Company's Coming!!!!

This is me (on the right) and my best friend in the entire world.

This picture was taken a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG

time ago.  Can you say 26 years ago probably.  Maybe 25.

We had no wrinkles, no gray hairs, thick eyebrows and really

white teeth without using whitening strips. 

We also didn't have too many life stories to tell nor did we have

any idea what our futures held for us.  Both of us have been

through some super tough times.

What we did have then that we still have, is a love for each other

and a friendship that has survived everything that life has

thrown at us.  The really wonderful and the really awful.

I wish I had a picture of us from when we first became friends, because

even though this picture is old,  we met each other when we were 13,

that was 34 years ago.  A picture from then would be really old:)

So this was when we were 15.  We were in my backyard and my dad

was sweet enough to humor us by taking pictures.  We had made up

some silly skit and were acting it out.  We didn't have a movie camera

so still shots is all we could take.  There are several more to go with

this one, but you get the idea.  We were so odd, hahahaha.

So I guess I was a sailor who was about to be attacked by Dracula?  Who knows!!
I can't remember the story line now, but I promise you we thought it was funny and made
sense back in 1980.

Then we decided to just turn upside down on my fence and have dad take pictures of that.

We were so easily amused by ourselves, you have no idea.

Notice that even though it was clearly a weekend, I was wearing khaki pants.  My mom
never allowed me to wear jeans.  It was either dresses, skirts or khakis.

Once we got our driver's licenses, our fun changed.  We started going to

thrift stores and vintage clothing shops.  Here we are standing outside of

Luxor Vintage Clothing store on Carey Street in Richmond, "modeling"

vintage dresses.  In the 80's, it wasn't so popular to want to buy vintage clothes,

we were way ahead of our time, hahahaha.  We stopped random people

to take pictures of us:)

Great dresses and great shoes.  This was such a fun day.  I still have earrings I bought
on this day of vintage shopping.

The car also allowed us to go on fun day trips.  This day we headed off to

King's Dominion in Karin's little convertible Karmann Ghia.

We took a giant pitcher of Wink mixed with Gin along with us.

Probably not the smartest thing to admit to, but we were of legal drinking

age, and it was nice to go to the car in the parking lot and have a "cocktail".

Not so good to get on rides that turn you upside down afterwards though.

It was a great day.

My goodness I had the bushy eyebrows.  Another thing my mom wouldn't let me wear, skinny eyebrows, hahaha.

And then there were our big hair 80's nights when lord only knows what we were thinking.

I really don't think I would ever re-live the styles of the 80's, once was bad enough.

There are no words to describe the mess of hair we have going on here.

Well, Karin and I grew up.  We married, we divorced, we married again, we had children (one

daughter for her, four sons for me), we lost loved ones, we've had some of our dreams come true

and some of them never make it into reality. 

Me, Garrett (my first born and Karin's God-son) and Karin

Karin and I don't live in the same town anymore, and haven't for 23 years.  But our friendship has

never faded.  We are only a text, an email, a phone call or a two hour drive away from

each other.  She was right by my side when mom passed away 3 months ago and I will

never be able to pay her back for that.  It meant the world to me.

Tonight, Karin and her family are coming to eat dinner and spend the night with us.

I can't wait to see her.  She is an amazing artist and I can't wait to show her what I have been working

on with my art classes I have been taking. 

There are many things in this world that money can buy, but the most important things,

have no use for money.  No amount of money could buy me the gift of friendship

that Karin and I share. 

I hope that in their lifetime, my boys will find a friend that will stick with

them through all of life's ups and downs.  I feel so blessed to be able

to look back at pictures and see what Karin and I have been able to

share over the years and I look forward to what the rest of our lives

has for us to share.

A rare moment in my grown-up life:
a girl's night out.

The night before Robby and I got married.
Planning my own wedding sure made me look tired.
May 21st 2010

What about you?  Is there a friend who has always been there for you?

I would love to hear about it and sure would love to see

some embarrassing pictures just like I shared with you:)

Now, I have got to go get the house cleaned up before they get here.

Have a great weekend everybody.

XXOO





Life Lesson's Wraped in an Art Class

I haven't posted anything new in a while. 
I have been busy working on my assignments for the Creatively Made class by Jeanne Oliver that I have  been taking.  I have loved taking this e-course more than I thought I would.  But even more than the projects, I love the camaraderie of the other women taking the class.  They are all complete strangers to me, but through a page Jeanne set up for us all to connect through, and share our art, I have found many new friends.  These are women who have several of the same interests as me and clearly a love for mixed media art just like me.  Many of my friends don't quite get the whole mixed media thing, and aren't quite sure when I show them my work, so it is nice to be able to post my projects to other women who understand it, and hear their thoughts on what I have done. 

At the start of each week, Jeanne has made several different videos for us to watch about the projects she has planned for us, but more importantly, these videos are little life lessons.  They are videos about us learning to trust in our gifts and our creativity that God has given us.  To let go of any doubts that we have, that what we do is not good enough to share with others.  To learn to not be jealous of the talents that others have, but celebrate what we have been given and nurture our own gifts.

A Vintage Journal made from old book covers and vintage elements.

 
When I was in college and took an art class, I will never forget the complete and utter fear I had when we had to show our work to the class for what our professor called "constructive criticism".  I would purposely skip class on these days for fear of having to stand in front of my peers and be "criticized"
for something I had created.  Needless to say, I didn't do so well in that class because of my refusal to show up and share my work with others.  I never even gave anyone a chance to tell me I did a good job or a bad job, I was just certain it wasn't good enough.  I also  never saw what anyone else did since I wouldn't show up to class on those days, so I really never knew if they were better than me or equal to me.  But that wasn't really the point of us showing our work in the first place.  It wasn't meant to tear us down, but to help us do better or realize that we were doing just fine. 

