I have a very, very stupid dog.
He gets dumber every day.

He sits when I say to come,
and he runs when I yell "Stay!"

I have a very, very stupid dog,
so I'll take care of him forever.

But maybe instead of stupid,
that makes him very, very clever.

I have a lazy, lazy dog. She never moves at all.
She sleeps all day, then all night, never coming when I call.

I have a lazy, lazy dog. She just lays there all the day.
But she really is quite well behaved if I tell her, "Stay!"




Yesterday I had a wonderful day with my babies. Sophie made me lunch and served it to me. Noah made himself a sandwich and ate it next to me. Then he vacuumed and put laundry away. What more could a mother ask for?? All I wanted to do yesterday was hang out with the kids. So we all just lounged, watched some tv, hung out on the deck, Sophie and I ran to the store and got frisbees, balls, etc to play outside and had fun playing catch trying to get to the balls we missed before the dogs did.

I would have pictures, but I left my camera up in Athens when Best Boyfriend Ever visited this lovely lady and her hubbie and new baby. Her baby is officially the CUTEST BABY EVER and for the first time in a looong time my ovaries said, "Hey! Let's make one of those!!" To which I promptly responded, "Hey, you two down there, shutuppa your faces!" and then had a shot of tequila to keep 'em quiet. Seriously, she is mushy and cute and has those thighs you just wanna gnaw on and she SMILES that devilishly cute smile that makes people without children that are thinking about having one think, "Oh my gosh! Look how cute, honey! They look like so much fun and I know, let's have one!!" And then you go home and that baby looks at her mom and says, "Phew, it was hard being so cute and charming all day. Now for some reality. I just pooped again even though you just changed me and oh, and by the way, I don't plan on sleeping until Tuesday and I plan on crying for the next two hours about nothing in particular. Have fun!"

But really, this baby could be the exception to the rule. Ya know why? Cause she can sleep through Rock Band. Yuh huh. Right in her little pack and play next to me screaming my little heart out that, yes indeed, "I'm a Cowboy" along with Bon Jovi. So yeah, I am totally addicted to Rock Band! Even though I failed out on all three instruments except for the singing (which I TOTALLY got over 90% on over and over again) so I got sing the whole time!! Woohoo!! I love me some Rock Band. I think I know what I will be doing with my stimulis money from Uncle Sam. Screw the patio furniture we were going to get. Cause I'm a cowboy and cowboys need to rock!

Man, oh man! Do you know when you have a big ol' happy secret but you can't tell anyone yet??? Well, that is me right now. Yesterday I had a meeting with a company before work and we hammered out all the details in the contract for a project we have been discussing for the past couple months. We are all very happy with the agreement and so today I get to get started on this project!! I can't say anymore than that yet, but soon, SOON. But SO. SO. EXCITING!!! It is hard to concentrate on my work at WORK right now, but I have an annual report that ain't gonna design itself. I will write more later, but just had to put this out there into the universe because I am so very, very grateful for this new opportunity and that I get to put my art into the world again on a level that I had hoped and dreamed for, but never really knew would happen. Hard work, hard work, hard work, with a sprinkle of luck. I promise to let you in on it the second I know I can! Later taters!

From bottom to top Muffin, Baily, Lucy, Rufus and Barker McBark-Bark

Muffin
Three little girls getting to name their brand new doggie is how a scruffy junk-yard dog saved from his last day at the shelter gets a name like Muffin. Muffin was as much a part of our family as any dog could be. My parents taught me that a dog is not just an animal. It is a family member that you take care of, love, cuddle and do whatever you need to for - they are to be taken care of as if you would any member of the family. Muffin let us dress him up in doll clothes, he sat in at several tea parties, he jumped up for the bone eleventy gazillion times in a row and would do it one more time if we wanted. He was my dad's faithful running companion for many years. We used to let him out at night and he would return every morning. We never knew where he went (this was way before leash laws) but he came back every morning. I used to imagine with my 8 year old imagination that he went off to meet his other doggie friends for a night out on the town. I pictured him leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette (this was way before we knew about cancer) in a little leather jacket talking to his pals. He was kinda the James Dean of dogs. He was COOL. He also had the luck of the devil. He got hit by a car once and survived. He limped back to our house and my parents found him and rushed him to the hospital. He lost a toe, but other than that, was ok. The vets did try to save the toe, but it didn't take. I imagine my parents were paying off that damned toe saving surgery for a loooong time. While I think they would have said don't worry about the toe, they told the doctor to do whatever needed to be done to save Muffin. And they did. I will never forget when he came home from the hospital after that and I cried in my room afterwards where no one could see me because I hadn't realized how scared I was that he might die. Lord, I loved that dog. The first one can never really be replaced. He made it to 15 years old, but he may have been older. We are not sure how old he was when we got him. Boy, did we lvoe Muffin.


