More Goodies from the Postman

Today, I received my note cards from Lenore over at eat write create.  They are terrific!  I love the texture and embossed accents!  Thank you Lenore!

I also received a lovely note from Clarissa at GlassGrrl Studios telling me how much she loves the bag and has already received compliments on it.  I'm so glad you like it, Clarissa!

It was wonderful meeting both of you through OWOH and I hope to be visiting with you both again soon!

I'm hoping to be able to create more of those DATCs that I started on yesterday.  And . . . since it's the new month already . . . I have my SNL kit to start thinking about too.  Easter is the theme, bows are the focus and the color palette is very pretty . . .

Hope to be back soon!

~Connie

Digital ATCs

I started my day lazily since we went to church yesterday afternoon.  Had some running around to do and ended up at Michaels.  I found these flower fairy decoupage sheets that were really cute.  I decided to scan them into the computer and created some new DATCs with them.

 

 

These are always fun and kind of addicting to do.  There's still some more that I'd like to do and then I'll probably print them up along with a backing for them.  If you'd like me to send you one . . . let me know.  You can access my email by clicking on my complete profile.  Send me your snail mail address and I'll get it out as soon as I can.

We'll . . . I'm off for now!

~Connie

I love the postman . . .

especially when he brings me goodies and not bills!  Arriving today was this lovely cross-stitched Unicorn by Evalina from this and that.

I can tell it was stitched with loving care because you can tell what the image is even from the back!  Now I will have fun looking for fabrics to finish it . . . I think I will make it into a wall hanging.

I'm off for now . . . it's been an exhausting day.  Running back and forth from the oral surgeon, gettting RX's filled and helping the little one with school work too.

A good night's rest is what I'm looking forward to.

Until next time . . . happy creating!

~Connie

I've Got MORE Mail

In the post today . . . cards by Gemma!

What lovely note cards these are!  I know you can't see it in the picture, but there a touches of glitter in the center of each flower.  Thank you Gemma!

It's been pretty busy and a little hectic here the last couple of days . . . and it snowed again today (mostly flurries, but still . . . Ugh!)

There was a little booklet we got at mass on Ash Wednesday with ideas and things we could do during Lent and to prepare for the coming of Easter.  One of the things was to prepare a spot in your home as an alter for the Bible and to do daily readings and reflections.  I made this runner for my credenza with some of those purple fabrics I got last week.  I did a simple applique design with gray silk and the purple fabric used as the backing.  The ends are edged with a simple beaded border (can't see that in this picture though).  All in all, I think it turned out pretty nice!

I had planned on spending tomorrow in my studio, but it looks like my older son is going to need a wisdom tooth extracted so I'll be spending my day at the oral surgeon.  Hopefully, I will be able to get some time in to create some art and work on the little dragonfly wall hanging I was planning on finishing.

Hope to be back again sometime tomorrow!

~Connie

I've Got Mail

Yay!  My first arrivals came in the mail today . . . didn't expect them this soon!

Earrings by Cat from Chatty Cat's

OK so it's only the one ear . . . it's the best I could do taking the photo all by myself.  I absolutely love them and they happen to go great with the outfit I was wearing today too!

Also, arriving today . . . bracelet by Xanna from Xanna's Jewelry Box

Again . . . not such a great picture but totally beautiful IRL!

Just wanted to let you all see and say THANK YOU again to Cat and Xanna!  Both pieces ROCK!

I'm off to go play with some new fabrics I purchased yesterday . . .  sssshhhhhhhh  . . . don't tell hubby!

They were just to gorgeous to pass up!

Until next time . . . Happy Creating!

~Connie

OWOH prizes that I won!

I'm so excited not only about what I was giving away, but about the fabulous prizes that I've won through this event.  Right now, I am feeling so overwhelmed with joy!

