best laid plans

Little Guy is now 13 months old and about 30 inches tall. Recently, we bought a Superyard XT, which is a tall (24 inch), foldable playpen thingie. I used to have one for our twins, and it worked great. The new one works great too...mostly.

I was doing the happy dance for the last week or so, because I could put him in there, and it is large enough for him to be happy and play, but it would keep him corralled for a little while so I could do some cleaning and even (gasp!) pencil portraits.

Well, he has already learned how to thwart the play-yard. In case you've never seen one of these, let me describe it a bit. It has no bottom like a traditional playpen. It sets up on your carpet. You can even use it outdoors, take it camping, or to the beach. The kids can still play in the sand. Pretty cool, just keeps them in a play area. Little Guy has figured out how to stand in any one of the corner sections, hang onto it, and then just walk wherever he wants to....to the DVD rack, to the TV, etc.

Mommy's rest is over. But I am proud of him for being so smart!

Dear Santa,

I ordered my kids a lot of gifts from HearthSong for Christmas. I hate going shopping in stores - I like to save my feet by shopping from my seat!

Now I'll share with you what I bought, and even include links, but you have to PROMISE not to tell the kids :) Just click to see them:

Tickle Bee Game
For some odd reason, this game triggered something in my memory of a game I had when I was little that I really liked! I like how it's pretty much one piece (the wand connected to the game) and no small pieces for me to step on or a zillion pieces to pick up. I bought this for Little Man (age 3). I have a feeling everyone will fiddle with it though.


36Piece Magneatos Set
This one does have a lot of pieces, but they are fairly large, so that's okay. No sharp edges are a plus...my feet will like these. LOL...If you have seen the Magnetix game, this is similar, except better and safer for smaller kids. There is a curves add on set if you want to enhance it later on (this is what I'll probably do...buying an add-on set that is slightly different can help 'refresh' the game for a kid if they start getting bored with it later on). Another one for Little Man, age 3, but I'm sure my 13 month old and even the older kids will play with it.

Nutty Squirrel

Yep, I know this one is weird, but it looks strangely fun. I like strangely fun. Not sure, but I might have bought this one for myself...haha. Going to give it to my daughter (DD2)...I think she'll enjoy its erratic nature...I picture the whole family squealing and laughing about this one!

Circus Sam The Balancing Man
This is another one I bought just for the fun of it.
My daughter (DD1) is getting this one, I think she'll enjoy the physics aspect of it.


Mini Jack In A Box
This jack in the box has all the fun of the larger version, it's just a few inches shorter, but it's ten dollars cheaper. I decided my 13 month old would have just as much fun with it as he would the more expensive version. I remember liking the Jack in the box toy when I was a kid, but there was always a bit of anxiety in the POP of it. As they say, it's hard to stop the cycle of child abuse.

I hope the kids will like these toys. Nothing is super expensive, I just want them to have a lot of fun things to open. My two oldest girls are turning 13 (twins) so I'll be getting them stuff they are crazy about right now like lip gloss and nail polish. For the younger kids, I really favor 'old fashioned' gifts.

(if you go to HearthSong and see anything you like and order before December 14, you can get shipping for $4.99 by using discount code HS96. They have good prices and their site was really easy to use.

One thing that I especially liked was when I printed out the receipt, it has little pictures of what I just bought - that can be really handy information to keep from accidentally buying your children duplicate toys.

I am just really excited to have some Christmas shopping done. As soon as it gets here, I'm going to wrap it so I can avoid having a stressful Christmas.

Thanksgiving over...

The whole Thanksgiving thaing is over now. I hope you had a good holiday. We went to my brother's in law house and had a nice time. Now it's time to get back in the swing of work, school, and low fat - low cholesterol diet. Bah humbug! At least I did find a good website today about low cholesterol diets that actually had useful information - LINK

I tried to just relax over the holiday weekend. I had 15 minutes when my 13 month old was in his Superyard playpen and my 3 year old was occupied with a movie. I did some doodling, but I didn't do any commission portrait work over the break. I have some portraits that need to be 'thunk out'...my hillbilly term for thinking over what I am going to do with them. I really do think that at least half of my artwork is done mentally...it has to be worked out in my brain before it can be put on paper. A couple of them I have already tried on paper, but they need tweaking to the point that I am going to totally re-do them.

I took one of my girls (almost 13) along with 13 month old Little Guy and 3 year old Little Man, over to the grocery store. Little Guy kept reaching behind him and grabbing stuff in the cart. I give him interesting unbreakable boxes to hold to keep him occupied, but for some reason, yesterday he really wanted the glass Ragu jar. It was like the boy was possessed to have that jar. Little Man is only 3, but he is already too big to fit in the grocery cart seat. He looks like a 5 or 6 year old. He did really well holding his big sister's hand through the store though.

