I got a "B"!

Update on my face. I made a B. I was surprised. The teacher said it was a really good design, especially since I changed it at the last moment. I breathed a sigh of relief!

Next Tuesday, the art department is going on a field trip to LR. There is supposed to be this awesome show going on at the art center there. We will get to see Andy Warhol's original art! That is so cool. I'm excited. I'm going on my first field trip. I feel like a kindergartner. :)

Please pray for me this Thursday, if you think of it. I have my next Math final. I'm really nervous because up to now, I've barely passed with C's on test. I tend to forget how to solve things. This test is on percents and conversions. I have to memorize several conversion charts! I'll keep you posted!

I have to design an Olympic Logo for a school assignment. I've been assigned Mexico. Anyone out there have any ideas of what city would be good to pick? I thought about Cancun... not sure it's big enough. What about symbols for the logo? The Mexico city 1968 games had a Mayan Medallion, so I need something different. I have to come up with 10 different ideas and draw thumbnails to show the teacher my ideas. Any ideas???

My Husband Rocks Friday!

  

    

Since it's "My Husband Rocks" Friday, I thought it would be appropriate to share these pictures. Donny is gone to Dallas to a Irish Music retreat. It took a lot of convincing on my part to get him to go. He didn't want to spend the money. But, he did finally concede. When I got home last night he had put this on my computer. Keep in mind, he had to write backwards because it's a webcam. As you can see I am the luckiest woman in the world.

Pumpkin Plumber

Autumn and I had a blast Saturday. We went to Walmart and picked out our own pumpkin and brought them home to carve. As you can see she insisted on doing it in her undies. LOL Don't won't to mess up the new shirt Mamaw. This is actually the first year she would have anything to do with touching the inside. She loved it. She cleaned both of ours out. As you can see below she had no problem "digging in". We painted them and put them outside. Now this is what life is about!

 


           

Stop Your Whining!

I received such a blessing last night! Bridget called and we had a great conversation. She was asking me about my school stuff and encouraging me. If you read the entry before this one, you'll understand why this was such a GOD thing! Just when I started whining, God answered my prayers. Boy, have I been on a huge pity party. 

I went to church yesterday. Got some walls to tear down around my heart. Why do I do that Lord? 

Autumn and I had a blast carving a pumpkin. Not sure I posted here that my sweet husband bought me a MAC! I'll post some pics of our carving feat as soon as I have time to figure out how this thing works... It's awesome, but definitely not a PC. It will be a huge help with my school work and eventually my job as a freelancing graphic artist. 

Gotta run. Have a great day friends!

Don't should all over yourself!

Have you ever felt used? I've been dealing with feeling that way lately. I guess giving and giving with nothing in return gets old. I have no problem setting boundaries with any other people except my girls. The whole MOM thing clouds my judgement. Might be fueled with guilt too. Where to draw the line? When to cross the line? Oh what to do? 

How do I live a full life when all of hell is coming against me? I know the joy of the Lord is my strength....etc.... Don't get me wrong, I truly believe God is in control, but still doesn't mean I don't think life sucks. Somedays I want to haul my booty to another place. What would that place be like? hmmmmm  

My Place

Calm. Clean, with NO clutter...( I see you laughing) laughter, nature, love, peace, rest, assurance, a spa, art supplies, (man, I'm getting sleepy..LOL) all the mochas I want, music, a good book, craft magazines, ........

I feel better just dreaming about the place. 

God, why do I get so worked up? Why do I allow my heart to dictate my life most of the time? Help me to learn to put me first sometimes without the horrible feeling of guilt. As Amy Spencer told me once, "Don't should all over yourself." That should be my life's a motto. :)

Climb Every Mountain

It's 5:15 am and here I sit at the computer. I've been awake since 4. I have this song stuck in my head! Climb Every Mountain. I need to look up the lyrics. Usually when I wake up with a song in my head it's for a reason. I take it as God is speaking to me about something. I hope it's not a warning. Frankly I'm sick of being a mountain climber. Why can't I be a mountain jumper? You know, like spider man! Leap tall mountains in a single bound. I've had so many mountains in my life since the summer I've lost count. Lately I've grown weary in the battle. I've lost my desire to pray and even go to church. I read in the book "The Shack" that sometimes we can't see past our pain to notice our blessings. Guess that sums it up for me. 

Oh there's the "good little Christian" in me saying, "don't admit that!" But I know speaking the truth will always exposed lies! Light has a way of doing that. So here I am, laying out my heart to the internet world and God. Not that it's news to him. 

If any of you out there have some good scriptures I could use them. Prayer would be great too. 

