MalamuteMom

By MalamuteMom on Aug 12, 2016 at 1:49 PM

Farewell and safe journeys! You touched so many lives and brought a lot of love, laughter, and joy to those who knew you.

By Sylviag on Dec 19, 2014 at 10:50 PM

Warm and fuzzies from me to you http://cheezburger.com/8406486528

By Sylviag on Nov 26, 2014 at 10:07 PM

I am blessed you are my friend. http://cheezburger.com/8387262464

By Sylviag on Sep 24, 2014 at 3:58 PM

Know you're super busy with your new job but we misses you :) Hope your day is bery speshul today http://cheezburger.com/8328406016

By Sylviag on Apr 29, 2014 at 11:37 PM

Having worked in HR for the feds, I can't think of any other organization that can make any type of orientation and training boring and brain numbing LOL So glad it is all working out well and that is great on parking subsidy. That is a long commute but certainly not unusual where I lived where people often commuted 1 to 1/2 hours to Seattle but many used the public transportation system. No need to answer as I know your free time is really limited now but hI ope you can stop by here and there. Hugz

By MalamuteMom on Apr 28, 2014 at 7:17 PM

Hi Syl! I know well how disrupting household improvements can be. The end result is always wonderful, but the process is never fun. Orientation for work was interesting - a 3 hour lecture with unimaginative power point slides and lots of forms to fill out. Once I was fingerprinted and had my shiny new ID badge, my supervisor picked me up and went over even more forms. She and the attorney I work closely with took me to lunch. I got to sit in during an afternoon meeting as well. In fact, much of the first week involved meetings of all kinds. I'm finding my way along and learning all the things that I'll be dealing with, and another attorney starts next week in the department as well. We're building a very interesting team. Of course, it was very nice to get a paycheck again! And I love that they subsidize parking in the city garages (I pay $2.50 per week, and a daily rate is $11, so no complaints here!) As for the kitties, well, it took them 3 days to forgive me for abandoning them! Once I explained that I need to work if they want kibble, kitty litter, and treats, they seemed a bit more amenable to the whole thing. I am still getting studio time on weekends and evenings, and will be taking some time off over the summer to teach glass classes as well, as I had committed to a week of classes during summer camp at the arts center where I do my own work. I'm still juggling everything and trying to adjust to a new schedule. My commute is about 40-45 minutes each way, so that does cut into studio time a bit. With gas prices going up (I swear they went up 2 cents between the time I left for work and the time I came home today!) I am not exactly thrilled to be commuting that distance, but the pay and benefits are very good, and no one local even bothered to respond to my applications and inquiries. I won't complain though - at least I'm working! Take care and talk to you soon!

By Sylviag on Apr 27, 2014 at 10:33 PM

Hai MM! Sorry for the late response, have had a lot of RL stuff going on to include complete new flooring and carpeting for the whole house and that was a traumatic experience I tell ya :) It really sounds like the ideal job for you and the co-workers sound great. How did orientation and the meet and greets go? Ae you alls ettled in? That's what I was hoping is that you would still have room for your art. How are the kittehs doing with your absence all day? Kittehs are pretty adapable but I imagine are demanding a whole lot more attention when you get home.

By MalamuteMom on Apr 11, 2014 at 11:28 AM

Hi Sylvia! I am super excited about the new job. Much of it is drafting legal documents to resolve issues that arise in commercial lending, so 10 years of real estate law practice will come in very handy, as will my lesser experience with business formation. I'll be the Due Diligence Officer in the commercial loan document department. The two people I will be working under - in-house counsel and the senior VP of Commercial Loan Documents - have been wonderful and very welcoming. Both sent emails welcoming me to the bank and telling me how happy they are that I accepted their offer. So Monday is orientation, meet the staff, goo out to lunch with the bosses, and learn more about what my duties and responsibilities are. They also seem fine with the fact that I am signed on to teach a teen glass class for one week in July in the afternoons. (I can still work mornings.) I'm afraid the cats have gotten very used to me being home during the day, so I am bracing for some serious cattitude the first few weeks. So glad to hear all is well with you and the family!

By Sylviag on Apr 4, 2014 at 7:28 PM

How wonderful! congrats on the new job and it sounds like they definitely wanted you - as they should. I see you even put it in your profile ) Have you done this type of legal work before? All star news about selling some of your pieces too! All is good here with us, MIL and the rest of the family. We have settled in nicely and really love it here. So much sunshine compared to WA even in the winter.

By MalamuteMom on Apr 4, 2014 at 10:29 AM

Just wanted to say hello while I have a few minutes. I have been busier than ever lately. The good news - I have a great new job as the due diligence officer with a large regional bank in the commercial lending division, which means that I will be the person who helps solve all the legal problems that arise during the lending process. The bestest part is that the offered the top salary for the position to me right from the start based on my qualifications. I am over the moon!! The icing on the cake is that 3 of my glass pieces were purchased and are going to England next week, so now I can say that my art has gone international! I have been so wrapped up in the job search for the last few months, it feels nice to be able to breathe again. How is life treating you and yours?

By Sylviag on Feb 25, 2014 at 10:18 AM

Oh yes, definitely an artist must keep a record of their original work. Painted media one can always keep a print or sell the prints and keep the original but when it comes to glass and sculpture - pictures are the only record once they are out of the artist's hands.

By MalamuteMom on Feb 24, 2014 at 5:50 PM

Thanks - that pic was taken in my kitchen and was more for my records. I try to photograph every piece I make. I figure that way there will be a record of my work when people go to the Antiques Roadshow to get their pieces appraised. I can only hope that one day some lucky person gets a piece appraised at a hefty price!

