La Jolla

Out of all the places we went while on vacation, La Jolla was my favorite place to visit while in San Diego.

It's pronounced la-hoy-ya but I made the mistake of calling it la-jol-la. Of course laughing ensued as everyone made fun of me.

I continue to mispronounce it. *I like the way it sounds better.*



We drove through the neighborhood but I was only interested in the ocean for the most part. They have a little walkway where you can just walk up and down to see the view.

At one part there is a little place where the sea lions wash up to sunbathe. It's neat but it smells like poop.

You would think with all the water that smell would wash away but it doesn't.



There was something so peaceful about the sound of the ocean and wind. Maybe it's the repetitiveness, maybe it's just mental. Either way, I like it.

Cory thinks I'm not being completely serious when I say I plan to move there. I don't think he realizes I do plan on taking him up on the offer he said of ten years.

I wonder if the other beach cities are like this or if it's only San Diego. I want to live somewhere where the climate is relatively mild compared to Texas.

Giveaway Winner

We've arrived at the fourth week of May. Only one more week left in the weekly blog giveaways for May.

The winner of "Comic Book Women", last week's giveaway is...

Comment number 14!

Congratulations Stephanie!

With all the times you've left a comment on these giveaways I was beginning to wonder if your name was ever going to come up.



Thank you to everyone who entered. There is still one more week for giveaways this month left so keep you eyes peeled!

The next giveaway will be announced tomorrow morning. Edit: Due to my birthday and prepping for my next show I am moving this to next weekend.

The Host

I just finished reading "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with the book. This being her first book written for adults versus teens I didn't have the highest hopes for it.

The book is centered around "Wanda" an alien life form that takes over a human's body for it's host. The human is basically suppose to dissolve away once it takes over but this time the host, Melanie, did not.

Since the aliens adopt all the memories and feelings of the host's loved ones once it takes them over and the story develops into an odd love triangle.

I expected it to be written a little teeny boppery like the Twilight Saga but to my surprise it wasn't. The characters were well thought out with a developed story line. I was pleased with the ending as well though I won't go into that in case you want to read the book.

Long story short, if you liked the Twilight Saga you will like this book. As well as those books, it's a quick short read with vivid imiginative characters.

I didn't realize it until I got to the end of the book and saw the "Bonus Chapter" that this is being made into a movie as well. It will be interesting to see how it comes about since a huge part of the book is a dialogue inside Wanda's head.

The Hamper Monster

I tried to get this posted last night but it got to be too late by the time everything converted and uploaded.

I have no idea where he comes up with his ideas for tormenting the dog. This time I actually thought it pretty funny.

Making Progress

Ah, progress! Is there anything better when you are struggling to get something?

Remember this mess? Yes, that's where I started. The one on the right looks like a cleaned up female version of the elephant man.

I didn't get to do much else because of my arm until this weekend. I swear I am going to cause more problems by trying to cram as much as possible in while it's working with only minor pain but I fear I only have so much time.



Anyway, I started practicing some more and I think I'm making progress. The girl on the left I had a lot of trouble with because I drew her too small for the size brushes I had available. I didn't really have room to shade like I wanted.

The one on the right is my favorite. I love how her eyes turned out!

There is still a long way to go but I think I am really liking this style. I'm not quite following the exact directions of the class but sort of changing it to make it my own style. I'm wondering if that were my problem to begin with.

I think I will add some stitching and some other things here and there to the pages as they don't feel quite finished to me just yet.

May Blog Giveaway - Week 4

The month is almost over but there are still two more blog giveaways you could have a shot at winning.

This week anyone who entered has a chance of winning, not one...not two...but THREE pieces of artwork! "Comic Book Women" was a three piece set geared at - you guessed it - women in comic book.

The Comic Book Women set consists of three 6" x 6" acrylic paintings on wood.

The sides are finished in satin black and the pieces sealed with a high gloss non yellowing triple thick varnish for protection. They come ready to hang or display.


To enter just leave a comment at the bottom of this post before Saturday, May, 22nd!

Want TWO chances to win?

Create a post on your blog or facebook mentioning this giveaway and leave a comment here with the link.

Good luck to all who enter!

Giveaway Winner

Can you believe it's already the third week of May? Time is flying by!

The winner of "Pandora's Box", last week's giveaway was...

Comment number 11! Wait...don't see comment number 11? That's because it was an additional vote added in for someone who posted on Facebook in addition to the blog post.

Comment number 11 belongs to...Rebecca! Congratulations!



Thank you to everyone who entered. There are still two more weeks of giveaways left so keep you eyes peeled!

The next giveaway will be announced Monday morning.

Until then, I'm out. I've got a trip to Austin ahead of me today for the Renegade Craft Fair!

Alas, it wasn't gold

Remember this post from a while back when we had found all the sprinkler heads in the backyard?

We had since given up on them as Cory kept finding broken pieces of pipe in the yard as he was doing yard work.

This month, we are in the process of redoing our front yard. Tonight he started digging up one of the boxwoods by the walkway when he stumbled upon this:


Yep. That's where the controls are suppose to be. It's nothing but a bunch of dirt now.

We always wondered where they were but never found them.

About a year ago I saw a neighbor by us with the same sprinkler set up. Cory didn't believe me when I said they should be right in front of the house. Why does he never listen?

