A little spring bling...

I've been working on this necklace for most of this week. I finished it up a couple days ago. It's a dreary day today so I didn't have good light for good pictures. The beads are vintage beads that Morgan's mom gave me after his grandma passed away. They were part of a necklace she had but it had come apart but she had kept the beads. I had been hanging on to them until I had found other beads to go with them. But then I found Super Hero Designs and realized I could keep it simple and just keep the beads together and not add other beads with them. I love the simplicity of the designs at Super Hero. It also gave me good practice working with wire. The founder of Super Hero Designs in also featured in the Sark book I'm ready!

The 2P's challenge for today is: What is one book you would recommend for someone who is new to scrapbooking or looking for new/useful information?

This is a tough question. I think it can depend on what your style is. But I'm going to go with Cathy Zielske's Clean and Simple Scrapbooking. She covers a lot of design principles and I think that is very helpful. I find myself going back to that book again and again. I find a lot of people work is lovely but too busy for me. I love Cathy's focus on the pictures and the stories. She doesn't over do a page with all kind of embellishments. While these things can add to a page many times it is just too much. Or not done the right way.

I spent some time yesterday crusing around the web and found lots of inspiration and now my head is brimming with ideas. I've got to do some writing so I can get them out of my head and at least down on some paper. I tend to be a bit fidgety when I have too much going on in my head! Then I can't focus and nothing gets done. Hence the pile up of laundry!

A plug for Ali E...

If you read my blog you know one of my favorite scrapbook artists is Ali Edwards. Her son Simon, has autism. She is currently raising money for Autism Speaks through the six degrees charity run by Kevin Bacon. At the end of this month the person with the most donations (# of donations NOT highest dollar amount) will receive an additional $10,000 for their charity. So if you can spare $10 (this is the minimum donation) click on the badge on the side bar and donate. There are thousands of children and families affected by this disease and it is a very worthwhile cause.

Week 12...

This week's Deck of Me challenge was to create a card with a belief. The lettering, the border and flower are hand drawn and then watercolored. I love using watercolors but don't very often. I'm not good with them. The scan doesn't show the colors the best. But the card has all the things I love about creating. Color, sparkle, and glitter!

Playing catch up...

is difficult. Things pile up and one feels the need to accomplish twice as much as normal because of the pile up. I think that's how I've been feeling lately. Laundry, cleaning, creating are all piling up.

I've been reading the book Make Your Creative Dreams Real by Sark. I am a fan of her books. Mostly because they are anything but ordinary. Last night I read this:

Life is a difficult assignment. We are fragile creatures, expected to function at high rates of speed, and asked to accomplish great and small things each day. These daily activities take enormous amounts of energy. Most things are out of our control. We are surrounded by danger, frustration, grief and insanity as well as love, hope, ecstasy, and wonder. Being fully human is an exercise in humility, suffering, grace, and great humor. Things and people all around us die, get broken , or are lost. There is no safety or guarantees.

Such an overwhelming thought. And at the same time can make one realize the adventure that life can be. We are presented daily with opportunities to CREATE OUR OWN HAPPINESS! (Right Mag!?)

Today Owen and I went to check out the new Trader Joe's that opened in Maple Grove last week. I bought some natural ingredient, bake at home, chocolate chip cookies. So I'm going to go and create some happiness for myself!

It occured to me...

today, that most women have or have had an issue with weight. And while I would agree that the United States probably has the fattest people in the world, I would also venture a guess that it has most of the unhappiest.

This is a sad thought. We wrap so much of our happiness into our appearance. We care what others think of how we look but do we really examine how we feel about how we look? And what influences our thoughts about our appearance? Media? The comments of strangers or worse yet, family or friends? If we are loving and caring people who do good than can't we be happy? And won't that happiness and contentedness affect the way we eat, thus influencing our weight?