I've won the following:

• a set of notecards entitled Poppies and Sunflowers from Gemmas Daybook
• a collaged, beeswax coated crow from Jennifer Conway mixed media artist
• a pair of exotic dance earrings from Chatty Cat's
• a beautiful bracelet from Xanna's Jewelry Box
• a set of notecards featuring photographs taken by Lenore from eat write create
• a beautiful cross-stitched Unicorn by EvalinaMaria from this and that
• a lovely tatted creation of my name from Singtatter's Corner

I patiently await their arrival and will post pictures as they are received!!  In the meantime, please visit their blogs and see all the other fabulous things they have created!

ALL!

Until next time . . .

~Connie

Announcing . . . the OWOH Winners!

I just want to thank EVERYONE who entered my drawing and came to visit me.  I never imagined the fantastic responses that I got . . . 325 comments total!  I had so much fun visiting and meeting everyone through this wonderous event!  Thanks again to Lisa for hosting this event . . . looks like she put alot of time and hard work into putting it all together and I for one want her to know that I appreicate all that she's done.

That being said . . . I used the Random.org generator and came up with the following 2 participants as the winners:

• First was #120 - Jade Perez of New Age Dolls
• Second was #171 - Clarissa of Glass Girl Studios

I will email each of you shortly . . . Jade will have first pick of which bag she would like.

Thanks again to all of you for your interest in my blog and giveaway.  I look forward to seeing what everyone is creating throughout the coming year!

Have a fabulous day!

Welcoming Love

I tried to dress up my blog for Valentines but was having a problem with Photobucket or Blogger . . . not sure which one . . . so I figured I'd just post these pictures of some of the decorations I have in my home instead.

I made the wreath a couple of years ago and the banner is hanging in my studio . . .

Happy Valentines Everyone and Have a Wonderful Day!

Blog hopping

I'm having so much fun blog hopping and seeing so many creative, talented artists all because of OWOH.  I see something on one site and I'll remember a scarf that I knitted . . . or those soaps I tried to make . . . or that cross stitch project that's been on hold for who remembers how long now.  But I also have in the back of my mind that CED's theme this month is home and maybe I should be concentrating on cleaning and organizing my home.

I started the day trying to organize my craft/studio space and just when I think I'm making progress, I remember that I need to wash the bed sheets and sweep the floors of all those dust bunnines and vacuum in the living room.  So the organizing of my "studio" space gets put on the back burner.  Then I look at the time and realize I've got to go pick up the little one from school soon.  When I get home, I'll have to start to think about what I'm gonna make for dinner.  I guess I should just wait 'til the morning to start back in the "studio" again.

I did come across 2 things that I would like to finish though . . .

The first is a doll that I made using the beginner's pattern in Creative Cloth Doll Making by Patti Medaris Culea.  She sits on a shelf high above me all the time in my studio and I really don't pay much attention to her.  She's pretty much done except for the fact that her clothing needs to be sewn down as she's got pins all over her keeping it in place right now.  I call her my Earth doll and this is what she looks like . . .

I wasn't pleased with the way her hands turned out so maybe that's why I just never finished her.  I did go to all the trouble of cutting up the fabric and lace to make up her garment that I really should just take 1/2 an hour of so and tack it down.

The other was a little art quilt that I started a while back.  The base is a left over quilt block that I started stamping and painting on as an experiment with some of the techniques I read about in Quilting Arts Magazine.  I just didn't get very far and never finished it as well.  This is what I have so far . . .

I think this is what I'm going to finish as my CED challenge this month and incorporate the "home" theme into it.  Well  . . . it's just about time to go get the little one . . .

Hopefully I'll have more time for blog hopping again this evening . . . or maybe I'll summon up the energy to work on and finish one of the projects above.

Hope you're all enjoying OWOH!  I know I am!

Until next time . . .

So much going on!

I managed to finish my monthly SNL kit last night . . .  think it turned out pretty cute!

The theme was whimsical valentine with a beautiful color palette.  Doodles were the focus for this month . . . which even though I have a Bamboo, I'm still not completely comfortable using it.  I'm so glad I got this kit done!

