Back to work

Recent quake activity.

One of a few stores that were affected by the quake.

Well it's been fun to take a much needed break from everything. Now it's time to get back to work on my art again. I will be sewing for the whole weekend. I have some mending that I have put off for long enough, plus I am participating in a doll clothes swap with Sitting Pretty Studios. I have some really cute fabric to make the girls some blankets, and I have been promising my good friends over at the Cordwood Cabin that I would send them a snowbunny. It's time to make good on all my unfinished sewing projects. I have to say that as supportive as Dean is with my art, he hates it when I sew. It drives him nuts! I don't know why. Oh well.

It has gotten pretty cold here again. It was so nice on my walk this morning. I didn't even break a sweat because it was too cold. I loved it. I am enjoying our unusually cold weather while I can. Soon it will be hotter than blue blazes out here. I do however look forward to being able to dress the girls in all the darling summer clothes that I got out of storage. I have received so many like new hand me downs in the past, that there is hardly anything I need to buy for little Zoe and Aris. Sloan is a different story. The poor kid needs dresses and shorts. Both Sloan and Zoe need summer shoes. I will be watching the sale racks and bargains on e-bay.

Earth quake update. So far so good. We are still having a lot of seismic activity. Most you just don't feel. For some reason I feel the little tremors when no one else does. I am sensitive to the movements. We are all safe. My friends the Hales family received some damage to their home on the last big one. Cracks in their walls, and the garage door is all messed up. They have taken down all their art and sculptures until things settle down. They are very close to where the epicenter seems to be. Our home has been fine. There are a few businesses that lost merchandise during the last big quake. Most were wine retailers, or stores with items that fell off the shelves. I will keep you posted to any new info or if we have anymore major quakes.

Let me know what you are working on that is creative at the moment. I am always inspired to work a little longer and harder on my art when I am surrounded by the creativity of others.

24 Miles & a Play Date to Boot

I am getting ready to head to the Marina to walk as fast as my little legs will carry me. It's not as windy today, but it's kind of chilly. Hopefully as the sun gets higher in the sky things will warm up. We have our play group today also. I will have to hurry things along this morning. I don't like to hurry things along. Oh well. Hope everyone has a great day!

Esperanza Rising

I have started reading to Sloan again. First Sloan reads to me for 20 minutes and then I read a chapter to her. She is desperate for one on one time with me. This is a fun way to spend it with her. I love to read, and there are some wonderful children's books that are enjoyable for both of us. Sloan is enjoying this book. I think it is based on facts with a little fiction thrown in.

22 Miles

Just a little update on my goal for fitness. Other than some sore muscles I feel really great. I will be curious to see how much weight I have lost when I take Sloan to her next Diabetes support group.

There have been some more small quakes over the last few day's but nothing too crazy. These quakes are a game of sit and wait. You just don't know when or where the next one will hit. Dean and I have formulated a plan for when the big one hits. Other than that you just have to live like normal. We will be stocking up on water this weekend just in case.

The girls are so cute these day's. I will be back to my picture taking self over the next few days. I just needed to take a break. It was much needed. Hope everyone is well!

Imagine JDRF Gala

Imagine. I loved the theme of this years event. Imagine a world without diabetes. How awesome that would be.

Here we are, Dean's very first suit. He looks so very handsome.

The bird plate was done by Sloan and I. Every year they auction off plates painted by kids with diabetes.

I found my painting was turned the wrong way. No worries I was able to meet the gentleman who won this and I informed him on the correct way to hang it.

They grouped all my little animals together, sadly this lot didn't sell. It's OK, they will put them in the next auction in the fall.

The ballroom.


Hey cutie! Can you tell this isn't Dean's cup o' tea? He's such a good sport about it. I will admit, I feel a bit out of place also. We aren't into keeping up with the Jone's. It's still fun to get dressed up once a year.

John O'Hurley was our emcee for the evening. In case you are trying to place the name he was Elaine's boss on Seinfeld and also did a guest spot on Dancing with the Stars. He has been in many other things I just can't remember them all at the moment.

