JOURNAL REVOLUTION

not too doughy

Today We're FEELIN' GROOVY about:
~The love and support of so many women (and some men!)
~Book Number 3 is #3 on the Blurb Bestseller list. THANK YOU! Three is my lucky number.
~Chocolate chip cheesecake bars. Get the recipe here. I had to use regular chocolate chip cookie mix (see below) and I did add some cinnamon. I also used a smaller pan because my 13x9 was in the dishwasher and I was too lazy to get it out and wash it myself. These are DELISH! Not too doughy, and the perfect amount of rich and sweet.
~The Story of Anvil. If you haven't seen this documentary yet, rent it. Canadian-Jewish heavy metalers are dramatic, cry a lot, and see things in a really funny-good way. I suppose that is true of most of our People.
~It's a happy, happy Hanukkah!

Our Bêtes Noires:
~A dsl outage in my area on a day when I really need to use the internet. If you can't remember what it feels like to be impatient, try using dial-up!
~The package of Betty Crocker Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie mix I bought from Ralphs TWO DAYS AGO expired in September '09. I always forget that I have to check the expiration date on everything I buy at Ralphs.
~Little Suki is teething. I had no idea cats did that! I thought they came with teeth that just stayed stuck in and grew into scary fangs. She is chewing everything in sight.
~We feel like we can't thank people fast enough or just enough.
~Customer service reps who do nothing to help you then ask you if you are pleased with the lack of service they just gave you. Then, when you hang up an "independent agency" (always named something with the word Alliance in it) immediately stalker calls you to do a survey on the crappy service you just got. How is that good customer service?


Meeting In The Ladies Room is a great gift for any woman. Save $10 by ordering before December 31st by using these codes at checkout: Orders from the US (using US $): GREATGIFT, Orders from UK (using UK £): GREATGIFT2,Orders from EU (using EU €):   GREATGIFT3,Orders from AU (using AUD $): GREATGIFT4. If you are buying from Canada, select $US and use code GREATGIFT.
If you are ordering 3 or more books for holiday gifts, get FREE 2nd day shipping by ordering your books before December 16th. Use code BUYTHREE  at checkout.
Only one code can be used per order.

Part 3.5: The curse continues

It's really great to wake up the morning after your book comes out and feel nothing but joy. What a difference! We will be introducing you to the amazing Ladies in the book as time goes on (look at this list!), but late last night I noticed the best sign ever. While we were putting the book together, I was totally paranoid that I would forget someone's name or spell it wrong and I checked and checked and checked. And then I made other people check, and check, and check. I worked on the photos of me and Karen last just so I'd be sure everyone else's pages were perfect.
I forgot to put our names with our photo.
The curse continues. And we could not be happier. We love this type of perfect.

Don't forget to use these coupon codes to save $10 when ordering the book!
Orders from the US (using US $):   GREATGIFT
Orders from UK (using UK £):   GREATGIFT2
Orders from EU (using EU €):   GREATGIFT3
Orders from AU (using AUD $):   GREATGIFT4

CANADIAN BUYERS: use code GREATGIFT. Blurb.com only accepts those 4 currencies so select $US for your discount.

Pam has blogged her behind-the-music version of behind-the-book right here.

Part 3: I AM ART (books)

When three determined women make up their minds to do something, the cookie industry makes a lot of money. We were armed with with all the necessary tools we needed (our ideas, our skills, sugar) and we were getting out of a bad situation into a bright new one with a new publisher. We were so excited to work with a publisher who cared. Everything was going great and then they got really bad at responding to emails. And really bad at answering questions. And really good at asking us what we would do for them. And really good at telling us what to change without listening to what we thought. And then again really good at asking what we would do for them. Wait, wasn't this the same situation we just fought to get out of?
Karen and I sat on the floor in her teenage daughter Emily's room while we read the last email from the editor. The floor was covered in clothes, photographs were taped all over the walls, makeup was strewn on the top of the dresser. Emily is the same age I was when I first got out that bottle of purple hair dye. She joined us in her room and when we told her of the latest requests, she rolled her eyes in such a way that I am sure she inherited the skill from me. It reminded me of the fire I felt when I first started my career at almost her same age. I was never afraid to take risks, especially with my art. We started thinking of a response to the email~
Would it be unprofessional to respond with what the hell are you going to do for us? All you have do to is print the book and reap the rewards while we do the rest! Just let us do our thing.

