Friday, January 23, 2009

Etsy Austin Treasury!

The Etsy Team here in Austin Texas is rockin' and rollin'!






Estelle Clothing picked a great Treasury featuring Austin Artists.. check it out!



xo,
Anne Marie


www.TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sunny Sunday - Never Forget


Whose voice is better known than Dr. King's? As the nation resounds in joy on Tuesday at the sound of our latest Orator of Note - Mr. Barack Obama - let us remember the struggles we have gone through to get where we are.



Looking backwards with an honest eye is the only way to see the future clearly. February is my favorite month of the year - it's Black History Month! If you have never taken the time to study Black History beyond the requisite readings of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and a few Langston Hughes poems - it is well worth it.

PBS
- my all time favorite station - airs some of the best programming during February. I am getting ready to settle in for some nights of learning, laughing and lifting up of the spirit.

We should never forget:

The Blood sown into our Soil
The Blood that binds us all as Children of the same God
The God who brought us through the Darkness
The Love that moved so many to Stand Strong
The Legacy of the Strong
The Goal of Equality
The Message of Hope
The Truth of Peace




May God Bless You during this Historic Week in American History! Pay homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tomorrow.

xo, Anne Marie

(Photos from Google Images. Painting by Ben Heine)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

New Accessories in my Etsy Shop!

I have been sooo behind in my sewing this year. December was a record month for me - and I literally SOLD OUT of stock!





So I am rapidly trying to catch up, and finally posted some new accessories on Etsy. The fabric is this adorable retro print with dots and circles on a brown background. It was a super seller in December, and just matches everything. Enjoy!



xo, Anne Marie

www.TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Treasure Tuesday: Ode to the Sun

Sometimes I write poetry... so today I am going to share one with you that I wrote last week


Ode to the Sun

Morning comes
You gently nudge me awake
Leaves dance in shadow across my window
As birds sing a song to praise the new day

Midday presses
A brutal strength in Summer
A welcome friend in Winter
Solid and shining
Hated and loved
Like the best of friends

Afternoon transforms
A sultry solar glow that pulsates with sensuous rhythms
Time to rest
And time for love

Evening descends
A fiery show of strength
Color blazes across the sky
A testament to the perfection of one day
And the promise of another

Nighttime Blankets
Warmth radiates, lingers, and evaporates
Your silver sister begins her dance
Leading a chorus of lovers into the river of night

by: Anne Marie Beard
1/06/2009

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Mi Vida Loca

Today started off a bit strange. Nothing in particular, just a bit of a sour mood lingering inside which made me a bit of a butt-head at work (sorry E.)

For those of you who don't know, I drive an '81 Buick Regal - she is a total big body hooptie all the way. Ms. Regal and I have had LOTS of adventures - she bears the scars to prove the tales I tell.
As I was driving home today, my car died on the Congress Avenue Bridge. Um, yeah. Fortunately it was 2:30 and there wasn't much traffic yet. Lots of very nice joggers and bikers offered their assistance (one was totally hot!), but I didn't think they looked like the help I needed. So I dialed my Dad and got the number to Harper's Towing. They are like my personal towing service. Ms. Regal has been lifted onto the back of one of their trucks many a time.

Sam, the Harper's Guy, showed up pretty quickly, and was nice enough to even let me stop in Parts & Labour on the way home. Today is payday at the awesome store where I sell - and I WANTED MY MONEY!




So the journey continues and I am blessed enough to borrow a car from my parents - an even BIGGER HOOPTIE - an '84 Suburban.

Later on this evening, returning from the gym - in not so warm workout clothes and flip flops - I get to my apartments and both entrances are blocked by fire trucks, cop cars and TV vans. OH SH*T - here we go again! In 6 years of living at my apartment, I have seen some crazy stuff - but there has never been a fire. I was able to park the suburban and walk to my apartment.

(Statesman coverage of fire)

The building just across my parking lot is half-burnt to the ground! Just above the laundry room and my mailbox. I was blessed also to have gotten my mail today (very important stuff in the mail, too!) and all my laundry is clean. Looks like God is watching over me today - through all the insanity I am very grateful that I am safe and sound.

xo, Anne Marie

www.TheBeardedLadiesPresent.com

Sunday, January 4, 2009

The decline of the Human GPS...

I'm one of those people who really likes maps. I love to look at maps and figure out where things are and look up alternate routes. I would actually prefer to be told something is on the North side of the road that to be told "it's on the right..."

One of my good friends has called me her Human Mapquest/GPS for a few years now. She has been known to call me from MoPac and say - where am I? where do I go? And with a bit of sarcasm and a lot of love, I've always been happy to give her turn by turn directions.

This Christmas, her husband purchased her a GPS unit. And today, we made plans for her to pick me up at work on Tuesday, and I wanted to write her out directions. GASP - she said - NO I will use my GPS.

So I decided to play around with it, and I hated it! It doesn't show you a map from point A to point B - it just talks you through the route turn by turn. There is just something about knowing the layout of my route in my mind's eye, and being able to decide in a split second to take an alternate street for any reason. I just don't understand how anyone could be comfortable not knowing where they are, and trusting a computerized voice to tell you what to do. I am old school and I own it with pride!

Did you know that I also loathe laptops, email on phones and try to "unplug" from the internet at least one day a week? That if I had to live life without the smell of old books I would be very sad? Perhaps I am just spoiled that I live in a City I know like the back of my hand and I don't travel often enough to need really mobile technology. I can certainly see how a road trip to Dallas would be awesome with a GPS. But the truth is, I also know I could navigate in any city with a "real" map - it's part of the adventure!

My fear is that people are so dependent on technology that if cell phone towers and internet cables went out, they would freeze into a state of helpless oblivion and not be able to go anywhere or do anything. Heaven forbid we live without text messaging for a day! Eat without a microwave - never! The point is that technology is great, but it isn't necessary to live a fulfilling life.

xo, Anne Marie