Tales Of A Neurotic 30 Something

Is the Cat on Fire?

2012-02-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

So night time in our house is usually quite lively. Before Emily was born, hubby and I would stay up to 3-4 in the morning, we are just that way. We come alive at night for some reason, and I guess we passed that on to Em too.

I knew she was going to be trouble at night when I was pregnant, because right around 1 am she would start some heavy partying, and not quite down til about 2:30 or so. Luckily I was already awake watching Get Smart, so her gymnastics routine didn't really bother me much.

Totally different story now though. She has set her bedtime between 1:30-2:30 am. Not cool. In fact ever since we brought her home from the hospital she has been stubborn with her sleep routine. She hated being swaddled, and would bust loose at any given opportunity. So we stopped that rather quickly. She didn't want to sleep on her back, so that caused weeks of agony worrying about SIDS, Then she decided the crib wasn't good enough for her, so she started sleeping on daddy in the recliner. At about 8 weeks I finally got her to start sleeping in her co-sleeper that sat on the bed. She did pretty well with that until she started rolling over and waking herself up. Fast forward to now and she still doesn't sleep well on her own, and we are up every 1-2 hours a night. Not only that, but all of us are sleeping in the living room due to remodeling in the bedrooms.

Needless to say any sleep I can get is a blessing. Even if it is only 40 min at a time. The doctor once told us that at her age she should be sleeping 12 hours through the night. And sleeping a total of something like 14 hours a day. I think I left my jaw on the floor of her exam room. This child is nowhere close to that. If she was I'd be a well rested momma.

Anyway, all this back story is my long winded way of saying Em doesn't sleep well at night and wakes up a lot. And it also leads me to a story of what happened the other night. Which really has nothing to do with Emily, and a whole lot to do with smoke filled chaos.

We had just settled Em down for sleep, and she was snoozing pretty well. I usually stay awake for another 15 to 20 min before I lay down, just in case she decides to trick us, and wake up again right away. Which she does. Frequently.

So right before laying down, I decided to put a log on the fire. I should mention that we live in the mountains, so a wood burning stove is our heat source in the winter and it runs 24 hours a day. Anyway, I shove a log in through the side door, and it gets stuck on some stupid bar thing in the front of the stove. No matter how hard I push and prod and wiggle the log it just won't budge.

Which means I need to open it from the front. Now I know that A LOT of ash has built up, and I also know from experience that if I open that door, all that ash will come spilling out creating a huge mess that I just don't feel like cleaning at 3 am. But I can't leave the side door open all night for fear of errant ashes leaping out in the middle of the night and setting the house on fire.

So I open it as carefully as I can. But not before I notice the black cat sleeping in the black cat bed right under the door.

It doesn't take a psychic to figure out what happens next. Very large embers spill out onto everything. Black fur whizzes past me, I start cursing, and all heck breaks loose. The cat bed is smoking and has several holes where the embers have burned their way through. House is filling up with smoke, the cat is on fire, but I don't notice because I'm busy trying to put fire back in the box where it belongs. Unfortunately every time I put a shovel full of embers back in, more falls out. Then there is the matter of the stuck log, which I also try to dislodge to no avail. More cursing, embers falling, and panic ensue.

Meanwhile my husband asks if the cat is on fire, and I brush it off thinking no way he totally jumped out of the way before anything fell. He's fine.

At this point I'm more concerned with the smoke that is filling up the house because I don't want Emily to breathe it. So I open the window, and the front door. Now I should mention that since Em came along we have pet proofed a few rooms, and because of the cat's new proclivity to pee on anything they want, the kitchen is one of those rooms and we have installed a tall pet gate in the door way to keep them out.

So back to the fire place I go trying to clean up the smoky fiery mess. The cat is racing around trying to get out of the house, which I still ignore thinking he sees us up and wants to go outside to the bathroom which at 3 something in the morning he can jolly well use the litter box. Fed up with me ignoring him, he takes matters into his own paws, and breaks through the pet gate and races outside. I can't leave him out there because the coyotes will eat him, so I curse about that too.

With some assistance from the husband, all the fire finally ends up in the right place, and things are calming down. It isn't until then that I see the black charred ember with cat fur fused to it sitting on a box. Uh oh.

I race outside to find the cat, but he's hiding under the car and won't have anything to do with me. Gee I wonder why.

So that is why at 3:30 am I could be found sitting in the driveway freezing my ass off trying to coax a very scared, singed, and un-trusting cat out from under the car.

And Emily slept through the whole thing.

And I have been banned from using the fire place ever again.

Weight loss tips and pregnancy tests.

2012-02-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is not my real weight. Just in case you were wondering.

Ok, so get this. I've lost 49 lbs!! Without trying. And eating anything I want! Wanna know my secret?

Have a child!

Yes it's true, pregnancy made me loose weight. I'm still not completely understanding it, but the fact is I'm the lowest I've been in 12 years.   The strange thing is, every time I start feeling fatter, like I've gained a pound or five, the scale always reads that I've lost yet another few pounds.

