Challenge Day 10

gummies!!! only haribo though

Last day ofJanuary

The last day of January was unbelievably gorgeous... It was in the 50's and sunny. We went and ran errands and had a little fun at the park. I took over 200 pictures! :)





and my Dad is finally in town! He will be hanging out here tomorrow. So happy about that... the kids are excited bc they never get to see him.

Quick Update and Challenge Day 9

Update on my Dad... he chewed his finger pretty bad with a table saw and severed a tendon and had nerve damage... he lives in VA so it isn't so easy for us to pick up and go see him... his surgery went smoothly from what I hear. We have a terrible track record for communication, but my sister has been keeping me updated. Supposedly he is coming up this week to visit! Not sure if he didn't tell me to surprise us or just because its what he does... but either way... the kids are realy excited to see him! Not sure if I should have told them or not though... Maris keeeps asking when she will see him and if he's coming to our house... I have to make with Grampa Kip or she's going to be mad! haha
Today is errands day, lots of running and Jim is working late so we don't have to rush for dinner. I have off tonight too! I can watch the Michael Jackson episode of Glee... haha *dork*

Well, here's the mouth at Ballet yesterday :)



and the Goob next door at the ice cream parlor eating a pb cup cookie...


and the sun going down on the way home over the black dirt fields... it always looks so pretty.. it can make ugly farm buildings pretty.




drawing challenge for today... favorite tv show... pssshht what challenge? haha *(I know I took the EASY route... but it conveys the answer quite clearly haha)

Traveling Zoo and Challenge Day 7 & 8

The local fairgrounds had a traveling zoo this weekend and we had free kids tickets so we went. Little did we know it would still cost us 26 bucks in adult admission just to go!They had expensive rides and games as well on top of admission (over a dollar a ticket and nothing cost under 2 tickets...) It was a stinky glorified petting zoo with unhappy animals and NO supervision of unruly kids climbing fences and startling the already stressed animals.... BUT back to the point... the kids loved it. We got to see a bunch of cute stumpy little ponies and a few camels..I got freaked out by an emu *I hate birds and it was right there in my face* and Maris got to see a porcupine!!!
*backstory* Maris out of the blue last year stated that "porcupines eat people" and has been freaked out at the mere mention of a porcupine. She finally saw one and saw that they are pretty harmless unless you get poked with a quill. I'm glad that the "they eat people!" thing is done haha pictures below is her reaction to learning what was in that cage!



drawing challenges day 7 and 8. I have many favorite words... didn't know if I should chose by number of usage or how amused a word makes me or how I try to work them into regular conversation... :) favorite animated character was hard, but again went with my first instinct.. as I was inking it on, I thought of either redoing it as Garfield or Robin Hood... but whats done is done! I love Rockos Modern Life... reminds me of my adolescence <3.

Drawing Challenge Day 6

so its not my favorite book of all time but it is A favorite book in the long list.... and it is HARD to find a character not made into a movie! (Technically there IS a Watership Down animated film... but it is 230 am and we aren't going there! I have decided to just stay away from Harry Potter type huge movie characters...) Bigwig for whatever reason stood out in my brain late in the night here... he is big and badass. Here it is and goodnight! If you havent read watership down, I suggest it. I;m off to SLEEP!

MNI Game Night and Drawing Challenge Day 5

Last night I attended a Mon's Night In Game Night. I had a much needed glass of wine (or a few) and played a few games. It was nice to relax and have some stress-free fun. This should be a monthly thing! My mom's neighborhood friends all have a monthly ladies night and have for many many years now.. they make a calendar schedule for it and everything... always wanted to carry that on. It is great to have a night for yourself to talk and unwind. I so so so wish I had the space for entertaining bc I'd totally have a game night every few weeks for sure. Id have playdates more... so many ideas... My entire apartment is the size of the refinished rec room basement I was in last night though... haha ONE DAY we will have a bigger place hopefully of our own... we do well with what we have :) I got to rock some Pictionary - even though I didn't bring my A game... I had some hard cards! I do adore board games!







