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Mayday Mayday Mayday

crap. We still have 2 more weeks of May. Each month I hope our stress levels are gonna drop back down to “normal”. It hasn’t happened yet. My fear is that this is the new normal; a crisis a day. And that would suck. My adrenal glands need a freaking break here! Kyle sprained his ankle at volleyball practice on April 30th – the day we closed on the new house. Instead of celebrating, I spent the evening with him in Urgent Care. So April went out with the combo good news/bad news emotional slaps upside the head that life is now dealing us on a regular basis. May has been much of the same. All good things must be offset with an equally bad thing. There is a Buddhist lesson in all this about walking the middle path, but my balance is totally shot. So it goes. 2 days later I got 31 injections of botox in my head, neck, and shoulders to help with my migraines. It hurt. I can’t move my forehead. I was in constant pain for over a week. I had migraines. Last week I  finally started to feel “better”, but I don’t think I…

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Big Fun at the Fair!

So we consulted our calendars and cross-referenced the 7-day weather forecast and determined that this past Monday was the best day to go to the California State Fair. Chris left work early, I picked up Erin from Summer Camp, hats were donned, and off we went. First up: Fine Art Exhibit to check out my pieces and all the other entries. Me and my muse: And then it was off to see the animals and all the things Erin could ride. Like this bear: And a racehorse! She wasn’t too happy way up there. The petting zoo more than made up for that. And riding a real horse! After checking out all the animals, we hit the midway. I don’t think she had as much fun as I did on the Tilt-o-Whirl, but she liked the jeep. And then rode another horse: And the swings! A well deserved ice cream break in the shade: And then the giant slide with dad! We took a tour around CalExpo on the monorail before a final spin on the ferris wheel with dad! Great day!

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Lucky 7

Wow. I had been managing a post a month so far this year – even 2 in February! And then I missed June. On so many levels. June was all about the volleyball. In fact, I was at a volleyball tournament in Reno (Jr Nationals – boy got a Silver Medal!!) when June became July! So now it is July 11th and the club volleyball season is over. I’ve managed to sleep in my bed 3 nights in a row and I’ve been to the grocery store. Life is slowing getting back to normal. Too damn hot, but that’s normal too. I didn’t gamble while in Reno, but maybe I should have. 7 is my lucky number. And July is again turning out to be a great month for art! I have 2 pieces in the State Fair Fine Art Exhibit – and my photography entry won an Award of Excellence!! I have a one of my new photos up at Viewpoint Gallery for the annual Member’s Show. Then last weekend, while recovering from Reno in Santa Cruz, I was invited to be participate in the 7×7: Seven Pieces by Seven Female Artists show at BodyTribe this month! So I…

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Moving on to the next great freak out

So… art. shows. “coming in hot!” as a young Kyle screamed from the back seat one day many years ago. And for the record, that semi wasn’t barreling down on us that fast. But yes, I am again freaking out a bit stressed. I had to email my exhibit coordinator (oh my god!) at Viewpoint  with the titles and prices for the show. Prices people! Poor Evil Jill and Chris. They took the brunt of the crazy Dawn on that issue. And the dust from that drama trauma had barely settled when I discovered this under upcoming shows on the Viewpoint website! https://www.viewpointgallery.org/exhibit/price-enlightenment-photographs-dawn-blanchfield And then I passed out, hit my head, woke up thinking I was the Queen of Spain. Or something like that. I’m really not sure the lead up to this show isn’t going to finally land me in the padded cell of my dreams. In the meantime, I printed a new photograph for the Viewpoint Member Show in July. And the State Fair is next month too. That should distract me right? Oh! If you weren’t playing along on Facebook, Kyle’s team won their bracket!! And placing higher in the final standing than those snooty 15-1’s. #29…

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