase. We had put the load in the dryer just before leaving for the vet so that when he came home he’d have a clean warm pillow to lie on or burrow under. But he didn’t come home from the vet. Instead we gave him a proper burial in Aaron’s parent’s yard, under a pear tree, in the company of our old cat Zoe, and Aaron’s childhood dogs.

Ok, I’ll briefly talk about his illness. It came on fast. What he had was kidney disease. Over the past few weeks he had been losing weight, but he didn’t really lose his appetite at first. Then he began to eat less of his dry food. So we’d do things like scramble him up and egg, or give him chicken and rice…which he’d eat heartily at first. Then it was about a week before our trip to Memphis…he even began to eat less of the eggs and chicken and rice. We were worried and we planned on taking him to see the vet the day after we got back from Memphis. In the meantime he would be over at Grandma and Grandpa’s…aka, Aaron’s parent’s house. He goes there when we go out of town. He loves the carpeting and the extra attention (since Carlos stays here at our house with Walt, Jack gets to be the spoiled only Grandchild for a week.) We called from Memphis to check on Jack and in the first couple days he ate OK, but he was lethargic…not his running around little self. Then on the final two days at Grandma’s he barely ate. 

We got home from Memphis, picked him up on Sunday and took him home. He was fairly weak and vomited the food his Grandparent’s had given him earlier. And I forgot to mention that for the past week and half his breath was bad. We didn’t know if it was just because he was excessively licking because he didn’t feel well, or if it was from lack of eating. So we brought him to the vet Monday afternoon, not super optimistic, but hopeful that we could solve his problems with treatment. After lots of tests it was determined that he was in kidney failure. The bad breath was due to toxins that his kidneys were not eliminating. The vet asked us if he drank excessively and we said we didn’t really think so. The vet agreed that it’s hard to tell with a little dog. He really didn’t go to his water bowl all that much, and he peed the normal seeming amount when he went out. Aaron’s dad noticed that Jack’s pee was very clear on the day before. That is a symptom of kidney failure. 

So, the vet told us the terrible news. She said that there really was no turning back from this point. In her career she had never seen a dog recover from this. If Jack was a human the only option would be a kidney transplant.

 We expressed how unbelievable this was. Because Jack was still trying to behave like his normal self. Aaron would call him and Carlos to go outside and Jack still fought from under his blankets, jumped out of bed and trotted to the door. In our front yard on the same morning that we had went to the vet Jack tried to walk around and show interest in sniffing the grass and the fire hydrant (yes, there happens to be a fire hydrant pretty much right in our lawn…we think the pups secretly had it installed.) Aaron even sat on the front steps, patted the top step, called Jack, and Jack was hesitant at first, but then he galloped up the steps and stood on the sun warmed bricks while Aaron gave him a back rub. 

A few hours later we’d be at the vet where we would be informed that this day should be his last if we wanted to spare him the extreme pain he was enduring. The little guy was a trooper. He never quit on us. We just keep saying “he tried so hard for us.” He tried to act and be normal, even though his body was completely failing him. He loved us that much. 

The vet was so gentle and kind and has Chihuahuas of her own. Plus, she is a family friend that Aaron has known since birth pretty much. Jack was curled up on Aaron’s lap for the final hour or two of his life, while I kissed his little face and told him how much I loved him over and over. He never even stirred during the process of passing from this life to the next. He gently drifted out of his body which was held by the two people who loved him more than anything in the world. 

Of course when an innocent little soul is taken from us like this there is awful sadness. And there is also guilt…which is a worthless emotion…but it is there nonetheless. Could we have missed earlier warning signs? Could we have prevented this? No one knows for sure. But questions like those don’t do you any good. 

Jack was so much more than his little body. He was an energy, a spirit, a smile, and a perpetual ray of sunshine. We feel like he was the embodiment of our love for him…if that makes any sense. We’re not sure what comes first…our love for him…or who he is. We almost feel as if our emotions conjured the little guy into existence. He was the love we were looking for…and the universe brought him to us. 

And now, his body is gone. But that love is here stronger than ever. We will not let it fade. We will not do him the injustice of letting his energy dissipate. The little boy worked so hard to make us happy and if we abandon that it’s sacrilege. 

