My future me.


I think that I may have just found the coolest new site ever.

I am a goal setter. I am a list maker. I have found that if it is written down...it will get done.

Eventually.

I used to write letters to myself about where I was and where I wanted to be and open them months or years down the road to see how far I had come in that amount of time. It really is amazing what can happen when you take the time to get that vision out of your head and in front of your eyes. Even if you don't look at it for a year.

Future me is a site where you can write a letter to yourself and it will be sent to you sometime in the future...you choose. A month. A year. Whenever.

Who do you want to be in a year? What does the future hold? You decide. Write it down, and see if you are right when you get the letter from yourself.

Fun, eh?

Lunch Quote.

Reading Sara and Abraham this morning, I remembered how much I loved opening up my school lunch bag every day and reading a quote from my mom. Sometimes it was a thought, a sweet "i love you" and sometimes it was a profound quote that took me out of my teenage mind and on to bigger and better things.

Today, I leave you with a lunch quote.

"TRY NOT. DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY." --Yoda

I was reminded of this quote this week from my favorite site Zen Habits, and it was just what I needed. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Live every moment like you really mean it, and make every choice deliberate in creating and building your world.

Have a great day!

Happy Site Friday


It's the weekend, and the sun is shining! Granted there is about 2 feet of snow on the ground, but with the blue sky...it's heavenly out there!

I am going to start a Friday Tradition: Happy Site Friday. As an artist, I am CONSTANTLY saving swatches of color I find on the internet, as well as the sites they come from. So today, I leave you with a happy little site : Honeybunch. Be prepared for soft, simple and vintage colors that will take you back and wish you were 7 again.

Happy Friday!

cravings.

White. Clean. Fresh. No distractions. Maybe you can tell what kind of day I have had. The kind of day that CRAVES this. No really. I want this bathroom!

'Tis the season.

Whew! I have gotten through my Christmas shipping, and I am on a break to enjoy my family. It has been a really fun two months, but I am really looking forward to having more time to add some things to my shop. I am not shipping anything out until Jan 2nd, which will give me some fun family time and fun drawing time! Thanks for all of you who commented on the last post! That was so fun to read...I can't wait to see what comes next!

Since I blogged last, Kenneth and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. I have to say ( and this is saying a lot) it was our best yet. We opted out of a hotel overnight and a fancy dinner, and ate in. We (well, Kenneth), made chipino...true San Francisco Style. WOW! it was the BEST I have ever had. Muscles, clams, shrimp, scallops, halibut, monk fish all stewed together in a killer broth served with sourdough bread. Ladies...if you haven't married yet...marry a cook. It's a great set up! We also managed to spend the morning with the King Singers performing their Christmas tour with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Laughter and tears...wow!!! The best day ever!

These past few days have been delightful! Addie and Ian are catching on for the first time as to what Christmas is all about. Addie says in her bedtime prayers: "Please bless Jesus to have a good birthday". It is so cute.

We have been making snowflakes, Christmas ornaments, gingerbread houses, playing in the snow, reading Christmas stories (Addie was a little worried about the Grinch and his awful behavior, until the end when Cindy Lou-who was very happy that all the presents were back). Christmas movies have been a hit...Addie, upon watching the musical numbers on White Christmas for the first time, turned to Kenneth who was snuggling next to her and exclaimed "OH! Daddy, I love you so much!" (with the tone of "thanks so much for buying this movie for me...I am a complete person now!") Addie is the born dancer in the family (well, not counting Kenneth).


We have been doing a lot more crafts this month. Ian painted for the first time, and lets just say...He found a new way to express his artistic side.

Addie, being the "follow the rules" type, never knew that you could paint on more than just paper! After looking over at Ian, she immediately began to copy. Who would have thought that body painting was so much more fun! The tub experience following was even more of a riot. BLUE bath time.

Head to toe, wall to floor. It was so worth it!