And then our Nana's words replayed in my head. You should add an S and an M before the A-R-T. Would getting back in the same bad situation be smart? No. If all we needed was someone to print the book while we did the rest, did we really need a publisher who wouldn't be doing anything real anyway? What did we need? We needed a printer.
We sent a polite and professional response then made a new plan. The seesters (plus one) were doing it for themselves. We assembled our own team of editors, helpers, and proof readers and we made a book about women by women. I AM ART Books was born.

We are so excited to release our first book about women, designed by women, and for women. Women who are ART. Soooooo excited
Meeting In The Ladies Room: Reflections Of Women In A Room Of Their Own is available for purchase through Blurb.com.


Blurb is offering a special $10 discount to our readers until December 31st. At check out, enter the code below.

Orders from the US (using US $):   GREATGIFT
Orders from UK (using UK £):   GREATGIFT2
Orders from EU (using EU €):   GREATGIFT3
Orders from AU (using AUD $):   GREATGIFT4

Be sure to check out the book preview at blurb.com!

Did I already say we are so excited fifty-thousand times? I'd post photos of the actual book but I have to go cry.

*Note to Canadian buyers: your total is calculated at check out.

Part 2.5: never forgotten

When we first started working with a publisher on Visual Chronicles, our brother told us something I have never forgotten. Your editor will not care about your book. While she's looking at your art she is thinking about how many minutes until lunch. After lunch, while she's reading your manuscript, she's thinking about how many minutes until she can go home. The guy in the PR department who is supposed to ship books for your book signing doesn't care if the books are there or not. He's thinking about fucking your editor.
Nobody but you will care about what happens to your book once you sign that contract.
It sucks that he was right.
When Visual Chronicles and Journal Revolution came out, it was an odd time for us. While we had tremendous and overwhelming support from our readers, we had tremendously underwhelming support from our publisher. We planned our own marketing campaigns, set up our own book signing events, and responded to media requests on our own. Our publisher delighted in our best-selling status, yet they offered little help. We juggled many roles and while we loved meeting and interacting (and eating!) with our readers, we knew we needed to make some important business changes.
We needed a new publisher.
We needed to focus on what mattered.
We needed cookies while we worked.

Part 2: One thing was good

We started working on Meeting In The Ladies Room in a ladies room while were doing a press event for Journal Revolution. We gathered our friends (the secret keepers) to assist in this huge project and we got to work. A brand new adventure!
There were a million things to be done and deadlines to be met. We had photo shoots to schedule, interviews to conduct, designers to talk to, editors to please, plans to be made. People were counting on us and we were counting on people. Maria was assisting with photo shoots, Pam was doing photo shoots in Canada,  and setting up interviews and shoots (with Jake doing hair and Glamma doing makeup), and our friends and relatives were helping anywhere we needed it and everything was going along smoothly.
And then everything went all cancery.
Just as things were on a roll, the bones in Pam's foot started mysteriously breaking. She had aches and pains and an odd spot that needed to be biopsied. The doctors put her in a lovely boot as they spent several painful months testing her for what they thought might be cancer.
At the same time, Karen went in for her routine mammogram and was shocked when they didn't let her leave right away. After weeks of doctors appointments and horrendous tests, we learned that she had breast cancer. She would have surgery and daily radiation treatments.
And I was toothless. Sorry, I can't relive that without drooling on my keyboard.
Last year really sucked.
But one thing was good. We all had something to distract us, to look forward to. We all had one thing in mind: finishing what we started. We persevered. Instead of tossing our project that we were so passionate about on the back burner, we worked on it every chance we got (often in secret, when we were supposed to be resting). On cold nights with broken bones, swollen faces, and healing incisions, we sat up and plotted and planed. We photographed. We edited. We researched. We emailed. We laughed a lot. Sometimes, it took us longer to get things done than we hoped and sometimes just talking about the project was good enough to get us through a night when all else in life seemed uncertain or painful, or both. It was magical when things worked and funny when they didn't. It was art and it was healing and fun, and for a few hours a day we were focused on a project that brought us joy.
Luckily, Pam did not have cancer and her foot finally healed, Karen's cancer is now cured, and I have smile full of fake teeth. [Also, Pam was really bossy and she would not have let me not finish this book even if they'd had to amputate my head during the tooth implant thing. Bossy friends are the best.]

