Call Roto Rooter, thats the name....

Anyone else remember that jingle? I was living that lie earlier this week as I waited 72 hours for my water situation to get resolved.




Here is the timeline...

Friday morning: Wet carpet and floor in the basement
Friday late afternoon: Water-main shut off. Roto to return next morning.
Saturday morning: (ho-hum, la dee da....)
Saturday evening: Roto calls and says he isn't coming until Monday morning.
Saturday-Monday am: Room service and running water at a near-by hotel.
Monday morning: The digging begins. Good news, just a small hole.
Monday afternoon: Bad news, the front yard needs to be dug up.
Monday evening: Showering in my own home! Yah!!!!




Who is drinkin' tonight?!!! I have a bottle of hard cider chilling in the fridge and some wine for back-up. Friends don't let friend drink and paint but I think I'll give it a go this evening. This outta be good : )

What a couple of weeks....

I have just cleared out some space in my art room and will FINALLY!!!!! get back to some painting. Here are some of the topics that have kept me away from my art and my blog:

DD fractured her ankle
I got sick and stayed sick for over a week
DS is being tested for learning disability
DH was home an average of 3 days a week for the last 3 weeks
I'm co-chair of a big event at the kids' school
I wrote about 100 articles

I enjoy a little push to keep me going, but the stress from all of that was waaaaay too much for me. I had to fight off a couple of panic attacks (I cannot even express how horrific those are) in the middle of all of this. Oh, and for the last 3 days my house has been without water.

This is getting to be a real whiny post so I think I'll stop it here and go see what everyone else has been up to. I'll post some pics as soon as I get going on my next painting. Hope everyone has been well!

Art class Painting

I decided I wasn't busy enough with 27 articles, 2 kids, a husband, a cat, and volunteer work. So, I signed up for another art class. Of course I am behind on my assignments, but I can download the videos and art supply list so I'm not too concerned. The first assignment was to make a painting with the theme: Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday that vaguely resembles Halloween. The idea was to make a painting in honor of a loved one that passed away. It is about celebrating their life, it is not morbid or dark in any way.

I chose to celebrate the life of a young man I knew in college. He was my boyfriend for about a year and to date the most selfless person I have ever met. He taught me a lot about respecting myself and loving life. I was always in a hurry to be an adult and get out in the world to prove myself. He, on the other hand, loved life at the very moment he was living it and said he had no desire to become an adult. He was murdered just a few days before his 20th birthday.

Oh, this is getting dark isn't it. It isn't sad though. He was ready, I know that in my heart. His purpose in life was achieved at a young age and now he is in a beautiful place. I still think of him even though this happened many, many years ago. In fact, I realized that whenever I paint someone with long blue hair I am thinking of him. (He had very long, very thick, black hair.) So Tem, this is for you!!

Holiday Angel

Just finished 2 writing assignments but I managed to squeeze in some art. Just wanted to share her with everyone. I hope to be back to more regular blogging soon. I want to see what everyone has been up to!

Eating my words

Let's see... what did I say in the last post? Oh yeah..."Maybe I'll make this decision and big writing assignment will fall in my lap." I opened my email today and found a message from my editor. Now I have 20 articles to do in 12 days. I'm tired just thinking about it but I couldn't turn it down. I love having the opportunity to write, even if the subject is painfully boring (HVAC systems). Not exactly interviewing celebs anymore, but I'll take it.

The break will have to wait : (

Another Vacation

I'm going on a different type of vacation. I'm taking a break from my quest for greatness. All kidding aside, I have decided to shut down my etsy site for a few weeks and put my "career" - for lack of a better term - on hold.

It seems counterintuitive to put so much effort into my writing and painting only to walk away from it for a bit. But, I've come to understand that this is just how I need to do things. Some people work at a constant speed, but I like to lead my life in spurts. I guess it is the Gemini in me. Sometimes I run hot and get so much accomplished in one week that it doesn't seem possible. Then I shut down.

