Three men times four

This is quite possibly my favorite photo of the three men in my life, and I'm thinking of getting it printed on a canvas.

I love it in color...

...I love it faded....

...I love it in black and white...

...and I love it in sepia:

I'm not sure which version I like the best, although I'm leaning toward the sepia. Thoughts?

Doppelgangers

Every time I see my husband holding our boys, I'm stunned at how much they resemble him:

For anyone who is wondering, Dash is on the left and Will is on the right.

I mean...LOOK at them! They're like little Mini-Hims.

At least Ben can feel pretty confident that the milkman wasn't involved, eh?

The aunt

Before I post the following photos, I need to explain something. As some of you may remember, I'm something of a baby hater. Yes, I love my own (since they are obviously perfection), but other peoples' children...not so much. But even for all that, my sister Eryn makes me look like a crazed child snatcher who kisses every infant I can find - that is the extent of her baby aversion. Now please proceed to the following photos:

The Aunt and Will (aka Mama's Little Skeptic)

The Aunt and Dash (aka Mama's Little Ham)

ERYN IS TOUCHING A BABY!

ERYN IS TOUCHING TWO BABIES! 

Goddamn, my kids really MUST be cute! Either that, or she's sucking it up because they are her sister's offspring and because our father requested photos. But I'm going with cute.

A little cave music

My sister is the last member of My Family Who Flew Over From The USA To See The Oz Bebbehs to arrive. She's an elementary music teacher, so as a special treat I took her to see a concert at the nearby Jenolan Caves. The Paganini Duo play gypsy music in the Cathedral Cave (arguably the best natural amphitheater in the world).

We picked up our tickets from the Guide's Office...

...and then strolled down to the main entrance to the caves:

You're not allowed to roam around the caves without a Jenolan staff member present, so while we waited for a guide with our fellow concert-goers, Eryn entertained herself by taking photos of the cave, while I took photos of Eryn:

We spotted the musicians heading down to the cave...

...and a few minutes later we were on our way! No photos, sorry - I was too busy concentrating on not dying as I dragged my poor post-twin body up and down approximately eleventy million stairs to get into the heart of Lucas Cave, where the Cathedral is located. We were banned from taking pictures during the actual performance, but I snapped a few of the "stage" before the duo started playing:

The music was fantastic, and the caves themselves are stunning - I'd like to return to see more of them in the future, although preferably when I'm in better shape and the weather is warmer, because I damn near froze my imaginary bollocks off. But it was worth it to see a place as beautiful as this:

Seeing double

Even though they're identical twins, I thought Will and Dash looked very different when they were born; sometimes it surprised me when people exclaimed how much they looked alike. But the older they've gotten - and the more hair Dash has grown - the more I'm realizing that hey, they are identical! Case in point:

Like the horse? My dad and stepmom brought it for them. It laughs and vibrates like a lunatic!

Well what do you know...they DO look alike! And they're pretty cute too, eh?

The funniest thing I've seen lately

My fellow nerds have probably already seen this, but I'm behind the times:

More Chad here!

Now we are eleven

Eleven weeks old, that is. Time flies, eh?

Today's little dose of awesome

Now here's an exercise regimen I can get behind! A gym in Illinois is offering ZombieFit classes, which are exactly what they sound like: cardio, weight training and parkour workouts designed to help you survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

T-shirt here. Yes, this really is a shirt design. As are all awesome things.

Say it with me, people: SAH-WEET!

Grandparent love

I'm so happy that my Dad and Awesome Stepmom Myra could come to see Will and Dash while they're still little...

Grammy M and Dash

Grandpa with Dash (left) and Will (right)

...but you know what the problem is when family visits? That it sucks so much when they leave. I'm not looking forward to Saturday, so how about you guys just stay forever instead? That sounds like a good idea to me!

234 years later...

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear America
Happy Birthday to you!

~from your favorite Aussie-American expat

Taking over the world...part deux

Remember when I posted several birth announcement designs? And then I asked you guys to vote on which one I should use? And there was an official poll and everything?

Yeah...I ended up not going with the winner.

In fact, I didn't go with any of those designs because I was inspired at the very last second to make this instead:

They're printed on oversized postcards, with each boy taking up one entire side. Yes, this means that you can't put them on your fridge and see both boys at one time, but I figure that aside from the grandparents, most people probably won't want to do that anyway.

All of the envelopes are addressed and we're mailing them out next week - what do you think?

My former life

I was sorting through some old pictures on my laptop this afternoon when I stumbled across these. I've mentioned my former life as a Fine Art major before - here's a little proof. These photos were taken at my senior exhibit; I think there were around 15 pieces, all charcoal and Conté crayon on distressed raw canvas:

The concept was that the mundane and the ugly - such as rocks, sticks and bones - can hold depth and even beauty when viewed up close. I don't have a photo of my favorite piece, which now hangs in my dad and stepmom's dining room - a massive, almost abstract drawing of a horse's skull. Sounds morbid, but it was really quite lovely.

I also came across a few sketches (not finished drawings, just quick captures of whatever caught my eye) that I scanned a couple years ago - none are terribly exciting, but eh, what the hell:

I've always enjoyed sketching in pen...I'm not sure why I prefer it over pencil. Something about the permanence of it, the way every line has to matter. 

This is probably my favorite sketch of all time, although it's not the most impressive - the subject is my late Grandma, and this was the last time I saw her, as she passed away while I was out of the country:

I don't create much art these days. I don't think I was ever really cut out to be a studio artist...I always loved the art itself, but hated the politics of gallery showings and the fake depth that so many artists attach to their work (I do believe profound meaning can exist within art, but that in general it's grossly overinflated - a point of view that didn't exactly endear me to either my instructors or colleagues).

So there you have it - The Lisa Formerly Known As An Artist.