We are so thankful for all the support and love our friends have given us while we worked on our dream project, especially ~ Maria Hammon,  Marissa Bowers, Joey Wargachuk (They never got annoyed when we urgently needed help!)

We started it. We finished it. Nobody is dead.

There's one more major part to this story. It's coming.

harboring a fugitive

It should not be a shock to anyone why I don't answer my phone or the door. It's just never anything good when I do.  Yesterday, a few minutes after my husband left for a doctor appointment, my doorbell rang. I looked through the peep hole and saw a uniformed cop type person. Oh shit! He's dead and they've come to alert me! They probably called and I didn't answer the fucking phone! I open the door and she asks to see my license and proof of vaccinations. Uh, WHAT? She wanted proof that we had a license for our dear cat. Yes, the animal police are coming door-to-door to check the status of your pet licenses. In LA County, your housekeeper and your gardener need not run for cover when the doorbell rings, but your pets better hide.
The pet police woman explained that a license is mandatory in LA County and required proof of vaccines and sterilization. I had those things but had no idea where they were because if something is not on my iPhone, I don't know where it is. She made an appointment to come back the next day. I closed the door and started sweating. First, I hid my supply of Ambien,  then I hid Suki while we gathered all her documents while texting my lawyer who also has  cats.  It's always good to warn your lawyer that she might also be in violation of some ridiculous law about vaccinated and sterilized domestic cats. I had no idea we needed to have our cat licensed. We got the required proof that our cat is disease and uterus-free and waited.
The pet police came back today and little rebel Suki is now a legal resident of LA County.
I am turning off the doorbell now.

Part 1: Something else happens

When I was 17, I had purple hair. It really bothered people. Karen was 22 and had flame red hair that she hid under a blond wig when she went on job interviews. Flame red hair bothered potential employers. It didn't matter that I managed to get into art school despite being a high school drop out or that Karen was going to one of the best law schools. It didn't matter that we didn't drink or do drugs. It didn't matter that we were kind and generous and good.  It just bothered people that we dyed our hair and expressed ourselves in a way that made us colorful or appear different. One day, our beloved Nana asked me for the millionth time why I needed to have purple hair and I laughed and simply said because I am art. I wanted to make my point very clear so I hand-painted my response on a t-shirt so people wouldn't have to ask why, why, why? I painted many shirts and sold them to make extra money while I was in college. One day, Nana smiled at me in my hand-painted shirt and said you should add an S and an M before the A-R-T. I knew she got it then. I knew she got me.
For the last 23 years, in my career as an artist and in my life as me, our trademarked I AM ART slogan has been our mantra and our truth. I always relied on the art of my life to inspire me and it never failed me. This belief fueled my art and Karen's writing and we were so happy to share what worked for us over the years in our books Visual Chronicles and Journal Revolution. We are still thrilled to know our books had such an impact on so many lives.
After the books came out, Karen continued to save the world with her bad ass lawyering skills and I continued to be an artist and photographer, and of course we kept journaling together on the side-- in the same way so many other people incorporate journaling in their own lives.
Almost 2 years ago, we started working on a massive art project focusing on another topic we are passionate about. Of course, our mantra I AM ART was the basis of this project as well.  And when I say we, I mean we had a lot of help.  And when I say almost 2 years ago, I mean because we are us, every time we start something, something else happens.