Now, you would think that the child or children that would stress me out the most on a grocery shopping trip would be the 13 month old and the 3 year old, right? Wrong! DD1 (almost 13) was the most difficult! Whining and begging for things like a Bratz doll. I got aggravated with her and told her we are at the grocery store for FOOD. Stuff to eat...not toys! Then began the sulking. I swear, she must think we are millionaires or something and we're holding out on her.
I wonder if I was like that at that age, and if so...sorry Mom!

Guess my age

See my page at the Age Project
take a guess and no fair searching for my age before guessing! :)

Are you shopping for Black Friday deals?

"Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving) is generally known as the busiest shopping day of the year. This is not true. Check out the statistics for Black Friday on Wikipedia. LINK

What I am most thankful for around Thanksgiving is that I don't work retail anymore. Ugh!
It would be awful to be working at a store at 5 am for those 5 am - 1 pm only Friday deals. Have you seen the flyers? At least, that is what the stores do here in the Atlanta area.

There are websites that help you find the Black Friday deals. Quite a few of them are really just affiliate linking sites. When you click the links and make a purchase, the creator of the website gets a referral percentage for sending you to the websites. One of the hottest of these sites is bfads.net. This is fine, and a good source of information - especially their forums....but if you would like to keep the money in your pocket, instead of lining the pockets of someone you don't even know, try going online shopping through Ebates or Upromise. Ebates sends you a rebate check in the mail, and Upromise is a savings account for the rebates - you can put the money toward your children or grandchildren's college funds. Most major retailers and manufacturers are in the network (even grocery stores!). What I really like about Upromise is that your shopping doesn't have to be all online in order to add to your account. You can invite family and friends to contribute at no cost to them too!

Have fun shopping!

Now where did I put that turkey?

Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

the way it was...

20 years ago (1986 - age 21):
-I was a newlywed and we lived in a 2nd floor apartment in Savannah
-I lugged my clothes to the laundromat.
-I worked at the bookstore in the mall.

15 years ago (1991 - age 26):
-I was manager of a bookstore and I often bicycled to work.
-I lived in an apartment in Stone Mountain GA. Washer and dryer in apartment (YAY)
-I started drawing more and did some calligraphy by commission.

10 years ago (1996 - age 31):
-Our twins were 3 years old and we were finally living in a house for a couple years.
-I worked as office manager for an oral surgeon.
-I can't remember much from this time period because my twins were 3 years old LOL.

5 years ago (2001 - age 36):
-I had recently quit my day job.
-I had been doing pencil portraits by commission for a little while.

3 years ago (2003 - age 38):
-I had a baby boy.
-tried to lose weight.
-the rest is a blur.

Last year (2005 - age 40):
-I had a baby boy. (deja vu)
-nearly daily trips to the store to buy milk, diapers.
-adopted a Shetland Sheepdog.

This year (2006 - age 41):
-still trying to lose weight.
-still constantly buying milk.
-remember to buy milk tomorrow.

Yesterday (November 18, 2006):
-paid bills
-Napped 30 minutes
-a virtually perfect day except for the time my 3 year old rolled off my bed and hit his face on a chair (he's okay, just a bruise).

Last night (November 18, 2006):
-Watched movie 'Little Shop of Horrors'
-considered vacuuming but didn't.

Today (November 19, 2006):
-am thinking this list is taking longer to fill out than I planned.
-finally vacuum.
-try to get some artwork done but must remember it's Sunday so try to relax a bit.

Tomorrow (November 20, 2006):
-work fast during my 13 month old's naptime.
-work with daughter on her pre-algebra and science.
-go grocery shopping.

Next year (2007 - age 42):
-illustrate another book.
-stare blankly at my daughter's math homework.
-work fast during toddler's naptime or just breathe.

5-10 years from now (2011-2016 - age 46-51):
-my twin daughters will graduate from high school.
-my baby will have begun kindergarten.
-create art for the sheer fun of it, take some art classes, catch up on scrapbooks.

Colored Pencil Portrait in Progress

Here is a colored pencil portrait I've been working on. The paper size is 18x24" and the artwork takes up about half of that space (this photo is cropped) and the paper is also white, not blue or dark looking as it is in this photo.

I really like how it's coming out. Right now it is very light but it will be gradually darkened as the layers are added. I have used only the Sanford Verithin colored pencils so far on this. I like the look it has - kind of like watercolor but with texture. I love this little boy's expression, so adorable.

