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.

Page #2

This week has been on the crazy side. For some reason getting into the swing of things the semester is proving more difficult than usual. Paper #1 is basically done and the first project got turned in OK. I think once I've had a couple tests things will feel more settled. Thursday I leave with my cousin Abby for VA!! The last bit of my 30th birthday bash. I'm pretty excited. I'm also going to miss Jason. This will be the first we've been apart since the wedding. I'd like to say this will be the longest we'll ever be a part, but no one really knows the future. OK, enough with the sappiness. I did this after my walk Sunday morning. I try to go to the nature center and walk the long trail every Sunday. It is so peaceful. I'm not the only one walking, I pass people coming the opposite direction and am passed by people going the same direction but at a faster pace....speed is not my goal with these walks, just going there and doing it is the goal. Eventually I'd like to be able to walk the whole thing at a faster pace and without getting winded or having to stop and sit for a few seconds. I think by doing it every week I will get there soon enough. The terrain is pretty all over the place, at one point you're walking through a field of wildflowers, others you're beside a creek walking on huge rocks which are often slippery and various kinds of forest. I love this place and will miss it when we move. So my Art Journal page this week was reminiscent of the walk. Geez, I should sleep more, I might make more sense, enough!

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!

Beautiful Day

This is a strip of the quilt for Torsten, Meredith's youngest. His brother decided his favorite color is blue...I will be interested to know what he thinks it is when he is finally talking!! This is a view of the first quilt I made, it is for Eleanor, my friend Helen's daughter. I tried to use a heart theme, but I'm the only one who seems to see it. Oh, well. All the rain we've had was good for the zucchini I guess!! This is today's harvest. Jason's mom gave me a recipe for frozen pickles that I will be putting to use today!! So, the zucchini win. I'm always tempted to capitalize Zucchini....but really think that's just going to go straight to their heads!! I know bad bad bad. The tomatoes are very crowded and I'm thinking of taking one out...we won't be eating that many anyway.....Jason is going to try and restake them as I did a less than satisfactory job at that last week. I say it's less than satisfactory by the way. :) So, school sewing and making things with my friends. Life is pretty good this summer!!

Growing

Aiden with the Guano, chillin', There's a caterpillar in the dill and Serenity wants to keep it. That child is fearless with nature! This is a fraction of the collection, they went through all of them before it was over and Jason came up with a structured game for them to play, I'm so proud of him! Happy 4th of July! Iris looks SO MUCH like Joella, it blows me away. And she's become quite the adventurer, wanted to go as far in the cave as she could, further than Aiden! WOW, been a month, that's no good, no way to have a blog. LOL. OK, We had the children last weekend, pictures above, and are only just now getting caught up. Jason basically worked 10 days in a row, silly man. I am so lucky and blesses and all the rest to have him. He is so good for me. He makes me excited to live the rest of my life with him. This is a nice peace. Other good news, I've lost 19lbs!!! Lost it pretty fast, three weeks, so I'm thinking it will slow down soon, but I'm not giving up. I want to be able to enjoy the rest of my life with him, and to do that I must be healthy. Much healthier than I am now. It's hard. And stinks. I don't like being hungry and I don't like not making and eating cookies whenever I want, but the trade off for not doing those things is HUGE. So, here I go!! I've been doing a lot with the crazy quilts and am so grateful to Linda, Jason's mom, for the fabric and notions she was able to get for such a crazy discount! I will post about the sewing and some other things maybe even later today. School has been great. I switched teachers and am so much happier. I told Jason last week that every morning should begin with Dr. Murray. I guess it helps to love the subject too. Music history of the 19th cen. :) Heaven! You can KIND OF see the garden in the picture of the girls with their sparklers, it's huge!!! Overflowing actually. Need to post about that too. Would have taken pictures this morning, but the rain nixed that. It was great to work out there in the rain. Ah, life is very good. :)

I Might Be Crazy

This is what I walk into and away from while gardening...when the windows were all open he'd sit in one and meow at me. He doesn't want outside as much as just wants to be where the awake one is. As you can see, we've experienced some growth. Jason thinned the onions a bit and we ate the yummie little ones with a fish and rice dish he made. It was delicious! I like to do companion planting to cut down on the bad bugs and such, it's a very organic way to garden. (On a side note, when I first heard of organic gardening I about flipped. Isn't gardening organic by nature? But then I learned more about the pesticides and plant foods used and how they are so bad for everyone....it always helps to try and get the WHOLE story before getting all up in arms about a thing.) One of the things about companion planting is the use of marigolds. I used to HATE them. Mostly their scent. It's harsh, and there was a time when I thought orange was about the ugliest color ever.....times change, there are 30 marigolds in our garden. They are edible, the flowers taste peppery, or so I've heard. Jason's folks came for a visit earlier and I went to my first baseball game! I've been to basketball games and played softball--sort of-- and volleyball, but this was a real first. We had a great time, Jason, Joe and Linda were great about making sure I knew what was going on and we had a very nice time....even if the local team was having it's ass rather thoroughly kicked. HA! So, why I might be crazy. I'm in a graduate level course for five weeks. I'm liking it so far, and excited about the projects, just nervous that there won't be enough time in the day. I know school comes first, but there are so many projects I want to work on!!! So I'm working out an hourly schedule for the four days a week I'll be in class and babysitting. I think that will help. Below is a picture Jason took. I guess he couldn't resist. I hadn't even brushed my hair! But the dough needed to start rising, we do what we need to do!