Holiday with the Hounds

This is what I did for two hours last night. Not a bad way to volunteer. It was the annual Holiday with the Hounds at our local animal shelter. My mom and I were assigned to hang out with the litter of six puppies. We had a great time. The puppies are two months old and just as cute as can be. Everyone got to come by and say hello and pet the puppies. We were assigned to make sure they got out for potty breaks, clean up any messes and PLAY!!!

Art and Soul - Part 1

I'm very slow in getting this posted but better late than never as they say. Art and Soul was a blast. The classes were great, the people wonderful, hung out with family that we don't get to see very often and ate too much.

I didn't have classes the first day so after checking in at registration we went off to Latitudes for a quick visit with cousins Larie, Dick and Chaucer. Then after setting up our plans for dinner we headed up the Columbia River Gorge. It is such a beautiful trip. We stopped for a while at Multnomah Falls for some great scenery and a photo op. Then back to Portland for dinner with Larie and Dick and called it a night.

Classes

I headed over to the Embassy Suites for class on Friday morning and the first person I saw was Adrienne from CCSwaps. She was standing outside the hotel waiting for the shuttle. We just had a minute for a quick hello but I was so glad I found her without even trying. I was afraid I'd have trouble finding her. She came over from Wales to spend the week at Art and Soul and then head to Wisconsin to visit. Check out her blog for the great information on her classes at Art and Soul.

My first class was "Altered Ego" taught by Misty Mawn. We used self-portraits in our collages. I think the biggest problem everyone had was that they didn't like taking pictures of themselves or getting pictures taken. I messed up my face (I'm not a painter) but Misty fixed it for me so now it looks nice. She recommended that we use faces from magazines for practice. I'm so in awe of Misty's talent. Her demos made it look so easy. She kept telling us it took years for her to get to this point in her art and we should just keep working at it. These are some of the things I worked on:

My face (messed up by me, fixed by Misty)

My second class was with Claudine Hellmuth. The class was called Magazine Alterology. We used Citra-Solv (the concentrated version, not the diluted one in the spray bottle) and NevrDull to alter magazine pages and then used them in collages. These are the collages I did.

(Background using Citra-Solv)

(Background and figure using NevrDull)

Catching up

Here are some things I've made but haven't posted to the blog.

Skinny Pages (4x8 inches)

Abstract

Color

Zettiology

A little Holiday Cheer

Click here for a little holiday cheer from Daphne.

Lisa Vollrath's Countdown to Christmas

Lisa is doing it again. She's counting down to the holiday with free images every day. Check it out!

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

I'm back and I've been tagged!

I'm back from the deep, non-blogging void. Life has been hectic and I haven't made time to post. I've been tagged by Aimeslee and so she doesn't think I fell off the face of the earth I'm checking in with the blog.

Here are the rules for the tag:

1. Link to the person that tagged you (Aimeslee) and post these rules on your blog before you answer. (DONE)
   
   
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them). (DONE)
   


3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. (But don't tag me back). (Everyone I went to tag had already been tagged so I'm breaking this rule.)
   
   
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (See #3)

Here goes...

1. I recently hit the big 5-0... POUNDS LOST. I'm actually at 56.2 lbs lost as of my most recent weigh in.
   
   
2. I have a thing for shoes. I recently bought these (I love, love, love them) and these (in the blue suede, don't step on them). I really want these, maybe for Christmas.
   
   
3. I miss Peanut Butter M&M's. I've had one, and I mean one lonely M&M, in the last 6 months. I'm sure they're feeling the loss of income. But if you refer back to item #1 you'll know why.
   
   
4. Somehow I've become a morning person. I've been getting up at 4:45 AM to exercise. How much does that suck? Now I seem to have all my energy in the morning. Even on the weekends and when my alarm is turned off I've been waking up before 6:00 AM. The worst thing is that I'm ready to hit the sack at 9:00 PM. I'm an 8 hours a night kinda girl.



5. In the Summer and Fall I'm generally in a good mood. In the Winter and early Spring I'm a grouch!



6. I like to consider myself an artist but I don't consider the stuff I make to be art. I'm still pondering the reasoning behind it.
   
   
7. I'm a starter. I'm pushing myself to become a finisher. Those who are starters know what this means. Those who are finishers can't understand it.

So I've finally posted something. I'm getting some of my projects from Art and Soul to a point I can scan them to post. Plus I've made a few swaps since I've been back and will get them posted. Most of my energy has been spent getting myself healthier and loosing weight which I feel is the most important thing I can do for myself.

See you soon!

For once I'm glad summer is ending...

This hasn't been the greatest summer on record.

• My grandmother passed away.
• Daphne had emergency surgery for bloat.
• Daisy had surgery on her knee.
• Daphne had another surgery to remove cysts from her back.
• I had inflammation in my eye that has lasted most of the summer.
• Last weekend my basement filled with water.
• I tried to cut off the pad of my thumb while I was cutting up the basement carpet to throw it out.

I'm glad summer is almost over because I feel like I'm headed for a new start.

There have been some great positives this summer.

• I've stuck to my diet and done really well.
• I have more energy and feel better than I have in a long time.
• I've joined a health club and have been working out.
• I took a great workshop from Traci Bautista at Valley Ridge Art Studio.
• I'm taking another class at Valley Ridge next week from Robin Atkins called Acrylic Painting~Deluxe Decorative Papers.
• I'm going to Art and Soul in Portland (it counts even though it is in October because I've been looking forward to it all summer!). I'm taking classes from Misty Mawn, Claudine Hellmuth, Ann Baldwin and Leslie Rylie.
• Things at work are looking up.
• I'm back volunteering at the animal shelter after a few months haitus.
• Because of the flood in the basement I get to totally reorganize my "studio" and make it the way I want it.
• Because of the problem with my eye I finally got new glasses so I can actually see when I wear them.
• Because I've lost so much weight I get to buy a new wardrobe.