This was proven yet again the other day when I step on the scale, fully expecting to see it jump up at least 5 pounds, because we had been eating out like crazy, and I've been snacking seriously on desserts every single night, like all night, I was floored to see that another four pounds had disappeared!

Now that's my kind of diet!!

Of course I understood I would loose some weight after having a baby, but to be 29 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight?? No one told me of that little side effect. Awesome!

Yeah Ok, I'm nursing too. I'm sure that helps a little. Okay a lot. But right now I'm choosing to believe that I can eat everything I want, and still loose weight. Heh. I wish! I guess I'll just have to nurse for awhile. Like forever.

Seriously I NEED my chocolate. And without nursing, I'm pretty sure I'd blow up right back to where I was when I got pregnant. Which btw is when I had just signed up for Weight Watchers (not knowing I was pregnant), because my weight was escalating at an alarming rate. It wasn't really a surprise as I ate what I pleased, and enjoyed many late night chocolate and Cheetos induced meals. So the fact that I gained a pound or two, alright 16, was hardly a shock.

What was shocking however, was after the first two weeks of strictly following those stupid points, and eating boring crap food, I managed to GAIN weight! Everyone knows that when you start a diet, the first two weeks rock, as you tend to dump 4 to 5 pounds a week. Then of course it trickles down to a measly one or two. But the first couple are what motivate you to keep going.

So you can imagine my dismay as I stepped on the scale each week only to see negative results. I would beat myself up all day trying to figure out, how the hell one gains weight on a diet. I mean for crying out loud I was following the rules. I was eating the right foods. I did everything right. Mostly. Ok I may have cheated once or twice, but still I should have lost a little weight.

Then one night while watching I Love Lucy, the episode where she tells Ricky she is pregnant, something clicked. And the dialogue in my head went a little something like this... Oh crap. It can't be. Actually, yes it could. But after 5 years? Anything is possible. When was my last period? I have no idea. Nah, I can't be pregnant... But then again....

This back and forth dialogue went on for several minutes before I finally got the courage to get up, and check the calendar to see if I had kept track of Aunt Flo. I knew I hadn't, but for some reason I thought If I looked long enough, I could somehow miraculously remember just when it was. Nope. After a bit of research though, and asking my husband (who had no clue) I finally figured out that, yes indeed I better get a test.

Now most people probably would have run out immediately to the closest store open that late at night and grab a bunch of tests. But not me. I waited 2 whole days, before I could actually take it. I agonized, and worried, and sweated profusely, and cried, and basically freaked out about having to pee on a little stick.

See I was petrified It would actually be positive. I didn't feel like I was ready to have a kid, let alone give birth to one. That was the worst part. Eventually it would have to come out, and not in an easy way. Even though it would be nine months away, I was freaking out already. And it hadn't even been confirmed yet.

Needless to say I took the test, and got a big fat positive! Of course I'm ecstatic. Now. That it's all over. I couldn't imagine not having a child in my life. It truly is the best thing that ever happened to me. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.   I think. Of course I would!

At least it explained why I was getting fat.

I think I need to live in a bubble

2012-02-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

So this week has been the week of self inflicted stupid injuries, and to add insult to that, I also got fired. By mail. Is that even legal?

Well ok I'll be fair, I haven't actually been to my place of employment since 2008 when I left on disability, so it's not exactly a surprise. But still, I find it kind of humorous that it took 2 1/2 years to finalize my position. And then it was in the form of a letter. Not even a phone call. Huh.

No big deal though, as I do have another job. Well sort of. If you call painting, and selling art on a very part time basis a job. Luckily I do. So there's that.

Plus being a mom to the little Nugget is definitely more than a full time job, and if I could find someone to pay me an hourly wage to change diapers, nurse, and sing 3 little kittens lost their mittens, then I'd be rich rich rich.

Now, as far as the injuries go, let's just say it might be wise for me to wear protective padding, especially elbow pads. And since I know you are just dying to find out how klutzy I can be, I will tell you.

The first injury happened while using the restroom. Don't worry there isn't anything gross to tell. Just that I was somehow leaving the throne, when upon standing up, I managed to lodge my elbow underneath the corner of the bathroom counter, and smack it pretty darn good. So good that it hurt the rest of the day.

As if that wasn't stupid enough, the very next morning, I was getting out of bed (well the couch actually, but we are sleeping in the living room due to remodeling going on in the bedroom.) Anyway, I'm trying to sit up when I wack the OTHER elbow on a TV tray.

That...HURT like some words I don't wish to say, in case any family members stumble across this post and gasp at the fact that I used foul language, even though that language was very appropriate for the time.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I screamed silently in paralyzed pain for about 5 minutes, while my husband watched in wonderment as to what the heck was wrong with me. Seriously. I couldn't speak. When I finally regained my voice I found that I couldn't even lift my arm. At all. I couldn't put my hair up which unfortunatley I found out when I went to take a shower, so that meant I had to wash it one handed. So that was exciting.