My mom and I were discussing this on Friday while we were driving. I have had issue with my weight for years. Since about junior high. Probably seventh grade to be exact. I had stopped growing around then and I had gained some weight. This is probably about the time my dance teacher told me I was getting heavy. I had never told my mom this before and she was appalled by it. Considering that my former dance teacher had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago and is basically back at the same weight she was prior to the surgery. It's not uncommon for dancers and gymnasts to have issues with weight. But I don't think I did until before junior high. My mom is a graduate student right now, getting a degree in counseling psychology, so she likes to get to the bottom of things. She's been practicing on me for years. So she was trying to get to the bottom of this. Now, she tends to be biased. She will love me no matter what and thinks I'm a beautiful person inside and out regardless of my weight. If I got to be 300 pounds she would probably say something. But she lets me be.

My point is that I have let my weight dictate some many facets of my life. But primarily how I feel about myself and the way I talk to myself. And this is wrong. It's easy to recognize this and difficult to change. I have a number in my head, as many women do, of what I think I should weigh. What I want to weigh. And whether or not it's realistic doesn't matter. It's there. I've decided on it based on a variety and combination of influences. Many of which are probably not realistic either. But it's there nonetheless. And everyday I think about this number and how I'm not there or even close. And how the journey down is long and hard and even I doubt that I can be successful. But still I keep the number close. I stay hopeful and cling to the unreality of being successful. And it's ironic to me that I have accomplished so much, but yet I cannot come to terms with or accept the body God has given me. And this is sad.

It is not just women who struggle with weight. Have you ever seen the Biggest Loser? Men struggle also. Morgan has a number too. And while we can both look at each other and love what we see, we cannot look in the mirror and love what we see. When we look in the mirror at ourselves we see our reflection. Our outward appearance. We don't take into account WHO we are on the inside. Which is the larger part of our beauty. We don't see ourselves as others do. And that's the hard part. I don't think we can. Somehow we all must form a view of ourself that takes into account our appearance and WHO we are. Our morals, our values, our beliefs. At some point it's important to look at yourself and say "I am done beating you up." So often we would not ever say to another person the things we say to ourself. And why is that? Why can't we look in the mirror and say "I love my blue eyes." "My hair looks good today."

So here's my challenge for everyone reading today. This week, each day, tell yourself something good. That you like something about yourself. Either how you look or something you did that satisfies you. If you are like me, a perfectionist, this is even more difficult. But do it anyway. Start small. Praise yourself for flossing your teeth!

Because at the end we cannot go back and change anything. It's not worth living a life filled with sadness. What is it you keep saying Maggie? You are creating your own happiness? I think that's it!

It was bound to happen...

a creative dry spell has struck me. I think it was the trip to Kansas. Even though I got a couple cute ideas while there, I haven't had time to bring them to fruition. But I have a crop this weekend so hopefully I will have a little time to work on Owen's album and get over my spell!

Today we are going to the outlet mall with my mom. It's a seasonal trip. I look forward to it. My mom takes a couple days off every now and then and we take a trip out there. It's not that far from our house actually. But we make a day of it because the place is so big! So it's days like this that I wish I had worked harder the last several months getting back to a sensible weight! No amount of time on the treadmill this morning will help new pants fit this afternoon!! I guess I won't be getting any new pants! I mostly go to find Owen new things. Spring is here and he will be needing some warm weather clothes. I'm sure he'll be happy not to be dressed in layers everyday!

And later this evening I get to have a night out with my girlfriends! Lori can't come but Maggie and Nikki will be there. It promises to be a fabulous time! We are going to be on the lookout for a man for Maggie. So if any of you know of some very nice, attractive men between the ages of 34-40 please let me know! Nikki and I are planning to begin interviewing candidates for her! (And at this moment I know you are gasping, Maggie! See you later!!!)

And just in case you are wondering, Morgan is okay. I have not hurt him. Not that the thought doesn't cross my mind every so often, but I do love him and if something happened to him I'd have to cook. And I'm just not ready for that! My friend Pam called last night just to verify that Morgan was in fact still alive! She called for other reasons too but she did want to check on Morgan!

And before I go the 2P's challenge today is: let's talk jewelry. Silver/Gold... what is your preference???