By Sylviag on Feb 24, 2014 at 7:22 AM

Nice pic of my vase :)

By Sylviag on Feb 20, 2014 at 1:08 PM

But for the Book Club Gallery you may want a better picture as the right side was cut off a bit. I wanted to give you a plug anyway :) I always support artists if I can.

By Sylviag on Feb 20, 2014 at 1:01 PM

LOL I just made an LOL of it as I always kept the pc u emailed me. http://cheezburger.com/8074323200

By MalamuteMom on Feb 20, 2014 at 12:51 PM

Oh, and may I share a picture of your vase?

By MalamuteMom on Feb 20, 2014 at 12:51 PM

Glad to know things with you are good. I am hoping that working with Hubby will be fun and will bring in more income. We have been getting some very positive business news in the last few days. It looks like he will be doing some marketing consulting for an engineering consulting firm, and we are in the process of becoming a certified continuing legal education provider here in PA. We are working on doing 6-7 presentations from mid-March to mid-April, and we're trying to work with other people to help them present material as well, with the consulting firm being the sponsor. I am not having good luck looking for a job, so I'm hoping things take off with the consulting work. I'm doing all the event planning so far, choosing venues & menus, and am handling the registration and paperwork. I also do a lot of the graphics for the slides, and edit the handout materials.

By Sylviag on Feb 20, 2014 at 12:46 PM

You know how much I like cobalt blue and Oceanscapes is beautiful - such dense color.

By Sylviag on Feb 20, 2014 at 12:43 PM

Hi, been mostly off line for a few days. Thanks on the pic :) So glad to see you are submitting your glass art to the BC. Have to get over there and fave them. Workign ith hubs might not be a bad idea. With both of you, you could expand into all kinds of areas. I find many artists are very creative and innovative in their "day time" jobs to keep money coming in and staying busy. Is it beter to have a full kiln because of the firing or because of the cost? Doing well and we love it here and being able to see son and gkids a lot.

By MalamuteMom on Feb 18, 2014 at 12:10 PM

Been meaning to stop by and say hello! Love the new profile pic. The job search is going nowhere fast (125 applications, 8 responses of which one led to an interview but was not successful, 6 were outright rejections, and one was a spammer.) But Hubby's business is picking up and I may wind up working for him as an event planner. He has developed a series of continuing legal education classes and we've been busy scouting out locations and caterers lately. The first one will be offered on March 20th. It seems far off but it is going to be here before I know it. We have the location, so now I need to work with the caterer on the boxed lunch selection, and coordinate with the State Bar association on the paperwork. I'm also volunteering at the studio, trading demonstrations and basic maintenance for studio rental time. Hopefully, I will be teaching some glass classes soon, or perhaps some one day seminars. But I have several new pieces in the works, and will hopefully have enough soon to fill a kiln. I was able to pick up some limited edition glass and am having a lot of fun designing pieces with it. I made a few LOL's & have sent the links to JeffCat's book club. Hope all is going well with you and the family.

By Sylviag on Feb 7, 2014 at 12:13 PM

Hai MM! So good to hear from you. I thought you might like the sled dog Olimpiks mix-up :) Keeping my fingers crossed some of those resumes pan out Ya just gotta keep trying. At least your volunteer work is doing somethng you love and are so creative in, Ossum will do that FR right now.

By MalamuteMom on Feb 7, 2014 at 4:17 AM

Hi there! Sorry to be so late replying - it's been hectic as all get out. Still looking for a job (125 applications netted 7 responses of which I got one interview, 5 rejections and 1 spammer) and doing as much volunteer work as possible to keep busy and get out of the house. I am volunteering a few days a week at the art center where I rent the glass studio, and I have some new pieces in the works. I managed to get my hands on some gorgeous limited edition glass last fall and am having a lot of fun working with it. I'm also pitching classes there and to a small local studio, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that some work will come from those endeavors. Please send me a friend request from the Book Club and I will post some pictures of my work. Any publicity and added visibility is always welcome! Take care!!

By Sylviag on Jan 18, 2014 at 2:25 PM

You make some lovely glass art and I wanted to send you this. I thought you were friends with the Book Club. Please share some of your art. I can send you a FR from the BC or you can send me LOLs of your work so I can send it to the BC. http://cheezburger.com/8010606336

By Sylviag on Jan 3, 2014 at 7:39 AM

Thanks MM for the loverly card with your darlin' Fluffy! Always so nice to see you. hugz

By MalamuteMom on Jan 2, 2014 at 6:16 PM

The lol was lovely. I am a bit behind as always. Thanks for your friendship! http://cheezburger.com/7983648256

By Sylviag on Jan 1, 2014 at 10:22 AM

I thank you for your frenship and here's to another year of gud timez and a hand to hold when needed. http://cheezburger.com/7981327616

By Sylviag on Dec 18, 2013 at 10:12 PM

I am blessed by my friends on here each and every day, not just Christmas :) Have a wonderful one! http://cheezburger.com/7962747392

By Sylviag on Nov 2, 2013 at 8:31 AM

Love kids at that age as they say exactly what they think :) With your mad artistic skills you can make Snoopy into just about anything :)

By MalamuteMom on Nov 1, 2013 at 2:10 PM

Thanks! Snoopy adorns the table on my front porch. Chris loves "Peanuts" and Snoopy in particular, so I had to make it. He's really quite simple - a butternut squash, a pumpkin, paint, felt, and glue (I used a hot glue gun.) He got lots of giggles last night. My favorite was a little girl, maybe 3 years old, who told me that Snoopy looked fat, and maybe he ate too much candy. He'll stay out through Thanksgiving (I hope!) and maybe I can fashion a pilgrim hat for him.

By Sylviag on Oct 31, 2013 at 5:33 PM

To you too MM! Cute Hollyween LOL u made there :)