I decided to look up the lyrics:

Climb every mountain, search high and low.

Follow every byway, every path you know.

Climb every mountain, ford every stream,

Follow every rainbow,

'til you find your dream!

A dream that will need

all the love you can give,

Every day of your life

for as long as you live.

Climb every mountain, ford every stream,

Follow every rainbow, 'til you find your dream!

 

Future Plastic Surgeon?

   It's been a while since I've had time to write in my blog. Partly due to the fact I haven't had lots to say and partly because I spend all my brain power doing school work. 

I love school! Don't get me wrong, it's stressful sometimes, but it would be boring if it didn't stress me out enough to push my creative boundaries. 

This week was a busy one. I had an assignment due in Typography that attempted to break my creative spirit, but I'm here to say I'm the victor in that battle!

The assignment was to use an assigned font (mine was Times) and make a face. Okay I know you're thinking, that's sounds easy. How do I know you're thinking that? Cause' that's what I thought! But, wait! I have a teacher to please who is vague on how to fix things. I decided half way through the assignment, I should be going to school to be a plastic surgeon. Why you ask? You did ask right? Because my face underwent major reconstruction every time I sat down to work on it. It started out as a queen. But then the teacher said it was too symmetrical so after looking up what that word meant, I began the journey to plastic surgery hell! It's became an obsession! I couldn't stop myself. Nothing seem good enough and I fell into the lie that somewhere out in space existed a perfect type face. Notice I said "lie". The assignment was due yesterday morning at 10. After two days of little sleep my husband intervened and pried the mouse out of my hands! Once I conceded to the fact that the face was as good as it was going to get, I began the tedious task of inking it onto illustration board. 

I can easily see how Michael Jackson kept getting plastic surgery to the point of no return. He bought into the lie also. :)

I did turn the assignment in on time and one lovely fact about this class (notice the sarcasm in my voice?) is the teacher posts all the work on the wall and the class gets to critique it. I dreaded this moment all week. But, as I sat and compared mine to the others I realized my face wasn't bad after all! Sure she needed chin reconstruction, but over all she fit right in. Amazing!

The sucky thing was we got to mine and the class ended. So I have to wait until Monday to hear what my peers think about my creation. 

I love school! and I'm so excited to learn all I can about art! Here is my final creation. Isn't she lovely?

Pictures from Nature

These are a few pictures I've taken of the beauty I find around me.

Kitty Cat "Mr. Jinx"

Are you a Real Mother?

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.
Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.
Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids
Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets.
Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.
Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little
voice says, 'Because I love you best.'
Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years
or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.


The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Philbrook Museum

Donny and I went to Tulsa this weekend to get away and spend some time together. We visited the Philbrook Museum. It is an art museum housed in a beautiful mansion. The mansion also has a 27 acre garden. Here are a few pics.

Donny being silly. He wanted me to take a picture of him in this huge fireplace.

There were several pictures of Jesus. I loved them all!

Could you image lounging in this every evening? The ceilings were gorgeous.

Stained glass window

There were tons of butterflies in the garden.

Donny sliding down the rail.

Me soaking my feet in the water garden.

I passed!!

I just found out I passed my first part of math! WOOHOO! I give God all the glory! that's one lemon made into lemonade...:0

Busy Painting

I know I haven't posted in a while. I found this t-shirt online today and thought it explained what I've been up to lately! I've been pretty busy managing life due to a huge harvest of lemons!Gotta run to buy some gold paint!! :)

refiner's fire

Okay guys are you ready for this? ..................
I HAVE AN "A" in math!!!!! It is a miracle. I can't tell you what an awesome feeling it is to understand math. Math is the course that has kept me out of college until now. I love my teacher, Mr. Utz. He is a great teacher and I pray I have him all the way through.

I've been in school 3 weeks now and I can say it has been a roller coaster for me. I've had fun, I've cried, (a lot!), I've celebrated, I've screamed, and I've met lots of new people. Most of all I've learned a lot about myself. I think God has put me in this place to grow my character. I've had a history of quitting when life got hard. You know, guitar lessons, gymnastics, high school, marriage, diets, etc. I'm learning about a quitter mentality and how I've struggled with it all my life. Every time I have the thought of quitting or asking myself what the heck I'm going to school for, I hear this:
" Quitting is NOT an option!" Sometimes we don't have to know the "why" we just have to trust God has a plan and it's to prosper us and bring us hope! I have no idea where this will lead me in the way of a career, but I do know that God is using college to refine my heart!

