Almond Blossoms Step-by-Step

Here's the series of pictures that outlines the process. There was a lot of detail, but not as much as my Starry Night imitation, so it took some concentration. I feel that the night, though enjoyable as it was, would have been more so without the drunk ladies sitting by me. Well, that and the double vision I've been experiencing. I couldn't tell what the teacher was doing because from where I sat, she had LOTS of branches and flowers. Upon closer inspection, she didn't have as many as I thought. More about the vision thing later. Now, without further [edited to say "ado" for you, my love]:

First, the background:



Then, the chunky branches:



Then the little branches:



Applied a little light brown to highlight the branches:



Then some light light green that you may not even be able to see, but it added yet another color dimension to the branches:



Then add a splash of white flowers with yellow centers and a signature for the final masterpiece:



The artists, bleary-eyed at 11 p.m. (at least I was, anyway):



I love Sips N Strokes. Thank you youngest sister-in-law for the gift card! I love that my family takes care of my creative interests. :)

Cheers.

Sips N Strokes tonight

Quick update before I pass out.

GR and I went to Sips N Strokes in Auburn tonight. There's a new store in Opelika, but I have looked at their calendar and haven't found anything I wanted to paint. GR, however, has had her eye on this one for a while. It's inspired by Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms. I have a picture of the two of us on my actual camera, but I can't get my card reader to work, and it's midnight--2 things working against me.

So, here's the painting, from a picture I took on my phone.



I had a great time. Thanks, GR, for going with me. :)

I'm going to bed. Cheers.

He Is Risen

What a wonderful day to celebrate the great sacrifice that our Lord made for us. Church this morning was nourishing, and we had lunch with sweet friends afterward. Some pictures for you:

Outside our house before church this morning:





Elsie was in a foul mood, so I wasn't able to get a really good picture of her with her hat and gloves before those went the way of the ground.

And then some pictures from after church, at my friend's house:











Happy Easter!

Cheers!

God is sooooo good!

I don't know when it started, but at some point in my life I started funneling my anxiety into my dreams. Have a major paper due for class? I would dream about NOT turning it in one hundred times the night before, so that when I woke up (in a panic, usually) I would be exhausted from the drama, and relieved that I had one last opportunity to do it right. Getting married tomorrow? I spent the restless night before my wedding dreaming about every worst-case scenario possible. This probably actually worked to my favor because then I was relaxed--everything that could go wrong already had, in my dreams anyway. Those are just two of hundreds of instances where my dreams reveal my real anxiety, no matter how much in denial I am.

A week or so ago I had dreams about my pending observation at work. I'm surprised I didn't wake up crying more than once, because I certainly woke up with a feeling of despair and defeat since all scenarios ended in my termination. Admittedly, this anxiety is stacked upon piles of previous anxiety-inducing experiences. So, in plain terms, I am feeling very uncertain about whether I will have a job next year.

Our revamped teacher evaluation system includes a scheduled observation and an unannounced observation. My scheduled observation came shortly after the meningitis fiasco of 2010. And I've just been anticipating my unannounced for weeks, since the beginning of March. My small group has been praying for me and my anxiety, and I'm so thankful for their intercession.

But Wednesday morning I started to become anxious in real life. During my planning period, I mentally started to beat up on myself for my shortcomings as a teacher this year. I had to get a hold of myself and make a conscious effort to not let it take me over, deciding that I did not want to let it control me to the point where I would be needing Zoloft or Xanax. I stopped and I prayed for release from this torture, and I e-mailed Eli and asked him to pray for me, too. And this is how the rest of my day unfolded:

- A meeting I was dreading because I was unprepared was postponed until next week.
- With my time freed up, I was able to get everything done that I needed to before my students came back from exploratories.
- A student's "attitude adjuster" [probation officer] came to sit in my class to observe the student during 3rd period.
- My principal showed up 5th period to observe me. My lesson was fully developed, and the kinks had been worked out with the first two classes, and I'd already been indirectly observed, so it was all good.

Thank You, Lord, for taking this burden from me!

Cheers!

8 Months of O

We had a sweet dinner tonight with our friend from church and at some point she asked if Oscar was teething. Nah, I said. Elsie didn't get her first tooth until 10 months, and so far O has been behind her in everything.

After dinner I picked him up, since he was starting to get hungry and restless, and he started gnawing on my thumb joint. Ouch! It was sharp!

What? What?!?

O has a tooth! Woot woot! It's his bottom right tooth. The left one is under the surface and should push through pretty soon.

As for my previous statement about him being behind Elsie on everything else, he's still holding the line. He's rolling around like a champ now, with destinations (objects) in mind. He is not getting up on all fours and is not close to pulling up or crawling. He is, however, leaning way over to grab a toy and sitting back up--abdominal muscles are getting stronger! He also likes to stand up, and tonight he really liked standing while holding onto the coffee table.

His little neck is ticklish and he has the sweetest laugh.

He's wearing anything from 6-12 months in size, depending on the brand.

He's still not really eating solid foods, but soon and very soon that will change.

When we got back from spring break I chose not to swaddle him anymore, and he did okay. He's still not sleeping through the night. We'll tackle that when his daddy gets back, or when we get a big girl bed for Elsie. One of those things has to happen soon or I'm going to lose my sanity...

Bedtime for me.

Cheers.