This one is a commissioned pencil portrait, but I am thinking about doing a portrait like this of each of my kids and then framing them and putting them on the wall in a grid pattern as a 'set'... at least until they are all grown and can take their picture on with them through life :)

Fun, fun, fun!

Yesterday was fun fun fun! Okay, yes I am being sarcastic.
It was one of those days that just zipped by without a moment to spare!

I had to go to my doctor's appointment without eating anything since about 9 pm the night before. Little Guy woke me up at 4:30 am. I gave him a bottle and got him back to bed. Although I tried desperately, I could not get back to sleep until about 6 am because I felt so hungry.

Alarm clock buzzed a mere hour later. Hit the 'sleep' button and finally dragged my sorry self out of bed about 7:30. I should mention about here that our Shetland Sheepdog has been suffering from diarrhea. PRAISE THE LORD for the invention of the dog crate, for of course he couldn't control it and went in the crate a few times. (update, he's feeling better now). As you can imagine, and I'm sorry to give you this visual and this scent-ual, but that was not a lovely thing to wake up to.

After taking the dog out, the girls get off to school and I'm off to my doctor's appointment. Cold, windy, and rainy. I can't find the umbrella. Rumor has it that we once had one of them. My appointment was at 9:15 am. I saw the doctor, was surprise that she wanted to do an EKG on me. Visit over, I am told to wait in the waiting room again. Over an hour goes by, so I finally go up to the window to ask is there a problem? Should we just reschedule this? By now, I haven't eaten anything for nearly 12 hours, and I'm kind of eager to eat. Sure 'nuff, they had misplaced my phlebotomy order (that there's fancy talk for blood test). I finally got my blood test. This is the first time in a long time that I have felt a little faint while giving blood, probably because I needed to eat. I had peanuts and a banana out in the car and felt a lot better after that. I stayed sitting for awhile to let my blood sugar level regulate. I didn't want to drive right away in case the light headedness returned.

I got home and had about an hour before I needed to take my daughter to school for a parent teacher conference. This involved meeting with 5 teachers. Found out DD2's main failure in school and life is that she's just like me. I can tell you that Science is a lot harder than it was when I was in 7th grade. Pre-Algebra was always hard for me. These are the two classes that she is having trouble with. She needs to pass the Gateway and the CRCT to be able to pass 7th grade. We'll be working on that a lot. We had our own meeting in the car rather than rush into the house when we got home, so we could work out a strategy for her. We both knew it would be chaos in the house, so we'd better talk in the car!

When we got inside, I fed Little Guy, cooked dinner (Stroganoff), and DD2 and I cleaned out her bookbag. She had months of old paperwork in there. When we were done, she was amazed at how much lighter her bookbag was! Hmm...challenged by organization and clutter? Told you she was just like me. She's talented and creative, but needs to work on organization and staying focused on goals.

Today I have: taken out the dog, fed the dog, worked on two loads of laundry and done the dishes. Cleaned off the kitchen counters, changed diapers and Pull Ups, completed a portrait during Little Guy's naptime.

Cherish Collages

I would like to introduce you to a really nice business, owned by Barbara Ryan, called Cherish Collages. LINK. She can make wonderful collages digitally from your photos - you send her the photos by email and the results really look nice. Prices start at only $35, and go up, depending on what size you'd like. She has many photo gifts available too. Be sure to check it out.

Worried Pug Dog Pencil Portrait Drawn From Photo

Every once in awhile, I'm talking to someone and it will cause me to remember a portrait I've done and the events around the portrait.

I was talking to Rebecca M. today, and Rebecca mentioned she has a Pug that she would like drawn. That helped me remember that I had drawn a Pug dog a long time ago.

This one I think I drew in about 1999. I sold the original on Ebay for far too little money. It probably would have been better if I had just kept it, but I'm glad it's in someone's hands now and hopefully they are enjoying this Pug whose eyes are going in two directions.

I titled it "Worried Pug." This dog was actually named Pug. Pug was owned by someone my husband used to work with. I drew it from a photo of Pug standing on the back of a sofa. Pug was greatly loved by his owner but he had absolutely no discipline whatsoever and he was such a character. He lived with his owner in a tiny house on Tybee Island Georgia.

My favorite part of this portrait is how I drew the fur...I did get the hair going in the right directions on each of the worry "wrinkles." Pug's expression never fails to crack me up. I need to get this one added to my website.

This Veteran's Day...

Photo of Dallas Ft-Worth Veteran's Cemetery (I love and miss you, Dad)
My father was a veteran of WWII. My brother, a Vietnam Veteran took the beautiful photograph.