Now I can move on to much more pressing things . . . like painting  and CED2010 and visiting all those blogs I haven't yet got to!  Gosh . . . so much to do!!

If you're looking for One World One Heart  . . . it's the post after this one.  I guess I need to start thinking about adding an additional giveaway . . . hmmmmm . . .  what should it be??

Will be back again soon!

One World One Heart 2010

I've seen this around the web and wasn't really sure what it was all about . . . have you?



Well . . . it sounded like such a wonderful idea that I decided to join the fun and "hop on the magic carpet" too.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by midnight, February 14, 2010, indicating your email address for a chance to win.  Please be sure to include an email address so that I can contact you if you do in fact win.  One winner will chosen using random.org based on the number of entries.  I will be announcing the winner by noon on February 15th!

What's the prize you ask?   Well . . . it will be this lovely handmade purse . . .

I made it out of an olive textured upholstery fabric and it is lined with a simple black cotton fabric.  Braided trim is used for the handles and the loop closure along with an oversized black shank button.

UPDATE:  February 5th, I have added a second giveaway . . .

This bag is done very similar to the green bag except with a soft gold chenille fabric and a round button this time.  This one is more of a night time bag.  I will give the first winner their choice of bag.

Good luck to all and thanks for stopping by!

I look forward to hearing for you!

A "happy" accident

I was able to play with paint today . . . unlike the other day, I wasn't planning on it, but was able to get a couple of hours time by myself.

I started with a 12" x 12" sheet of linen acrylic paper and just started using up the paint that was stored in my palette from last week's painting session.  I started light with the yellows and then added brown to the edge and spritzed alcohol here and there to "move" the paint.  Then I used green paint over a stencil and had to let it dry for a bit.  I scraped in some white lines with an old credit card and also scraped off the edges to get other areas of white. Finally, I took a charcoal pencil and traced some of the lines from the stencil.  Here's what I got:

After dinner, I decided that I would try to work some more on this.  At one point I put some leaf green paint and Jacquard Lumiere in pearl white on my palette paper and took the brayer to it and put that on the painting as well.  Then I decided that I wanted to stamp some leaf images with the pearl white paint, but it didn't show up very well on the painting.  Instead, out of frustration, I started stamping the pallette and it looked so cool that I took a picture of that instead.  Here's what my "happy" accident looks like:

I'm gonna let this dry and tomorrow will see about adhering it with gel medium to the painting as another layer and continue working on it.  Hopefully, I'll have something more and interesting to show you again tomorrow.

Until then . . . enjoy!

A different take

on the body theme for me today.  I started the day off all excited  because I'd have more time to myself today and would be able to paint.  I got my morning paper after dropping the little guy off at school and decided that I'd have my oatmeal and read the paper before heading into my "studio" to paint.

That's when things started going wrong.  I was reaching to the top shelf to get the measuring cup when it slipped out of my hand and hit the bottom shelf that housed my everday dishes.  CRASH!  . . . shattered pieces of two dinner plates were all over the place.  Klutzy me!  I figured it was just that I'd had too much coffee and needed something more in my stomach . . . but I couldn't make my breakfast until I cleaned up all the mess.

After cleaning it up and having a full stomach, I was finally ready to get on with my day.  I decided that I should go to the mall real quick and pick out some new dinnerware since having only 2 dinner plates in a family of 4 was not going to cut it.  I spent my morning going from store to store . . . Kohl's . . . Carsons . . . Bed, Bath & Beyond . . . Target . . . Kmart . . . and finally back to Carsons again to check out the opened box of dinnerware that I liked to see if it was intacted.  I managed to get a good deal on the set of 6 place settings that also included certain serving dishes, salt and pepper shakers and a cream and sugar bowl.   The sign said it was $49.99, but when the girl rang it up the total was $41.00!  Even better!  I was in the car and on my way home when I realized that once again I was starving . . . it was lunch time.  When I finally did get home and lugged that heavy box in from the garage, I was exhausted! . . . 11:30 am and I was feeling so tired.

