Merry Christmas

I didn't want the day to pass without wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... I hope once the holidays are over, I can find some time to catch up on here.

Happy Halloween

When I pulled into the parking lot at work one day last week, the sun was just about to rise, and this beautiful sky with reflected color on the clouds was just beautiful... I had to take a photo so I can try and paint it at some time in the future.

Since I have been working two full time jobs for almost a year now, my office at home is starting to resemble that of a hoarder's closet. It doesn't help that Odin likes to shred cardboard and what ever else he can get his teeth into. But the good news is that I have nothing in my "in-box" today, so I might actually get to do a little cleaning in here.

My friend Jan is having a halloween party tonight, Jeff and I might go over there for a little while. Matthew is up in Lansing for the weekend. He played a gig with his band last night, and will return in time to go to work tomorrow. He has a busy schedule with college, calculus 3, biology and computer science classes, working part time at Menards (a really big hardware store for those of you who don't live in the US), and these occasional trips to Lansing to play drums with his heavy-metal bad.

Time to go clean the bathroom, and then hopefully have energy to start tackling this messy office. I hope you all have a happy Halloween!

Odin is ready for Halloween

I couldn't resist this little sweater for Odin... He's ready for Halloween. He moved a little as I took the photo, but you can still see how handsome he is in his new outfit.

Silver linings

Someone is always finding ways to get into trouble. I was working, and Odin found a piece of cardboard. After constantly telling him "no", I relented, and decided that it would keep him busy for a few minutes while I tried to get some work done. He doesn't eat it, he just spits out the little pieces... of course, he made more work for me to do, when it was time to pick up the mess, but I had to admit, it was easier to get little pieces of cardboard into a trash bag.... so I guess that was the silver lining in the cloud of Odin's destruction.

Day at a St. Joseph Michigan Beach

We took Matthew and Odin to the lake last week. They played frisbee and Odin went in the water to get it. Matthew had to go and get Odin once, because the puppy couldn't find the frisbee, and was going out too far into the water. I started to panic! But Matthew came to the rescue.

On vacation...

Fall is coming. I took this photo out in our yard a couple days ago... 

It's been six months since I started my new job.... so I took a couple days off because Jeff had the week off work. Yesterday we went to Tabor Hill Winery. We had never been there before. The food was overpriced, but the tour was interesting, and I loved taking photos of the grapes on the vines... and the wine was good.

Odin - Hittin' The Bottle

He's not even a year old, and Odin is already hitting the bottle! I swear he looks like he is laughing here! I took this photo as I was trying to get the bottle from him... but of course, Odin's favorite game is "keep-away from Mom"... and as soon as I would stoop to grab the prize, off he would run like a little bat out of hell! I finally got it away from him, just as he managed to get the top off... not that there was anything left in it... but I don't need a tipsy puppy!

Mom's curse...

Here is our handsome boy with a little photoshop filter work. Odin is so spoiled! Here he was looking at Matthew waiting for him play... Odin thinks he has to play all the time! Odin is 27 lbs. now... 27 lbs of non-stop action and adventure! He loves to run around the yard and recently has been playing "keep-away from Mom!"... Doesn't matter what it is, a sock, a pen, anything he can get in his mouth... as I was running around the living room end-table trying to catch him with some "thing that is not yours"..., I thought of my Mom and the times she would be chasing us around the dining room table... I think my "Mom's curse" ... you know the one... "you better be good, or someday you are going to have kids of your own and they will be twice as bad as you are".... well... I'm thinking since Matthew didn't live up to her "expectations" in that regard, she sent me this puppy! I'm just kidding... he's a good puppy... when he's sleeping!

Odin... bring me the ball....

Odin loves to play ball in the yard. When I make a quick run home at lunch time from work to let him out of his crate (to do his business), we always play ball for about 15 minutes so he can get a little exercise before I have to head back to work. I love the way his ears flop up and down when he runs"... I think he will always look "puppyish" because of them.

He sometimes forgets that he has to surrender the ball to me if he wants me to toss the ball... but eventually he lets me have it... with a little nip to my fingers if he gets too excited! He's a monkey! I can't help but love that face! :)

Ode to the socks...

Handsome Boy After visit to the Vet

Matthew and Odin

Don't bother me... It's my peanut butter time...

Wet dog after bath... 

Odin Meets a turtle...

We've been having so much fun with our newest family member. Odin has stolen our hearts! even Matthew let me take a photo of him with the puppy!

Odin is a very active puppy... he loves to play play play... He love peanut butter and treats, he gets a treat when he comes to me when I call him, and when he makes potty or poo outside. We're working on things like "sit", "stay", "lay down", so much to learn!

No, he's not going to be able to get three tennis balls in his mouth like our lovely friend Dora, The vet doesn't think he is going to get very big... we have to wait and see... but he is growing like a weed.... He is over 20 lbs now.

