Field Trip

Last Saturday i went on a field trip and took some photos of flowers among other things. It has taken me all week to get the photos from my camera to computer to editing to uploading. I thought i would try a new way to display several photos - i'm not real excited about how they look just uploaded to blogger. Enjoy!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

It is warm! sunny! on a Friday! I am having a hard hard time sitting in my office but thankful i have a window that looks out into the big office that has big windows that look out into the sky which is perfectly clear and blue today. My plans for lunch is Thai sitting outside on a picnic bench reading Ann of Green Gables {i know, it's a crime i've waited so long to read it but big fan of the movies}.

I had really ambitious plans last night and i completely gave them up for movies. I watched P.S. I Love You which was good, didn't make me cry and i laughed a little more than i expected. Then i watched Lars and the Real Girl really good story but it did make me teary. Here is the part i'm proud of, you know that new book i got, Doodle Stitches? Well, i actually pulled it out last night and used it! That's right, i practices stitches while watching my second movie. Months ago i had picked up these square swatches that are pre-cut for quilts or whatever. My original plan was to show M. "look these would make great curtains for our back door" - we went a different route that still isn't even up... anyway i digress... i took one of the pieces of fabric that has a large flower pattern and decided to follow the pattern to practice my stitches. It worked, it looks nice for my first try, I'll post proof as soon as I take a photo. Ta-da proof:




I'm also getting anxious about my sister delivering. Early this morning between my alarm going off and the snooze time i was dreaming that my dad had called to tell me my sister had gone into labor. When i woke fully and checked my phone, it wasn't true. Which really is good according to the calendar she has another week. The waiting is getting hard!

I hope the weather is amazing where you are!

Amazing!

Go go go - if you ever see that Brenda Angiel Aerial Dance Company is coming to your town you must buy tickets.

The performance was remarkable and a little mind blowing. I'll have more to say about it later. Explore the website for now. Pay attention to the music on the website it's part of what they use in their performances.

Starting Over - again

Here is the great thing about starting over, you can do it when ever you want. It seems I completely forgot to blog yesterday. So that will just have to count as one of my four days to post about whatever (or nothing).

This week I've started that all important healthy eating part of the weight loss goal. It hasn't been radical but small steps. One specifically, eating breakfast at home! I love eating at home and not in the car!

I have a theory that my life is a lot like one of those sliding tile puzzles have to move one tile to move another and some times the picture looks weird just to get one tile in the proper place. The one piece of the puzzle that has to be in place for me to eat at home is waking up and getting out of bed at 6am. This has been a challenge by it self. The alarm clock now lives in on my floor and away from me so i either have to fall partially out of bed to reach it and by that point I may as well get out of bed.

With two of the pieces in place, up and eating at table, i'm able to slide a third piece of the puzzle into place; writing my three pages of whatever-strikes-me morning pages. While nothing revolutionary has happened or been revealed it is nice to be back in the habit of journaling.

I have felt a great since of accomplishment this week with those 3 pieces in place.

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Tonight i'm going with my husband and some friends to the PSU Aerial Dance. I've been looking forward to this for about a month. I'll let you know how it was tomorrow.

Ta-Da!

It took me forever and a template change to get the new banner up but it's there! I had fun making the banner. It only took me since November to actually do it. Then I had to spend a few hours finding the font I wanted.

Going to the beach this weekend. Can't wait! There was a quick day trip in Jan. but this is a full weekend. I plan on doing a lot of beach combing for drift wood. Not only do i collect it but I want to make a mobile or two for our living room.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

P.S. this is my 100th post!

Weekend Recap

Friday:
Light load at work and then at 2p had a half hour chair massage as a "job well done" treat. The massage was nice, my shoulders are still a little tinder as she said they would be.

My original plan was to leave from work to go to a friend's who is about 30/45 min. from work and stay the night. Saturday being an artsy day together. Small catch. The auto repair place called me Fri. morning announcing my car was ready for pick up*. This caused me to have to head back home 30/45 min drive from work to drop off the rental. I chose to stay in my area of town for Fri night and drive out to her place on Sat. which is about an hour from my home.

*Yea! My car is repaired from my minor car accident back on 10.31.07. Why did it take so long you might ask... the car insurance didn't get back to me until it was 2 weeks before Christmas, i was crazy busy and leaving town, no time. January same story except the relatives where coming into town. Then February arrived and i had some time to deal with it. My car looks almost bran new. Now, someday, i might have the money to care enough to fix the dent on the passenger, driver side, door but not now.

Friday Night:
My husband’s plans also fell through. We decided to go to the movies as a moment to escape with each other. Had not been to the movies sense Jan. it was fun. Saw The Spiderwick Chronicles, enjoyed it.

