Kaiden

I was fortunate enough to get pregnant at the same time as one of my best friends, Theresa. Her son, Kaiden, was born one month before Logan and they are destined to become best buddies themselves (or at least Tree and I have convinced ourselves that they will.) Sadly (for me) her husband got an awesome job offer and they are now moving to Arizona. As sad as I am that they will be leaving, I am excited for their new little adventure. As a going-away present, I decided to do a  painting of their adorable son. Kaiden is very cute and super charismatic, so it was a lot of fun to do.

All of us wish the Nuckols the best of luck in their lives and we are going to miss them sooooo much!

I think a new project is in order

I've been busy lately. Really busy. Between chasing the monster (and then cleaning up after him), making dinner (we've been on a pretty strict no-eating-out diet), cleaning up after dinner, school, working on a research paper for school, painting a portrait that is taking a lot more time to finish than I expected (but is looking pretty amazing, if I must say so myself,) reading non-school-related books (I just can't seem to stop), putting together campaigns for my mom's business and working on her website, taking online photography courses (it never hurts to be up-to-date on all the latest techniques,) oh and sleeping and showering, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, my life has been pretty much non-stop. And I like it. I'm exhausted come Friday, but a busy week has really helped my mood overall. So why, with all this chaos, would I want to add something new to mix? Because I'm certifiably insane.

Here's the problem: I have no idea what I want to do.

I would like to start producing more paintings so I can build up a portfolio and maybe try to get a slot for an exhibit at the local library (I want to start as small as possible.) But it takes a lot of focus and work to put out a large number of pieces and there is only so much I can do while L sleeps. At the rate I'm going, I may have enough pieces to have an exhibit summer 2013, and I'm not sure the painting bug will stay constant for that long (I have to be in the mood to paint and so I'm really not consistent.) My therapist thinks that this is a great idea and I really should go for it, but she doesn't really know me.

I still really want to make a children's version of Norse myths, but I've been saying that for years and I haven't even started. To be honest, I don't feel like re-reading them right now, so it will be a while longer before I start. Plus I need to reteach myself how to draw peoples. Oh and let us not forget that I know absolutely nothing about writing a book: for children or adults.

I want to make antique-looking signage to go around our house- things that have words like "eat" or "read," or something, and maybe some with short quotes- I just need to find the book I have on how to antique. I know it's somewhere. (And I have to convince Nick that painting word, rather than just staining it, is ok. He and my dad are strongly against such acts of blasphemy.)

I need to landscape. Thankfully our HOA doesn't have a time limit on when landscaping must be completed (like my sister's) but they will send letters asking us "politely" to improve the conditions of our back yard (think dirt and dead weeds- which is an improvement since they were alive and thriving weeds a month ago.) We have a general idea of what we want, but a lot of work has to be done to improve the condition of the sand from hell soil before we can start planting anything. And I don't know how to do that.

So here's my question: which of these would you choose to do if you were me?


And incase you were wondering, here's what I'm researching:

Here's what makes it interesting- it's made by one of Rembrandt's pupils who lived and painted in the Netherlands, a Protestant nation. It's interesting because this depicts a scene from the Book of Tobit- popular amongst Roman Catholics, not so much the Prots. I haven't read much of the Bible, so I have to research this Book, the artist (Jan Victors), and the Netherlands during its Golden Age. It's a lot of work, but super interesting since it's all things I'm unfamiliar with.  Good stuff.

Now that the last layer in the painting has dried, I'm back to paint more strands of hair. Yippe!

Three.

Today is the husband and mine three year anniversary. This year has been the toughest by far, but we're getting through it and I think that we've grown closer than ever, even with the problems. He really is a wonderful man and an amazing father and I'm so glad that we're together.

Here's to many more years together!

Reading Wrap-Up.