Baily
Next is Baily. Also known as Baily-Baily Big Butt. She knows it was a term of endearment! She loved to get up on your lap and just STAY THERE. She liked her hair long and in her eyes. If you put it up in a bow, she acted mortified. She really did. When she came back from the groomer she would hide until you took the stupid pink bow out. I guess she was more a tomboy dog. Heh. She was scared of the lightening and all flashes of light - like from a camera. It would make her pee on the spot. So if we heard a storm coming we had to find a dark room for her to go in or make sure she went potty really fast. And we all screamed "Noooo!" if anyone was about to take her picture. She was a sweetheart of a dog and we all get sad when we mention Baily at my mom and dad's house. She was only 10 when she passed away and I think we all get a sad/happy feeling whenever we see sheepdogs. Baily-Baily Big Butt was the sweetest, most cuddliest dog ever. EVER.

Lucy
Next is my Lucy Goosy. She is so special because she is my first dog as an adult. She was 11 months old when we got her, but was so calm I was sure she was older. The kids were only 2 and 4 so they have grown up with her. She is a pretty blond lab shepherd mix and has the sweetest disposition ever. Unless you are Rufus and she has decided you are stupid. Unless you are Skyler and have forgotten that LUCY is the dog in charge. Otherwise? Sweet as pie! She is my baby. She sheds like no other and she is lucky I fell in love with her before finding out we could fill a pillow a day on just her shedding alone. Dog hair is a way of life in my house. It's just the deal. Lucy is healthy and happy and will be 10 this October. She will never get old and she will never die. EVER. She won't, so just shut up. Heh. I love my Lucy. This painting of her is the one that began this whole pet portrait madness. Besides my kids, whose births awoke the artist inside me, Lucy is my muse. None of this would have happened without her. I loves the Lucy Goosy.

Rufus
Next is Rufus. I wanted to get Lucy a playmate. We tried out an Australian Shepherd named Cocoa first. But she was way more alpha than Lucy and we could not make it work. One mother's day I was working an art festival and an animal rescue. The people working knew I was looking for a partner for Lucy. They told me to go look at the big Lab/Newfie mix in the back. I went into his kennel and went to pet him. He stood up on his hind legs and put his giant paws gently on my shoulders and licked the tip of my nose. I was done. Smitten. And I think that was the last smart thing that dumb dog ever did. Cause I fell in love with a dog that ATE A COUCH. Oh yes, three weeks later we ran out for 45 minutes. We came home to the Great Couch Massacre of 2003. There was fluff and upholstery EVERYWHERE. The couch was stripped to the wood frame. That stupid dog was sitting right in the middle of it all with fluff still sticking out of his jowls, with his tongue hanging out just happy as a clam. Lucy was cowering in the corner looking all "I do not know what the hell he was doing!! I had NOTHING to do with it! He just went CRAZY!!!" I would love to say that was the last thing he ever ate. But that would be a big fat lie. I still remember the most perfect brand new shoes I got to wear ONE time before he ate them. Stupid dog. But still, he's so stupid you just have to love him. And he adores me. See, if Rufus was a man, he would be the kind of man that would go to the store and get tampons for you even if that as the ONLY thing you asked him to get, AND not care what anyone thought AND come home with three different brands of them just to make sure he got the right kind AND have a bottle of red wine, Midol and the EXPENSIVE chocolates. So yeah, he loves me. The kids call him by boyfriend cause he follows me everywhere. But still, not the sharpest tool in the box. We all love Rufus Goofus even though we all know he rides the short bus.


Skyler
Finally is Barker McBark-Bark, also known as the loudest dog EVER, and Skyler. She is the newest addition and loves, loves, LOVES to protect us. She is all macho and tough and will 'TAKE YOU DOWN, DUDE!' She was stuck in her kennel when we got broken into on New Year's Eve and boy are they LUCKY! There is not a falling leaf safe from being detected at our house! She is on it! She is super sweet and sooo pretty. She has been trying since last October to make friends with Lucy, who will tolerate her at best. Every once in a while Lucy will grant her the privilege of playing with her, but you never know when Lucy will be OVER it, so Skyler is very tentative. Cause one false move and Lucy is all, "Don't touch me, I hate you!!" So mostly Miss Barker plays with Rufus who tries to hump her head as much as he can. (I told you he was dumb.) She can play with Rufus until Lucy decides Rufus is hers. Then she is all "Don't touch him, I hate you!" But I loves me some Skyler. And now that she doesn't sleep in the kennel anymore, I DARE anyone to get close to this house for a break in or ANYTHING else. She will let us know, oh yes she will! And we will know every time anyone one ever has the nerve to walk past our house, drive by our house or LOOK at our house.

So there ya have it. My life in dogs. Maybe now you know why I am crazy.

Ok, I do not think I can overstate the AWESOMENESS that was last night. We left to go to the concert sometime around 6pm to catch the train and got home sometime after losing my voice from screaming my lil' heart out for my Jon Jon and having some mighty fine food at the Waffle House after. Just LOOK at how much fun this was!! Can you believe my Jon Jon threw all this just for lil' ol' me??? I know! I tell him all the time he is far too extravagant. But he just won't stop. (And we pretty much had suicide mission seats, they were so far away, so thank you God for digital cameras with awesome ZOOM.) So I got my Jon Jon fix for now and Best Boyfriend Ever has no more competition. Until his next tour...