A little of both. I lean more toward silver though but it depends on what I'm wearing.

Have a great day! Here in MN it's supposed to be partly sunny and 60!!! Woo Whoo! Spring has sprung!

And now I hear my little man jabbering away in his room. What a cute sound. And yesterday he took two good naps and slept through the night! He knows shopping requires a good nights sleep!

Thursday...

Yes, it's Thursday. And this week I've accomplished close to nothing. Morgan asked me last night, in his very sensitive way, if I ever cleaned while Owen was napping! I don't know if I've mentioned it or not but Morgan is not sensitive. So he started the question with "don't take this the wrong way...." And how am I supposed to take that question, exactly?! I am aware of the clutter that is closing in on us. I'm also aware of the floors that have not been washed in two weeks. He is supposed to be in charge of this. I'm also keenly aware of the baby who is not sleeping through the night any more. So when Owen naps, I try to nap. And today the naps are not looking good.

So...

Morgan, when you read this... TRY CLEANING THE DAMN HOUSE YOURSELF FOR ONCE!!

Today's 2P's challenge is: Today is the 2nd day of spring, officially,
What have you done, so far to officially welcome in the new season????

To celebrate the beginning of spring I have stopped wearing a coat. I refuse to wear my coat. I will wear a sweatshirt with a vest over it but I WILL NOT WEAR A COAT! No more gloves either. This is the time of year when I've had enough. I do not want to have an undershirt, a sweater, and a coat all bunched up in my arm pits! I don't like my clothes to be bulky and uncomfortable. I have some issues with this.

I have no pictures to post because I've done next to nothing in the creative department this week. I have Aimeslee's journal waiting for me but since she has RULES for it the ideas are coming slowly.

Today the sun is shining. Hopefully that will warm things up a bit. Including my mood.

Now I'm going to get the baby-who-does-not-sleep and put him in the exersaucer and see if he will be still while I wash up!

Week 11...

This week's theme for the Deck of Me is "your initial". As you can see mine is an "h". For first and last, actually. I am one of those people who has two first names and therefore, cannot be trusted. Someone at the mortgage office told me this. Truth be told, he shouldn't be trusted either. And mostly because he's a broker!
The picture did not turn out too well of this card. I tweeked it in iPhoto a bit to get the colors to come out more correctly. But it just doesn't show the details too well. The stitching is gold rayon thread so it's shiny. And the alphabet paper is not nearly as washed out as it appears. The paper is all CTMH. I can't recall which kit.
This one didn't quite turn out as I had originally imagined. But this paper has been lying on the floor in my room for ages and I just love the colors in it. So I thought since tomorrow is spring that I would celebrate with these papers. I again used mostly scraps. Which I am trying to do with all my cards.

It's so good...

to be home! We arrived home from Kansas around 8 last night. It was a long drive. Owen did pretty well down and back with the exception of the last hour. We had to stop in Sounthern MN so Morgan could use the rest room and that woke Owen from his backseat slumber. He never fell back to sleep and got progressively fussier. So we decided to stop in Northfield to have some dinner. Owen fell back to sleep on the road into Northfield. But it was dinner time so we stopped anyway. We thought with a full tummy he might snooze for the last 45 minutes. No deal. He cried from Northfield to Bloomington (30 minutes) which progressively became wailing and screeching and then started to vomit. He's the kind of baby who works himself up to the vomitting. We had to stop at a gas station and clean him, change him, and calm him down. He did settle down and was quiet until we got home. Then we gave him a bottle and put him to bed. He woke up at 3:15am crying and carrying on.

Today has been much better for him. He's currently having nap #2, which he did not fuss about. We took a little trip to get his new mobile but otherwise we've had a nice day around the house. Lots of crawling and cruising and playing.

Here are few pictures from out trip.

There's Owen in his little fish mirror. He thought that was pretty cool!

The pilot.

And the co-pilot! I don't usually do any driving. I just make sure that Morgan has the tunes and snacks he needs to keep us on the road!

