Sometimes I Like To Art

I decided to paint today; inspired by one of those art workshops where you paint and have snacks and wine and everyone laughs and ends up with a decent copy of the same work. I saw pictures from one of them that a friend posted on facebook and I felt compelled to paint my own.

It became a two part little series. I'm not sure I'm finished with it yet. I may do a little bit more shading or refining.

I like birch trees, I like birds, and I wanted to do more of a Fall/Autumn thing, but the blue sky came out wintery and cold. I stuck a few leaves on anyway, like 'Hang in there little buddies. Dream of spring and summer." The stormy blue is calm, though, like the hush of the winter has arrived and the land is waiting on the snow. The bird's color ties the piece together.

Overall, I like the bones of the piece.

What do you think?



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

How I Enjoy My One Full Month of Summer

I have finally settled into the one full month of summer and I made a few promises to myself.

1. Do as little school-related as possible.  Sure, I am looking for great bargains on supplies, and I always have my classroom to-do list in the back of my mind, but overall, I am pushing those thoughts aside if possible. If the urge to research something or jot down a note comes, I am doing it, however I am limiting myself.

2. Make a point to play with my kids. I just made them a mini croquet field out of pool noodles. We used play golf clubs and little kick balls to navigate it. It was fun. We are going to the county fair later to ride rides. We just spent 2 days with family eating, playing, and talking. July is going to be about parenting and taking breaks/time for myself.

3. Do something creative. I was looking up art yesterday on pinterest for inspiration and I found the picture that is inspiring the color palette for my living room overhaul.

Autumn Fog — PALETTE KNIFE Oil Painting On Canvas By Leonid Afremov - Size: 20" x 36" 

Click on the link to see more of his work, as I LOVE it. Also, I want this painting if anyone is feeling exceptionally generous! :)

I am in the mood to paint something. I might also do some doodling and art journaling. I might have the boys paint with me. Whatever I do, or if I do them all, I will do them because I am free to do them.

July is also JulNoWriMo, and I am writing. That takes creative energy, too. So when I am not painting, I may be writing.

I may also be doing some cross stitch. I have a counted cross stitch I have been working on for oh, 12 years. :)

Here you can see my progress, and how large it is.

4. Do something active, or a workout, every day! I can't go back to work all flabby and tiring easily. I may have to wrestle with students whose muscles don't cooperate when dressing, lift students who can't sit up, help support a student in the middle of a seizure, or hold back students who want to run off. I may also be challenged to a relay race in the gym. :) Plus, it helps me feel good about myself. That's the whole point, really.

We have a park nearby, relatives with a nice pool, and there are plenty of videos on Daily Hiit to show me some new and fun exercises. The elliptical is always ready to go, not to mention the yoga mat.

Let's Do This, July!

2013 Year In Review In Pictures

January

January must have been pretty boring because all I have pictured is my then 5 year old dressed up as a gangster with a Nerf gun. 

This is the month my oldest turned 10. He took so long to decide on his birthday party, as in 2 days before, so when we texted family, they were all busy. We told him he had a choice between having a party or getting to do whatever he wanted, like go with the family to a movie, or go play at Bogey's Fun Center or Bouncin' Barn or Bowling.. He didn't decide.

February

I emptied my computer hutch and moved it into the bedroom for some peace and quiet when I was doing homework for class.

We emptied the game cabinet out and moved it where my hutch was, sorted the games, got rid of a few, and re-filled it. We have a LOT of games!

March/April

Easter Egg Hunting! I had my nieces overnight and took all 4 kids to 2 Easter Egg hunts with family. It was windy and cold. We also hosted a nephew overnight. It was a month of family sleepovers.

Then we celebrated my youngest's birthday and my Dad's.

The youngest learned from his brother's mistake and had a bowling and bouncing party. All the kids had a blast, and my nephew won the big ticket prize at the arcade. 

May

We went the Indy Children's Science and Technology Museum where I got to see Geckos and the boys climbed a rock wall.

Then we visited Nashville, IN for their "Taste of Nashville" event where all the food vendors supply little samples of their wares and you buy tickets. Each sample costs so many tickets to try. Here the boys sample ice cream. They also had gellatto, panini's, steak soup, strawberry shortcake, oils/vinigrettes and bread, chocolate covered strawberries, fudge, and many many more. You can vote for your favorites and the vendor wins a plaque or something.

We built 2 raised bed gardens. 

June

The boys made stepping stones for my new pond.

There were 6 fish in here at one time..

 I harvested some radishes. They were a little hot. Some of them were good.

 I painted this picture. After my college class and work was over for the summer, my creative juices were flowing.

Hubby surprised us with a trip to our first indoor water park in Ohio. 

Our newly planted cherry tree had a cherry on it!

July

I started growing HUGE cucumbers.

The littlest learned to ride his bike without training wheels!

 We took a road trip north for my cousin's wedding and passed huge wind farms..

And visited a Railroad Museum.

 My cousin had a beautiful wedding.

I grew some beautiful gladiolas.

 We found the very fat raccoon that raided my compost bin every night!

 My youngest tried out a pogo stick.

 The boys enjoyed the pond. Probably because a frog decided to move in!!

We went to the fair.

I harvested some carrots.

August/September

 I harvested A LOT of veggies! And MORE veggies!

 We went fishing. This reel is being held by the 4th generation!

We caught some fishies.

We had a family reunion. This is supposedly the last one. All the people who started this reunion are getting too old to come out.

October

 I took my sister to a concert. Pictured here are Hawk Nelson, The Afters, and Building 429.

 The boys dressed up as Transformers for Halloween.

They carved their pumpkins with a little help.



November

 I painted this for class. I like the quote.

Then we started giving the oldest his own room. Both boys helped paint.

December

We made a Christmas mess. The boys got a few nice gifts.

We celebrated with family. The season is about togetherness. Cherish the moments you have!

And the biggest gift of all was his own room.



My goal for 2013 was to try new things. 

• I was a successful gardener. 
• The pond was something new and took some learning. I lost all the fish by the end of the year, but two of them grew rather large and I had a frog living in it! I call that pretty successful if wildlife moved in. 
• I tried a new food. 
• We went to new places, like the museums and water park, and the boys got to see their first wedding and spend their first nights in a hotel. 
• The youngest leaned to ride a bike without training wheels and use a pogo stick. 
• We took our annual trip to Holiday World and the youngest was tall enough to ride the big rides! We discovered the new water slide area and though we got sunburned, we had a blast. 
• We went to an indoor waterpark.
• I became a Godmother.
• I took my sister to a concert. We began to bond.
• The boys got juggling sticks for Christmas and we've tried them out.

I guess trying new things was a pretty feasible resolution. In hindsight, it was going to happen. The point was to learn to be open to new opportunities, look for them and go for it!