We leave the theater and M gets a text message from his mom. We drive from the theater to M's parent's house. More bad news. M's youngest brother has a suspicious spot/lump/pump in his left shoulder. Youngest Bro had had pain in his left arm for about six months, had six dr. visits in that time, Fri. finally got an MRI and it showed the spot in his shoulders when previous x-rays had not. Needless to say my mother-in-law is beside herself. She even was saying she got hysterical at the hospital and wouldn't leave until they assigned a dr. for a biopsy this week. Being a Friday they have to wait till today to actually make an appointment for it. Everyone is trying to stay calm and keep the thought that this is all how it started with Ernie only a two weeks ago.

Thank you to everyone for your comments regarding prayer for my family, muchly appreciated!

Saturday:
Drive out friend's house for a day of fellowship and block printing. I got to play instructor on how to make a block print. Until yesterday never realized how many steps are involved in the process. She lives in the country and we got to take a walk along the dirt roads in the sun shine. It was a wonderful time!

Sunday:
Nothing actually happened. I read a little more of The Artist Way and did a few exercises. I helped M with his school photography project. By mid afternoon i had a weird listlessness going on. I couldn't figure out what to do to make it go away. I played more Guitar Hero 3, I'm stuck on the last set of songs on Hard and can't get past the 3rd set on Expert. Apparently I can't strum fast enough for the notes, ah well. Playing online against others are fun. Then I watched Martian Child with John Cusak, it was a good story.


How was your weekend?

Cupcake-a-palooza

In excellent timing the ACEO I purchased from Jeannine arrived on Valentines day. Isn't it cute? Plus as a bonus she sent a magnetic button!

This ACEO and all the ones she's made and making for the month of February will be for sale at her Esty shop Boodzoo Studio. The cost of the card goes to the USO Operation Phone Home, they provide phone calling cards to those in the armed services so they can call their loved ones and families from anywhere in the world.

I highly recommend going to her blog Art Play Possibility to find out more about what she's up to for the month of February. Also, she's on a mission to make an Artist Trading Card every day until her husband comes back home from his duties as a marine in a year!

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A few weeks ago I run into my local craft store for a few things. Turns out they were having this craft fair inside the store. There were different projects set up in all the different areas of the store. After making a crafty paper frame for a photo I wondered into the fabric area. They happened to be making cloth cupcakes from felt as the cake part and fabric pulled into yoyos for the icing. They were promoting this little plastic circle that makes it way easy to make the yoyos. I didn't buy it, if I had I would have also purchased a tone of fabric. I love fabric I just don't sow...yet.

Goals 2008

What, it's mid January?! Good thing one of my goals this year is not about being punctual.

The list of my goals is actually very long and detailed and probably boring in its entirety to anyone else. So, a quick list will appear here to give you an idea of what you might be reading about this year.

Top goals in board wording:
- Complete more personal art
- Loose the weight gained in 2007 & reach a healthy style of living
- Become a better wife (better communicator, less negative, more trusting)
- Finances - more in savings, less fear

Words for 2008:
- Fit
- Positive
- Prolific

The fun stuff about art:

• I've joined Leah at Creative Every Day in her challenge to be creative in what ever way you want in all of 2008. I think this will be a great way to stay more "in the now" and recognize that i might not be completing art on paper daily but I can do something creative daily.
• A monthly goal for art is to complete one block print a month. Now, i set this goal last year and i completed zero a month. This is changing this year. There has been a building pressure to get busy with my own art and I'm going to pay attention to that.
• A new adventure will be collaging and making Artist Trading Cards. There is the ATCards and the Monday Artday ATC, these are social groups that trades and does swap for ATCs. Now, i just need to get busy creating.
• Today I found Overlooked which is a blog about documenting the little things that are big in our lives. The first subject is coffee mugs - how could I resist?! I love mugs and coffee. I'll be posting in about a week after I scrap the page. I've read several blogs with inspirational challenges but this one got me the most excited immediately, sometimes it is all about the first impressions, lol.
• I will continue to be part of a local art group. Attending Saturday mornings to get together and draw or paint. Although, if my husband's work schedule changes i'll only go the Saturdays he's working that way we can spend a little more time together. On a side note I'm still on the retreat committee for this group.
• There is a second art group that has formed from the first one but it's all about getting out and seeing art. It'll schedule things like going to art galleries, the symphony, a performance dance and the like. I'm not getting to involved as far as commitments for this group. It's more of if i'm available then I'll go. Except, I did agree to design a simple calendar but really things have to be decided before a calendar can be made...
• My final creative commitment is to work on a book illustration. The first Saturday of Jan was the first meeting on the goal/vision for the illustrations because it is a collaborative artist activity.
• Oh yeah... and i'm still wrapping up that freelance logo that I've been complaining over the past couple of months... yeah... I've been offered more work but a part of me just wants to run away. I still have time to make my decision.

How I'm going to do all of this in one year among the mundane things like taking care of a house and working 40 hours a week, I have no clue.

scared my self - i had updated the post date because this one was a draft. It didn't show up on my blog, it didn't show up as the last post in my "edit post" section... realized i'd typed 7 not 8!