New Year, New Blog Post

On Painting...
So waaay back in the Summer(How I miss the Summer) I got brave and entered two paintings in a local art show. I wasn't expecting to win anything so I wasn't surprised when I didn't. However, I wasn't expecting to SELL a painting either so I was totally surprised and overly excited when I went to pick up my paintings and instead of two paintings, I picked up a check and one painting!

This was the first time I'd sold a painting to someone whom I did not know personally and it felt GREAT! :)

The painting that sold, Fox's Forest, is pictured here.

There was a mix up at the gallery so my painting titled "Mama and Owlets" was listed as "Not for Sale",  but I l think if they had marked it with my asking price, it would have sold too. That's what I like to tell myself anyway. It's currently hanging on my living room wall.

I'm currently working on teaching myself to use watercolors and I'm having so much fun with it! I love how quickly I can finish a painting and how they look pretty good, even though I don't really have the techniques down yet. Here are a couple samples.:

From an online tutorial

Tiger Lily from Disney's Peter Pan...and that's my version of Ariel in the background. 

On Cooking...
I'm currently obsessed with this recipe from Plain Chicken. I've made it three times already and I just finished up a steaming bowl of this chicken chili concoction. It's so delicious and perfect for this ridiculously cold January in Kentucky.  Seriously, grab your crock pot and make a batch!

On Quilting...
I'm quilting again! YAAAAY! It's been forever, but I  pulled out a quilt top I started maybe 6 years ago(?) and I'm using it to practice free motion quilting. My stippling is still a hot mess, but by the time I got to the fourth block, my paisleys looked all right. If you are looking to learn FMQ, I highly recommend Leah Day's courses on Craftsy.com.

Whew, that was a lot! But it feels good to blog after so long an absence. I just may do it again soon!

What I Won't for 2011

A new year is fast approaching and it's a time when, instead of looking back at the missed opportunities and misfires of the past year, I(like a lot of folks) prefer to look ahead to the possibilities that a new year brings.

A few years ago, instead of making resolutions I made a Not-To-Do list. I was inspired by this article and liked the idea of thinking about what I didn't want to do rather than coming up with a list of resolutions that I may or may not make happen. For 2011, I think another list of un-resolutions is in order. 

My 2011 Not To Do List

I will not continue to hate my body. I've been doing it since I was in the fifth grade and the family doctor asked me if I was going  out for the football team.  I've done a lot of damage to my body since then by going on unhealthy diets...gaining and losing weight over and over. I've crammed my body full of junk food and neglected to take care of it. And have landed again at 30 40 50 too many pounds overweight. But, I refuse to go on another diet! Diets are motivated by self loathing and I'm done with that. Instead, I plan to love this body by:

• moving it with regular exercise that makes me feel good(not something I dread doing that makes me feel like I've been trampled by a herd of elephants).
• feeding it healthier foods and water.
• taking in less junk.
• taking time to unwind and de-stress.
• surrounding myself with positive people and a support system via SparkPeople to help me as I learn to love my body once and for all.

I will not put myself down in front of other people or worry about what other people think of me.  Not only am I guilty of calling myself names and putting myself down, but I worry constantly about what other people think about me. Constantly. I think this probably stems from the whole body image thing...never good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, cool enough, blah blah blah.  Of course I realize this way of thinking is ridiculous, which is why:

• Phrases like "I'm so fat" and scores of other lies I've uttered about myself are banished from my vocabulary. Anyone who hears/reads these phrases from me has my permission to give me a smack upside the head.
• I will no longer get bent out of shape when someone calls me "Little Susie Homemaker" or makes a crack because I like to sew, cook, and hang out at home. I've taken offense to it in the past and regarded it as a put-down. I simply refuse to see it that way anymore.
• I am not going to seek approval from everyone I know(and don't know).
• I am proud of who I am, quirks and all.

I will not be the nagging wife.  I'm flawed, y'all.  I admit it, I pick and I nag at my husband sometimes. He'd probably argue that  I do it a lot. I hope not, but I fear that I am hard to live with. So when the situation arises that I want and/or need him to do something around the house, I'll ask. Once. If he doesn't get to it in my time, I'll let it go. I know men and women live in two completely different time zones and I'm going to try to be more attune to that.  If he does something in a way that is different from my way I'll be appreciative instead of pointing out why my way is better...because it is(wink wink, nod nod).

I will not give in to negativity.  God bless them, there are just some people who are unable to be positive. If you gave them a hundred bucks they'd say "Dang. Now I have to get out my wallet to put this away." I have to be honest with myself here and admit that I tend to sway to the negative side. Which means I am easily influenced and brought down by these Negative Nellies. It's gonna be hard but I'm going to try to deflect that negativity as often as I can. While I can't avoid all the negative that comes my way, I can make a conscious effort to surround myself with more positives.

I will not spend money frivolously. Unless it involves fabric or books.

