Life is a journey

 

Photos not my own. Courtesy of sites such as fiftypercentchanceofrain.com and suncityinfo.com

 

Creativity Among the Craziness...

Oh, boy, has it gotten crazy around here. Between filling paperwork out and panicking over just exactly how much needs to be done before the oldest is out of school and needing a vocational program or residence (he's one of my special needs guys), calling attorneys regarding guardianships, and then AC repair to the tune of more money than I pull in each month... yikes.

In spite of all that, I still have my hair, and I still have my creativity! yay for that!

In the coming weeks, I am going to be doing something a little different: I am going to be trying my hand at scrapbooking! But this is not just any ordinary scrapbooking - this is virtual scrapbooking.

I have been invited to do a review and giveaway...wait... yes... I really did say giveaway! Free stuff - woohoo! :D
The gracious people at My Memories have selected me to share their virtual scrapbooking with you.

Right now I am playing with album pages (you can even add music to an album - how cool is that?) using my artwork as "photos".

I've noticed right off the bat how easy it is to use the program, AND how many choices there are (yes, you can buy extra doodads after purchasing the basic, but the basic program really does seem like a really great buy)

In the coming weeks I am going to be scanning in some old family photos, and I'll create some pages or albums using those. I'm hoping that just maybe I'll have time to whip something special up for my mom - I know she'd love that.

In the meantime, stay on the lookout for updates, and more information on how you can enter the giveaway! :)

Is this thing plugged in?

Okay so I have no idea where to start... painting? drawing? I've done...very little of that lately, except one ACEO that began with me messing around with the watercolors my son had spilled on his dresser upstairs. I ended up with a nice little landscape, which I will photograph... list.. etc... later....

I've suddenly found myself realizing how much of a slump I've been in - so much going on during the day that I'm too tired to do the things I enjoy. Laundry, housework, and grocery shopping comes way before painting, unfortunately.

I'm determined to start making time for arts again, though.

Oh and wow... I had no idea how many of my etsy listings had expired already. ha ha goes to show you how out of the loop I've been!

On tap for this evening is the rental of a Harry Potter movie (shush, I've only seen the first, and I aim to see every one of them so there), swimming in our finally now cleaned pool, and mayyybe... just maybe... a doodle or painting on an ACEO card.

happy weekend everybody :)

Time for my morning coffee....

Starting the day without at least one hot cup of coffee (usually two) just isn't right....

That's when I sit and browse my emails, check in on forums, peruse the latest headlines, and maybe even listen to a little music.

Of course, it's never without interruption, so coffee time becomes reminding daughter she needs to be getting ready time, or helping son find shoes time and then once again becomes coffee time all over again....

I have to admit, as much as I'd rather be sleeping in, the early morning hours are the quietest and most enjoyable for me. There isn't the constant noise and activity of all the kiddos traipsing through the house or the TV blaring...

Unfortunately, it doesn't last long, because reality hits all at once and I realize - GAH! it's time to snap out of this and get ready for the day!

haha- whoops!

So this morning, I get up at my usual time, dragging myself out of bed and throwing on some clothes, washing my face, etc... stagger upstairs and wake up my high-schoolers, who, almost every day, catch their buses between 6:30 and 7:00 AM...reminding them that they need to hurry up so they don't miss...

Oh yes, I was making sure everybody was right on schedule. Only problem is - I had completely forgotten that today is Thursday. Schools around here start 2 hours later on Thursdays :P

I can think of this 2 ways:

1. I could have slept an hour or more later (which would have been awesome)

2. I have spare time this morning to get things done around here, and maybe have a relaxing cup of coffee.

Okay I guess it's not so bad, right? ;)

I live?

Yikes! Well, sortof - ha ha...

Seems as though real life wants me to have nothing to do with the things I enjoy, or at least not more than a few minutes at a time. I shouldn't complain, though, because I do have a full time job that helps pay the bills and buy the occasional fun doodad and tall mocha from Starbucks, and a bit of canvas and paint when I have the time to trek to Hobby Lobby. ;)

I've recently decided that enough is enough, real life! I'm going to get back into making and promoting art, and stick with it. I've been doing a teeny bit of creating - some ACEOs:






and some painting -



I think a little each day will keep me going, and if I can swing it on the weekends, I'll have major promoting and painting sessions. Of course, that'll be between rounds of laundry and cleaning house!

I still paint... occasionally?

Since I started working full time back in August, my life has pretty much revolved around the routine of waking, working, and sleeping, and starting the whole cycle over again. I haven't had much time to get creative with paint and canvas because my weekends are usually getting caught up with mundane projects like the giant mountain of laundry or the dust bunnies that have formed a colony under the sofa.


However, I finally did find time to create two paintings just recently.

Now if I could only find the time to photograph them and list them...

Will I have time for art now?

I certainly hope so. I mean, I fully intend to keep drawing, painting, doodling, and scribbling for as long as I'm able to hold a paintbrush, pen, or pencil.
Why am I even asking this? I landed a full-time job recently and I start tomorrow, which means 40-plus hours each week will be spent at an office doing totally non-artsy things, and I'll only have about 4 hours each weekday to cram in all the things I need to do at home.
Looks like what I might have to do is make a plan. That means I might have to consider being somewhat organized. scary o-0
I suppose I can carve a little bit of art-time out of my weekends after I get all the grocery shopping, housecleaning, and laundry :)

In other news, I'm still trying to get my website exactly the way I want it. I haven't really done a whole lot to it - just messing with fonts and table background colors, really. Right now I'm tinkering around with a premade template, but I've gotten ftp settings so I just might attempt some actual coding. Somebody warn the internet ha ha.