Please tilt your head the side for this one! That's Owen having a little play break at a rest stop. He was enjoying crawling around on the ground and feeling the leaves.

When we got home the next circle journal was waiting for me!! I am so excited to get started on Aimeslee's journal. Her word is focus. She has a color scheme we have to stick to also. So this may be a bit of a challenge.

Since we were gone I had a bit of a break from creating something everyday. But I did get some ideas while we were gone so I'm off to get to work!

2 creations...

Here is my recovered idea binder. Or creative journal. The letters were all cut out with the cricut. This is a card I made using the sketch over at the Daring Cardmakers blog. It looks better in person!
Now I'm off to do more laundry, feed Owen, and get the oil changed in the car!

Someday...

there will be naps without crying. RIGHT?? Someone please, please tell me he will start napping without all this crying. He used to go to sleep without fussing. Now it seems he's fussing more and more. Is it because he is so much more mobile and busy? Or is it because I am just so darn interesting and fascinating!? I just want him to fall alseep without crying and take a good restful nap! Luckily he only fussed for a few minutes this afternoon. This morning it was a bit longer but he did take a nap! Last night he was fussing after we put him down at bedtime. So Morgan went in and got him out!!! First of all, he hardly ever fusses at bedtime. And second, we don't get him up unless he's really upset! I can understand why he did it though. Owen will stand at the rail of the crib and cry and look sooo sad! It's hard to leave him like that. So last night I took him back up and read him another story and rocked him until he fell asleep and Morgan heated up the mattress so when I put him down it was toasty. Sometimes that cold sheet can be a shock! I would not normally do this but I wanted him to go to sleep! And he did and he slept until 7am! My mom told me shortly after Owen was born that the one thing you can count on with children is that they will always change. Schedule, routine, mood, clothes. You name it, they change it. These were not the words of wisdom I wanted to hear. I am not a fan of change. Clothes, yes. As long as they are comfortable. But routines and schedules and diapers. Nope. Not a fan of that kind of change. And the funny thing about that is I could roll with it as a teacher. I was very flexible and accomodating and did my best to work with the change. But outside of that I am not a fan of change.

Speaking of change... we are taking a road trip this weekend to Kansas. Why are you going to Kansas??? You may ask. Well, my sister-in-law and her crew live there. Morgan's twin sister. And Morgan's parents are going to be there for six days, beginning today. Yes, they've only seen Owen twice in his life. And they are going to Kansas. Morgan's brother and his family (who live here) are not going. And there will not be a lot of gifts or snow. But other than that it's going to Christmas all over again. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. It will only be for a couple of days. They will be in their own house. But we have to drive 7 plus hours to get there. With Owen in the car seat! I frequently underestimate Owen's patience and flexibility. He is not like me when it comes to that. He is much more even tempered. But after 5 years of marriage these situations frequently turn out the same. Just not fun. Sucky. But it is warmer there and maybe there will be some hints of spring!

And speaking of car seats... the other night while I was at work Morgan called. It was about 7:30pm. When he calls me at work past say 6, I get a little freaked out and always expect him to say they are in the emergency room. There is no reason for this. I just have a fear and I worry a lot. And I knew he was somewhere because his cell came up on my phone. He says to me that he did something stupid. Not that Morgan does a lot of stupid stuff but I was not surprised by the statement. He gets lost a lot and things like that. Just more of a free spirit than I am. So anyway... he says he locked his keys in the car. I said okay. Where are you? And then he says AND OWEN IS IN THE CAR. Excuse me?? Owen is IN the car?? Yes. Owen is IN the car! I was exactly 12 miles away. Still in the office. I was just finishing up my work for the evening so I was getting ready to leave anyway. He called me back and said he called the cops and asked if they unlocked cars and the dispatcher said no, he'd have to call a locksmith. Then he asked if it made a difference if his son was in the car. Yes, she said, it did. So they sent the Community Service Officers. He called and told me this but I was already on my way. I drove from my office to the grocery store in 15 minutes. It's a 12 mile drive. Thank goodness there weren't any cops on my way! When I got there I wasn't sure where in the lot he was. Until I saw the lights of the CSO cars! They hadn't yet gotten in so I stopped in the middle of the lane and ran out. Unlocked the door and Morgan got Owen out. He had already gotten groceries and was on his way home when this happened. He had the keys in his hand while he was strapping Owen in the car seat and accidentally hit the lock button on his clicker. He was having difficulty with the seat straps so he put his keys down and the moment he closed the door he said he knew what he had done. So we agreed that keys go in your pocket while we are hooking Owen in. To make matters worse (how could they be you ask!) Owen would not go back in the car seat and he wanted nothing to do with Morgan. Oh, and the CSO's thought Morgan had left Owen in the car while he went in the store!!! He promptly cleared that up! It's definately one of those stories we will tell Owen when he is older and Morgan will always feel horrible about it. Luckily it was not cold out and the car was not running and it wasn't sunny.