Goodness, I have neglected my blogs lately. It's a good thing (for you) that I took a really long nap today and can't fall asleep now. I figure that I never really finished posting on the Great Reading Experiment so it is high time that I do so now since the time I get to sit around reading books for sheer enjoyment is over for a while. Here is what I remember reading (I may have to update this post later since I'm too lazy to go downstairs to get my kindle...and I'm afraid of the dark):

The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox
Brief summary- this is about a young lady of title (though I can't exactly remember what it is... lesser gentry) named Arabella who grew up reading her mother's French romance novels (these would be books similar to Authorian romances and chivalry) and believes that those stories are actual depictions of how current society behaves/interacts. It ends up causing a lot of confusion and humor. Ok, so I haven't actually finished this one yet- I'm a little over 50% through it, but it's hysterical. I can relate to Arabella in ways that I never thought possible. I understand that besides a very small population of the male sex, chivalry is dead, but there is a small part of me that screams to be treated like a lady (and yes, this means worshiped.) I also have a large fixation with knee breaches (not that they really mention any in this book, I just picture them.) I really want to finish this book, and I do enjoy reading it every time I pick it up, I just get distracted easily.

Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon
This is the fourth book of "The League" series that I picked up because it sounded interesting. I did not know that it was part of a series until I had finished it. Oops. It's a sci-fi novel set in space and made-up planets (think Firefly minus the Western aspect). Here's the summary via Amazon:
 For Caillen Dagan, a defiant soldier of fortune, survival isn't a right, it's a brutal daily battle. Moving through the Ichidaian universe like a wraith, his brushes with the law and death are legendary. But when an act of rare heroism reveals his hidden birthright, he's forced into a world much more dangerous and cold-hearted than the bloody streets where he was raised-one of obscene wealth and lethal politics.
Ferocious and determined, Desideria serves as an official bodyguard for her queen. Born of questionable genetics, she will do anything to prove herself worthy of the weapons she carries and the position she's won by combat. But when she uncovers a ruthless plot to assassinate the queen and overthrow her country's government, Desideria is caught in the crosshairs.
With assassination contracts out on both of them, Caillen and Desideria must learn to fight together or die alone. And if they fail, their governments will fall into the hands of an unimaginable evil.

Kenyon is a romance novelist, but I really couldn't tell until the last third of the book. Then things got steamy. Really steamy. I like a good romance every once in a while, so I was actually ok with it, but if romances aren't your style, this isn't the book for you. The entire book flows really well and the characters are super interesting. It was a quick read, and I really enjoyed it, but I don't think its a book I will ever read again. 

Born of Ice and Born of Fire both by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Someone in town is also reading this series, so I'm continuing to read it in reverse order. Their plots are very much the same as the one above. These books were also enjoyable, but I'm beginning to see an annoying trend- the male characters have been severely heartbroken by women before and have trust issues because of it, and it is up to the female lead to cure them of it. It's cute, but after three books, it's old. And the older books seem to contain more and more graphic sex. I like sex, but I don't need to read about it in detail in every book I pick up. Seriously. 

"The Immortals" series by Alyson Noel (I don't remember the order they go in)

  - Night Star

  - Dark Flame

This series still holds my attention, and I'm glad I've read it, but I will be glad to finish it once I buy the next book. 

Crescendo (part of the Hush, Hush) series by Becca Fitzpatrick

This was actually a reread. I started this series last year, but I still haven't returned Crescendo to its rightful owner (sorry, Hilly). The third book in the series comes out next month, so I decided to read this book one more time to freshen my memory. Boy I'm glad I did. I couldn't remember much about it. When Hillary lent me the first book (Hush, Hush) all she said was "You know how everyone is either Team Edward or Team Jacob? Well I'm Team Patch" and then she handed it to me. There is no better way to describe this series, but just so no one gets the wrong idea, this has nothing to do with vampires. Or werewolves. Read it. You'll thank me later. 

Currently Reading

-The Gates of Sleep

-Tales from Earthsea 

-The Swan Thieves

I don't know if I will be able to finish these books since I have homework to do and school books to read, but I hope I do. I only have a couple more weeks before I have to return them to the library anyway. In case you haven't been counting, that's a measly 23 books read this summer. Since the average is 40, I'm a little disappointed in myself. However, I am glad that I was able to read as much as I did considering how energetic my son is. If I remember anymore, I will update. For now, adios.