Tis the Season

Christmas is coming! What is it about this time of year that makes the days fly by at the speed of light?

I've been squeezing in book time wherever possible. One thing that is making it more fun is that I can switch from art to writing depending on my mood. This won't last I'm sure. As my deadline approaches there will be things that have to be done and that's that! But for now, some days I write, and some days I paint.

I'm trying very hard to keep things in perspective and not feel overloaded. My family is being a great help and aside from having Thanksgiving at our house this year and my 8 year olds iguana getting sick, (he passed on yesterday may his scaly body RIP) I've been fine so far.

I've also seen a couple of pieces of artwork from the contributors! It's very exciting to see the book moving forward.

Happiest of Holidays to all of you and thank you so much for your support!!!

The Balancing Act

The metamorphosis from art as a hobby to my full time day job has begun in earnest. I used the last several months to get myself ready should my dream become a reality. I started with a studio redo, cleaning out clutter,some new paint, re purposing and rearranging my little studio into an inspiring place to work.

Next I finished several articles that will be featured in Stampington publications the first several months of 2010. I have this thing about clearing my table, literally and figuratively, before I begin a project. It helps me to get my focus on the work ahead, clearing my mind.

I tried to set myself up for success. I think this is key to achieving goals. It's like 'dressing for success'. Put things into the order they'd need to be in for you to do that thing you want to do.




It doesn't always work out the way I hope it will, but I never regret being organized after the fact. It always leaves me feeling like I accomplished something if not all that I'd hoped to.

So now my days consist of working away on my book. I treat it like my job- which it is! When it's time to pick up my youngest from school, I turn back into mom and wife, devoting the evenings to my family. This may get a little trickier as the deadline approaches, but for now it seems to be working and I'm enjoying this new phase of art being my day job~

Write your dreams somewhere, give them a voice, write them where you can see them every day. Who says you can't write on the walls?

Signing on the dotted line

I just wanted to share a little of my excitement signing off on the final contract!

The Ball Gets Rolling

Well the past week has blown by just like the leaves in our yard! Contract revisions, finalizing the contributing artists projects, and tomorrow I get to 'meet' Elaine, the publishing editor I will be working with, via a phone conference. Oh, and I had a surprise article request from Somerset Apprentice, busy, busy, busy! I'll know a lot more after I talk to Elaine tomorrow, but wanted to update the blog so you know I'm still here-lol!

I also have to mention, I LOVE my crock pot, or I should say crock pots. This is one of my life savers. It takes a lot of the guilt out of locking myself away in my studio when I can smell dinner cooking away without me. I had two of them going today. In one I put a pork roast, 1 cup of water and a package of Taco seasoning. We had the shredded pork on tortillas with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and green onions. Can't get much easier than that!

In the other crock pot I made an apple crisp from my friend Jennifer's recipe. Nothing beats warm apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce! After I ate that I felt guilty so I called the afore mentioned Jennifer and made her go walking with me.

Here is her recipe and boy does it make the house smell heavenly while you're cooking it!

Crock Pot Apple Crisp
(I halved this recipe and used my little baby crock pot)

8 Cups peeled, sliced apples
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup flour
1/2 Cup quick cooking oats
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 Cup butter, softened

Turn crock pot on high and put apple slices inside. Mix remaining ingredients and put on top of apples. Do not stir. Cover and cook until apples are tender. Don't forget the ice cream and caramel sauce!

The Dream

Welcome to 'Art at the Speed of Life'. Here I will share the journey of writing my first book. The ups, the downs, the behind the scenes progress of taking my dream to reality. I hope you will follow along and share this adventure with me! I will soon be adding links to the contributing artists.