I'm currently enjoying a glass of red wine, I do mean enjoying, mmmmm! OK, Today. This is tricky. I should start writing this down as I go. I don't remember if I had breakfast or not. I did have a 44 oz Dr. Pepper this afternoon and I made pita wraps with hummus, carrots, green onions and white cheddar, I had two of those. Then I made two different kinds of chicken salad to have on hand throughout the week and had about two Tbls of each of those. I did not exercise. I didn't realize how bad I am about that. I'm beginning to think I need to start walking in the morning. This will likely mean less sleep for a while, but eventually I'd get used to getting up and doing it and fall asleep sooner, at least that's the theory. I'll let you know if I start doing that.

I've been watching the birds lately. Especially the robins. I just love them. Yesterday before we left for our date Jason and I stood and watched the birds in our back yard. There were two turtledoves, a female cardinal, a finch-not sure what kind-, a robin, and a starling. It had just rained real good and they were getting worms and checking out our compost pile. I'd love to learn how to draw birds. But who has time?

Below are some of the pages I've done recently. Sorry they're on their sides....

More Pages

Working on this art journal has been fun. I wish I did it everyday. More than once a week at least. I've been thinking it might be neat to incorporate my thought about Dickens and his characters as I go. Reading Oliver now and it is hard sometimes because the situations described are so sad and often the people I read about remind me of people I knew through my dad's ministry. The human state. But the contrasts he gives are so poignant and beautiful it makes the whole story more bearable.

Last night I went with some friends to a local belly dance hafla. It was a blast! I love seeing women dance and embrace their will and beauty through dance. More on that later. Below is a photo of the beginnings of a project long over due. Most of that stuff is what I coved the walls of the various rooms I occupied in my early adult years.

Journal Update and a Dance

Visioncon came and went and the dance happened and is over. I think we did ok. I'd like to do it again, and again, knowing that we'd get better and better as we did it, but there is really very little venue for anime dance art fusion, or whatever it was called. Jason thinks we need to get a new camera, and I'm tending to agree, this is one of the better photos. Anyway, it was a blast and I am so glad Emily decided to do it and asked me to be a part of it! These are a few of the pages I've done lately. I've been preping backgrounds like I've read is good to do and it really makes a difference. I need to get going, school is in full swing. Bye!

Thankful

This weeks page is dedicated to the color teal. Previous two weeks pages, the tooth extraction and a yellow house with green trim and a red door, don't necessarily want such a thing, just wanted to write about it. We went to my folks' for Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful time of relaxing and playing games, and of course eating delicious food! And when we got home yesterday we got a tree!! Decorating it was fun, Jason took a lot of pictures of that process, but I was in my jammies after a long day of driving and don't want to share all of those. Guano was insistent that he be the center of someone's attention, so many of those photos have some of him in them.

Goodness he's cute!

I am so blessed, I'm madly in love with a wonderful man, who takes such good care of me! I have so much to do for school and the holidays. Life is a bit crazy. But it was good to take a few days and see my parents and put up a tree. Now, there are papers to write, music to arrange and pieces to memorize!

Halloween and Happenings

This is a printers drawer my father gave me, it's been creamerized and cleaned up an the shells and rocks in it are all ones I got myself, most at the beach, but some from a creek on the AR/OK border and all with my sister. I like this, and just need to figure out where to hang it. Halloween! I was Mrs. Peacock in the (insert room here) with a rope, Jason made me a noose to carry around. I think it's obvious who he was, but it was a totally homemade last minute thing and he was rightly very proud of his costume! His cape had pockets! And on halloween day we did some yard work. Two new boxes Jason made and we filled and he made a nice compost box there in the corner, so so happy!!!! Next spring will be awesome! This week I did two pages because I didn't do any last week. Wed was a rough anniversary for me and that is mostly what these are about. And yesterday I had a tooth pulled and am recovering well. Jason went and got a sofa from his folks and now we have a nice comfy sofa in the living room!! I am so blessed and well loved!

a trip and page 7

Here we are, The Artists' Way girls or "Way Ladies". Last weekend we drove in my car to Willow Springs MO and had an adventure which involved meeting both the good country boys and the not so good country boys and both incidents involved my driving....we'll leave it at that. Hearthaven is a neat place! The two ladies that were there while we visited were so welcoming and good to us. It was a real retreat, complete with collage work and a hot tub! Thanks to Em for showing me how to do a timed photo on the camera! The trees are so beautiful right now! I didn't capture anything like what I wanted to, but I knew I needed to stop or it would be a HUGE mess.