They learned about Santa Clause this month also. We live in a condo which doesn't have a chimney of course. We told the kids that Santa comes through the front door to bring us presents on Christmas Eve. Well, Addie, not knowing when Christmas Eve is, told Ian the other day (who loves to play on the mat in front of the front door) "HURRY!!! MOVE AWAY!! you are going to get hurt and bonked on the head! Santa is coming!!!" Ian hasn't played in front of the door since.

Christmas Songs: Oh, this is a fun one. They know them all by heart. Even Ian, our little low-pitched (is he on pitch?) singer LOVE to sing "angels we have heard on high" with the runs and everything. Today in church, Kenneth was leading the music. I was having a little wrestle with Ian, and Addie escaped up to the stand where Kenneth was conducting the congregation. Well, Addie stood right beside him, opened up her little hymn book and starting singing "Glory to God in the highest!!! Peace on earth good will to men!!!!" It was all just too darling, until He picked her up to take her back to her seat, upon which she started screaming. He was ruining her performance! Come on now!

Well, I am vowing to blog more. I will post pics of our Christmas events. Let the festivities begin! This actually will be the most quiet Christmas we have had since we were married 7 years ago. We are staying home for Christmas...no travel (our parents live on opposite sides of the country), no school deadlines (Kenneth graduated with his masters in the spring), no performances (I played "Mary" in the musical production "Savior of the World" for three Christmases in a row), and no pregnancies (I was in pre-term labor with both Addie and Ian over the Christmas holiday in 2004 and 2005). Yay! We are looking forward to a cozy Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I want your opinion...

It's time for some new work....and hopefully January is the time to do start drawing again. December has thrown me for a whirl, and while it has been fun to ship packages every day all around the world, I am ready for some more time to add more stuff to the shop. I have more compositions and sketches in my head than I have time for right now!

Here is where you come in: I have Three LINES right now in my shop.

1)French text with animals: simple lines and clean fresh colors


2)Vintage inspired children: illustrative yet great for children's rooms

3)Elephant and Bunny: meet Wellesley and Winslow...best friends that do everything together regardless of their differences

What I want to know from you IS:

WHICH LINE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OF ?

This is your turn to share, and I genuinely want to know.

I plan on doing all three, and my heart loves all three...but I want to know from you...

which do you like best, and which would you like to see more of?

(even if you have never commented...this is your chance:)

Let it SNOW!!!

It finally snowed here! December 1st brought a full day of snow showers. It was so magical...especially to see the kids out in the snow. It was Ian's first snow really. Last year he couldn't walk, so this was just so fun! I just love that I didn't have to try hard to capture the joy in their faces!

I love this picture of Ian. Somehow he hasn't managed to watch "The Christmas Story" yet.


And now with it being officially the season of Christmas, I have some new things in my shop. Come and take a look!




It has been a full month... and I feel December isn't any different. We are really trying to sell out place so that we have a little more room to wiggle. Working out of my little corner is starting to get crowded! It works, but I think that it is time for a little change. Let's hope we get a buyer! Any of you want to buy a cute condo?

And finally, here is to cold December Kisses. Can you see where I got my inspiration? It is easy with these cute kids all around me. Here are some favorite phrases from this week:

Addie and I are driving at night, and the car next to us on the road is covered in snow, which looks dark black in the dark. --"Mommy, that car is junky and covered in a lot of scary!"

Addie shows me her drawing she just did--"Mommy, look at my concept letters" "what did you say?" "Look at my concepts" "What?" She turns to Ian for more support. "Ian, look at my concepts I just made." Abstract thought at 2? Last week she was calling her drawings "calculus" (neither my husband OR I are math people).

Ian's favorite little act is to mimic the phrase from Charlie browns Christmas where Charlie Brown sees there is no christmas mail in his mail box. All you have to say is "Hello in there!!!" and Ian will reply "RATS!" The cute thing about it, is that Ian has a lisp. So it really sounds like "Rattttttttthhhhhhhhhs!" So cute!