We only had Jack for less than four years. We found him on Craig’s List…here’s a link to that story from July 2010.  It seriously was love at first sight. He was exactly the dog we were looking for…but we didn’t know it. He slid right into our schedule, right into our home. He was buddies with Carlos but there were also hierarchy issues. Carlos was Alpha but Jack liked to throw in a challenge every so often. But Carlos absolutely loved Jack. He loved being the leader of the pack. When they went outside Carlos would almost act like a sheep dog and corral Jack back inside when they were done with their business. Carlos would eat first while Jack stood inches away crying a little whimpering cry, and then when Carlos was through eating it would be Jack’s turn. And Jack wouldn’t have it any other way. We even gave them their own food bowls but Jack wouldn’t touch his…he’d only cry and wait for Carlos to finish.

Jeeez, I can tell a million pup stories. We all can. 

What I want to say most is that Jack was ALL GOOD. He only brought goodness to our life. And tons of it. We only spoke to him like he was an itty bitty baby. He never ever got into his bed without us tucking him in. Five times a night he’d make Aaron re-tuck him in. His bed was on the floor directly next to where Aaron’s head was. Jack would manage to uncover himself in the night, several times, and each time he’d let out his little whimper, telling daddy to tuck him in again. If necessary Aaron would do it a hundred times a night without complaint.

We were outside today with Carlos, and it’s obvious that he’s wondering where Jack is. He keeps smelling the spots where Jack frequents and it makes us sad. Carlos loved being the boss of that little guy…but he was a super gentle boss. 

We are not looking to get another pup anytime soon. But we do think that it would be good for Carlos. We know how much more fun the day is for Carlos if another dog is around. Carlos is an older gent and we knew that Jack kept him young. So, getting another pup is pretty much a sure thing. We just don’t know when.

Just out of curiosity I pulled up dog listings on Craig’s List today. Me and Aaron scrolled through just looking at the pups. At one point Aaron couldn’t contain his emotions. He said as we were looking through the listings he was hoping to see the listing for Jack all over again. He wanted to adopt Jack again…just like we did four years ago. Aaron’s not nuts (well maybe a little) but he doesn’t believe in time travel. It’s not like he realistically thinks he can go back and adopt Jack all over again…but that’s what his heart wants to do more than anything in the world. And I didn’t have to think about it for one minute…I feel exactly the same way. I want to come across that pic of Jack, standing there in the grass, his adorable eyes looking up at the camera, his little tail a blur because he’s wagging it so fast…and I want to adopt that little guy all over again. I LOVE all pups…but right now my heart only wants to take Jack home with us all over again. The keyboard is tear soaked at this point. It’s a childish wish and me and Aar both know it. But it’s such an honest wish, and we feel it right down to our bones. We remember the day first brought him home in vivid detail. We remember each day with him over the next four years just as clearly. He was our baby.

I know this is so so long. I just had to get this out. It hasn’t even been 24 hours. Our emotions are all over the place. We keep telling ourselves that we are not going to cry any more…but that is an impossible vow to keep. Aaron put Jack’s freshly laundered pillow in Jack’s bed. Aaron also came into the living room with a little Jack talisman…it’s a sunshine yellow vintage stuffed bunny, and he’s wearing Jack’s favorite shirt and the harness that we took him home in on the first day we met him. We never replaced that old harness as worn as it was. Jack loved it. The bunny, wearing Jack’s shirt and harness is sitting on Jack’s favorite chair across the living room from us. Next to it is the sweet card the vet gave us with Jack’s paw print stamped in ink above the story of the Rainbow Bridge. Seeing these things make us laugh and cry all at the same time. 

Speaking of the Rainbow Bridge…we have a personal experience. As you know, we had been in Memphis for an art retreat last week. On the flight home we had the rainbow experience. We were landing in Newark, NJ and the evening sun was just setting behind the horizon. In our final descent we flew directly though a rainbow. I took a video of it out the window. It was so beautiful. One odd thing is that not a single other passenger on the plane reacted to it. It was as if only Aaron and I could see it. The day after that rainbow, Jack crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We know in our hearts that we flew through Jack’s rainbow…and that he waited for us to arrive back home before reaching the point of no return. I don’t want to remember him sick. I want to remember the spritely young boy whose eyeballs would widen at the mention of Pancakes. But also, I’ll never forget Jack’s last walk around our front yard on the morning of his passing. The weather was stellar and his white coat was glowing in the sun. He was squinting and basking, soaking up the all the life and warmth he could. Me and Aar stood at opposite ends of the yard and Jack looked back and forth at each of us…and just like we always did, we waved at him…a little tiny cutesy wave…one of those squishy waves that you do when you look at a baby.  This was what he was accustomed to seeing. We waved to him all day every day, and he seemed to know exactly what it meant. We think he knew exactly how much we loved him. He must have. He treated us better than we could ever have wished to be treated. He gave us every single thing he had….and we gave him all of our love…every drop.

