A Little Free Time...

OK, so it has been a while since my last post. What can I say, I have been swamped. Now I know that is a crappy excuse, but it is true (cross my heart and all that jazz). With that said, I do have a few more posts already planned!

Anyway, I have had a little bit of extra time on my hands recently and also had a couple of presents that I wanted to finish up for my manager and regional manager. Here is what happens when I have a little bit of time on my hands.

Here is a pansy that I painted in Watercolor and is 5x7. The flower are shades of purple, and the background colors are Windsor yellow and ultramarine, which is a blue. I framed it in a simple black frame with a dark green and black mat. I painted this for my manager whose favorite flower is a pansy and favorite color is purple.

Here is a rose that I painted in Watercolor for my regional manager. The flower is shades of yellow. It was difficult to shade with the same color, so I not only used varying shades of yellow but also used a mix of ultramarine and brown madder. The leaves were a mix of sap green and Windsor yellow. I used varying shades of this mixture for the leaves. The shadow was made y first making the paper wet then placing a small amount of the Windsor yellow and allowing the color to spread only in the dampened area. While the area was still wet, I then placed a small amount of ultramarine and allowed it to spread in the same manner. By layering the colors rather than mixing them first, you are able to see just slightly the yellow, green, and blue colors rather than a solid green. I framed it without a mat in a simple 5x7 black frame. I painted this picture for my regional manager whose favorite flower is a yellow rose.

I hope these paintings and hope that they are the first of many pictures painted this year. I am not going to go so far as to say that this is one of my New Year's resolutions because I never seem to be able to carrying my resolutions through the whole year. I start out great but seem to falter at some point in time during the year.

A Piece of Cake!

Well, how about this?! Two posts in one month! Stop the presses!!

As promised, here are a couple of photos of C's birthday cake from her 13th, yes 13th, birthday! I can't believe she is officially a teenager. Every year, I always decorate C and H's birthday cakes. They pick what they want, within reason, and I decorate the cake they pick out. I have some rules for the kids while they are contemplating what to pick to have on their cakes. The picture cannot have a lot of colors. It also has to be a clear picture that I can work from and not be too terribly detailed because we are talking frosting after all. (I am no "Ace of Cakes!") Well, the cake that my daughter chose was chocolate. The picture she wanted on it was from a cartoon that she watches on the Cartoon Network called Naruto. The character from that cartoon that she chose is named Sasuke. The first picture she showed me was nearly all black and dark blues and was not a very good picture to work from, so we looked and looked and finally found the one that I used for her cake. This cake was not an easy one, let me tell you. It took me over two hours to decorate, which does not include the time it took me to get the frosting colors right!

So, for better or worse, here is the cake. I really hope that you like it!

Balancing Act...

I am still alive, just in case anyone was wondering. I have been super busy with a LOT going on lately. I am still selling lia sophia jewelry, but recently I got a very good job with U.S. Bank as a Project Manager. I LOVE my new job!! I am making more than I was when I left my last job. I get three weeks vacation next year. I am a salaried employee, okay that may not exactly be a plus since I don't get paid overtime. I started at a higher class/job level than I was at in my last job. I am in a satellite location. My boss is in Ohio. The BEST part of my new job is that I am able to work from home when I need to! If my kids are sick or I am sick, I can work from home! How cool is that?!!!

Last weekend my husband and I moved yet again! There was a moment this last summer when we were going to move back to Montana, but my new job changed those plans. We moved back into the school district that my kids have been in since moving to Oregon. YUCK! I hate moving, although this time we had help and my husband was actually here!! woo hoo!! We are now in an actual house again, not a townhouse, and have a yard for the kids to play in!

Well, hopefully as things settle down, I get all unpacked, and we get into a nice routine again, I will be able to post more often and maybe I will even have some new art or poetry to post!

I'm So Proud!!!