And then as if all that wasn't enough, he turned to me, pointed and sang JUST TO ME. Oh yes he did! For reals! Totally swear! See:

Last night I got to go to my first meeting with a critique group for SCBWI. I just joined in April. The irony that I had to GET a full time job in order to finally pursue my dreams is not lost on me. It is pretty funny actually. But when you freelance, you take any job that pays that comes along. And that unfortunately means that the things you WANT to do, not NEED to do get put on the back burner. Now that I don't stress all day long about money and actually have some in the bank and know that more is on the way, I can work on my own art. And as crazy as it is, I have been doing just that. I have two agents interested in one of my children's picture books. Sure, they might see it and reject it, but still they asked to see it. By the way, I have to say, the sting of rejection gets less and less. And actually I got such a nice rejection a little while back that I think they get NICER too. The critique group seemed to like my work a lot and that was very encouraging. I am still waiting on one agent and mailing out a packet today to another. Today I am meeting with a lawyer about a contract for something that I can't mention yet, but if we can manage to work out all the legalities will keep me VERY busy for a while. But it will be so much fun so I cannot wait to get at it.

For the first time in such a long time I feel like I am actually living my life instead of playing the "if only" game. You know, the one that goes, "If only I could have some free time to do my own art I'd be happy." "If only I could find an agent, I'd be happy." "If only I could be published, I'd be happy."*** And so on and so on. I am enjoying the process. I am happy right NOW. Rejections or not. I am even enjoying the time lag that it takes in this business. Nothing, NOTHING happens fast in publishing or manufacturing. Honestly, I admit it is easier because I don't have to worry about money anymore. I am the first to admit that I am shocked at how happy having this job makes me. I know I've said this before, but if you had told me that I would happy, happy, HAPPY to go to work at an office everyday for 8 hours, I would have thought you had drank the Kool Aid. I had this idea in my head that a full time job meant failure. It meant I had given up, that I had not 'made it" and that my dreams were over. Funny how the exact opposite has happened. I love that my nights and weekends are mine to focus on my work or to do nothing at all. My dreams are more alive and more in progress than ever before. And that is pretty sweet.

Again, I have said this all before I am sure, so I will stop now, but I am still in awe of how when we let go of trying to control HOW it happens, and let it just be, things work out somehow. Trusting and believing is a powerful thing, even if it is so very hard to do. Ok, enough! Besides, I need to show you my Friday picture! With flip flops!! I am looking forward to an evening of sitting out on the deck with the dogs enjoying the amazing Georgia weather with Best Boyfriend Ever and maybe a dirty martini to sip on. Too lovely to be inside for sure!





***This awesome wisdom was first said by Nathan.

I am working on formatting an incredibly fascinating commencement program. What says FUN more than tabbing 800-plus names in a program? Not much, says I! (Perhaps maragritas on a patio with some nice toasty chips and a zesty salsa and side of queso, but tabbing names is a VERY close second people. You need to trust me on this.) The life of a graphic designer is glamorous and exotic - and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are LIAR-HEADS.

Last night was so much fun. The Braves KILLED the Nationals, so it was not exactly a nail-biter, but there was some coolio plays and at least the game was a blowout in our favor. And besides, with seats like ours, there was no way it could be bad. Cause we were SO CLOSE to cute baseball player butts! For the record, baseball players are THE sexiest athletes. So. Yummy! (They are by no menas in the same league as my boyfriend, Jon Bon Jovi, but still, they get major YUM points!) So, how close were these cute boys' butts? THIS CLOSE:





Now, I had no time yesterday as I ended up having a 3 HOUR MEETING in which I think I died and came back to life just in time to realize I have a whole lot of work ahead of me and NO TIME for blogging. (Again, a designer's life is something to be jealous of, for sure.) So I need to show you scenes from the weekend. See, Best Boyfriend Ever and I have this awesome deck and backyard. And now that it is warm, we spend every second possible on the back deck and life is AWESOME. So Friday night we had a houseful of kids, my best friend, a pack of dogs, and we chilled on the deck with some wine for me and my friend and beer and cigars for the man. We started out in the daylight and hung until it got dark and the pizza man had come and gone. The kids were in and out all night long and so were the dogs. If life can get any better than mine, I would just feel like I was way too spoiled. (Oh, and it should be noted that while I crush on sexy ballplayers and Jon BonJovi, Best Boyfriend Ever is the keeper. He is for sure the real deal and I don't plan on letting him go. EVER. He is perfect and MINE. And his YUM factor is through the roof. Not to mention he lets me crush on sexy ballplayers and secretly date major rock stars. Cause he's cool like that.)


So anyway here are some scenes from the Friday:

GLADIATOR STICK BATTLE!! I found this giant stick and got the dogs to battle it out in an epic gladiator battle! The stick was huge, the dogs battled mightily. But alas, in the end, there could only be one true victor of the BIG STICK.









Luckily, no grudges were held by the other contestants.