On today, the official Veteran's Day - I would like to recognize and express my gratitude to all our men and women in uniform now, but also the 25 million veterans alive in the US today.

Guess who watched Lou Dobbs last night on CNN and took notes? LOL

Here's what I found out:

150,000 troops are now in Iraq

20,000 of those are in Afghanistan

There are 1.4 million people serving as active duty military...that becomes 2 million when you add in the National Guard and Reserves.

The war in Iraq has lasted longer than WWII. (that's what they said, but they must have meant the war has lasted longer than the USA was involved and active in WWII).

Overseas, we have 65,000 troops in Germany, 35,000 in Japan, 30,000 in the Republic of Korea, and 11,000 in Italy.

21,572 troops have been wounded since he war in Iraq started

9,800 troops seriously wounded.

Wounded soldiers get home within one week now...during the Vietnam War, it took on average 48 days for a soldier to be delivered home.

After the Vietnam War, approximately 70,000 veterans were homeless. This time, they expect that it could be even worse, so the Department of Defense is planning prevention strategies.

2,800 troops have been killed since the war in Iraq began.
(I offer free portraits to their families: See LINK)

God bless you all and thank you for all you have done, it really brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.

Show Support for Our Troops
Let's Say Thanks (send an email free to a soldier)
America Supports You
Soldier's Angels Foundation
Show Your Support (US Army Site)
Operation Dear Abby (US Navy Site)
Operation USO Care Package for Army

The blog has a new look

My blog has a whole new look, thanks to Letti. What a neat looking blog she has, and she shared how she did an overhaul of a friend's blog.

I saw the links at the bottom of her blog that sent me to a site where I could do an overhaul of mine.

I hope you like the look. I think eventually I will make the background more subdued than I have it now. I think it's a bit overwhelming. All it needs is a white overwash to fade it down a bit, and I can do that.

What do you think? Let me know.

I can't believe how easy (and FREE!) it was to use this online blog-maker template. An really great thing about it is it is helping me start fresh. My old blog had some coding errors (and I know nothing about such things) and this new html template has corrected the previous errors.

YAY! Doing the happy dance here.

New Perspectives - Evaluatiing Priorities

I have decided I will need to leave the ABWA when 2007 rolls around.
It's a matter of time and expense.

Dinner meetings are $20 each month...if I attended every one of them, that would be $240 a year. Add to that the $30 local Chapter fee and the annual $50 National fee, and it's a whopping $320 (double check my math, I'm an artist, not a mathematician). It was fun to get out a little bit each month, but the numbers really add up. The meetings are going to switch from evening to daytime, meaning I'd then need to hire a baby sitter, so that clinches it.

I have been in it about a year, and although my main focus is not to get customers (I like to think of myself as more of a giver than a taker), when I spend that kind of money, I need to get several new pencil portrait art customers out of it, or my return on investment is horrible. So that's where it is now. I have been doing the email newsletter for the group and been emailing 100 people or so a month reminding them of the meetings and keeping up with the RSVPs, and althought that is not a big job to do and I enjoy it, I have four kids to take care of and business clients I need to serve first.

Rather than making decisions based on emotions only, I am trying to look at things in an analytical business perspective. If I am going to spend that money, where is it best spent?

For $320 a year, I could do quite a good Google Adwords campaign and do much better. I am sorry to leave because of the nice women I have met, but 2007 really needs to be profitable, so I have had to re-think and evaluate a lot of my commitments.

Maybe when my kids are older I will reconsider joining ABWA...it is an excellent organization.

Snapfish Photo Cards Discounts and Deals!

I have just been informed about some good deals from Snapfish, if you like family photo Christmas cards, and photos on gifts. If you have never ordered photo prints or photo greeting cards online, Snapfish really makes it easy. Snapfish is owned by HP. They do a GREAT job!
Snapfish is definitely one of my favorite online retailers. They print and ship very fast, and I have never had any problems with them.

$0.99 off shipping at Snapfish by HP. Use Coupon Code
AFF99OFF06.


Get $5 off any order over $25 at Snapfish by HP. Use
coupon code AFFOFF2506


$2
off any order over $10 at Snapfish by HP. Use Coupon Code
AFFOFFTEN06


Here is a coupon for 20% off: CARDS06 (expires 12/10/06)

My art is featured!

I have been featured (along with my art) on Elizabeth's Favorite Things page, what a sweet lady.
You can check it out here - LINK

Some Halloween Pictures

Little Man is dressed as Sportacus from Lazytown....Little Guy is of course, Winnie the Pooh!