And yet, that isn't all, nor is it the stupidest thing I did, because the next day (yesterday) I got the bright idea to clean out the fridge of rotting farm food. We had some limp carrots and beets that I thought would juice nicely, so I did.

Well I drank that juice, and that was my mistake. The first sip felt very gritty, but that didn't stop me from drinking nearly half the juice, or putting two and two together for that matter. I just thought the juice was "earthy" and "nutritious". Well I guess there was something in that grit (dirt perhaps?) because for the rest of the day, and part of this morning, my throat was irritated, sore, and scratchy. I think I may be the first person to hurt themselves while drinking. I wish I could get a medal or something.

In baby news, we introduced the highchair to the Nugget this week, and let's just say she is less then enthused about it. Most of the time she flat out refuses to use it, and I can't for the life of me coax her into it. Not even the bribe of food and toys works.

A rare moment in the chair of doom...

As soon as we get her near it, she turns into a rigid little board, and will not bend for anything. So for now, I feed her standing up, and that is a huge pain! Sometimes, she lets Mr. Nugget put her in it, but even then she isn't terribly pleased about the situation, and we don't get very far on the feeding front. Oh well, maybe she will learn to love it. Though she never did take to the bouncer. To this day I think she may have used it a total of 5 times, for a total of 5 minutes. Maybe the next one will like it.

Here's hoping the rest of the week will be easier!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

2012-01-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

Holy cow, it's like entering a time warp! I just realized it's been nearly 4 years since my last post!! 4 YEARS! Can you say procrastination much? Actually I really really hate those "much phrases", but in this case, it totally seemed to apply.

So let me fill you in on whats been going on around here. Just in case anyone is still reading....

Did I just hear a cricket?

Yeah I know 4 years IS a little long to expect a readership still. Sigh. Guess I'll just have to start all over again.

Technically it hasn't been 4 years, and besides, I did start my art blog, which was another version of this one but with art.. Okay probably not nearly as entertaining, but still you got to see lots of cool art... Right?

Well I'm not doing art anymore. At least not now, I'm raising a child instead.

Yeah you heard that right. '

A child!

Which makes me a mom! The world has gone wacky. I never ever thought I'd see the day, but lo and behold it came.

She 8 months old btw. Her name is Emily. And she is the master of the universe. Well our universe anyway. And yes, you will be reading about her. A lot. That is, if anyone is still willing to read this dusty ol blog still.

Sooooooo, for some odd reason today I got it into my head to start blogging again. I've been Facebooking like crazy, but status updates don't always fulfill those writing needs. You know when one wants to be a writer. Or thinks they want to be a writer, or just dreams about being a writer but doesn't actually write, but still hopes that someday a book might spontaneously appear and be published, making said wannabee writer rich. Yeah, that would be me.

Anyway.... I was sitting here thinking I kind of have a life now, maybe I might have something to blog about again. And then I thought, Oh cool! I can start a new blog, and make it all pretty, and get tons of people to follow me, and be all popular and... and, then I couldn't get past the first question. "What is your blogs name?" I hate that part. Because, I don't know. It's not something I can come up with on the fly. What I really want to do is design it. That's the fun part. And writing it. Naming it? Eh. Not so much.

So after pondering the name thing for about 15 minutes and coming up with nothing, I gave up, and clicked back to this trusty ol blog and started re-reading my posts. And, you know what? Darned if it wasn't exactly what I was going to do with the new blog. Write about me. Why the heck start all over, when I already had a blog with loads of posts? And so here I am. Again. Maybe if you are lucky I'll stick around for awhile...

Did someone say SALE?

2011-03-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I thought I'd do another celebration today to celebrate getting 100 blog followers, AND hitting 400 Facebook Fans!! Woo Hoo! As a thank you, I'm running a SALE in my Etsy store. Please stop by and see if there is anything you like. :)

If you want to buy anything, just use this coupon code LUVMYFANS at checkout and you will get 20% off your purchase!

I'll be running this sale until April 1st, so hurry up and shop!!

Okay here is the shop link...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mfauss?ref=si_shop

Hope to see you there!

Babies, blogs, paintings, and fears.

2011-03-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Oh boy. As if I needed yet another reason to stay on the internet and suck up all my time. I just discovered the world of "mommy blogs". Since I'm about to be a mother, today I got the brilliant idea to join some mom groups, and check out some cool mom blogs.

Well. It's been a few hours, and I'm still reading. Yikes! I really really should be working or cleaning tonight, but I managed to waste so much time, that now I have no desire to wash dishes, vacuum, do the laundry, tweet, list any new products, read Etsy forums, or paint. All I want to do is find more blogs to entertain me, and watch Get Smart. Gosh I'm getting lazy in the 3rd trimester. Holy Moly, it's the 3rd trimester already!! I can not believe how fast time flew. I keep thinking I have many more months to go, yet I only have a couple.

