friday five - i remembered!

this is going to be short and sweet because today is busy already and i feel all sorts of all over the place.

i'm going to give a short run-down of good things going down because there are so many un-good things that i must must must focus on the good or i'll get swept away to the land of fear. so. moving along. this week's good things are as follows:

1. i gave myself the room i needed. i have a "studio" - a real space, with a door that closes, that is all mine, that doesn't have toys in it (except mine). it was my oldest son's room, i think i mentioned this before, and it was a bittersweet, but necessary step for me to make. everyone that suggests that artists can just make art on our kitchen table doesn't live with two little boys and a husband that tries very, very hard to accept his wife's messy inner artist. i have worked this way for six years and 1. i don't have a lot to show for it and 2. it was a challenge that was so unworth it at times i'd just pack up my paints for months at a time. so. this is a good thing and i have to have to have to get over feeling selfish. ugh, there's lots of baggage to shake out but it's a work in progress and this was the next natural progression.

2. i have been experimenting and still feel all over the place in terms of styles that appeal to and emerge from me. i like this little winged girl though i'm not sure i will create other pieces similar to her.

3. in a few hours i'm showing some of my work to someone in charge of approving artists for an annual arts in the park event i've wanted to participate in, for oh, about six years. yay! <------ that's me, cheering for myself. it's not as easy as it looks.

4. i ordered some new moo cards. i'm also a new affiliate for them and have so many good things to say about them - i love them so much, they're hard to hand out! at this point, most of us know what they are or have ordered from them before but if you're not familiar with them, they are worth checking out! they're fab!


5. between now and july we are going on two road trips and one actual vacation (even if it's business related, we're making it vacation-y) and driving! my husband is super opposed to driving long distances but we're doing it. i'm not overly stoked like all high expectations and what-not, but i'm stoked!

do you have any good stuff to share on this fabulous first day of june? and how is it already june?

all together now - we're awesome. i mean i'm awesome. you're awesome, too, though.

the fabulous amy put together a fun blog hop/art giveaway thing called all together now.

because i am really good, like really good, at finding ways to avoid my responsibilities around the house (oh the laundry, who wants to do that?) i decided to join along, all last minute and stuff. i'm really good at the last minute stuff, too.

what's it about?

well, i've got a chance to brag about myself and while i try to maintain some grounded sense of humility, it's not hard to brag. i'm that cool. but you're also that cool and my bragging isn't meant to diminish anyone else's awesomeness.

in fact, you have a chance to win something cool from me BUT you've got to actually share some of your awesomeness first - but we'll get to that later.

first. i'm just going to do a list because it's friday. and i almost forgot about my friday five so i'm combining the two. of course i can count but i'm warning you, the list of awesome things about me may exceed five.

here we go...
you, ready?

1. i was a super smart kid. i'd memorized the cat in the hat before i was three. my mom thought i could read until she started flipping pages to test me and i wasn't cool enough to pass that test as i just kept on repeating the lines, in order, even though she was three pages ahead of me. but then, by kindergarten i was reading "at a third grade level" said people that knew about such things. alls i knew is i was bored to tears in reading circle.

2. i look for the best in people. when i can't seem to find anything good about them whatsoever, i ignore them, because it's not really worth upsetting myself. some might call this a defense mechanism like it's a bad thing, but in turn, i also try to be the best to those around me because i don't want the people i care about most to ignore me someday.

3. can i say that i'm creative? i can. and i think that's pretty awesome. i have had to overcome a lot a lot a lot of self doubt. oh, who am i kidding? i haven't overcome, i still have a lot. i am just faking it 'til i make it but i also appreciate the coolness in that because it's hard. i commend every single person that finds their bliss and follows it despite all internal and external factors that might make it difficult. you deserve a round of applause!

4. i'm pretty stylish. even when i'm sporting my self-proclaimed homeless chic garb, i'm comfortable enough in my own skin that i don't think people look down on me anymore. and if they do, that's their problem.