So I made and ate my lunch and started to unpack the box.  Since I had to clean all of these new dishes, I had to first clean the dirty ones that I had left from breakfast so I started washing, rinsing and drying . . . . and washing, rinsing and drying . . . and here's what my new place settings look like . . .

I really love the basketweave design so I can dress them up with napkins, glassware and place mats in any color and/or design that I like.  After all that washing, rinsing and drying . . . it was time to pick up the little one from school and yet again . . . I was feeling tired!  But the bitter cold winter air woke me up temporarily when going out to pick him up.

I did manage to do some sketching earlier this evening . . . although I really would have liked to get out the paint.  I was looking through the book The Creative Artist A Fine Artist's Guide to Expanding Your Creativity by Nita Leland and love the exercises she's got throughout the book.  It just gets the mind going . . . anyway . . .  here's one of my sketch pages . . .

Kind of sums up my day perfectly.  I just wish I didn't feel so tired all the time!

Until next time . . . Happy Creating!

A freebie for you!

I know it has been a while, but yes, I do have a freebie available for download.

Hope you like it!

Please be sure to let me know what you think and forward any jpgs of your LO's to me.  There is a TOU included with the zip file so please be sure to read it.

You can download the kit by clicking here:  Studio64_MyValentineKit.zip

Taking in the sites

January18th
Originally uploaded by MrsC_64
I have been creating these past couple of days, just not posting like I should. We went to the Art Institute on Monday. Hubby and I had a great time, but the little guy got tired and bored pretty quickly. Can't wait to be able to go back again!

I have been working on a new scrapbook kit and I hope to be done with it tomorrow.

Until next time . . .

I'm so excited!

The new design at the SNL site is up and running. I think it turned out beautiful! This was my first time doing the re-dress and am so happy with the way it turned out! Take a look . . . SNL Scrappers


I was able to do some more painting today as well. I started with a new sketch and watercolor paper this time and I'm happier with the results so far . . .

Will work again on this some more tomorrow.

Painting today

I was able to block in the colors on the "body" painting that I'm working on for the CED2010 January challenge. I had to do some reading about color mixing for skin tones first however, and still need to do some more reading and experimenting with the paint. Here's what I have done so far . . .




















The background looks much greener here than it really is (my photography skills aren't all that great) but I figure if the pictures are not blurry, it's good enough for me. In actuality, the background is more of a muted green. I really like the way the draping is coming along! After looking at it more and more, the right arm just isn't right and she looks a little squat and chubby. I'll have to work on this more . . .

It's has been a little hectic around here these past couple of days. I voluteered to do the site re-dress for SNL which I did on Tuesday and am awaiting to see the results. This is the first time I've done it and I'm really excited and anxious at the same time! As soon as it's up and running, I will post a link to it from here.

Hope to be back soon with more creative projects and happenings.

Until then . . . Happy Creating!

Today is my birthday

For the past 2 years, I've received a free scrapbook kit from DSP . . . which is a really nice gesture and very much appreciated! As my way of thanking them, I create a LO using the kit and do an "all about me" page. Here's the page I did today . . .

If you want to see and read the complete details of "46 Things About Me", click on the photo and it will take you to my gallery at DSP.

I've had a wonderful day except for the fact that the Blackhawks lost. :( My hubby made breakfast for me . . . I got a dozen beautiful red roses . . . I got to relax and do some scrapbooking . . . I had a wonderful salmon dinner . . . I had chocolate birthday cake and got a bottle of my favorite perfume, Coco Chanel Mademoiselle, and also a Blackhawks sweatshirt!

All in all, it was a wonderful day! Hope to be back tomorrow with something more on my CED2010 project.