My ten year old son plays baseball, and this year was his first year in minors league. He played third base. His last game was last Friday and closing ceremonies was on Sunday. They announced All-Stars at closing ceremonies, and my son made it on the All-Star team his first year out!!! He was so excited. His name was the first name that was called, and the members of his team at the closing ceremonies all cheered for him. The best part of it all was that his dad was there to see it! I am so proud of him. He really proved himself this year and definitely deserves to be an All-Star.

The tournament starts next weekend and will run for two weekends. If they win, they will move on, otherwise their season will be done. For us, our baseball season lives on, at least for now. I personally don't care whether or not they win or lose as long as they have fun!

Still Here....

I am still here, but I have been extremely busy the last several weeks. I have been working very hard on getting my lia sophia business up and running. I am pleased to say that I have had a few shows with more booked!! I have also been doing some office work for a realtor friend of mine. Finally, I have been covering as Office Manager for a local bar and grille, which ended last week unless they call me back again.

Besides all the jobs that I have been doing, I have also been working on a picture for my Dad, which always seems to get put on the back burner when I get busy. Unfortunately, I am running out of time on this picture and have to get it done in the next couple of weeks. My son's baseball season has also started, so I have had more running around to do.

Calgon take me away!! Hopefully, as things settle down, I will be able to blog more. (There is just not enough time in a day!)

Ready, Set, GO!!!

I want all of you to be among the first to know about my exciting new adventure!

I recently joined lia sophia as an Independent Jewelry Advisor. I am thrilled to be part of a company that offers beautiful, high-quality jewelry, an incredible lifetime replacement guarantee, and great prices.

In the month of February, lia sophia is running a super special! When you buy two or more items at regular price, you have the opportunity to purchase the same amount of items at HALF price. The BEST part is that your half-priced items can even be the most expensive items!

I had my Starter Show in January, and it was a complete success. I was worried that I would not have anyone at my party and would not get any orders, but I am happy to say that I was wrong.

Since my Starter Show, I have been busy getting organized and ready to begin holding my own shows. I had to get some jewelry displays, practice, practice, practice my presentation, gather the essential items like pens and calculators, and start up my own website!

lia sophia is so versatile! lia sophia can be worn anywhere from the PTA meeting, to the soccer or baseball game, to that romantic night out with the one you love, or even on your wedding day! There is something for everyone and every occasion! I love this jewelry, even before I started selling it. Every time I look at the catalog, my wish list grows! You should take a look and start your Wish List today! I invite you all to take a look at my website

http://www.liasophia.com/sites/jewelryuwilllove

and contact me to book a show. Yes, you read correctly, book a show! You can host an ALL ONLINE show! It is as easy as sending out an email because your guests can look through the catalog and place their orders right from their computers! How COOL is that?!

Come be surprised by the beauty and affordability of lia sophia!

My Earliest Memory - Talk Thursday

My friend Cele invited me to participate in Talk Thursday. This week's topic is "My Earliest Memory." I have a couple of memories from when I was little, maybe three or four years old.

The first memory involves my brother. We were arguing in our front yard. I am not sure what about. He may have been picking on me. He dared me to say the "F" word, so I did but not before my Mom heard me say it. Well, I don't have to tell you that she was not very happy. When I told her that my brother made me do it, he got in big trouble. I think he ended up getting grounded. I distinctly remember him watching me play outside from the front window, and I remember waving to him. I know it was not nice, but hey, what are little sisters for!!

The other memory that I have is from my Mom and Dad's grocery store. My parents bought the store when I was three years old. I basically grew up in that store. I spent every weekend and every summer at that store. I remember when I was really little that my Mom used to let me ring up newspapers. Newspapers were the only things I was allowed to ring up because they cost 25 cents, and I knew what a quarter was. I had to kneel on the counter that the groceries would be set on after being taken from the carts and only then could I reach the till to ring up the newspapers. Thankfully, the customers were very nice and patient! At the time, I thought it was great fun, boy what the heck was I thinking!!