I’d love to drop back in and blog about Jack again if you’ll let me. Our emotions are extremely raw at this point and I’d love to write more when we’ve gained some more perspective. 

One last thing…we started a page in a notebook today and it helped us out a lot. We wrote down every nickname we ever used for Jack…there are more than a dozen…and we wrote down all of the special terminology we used with him every single day. We had our own Jack lingo. The lingo and the nicknames are all silly, and it’s possible they could be forgotten over time. We wrote them down because we don’t ever want to forget them.

Ok, that’s all for now. Hug your pups and kitties tight for me. If you have a Chihuahua, kiss it on it’s salty bulbous eye…Jack loved that to bits…and we loved it even more.

Thanks for reading, 

xo Jenny & Aaron

These kids are ready to go!

Umm you see these two kids?...crazy beard and myself...well these two are actually ready to go. Yes, it's very rare for us to not be rushing around before a trip out of town. But this time we planned well I guess. Plus it's Springtime...and everything works better in Springtime. And for the Spring sunshine I've got a fresh pair of new sunnies...which I just adore. They say "Cross My Heart Hope To Die Stick A Needle In My Eye". I Totally remember saying that as a second grader on the playground. I saw these about 6 months ago on a fashion blog and was searching all over for them. Then one day I was very psyched to see them pop up on Instagram. There's a few color ways and they're available in the Lucky Cupcake Hairclips shop. Get 'em while you can!

So, we're leaving in the morning for our teaching trip down to Art is...You in Memphis. And right up to the last possible shipping day we had been working like mad to get out as many orders as possible before we left. Well, we are pretty happy with the amount of boxes that shipped. Very heavy towering loads went to the post office all week. We took the above pic just before our trip to the p.o. on Friday. We walked there since the weather was nice and Aar's shoulders ached from the weight of the boxes. One thing that rules is that the boxes that we shipped down to Memphis have arrived there safely. They're full of our class supplies and samples. Irreplaceable stuff. As teachers it can be pretty nerve racking when shipping all that important stuff.  

I can't believe we are officially all packed. I have lists of lists. And then more lists telling me to look at those other lists...(not kidding). And even with all those precautions in place I still have that feeling that I'll be forgetting something major. And by the way, Aaron's suitcase looks like he packed the same clothes as me, minus the leopard print.

We are so so excited for our classes. It is going to be so much fun! We worked on some step by step samples of cute girl faces that each fellow artist can use as a starting point for their own mixed media piece.

It is going to be so much fun seeing this template in the hands of each student. Of course no two paintings will be the same...and I'm not just talking about hair color choices. Each painter wields their paint in their own way. What we did here was try to break a girl portrait down to simple steps. This girl will be for a smaller warm up canvas. And then we'll all move on to a larger mixed media piece with all sorts of layers and texture. 

And here is another version of the same gal...but a bit outside of our natural color palette. After class we plan on abandoning her somewhere in the hotel. I know...that sounds much more cruel than it is. We're abandoning her as part of Michael DeMeng's awesome Art Abandonment movement. It's easy, just make art and then leave it somewhere so that a new owner can find it and keep it. Just include a little note letting the finder know that it's theirs to keep and maybe put your email in there so they can contact you if they want. I wonder who is gonna find her?

We even had time to make these pretty girl brooches for a couple of very special gals. These gifts are only a drop in the bucket of what these gals deserve for their friendship and dedication to the art community. We love them!!

It really does feel like I'm forgetting something even though the house is clean, the bags are packed, and the lists are checked and rechecked.  But I'm pretty sure we're all good.

And after checking everything off the lists we made an early dinner that was amazing! So light and healthy and energizing. We made the  Nourish + Glow Miracle Bowl from Oh She Glows. Besides being vegan, raw, and packed with veggies, it's also got a homemade sun dried tomato hummus, a faux tuna salad that's actually made with almonds, and a creamy lemon dill dressing...and the "cream" is actually cashews that were soaked and blended smooth. Wow is the dressing good! Fresh dill smells so amazing. And then we topped the bowl with pepita and hemp seeds. We love so many of the recipes from Oh She Glows. 

To wind down the rest of the night we're going to watch maybe 2 or 3 episodes of True Blood. Then we'll be up early for our flight. We promise to take lots of pics, and we will do our best to pop in here or facebook, and definitely Instagram! 

Cannot wait to see our Art Is...You friends and family!

xo Jenny & Aaron