And here's something interesting about me, most of you probably don't know. I've had a life long fear of hospitals. I mean really fearful, like I don't like looking at them even. Yet, in June I will be staying in one! Oh my goodness, I just can't believe it, but unless I'm lucky enough to have a very quick birth on the way to the big scary building I really can't get out of it. I went in the other day to see where I'm supposed to check in, and got my forms but that was all I was all I could do for the day. I'm hoping to acclimate myself to them before the big day.

At least at the end of my hospital visit in June, I'll get a prize! As the time draws closer and closer, I'm super duper scared, but at the same time, I'm really looking forward to meeting our little girl. I really think we will have a good time together, and I absolutely cannot wait to dress her in all the cool clothes we bought. :) But I was a little bummed when I found out they don't draw until a few years old. Poo. I was totally looking forward to arts and crafts time. I really really hope she likes getting messy too like with paints, because If I end up having a mini Felix Unger on my hands, I don't know what I'll do. Only time will tell.

btw the elephant painting you see above, is Elinor. A mixed media 12x12 painting on canvas. She may or may not be related to Ellie. And the original Ellie lives in New York now, so they don't get to see each other like they should. :) And, if you don't already know this, Elinor can be found kicking it over on Etsy .

And thanks again to all you guys who participated in my giveaway. I'll be sending prizes out soon. Some I need to make, like the necklace, but I'm hoping to get the print, cards, and postcards out tomorrow.

Giveaway Winners!!

2011-03-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well I'm so sorry It's taken this long to announce the winners. I just haven't been home much, and I had to wait a bit for my husband to be able to edit the video showing my trusty studio assistant picking out the names. He was a little less cooperative this time, and it took quite a while for him to finally get around to business, but eventually he did. Check out the video to see who won...

Congratulations to those who won, and thank you all for participating!!

Giveaway

2011-03-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

Alright the giveaway is officially over, and I will be announcing winners, either today or tomorrow. My studio assistant was a little uncooperative yesterday, and it took FOREVER to get a good video which my husband will edit hopefully soon, then I'll post and contact each winner. :)

Giveaway Time!!!

2011-03-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, I'm really feeling generous right now, and I haven't had a giveaway in quite some time, so I think it may be time for another, what do you think??

So here's how it will work.

First place will receive a giclee print of their choice!!

Just pick any collage/painting in my Etsy shop (click Etsy and it will take you there) that you would like a print of. Make sure you search the original section too, because not all paintings are listed as prints yet, so if you want for instance, a print of Frida the Fish, you won't see her yet in the print section, but she is still available of course! Just post in the comments section which one you want.

Second place will receive a necklace of their choice!!

Again just go to my Etsy store and pick out what image you would like as a necklace and post it in the comments.

Third Place will receive a set a greeting cards!!

Fourth Place will get a complete set of postcards!!

So there will be a total of 4 winners!

All you need to do is go to my Esty store and pick out an image for a print, and a necklace, and leave a comment on the blog telling me which ones you would like if you were to win.

If you advertise this giveaway on Facebook leave a comment here telling me, and you will have another chance at winning.

Same thing for Twitter, tweet this giveaway, and you get another chance! Just be sure to leave me a comment here on the blog so I know to enter you in again.

It's quite possible my handy assistant will be helping me pick winners again. It just depends on how lazy he is that day. :)

That's all there is to it. Giveaway will end next Friday March 11th!

Good luck to you!

2 new paintings and an artists spotlight!

2011-03-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

I have two new paintings to show you today, I couldn't blog yesterday so you get a two for one deal today!

The painting to the left is Harriet the Ballerina, and she is done on 12x12 canvas. Of special interest to those who like sparkle, are her little toe shoes, hair bow, and tutu. They are painted and embellished with pink glitter. :)

My next painting is Frida the Fish. After naming her, I realized too late, that many people, especially artists may think that I painted a Fish to look like Frida the artist, but that isn't so of course, it's just the first girls F name that came to mind, and I couldn't get it out of my head.

This little fish came as a surprise to me, as I was actually making a background for my pig painting, but as I was adding more and more blues and greens, I realized it looked like water. Well I just had to make a fish after that, and here she is.

Both of these ladies can be found dancing and swimming around my Etsy shop, so be sure to head over if you are interested in giving them a new home. :)

In other news, after spending all day Sunday and Monday organizing and doing business related things, I did manage to paint a bit both of those nights. I'm hoping tonight will be the same. It seems I'm forming a bit of a habit now, and that is to do business/computer stuff in the day and paint late afternoon and night. It's working out so far, and I'm trying to stop feeling guilty for spending my days on the computer. It's just something that needs to be done apparently when you are trying to run a business and market yourself.