so the drawing challenge for day 5 is draw your best friend. I am fortunate enough to have many close and loving friends... and instead of choosing one over others or drawing a whole lot of people... I am going to chose my longest and most constant friend - My sister, Miranda. aka Turkey, Turkins, Turkenheimer, Panda, Miranda Panda, Wombat.... she is quite a pain in the ass and we certainly have our differences but she has a heart of gold and we get each others ridiculous moods and sense of humor... I drew her in her hat and for whatever reason, I visioned this drawing of her in a panda suit.... plus, who the hell knows how to draw a wombat... haha


here are a few pics of my sister :)

Sneak Peek and Drawing Challenge Day 4

A certain Goob is turning 3 in a couple months... and I always start planning ahead since I make most of their party decorations and all. We are doing a monster theme... he IS a little monster after all... :) I had Maris draw a monster and I recreated it to a certain degree and we decorated them. I made 12 so far... addicting to say the least! plus they cost practically nothing as I used stuff I had around the house except for a bit of fabric remnants I did purchase for under 2 dollars. and here's the best part... I realized that I had to stuff the little beasts... and went to Joanns and found decorative christmas snow fluff on clearance for 59 cents a giant bag... I bought a few bags and only used a little over 1 bag to stuff them all. Booyah




You can only peek at the 2 the kids made themselves! All others will be revealed in time! :)



The drawing challenge was to draw your favorite place. I could not for the life of me think of a better place I enjoy retreating to better than my own brain... I retreat into my head all the time and for various reasons and moods. I have a very active imagination and my mind is ALWAYS working on something... I am still going with first drawing, first reactions... no perfectionist... no redos... just raw ideas and whatever comes out. I like it better that way.
on another note... my Dad recently cut his finger really bad on a table saw (again) but this time severed a tendon and has nerve damage...he has surgery tomorrow to see what they can do for it.... I am not one for prayer and all that... but he is in my thoughts... and I wish him luck and a speedy recovery. I will update as I am updated on it. Tomorrow Maris has declared we will make get well cards for him. I'm sure he will like that :) Here's the pic after he got back from the ER. My stepmom sent it. Doesnt he look HAPPY>?

What's Up Wednesday

Kind of having a kickin ass and taking names kind of day here... In a good way! Yesterday was NOT a good day for me... Jackson threw tantrum after tantrum for no good reason at all. It has been like that most of the week so far out of the blue, but yesterday was b.a.d.... Maris seemed to only exacerbate the situation by egging him on or threatening time out (she thinks she is a little Momma sometimes). And of COURSE I had the night off and Jim worked into the night... so I had barely any relief... he came home at 9 and they insisted on staying up to see him - which I was fine with... but they were just as bad then and I was being nice! He came home, talked to Jackson and watched Curious George with Maris and I PASSED OUT on the couch and was in bed before 10... this coming from a person who stays up until 1 at the earliest most nights. so ten is craaazy early. and I slept through the night which is also unheard of. I have terrible sleeping habits and bouts of insomnia so a good nights sleep is like a high! I cleaned the kitchen - I mean CLEANED... moved stuff around and scrubbed and organized, had the kids dressed and fed and happy, folded laundry, made the beds... made myself coffee instead of buying it on the go... had a dance party in the kitchen with the kiddos... all before 9am. Having a good day! The kids are getting along and are happy... I guess its true... when Momma is happy - everyone is happy. sleep is good!



Enjoying some cheese doodles.... nice orange teeth, huh?




and the drawing Challenge of today was your favorite food. Mine would be tempura dipped in Tentsuyu - yummy sauce! At first I was intimidated to draw it, but I went back to my safety net... cartooning! The fun of this challenge is that Maris is getting into it... not really the subjects but seeing me draw stuff and sitting and drawing with me :) I should start posting hers too! haha

Challenge Day 2

day 2 is draw your favorite animal. Here is a doodle I did this morning on my penguin pad while making the grocery list :) I was going to draw a better one, but the day is almost done!

