Ok, the promised email is here. These are actual experpts emails between me, Kate
at Penguin Art, and Tammy at Polka Dot Mittens: (LONG blog, but worth the read!!)

************************
NOTE: EMAIL

Ok Kate,

I don't see an email for Tammy, so I am writing this to you, please
forward this email to the MOST talented artist, Tammy!

The story:

So I am picking up art from Donna Van Goghs in Candler Park the day before
my studio opening. I am waiting on the owner, Terri, to finish up with a
customer. i begin checking out the new art as I haven't been there in a
while. I am completely and utterly drawn to a series of cards. They are
just completely adorable!! Doxies with halos, doxies with horns, kitties
on couches, oh my!! I LOVE them! "Terri!" I exclaim, (yes literally) "WHO
is this artist??!!" Some woman in Athens, isn't her stuff terrific? "YES!
YES!"

Then I of course buy the holo doxie card. Now, the big, huge thing here is
that I am not just a starving artist, but a cheapskate. Yes, I NEVER buy
art except for the type that just absolutely tugs at my heart. (now in the
future when I am rich and famous I will of course buy art by the
truckload, but now I must be ever so furgal, yes, I know you understand.)
So I buy the adorable card and it goes right up on my inspiration board
for all to see at my grand opening. (many wonderful comments Tammy!) And I
am including a picture so you know I ain't lyin'!


And of course here is the serendipidous part. The universe just a
screamin' out part. I read Kate's (oh so amazing, wonderful, talented
Kate) blog today. And oh, my heart just stops once I of course, go to
Tammy's site. Could it be??? The same artist??? how freaking increadible
is that?! Kate, MY Philly Kate knows her?? How crazy is this? Now Kate can
vouch that I am not a complete utter psycho (she even invited me to her
house) so with that being my voucher, I would love to meet you sometime
Tammy. Do you have a studio anywhere? I would love to come up to Athens
anytime you are available. I know they have plenty of great coffee houses
up there. So if you are so inclined to meet a crazy dog artist from
Atlanta, please let me know. I serioulsy feel we must meet. I need to meet
the artist behind the art that made me buy it. (I mean, this is a big deal
for me to shell out money!)

Seriously how crazy is this?!?

Ok, Kate, please commence forwarding...

You so rock Kate, I just know you are about to have something huge happen
and I am so excited for you!

xo,
Michelle

NOTE: SHE SENT THIS TO TAMMY:

Tammy baby,

Someone was asking about you yesterday... and well, she asked me to
forward this to you, so read on, rock star!

I hope you didn't mind me introducing you in my blog. I figured it was
safe since you've had plenty o' Illustration Friday visitors already, and
you've been making comment appearances.

Oh, and I can vouch for Michelle that she is not a loon, she's safe to
meet for coffee. Or wine. Wine is always good. ;)

Ok, I'm off to my last doggie plate...

xox
Kate

NOTE: TAMMY"S EMAIL TO ME AND KATE:

> Hey babes!
>
> There is absolutely NOTHING I like more than an odd coincidence! And
> in the grand style of an old-fashioned eighties infomercial - BUT WAIT!
> THERE'S MORE!!!
>
> So, Michelle, I was reading your blog, too (like I have been Kate's)
> and I've seen your dog paintings at DVG's (and they are utterly
> fabulous!), and I kept meaning to drop you a line saying hi and I kept
> not getting around to it for one reason or another that you could
> attribute to shyness or procrastination or generally
> being-too-busy-to-breathe-ness. So when I read about your gallery
> opening, at first I was going to stop by, but then that ended up
> coinciding with my last day of work before I quit my job and I just had
> a feeling I wouldn't be able squeeze it in. So I sent you one of my
> weiner dog cards for your inspiration board with a note saying "Hi, I'm
> Tammy, and I love your stuff and good luck" and I mailed it about a
> week before your opening.
>
> When I saw the pictures from it, I saw the weiner dog card on your
> board and I was really happy that you'd gotten it, and then it occurred
> to me that I hadn't put my email address in it and I probably should
> have done that (oops) in case you wanted to write me back.
>
> And THEN, like, two days later my card came back in the mail with a
> "return to sender - address unknown" sticker on it. And I was
> completely and thoroughly confused. I went and looked at the photos on
> your site again just to make sure, and I was going "but... but... it's
> there... so how come it's here and HEY SOMEBODY'S MESSING WITH MY
> HEAD!!" I even opened it up to look inside, thinking "well, maybe she
> opened it and then took out the card and put something else in and
> returned the envelope to me with something else in it and just did it
> this way to save postage?" Which is a really weird thing to consider,
> but I was starting to think I was in the Twilight Weiner Dog Card Zone
> or something.
>
> But no.. there was the card, right where I'd put it. I had actually
> sent you a different weiner dog card than the one that you bought, but
> I had sort of hoped you might be a weiner dog sort of person and I am
> glad to see that I was right about that. :D
>
> I am really really really glad that there is a very good explanation
> for all of this other than that I am going crazy-nutsola. And I'm
> happy and flattered that you bought my card! And I would LOVE to meet
> for coffee and/or wine! And you are most welcome to come out here and
> visit sometime (I do have an at-home studio here), but since it's a
> heck of a drive and I'll be in Atlanta next week dropping off some
> Christmas stuff for Teri, why don't we try to hook up then? I really
> want to come see the studio in person!
>
> Kate, if you'd like to come down, too, you're invited. But I drove to
> Pittsburgh and back last weekend, and it is quite a haul from
> Pennsylvania to Georgia for a cup of coffee. So I understand if you
> would rather stay at home. ;o) And no, I TOTALLY don't mind the
> intro... I think it's awesome! Thank you!
>
> Anyway, I gotta scoot and work on this freelance thang, but let me know
> about coffee (or the beverage of your choice) and hopefully we can hang
> out next week! Cause, like, I have a card for ya!
>
> :o)
>
> tammy

NOTE: KATE'S VERY APPROPRIATE RESPONE:

Warm fuzzies all around!

**********************

How COOl is this story??? Tammy, did come by and of course I was not at the studio, but she left me this very cool good luck pen and left me the sweetest note in my guestbook. Cannot wait to FINALLY meet up with this super cool lady! Now i ask you, when the universe conspires, it REALLY conspires!! We are obviously meant to meet!

I know I owe you another entry, but I have been so busy and well, today is my birthday. Yep 32. One year before the age my mom was when, as a little girl I thought, "Wow! is THAT old!" I can remember her wearing this very 70's red shirt too. But I digress.

Here I am. 32 and what a year I have had. I went from moments of utter happiness to utter sadness. (Don't we all?) I had moments were I gave up this whole crazy dog thing, to opening up a studio and gallery devoted completely to it. Who knew? Certainly not I. I have been going back through old journals and found lists of things I wanted to accomplish. These were from when my kids were so small and I remember constanly feeling like a failure because I couldn't manage to make any of them happen. "I AM an artist, I NEED to create, please God just give the opportunity!!", I would desperately scrawl. Then in the very next entry I would describe Sophie smiling in her sleep, her big chubby baby hand curled up around her ear. Or watching Noah drift off to sleep, fighting it every moment of the way.(he still does.) I am so glad I wrote about these moments. I am glad I did experience them as they happened. Because when I think back I tend to remember the desperate moments more. The ones where my life was flashing by me. But they weren't. I was busy. So busy having and raising two babies. The moms out there know that if you do a pretty good crayon scrawl while your kids are young you are practically Picasso!! The point is, yes I think there is one, is that I have now, just a mere 5 or 6 years later, accomplished almost all the things on my list. I wasn't ticking them off or anything, they just naturally happened anyway. It is who I am meant to be, what I am supposed to do. Right now anyway. I am an artist making a living from my art. What a dream, what a gift. Lots of hard work and a belief. I have a few thngs left from those old lists, I mean, Oprah hasn't called yet, but there is still time. ;)

I am still making new lists all the time but now the desperation is not here as much. I know how much power there is in perseverence and hard work. Life knows what we want just as much as we do. The hardest part is patience. I think anyway. I am learning. Sowly. So slowly. This year sure didn't end the way I expected. In so many different ways. But I am another year older and hopefully, (such humble hope) a wee more wise. I look forward to my next year and all it holds.

Oh, yeah, and if you really want to bring in a birthday right, book an hour long massage, grab two of your best girlfriends afterwards, have a couple of drinks and belt out as many Air Supply and Ann Murray songs at a gay karioke bar (where you are the only 3 women in the joint) as you can manage. I PROMISE you will feel like you celebrated in style!!