Much fun was had by dogs, kids, and adults alike. Even despite the now infamous phone in the Sprite scenario, which had wide-reaching ramifications in other parts of my life that I won't get into. So, did the giggling child get into much trouble? Did he get grounded? Does he have to pay for the phone? Well, said child actually felt terrible, awful, horrible about it. And he offered to pay for the new phone himself. How cute! I suppose with monopoly money or Wii points? But still - he OFFERED. That, plus when you see scenes this cute, how can you not tell terrible feeling kid that it's ok? Does it get any cuter?!?!


Ok, you can all say it with me now, "AWWWWWW..." and see? Sucker Mom.....

Had an awesome child-filled weekend. Lots of sleep over guests, lots of noise, many pizzas, a cake and some cupcakes, and one cell phone that landed in a glass of Sprite much to the delight of the many 9-11 year olds. I think they giggled for a WHILE before they fished it out and I heard, "Quick! Dry it off! Fast! Don't tell mom!"

Um, yeah, Mom has a cool new phone now. One that takes pictures! "Hello 2008, Michelle is here to join you!" That was Friday night.

Then on Saturday, Best Boyfriend Ever and I took Sophie and her sweetie friend to the Egyptian exhibit at Emory to look at the mummies! Sophie is SO into archeaology and getting to see real live mummies, wait, real DEAD mummies was the coolest! They got some books and some scarabs to wear. Too fun. I am about to leave for a Braves game and we have second row behind the first base dugout! Woohoo!! Look for me on tv!

Here are a few pics of the girls. They look like they could be sisters! How cute are they???

Hey y'all! It's Friday! So you know what that means? Time for some Friday LOVE! I am wearing flip flops today!! At work! With little palm trees on them!! How much does my work rock? Yeah, THAT much. And I get here a good 40 minutes before anyone esle so i can take pictures like THIS:



(Yes, I know how weird I am, my older sister pointed that out after reading my last post. I still say she is just jealous of my rocker love.)



And my night is going to be even MORE fun! I get to paint tonite!! Woohoo! I am working on 5 mini pet portrait commissions right now. I just realized that I changed the homepage of my site to show my book and never put my minis back anywhere. With the economy SUCKING and gas prices RIDICULOUS and have you SEEN the price of milk and chicken? Thank god my kids like cheap processed food!(kidding!) Let's just say the ol' pet portrait market is suffering. I mean, I have to understand that food and gas must be bought before lil' Fido and Fifi can be immortalized forever in a super dupery cute painting style.

But. BUT! My mini paintings are only $25 each. That's right folks! For just the price of a gallon of milk or one third a tank of gas, you too can have a pet portrait! Complete with easel and everything! And when I am rich and famous just THINK how much it will be worth! $25 today could send your kid to college in a few short years! it could buy you that beach house you have always been wanting. It could send you on the year long trip around the world! What? Did you just snicker?? Hey! I see you rolling your eyes! What was that??? Oh, yes I HAVE taken my meds today! Fine, I am just trying to help you make an investment in your future. When you see my name on the New York Times bestseller list and you are smacking your head like you forgot to drink your vegetable juice, don't say I didn't try to help you out. For reals. Just take a look. Cuteness abounds. Your kid's future could depend on it. So if you really love your kids or want to ensure your retirement, you should contact me (michelle@abeytacreative.com) for more info. I'm really just looking out for YOU. Just sayin'...

As if PARIS isn't enough, in just 15 days my boyfriend is coming to visit me!!!! Woohoo!! And get this, he rented out the entire Phillips Arena in downtown Atlanta and invited thousands of people just to come see him sing to me! That's right folks, my Jon Jon is coming to serenade me. And I have been practicing in the car non-stop to make sure I can sing right along with him as he croons his sweet songs into my ears. That crazy guy, he wants to keep us on the down low so he formulated this crazy scheme of having a wife and kids to keep everyone from knowing. And just to keep up the charade, I got myself a Best Boyfriend Ever, some kids, a pack of dogs and a fish. Ya know, just so it LOOKS like we have these other lives. But really? He loves ME. Just listen to his lyrics some time, "I want to lay you down in a bed of roses," "I've got nothing to prove for it's you I'd die to defend" "Is there anybody out there looking for a party!?" Clearly, he is writing just to me. The whole touring thing? Yup, all those other dates are just to get to me. This is what is REALLY going on in his head when he is on stage... Yuh, huh!

Don't know why I bother planning anything. Nothing ever turns out like you think. Yesterday was still awesome, but far more hectic than I had anticipated. Mostly my day was working from the computer while trying to juggle straightening the house before The Soph's tutor came (check), getting the kids to do their chores (check), getting files to the printer in time (check), getting that freelance project finished up before we leave today (not a check, but today, for SURE). Yesterday I needed files on my home computer and on my work laptop. Since my work laptop got stolen (and government jobs take FOREVER to replace things, like say, the TOOL you use EVERY DAY. Ahem. No, I am not complaining, it is totally reasonable to take 4 MONTHS to replace an object. Damn paperwork. Do you really wonder why we are still in that damn war? OIL? Hell no, we just can't get the paperwork through. I bet the order to pull out the troops was 2 years ago but the paper work is still stuck on some IT guys desk under his some stack of papers he has forgotten about because he is so busy calling all the goverment employees back every day to tell them what their forgotten password is. AGAIN. But I digress.) I am using an old one we had but one that has a cracked screen. When I am at work we get to hook up to a nice huge 20" screen, so it is no big deal. At home? Kinda a big deal. There is a huge black streak running across it. A bit hard to design on, but me? I'm a trooper. So I took it into my office and worked on both all day long. But I would look at one screen and type on another. Or use the mouse of one and think it was not working when nothing happened on the other screen. Yeah. I'm not the sharpest tack in the box, let's just say. (You do NOT want me to be the IT guy, the war would NEVER end.) So I drove myself slowly insane as the day wore on and when 5pm came, I was DONE. I have a printer coming by the house to drop off proofs for a magazine today and I am praying whole heartedly to the printing gods that everything looks good and it is set to get on press Tuesday. PLEASE Printing Gods, I sacrifice this cyan toner cartridge on your behalf.