5. what else? it's a little harder to brag on oneself than i thought - so here, now i brag about my kids because they are some little reflection of my awesomeness, right? 16 year old bean is a funny, bright, multi-talented kid - he sings, plays piano, draws like a skilled architect and has this wonderful gift of being able to turn his grades around and get As and Bs after giving me a heart attack with letters from the school saying your child is failing one or more classes and is at risk for all sorts of bad things. it is true that he doesn't live with us anymore, but he shines where he is and my heart sings for him. six year old pea is reading and writing and doing multiplication IN HIS HEAD and and and. get this? last year when we started our waldorf kindergarten he was so super duper bored with the art lessons that i thought maybe perhaps i'd have a kid that just wasn't into art, afterall, he didn't carry around coloring books and crayons from the age of two like i did and my oldest son did BUT get this? he has suddenly taken an interest in drawing and coloring and painting and makes time everyday to sketch in his new sketch book and very carefully puts things away in art bag afterward. makes a mama proud. and the baby who isn't a baby anymore? three year old sprout is just wonderful. a wonderful handful that makes me laugh more than he makes me cry. he is my most sensitive child, an aries like me, so it's hard not to relate to his every single breakdown but he champions through them and tells me i'm the best. of course, when he's pissed he takes it all back and calls me dumb, but it's okay. he tells me i'm the best more often and what more could i ask for?

okay, so that was all pretty long-winded. five is good. now on to the prizes!
there will be five. all you have to do to be entered is go over there to the right sidebar and either follow my blog through google connect or networked blogs then leave a comment. but not just any ol' comment like "hi" or "thanks" but a comment where toot your own horn a little bit. shine some of that confidence of yours (and if you don't have much, read #3 again. fake it, dude, and it gets easier until one day it feels more like making it!!) share with us your lovely awesomeness. share the giveaway, too - invite others to share and spread their awesome cheer!

i will randomly choose five winners next friday, may 25th and what will the winners receive? a surprise pack of some ATCs i made last summer for an ATC art show i participated in.

i have lots of great ones, mostly with digital art from my original sketches that used to be featured in my poor neglected awesomuffin shop. there may also be some prints of some of my paintings, in a completely different style than the awesomuffins. we'll see - either way, i'm sure they'll make the winners smile. even just a little :)

ready, go!

friday five

i don't keep up with my livejournal pretty much ever, anymore, but i am gonna revive the friday five here. however i see fit.

sometimes it may be a list of five random facts about me, perhaps with a theme. or maybe it will be five cool things i want to share from around the interwebs. or five observations i've made during the week. it could even be a list of complaints. because i still do that.

mostly it'll be a list of happy things and i'm going to start with five things i'm grateful for.

(it also denotes about as much time as i have to spend on such an endeavor before the boys lose it. five mem-mets, as the three year old would say) :)

this week i'm grateful for:

1. waking up as sprout climbs in my bed and tells me that i'm the best. "mom, you best," he says. it's his latest thing. started about a week ago but it melts my heart just the same, everytime he says it. it also gives me permission to tell him that he's the best without any favoritism (even if there is some).

2. my grocery budget. it occurred to me last night that while it's small, i can do wonderful things on less than $400 a month. it's not our entire budget as my husband also does some of the shopping but with my portion i am making the purchase of organic produce and eggs, gluten free baking staples, and healthy, whole foods a reality. i was starting to lose sight of how awesome it is to know what i have to spend and what i have to buy - it completely eliminates buying too many sweets and it eliminates food waste. it's putting my creativity to use in a different way and it feels good to be frugal. the other day i bought a tub of vanilla yogurt (sprout's fave) for half price on it's sell-by date. i came home and poured most of it into popsicle molds - the kids love them and i'm stoked that i paid about 75 cents for eight yogurt pops.

3. working from home. i feel truly blessed to be helping the family business by doing account's receivables and admin work for my husband. i've even listed stuff on etsy for the first time in months!

4. commission work! one of my WIPs is officially sold and another commission piece has been requested. i hate hate hate knitting on demand but painting is a whole 'nother animal and I LOVE IT!

5. selling my first painting. it's been sold for a while but i was a slacker and took my time finishing it and the buyer (a new local friend) and i just didn't hammer down plans sooner. it was her birthday yesterday, and also a very sad day for her, but i was happy to spend time with her and her adorable little boy for just a little while <3

how does your garden grow?

now i'm off to pick up my last check from the counseling service - then off to two of my favorite places, target and trader joe's.

one this fabulous friday, what are some things you're grateful for?