It was truly a special evening filled with wonderful food, great entertainment and big hearts. Hard to believe that in one night 1.6 million dollars was raised for this cause. Hopefully they will find a cure sooner than later. There is nothing I would love more, than to wake up one morning and hear on the news, "Diabetes, Cured!". I would cry tears of joy. Hopefully someday this dream will come true.

Kermit the frog

We were fortunate enough to hear a performance of "Rainbow Connection" by none other than the man that wrote the song, Paul Williams himself. Paul Williams is recognised as one of America's most gifted and talented lyricists and composers. He has won Oscars, Grammys' and Golden Glob awards for some of his music. He is also included in the Music Hall of Fame. He has written music for Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and many other talented musicians. This larger than life man is actually very tiny in real life. I would almost guess a little over 5 ft tall. He joked at the end of the song, "Next time could you get me some kids that are a little more excited about the song?". All I could think was, Ohhhhh pick me! I am a big kid and I loved that song when I was little. I turned to the lady sitting next to me and I told her, "I feel really old, I bet you most of those kids have never heard this song before." It was so much fun to listen to this live.

Surprise performance

Well I have tried several times to no avail to upload the video of our surprise performer. We had the pleasure of listening to three songs from Michael Bolton himself. I am not a huge fan by any means, but I grew up hearing his music on the radio. He put on a really great show. It was super fun to listen to him. I will try to upload the video one more time later tonight.

Drum roll please

This is the largest amount ever raised at the Reno JDRF Gala in all the years of this event. Unbelievable.

JDRF Auction

This was the final entertainment for the evening. "Rain" is a tribute band to the Beatles. Yes they all have mop tops. They were super fun to listen to. Dean even danced with me. Anyone who knows Dean will understand what a miracle this is. This was truly a most magical evening for such a wonderful cause.

What happens at Vintage, stays at Vintage

Our fun night at Vintage of Reno.......................Pictures and stories to come.

Earthquake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sitting here blogging and we just had a pretty good little shake. The house shook so much my palms started to sweat. Dean and I just kind of looked at each other and kept waiting for it to stop and it didn't. All the art on the wall was chattering. I'm a Florida girl. I am used to hurricane force winds, rains and crazy tornado's. Earthquakes are just bizarre to me. When the shaking was over, I kind of felt sick to my stomach. There were a few tremors afterward. We just found out the earthquake was a 5.0 CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been having quite a few earthquakes around here lately. It makes me wonder when the big one is going to hit. Very weird.

P.S. We were just informed the quake has been lessened to a 4.9. The news reporter says that this number could change again before tomorrow. I will post more tomorrow. Goodnight for now!

Reading girls

Zoe reading to daddy.

All the laundry in the background, a weeks worth. It was hard to fold clothes and paint at the same time. I will be cleaning most of the weekend to catch up.

Here is my little reading buddy. She loves to read and she's really great at it.

Mozers kind of morning

The first thing Zoe does when she wakes up is puts her boot's on so she can go outside with daddy. Mind you this is at 6:45 am. Dean thinks she looks like a orphan child here, I would have to agree. She is quite the fashion victim.

This is 7:05 am. Zoe likes to walk around with Sloan's back pack. I wish I had this much energy this early in the morning.

Finished, finally

I finished the painting yesterday but I was so tired I didn't have a chance to post it yet. It was a good feeling to take it to JDRF and drop it off. Hopefully it will do OK at the auction.

Sister's

My "little" sister's. Brennan and Cristin. I miss them sooooooo much!

Brennan, Sammie, and Cristin. Sammie is one of the cutest sweetest girls I know. She is a very dear friend of Bren and Cristin. My family live in an awesome neighborhood in Florida. It seriously brings to mind images of Donna Reid or Beaver Cleaver. They have the nicest neighbors.

