Photo A Day March

OK. I'm gonna do it.

Pinkie promise swear.

I have attempted the Photo a Day idea before (see Chantelle @ Fat Mum Slim for details). But I only make it through a few days and then I quit. Well, truthfully, I forget for a week or so, then get frustrated and quit.

But every month, when she posts her list, I totally want to join in. I love the idea of creatively twisting the prompts. And taking a photo every day.

So, starting tomorrow, I'm totally gonna give it another try.

How about you guys? Have you ever participated in this or any other photo a day project? How do you stay on track? I need help, peoples!!



New in the Shop

Hey everyone. Happy day to you!

I added a few Spring inspired canvases to my shop.

EMBRACE THE MOMENTS

WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER

HEAD OVER HEELS

I would love some feedback from everyone. Good and bad. I mean, I want honesty!

To help encourage you to leave a comment, let's do a giveaway.

All you have to do is visit my Etsy shop, then leave a comment (and again, an honest one to help me figure out what I can do better). Tell me what you like or don't like. Tell me what I can do to improve my shop. It's ok. I promise I won't get hurt if you don't love my shop! And I will pick a random winner from the list of comments.

That's all. But do it now. The giveaway will end Tuesday night at midnight (AZ time).

And check back next Wednesday for the winner.

Oh yeah. Wanna know which canvas is being gifted in the giveaway? Whatever one you pick. Any canvas currently listed in my Etsy shop. That's right, the winner gets to pick their fave. Now what could be better than that?

I Am Seeking

 

Had a little play time over the last week. I am finding that I can work on a piece for a bit, then come back to it when time allows. This is new for me, but it works. And it gives the paint some time to dry. Because I can be a bit impatient. Shocking, I know.

It's not the prettiest art I've ever created, but I tried some new things and it sure made my heart happy!

I didn't use a single traditional paintbrush.

Background is gelatos, which I blended with a watercolor brush.
Traced the outline of each color block with oil pastels.
Added dimensional dots with a thick gesso and a template.
Used my new palette knife to add gold and grey paint around the edges.
Airbrush paint to add a spot for the quote.
Then I finished it off with the gold glitter by finger painting.

Did you see that glitter in the 2nd to last photo? Makes me squeal with delight!

I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.
-van Gogh

I Spy...Spring

 

Looking like Spring in this part of the world. Don't be hatin' on me. You'll be laughing at us in July!

Photos from the Phoenix Zoo from last week.

Hope you have a beautiful, sunny Monday.

Almost Everything

I may have posted this one before....but I love it so much I am willing to risk using the same quote twice.

I know, I'm kinda crazy!

This one is just sums up my feelings for Mark.

He supports all my crazy ideas and still loves me.
He sees me at my worst and still loves me.
He see me stumble and fall and make bad choices and still loves me.
He catches glimpses into my crazy mind and still loves me.
He takes the brunt of my crankiness and still loves me.
He sees me crying for no reason and still loves me.

And so I have decided to let him stay for a very long time, like maybe forever.

Love you, Mark!

Well, that wraps up the Love quotes for February. On to a new new theme in March.

Now go give someone you love a hug. And squeeze them good!

Six on Saturday (My Misc. Faves)

A few of my favorite things from this past week, in no particular order:

 

 

1.  Instant Cam app for the i phone. Creates Polaroid photos with cool filters and even prints text. Swoon. Had to stop myself from using this app on every photo I took this week. I can't seem to find a link on my laptop. Just search the app store on your phone/device.

2.  Started a new book. Liking it so far. And this may be odd, but I like the way the pages are ragged on the edge, rather than smooth. Does anyone know if there is a name for this? I know, I'm strange.

3.  It's official. I've fallen in love with the car we bought 2 weeks ago. Flaws and all. It's just so fun to drive!  No more check engine lights so far.....

4.  Want this Fossil purse bad. I've been trying to tell myself that I don't need it. I still love the leather one I got back in October. But it keeps whispering to me. The liner has a bird print. Seriously want!

5. Rented "Perks of Being a Wallflower". I can not rave about this enough. Have not read the book, but it's now on my list. It is amazing and sad and beautiful all at once. It lingered with me for days. And as I'm searching for quotes to use on this post, I'm amazed at how many great lines are in this movie/book. Let me know what you think if you watch it. And for my brother-We were so much like Sam and Patrick in our relationship through high school and as adults. I wish we lived closer and we could just hang out together more! I miss my BFF!