And now that I've had ample time to play with it here is my new toy!
My friend Michele has one but wouldn't bring it to demonstrate the last time we scrapped. However, a few weeks ago at the last crop I had one of the other girls who comes brought hers! She showed us all how it worked and I decided I had to have one! I had been saving some of my scrapbooking money so I called around to the Wal-Marts to find one. Unfortunately the only WM that had one in the Twin Cities was in Apple Valley. 30 miles from my house! So I decided that Owen and I would have a road trip to get the Cricut and stop at Ikea in Bloomington too. After we got home I had just a few minutes to try it out before I had to leave for work. It needed some adjusting and I didn't know how to do this so I left it until I could read the manual and do the adjusting. When I got home from work I did the adjustment and then fired it up to show Morgan how cool it was. But it didn't work anymore! The screen came on with little digital squares but nothing else happened! I was so upset. PO'd is a better description actually! So the next morning I started calling around to see if I could find a closer WM that had any to exchange. Oh, and I started this calling at 5am because Owen woke up at 3 and I never got back to sleep! At 9 I called the WM in Brooklyn Park just north of us and they had 2! Yippee!! They didn't have any two days before. So Owen and I drove up there and exchanged it and brought it home. So when Owen went down for a nap I unpacked it and got it set up to try it out. I turned it on and THIS ONE DIDN'T WORK EITHER! It did even less than the one before! The screen did nothing. The light came on and that was it! Now I was really PO'd! So I called them back and had the woman in the craft dept hold the second one. Owen was not napping so we went back out there and tried the second one before we left the store. IT WORKED! Hooray! For three days after that everytime I turned it on I held my breath because I was worried it wasn't going to work. But it's been good so far. I have it set up in the dining room because my craft room is in a state of disarray and I have to get it back in order before I can bring the cricut down there. My project for today is to decorate the cover of my idea binder so I'm going to cut out letters with the circut! I'll post a picture when I'm done.

Week 10...

The theme for this week's Deck of Me is "Note to self". I knew what my note would be when I read the challenge on Emily's blog. A little reminder to create something everyday. That has been going pretty well too!I loved the process of making this card. I didn't envision anything, it just sort of came about. I knew I wanted to use the gold scraps of paper left over from the layout I did in Sandee's circle journal. I just love those papers. And they dictated the rest of the card. The colors mostly. I didn't analyze any of it. It just happened. And it didn't take long either. I think that has been the benefit of making something everyday. I'm not feeling creatively stuck anymore. I may not be happy with everything I make but that's okay. I learn from that. And the yellow is really a little yellow post-it note!

And speaking of the circle journal pages...here they are! They look better in person. The top page is the left side and the bottom page is the right side in the layout. The pictures are of the Como Conservatory in St. Paul. I did a black and white conversion in PSE and then printed them on off white cardstock.

I had some difficulty with Sandee's word, serenity. I am not a relaxed person and it's something that I struggle with on a daily basis. So to do a layout about it had me stuck. I knew I wanted to use the floral papers because they worked so well with the style of her journal. But the topic was hard! Morgan actually came up with the idea to use the conservatory pictures. It is a place that I have always loved and when I am there it makes me feel relaxed and quiet and serene. So they were perfect. I had several pictures I wanted to use and these were actually the third printing of pictures! Sandee's journal is more collage and I wanted to go with that but my simple, balanced style overcame the collage idea!