Eye Level to a Mini Horse

Angie invited us to take Autumn to meet her mom's new mini horse. Autumn didn't warm up easily. I'm sure it was wierd for Autumn to have a horse look at her eye level. We tried evey trick we knew to get her to touch the horse. Finally she reached out and quickly touched her. We all had a good time. Thanks Angie for inviting us!

All Comfort Zones Are Gone!

TGIF! I'm so glad this week is over. It has been a good week, but a long tiring one too. I never thought I'd be so tired sitting in classes. I didn't take into consideration lots of stairs, a heavy backpack, getting up early, and then doing homework. My brain is soooo tired.

Okay, I'll quit whining.

This week has stretched me beyond my comfort zone that is for sure. I've been humbled by the things I don't know. One humbling experience was not knowing how to read a ruler. Sure I know 1/4, 3/4, 1/2, but that's it. Who would've thought I would need a ruler for graphic design?....j/k

My teacher saw me getting frustrated with myself and reminded me we learn from our mistakes. I responded with, "Well then, I've learned a lot today!"

I've learned a lot about myself too. Like how I can be impatient with myself, how much I like to be "in the knowing", and battle feeling guilty when I take time for myself.

All in all though, it's been a great week. Enjoy your Friday! I've gotta get busy studying.

Algebra Update

Well it only took two days to figure out I was in way over my head in beginning algebra. After class yesterday I went to the Math Dean and she moved me to developmental math. At first I was sad and started beating myself up, but then I realized I have got to give myself a break on this one. I've never had Algebra a day in my life, so how would I know all those operations. So I start my new math class today. And I have to say, I'm relieved. Life is hard enough without putting unnessersary stress on yourself. I've got nothing but time to get this right!

My first day!

Well I made it through my first day of college and it was.....

AWESOME!!!!

I am so relieved. I love all my teachers and I am learning algebra like never before. Even though I spent 6 hours last night learning what most in my class are reviewing, I am getting it! God is so good! It was overwhelming for my first day to have to learn so much on my own, but Amber has been a huge help! She is so patient with me.

Donny has been great too! He got up and fixed breakfast for us and sent us off with lots of hugs and encouragement! (I love that man) He truly is a Godly man!

I'm so excited about all the things I'm going to be learning! Especially my art and graphic design classes. And guess what? I'm not the oldest in my classes!!!

Brooke Cagle and I have drawing together. The teacher is fun. We all sat around and visited and listened to him tell stories. The coolest thing happened! I sat between two girls named Whitley and Alley. They heard Brooke and I mentioning something about church and they both jumped in almost at the same time and ask "Where do you go to church? We just moved here and we have no clue where to go." Well you know me, I jumped on that one! Whitley is from Fayetteville and Alley is from Mountain Home! They've never been away from home and they are a bit scared as you can imagine.

Can you see where I'm going with this??

Luke 10:2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

God has placed me in a field full of young people seeking the truth!

Another confirmation is the fact that Campus Crusade for Christ called our church and asked if we would be the sponsoring church for the local chapter on campus. Kevin asked them how they came to pick us and she told him that she looked in the phonebook and our name "jumped" out! Okay people! Can you see God at work here? Kevin agreed to be in charge of the Thursday night meetings until they can get student leaders in place! I'm so excited about the door God has opened for our church. He is calling us to go!

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragements! Keep'em coming!

Ready to Go!!

1 1/2 days left and I officially become a college student! I'm so excited! I feel like I did when I was a kid. I've got my backpack loaded and all my clothes ironed. I'm trying to start good habits that will help get me to school before 8. Some would say at 45 there may not be much hope for changing my bad habit, but I have to if I want to succeed. So, I decided to pick out my outfits for the week and I ironed everything and hung them together. (I'm laughing at myself) ;O
I'm going to attempt showering the night before to cut down on preparation time. Not sure it will work though because I have oily hair. Amber and Donny said they will help me get going so that will be a great help. I need a marine motivating me. So keep your fingers crossed I can learn to be on time.

I'm open to any ideas you ladies have to help me be on time.

Mama Mia! Was it good!

http://www.mammamiamovie.com/main.html

If you haven't seen this movie yet, grab your best friends and go! OMG! It is a feel good movie. I laughed my butt off and sang along. Check out the trailer. I got a huge kick watching the older women sitting in front of us. They were dancing in their seats and singing along too. I need to buy the soundtrack.

Circles Everywhere

Angie, Danielle and Me

Yesterday at church Danielle noticed that the three of us had on shirts with circles. I happened to have my camera so we took a pic together. Bruce said we were honoring the olympics. It was a good reminder to laugh at the little things in life.