I think my name is slowly making it's away into the cyber world and a few of my pieces have been featured in treasuries this week, and also a couple blog posts. In one case I was in the artists spotlight, which was really fun! You can find that post over at Renee Mak's blog Fuss it Up Designs she is a fellow Etsian and you can find her at her Etsy shop Fuss it Up! . She has some really great jewelery and mixed media art to look at. Definitely stop by and say hello.

Okay that's all for today, must get back to work! Have a great day!

Osgod the Owl, and new work coming up

2011-02-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well here's yet another post and a painting!! This has to be a record for me. :)

This guy is Osgood the Owl and of course he is available in Etsy should have a strong desire to purchase him. Just click the word Etsy and it will take you straight there.

He is made with acrylic paint, glitter and pretty yellow flowers on another 6in x 6in canvas. He's the last of the small canvases that are done for now. I am working on another cat in that size, since you all like kitty's so much, which of course I don't blame you since I have four of them running around the house myself. :)

Today I will hopefully spend some time painting. That is if I can get off the darn computer. I have a pig, a cat, and Easter Bunny in the works right now, and I hope hope HOPE to get at least one done by the end of the day.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, that I will stay off the computer and stop shopping on Etsy!

Bertie the Bird! A New painting, and what I'm up too the week...

2011-02-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

This little guy is already in the shop but I thought I'd post him to the blog in case some of you missed his debut.

This is Bertie the Bird, who reminds me of a chicken. :) He's painted on 6in x 6in canvas. Still loving that little size. So much fun! I love his sparkly blue background (can't get enough of glitter), and his collaged paper patchwork arm.

This one is my husbands favorite, and I think he secretly hopes he doesn't sell. I like him a lot too, but would love for him to find a home that would love him just as much or more! You can find him on Etsy of course.

As to what's going on now... Well, I've totally switched gears this week after my 6 day painting spree last week. Right now I'm spending most of my time working on the business side of things. Oh my goodness is it ever overwhelming! I'm learning about SEO's, proper tagging, keywords, backlinks, new social media, etc. etc. I so wish I got paid for the hours I put into this! It's interesting stuff, but very time consuming, and it totally sucks up your life. Hence, I haven't had a chance to paint yet this weekend. I'm hoping to organize my office area today and then paint later this afternoon. Wish me luck!

Meet Fang Jr!!

2011-02-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh, is it possible that I am blogging 3 days in a row?? I guess that's what happens when I have a bunch of new paintings to list. :)

I wanted you guys to meet Fang Jr. He is much smaller than the original, only 6in x 6in on canvas. I decided to redo him because he's such a popular piece. Most everyone seems to like him, so I decided to do a small and cheaper version for those who may want an original but couldn't afford the original original. Does that make sense?

Well that was fast, he sold already! I guess I won't go into my whole Etsy speech now. :)

Have a great Friday everyone! And Keep warm!

Another new painting!

2011-02-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

This is Fergie the Frog Princess. She is another 6 in x6in canvas. I have a total of eight of these cute canvases and so far 6 are done. A really fun size to work with actually. I was worried it would be hard because they are smaller than I'm used to, but it wasn't too bad at all. If you are interested in her she is hopping around Etsy I hear, just click this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68786598/original-frog-princess-painting-fergie

In other news, I think this week may be more devoted to business rather than painting. I'm trying really hard to get my name out there again, since after disappearing for 4 months, I kinda fell completely off the social media radar. And oh my gosh it's hard work getting back on. Stumbleupon, Etsy, Twitter, Facebook etc. The list goes on and on. I sure learned a lesson, and I dearly hope that when the baby comes I will be able to find some time to keep going at this. I think I hear many of you laughing right now, and I don't blame you. Obviously I have no idea what I'm in for, and I do realize all my time will be monopolized at first, but I'm really hoping I can find a way to incorporate my art into my life while raising a baby. After all we are going to be sharing the same room. Her nursery is my studio too. So hopefully she can play a bit while I paint a bit. That's possible right??

Have a good day everyone, I hope your day isn't going like mine right now. Too many computer issues.

a little hello and a new painting...

2011-02-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time again since I posted to my blog. I don't know what happens, but the time seems to get away from me and before I know it months have gone by between postings.

Plus, I've been pretty active announcing everything I do on Facebook, Twitter and Etsy, that when it comes to blogging I feel it's already been said and heard before. Does anybody else feel this way?

But today I thought I'd check in again, and say hi to everyone, and show you my latest painting. In case you haven't been on any social media sites lately (doubtful), and don't already know, I've been in a major painting frenzy for the last 5 days. That's alot of painting! I finished 9 of them. Can you believe that? Of course I'm only showing one right now, as the others will be announced one a day throughout the week. Need to keep you in suspense!

Anyway this little piece is an original painting on 6 in x 6 in canvas called Beatrice the Bee. If you are interested in her she can be found buzzing around Etsy waiting for a new home...Check her out if you like...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68711114/original-bumblebee-painting-beatrice-the

Until next time,which hopefully will be sooner than last time. :)
Michele

Did you miss me? :)

2011-01-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

Work in Progress

Wow! It's been ages since I've updated this blog. I don't know what got into me, well actually I do. :) Pregnancy threw me for a loop for the first 3 1/2-4 months. I hit a huge creative slump, and I just wasn't feeling well.