Daring Cardmakers Challenge...

This weeks Daring Cardmakers Challenge is Super Heros. So I made this little card. The superhero stamp is by Inky Antics. I don't know if they still make it. I've had it for ages. I don't know who the bam, pow, zap stamps are by. I've had those for ages too. They are mounted on wine corks. And the burst is on a cube by JudiKins. (I'm pretty sure). This is my first time participating in the challenge. I knew when I read the post which stamps I would use. I just loves these stamps! I usually use them for birthday cards and put something like "Hope your birthday is a smashing good time!" on the inside.

And the winner is...

Rachel! She guessed 259 flowers and the actual number of flowers in the jar was 285! I have a lovely little prize for her. And coming in a very close second, was Al, at 256. He is the husband of my friend Pam. I'm going to see if I can come up with a "manly" second place prize for him!!

Oops!

It has been brought to my attention that I posted the wrong link to my sister's blog! So if you tried to link to it from here you were not taken to the right place! My apologies! I am fixing it now!

This one...

Is for me!

I decided I had to stop carrying around my very worn Mary Engelbreit canvas teacher bag. It's cute but also SCREAMS elementary school teacher. So I wanted something a little more funky and a little less cute. And bigger. So I used the rest of this funky fabric I had leftover from the bags I made for my friend and her daughter. It measures approximately 14x17 with 24" straps. The bottom picture is a view of the inside pockets. I put a strip of the outside fabric across the middle of one side and then stitched in two spots to form three pockets. One is just right for writing utensils. The top of the pocket has satin ribbon over the edge so I didn't have to fold it over to finish it. I also put a brown bottom on the outside to keep it from looking dirty and worn too soon. I can't wait to use it!

I love that I needed something so I went down to my craft room and made it. It's just how I wanted it to be. And I love that I had this idea and now it's OUT OF MY HEAD! That's called mental cleaning! I have so much more of it to do! I also need to start jotting ideas down in my idea binder so I don't have to work so hard to keep them all in my head.

And speaking of things handmade. You all need to pop on over to a brand new blog called Craft Bot. It's my little sisters blog! About all things crafty. And some bowling too. My sister is very creative and crafty and I'm sure there will be tons of fun stuff going on over there. Maybe she will post a picture of herself in her cool lab coat too! I know she will soon be posting pictures of the fun stuff she had made and is willing to sell!

And don't forget to post your guess on the below post!

Can you guess...

How many flowers are in this jar? Put your guess in the comments section of THIS POST and at the end of the week (Saturday night) I will check to see who is closest and YOU will win a little prize!

Now why, you may ask, am I doing this?? Well, March is my least favorite month and I used to love these little contests in school or wherever and there was an ad in one of my scrapping magazine with eyelets and a contest like this so I thought it would be fun to do on my blog with a bunch of Prima Flowers. That's why!

Happy Guessing!!!

Week 9...

Here is my Deck of You Week 9 card. The theme for this week is What inspires you?... For me it's books. I LOVE books. I have always been a reader but when I'm stuck in a rut I get out one of my many books and start browsing for something that ignites my creativity.

And isn't this dang cute?? It's a little easel! I found it at Dick Blick the other day when I was picking up canvases. It measures 5" tall. It's perfect for displaying cards or for holding cards while I take their pictures!

The other day...

Morgan and I were eating breakfast and I looked at him and said "I think I'm going to be an artist". And he looked back and me and said "okay". And that night and the next day I created the collages for my aunt and uncle. And it didn't take me forever. I didn't hem and haw about it and get all wrapped up in the "perfection" of them. I didn't worry about what other people would think about them. Well, just my aunt and uncle. It was like telling Morgan what I wanted to be set me on the path. Gave me a little freedom to do it.