Sunflower Family

Just the beginning of the Sunflower Family painting, but I thought I would show the process. I have to finish this one by tonight! I am dropping off the large abstract and the monkey illustration to the JDRF office tonight. I would take them during the day but the large canvas won't fit in my car. Dean will help me load the canvas up in his truck and off it goes for the auction. I am a little nervous about all the work I donated. What if people don't really want them? I hope I don't walk by someone during the auction and overhear, "Did you see the crappy art they have at this years auction?", if I did I would just turn a hundred shades of red. Oh well art is very subjective. I am the first to realize that my art isn't for everyone. We will see. I've got a very busy day ahead, but I will post before the night is through. I have some cute pictures of the girls (sorry grammas & grampas, I haven't forgotten about you guys) and I will post them soon.

Almost done, almost

Before........................

during..............................

and after.

It might not look that different. I went and purchased some more paint today. The red I used tonight was a dark cherry color. Almost a reddish brown. The red in the first painting was like a fire engine red. I feel the latter red works so much better. I am still not completely sold on the light blue, but I will see how I feel about it in the morning. The lighting in our kitchen is horrible. Can't wait for the new lighting when Dean has some time to work on the kitchen again. I also added the dark cherry color to the edges. Painting the edges makes everything look more polished. I will be adding a couple coats of varnish tomorrow while the girls are napping. I wanted to finish this tonight, but last night Aris was up most of the night. I was so tired today. I took a nap with the girls instead of painting. I will for sure be finish by tomorrow. I also have to do the sunflower painting by Thursday. Almost freaking out, but not quite.

Reworked

Before..............................
& After.

I am a little happier with it now. It was just too much before. I am a color theory snot, ask anyone. You could paint the most amazing painting, but if your color's don't work together the painting won't look good. I am still not completely happy with the painting yet. Abstracts are tough. You just get a feeling, like hey if I add one more thing it will ruin this. That's how I know when my abstracts are done. I haven't had that feeling yet.

Today was my first day of work. I was asked to work the after school program until the end of May and I happily accepted. A little extra pocket money won't hurt the budget here. It would be nice to save for the last plane ticket we will be purchasing in the next few months, or I could pay off the last little bit of my student loan or I could pay off the hospital bill from when I had Aris.......Oh the thing I could do with just a few extra dockets. Sigh. OK I am over it now.


I hope everyone is well. By the way I am up to 10 miles as of today. I also started a women's walking group for young or old at church. This morning 5 bright and smiling faces showed up at the Marina, to walk and get healthy. It was very cool.

Painting in progress

Before....................
and after. Not real happy with this step. I think the red is too much. I don't care for the yellow much either. I am going to mellow both of them out or erase them completely. I like the before step a whole lot more than the latter. That's OK it will all work out in the end.

August Rush

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should. I feel it is something even Sloan could watch and enjoy. Very clean and family friendly. Dean and I both enjoyed it. It is not very realistic, but it captures the whole you can never dream too much or too big. I like that.

Great friends & good food

Tonight we had our good friends and neighbors Tony and Sara and little Hailey over for dinner. Dean grilled up burgers and hot dogs while I made a salad some potato's and corn. I also baked a few cookies for desert. Tony and Sara are the best neighbor's. The kind you can call at 6 in the evening and ask for a cup of milk because you don't have any in the house for the recipe you are making for dinner. The girls just adore them. We love having Hailey over once a week. Our whole family is grateful for all their kindness.
I got a bit more done on the painting but I am not going to show you the process pictures until tomorrow.......it's just at a weird stage at the moment. I am not extremely happy with the color of the last layer I threw down, it's a blue that I thought would look darker, it's not the dark that I wanted. Tomorrow I will work on it again.

Painting progress

How cute is this little painting partner?

Adding another layer.

When Aris was finished with her snack Zoe was ready to paint with mommy. Painting partner number 2.

The next step, this was done after the kids went to bed, was to add a matte medium to the layers I had already painted. If I don't, the paint starts to get a mucky. I like to keep the layers crisp and clean.


I finished up for the night after I added the blue. I have to let each layer dry and it was late so I called it a night. I was a little stuck before I added the blue, but now I feel a lot better with the direction of the painting. Plus I am just going to have fun with it. Don't want to stress myself out over this one.