Artwork by Devin Battle 1

Devin is my oldest son and loves to draw, sketch, and paint. He drew these illustrations on the computer in the Paint program using only a mouse.

Artwork by Devin Battle 2

More of Devin's drawings. The first is based on the video game box Grand Theft Auto. The second drawing is his rendition of Scarface.

Artwork by Devin Battle 3

All of my kids like to draw. Devin really enjoys drawing on the computer using a regular mouse. He's very talented.

The Evil Sea Witch Ursula

This is Ursula The Evil Sea Witch. This is a cookie jar in my kitchen. Of course when this movie came out I got teased for weeks.

Odd Items

This is a liquor bottle from Russia. I brought it from a Silent Auction a few years ago. Yes, that's a gold tooth in the front of his mouth. I keep this nifty little bottle in my China Cabinet. I like unique items and I thought this really fit the bill.

The Drinking Chef

This chef likes to drink. He sits atop a cabinet in my kitchen.

Forgotten Comics 1

I was looking for some papers on Thursday morning. Lo and behold, I came across a collection of old comics. I had completely forgotten about them. My mother gave me these about a year ago. I used to love to read comics book when I was a little girl. I mean I literally would read them for hours. I enjoyed the colorful illustrations and the great stories. I used to read all of the ones pictured above. Ritchie Rich was my favorite.

Comic Books

I also used to read the Archie Comics when I was a kid. I enjoyed the stories and the artwork. I didn't think the cartoon they came out with that was based on the cartoon was that great. This is a portion of a strip from Archie and Friends.

Forgotten Comics 2

Talk about a trip back down Memory Lane. I also came across these comic books as well. I used to enjoy reading the Woody Woodpecker comic books as much as I enjoyed him on television. Richie Rich was my favorite comic book as a child.

Forgotten Comics 3

I also came across this Smurfs comic book. I used to love to watch the Smurfs. The characters were funny and interesting. I also thought the colors that were used were outstanding in the cartoon. I also read a few Smurfs comic books back in the day. Some of my favorite characters were Smurfette, Jokey, Papa Smurf, and Gargamel.

Christmas Play

I wrote a Christmas comedy that was presented at my church last December entitled, Widows In the Hood. We will be presenting the play again this Sunday. The play is based on I Kings 1-16 in The Bible about a widow who shared her very last bit of food with Elijah. My son Devin who is pictured above is playing the role of Elijah. All are welcome.

Designing with Topiaries: Part 1

I just love to work in the yard. My favorite trees are topiaries, which I love to trim and shape in the summer.

My sisters have dubbed me "Miss Edward Scissor Hands."

Gardening is therapeutic for me.

Desiging with Topiaries: Part 2

These are two of my favorite trees. These two topiaries are in my back yard. I always liked working in the yard and planting things, but my mom was the one that got me interested in topiary trees. I think they are lovely.

Bathroom Redesign

I am curreny smack dab in the middle of having my bathroom redone. This is what I'm looking at right now. I got so tired of my old bathroom, which was in dire need of a facelift. This project got underway about three weeks ago. I'll post the finished bathroom once it is complete.

Wax Figures

Can you believe the first man pictured above is a wax figure? His name is Thomas W. Dortch. On Monday morning I visited the Great Blacks in Wax Museum located on E. North Avenue. This museum is truly fascinating. These figures are a great form of art. Typography is also used to convey information about the exhibits. The museum is raising money for a likeness of President-Elect Barack Obama, which will be revealed early next year.

Wax Figures

It's really amazing how life-like the figures are at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum. Pictured above are the founders of the clothing company FUBU. The second wax figure is the late homeless advocate Bea Gaddy who started the famous Bea Gaddy Thanksgiving Dinners.

Two Famous Lewis' in Wax

Two Baltimore Lewis' are also remembered in wax. This is the late Reginald Lewis, a native Baltimorean and basketball star, who played for the Boston Celtics.
















This is the late Reginald F. Lewis, an entrepreneur who founded TLC Beatrice International Holdings.

Christmas Spirit

Here is a photo of my nine-year-old daughter with Santa. The photo and Christmas decorations are on a table in my basement.

Christmas Decorations

Since the kids did finish the tree, I am trying to get some other things up around the house before the holidays. I really love decorating for Christmas. I am juggling this around my revisions. Frosty playing the piano was a gift that was given to my daughter a few years ago. I really like lighted Christmas houses. Three of them are above.

Merry Christmas Update

When I arrived home from class on Saturday, I received a major surprise. My daughters had decorated the Christmas tree! Lights, tinsel, Christmas bulbs and all! I couldn't believe it. It was a far cry from the photo of the bare tree I had just posted that morning. Even Santa and Frosty The Snowman are in place now.

Merry Christmas

I know my tree is bare. I haven't had a chance to decorate it. Frosty The Snowman and Santa are sitting on the floor because I haven't had a chance to set them up yet. Once my daughter and I decorate the tree, I'll take a picture and post it on my blog.

Project 7: How-To Manual

For Project 7, I am doing a How-To Book geared towards females entitled, "How To Hook-Up Your HDTV." The manual features a character by the name of "Helpful Helen" who gives instuctions throughout the book.

Show and Tell: Collections

Just wanted to share this other as well. The jersey is a Shaun Alexander (Seattle Seahawks) jersey. I'm not seeing much of Shaun Alexander these days. He used to be a pretty good running back.

Show and Tell: Collections

I really love sports. Basketball and football are my favorites. I love to collect sports memorbilia. They include a Juan Dixon figure, a Cal Ripken Wheaties box, sports glasses, and baseball, and a football signed by some of the Baltimore Ravens. GO RAVENS!!!

Show and Tell: Collections

This is a photo of a New York Giants football signed by Jeremy Shockey.

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Show and Tell: Collections

I used to love to collect clowns, and really like extravagant ones. While I no longer collect them, I like to buy unique items with jester or clown-like attributes. The photo of the three clowns are among those I have collected over the years, or were given to me by my mother.

The clown with the purple beads around his neck is sitting on my bedroom dresser. One of my favorite pieces is the clown with the three bells hanging down. This is actually a jewelry box and stands close to 2 feet tall.

Show and Tell: Unnecessary Instructions

This was another example of a product I came across in my home with Unnecessary Instructions. These are Mickey and Minnie Mouse salt and pepper shakers.

The instructions say:

Not recommended for microwave or conventional ovens.

Show and Tell: Unnecessary Instructions

I shared this unnecessary instructions example in class. These instructions were on a bottle of shampoo. I thought that the section which says "A timer may be used" was unnecessary. I would think that the user would know to use a timer, watch, or other device if they decided to do so to keep track of the three minutes.