Image source

“I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”           

6.  At at ZTejas for the first time. Amazing! I had a house salad with the Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette. I have been dreaming about this dressing for a week now. Will be going back just for this! And then came the Five-cheese macaroni and Achiote chicken. I'm not even going to try to explain how incredible this mac and cheese was. It's beyond words. How could I not have gone here before? Special thanks to Suzy for suggesting this place!

Friday Wrap

Happy Friday everyone.

Linking up with Jeannett over at Life Rearranged. Click on the button below to join in.



Here's a look at our week:

 

 

 

1. beautiful sky through the new sunroof.  2. cool bird in a tree. 3. raindrops on the sunroof. 4. new cotton bag for groceries (made me happier than is reasonable). 5. 1st day at gym (joined in November...sad, I know). 6. Emma at gym with me, sporting her new bangs.

 

Have an incredible weekend!

I Spy...Zoo

Mark and I spent an hour at the zoo last weekend. No kids would go with us. What's up with that???

We didn't get there until 2pm. Turns out, that's nap time. Should have know that!

Planning on another visit soon in the morning...before the heat sets in.

Have a great day!

Silly

A few weeks ago I got a new reading chair for my bedroom (75% off score from Pottery Barn...but I digress).

I love the chair because it is extra wide, not that I'm saying that my butt is extra wide (which it totally is).  I love that I can turn sideways in the chair and get nice and comfy.

It's the kind of chair I have always wanted. Little did I know that a certain Miss Daisy would love the chair so much too.

She likes to squeeze contort her body to fit the space that is left around me when I sit in Sid (yes, that's the chair's name. I have an odd habit with naming inanimate objects in my life that have a special place in my heart. Seriously, it's so much easier saying "I'm going to go visit Sid" vs. "I'll be reading in our bedroom in that new chair we bought a few weeks ago for the killer price". See, I told you so.).

I think we veered off track again.

So, this morning, I'm taking a few minutes to read a couple of blog posts, and I look over and see this kooky dog sitting next to me looking all happy. And then the phone camera begged to come out and play.

Do you see her giving me the "stink eye" for disturbing her with the camera?  Silly dog. That won't stop me. Didn't you notice I have 4 kids and have been married for many years. A little "stink eye" doesn't bother me at all!

Have a great day. And I hope you are able to find a little silliness in today!

Birthday Wrap Up

Whew. We made it through all the Emma birthday celebrations.

We started with a family party last Tuesday.

Thursday (her actual birthday), we spend hours at AT&T getting her a cell phone and switching around everyone's phones (Mark and I actually upgraded and then passed our old phones down the line).  Then I was too tired to make the ribs I had planned on for dinner, so we ended up going out for dinner at the last minute. Bad idea, since it was Valentine's Day and there were crazy wait times. We ended up at Five Guys for burgers and fries, followed up with Yogurtland (red velvet frozen yogurt = heaven).

Friday night was the sleepover. 7 girls invited. 2 RSVP'd. 2 showed up. We bought way too much pizza and snacks, but Emma still had a great time. The girls went to the park for a while, had some boy drama, and called for me to pick them up. Then we all went to the mall (first the girls had to borrow outfits from Emma) and the girls went to Claire's to spend a gift card, while Mark and I sat at Barnes and Noble and relaxed. Then it was time to go back to the house, put on pj's, and watch movies. Mark and I retired to the bedroom at that time and let the girl's take over the living room.  They went to bed at a reasonable time and woke up early enough Saturday to eat donuts and watch a movie. Then a quick craft and it was time for them to go home.

 

It was great seeing my daughter so happy with her friends, and seeing how much she is changing and growing up. Bittersweet indeed.

Here's to a great year on this earth baby girl! We love you.

P.S. Can I just talk about pipe cleaners for a minute? I shopped at the grocery store all last minute with no particular theme in mind. I ended up going with "neon" as the theme after spotting that super cute cake in the bakery, plus Emma is all into neon colors. Next, I walked around looking for ways to decorate on the cheap. I ended up with neon balloon (looked more pastel when blown up) for $1.99, a bag of neon pipe cleaners for $1.89, and some neon mini poster boards for $3.89. Score!

Basically, I spent $8 to make decorations for both parties. I just moved them from the kitchen to the dining room. I used the poster board to make the flag banner and the pipe cleaners to make the circle banners. I had Emma and my mom help, and they were super, duper easy to make. And I'm all about simple these days!