And I'm seriously looking into getting a minor in folklore....it will be very helpful for my long term goal of Ethnomusicology. We shall see. Now back to my paper.

Page 6

My friend Heidi and I went to a piano recital Sunday and I guess it played over into the page I did later that evening. Still 6 for 6...I hope I can keep it up!

This weekend is going to be awesome! The ladies who have been doing the Artists' Way this summer and Walking in this World currently are going on retreat!! It will be chilly, but we can bundle up and I know it will be a blast.

I should post pictures on the garden. I've let the okra get ginormas and the zucchini are gone...and onions that the birds killed early in the season are coming back.....weird. I harvested all the annual herbs to dry for use and am going to transplant most of the perennial herbs so we can turn the beds...and we'll be putting two boxes out!!! Next year will be great!

I have to go to the dentist later today. Life is crazy this semester. All the papers and project to do. And I'm working on a Bach fugue in piano and loving it, but also realizing it is a challenge and hoping I'm up to it. It really helps to have a patient and diligent teacher!

I want to post pictures of the things I've been knitting, but as they are Christmas presents, I will wait. Maybe I can take a group picture of all of them before I wrap them....that's a good idea. I've been a knitting fiend. And am about to be a quilting one too!

Keeping it busy, Peace.

Surprise!

I actually did like I said and am posting this week's page and pictures of the study. This is where I sit every morning and do my morning pages and where most papers get written. And this is where I create. Sew, cut, bead, glue, paint, draw, collage....whatever, it tends to happen here. Jason got me a light to clip just above the table, it makes such a difference! We're gonna do some more rearranging in here, so these could be the before....we'll see. OK, I have more work to do.

Stress is fun Not

I did this page last week. This one i did two weeks ago after being in VA.

I turned a paper in today that I was ashamed to put my name on.....it was bad. But by turning it in on time I can shoot for an A with the rewrite. Late and the best it could have been would be a B. Yeah, didn't plan well on that. Working on improving planning for the rest of the semester, and will be cleaning the study tomorrow. I worked hard core on a altered book....which I should have taken pictures of for this....anyway. The study is a mess and I don't function well in this sort of chaos. So, I'll do this weeks page and get back with you.

Peace.

Virginia

Ah, the ocean!! I had a wonderful time with my sis and her family and was so blessed that Abby could come with me. It was great to have the cousins back together for some girl time. I loved to just stand and let the waves wash over me, if I'd had a bathing suit I'd have been out in them! My feet are burried in the sand I've sunk that far as the waves move in and out. It was beautiful to stand there and feel that, so much power and beauty holding that moment true. It was quite windy! This is Joella, my sister. On Friday we went to colonial Williamsburg and had a blast looking at shops an having lunch. Abby is probably realizing that I will become annoying with the camera soon. HA!

I did a page when I got home last week and have done another this week. So I'll post them soon, but the camera is not close by and I'm lazy, thus it will keep for another time.

Change of Pace

I've decided to try and do one Art Journal page every week through the end of this year. This is the first.... I don't think I'm very good at drawing or painting, but I want to get better and this seems like a good way to begin. I'm also very inspired by Pam Carriker, her blog is to the right of this screen, BagLadyArt. Her work with Somerset Studios Art Journal magazine along with many other artists makes things in my head click and I find myself thinking, "I want to do that!" So here I go. This should also help me to keep this updated since I'd like to try and post each weeks page, barring the event that it would be too private. It seems that this has also been brought about by the Artist's Way book that some friends and I have just completed. We are going to begin the second book, Walking in the World, next week, but take it much slower giving more time to take in what we're doing and allowing for the crazy schedules we all tend to have! This past Saturday the girls came over for late lunch at lu's and I was thrilled to have flowers to put out for us to enjoy! Since I last wrote I've had a birthday. The big 3-0! My husband made me a beautiful portable writing desk, shown above, and the whole day was wonderful! I have some of the best friends and family anyone could hope for! And in a couple weeks the celebration will continue as my cousin Abby and I fly out to Virginia to visit my sister and her family!! And finally Donavin. Yes, I've named a trunk. :) I love him! And have been working to get him in better shape, though for his age I'd say he's in pretty good shape. I'd love to use him all the time, we shall see. I think that will be enough for now. I will be working more on the quilts, and putting together a new bellydance costume, to say nothing of all the homework coming my way....but I think it's good to keep up with this, let's see if I can!