Finished my SNL kit

I'm really happy I decided to make this kit. I've been so disappointed these past couple of months because of all the problems I had with that demo of CS4 and the limitations I encounter in PSE5. I'm really glad I stuck with this one though. It's called I Remember Grandma. I remember going over to my grandmother's house when I was a little girl and she would let me play in her bedroom. On her dresser she had a silver tray with tons of perfume bottles and all kinds of jewelry. When I got older, she would let me put on her make-up too. I remember those as happy times . . . just being a kid! Anyway . . . here's my latest SNL kit . . .


I'm hoping to get something more done on my CED2010 project and be able to do some painting this weekend.

Hope to be back soon to show you more of my creative endeavors!

In the mean time . . . HAPPY CREATING!

Color Pencil Sketch

Here's my latest on the "body" theme for CED2010. I decided to go with this magazine clip first of all because my hubby said that the girl looked alot like me and my body. I cut it out of a magazine quite a while ago and always intended on doing something with it so when I heard of the theme for this month, I knew this was the picture I would be using. The other reason is that I have back issues and have since I was 22 years old when I had my first bout with a "slipped" disc. Since then, I've had several episodes of sciatica and recently had a displace rib. So my doctor says I need to do exercises to help strengthen my back muscles.

For this sketch, I decided to try colored pencils to get a feel more for the colors . . .

I think it looks pretty good! Next time, I will try my hand with the acrylics on this new linen paper by Strathmore I found at Michaels last week.

On another creative note . . . I have been trying to work on my new SNL kit . . . I have the papers done (which I'm really happy with), but seem to be struggling with the elements right now. I was trying my hand at making pearls again and seem to be running into a problem with some of the effects in PSE 5. Here's what I've done so far . . .

Well, I'm off again for now . . . hope to be back soon with another creation!

It's Official . . . the holidays are over

Yesterday was such an exhausting day . . . we had my hubby's family Christmas party and didn't get home until 10:30 pm and the little guy started back at school today. Everyone's been pretty tired and cranky here today. I did managed to get most of the inside decorations taken down and now it's just a matter of getting all that stuff back into the boxes and then stored away. The tree is no more . . . well sort of . . . hubby decided that he would keep the tree for a bit longer so he propped it up in a snow bank in the back yard.




I'm sure with one good windy day it will toppel over anyway.

I was able to take some photographs of some of the collections . . . here's all but one of the nativity sets that I have . . .




Starting the left . . . the tallest is my latest find and that's the one I've been using under the big tree in the living room . . . the ceramic one, hubby found and liked so I put it on the window sill in the kitchen. The glass one was a present from my grandmother and I've had it for many years now . . . probably a good 15 years. I use that one under the smaller tree that we put up in the family room. The one on the right is a Precious Moments version that I bought maybe 10 years ago. I was using it under the main tree for quite a number of years. I've been wanting to use it outside so that I could have a nativity scene outdoors too, but I'm afraid someone might take off with it . . . and I don't have a proper stable for it either.

There is one other nativity scene that I have but it's packed away in a box that we didn't even open this year. It's one that my mother gave to me and was used when I was a little girl so I know it's atleast 40 years old and very fragile by now.

Well . . . I'm gonna go for now and try to create something since I haven't had time yet today to create. I just have to decide wether I should continue with my SNL kit or try drawing some more for that new painting I'll be doing for the CED 2010!

Until next time . . .

My Word for the Year

So, yesterday I mentioned that I would be doing the exercises to find out what my word of the year would be. Well, I have done them and feel confident that I have found mine! I know this was the word for me because it was the basis of everything that I felt was hindering me from doing certain creative projects. I realized that everything negative that I have been feeling and what keeps me from wanting and having the energy to pursue a more creative life is not feeling healthful.

Since I quit smoking 5 years ago, I have struggled and put on a few more pounds than I care to admit. There was a time that I was exercising by walking or riding the bike and I was even doing Pilates and yoga as well. I got fustrated because I felt that instead of losing weight . . . which the scale told me that I wasn't . . . I was bulking up instead. When I look at pictures of me just 2 short years ago, I definitely looked slimmer even though the scale didn't say so. Right now I have no exercise routine at all and it sure doesn't help that the weather outside is so cold!