I have been feeling a pull towards more domestic things. I want to enjoy being a Mom and wife and nothing else for awhile. I have the luxury to do that, why not take advantage. I'll still paint because that is part of who I am, but I don't know if I'll bother to sell anything. I surely won't be spending time on marketing or promtion.

I used to think that I had some fear of success or some other problem that made me act like this. But,it isn't that at all. I know in my heart this is the right thing for me now. I may feel differently in a week or it may be a couple of months before I'm inspired to "work" as an artist or writer again. Maybe I'll make this decision and big writing assignment will fall in my lap. I'll let life guide me for awhile and see what happens next. I'll paint what I see and feel along the way : )

Back from the Happiest Place on Earth

I'm home and bit depressed now that our Disney trip is over. Now I have to get real and do laundry, bills, dishes, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. And thats just what I have planned for today.

I did sell a small painting while I was gone and had a couple of etsy orders waiting for me. I will get those out today for certain.

Disney is definately the kind of vacation that wipes you out. I may add nap to my To Do list.

Leaving on a Jet Plane- Vacation Post

I'm very excited, we leave for vacation tonight! The kids think we are going tomorrow morning so they are going to flip when my DH picks them up from school today. I highly doubt I will blog while away so I'm making this a long one to hold ya over.

I am not a fan of flying so I've dubbed this sketch to be my guardian angel. She is going to not only keep the plane in the air, but she will also make sure any coughing, sneezing, hacking passengers are not seated next to us. No piggy-flu allowed on this trip. I've been serving the kids apples at every meal and brainwashing them to sanitize their hands every hour that they are at school.

My friend Sasa sent me some peace rocks recently. Some of the rocks are hidden around my neighborhood, but I managed to save a few a will bring them on my vacation. Then the kids and I can find some cool places to leave the rocks and see if anyone finds them. The rocks are really cute and I think it is such a sweet way to spread peace and love to others. Sasa is having a giveaway so head over there if you want your very own peace rock!!

I don't have any commissions right now so I'm working on a painting for my Mom. She wants me to make a Christmas Angel and then design cards for her to use this holiday season. I've only just begun sketching the angel. I may just finish her on watercolor paper so I can easily scan her once she is done. I don't have a lot of ideas for her yet, but I'm sure they will come to me. It's hard to think Christmas when Halloween isn't over yet.

I guess that is it for me this week. I'll post some vacation pics when I get back and take a trip around the blogosphere to see what everyone has been up to while I was away. Have great week!

The Witch is Back

I managed to squeek out a little bit of time for myself today and put the finishing touches on my Halloween witch painting. I woke up this morning and realized that by the time I got back from vacation I wouldn't have much time to complete her before the holiday hit. Whats the point of a Halloween witch if you can't sell her until Thanksgiving.

I'm going to put the little girly up on Ebay tonight. I'm undervaluing the painting which is a big no-no here in art-land, but I want her to find a good home. She is covered in a thick layer of wax and just think she is dreamy. If you click on the photos you can see it up close. I've been making some crappy art lately so I'm really happy to have a painting that I like for a change.

New Book Cover

I am putting the finishing touches on my new mandala coloring book; starting with the fun stuff like designing the cover. I seem to be doing everything I can to avoid writing the few pages of text I need for the front of the book. I even took on a writing assignment, albeit a small one, just to give myself something else to write. That is strange to me because I really want to finish this book and I enjoy the subject. I'm sure there is a deep-seated psychological reason for what is happening, but I'm not going to sweat it too much. The book will get done when I'm ready. That is the beauty of self-publishing.

So back to the cover... I like this design because it shows off some of the mandalas you can find inside plus it gives you an idea of how pretty they look when they've been colored. Also, by having a few black and white mandalas on the cover I hope to make people look at the designs and imagine coloring the designs themselves.

I had planned on having the book done this week and putting up a giveaway, but that just isn't going to happen. My family is taking a vacation next week and I'm putting most of my "extra" time into getting ready. Maybe that is just another excuse to not finish the book, but that is my story and I'm stickin' to it.