I will not be bored.  There is absolutely no excuse for me to be bored. I'm OK with lazy every once in a while, because a day of  wearing pajamas, stretching out on the couch and reading or watching TV is relaxing. Boredom, on the other hand, is ridiculous and uncalled for. There's alway something to do...even if it is to simply meditate on how incredibly blessed I am. There are so many things I want to do creatively in the coming year that I refuse to let boredom ever rear it's ugly head. 

I will not forget to be thankful. I serve a wonderful God. A God who has blessed me with the most incredible family a girl could ask for and the most undeserved gifts of everlasting Love and Grace. I have so much and have done so little to deserve any of it. I am thankful for this past year(and all the years of my life) for the overflowing of love from my family and friends, for health, for a home, for all the things I take for granted on a daily basis.

Flea Market Finds and a Creepy Cymbal Playing Chimpanzee Freak

This past weekend we hit up one of our favorite local flea markets. Normally, I take my camera along and photograph things that make me smile, laugh, or want to run in the other direction.

One of those flea market field trips is here, and yet another can be found here.

This time around, I just wasn't feelin' it. It may have been that I was preoccupied with  getting my Halloween drops done for The Toy Society. It could also have been because my hands were too busy shoving hot, fresh caramel corn and roasted ears of corn on the cob into my face to take photos. Or perhaps it was because there was sooo much vintage goodness to be had that I just didn't think to grab the camera.

...except for when I decided to document this. I know I'm usually going to run across one at some point, but they still scare the crap out of me.  [[Shudder]]

Now that that's out of the way, I'll share some of the non-terrifying goodies that I managed to snag.

Mark bought this adorable ceramic/chalk(?) Scottie bank for me. I love this shade of green!

 We realized once we got it home that the lid doesn't really go w/this cookie jar. But no worries. It was only 3 bucks and looks cute over the kitchen counters.

I searched and searched through a large pile of vintage towel calendars for 1968. No luck. BUT I couldn't pass up these fun designs. I love the color combo on the barn. These may end up being tote bags.

Lovely vintage full apron for $2.00!

Just in case the city of Mad'ville ever hosts a Gatsby Summer Afternoon event, I snagged this hat for a dollar. Too bad it looks ridiculous on my extra large noggin. Sigh.

I thought these were so fun! Published in '59 & '60 and a whopping $.50 each!

Vintage coloring books from the 1960's.

First ever purchase of vintage hankies. I plan to use them as apron pockets or incorporate them into bags. I feel a new obsession coming on.

I LOVE this patchwork dog!  There's a pattern for one very similar on Denyse Schmidt's website if you are so inclined to make your own. My little guy is completely hand stitched and I believe there are several feedsack fabrics. He(and the doll) will be the newest residents in my school library. The little doll tells the story of Little Red riding hood. Her dress flips up to reveal each character & his/her part in the story. Check back for more pics of her on Vintage Thingies Thursday.

This tablecloth was my favorite find of the day at a mere 5 bucks! And yeah, I can see that it needs ironing. I'll do that later...really.

It was a great day...I finally got to spend a Saturday with Mark, the weather was gorgeous, my grand total was right around 30 bucks and I had my fill of caramel corn!  We finished off the day with a late lunch at Panera Bread and a Big Biting Pig Halloween-A-Thon. Nope, not a bad day at all!

Snow Day-Sew Day!

view from the kitchen window

So we've been officially snowed in today...the snow yesterday afternoon and by this morning we had around five inches of the white stuff. Mark ventured out in it this afternoon, but not me! I am what you call a big fat snow chicken...I HATE driving/riding when there's slick stuff on the ground.

But I do enjoy looking out the window during and after a good snowstorm...so pretty. SO I hauled my Kenmore to the kitchen table and positioned it so that I could see out the window AND have a clear shot to the tv set as well! Movies and sewing on a snowy day...I love it!

perfect place for snow gazing...or movie watching

This baby quilt top was my project for the day. I actually started cutting on it a while ago, but finally sat down to put it together today. Since I didn't really follow a pattern, I'm actually surprised it turned out as well as it did! The small blocks areDeb Strain Love U(Moda) charm squares that I found on ebay. I still have to find some backing fabric and attempt to machine quilt it(scary), but I am hoping the finished product will be gift-worthy!

And the dog...she LOVES the snow and can't get enough of it! She rings her bell to go outside and then just wants to eat snow and hop around. Silly dog!

I've got the POWER and hey, it's good!

We have electricity! Yay! Although Kenergy has been messin' with us...flickering our lights off and on now that we're home and have a fully stocked fridge once again! Don't even THINK about putting us back in the dark, Kenergy!

I can't say enough how grateful I am to my awesome and most excellent brother for letting us camp out at his house and being the ever gracious host! Despite being displaced for well over a week, it was all good!

But y'all...sleeping in my own bed and padding around my own house can't be beat.