Here is what my day pretty much looked like yesterday:





So yesterday had no time for pics. Best Boyfriend Ever surprised us and came home early to cut the lawn. YAY! It looks so nice and the cut grass smell put me in an extra happy mood for the rest of the day. I played with Sophie for a bit then ran Noah to Blockbuster to rent a game. Why? Because I am not a Soccer Mom, noooo, I am a Sucker Mom. I am too lenient. There I said it. I am Such. A. Push. Over. My son comes up to me and gives me a huge hug, tells me he loves me and give me that big goofy grin. And off we go to the store. So sad. I know. Don't bother telling me. I'm not winning any best parenting awards any time soon, I know.

Later that night with Noah happily playing something or other, me and the Soph trumped Best Boyfriend Ever to buy Enchanted on On Demand. We all cuddled up on the couch eating popcorn and, hello, BLISS! And oh my gosh!!! Seriously, I don't care if it is politically correct or not, and I am sure that there are women all over the world pissed off about this movie, but lordee it was ADORABLE. It was so cute and funny. For reals. Boyfriend must have rolled his eyes, oh, I don't know eleventy billion times, but me? I say, Mr. McDreamy, you can come save me any day! (Actually, there was a twist where she saves HIM at the end and that was cute.) But for the most part it is a feel good kid friendly movie that has a happily ever after ending and I love those. This world is way too mean and cynical for me and what the hell is so wrong with happily ever after anyway? I am a rose colored girl that adores the happy endings. So sue me. LOVED IT.

And boyfriend and I went to bed at abut 11pm and I let the kids stay up a bit late since this was the last night I would let them before school began again. This morning I woke up with a present from Sophie. An oragami flower taped to my door. Happy fairy tale endings to the night, happy mornings to wake up to... does it get any better?







Took the dogs out with my morning coffee and watched them run around like crazy, um, well, dogs. I swear I can hear them laughing in my head they are so happy when they get out there and get to play. I think they love the warm weather just as much as me. Do they make doggie flip flops? Hmmm....







So this morning I need to get a poster revision done and some car decals finished for a client to proof. Then I have to get this freelance web job done before we leave. Luckily I can do the laundry WHILE I do all this. Yay for working at home. I'll tale pictures from the trip. Promise! Cause I know y'all just live to see what I post next! Right? Um...right? Leave me and my delusions of grandeur alone. You still read this, right mom and dad? Mom? Dad? Sigh.... I do it for my fans in Turkey. They love me. Shut up. Yes they DO. heh.

Life is good. my babies are back home. I arranged with work to work from home today and tomorrow so I could be with them. Tomorrow we are going to spend the weekend with my parents and celebrate the end of spring break along with my dad's birthday. Yay! for celebrations! I try to find as many things to celebrate as possible. Every day preferably. Yesterday when I picked up the kids we went to Dairy Queen and celebrated seeing each other again after 10 days. With soft serve vanilla and sprinkles and oreo blizzards. Yum! Then we went to Borders and Sophie got a huge book about Egypt for only $9.99, on sale for $29.99!! It is filled with the most amazing pictures. She is totally into archaeology right now and that is all she wants to know about. (I figure anything I can do to veer her away from the ridiculous idea of being an artist for a living I am more than willing to do!! I jest, I kid... not really. Kidding! Sort of.) We were then on a mission for Noah to find the Calvin and Hobbs book I had found at another Borders last week that was only $5.99 but I could not get a hold of him to ask him if he had it already. We never did find it again, but he found a Garfield one he wanted. It was a bit pricey at $14.95, but listening to a too cool for school almost 12 boy that pretty much thinks everybody in the world is a dork, giggle out loud all night long while he read it and say, "Hey Mom, read THIS one!" made it totally worth it. I LOVE to hear that little boy turning too quickly into a teenager laugh. (If I thought any of his friends read this blog I would not have just written that, but I am pretty sure my audience is NOT 11 and 12 year old boys whose soul mission is to keep on top of exactly which Mario Kart game is coming out on which system and on which day.)

Anyway, I will take pictures later to celebrate today and post them cause today is AWESOME. Being at home with my kids and dogs. Best Boyfriend Ever bought a lawnmower last night to cut our jungle, er, LAWN and so tonite promises to be filled with the scent of fresh cut grass on a spring day warm enough for flip flops. FLIP FLOPS! There! As if there was not ENOUGH to celebrate today, now we have flip flop weather again! I know God loves me because he gave someone the idea for flip flops. What says Higher Power and unconditional love more than color coordinated footware for $5 and under?!?! Proof enough for me, I say.