Isn't it great that the positives outnumber the negatives!

The Big 4-0

Pounds that is! At my weigh-in this week I hit 40 pounds lost (40.2 to be exact). It's going really well and I've gone down several sizes and none of my old clothes fit any more. I've given most of them away and sent some to the local consignment shop. I have some new clothes for now. I'll continue to need smaller clothes so I don't want to buy a lot until I get to my goal. People are going to have to get used to seeing me in the same outfits for a while.

A little "BIG DOG" fix

I was looking through some older pictures of the dogs and thought I'd post a few.

Daisy showing off her incision.

This is from her TPLO surgery in June 07.

A little togetherness at nap time.

This is an oldie but typical of Daisy always wanting to touch Daphne.

Daphne and her St. Paddy's Day Bandana

(I know it's the wrong time of year, I just like this picture. It was taken before her muzzle started getting grey.)

Tip-ins

I signed up for some swaps that are for tip-ins. I sent out the first ones which were for the theme Disjointed Figures (take pieces of figures and combine them together). Here are the pages I made.

Front side page 1

Back side page 1

Front side page 2

Back side page 2

Front side page 3

Back side page 3

Valley Ridge Art Studio ROCKS!!!

I took a workshop from Traci Bautista this past weekend at the Valley Ridge Art Studio in Wisconsin. It was my first time there and I will definitely be going back (in fact I've already signed up for another workshop). The setting is beautiful and peaceful. Kathy and Bill Malkasian are such gracious hosts and have created a wonderful environment for learning and making art. I highly recommend Valley Ridge to everyone.

Traci was everything I thought she'd be. She is super talented and very inspriational. The class was great and I learned so much. I'll never look at paper towels the same way again! The only regret I have is that the class wasn't longer. There was so much to learn and time went by so fast. I'm definitely going to take another workshop from her.

This is my journal.

Class photo

Traci, her dog Freedom & me

Inchies on ATCs

This were done for a swap in the ArtTechniquesATC group.

It's been waaaay too long....

I have been seriously neglecting the blog for a couple of months. I can't think of a good reason except that there is too much going on in my head lately.

My grandmother passed away in May a couple of weeks after my last post and so we went to Oregon for her burial and services. She's with my grandfather now. He passed away in 1978. I'm sure they're catching up on some fishing. Grandpa driving the boat and grandma hauling in the fish.

I've been working on various projects and swaps but haven't posted any pics. Hopefully I'll get that done this weekend.

I've also been doing some work on myself. I finally got in the right mind set to make some changes in my diet. I was getting really tired of not having any energy and struggling with the way I felt and looked. So, in May I started on the Jenny Craig plan. It works great for me and I've lost 27 pounds so far. I have a long way to go but I really feel like I'm going to get there. I've started getting up at the crack of dawn (literally) and walking almost every morning (weather permitting). I'm feeling a lot better and am none of my clothes fit very well. I'm looking forward to some serious shopping when the weather cools off. I'm trying to hold out until then. I don't want to buy a bunch of new stuff that won't fit me for very long. This takes up a lot of mental energy but is well worth it. I feel so much better already and have been really good at sticking to it. I'm actually proud of myself which doesn't happen very often (I'm working on that too).

For now, here is a great quote I saw today that I wanted to share.

“When I was a child, my mother said to me,
‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general.
If you become a monk, you’ll end up as the pope.’
Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”

—Pablo Picasso

I'll be back with pics to share and will try to post at least once per week.

In the meantime, I hope all my blog buddies are doing well and having a great summer!!!

It's been a rough week

It's been a pretty rough week. We came close to losing Daphne to bloat. She had emergency surgery and is doing great now. It was pretty scary. We're just happy that she's OK and she'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks.

It is really important to be aware of the signs of bloat and to get your dog to the vet right away.

Here are just a few links with more information:

Bloat - The Mother of All Emergencies "It is crucially important that owners of big dogs be aware of this condition and prepared for it. Know where to take your dog during overnight or Sunday hours for emergency care. Avoid exercising your dog after a large meal. Know what to watch for. Enjoy the special friendship a large dog provides but at the same time be aware of the large dog's special needs and concerns."

Bloat

Bloat in Dogs

Tagged

I’ve been tagged by Aimeslee to list seven random things about myself.

1. I was born on Mother’s Day and every few years my birthday falls on Mother’s Day. My poor mom has had to share her day every since I was born. When I was little we always went to the Purple Cow, a little ice cream joint, for Mother’s Day (guess who picked that). I bet mom's glad they aren’t there anymore. I miss the Purple Cow sundaes they had a cute little purple cow candy on top.
2. I work in the hospital I was born in. I haven’t spent my whole life here although some days it feels that way.
3. I talk to myself way too much and occasionally answer (don’t tell anyone). If I’m at home I talk to the cats. They actually answer me once in a while. I get this trait from my dad.
4. I don’t like most vegetables. This is a problem right now because I’m trying to eat better and apparently that means eating lots of veggies. Whose idea was that?
5. I’m addicted to Diet Coke. I try to drink decaf as much as I can but I’d still rather have Diet Coke than anything else. This is causing a problem right now (see #4) as I’m drinking tons of water every day and finding it hard to fit in my Diet Coke. Whose idea was it to not have Diet Coke count as water? Isn't it 99.9% water?
6. I make jewelry but hardly ever wear any. I have a huge (I mean HUGE) stash of beads and supplies. I sell jewelry at shows and through my website but I very rarely wear any.
7. I’m afraid of heights. I’m not too bad if I have a railing in front of me but put me next to a floor to ceiling window and my heartbeat skyrockets.