Odin loves to play ball, and tug-of-war with socks... any sock will do... dirty or clean... it's a constant struggle of "that's not yours"... maybe the men will learn not to leave their socks on the floor, when they have no socks without holes in them. :)

He's finding his voice... not a lot of barking, unless a turtle comes for a visit, or he spots a ghost in the house... I think he see's shadows or will catch a reflection of himself in some thing around the house. He is a "woofer"... not a "yipper".

Jeff took the poor turtle to a safe location... no turtle was injured. :)

Odin's not camera shy

I came home at lunch time to let Odin out. After he did his business, we played ball out in the yard for about 15 minutes, and he got some serious running in... I bet he napped the rest of the afternoon while I was at work. He's growing like a weed... He was a little over 17 lbs. when we went to the vet, We have to go back for more vaccinations in early June, it will be interesting to see how much he's gained. I've gotten some really cute photos of him with my cell phone. He doesn't mind having his picture taken, but he's not easy to photograph... but once in a while I get lucky.

Silly Puppy!

Matthew was away for a couple days, so I had to run home at lunch time to let Odin out. It was a sunny day yesterday, and he wanted to roll in the grass and was sticking his tongue out... so I had to take some photos! He is such a silly puppy! We just love him.... He had his first visit with the Veterinarian this past week... she doesn't think he is the breeds they told us he was, she doesn't think he is going to be a big dog... maybe a couple pounds bigger than he is now. That's ok... he might be little, but he has a big bark! I can tell he is feeling better. He has been a bundle of energy (except when he is sleeping)... and has started to play bite and rough house a little bit... I've had to calm him down a few times. I got him a toy that I can put a little peanut butter into which keeps him occupied when we are eating dinner... but I haven't found a toy that he can chew on that he can't rip apart yet... he needs something... I'll have to keep looking.

Welcome Odin

Jeff and I picked up this little guy a few hours ago. He's a very happy and loving puppy... but he has a little cold or something. He's been coughing and gurgling.. I don't know if the shot they gave him and all the excitement of coming home with us is the problem or what... but he's sleeping, so hopefully he will feel better by the time Matthew gets home from work tonight. He's Boston Terrier/Boxer... Almost 6 months old.

My paintings from Wine & Canvas Events.

These are the two painting I did over the weekend at Wine & Canvas Events. I think they turned out pretty good... yes, I could pick them apart and tell you everything I think is wrong with them, that is my nature, but I had fun, and with practice I will get better at it. It's hard to "copy" someone else's work... no matter how hard you try it's going to be different, unless you use a copy machine or lucy. I really hope this opportunity to teach works out... but if not, I had fun and know where to go now when I want to have a fun night out with friends. :)

Edit: Got an email from Wine & Canvas... I am one step closer to being an Artist/Teacher for them... not sure what the next step is, but I am game if they are... happy dance! :)

Update: I had an interview with the office manager a couple days ago. The owner is out of town until Tuesday, so she can't give me any answer until he gets back, but the plan is that they will train me over the summer, and I can teach some of the small classes for the children at first, then by the fall, when they get really busy again, I should be ready to teach the big night classes. I really hope this works out... I really want to do this. :)

Cross your fingers...

I have some exciting news. I have been invited to go and observe a painting event this coming weekend to see if I would be interested in teaching painting lessons for Wine & Canvas. My sister has a patient that teachers at these events, and when Laura saw that they were looking for more artist/instructors, she pretty much bullied me into sending them my resume. I sent my resume and samples of some of the paintings I have done over the past few years, fully expecting a "thank you, but no thank you" letter... instead I was invited to come and observe one of their events and see their teaching methods.

It would be a part time job on weekends, I think it would be a great fit for me. If I do this, I could give up one of my freelance jobs, which are taking up WAY too much of my free time, and still have "art supply money".... doing something I love, that is fun, and is something I have always wanted to do... teach art.

I am really excited about this! It's amazing how things are going for me right now... I have a day-job that I really like, and now this would be like yummy icing on the cake! So please cross your fingers that this works out... I really want it to. :)

A new family member?

We are approved to adopt a puppy from a local rescue ... maybe a week from this coming Sunday.... I'll keep you posted.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a blessed and happy day.

I've been very busy with work recently, and haven't hand much time to myself, but I did get these three pre-strung Zentangle Zendala's done this week.

Race to the Finish Trade Show

The 2015 Master Distributors - Race to the Finish Tradeshow is now over! It was a great experience, I'll have some photos to share with you later... sure wish they had it on Thursday and Friday so I would have had the weekend to recover before heading back to work... but gotta get ready for the day! I'll be back later... :)

We had a professional photographer who took more photos than what you will see here, these are just my "reference photos" for next year so that I know what signs and banners I need to make.

Day 1 - Meetings & Customer Appreciation  Cocktail Party & Dinner

Day 2 - The Trade Show