Needless to say no art was produced, and I accidentally slipped away from my wonderful online community of artist friends. I also managed to neglect my Etsy store, and I came back earlier this week only to find it was almost completely empty because most of the listings had expired! Whoops!

I am now slowly trying to get back into the groove of things. I still have some pregnancy issues, such as smell aversions that make me dry heave, but as long as I stay away from the refrigerator (why can't that happen when I want to loose weight?), I think I can manage to do a few paintings here and there. :)

I've been totally and completely inspired this week by Flora Bowley. I don't how I haven't discovered her sooner, I just love her work and the freedom with which she paints. Her work has given me the courage to I return to my studio. I have now spent the last 3 days in a whirlwind of painting.

I've managed not to finish anything, but I sure have started a lot. :) I've taken a bunch of old canvases that weren't working for me, and completely redid them. They are in the beginning stages still, but I already like them much better. I also was inspired to bust out my huge 36x48 canvas and give that a whirl as well. I'm probably going to work on that one today, as I seem to be most interested in it at the moment.

Here's a few pics of what I'm up to this week. Enjoy!


Work in progress. This has turned into my favorite so far, unfortunately that means I'm afraid to go any further with it. :) I know what i want to do, but am scared to ruin what I've got. Hate that!


Another Work in progress. Just trying to nail down the details on roof before I continue.


Wip. This is the big one. 36x48 and it barley fits on my table. The lighting is terrible, sorry about that, took the pic at night. The background it actually yellow, and I've already done much more to it. I had a totally different color scheme and idea in mind for this, but somehow this is what it wants to be. Not sure if I'll use my original idea or not. I'm really curious about how this will come about.

Last but not least, another wip. I was listening to Peruvian flute music when I painted this and now it has a native American feel to it. Again, totally NOT what I was trying to do, but it's what came out, so I'm going with it for now. I do love the smeary paint, and am actually a bit afraid to mess with it. I really need to work on being brave and just letting loose.

It's been a long time, plus a big surprise!

2010-12-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well it appears I was wrong when I thought working on the condo was only reason that was going to keep me from my artwork, turns out pregnancy is also a good excuse. This is quite a surprise actually. In fact I could not be more surprised if I were to wake up with my head sewn to the carpet.

I had pretty much given up hope for having a family, and was struggling with the question of whether or not to go down the fertility path. Which I didn't really want to do to be honest. Besides the expense, which wasn't affordable, and as much as I would like a family with mulitiple children, I certainly did not want to have a litter of them all at once.Though I have to admit it is more efficient that way to get it all over with in one birth. In fact, for awhile I was hoping I would be having twins for that very reason, but no such luck.

The strange this is, as happy and excited as we are, I'm still in denial that come June this baby will actually have to come out. Not really looking forward to that part. In fact I'm quite scared. I suppose when the time comes it will all work itself out. But really, it would be very nice, if science could come up with another way to have children that was less scary, painful and intimidating. I have 6 1/2 more months, anything is possible right?

In the meantime, I'm happy awaiting the time when the gag reflex turns off, and the heartburn and bloating go away or least subside. This is why I am spending most of my days like a beached whale on the couch reading instead of painting, updating Etsy and Facebook, twittering etc. If my doctor is right and these ailments go away in the second trimester, I expect I will return to the studio, and finish some very neglected paintings. At least I hope I do. :)

"Essie Car Go"

2010-11-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to introduce my latest painting! This is "Essie" the snail, short for "Essie Car Go", but don't worry she won't end up on anyone's dinner plate, thanks to her wide innocent eyes and friendly smile, no one can bear to punish her for eating all the pretty flowers in the garden.

Kind of like the banana slugs in my garden, they constantly munch my flowers but are so cute I feel sorry for getting mad at them, and of course I let them stay. Total pushover I know. :)

Anyway some of you may remember her as work in progress pic a couple months ago on Facebook. At that time all I had done was the shell and background. She's been waiting and waiting in my studio for me to finish her, because I couldn't decide if I liked her background or not, but after decorating it with bright yellow flowers, I decided it could work after all. She's been almost finished for a month, because I've been too busy and maybe a tad lazy to glue the flowers down, well over the past weekend I lit a fire under and butt and actually sat down did it. Finally she is finished!

You can find her on Etsy as an original right now. I will have prints up soon, and most likely postcards, necklaces, and greeting cards, depending on how popular she is.

Hope you all like her!

Sometimes you just have to believe.

2010-11-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well after a long accidental absence I'm finally back in the art world! I feel like I missed out on so much these past two months, and I can't wait to catch up with you all, and see what awesome creations you are making.