Anyway, our mystery was solved. He's ripping out the empty bin so we can work on our flower beds.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

So today I got officially diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Apparently all the numbness, constant aches and burning, etc. were all pretty common symptoms.

I was glad to hear it! I'd rather have pretty common symptoms of something pretty easy to work on that some strange abnormality no one knows what to do with.

The good news in all of this was the way I have been treating the symptoms (the braces during the day and at night, the ice compresses, exercises, etc.) were things the doctor would have had me begin doing anyway. Due to this, I got to go straight to a cortisone shot instead of being sent away and told to try the those things first.

By the end of the day my pins and needles in my hand were almost gone and the numbness I usually get at night is only pins and needles. The pain in my wrist and arm haven't begun to go away but the doctor said it might take a few days to get the full benefits of the shot. I was kind of expecting to hurt pretty good anyway from all his manhandling.

The bad news is the doctor said since I already have those symptoms (numbness at night and pins and needles during the day) combined with lack of strength in my hand that there is a slim chance I won't have to have surgery. He said the cortisone shot might work for a little bit but it's just a matter of time when it will stop.

At this point, I don't really care. I'll go in and have the surgery tomorrow if it means this mess goes away. Be assured I will be a little more diligent in doing preventative exercises to avoid it coming back!

Can you imagine?!?! In six months I could be able to balance my checkbook, grip my steering wheel, open a jar, and carry average weight grocery bags without the pain that follows. That's not even mentioning I will be able to write, sketch, paint...You have no idea how excited these thoughts make me!

Why was I so stupid to wait this long to get looked at? I have a follow up in a month to decide if we need to proceed any further than the shot.

{Photo by MMG 2003}

WIP Wednesday - Handpainted Magnets

I've been a magnet making machine lately! I was trying to figure out something to do for my shows with a smaller price point to draw people in.

My hang up was that I didn't want it to be a bunch of printed things like bookmarks or cards. I wanted them to be original and handmade.

So these are what I came up with.


I still have a way to go. They still need the resin on them but I have figured a system to create an almost assembly line process.

I'm really please at how they are coming along! So what do you think?

I will have to post the finished results later. I'm thinking I will package them four to a set.

Don't forget about this week's giveaway! There are only two more days to enter. To see what's up for grabs this week, click here.

May Giveaways - Week 3

It's so exciting seeing so many new faces on here! Thank you to everyone for spreading the word!

The piece up for grabs this week is "Pandora's Box".

Pandora's Box is a 5" x 7" original mixed media painting wood burned into a 1/2" thick balsa wood plaque.

The piece was created with acrylic paint, colored pencil, gel pens, creme paint, twinkling H2O's, gold leaf, rhinestone and felt accents, gold leaf and ink. The eyes have been treated to give them a unique 3-d quality.

The sides are finished in satin black and the piece sealed with a non yellowing matte fixative for protection. It comes ready to hang or display.


To enter just leave a comment at the bottom of this post before Saturday, May, 15th!

Want TWO chances to win?

Create a post on your blog or facebook mentioning this giveaway and leave a comment here with the link.

Good luck to all who enter!

Giveaway Winners

Yep, it's plural this week. I didn't get to draw for last week's winner since I was out of town. So without further ado...

The winner of "Janet", last week's giveaway was...

Comment number 5 - Lady Miss Susan!



Wow, I made the Random.org images kind of small. Hope you have your magnifying glass!

The winner of "Blue Eyed Bettie", this week's giveaway is...



Comment number 3 - Kelly!



Thank you to everyone who entered. There are still three more weeks of giveaways left so keep you eyes peeled!

The next giveaway will be announce Monday morning.

We made it back!

Well, Cory and I made it back from San Diego last night safe and sound.

While I was sad to leave it was nice to come back and have absolutely nothing to do. Toward the end of the week we got tired of the constant running.

I forget how much I miss my brother until I see him. He's the one family member I'm closest to.

Unfortunately we didn't get to spend too much time with him due to school. I wish we lived closer so that we can visit each other more often. It was about four years since the last time I saw him.


We did finally get to meet Arin's long time girlfriend Heidi. He's been with her since before his last visit so it was long over due.

They seem to be very good for one another. She's a very sweet girl. She said she's going to look into prices to come down here during Thanksgiving.

I have a ton of pictures to go through of the trip. You'll be sick of seeing them by the time I'm done posting them. Hopefully I got some good ones!

May Giveaways - Week 2

Thank you for everyone who entered the giveaway last week! Not to disappoint this week has another piece up for grabs!

The piece up for grabs this week is "Blue Eyed Betty". Blue Eyed Betty is a 5" x 7" original mixed media painting wood burned into a 1/2" thick balsa wood plaque.

Blue Eyed Betty was created with acrylic paint, colored pencil, gel pens, creme paint, watercolor, tissue paper, gold leaf, paper accents and ink.

The sides are finished in satin black and the piece sealed with beeswax and coated with triple thick varnish to prevent bloom and to protect the piece.

To enter just leave a comment at the bottom of this post before Saturday, May, 8th!

Want TWO chances to win?

Create a post on your blog or facebook mentioning this giveaway and leave a comment here with the link.

Good luck to all who enter!