The last 2 weeks...

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I've posted. I spent all of last week preparing for the craft show in Macon and helping Wayne since he broke his left hand on Tuesday evening, 6/26. They were able to put him in a removable splint that he'll wear for 4-6 weeks. He goes back to the Orthopedic doctor on 7/20.

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I know many of you check out Sandy's blog and have probably seen the photos she posted of us at the craft fair. ;o) Though they were "less than flattering" pics (her photography was GREAT but she didn't have much to work with) several of our friends and family let me know that they were thrilled to see the pics of us at the show. We was honored that she took the time to come to Macon to support us especially since she was leaving for vacation the next day. She also spoiled us, as usual, by bringing us some Beauty Control products for our hands. She's such a doll! Here are some pics of the things we painted before the sale.

We sold several personalized Welcome Signs, a few vases and MY BIRDHOUSE!!!!! It was hard to let my birdhouse go since I spent so many hours on it but it was a friend of Stephanie's that "adopted" it. We also got a few orders for custom Welcome Signs. We didn't get a picture of everything we personalized but here are 2 things we sold and personalized there.

I painted these two signs while we were at the craft show.

Stephanie has gotten several orders for canvases, welcome signs, & a birdbath (it'll be our first). We were surprised that several people asked us if we did wall murals. That is something that we haven't done yet but are interested in doing when we get a little more confident. I'd also like to thank Ashley, Brandon and Jessica for coming to see us and Rob and Heather coming and helping us pack everything up. We were so exhausted when we were finished I'm not sure Steph and I could have done it without Rob & Heather! We appreciate you!

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Weight Watchers update...

Week 1 - 10.4 lost

(They made me weigh twice because they couldn't believe it!)

Week 2 - 3.4 lost

Total after 2 weeks - 13.8 lost!

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I got 4 inches cut off my hair last week.

I'll leave the update on the trees for the next post.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

I need to add here that we lost a dear friend on Friday. Our facilities manager @ work and good friend, Clay Kirk, passed away suddenly of an apparent heart attack. It just won't be the same without him. His sweet wife, Tammy, and son, Clint, are in our prayers.

TGIF...

I'm so-o-o glad it's Friday. It's been a very long week and I'm ready for the weekend. I'm so glad I'm not traveling this weekend so I have a couple of days to get some things done around the house. It has really been neglected lately! I took the first step in my healthier living today by walking for 30 minutes. Wow am I out of shape. To think 3 years ago I was walking 3 miles every day! I hate that I've gained so much weight over the past 3 years. That is really depressing but I'll get there again. I feel motivated and just have to remember that I have to put my health first or I won't be able to care for anyone else, which is just part of who I am. I can't expect my Mom to do it if I'm not willing to do it myself. :~)

I thought I'd post some pictures from my classes with Sandy. I've taken 9 classes and have already posted my tulips. I'm taking another class with Sandy on Monday that I'm really excited about. It is a birdhouse.

Steph, Heather and I painted this beautiful pinecone and greenery decoration at our first One Stroke class in November 2006. We were totally amazed!

This was my second project. Ashley and I attended this class. I even took vacation from work to do this project. It was great fun and I even painted another for a friend at work as a gift.

At my 3rd class, Stephanie and I had marathon day attending 2 classes back-to-back . This was a cute winter scene on canvas.

At my 4th class, the same day as the winter scene, Stephanie and I painted this poinsettia on a glass plate. It is amazing how different it is to paint on different surfaces.

This was my 5th class. Stephanie attended the class with me and Jessica came to watch. The cabbage roses were pretty difficult and the leaves gave me a fit but I enjoyed it and just need to practice. This is actually painted on a wooden plate that Sandy painted with the color "Linen" before class.

This was my 6th class and was a LOT of fun. Stephanie and Jessica and a coworker attended this class with me. We painted on canvas aprons.

For my 7th class I painted this cute grapevine heart wreath with rosebuds. We actually finished class in 1.5 hours instead of 2. I've painted this design on several things since.

I hadn't planned to take this class because I'd attened so many and wasn't sure what I would do with the finished product but Sandy talked me into it. I'm so glad I took this class because it was a huge departure from my previous projects. It was challenging but GREAT fun. I've decided I'm going to give this as a gift to one of my friends. It is painted on canvas that Sandy antiqued before class. Isn't she awesome?

Well, now that you are probably bored to death with all of my art, I guess I'll close for now. My 9th class was tulips which was on a previous post. Happy Friday!

Reality check and heart gifts...

Well, today was a reality check for me. We had a free health screening at work and as I expected, my numbers weren't good. Let's see, I need to lose weight, lower my cholesterol and lower my blood pressure (though not too bad). Luckily the only real good news I got was that my blood sugar was fine. :~) So, I've got to get it together and come up with a plan to exercise regularly as well and take some weight off! Again, nothing that I didn't already know but seeing the numbers was what I needed to motivate me. I wanted to post some of the things I've painted in class and on my own through Sandy's inspiration. :~) So, each day I'll share a few of the pictures with you. These were things I did for Valentine's Day/Week.

I painted this pretty palm tree on a little box for my Mom while she was in the hospital. Her living room is decorated with tropical decor so this will fit in perfectly.

I painted this little flower box for my Aunt. She and my Uncle are always so gracious and welcome our family with open arms whenever we visit. I wanted to be sure I painted her something special and had painted something similar on a gift bag for a friend. It's so colorful and so easy to do.

I painted this little box for my Grandmother last weekend. My Grandmother, as well as the rest of my family, are always so supportive of everything that I do and my painting is no exception. She and my Aunt watched me paint at her kitchen table and I enjoyed sharing my passion for painting with them.

When I found out that my Mom had a stroke I was waiting on additional information and trying to figure out when I could leave to go see her. I came home and started painting to try to relieve some stress and ended up painting these little boxes for my friends at work for Valentine's Day. I lined the box with pink tissue paper and filled them with conversation hearts. I think each of the recipients felt special because I made all of them different. Some turned out better than others but they were all painted from my heart and painting them helped me get through the difficult evening.

I painted on these cute little water bottles filled with candy for my cousins children. They came out pretty cute. I would have done the bumble bee a little differently but not bad for my first attempt. I painted the frog from a magnet that my Aunt had on her refrigerator.

I'm looking forward to the weekend to get caught up on some things around the house. No painting this weekend until I walk each day and get some cleaning done! :~(