Ok, off to work!

From the current issue of Doggie Aficianado's Spring 2008 issue...








Hoping to have a really fun announcement very soon about a project that has been in the works and in the final stages right now!

(cause ya know, I need more excitement than PARIS! Did I mention that I was going to PARIS? No? Well I am! THE Paris! the one in FRANCE!



um, maybe I am a wee excited...

Just finished buying our tickets to Berlin and Paris. CAN. NOT. WAIT. More tomorrow. In a few short months I will be kissing Best Boyfriend Ever on top of here:




Oh. Yeah.

I decided to paint all weekend. I have not painted in a while, and decided I wanted to paint doodles I was drawing during the week. Mostly during meetings or on the phone. All of my notebooks, planners, sketchbooks are covered in doodles. Of dogs, cats, penguins, an alligator here and there... Some are from scenes from children's books in progress in my head and make it onto paper, some are just scenes that pop into my head and must be put on paper or else they are all I think about all day long.

So here is what I painted this weekend. And like always, painting is what I love to do most in the world. It calms me. And my style is meticulous. These paintings are small, no taller than 4 inches on one side, but they take a lot of time. I use many, many coats to get them as opaque as I do. I hate to see a hint of white from the canvas. In a weird way, the saturation of color calms me. And the outlines? Making everything "just so" and finishing it up with nice tight edges? Better than any anti-anxiety medicine there could be out there! Truly, based on my style you would think I would be a neat freak. But just to take these pictures, I had to dust off the layer of dog hair on my dining room table unless I wanted to actually document my UN-neat-freakness...Which I don't. So here they are:





This one is for Best Boyfriend Ever, who worries about every possible way ANYTHING can go wrong. Which it never does. And I try to tell him what ever doom and gloom he thinks up will NEVER happen, but he still takes precautions. As a girl who leaps and looks after she realizes she has no parachute, we are a good team and even each other out. I have become a bit more of a planner and he has become a bit more of a risk-taker. But while I was painting and we were discussing an upcoming trip (that needs it's OWN entry, I am SO excited!!) he came up with some scenario about how the trip could be DOOMED and I told him his "What If Monster" needs to go take a nap because he is bugging the ever-loving crap out of me and he is NOT going to ruin my dream trip! So I painted him and boyfriend took him to work today to remind himself that the "What If Monster" is really very teeny tiny and he can stand up to him any time he wants!





This is just a lil' alligator that crept onto my sketchbbok page while I was in a meeting about, um, er, um, prolly something I should remember, but this little guy charmed me too much to pay attention...




This is a scene from a children's book I am working on. I have a "Be Brave" print that I have printed and sold well from another illustration of it. In the book Little Dog is off to face his fear and cross the water in search of his dream. Little Mouse is the encouraging friend that bids "Good luck and be brave!" I love how the paintings work together and think prints could be really cute.




My polar bear needed a friend. And this little penguin appeared along with the alligator during the same meeting.




I sketched this a while ago for a study for a prototype painting for another book concept. I ended up not using it, but I loved the angle so I keep sketching it from time to time and decided it needed to be painted. And I had painted so much blue this weekend, the little pup needed some hot pink!



I think I might put these up for sale on etsy, or make prints. Or both. We'll see. I would love for my little doodles to have homes that love them.

This week has not been filled with very much smiling. A lot of trying not to cry and crying quietly right before I go to bed. Not my most favorite few days of my life. (calling people names is really, really mean)So today I am focusing on happy, smile-y things...





This is a design that Sophie made and we painted on her wall. She is very into skulls. She REALLY wanted to paint her wall black - ya know, cause that's COOL. This was the compromise. (taken with the Hannah Montana camera)




Good lord, look at that sweet face. you would never be able to tell that she can drive you INSANE. (She let's us know by barking VERY loudly again and again and again if someone is about to break into our house. And when the wind blows. And when a leaf falls. And when a flower blooms. And when the sun changes direction in the sky.)




Good friends rock. They are there to pick up a kid when you are running late, tell you that you don't look fat, and have a beer at the local pub and look for cute boys. (for her, not me...I'm TAKEN. But he lets me help her look cause he's cool like that.) This is us with our "fierce" look. Cause we're cool like that. heh.





Yellow flowers just make me happy. So I bought some of these for myself yesterday. Yay for happy flowers!

Makes you all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?

This is pretty much any given moment in their lives. No two children love to makes each other's lives as irritating as they possibly can. And I mean that. Sincerely. If they even get the HINT that something will bug the crap out of the other, they will be sure to go out of their way to do it. Again. And again. And again. Oh, and AGAIN. Until I hit my breaking point which comes right after the following few sentences, "Guys? Mom is about to lose it. Mom is about to get LOUD. You don't like me when I get loud, do you?"