I think I always wanted to be something more creative than a teacher. Not that being a teacher wasn't creative for me. It was just creative in a different way. I had thought about studying art and dance in college but normal people didn't make money doing those things and I didn't think I could realistically support myself as an artist or a dancer. The other part of the permission may be that I don't have to support anyone with my art. It doesn't have to make money.

I think a big part of fear, at least for me, is to name it and then face it. For me it is inperfection and failure. I used to have nightmares when I was in college that I would wake up and be stupid. That I wouldn't know anything or be smart anymore. I was always a "smart one". I was good at, and still am, being logical and rational (mostly) and being a problem solver. I can take a task from point A to point B and get it done. But I'm my own worst critic. I beat myself up before I even begin when it comes to my artwork. Or other tasks too. I compare myself to others needlessly instead of creating things for the pleasure of just being able to do it. Ever since I started letting go of that a bit I've been more creative. And I enjoy the process more.

I am also not a person who can focus on one art or craft. I'm not a drawer or a painter. I used to be but haven't since high school. I perfer more hands on things. Like sewing, paper crafts, and gluing stuff. And I love photography. Sometimes the subject matter and definately the manipulation of the photograph with my computer. I also like to use power tools and junk. I think it's fun to find a new use for junk.

Slowly I'm coming to terms with my imperfection and my failures. I am not going to be perfect and neither will my work. Whatever kind of work it is. Art or otherwise. I'm not supposed to be and therefore my work can't be. The failures are learning experiences. They help me to grow and get better and change and learn. And so can the fear. If I stop and think about it or face it I can use it to help me. I always want things to begin and end perfectly. No mistakes. No do-overs. It is the exact opposite of how I taught my students. My expectations can be high but I need to allow for my own learning and growing.

When I was in college I took a couple semesters of glass blowing. Being a perfectionist I found this class a real challenge. Mentally and physically. The studio was hot and working with molten glass is dangerous. I wore socks with the toes cut out on my hands and arms because it was so hot. Learning to work with the glass is difficult too. It looks easy but I spent weeks working on blowing just a small bubble through the blow pipe. You have to keep the pipe turning at all times because if you don't you end up with a blob of hot glass on the floor. Most of what I created during these two semesters were rather crude bowls and glasses. But the challenge of learning this art form was fun and I learned a lot. I think that's when I got away from two demensional art!

I like to dabble and learn new things. It's part of who I am. And I need to allow myself to enjoy the process of learning and growing. Then I can use what I learn and share it with others. Which is also an aspect of art. We create for ourselves and to share with others. And it may not be for everyone. And that's okay.

10 months old...

Today!

And here I was almost a year ago!Somedays I miss that. Mostly when I want to quickly run into to Target! Now it's so much more work. I would say I'm pretty much sleeping as uncomfortably now as I was then. Owen isn't sleeping through the night right now. I'm not sure if he is getting hungry early in the morning or if he's working on some more teeth. But he's waking up between 2 and 4 am and one of us ends up sleeping with him in the chair or on the couch. He won't sleep in our room. He just plays!

This weekend we had lunch with my mom, sister, aunt and uncle. My mom's brother and sister. They have birthdays in January and February but we were just now able to get together with them. Below are the gifts I made for them. The pictures are from when they were younger. I scanned them and printed them. The first canvas is an 8x8 and the second is a 5x5. They both loved them!

I am. Are you...

left-handed? Sometimes I get bored and decide to surf the information super highway for things that interest me. Today it was left-handedness. This was prompted by a layout in Stacy Julian's book The Big Picture. I'd provide you a link but I'm also baking cookies right now and don't want to take the time!
In my surfing I found this site. And the author of the site had this to say bout being left-handed:
Who would I be if I was right-handed? Not the same person. Left-handedness is part of my identity, my self. I would sooner cut off my right arm than be converted to right-handedness; as strong a statement as that is, left-handedness is so integral a part of me that I could not imagine living otherwise.