best news ever

All the reports are in and the good news of the day is that Karen's stupid lump and all its cell mates are history and she is back to her normal healthy status. We can all go back to teasing her about her constant flat tires, her garbage can full of candy wrappers, and the orthopedic shoes she must wear due to the Toe Incident of 2008. Actually, we never stopped teasing her about those things because in our family a little thing like being cancery doesn't make you immune from jokes and laughter. It's just that now we can't make jokes about her being radioactive.
Best news ever.

prizes, music, and things

Thanks so much for sharing your lunch with us! We always love to read what you're eating. I wrote down all your names on little pieces of paper while alternately popping Wheat Thins smothered in cream cheese in my mouth (I got re-addicted). Suki was happy to pick the winners because she loves to eat bite-sized pieces of paper.
VERNA you are the winner of the handmade journal by artist Kathleen Tennant and your choice of Visual Chronicles or Journal Revolution.
SHARMAINE you are the winner of your choice of any print from my shop.
Thank your for playing with us. I will email you both.

We both had lovely holiday weekends. I was in San Francisco with my husband, and Karen was with her family and the rest of our siblings, mom, cousins, and aunt and uncles in Oxnard. We were apart but-as always- both afflicted with the same problem: humidity ruined our hair. Distance never really separates sisters and hair issues. We were both in hotel bathrooms looking in the mirror in shock while texting each other. There's a lot that goes on with women in bathrooms and we're going to be telling some of those stories with our new book. Pamela Detlor has written a bit about it in her interview with singer/songwriter Jen Foster, who is featured in our book, Meeting In The Ladies Room. If you've been reading our blog for a while, Jen Foster should be no stranger to you. We are huge fans of her music. Pam is giving away Jen Foster's CD Thirty-Nine and other merchandise so if you aren't yet a fan, you soon will be. Comment there for your chance to win. Also, be sure to notice the awesome never-before-seen photos of Jen on Venice Beach taken by yours truly.

November always seems to bring new things for us in the same way New Years does for some people. I just wish it brought me more time to write about all the things that aren't really things.

new projects, journals and a contest

I feel kind of weird. Not bad weird but normal weird. I feel that kind of weird you feel when you get a new CD and you have to take one you love out of the CD player to make room for the new one. Ok, that might be a lame comparison since everyone but us listens to music on playlists on MP3 players now.
Still, weird.
We've been working on a project for over a year and the end result will be a new book. It's been  a secret dream project and we are so thankful for those people who kept our secret and our dream alive during a really difficult year. We've been getting a lot of questions about the new book and we'll be talking about it in more detail in the coming weeks.  The new book reveals bold, fearless self-expression and truly mixes the media of life and art. It's wonderfully inspiring in a totally different way than our first two books are. We are so excited about this project and book and are thrilled to be sharing it with you soon.
But, there's that weird. The weird of loving the new when we still have the old staring at us. We don't want to neglect our first two books (that we love so much)  so why not give some away to a good home?  A contest sounds nice. And to get you started in expressing yourself, handmade book artist Kathleen Tennant has donated one of her handmade journals for the lucky winner!
The First Prize: Your choice of a signed copy of Visual Chronicles or Journal Revolution and this lovely handmade journal. If you have the books already, they'd be an awesome holiday gift with the journal!
The Second Prize: Your choice of any print from my etsy shop.

Comment here and tell us what you had for lunch to have your name written on a little piece of paper, tossed in a box, then shaken around. Winners will be chosen at random with my eyes closed. If we're really lucky, maybe Suki will stick her paw in and grab your name. Aw, that would be a cute photo.  Please comment by November 29th.

Remember, it doesn't matter what you had for lunch or how good it was, just that you comment. Of course, we do love a good story.