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Mar 13 2013

What I’ve Been Painting in Down Time

Down time is hard to come by. For every one. I know. But I have managed to finish a couple of sweet faces in the past week. I found that the trick for me is to leave some supplies out on my desk. I’m not one to have a clean art desk that’s for sure…but I have been a lot better at it these past few months. And, so I switch out the supplies on my desk now and then. When I get a few minutes, I do a little. Pretty soon that little here, little there adds up to something. Ya know?

Here’s a sweet and sprite-ful my thang I finished today. I used lots of supplies, but enjoyed the watercolors on here the most.

Here is a similar one, also watercolor-ish:

And this one was done with colored pencils and pen. No biggy. But can you see I’m lovin’ lots of color lately? That’s a good thing. Always. This guy was in my journal. He looks like my youngest son. Well, my son doesn’t have blue hair…but the face looks like his.:)

When I sit down to doodle and paint these simple faces, the time just flies by. It’s all engrossing for me. Sometimes while the face is coming together and starting to look good, I step back and look at it. And I wonder how it came together. How did I do that? Sometimes I think I’m just along for the ride. That’s both a good and a bad feeling I s’pose.

That’s all for today…hope you’re having a good one.

Mar 11 2013

Great Weekend

We had a great weekend here…and I’ve got the photos to prove it. Wanna see? Okay, let’s start at the beginning. Friday night I walked through the doors of Artist’s League and saw my artwork on display…just in time for their Gallery style Faux Show. That was pretty exciting! Everything looked so great. Locals…go see!

We met up with some cool cats (a/k/a family) later that night. It was so nice to get out and mingle after the long and busy week! Here is my niece and nephew. We don’t see them often enough.

Haven’t seen my sister in law in a few months either! Here she is with my hubby (they are the babies of their family).

And the BEST part, even tho I love all those guys, the BEST part was having Allie home for the weekend! We haven’t seen much of her this year!

We had a nice weekend together with her! It’s so hard to believe she will be graduating from college next month. What? Yes, it’s true! We got about 8 inches of snow yesterday, and her trip back to school was delayed. Bummer….not! So we got to spend more time together.

I made the yummiest dinner last night. This Buffalo Chicken Casserole. The instructions seemed odd to me, but I followed along anyway and it turned out to be great. I’ll definitely make it again. The guys at the table insisted I make it again. This isn’t the best photo, but trust me…really good! I recommend it if you like buffalo wings, etc. I reduced the tablespoons of hot sauce from 8 to 5. It was perfect for our tastes.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Here’s a photo of brother shoveling Allie’s car out of the 8″ of snow this afternoon. Turns out brothers are pretty handy. So thankful for him!

And yes, I was inside warm and dry…snapping photos and watching intently from the front door.:)

Mar 01 2013

Carrots anyone?

TGIF! It’s been a busy week but I’m happy to say The Painted Bunny Online Workshop launched today. There is still time to register if you want to have a good time smearing paint around.

Carrots anyone?

I’ve been waiting for March. March is so much better than February. One of the events on the calendar this month is a great little show coming up at The Artist League, March 8-April 5. Locals…come check it out!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Feb 26 2013

Moving It

Two months ago I stepped onto a treadmill. My hubby and I got memberships to a local gym as Christmas gifts. Two months ago, I added “fitness” to my life routine. I’ve never been athletically inclined at all, so this is big for me. Huge! I can count the times I’ve been “athletic” in my life on one hand. Here goes:

1. Ballet/tap/jazz dancer in high school.

2. Pom Pom girl in high school.

3. Aerobics class one Summer in college (I choreographed a killer dance to Let’s Go Crazy by Prince).

4. Daily stroller walks when my daughter was born.

Yup, that’s pretty much it. So when I tell you that I’ve gone to work out 5 days a week for the past two months, I have a proud little smile on my face.

I started out very simple. But at least I started. Right? I’m still on the beginning side of the learning curve. Just taking it nice and slow.

I’ve been keeping a chart in my calendar. I look forward to filling it in after each work out. No, seriously, I can’t wait to fill it in. That one little 1/2″ of space on paper…makes my day. Filling in that one line represents a lot to me. It’s changing me. It means I’m doing it. It means I have determination. It means I’m not a quitter, I’m doing it. And then there’s the  obvious…it shows the fitness progress I’ve made (which is awesome to see, too).

Now I have a confession to make. I hate to sweat. I really do.

My daughter laughed at me when I told her. You can…go ahead, laugh. So I’ve been trying to get over that. It’s hard, but I’m working on it. I printed out this ad, and put it on my chart. It helps (a little).

Another facet to this change in me is that I’ve been using the My Fitness Pal App. It’s a popular smart phone app that tracks caloric intake and so on. I’ve really enjoyed charting my new course on it. Yes,  I have a chart “thang”. Seriously though, I love how easy it is to count your calories with this app. The bar code scanner is great. I also like how you can add more calories to your daily intake when you work out. You can do this app with friends or on Facebook, but I haven’t taken that leap yet. My hubby likes this app, too.

So, I’m happy to say that I’ve lots 9 pounds in these past 2 months. It fluctuates a bit. But I’m doing it.  Step by step, little by little. Feels good.

KateFebruary 26, 2013 - 10:03 pm

Congratulations! You sound a lot like me…I’ve struggled a lot with making fitness a habit. I’m working on it.
I’d love to know more about your calendar…the glimpses in these photos are super adorable!!!

Still working at working it.March 27, 2013 - 10:00 am

[...] originally wrote about my new fitness venture here. I am happy to say I’ve lost roughly a pound a week. Maybe that’ll increase now that I [...]

Feb 22 2013

Snowmageddon 2013

We got dumped on! 8 inches of snow here. I got a couple of photos of the boys on their snow removal duty to share. You know, to put you in the mood. This guy doesn’t mind the snow…always has a smile.

This guy on the other hand…

Well, he didn’t get the memo about wearing those heavy duty gloves (I got him during the last snow storm) and neglected to turn the snow blower blower thingy the other direction…not at himself. So he is pretty snow covered! Poor guy. Brrrr.

By the way I took those photos inside with a zoom lens…not catching me out in that stuff.

We have another snow day today. But in my head, I’m telling myself that Spring is on it’s way. It is. Just a couple more weeks, right? I’ve started adding bits of Spring around the house–craving it so badly. That includes Mr. Bun-Bun here. He is excited for The Painted Bunny Online Workshop! So am I!

Check out the details: here!