And pretty much that ends the current battle with one of them getting one last smack, kick, bump before they run away. But sometimes? Every once in a while they simply CANNOT help themselves getting high off of the irritation they are causing the other and despite the ominous third person warning from mom, they continue. Now, in general, I am a pretty calm person. I don't raise my voice that often. But when I lose it? It is like a movie and the room gets dark, my eyes turn red my skin turns green and my voice gets deep and scary and I BELLOW. The dogs hide. The sun goes dark. The boyfriend finds somewhere else to be. The children shudder.

And as quick as it came, it is over. The kids stop fighting. They scurry upstairs to their rooms to which they have been banished until I say they can come back down. The sun comes back out, the dogs peer tentatively around the corner and the boyfriend returns. I usually I make them stay up there for half an hour, they have to apologize to each other, they have to hear me lecture them about listening to me the FIRST time for the eleventy-billionth time and then all is good.

But seriously, if I say in a calm sweet voice that I am about to get angry? You best stop what is annoying me or run and hide. Cause you won't like me when I'm angry.

I started a pet portrait last night. It is of an absolutely adorable westie, named Charlotte. It is my first commission in a while. A looong while. The beginning of the year is always slow for orders, but with the economy, it seems cute paintings of your pet are not high on the ol' priority list. Seems that people want to do crazy things like pay their bills or feed their kids. Bah. Whatever. Hey, what's a little Top Ramen when you can have a painting of Fifi at the beach hanging on your wall?!!? No, really I understand, I do. In February I took a full time job. My first one in 6 years. (the last one was fr a coll design studio and I lasted 4 months before I quit to paint pet portraits. "Hi Mom and Dad! You recovered from your duel heart attacks nicely!!") And I am still wrapping my mind around this new job some days. Luckily I adore my job and my co-workers. I have the most amazing bosses and truly enjoy coming to work. Which freaks me out enough. I think it helps that I have been freelancing for this place for over 7 years. So it is familiar and comfortable and I really believe in the work I create. I juggle anywhere from 4 jobs to 10 jobs at any given time, deal with clients and vendors directly and best of all, I am trusted to handle it all. And ohmigod, they let me leave early every other week to get my kids from school! HELLO AWESOMENESS!! That makes me very loyal to this place. But still, there are days I long for my studio. My cute pink office with the hot pink curtains surrounded by art on every wall. I have amazing memories working there. I got rid of my studio and have an office at home that I have not even organized yet. It is a mess of boxes with a giant dog kennel in it. Only my computer is set up. In my mind I see an adorable, comforting place to work in, but I am not ready to create it yet. It is good that I have not had many commissions yet this year. It makes me feel like the choice to take this job was right. I struggled, lord how I struggled at first when the job opened up. It took probably a full month for my boss to really believe I wanted to go from part time to full time. I think the last she ever heard me say on the topic off full time employment was along the lines of "Heeeeeeell NO, do I want full time work! This girl is a FREE spirit, being in a cube 8 hours a day will KILL me! KILL ME! Did you hear me? HELL NO!" So yeah, I had to jump through a few hoops, go many extra miles just to convince her I was serious. Now, imagine doing all that when deep down you are scared to death about the decision.

I have been a freelancer since day one. I graduated art school 7 1/2 months preggers. Let's just say potential employers aren't exactly lining up to hire you when your belly bumps into them before they even see your portfolio. I LOVE the freelance life. I love hustling. I love knowing that every dime I made was from my own hard work. Oh my gosh, the highs, talk about a rush! There is nothing like getting that check in the bank just in time and the bills get paid and NOTHING bounces! There is nothing like it. And you are on top of the world. For a full TEN minutes sometimes. Then you begin to worry about the next bill, and the next job you need to get. And then there are the lows. Ouch. Like the days the check they promised doesn't come in. The days you didn't make it to the bank in time. The days the lights get turned off on a Friday and you can't get them back until Monday. Oh, those days are no fun at all. And the nights you stay up for hours just thinking about how to juggle what little money you DO have so that everyone gets something and you can still feed your kids. And this is after having stayed up until 3pm to finish a gotta have it RUSH project by your client, just so you can submit an invoice that you won't see the money from until 3 weeks from now IF you are LUCKY and IF they give it to the accountant on time (freelancers are the red-headed step children - we work the hardest get paid LAST.) Or how about the days there is a field trip coming up for both your kids that they need money for and you need gas and you need dog food? Why did I love this life again? Oh, right. Those ten minutes of high are THAT awesome! (this is why I don't try drugs - I imagine I could be in trouble) And I did that for SO many years. But it was worth it. I got to stay home with my kids for 3 1/2 years when they were babies. I got to have the highs and the satisfaction of knowing I did it all on my own. I opened up a studio, ran and art school for kids for a while, and for almost 6 years have been selling original paintings all over the United States.

And I will never stop painting. Ever. And I am about to start advertising my art again. And I have commercial projects in the works that are being considered and having many, many meetings over. And hell, I have a BOOK out! (Have you bought yours yet? No? What the hell are you waiting for??? I don't want to be in this damn cube FOREVER!!! GO BUY IT NOW! Heh. Just kidding. Not really - go!)