Thanks to everyone who left lovely supporting comments to my last post. I honestly didn't intend to ignore anyone, and I loved and appreciated everyone single comment, so I'm very sorry If I didn't respond to you. Things should be much more calm these days, so I should have plenty of time to do things properly now. :)

So our rental is renovated and finally rented, yippee! That's a huge stress taken off our shoulders. And frankly I was quite sick of going over there so it couldn't have happened at a better time. Now I can play with art!

Which reminds me the picture you see above is the first painting I've done since the rental remodel. It is a large 30x30 canvas and I just basically had a blast playing with colors and background. I made it for me, because right now there are things going on in life (which I will talk about another time, but not bad) that made me realize that sometimes you really just need to sit back and believe. Not only in the universe, but in yourself. I made this painting as a reminder to myself to do just that. The fact that I made it for me, gave me a lot more freedom to experiment. Or at least I thought it did. I didn't worry about how it came out, I just kept putting color on until I felt like stopping. It sure was a lot of fun!

I'm selling it as a print, postcard and greeting card. Not sure about selling the original yet, think I want to keep it around a little longer. But, today you can buy the Giclee print on Etsy if you are so inclined. :) The greeting cards and postcards will come later this week, and I will post them to Etsy then.

Thanks again for not giving up on me!

I won Another giveaway! And...just a little drama...

2010-10-01T13:53:00.000-07:00


"Finding Connections" by Elizabeth Gonzalez

First, I want to say, thank you all who commented on my last post. I'm sorry I didn't get back to everyone individually, but as you know, it's been crazy hectic. My computer time has been cut 95%, so it's been pretty hard to get things done. But I do appreciate you all, and thank you for sticking by me, during this non artistic time in my life. I can't wait to get back into my art community again, and start creating.

Second, I won yet another blog giveaway! This time from the lovely Elizabeth Gonzalez, who works wonders with ceramics. If you never seen her beautiful work check out her Etsy store, you won't be disappointed. Seriously though, this is getting a little weird. I've never won any kind of contests/giveaways in my life, and all of a sudden within the last few months, I've won three! I can't believe my good fortune, I sure must have done something right, to deserve all these lovely gifts. :) Thank you so much Elizabeth, I can't wait to get my beautiful mug!

In other news, I almost had a night to paint on Wednesday. Almost. You see Wednesday afternoon, Mr. F and I decided to forget remodeling, and made a very late descision to hop over to San Fransisco for very late lunch. Well we had a lovely meal at a Thai restaurant on the beach, but just as we sat down, he got a call from work saying he needed to come in. Of course we are over an hour away, so it wasn't until almost 7 pm that we made it back to San Jose. Long story short the problem was solved before we got there, and so we decided to go home early for once.

Of course this was the first time in nearly 3 weeks that I had any chance at all to paint, so I was just about to settle into my studio when the craziest thing happened. My vision went horribly wacky in one eye. Naturally, the first thing I did was panic. Actually that's an understatement, I worked myself into quite a lather.

I mean a sudden change in vision is never a good thing right? I totally thought I was either going blind, had a detached retina, or having some kind of stroke, or other neurological condition. All of which would require cat scans/mri's, surgery, hospital stays, etc. none of which sounded very pleasant.

See that' the problem with having worked in the medical field for 10 years. I know just enough information to be a danger to myself.

Anyway, after much drama, confusion, panic, etc, It went away. Just like that. By this time we were halfway over the hill on the way to the emergency room. Just in case, we continued over to the valley, and went to my mom's house. By the time we got there I perfectly normal, but I realized that I was absolutely starving, having not eaten much in the city due to needing to rush back. Being the perfect mom, she had dinner all ready for us, and managed to calm me down.

Thanks to Google my step dad figured out what the heck happened to me. Want to know what my problem was?

An Ocular Migraine. Yeah. All that fuss for a little eye headache. Apparently you don't need any pain with one either, which I didn't have. But all my visual symptoms were right on.

I feel like a complete dork now, but that was honestly one of the scariest things that has happened to me physically, well next to the time I drank too much Pepto Bismol, and well, I won't go into details, and completely gross you out, but let's just say strange things can happen, and I thought I was bleeding out. I almost hugged the emergency room doctor when she told me all I had was a side effect.

Anyway, thank goodness for family and a wonderful patient husband. It was so nice to have a place to go to, and people around me to help ease my fears when I was feeling so scared.

Still It's been awhile since I saw the eye doctor, and I do need new glasses, so I think I'll pop over soon and have everything all checked out.

Needless to say I never painted that night.

And now? I have to get back to spackling the baseboards. Ta ta for now!

I may be gone a while longer...

2010-09-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I just wanted to pop in real quick and explain my almost non existent online presence these days. Life has been crazy busy, and all my days are now spent helping my husband remodeling and getting our condo ready to rent or possibly sell. Not that I am in any way qualified to be doing carpentry/home repairs, etc, but someone has to help him, so I do what I can.