Sure . . . there are also those excuses of all the things I need to do on a daily basis and all the people who rely on me to help them out and do certain chores around the house, but when I struggle to keep my eyes open and feel tired all the time, it's tough to summon up the energy for anything but just getting through the day. It's a bad cycle that I need to break so I can have the energy I need and feel like I want to create something.

So my word for the year is healthful. Everything I eat, drink and do, will be to benefit my physical and mental health. I know I can do this! I know I will feel much better and have more energy when I do so!

As far as creating today, I did manage to make some background papers for my SNL kit and I was able to do some sketching. This is just a preliminary sketch for the painting I'm going to be doing for the "body" theme for this month's CED2010 challenge . . .

























For a first sketch . . . I don't think it's all that bad.

Well, it's getting late so I'm off for now . . .

'Til tomorrow . . .

Happy New Year!

OK . . . so I mentioned that I'll be taking part in the Creative Everyday 2010 Challenge and have found this interesting tool for finding your word of the year. Leah mentioned it and has a link on the site for a free download from Christine Kane. I've downloaded and printed it out and will be settling down for the night to read and write and find out just exactly what my word of the year will be!

We had some more Christmas shopping to do today. There's the family party for my husband's side of the family on Sunday so tomorrow I'll be wrapping and baking again and hopefully have some time for creating as well.

I'll show you what I have done so far on the painting I've been working on . . .

I'm really happy with the sky! The building needs work and so does the foreground. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more done tomorrow. I already have something else rolling around in my head as the theme for CED2010 for January is "body" . . . but I really would like to finish this before I start on anything new!

I just might also be working on an SNL kit as well . . . I was thinking that I might put making kits on the back-burner for a while . . . but I really like the theme and colors for January's kit so I think I might have to find time for that as well. This is the color swatch we have to work with . . .

They really are some pretty colors that I don't think I'll be able to resist!

Well . . . I'm off for now . . .

Hope to be back tomorrow!

My favorite Christmas present

My hubby gave me a figurine for Christmas that is just SO precious! It's called Brothers (Forging a bond that lasts a lifetime) and is a Susan Lordi design for Willow Tree. It prefectly represents our two boys and I have it sitting on my desk!

It's just so adorable that I had to share.

We had a bit of a mishap with the computer recently so some of my photos needed to be reinstalled from a backup drive and I still need to reorganized them. Seems I have doubles of certain ones that I already renamed and placed in certain folders . . . so now I have to figure out just exactly which photos are which so it may take some time to reorganize them. I had other pictures of Christmas decorations to share with you, but was only able to find this one so far . . .

Since I'll be taking the decorations down pretty soon I guess I'll just retake photos of all the collections we have . . . Santas . . . angels . . . nutcrackers . . . nativity scenes . . . that is if I remember before I end up putting them all away!

Well, I'm off for now . . . I'm trying my hand at a painting and have been working on it for a couple of days now. I have been taking pictures as I go along so you'll be able to see the progression.

Hope to be back soon!

Until then . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

I started off slow with my holiday decorating as I do every year being that we have a December birthday here, but things are beginning to look alot like Christmas!

I'm trying to stay with my gold, white and green theme . . . so I decided to revamped the wreath I've been using these past couple of years by adding white flowers and glittery gold leaf bunches and came up with this . . .
















Since that just wasn't enough and seeing that most of my neighbors have some type of decorations up outside already, I decided that I should start with the new decorative lamp post we found at Home Depot . . . then we added a lighted garland and the big red bow I found at Party City. Next we got to the snowflake lights and put those on the railings. Hubby decided that maybe he'll look at the angel we bought a couple of years back, but neglected to put out last year. I found the silly penguin we've had for several years now and since he was still working, I put him out as well.

Now things are really starting to come together, but still . . . I think we need more lights! Here's what it looks like so far . . .

