the Uglies. the Do-ables. the Pretties.

Monday. Monday. Monday. The oh-so-dreaded day of the week. The day that kind of sort of tells one of how the rest of the week is going to turn out. Usually anyways. Hopefully your Monday has been splendid thus far. Mondays for me are pretty busy, with classes all day. Today was no different, including a critique in design....so much fun. Sure. However, despite my fear and anxiety that always stems from critiques of my artwork, the class seemed to love my photo grid, a project that presented many firsts for me.  while I hate this class at times, I can't help but love and enjoy it. So far we have had three art assignments/projects, they have been interesting and have gone through many stages, ugly, do-able, and then...with a lot of work and effort, pretty, but nonetheless I have enjoyed all of them.Working on the assigned projects tends to make me want to pull my hair out, but I am absolutely loving the creative outlet that has found its way back into my life.

Behold.... A La Fruit Salad?

Well, short of a catchy title, my goal was to embrace the roundness of the fruit, which my professor had commented on with some of my "rough draft pieces."

 I received a package today which weighed about 18 pounds. Its contents? 150 ties. It was a joke gift for my boyfriend which never really soaked in, until today. That is A LOT of ties! Wow...but at least there is a fair balance between the uglies and the do-ables and the pretties.

It may be a Monday, but even on the most mundane of Mondays, a smile can be had, so just remember, it's the random reasons.

What is a Hug?

I don't know about you, but I have never been particularly fond of hugging. It seems like a full on frontal assault...especially when you are already upset. Believe me when I say that this concept is viewed negatively by most of my peers. They like hugs. In fact, they believe them to be rejuvenating, reassuring, and even enjoyable. Strange. Or so I once thought.

After teenage breakups, failed ventures, funerals, graduations, and all of the high emotionally dense chapters of one's life, it would be safe to assume that one has been hugged at least a dozen and a half times, give or take a few. I was no different, but my family and most of my friends knew that I absolutely loathed the idea of hugging. It gave me the heebie geebies. But, now, I appreciate them, but only from the people who matter most in my life, mainly family, a few close friends, and the boyfriend. Oh, and the hall janitor.

Ok, so not the hall janitor. Hopefully he has his own radius of huggers because mine is full. Anyhoo, the whole reason for this post about hugs was to explain the blogs domain name: emergencyemotionalheimlich.blogspot.com. It comes from a quote I recently heard on a television show I used to watch while living at home, Pushing Daisies. The show was cut early on, but the eccentric and fun loving attitude of the show makes me smile just thinking about it.

"Then you haven’t been hugged properly. It’s like an emotional Heimlich. Someone puts their arms around you and they give you a squeeze and all your fear and anxiety come shooting out of your mouth in a big wet wad and you can breath again."

So there you have it. The reason behind a fraction of the madness. Just remember, everyone needs an emotional Heimlich every now and again.

...as you go about your day and feel like you need to donate a smile remember,

it's the random reasons...