I whole heartedly agree! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't cut off my arm but the rest, yes! Mostly because I'm such a pansy about pain! But it's true. Being a lefty is part of me. I do a lot of things with my right hand and am somewhat ambidextrous. But my left hand still dominates. In my family there are 4 of us lefties. My grandpa, my uncle, my mom, and myself. And it's looking like Owen has a strong chance of being one of us too!

So if you are left-handed and want to do some reading about this topic that website provides some interesting information.

Holy snow batman!

This was the scene this morning!

I think we are up to 18" now!

I uncovered Morgan's car and also shoveled a path for George. This irritates me a bit. I don't know why he can't walk in the road where it's plowed like most mail carriers. But George likes a path shoveled through the yard. I did this on one side of the yard. From our sidewalk to the neighbors driveway. But from the south neighbors to our driveway I just left it. The snow is heavy and deep and I am small. So he will just have to deal!

Here are a few photos from our little adventure out last night. We took Owen and Ludwig out for a walk. The Chariot is surprisingly good in snow!

Lots O' Random Stuff...

Yesterday I got a lovely package in the mail. It contained two Fontwerks acrylic stamps and a bunch of lovely tags! It was a present from Noelia! She said I was the victim of her first RAK. I think this is the only time I've been excited to be a victim!Every woman should marry a man who cooks. That way he will never starve if she isn't home. And even better she won't starve if she doesn't cook! Which is why it's a good thing for me. I'm not a cook. I don't like to do it. I can't pay attention long enough. It's too putzy and most recipes are just too long and complicated. I can bake. I love to bake. But cooking is not my thing. And I think the more pans, pots, and utensils Morgan can use the happier he is. Here are two of his most recent creations. He loves to make pizza and bake bread. Both were delicious!

Here is a little of what is going on in our house. Spring! This is the orchid Nikki gave me when I left school last spring. I am so happy it's blooming. It's beautiful to watch and it also means I didn't kill it!

Our backyard at 6:45 this morning. I thought the lilac bush was lovely with the snow on the branches. Not uncommon for March in MN!

And here is the front yard at about 10am. We are under a winter advisory until sometime on Friday. Morgan was hoping to have a snow day. Although I don't think he was hoping for it as much as Maggie was!! I'm sorry it didn't happen for either of you! Maybe tomorrow!

I love to watch it snow! (Miranda, don't tell mom that!) (My mom DOES NOT like snow!) We may even have blizzard conditions today! I think that would be soo cool! But not until after Morgan gets home. (Right now it's really coming down!!)

Owen has a rocking horse. And it ROCKS!

Excersaucers are waterproof! And it's a "good thing"!

(please tilt your head to the side!)

Big dogs like to play in the snow!

The 2P's challenge today is about pets. Are you a pet person? If so, what is your ideal pet?? What would you just love to have one day??? if you don't have it already?

As you can see we have a pet. Ludwig, a 7 year old retired greyhound. He used to race. Now he just runs laps in our backyard. Although I think he prefers digging holes to China! As to being a pet person or not... I think not. I love Ludwig. He's our first "baby". But he can be very dirty and stinky! And when he sheds there is hair all over the place for months. So I wouldn't give him up but I am not looking to add more animals to our family either. I grew up with lots of pets and animals. At one time we had 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 hamsters, and some fish. Fish are my least favorite pets. They can't tell you what is wrong and you usually don't figure out there is a problem until it's too late. Hamsters are my next least favorite. For the same reason as the fish. I just like them better because they are fun and furry.
So, I like animals. I just like them best when they live with other people. I can visit. I can play with them and cuddle them. And then go home without them! It's how I used to feel about children. Well, it's how I still feel about children. But I like having Owen. I guess I have a double standard about animals and children. And people too. I like MY animals, children, and people. I'm just not too fond of a lot of the rest of the ones out there!! I think it has to do with not adjusting well to change. And new situations. But once I do, I'm okay.

And now I've got everyone thinking I'm a bitchy girl who doesn't like anything or anyone!!! But that's not true. I'm just very particular about lots of stuff. (And when my friends and family read this they will laugh and think "that's an understatement!)