I guess I'll wait to see what it looks like once I get the tree up and decorated before I decide whether to put anything else outside . . . although the weather may end up making up my mind for me. The next morning I woke up to this . . .

Yep! Our very first snow of the season! It's beginning to look alot like Christmas . . . everywhere you go . . .

Well . . . gotta go for now . . . I decided to make my own Christmas cards this year so I've got some cutting and pasting to do. Be back soon so I can show you all how those Christmas cards came out! Until then, enjoy this wonderful time of the year whereever you may be!

Give Thanks Page Kit

I finally finished!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

You can download the kit by clicking here: Studio64_GiveThanksKit.zip

Lone Rose

I know I promised a freebie and I should be done with it tomorrow. I had a little surprise in the garden that I couldn't resist. Here it is almost December and I have one lonely rose blooming! I've notice a number of different rose bushes in bloom throughout the neighborhood too. Quite rare for this time of the year. Anyway, I decided to cut it and have it in a vase on my desk.

What a pleasant surprise!

Hope to be back tomorrow . . .

Beautiful weather

Last month we decided to take advantage of the terrific weather one Sunday and took a ride downtown to Millenium Park. We took the Nikon camera with us and took many pictures, but I also tried taking some pictures with my new Blackberry Tour. I was going through the photos and just realized what a little gem of a photo I took of my son in front of Cloud Gate.
















Since the weather has been terrific these past 2 weeks, I've been busy in the garden as well. I did manage to plant some alliums and was able to divide and move some of the perennials. The yards look pretty bare right now, but I figure I'll have a nice jump start in the spring when planting season comes back around!

On another note, I am working on a new freebie kit for anyone who might be interested. Since this is the month of giving thanks, I guess you know what the kit will be about. Hope to have that done in the next couple of days.

Until then . . . enjoy the great outdoors wherever you may be!

Spook-tac-u-lar Fun!

Here's a little something I just finished . . . hope you like it!

Happy Haunting Everyone!

You can download the kit by clicking here: Studio64_SpookyHallowKit.zip

Ups and downs . . .

The past few weeks have been pretty crazy around here! First, I sent away for a trial copy of Adobe CS4 and installed it on my computer. I was so happy and giddy with all the new features and that Illustrator was right at my finger tips now. That lasted a whole 2 days before things started going really wrong with my computer . . . the third day after I installed the programs, my computer wouldn't start without going through this whole deal about repairing and restoring my system. When it finally did get it back up and running . . . CS4 and all of the programs were gone! I tried to reinstall and could not get any the components installed again so I finally gave up and did a clean up of all the programs.

I'm still awaiting to hear back from Adobe on this matter. I'm very disappointed and disheartened by this whole experience! I can't believe with my new souped-up computer that I could have so many problems with installing software. I've never had anything like this happen to me in all the years I've been using a computer. I've heard all the horrors stories, but this is the first time, I've ever had to completely uninstalled a program because of what it was doing to my computer. It's down right depressing to think that I might not be able to use the programs I've been dreaming of having for such a long time now. I'm hoping there's a fix out there somewhere!

On the bright side, I got a new phone . . . it's this awesome Blackberry Tour! This is the nicest phone I've ever had and it has so many cool features too. It's a PDA and a phone all in one!

I love my new phone!

Then, the very same day I got my new phone, I also learned some more disheartening news . . . we needed a new furnace. So $4400 and 2 days later . . . we now have a new furnace.

After all these ups and downs, I decided that I needed a break so I took a drive down to the lake. I remember going there just to sit and watch the waves crash against the rocks and to admire the skyline. Since I don't live that close to the lake anymore, it was a bit of a long drive, but still a nice change of pace. Although it was a pretty cold day and the winds were really strong . . . all in all, I enjoyed the fresh air and brisk walk. At the very least, I was able to clear my head!

I'm hoping this is the last of these ups and downs for a little while and that hopefully, I'll be able to get back to creating something . . . or better yet, finishing all these other projects I've got going on over here.

Hope to be back soon with some better news!