30 Day Drawing Challenge...

I came across this challenge on Pinterest... (best.site.ever.)and really wanted to give it a shot. Realistically with my schedule a drawing literally every day will def be a challenge, but I will complete the list - just may not be consecutive days. When I complete a drawing, I will post it on here. I started the first one on the list today... as tempting as it is to skip out of order, I will follow day by day. Realistic drawings are not my forte... but this is what I came up with this morning... I figure I will post it before I do anything else to it... not sure if it is done or not, but something seems off about it. Maybe more shading.... NOT MY THING. I like cartooning :) Like they say... you are your own worst critic (def true in my case!) 2 of my friends are doing this challenge as well. GREAT way to grease the gears and get back into drawing! Here is my first drawing that was more than a doodle in what seems like forever!



anyone else want to join the challenge?? :)

Trepidation... Input?

I have been playing with logo design... which is funny because I am still having anxiety about the whole "photographer" thing... whenever an opportunity arises to DO something or try to do something, I freeze up. I just need to jump in. I started reading through photographers blogs to get inspiration and business ideas (I really have no head for business - just passion for taking pictures) and all it has done really is lower my confidence by talking down "hobbyists" claiming to be pros. I never claimed to be a pro... I just want this to be my career more than most things in life. The idea of asking for a good chunk of money (photogs get paid pretty well!) for something I basically know how to do is... off for me. I hate the business/finding clients aspect. All I know is how good I feel when I am taking pictures and how happy looking through them and picking out the best shots makes me. I have an eye for what makes a good shot and I am a people watcher so I tend to see most things coming for good candids. (a benefit to the social ineptness I suppose)
Well, now that I have vented about my current anxiety... here are my logos that I may never get to use... sigh (I made over 20... I just like these 2 the best)



feedback?



I figure if I jump in and see it all coming together, I will gain the gusto I need. I know taking the photos at my cousin's wedding a couple months ago really lit a fire under my butt, BUT that was mostly family and people I felt comfortable with. Plus, I jumped into it for free, so there was less pressure on me to get every shot. I tend to be quite socially awkward... melting into the background and snapping pics is my thing... attaining and talking to potential clients... yikes! I have to get over this if I want my dream job!




Alright, off to get the kids gear ready to go out in all this fresh fallen snow!!!

Dog-opus Day

So I made a nautical lunch for the kids the other day... the occasional treat of a hot dog opus and goldfish crackers :) Maris even checked to see if it had the right number of legs. Not much to report so I figured I'd share some pics!
We had a busy day of lunch out with a friend and some light shopping. I picked up a few things on holiday clearance to use for Jackson's upcoming birthday party (3 months away... but I make most of the party stuff for their bdays so I start early!) I have a few ideas in the works that I am excited about!!! Well, until next time!

I Spy... a New Project!

sooo... as a full-fledged addict of pinterest... I get tons of cool ideas to try and I DO adore creating things... the other day I came across this blog , Love and Lollipops, that has some cute ideas. The kids love those I Spy tubes at the toy store but they are EXPENSIVE. I hate buying things that I can easily make myself... so after seeing this link I was inspired to do so.
The kids and I set out treasure hunting for small objects to fit in our water bottle. Loving that this craft was "free" in the way that it was made with found materials in the house. :)
I decided to color the rice to give it a pop as well.





then I took a picture of all the items as a key. They aren't reading yet, so a photo key seemed better. I will print it out and laminate cards to attach to the bottle neck later (my printer isn't working with the new computer yet... it's on the to-do list!)


My helper in filling the bottle with trinkets :)
I must say, it is cute. and surprisingly soothing! I caught myself turning it and feeling the rice rotate and zoning out.... its nice! I even have rice left over to make more of them. The hunt for more trinkets beings!