We've been at this for 2 solid weeks now, and of course that means no art time for me, especially since we get home every night around midnight, and by then all I can do is collapse on the bed, and watch I Love Lucy until I fall asleep.

I have about 10 unfinished projects waiting patiently for me in my studio, and no clue when I will be able to get back to them. I'm hoping within the next week we will be done.

Meanwhile, I haven't updated Etsy recently due to the fact that there aren't any new items to show, and I'm not tweeting or having much to say art wise on FB either. It's so strange being out of the loop. I sure miss my little art community!!

Anyway, I hope you all understand and don't forget me while I'm gone. :) I promise to come back soon with a bunch of brand new pieces to show off!

Changes, sales, and thoughts...

2010-09-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a busy week!

First I want to say thank you for all the congrats you guys left on my last post. I'm loving my prize from Juilette, and it hangs proudly in my studio and looks great!

I have a lot going on these days, and it's good stuff!

Right now, I feel as if I'm at a real turning point in my life. Like I'm on a threshold with one foot over the edge to a more successful art business, and one foot still lingering not quite sure if it's really happening.

This week, I had my first "big" sale on Etsy. One lovely lady bought 3 of my canvases. I had to say to goodbye to Ellie, Hootie and Heidi, some of my very favorite pieces, and it was a little sad, yet very exciting at the same time.

The piece I will miss the most is "Ellie". No doubt about it, Ellie was a turning point for me artistically. It was the beginning of a new look and a new, wonderfully fun series of animals. I loved the freedom I felt when I painted her. It was one of those moments, when you really let go of all fears, and just enjoy the process of creating and painting. It's one of the best feelings in the world, when you can just let loose have fun, and that's exactly what happened when I painted her. I hope they all enjoy their new home!

I've had a few more sales this week as well, another "large" sale and a few others, so I'm feeling like all my hard work is finally paying off. All the painting (well that's the fun part), listing on Etsy, hours on the computer, tweeting, marketing myself etc. seems to be working. My store is getting more exposure, and so is my art. It's all very exciting.

I feel like I'm on a new adventure, and I'm loving the ride, let's hope it keeps going!

Have a great week everyone!

Look What I Won!!

2010-09-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

"Me and My Monster" mounted print by Juilette Crane

I'm so excited you guys!!! I won this lovely mounted print by Juliette Crane!

Seriously, I tried hard to win this and left a total of 4 comments on The Handmade Gift Guide blog where the giveaway was taking place. Guess it paid off!

I really wanted this one so bad. I just love it, because I feel that I can identify with it so well. It will have a special place in my studio, and I can't wait to get it!

Thank you Juliette and the Handmade Gift Guide for having such a wonderful giveaway!

Hello, updates, and an announcement

2010-08-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Just popping in real quick to say hi, give a few updates, and to make a formal announcement (a bit late) about my artwork that is making it's debut at the Itty Bitty Boutique in Downtown Campbell! I'm super excited about this new venture, and I really hope I do well.

Right now I only took two shelves to start with. If things go well (hope hope hope!), I'll of course add more space and inventory. :)

In the meantime, I'm working hard on the business side of things. My new website is up and running, and I might add, very proudly totally updated!

I'm working everyday on the Etsy store and have been devouring many tutorials on how to make your shop more noticeable etc. It's a slow process I think, and definitely a huge learning curve, but I won't give up. There are times though, when I really think what is the use? But I'm guessing everyone has low moments like that when they are trying to start a new business. Please tell me I'm right!

Not much art is actually happening this week, simply because I've been so busy. I haven't been home much either, so that doesn't help. But I am working on new stuff, mainly a giraffe, a whale (still!), a hippo and a snail. I suspect the snail will be done first, probably because he's smallest. :)

That's all for now! Hope everyone is doing well, and has a great weekend!!

"Fang"

2010-08-19T01:11:00.000-07:00


"Fang" Mixed Media Collage available on Etsy

As requested, here is a cat painting for you! I just couldn't resist with the colors, they seem to be favorites of mine. :)

This Kitty's name is "Fang" and is on an 11x14 canvas. It is listed in my Etsy shop for those of you that might be interested. There are a ton of layers involved in this piece, and at one point I started to wonder if I was just wasting paint, but as usual things finally started to click, and now of course it's one of my favorites.

I'm also working on several new paintings including finishing my whale, a hippo, and a giraffe. So excited about these!

I'm sorry I've been absent from blog hopping lately but I found that I just needed to stay off the computer a bit, and enjoy summer while I can. I was spending all day long on the computer between FB, Twitter, Blogs, classes etc, and I had to put a stop to it, and unfortunately the blogs were cut out of my day completely as they were the ones that took the most time.

I'm working on slowly trying to implement them back into my daily routine but with a strict time limit. If I read a little everyday, I hope to be able to catch up with you all eventually.

That's about all for now, I hope to get more painting in this week, but we have family visiting, so It may be a tight squeeze trying to fit all that in.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week, it's almost the weekend!