An Altered Journal cover. 

As I have gotten older, I have finally learned not to be quite so worried of others opinions.  Don't get me wrong, I still want to do right by others, and I would never intentionally do something wrong, but I finally have accepted that when I do my best, that is good enough regardless of what others may think.  As long as I know I have tried 100%, that is all I can ask of myself.  It may not be as good as someone else can do, but it is the best I can do.  As a result, putting my work up on Jeanne's page for us taking her class has been easy for me to do.  The women are so kind and helpful in their comments.  Some of us have never taken an art class before and have just recently decided to start creating and others are pros and teachers themselves just looking for another fun class to take.  But all of us are treated equally.  Jeanne is such a nurturing spirit and is so inspiring and encouraging in her lessons.  I feel as if I am not only becoming a better artist, but also a better person because of her class.

I took some of the techniques I learned from the first week of classes and applied them to a canvas that I made for my mom.  Her 80th birthday was on Saturday, the 21st.  My dad had called and asked us to please come to Richmond for the weekend and stay with him so he wouldn't be alone for her birthday.  I knew I wanted something different to place on her burial marker but was not sure what.  She never liked artificial flowers, so any wreath made of those was out of the question.  I decided on a mixed media canvas using her engagement picture.  In a book I read right after my mom died, Heaven is For Real, it was explained that in Heaven, no one looks old.  Everyone looks like they did in the prime of their lives.  I thought about it and decided that if my mom were asked, she would say that when she was 21, she was in her prime.  So that is why i chose her engagement picture to use on her canvas.  Making that canvas for her was very  therapeutic for me and I only hope she was watching and knows the love that went into it.  My dad, Robby and my brother Steve and sister-in-law Mary went to the cemetery together on that Saturday and hung Mom's canvas and wished her a Happy Birthday.  It was a beautiful moment shared with the people closest to me, and I would not have traded it for the world. 

My beautiful mom at the age of 21.

The finished canvas for my mom's 80th birthday.

Creative Juices Flowing

Tomorrow is a day I have been waiting anxiously for.

It is the start of JEANNE OLIVER'S CREATIVELY MADE WORKSHOP.

Words cannot describe how super excited I am for this class to start.

What I would do to have won the lottery this weekend

so that I could quit work and stay home just to do this workshop all day.

Guess it will just have to be good enough to come home from work

and start it tomorrow night.

Last Thursday I made the mistake of watching one of my

favorite shows: Grey's Anatomy.

It was a mistake because although I have been doing

better with my grief over my mom's death,

I was unprepared for the scene in which a girl had

to take her father off of life support.  On the show,

the process was much faster than how it is in

real life.  My mom did not pass as quickly once

she was taken off of the ventilator, as the actor on TV.

Re-living that night was heartbreaking for me.

It took it's toll on me that night and the next day.

Luckily, I was able to come home from work

early on Friday and pull myself together.

I did what works best for me now.  I went to my

art journal and started working on that.

This journal is proving to be a huge

therapeutic tool for me.  Little did I know

when I signed up for this class back in the summer,

that I would need it so badly.

Perhaps I was led to that class by a power greater than

myself who knew what the future held for me.

Here are a few pictures of  this weekends assignments and entries.
For those of you who are looking for some wonderful creative class to take,
I would strongly recommend signing up tonight for Jeanne's class I mentioned up top.
Just click on the link I posted and it will take you straight to it. 
Hope everyone has a great week.

My first full week.  Picking a color that represents me each day and a word to describe how I feel.
Also illustrating the weather for the day.

First Card Peek assignment.  Cut out magazine pictures for a month, then choose 1 to
recreate each week.  This weeks was the barn.

Not sure you can read it, but the directions for this page are on the left.
Divide paper into 4 rooms: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual.
Fill in room with words and images that represent how you are feeling.

Close up of page.

Following My Heart

Happy 2012 to All.

I am looking forward to this year

being a year of firsts for me.

I want life changes that I make happen.

Since my mom passed away,

I have become a different person.

I cannot explain it to anyone,

not even to myself.

But it is a sincere appreciation for life

and a driving force to want to be

a better person, that I have never felt before.

This year I want to dedicate much of my time
to being at home working on myself.
I want to work on being a better parent, a better child,
better wife and just a better person.
Through my art and through my faith,
I want to grow as a person.

I wish I could say what I feel inside,
but for the first time in a long time,
I am at a loss for words to explain myself.
Today I started Gina Armfields workshop called
No More Excuses.
I am really looking forward to everyday having something
to do in an art journal.  I have been preparing my journal
 for the past 3 months. 
It was really nic to finally be able to do some art in it.

On the 9th of this month, I will begin Jeanne Oliver's
Creatively Made Workshop.
Words CANNOT express how excited I am for this class.
I wish I could go to a class in person, that would have all the
instructors she is having at one time.  That would be heaven for me.
Between these two workshops, I feel certain I will be able to move
myself forward in my desire to pursue my creative side.
It will be through my art that I will best be able to express
what I no longer can find words for.

I would like to share a few pictures of today's entries into my journal.
Each month and day has an assignment, so what you see will probably have no
meaning whatsoever. 

I wish all of you a very happy 2012 and that the year brings you all
incredible happiness and fulfillment.
God Bless all of you.

New Year's Eve with our dear friends and one out of four of my kids.

The colors and words that come to mind when I think of January.

January's writing assignment.

My January words.