Which brings me to my point - especially for the others out there that want to eventually escape the cube. This process is NOT linear. There is no shortest point to get from the cube to working for yourself. It takes time. It takes creativity. Multiple income streams. Figuring out what you are willing to sacrifice to be your won boss. Deciding if you are ready to not have job security any more. Nothing happens overnight. Not even if you DO get Oprah's attention. I guarantee you that before who ever did find their way to Oprah and her show, they struggled for YEARS before the timing was right. You do what you do because you love it. You map out a dream and follow it the best you can. Life will simply not follow all your directions. Sometimes it will. Oh, and the sweetness when it does! When you know you are on the path and every single piece of the puzzle falls into place and you know DAMN well the Big Man is on your side, because it feels like he is holding your hand along the way. But then sometimes the path veers and it veers so far away from what you love, what was working, from a life that you had created through blood, sweat and tears and you can't for the life of you figure out why God is doing this to you. And that? Oh, it is so hard. And you cry, and you cry some more and you try harder. And harder. And harder. And still it won't work. And finally you give in. You have to. Because life just is that way. And if you keep fighting it you get more and more miserable and the perfect life you were loving and so grateful for isn't perfect anymore because for whatever reason you are being taken down another road. And I am on another road. One I thought with all my heart I would never be on.

And I finally gave in and decided not to fight it and see the wonderfulness in it. I have no idea how long I will be here. And lord knows I am still doing my thing on nights and weekends and my dreams are still there, real as ever. I write about them, draw them, dream about then. And I know they WILL happen. I know it. And I will never give up on them. But in the meantime I am here in a cube, hurrying up this entry before I need to get to work. And I love this job. I love the people. And I would be a liar, liarhead if I said I didn't love my nice fat paycheck. Ohmigod! Money!! EVERY month! Deposited RIGHT INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT! And all I have to do is show up for work and do my job. And the insurance? I can not only break every damn finger if I want and have it PAID for, but I can even get my teeth cleaned - for like $15 dollars!!!! And people? There is FREE coffee here! EVERY DAMN DAY! And the sweetest woman on earth MAKES it for us. Like MAGIC. And I laugh all day long, get to design cool stuff and my coworkers know all about my art life. Just yesterday my boss' boss' boss (got that? three tiers up) was in my office joking with me and I gave him a copy of my book. He insisted he pay for it. I said, 'Sounds good!' - Hey he makes big bucks he can afford it!) So I am in a place where I can share my dreams at the same time as make money for my family. And I am thinking this 9-5 life is not as horrible as I have made it out to be. Perhaps you cube people are quite clever with your paychecks, insurance and stability...

So right now I am not steering the ship. And I am ok with it. And I guess I have to just admit that I was never steering in the first place. So any of you out there feeling like your dream is never going to happen? Don't you believe that crap for a second! Just keep plugging along. Do it because you must, because you love it. It will happen. We just don't get to say when it will happen or how it will happen. But I promise you this, if you do not give up, it HAS to happen. Perseverance is what it is all about. Keep putting yourself out there, keep creating, keep trying. The only way you can fail is if you quit. I PROMISE.

Oh. And if by chance you are the lucky .0001% of people that ARE overnight successes and Oprah found you after you mailed her your manuscript written out in a longhand in that spiral notebook and she loved it so much that she single-handedly got you published, put you on her show as soon as it was on the shelves and you now have a dream life after just trying one measly time? WE ALL HATE YOU. Go away. (Just kidding. We love you, we want to be friends with you, we want to have lunch dates with you. And have you introduce us to Oprah.)

Yesterday was the perfect hang out on the deck with the dogs day....Br>






This next picture was before she realized the door was open....And Rufus had JUST jumped out the window. And no, we do NOT claim to have the most intelligent dogs in the world...






And just cause it's funny and I have a camera again. You can expect lots more like this. Why? Because he lets me....
(His shirt says 'Algebra is for Lovers')

Hi everyone. it is is Friday. And is BEAUTIFUL today. And I have cabin fever. Spring fever. Get out of this cubicle and run away from responsibilities fever. And I see a nice blue sky and a pretty blooming pink tree out my window and all I want to do is GO PLAY! But alas, I have edits to a magazine, an ad to layout and something else to do I am sure. But maybe I can leave early. Maybe. Doesn't a day like this deserved to be played in? I think yes. Don't we owe it to God to go out and ENJOY this day he created JUST FOR US? I think YES! Can I get an AMEN? So whose with me? If we ALL leave early then what can our bosses say?? Let's GO! Hey, why are you all still sitting there? What's that about the electric bill? Gas bill? Groceries? Mom? Is that you reading my blog again?! Party poopers. Bah. You just reminded me I have to go pay my car insurance. But I am leaving early! And you can sit there till 5pm if YOU want, but I will just have to be thinking about you while I go have a margarita on some patio somewhere.

In the meantime here are some pics of my work environment. And yes, I am that messy. And thank goodness I am good at what I do so no one cares that it is this messy. And thank goodness Best Boyfriend Ever thinks I am cute cause I am that messy at home too. Oh! then there is me with my NEW SHORTER HAIR! Yay! (how much of a dork am I for posting this? Don't answer that.)






Is it time to go yet?

Now?

How 'bout now?