Delight and spinning.

This little owl makes me smile.

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for reminders to slow down when things are spinning out of control.

Party in the back baby!

Summer's in full gear and I've found my way back to the studio... yay! This is the start of something fun.

Always have to gear up for summer and nothing is quite like a summer hair cut to keep those locks out of the eyes while diving through waves and splashing in pools.

I suppose it might have been a little more exciting for me!

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for small ways to make my voice heard.

Fruity-licious.

I dug out my dehydrator this morning and cut up a batch of fresh snacks to dehydrate. 

Then I got inspired to make this fruity-licious pattern...

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for creative outlets.

Relaxing at it's best.

Summer has only just begun and somehow The Kid has found a way to incorporate relaxation into his day already! It's gonna be a fun summer me thinks!

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for someone in my corner to push my limits so I can push back and grow by leaps and bounds.

3 years today.

Three years ago today, my twin sister passed onto another life. It doesn't get easier, it doesn't hurt less but with the passage of time, I've been able to appreciate the time I was so fortunate to spend with her. She was a light in this world. Life is a gift... enjoy every day.

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for lovely bits of nature caught in the corners of life.

Say and become.

A lot of what we do and say can control how productive, happy, inspired (you fill in the blank) our lives become. Our words have energy and power that resonate with our emotions. We all have the ability to generate our best lives by what we say and how we say it.

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for challenging work that forces me to rise or fall but never remain stagnant.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the really great dads out there! I sure miss mine, he was a keeper!

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for new patio furniture for lounging outside that now has been broken in by the neighbor dog and his muddy paws.

Party pants.

This is a grouping of graphics I created for a retirement party for a VIP at Westfield Shopping Center next week. I am just about done with the 60' banner... hand cut and assembled. At one time my brain thought this would be a good idea, today my hand disagrees.

We have some good and bad news. This guy... Otis the Terrible Tortoise, is going to a new home tomorrow. Although he has been a great pet at our house for almost 15 years, he has decided that he can't stand Toby the Beast and chases him around the yard.

You'd think a tortoise couldn't move very fast and would be no match for a 70 lb dog but you'd be surprised. I can manage the two beasts and rotate their yard visits but I am mostly concerned that Otis is too stressed out and will not eat enough over the summer for his 5 month hibernation this Fall. That would be bad news for his 80-100 year life he is supposed to live.

We have some reptile experts who happen to live very, very close to us (around the corner and down the street close!) and they also have a son who attends The Kid's same school. They are providing an excellent home for Otis and will be taking over his adoption tomorrow. He'll be very happy over there among the other reptile herbivores... bearded dragons, lizards, a boa constrictor...

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful that all things happen right when they are supposed to.

Yahowza-palooza!!

This is a little logo I made for another Sweet 16 birthday party! I think for my 16th birthday, my parents took my sister and I out to Sir George's Smorgashboard and said... order anything you like.... it was a buffet!

The other day I received a notice from a producer with a release form to sign off permission to have my artwork on the TV series "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills!" I think I'm going to have to tune in and watch an episode or two!

One last random musing... it's official! I'm in the Master's of Counseling program and on the three year road to becoming a marriage and family therapist! Woot-woot! (I just found out Monday night with an acceptance letter!)

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for turns in the road to keep things interesting!

Look at that doggie in the window.

Something I learned recently... love this.

Some more doggie art in the works. Can you tell what breed this is?

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for thoughts of summer days and nights right around the corner!

Persists.

A wise person told me yesterday...

If that isn't a statement of truth, I don't know what is!

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for a really good puppy at the park today!

All in a day's work.

Today three things happened... this canvas arrived of some word art I created for someone's retirement party.

I visited my dad at the Point Loma military cemetery and was greeted by walls of headstones as far as an eye could see to the ocean and beyond. Stunning.

The North Park Sluggers didn't win their championship game. Oh well, it's all in a day's work.

How about you?

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for a nice full day and the ability to visit one that has passed.

Word Up.

It seems this custom art I create is on the radar of the universe. This is the 3rd one I've made this week! I think someone would be honored to receive art with words that describe them.

Now we are off to go watch this team play their first game in the Tournament of Champions! Woot-woot!

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for a slew of new friends through a funny, quirky little boy's baseball team!

Fitting In.

This is for someone who really needs to hear this. Could it be you?

It could possibly be me. I leave for my master's in counseling class in about 15 minutes to turn in a ten page paper about why I want to be a therapist. Yeah. Ten pages. It wasn't easy but it wasn't hard either, somewhere in between I guess. This exercise really helped me clarify my vision though and I realized that this process is just one more way to stand out for what I was born to do.

How about you?

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for easy-going people who are a rarity in this busy crazy life!

Boys of Summer and some words of wisdom.

The end of May always becomes filled with too many things to do in so little time... I thought maybe some words of wisdom might just be the ticket to end a very busy season.

Since I've got you here, I'd just like to give a little shout out to a humble little baseball team called the Sluggers. This North Park Little League team started out looking more like a hodge-podge of sorts in the beginning and ended up playing a game that rivals professional ball! This team played their championship game last Wednesday and WON!

AND, I have to tell you this first baseman played at the top of his game. Not only in the EIGHTH inning was he overthrown a ball but this kid was so quick to jump on the that ball, CHASE down that runner who was bee-lining it to second base, and with a look that only a mom could read as "Oh, no you di'int!" this first baseman TAGGED that runner before he even could step up onto that second base plate!

Shining moments and now we are off to the Tournament of Champions! Sigh.

Daily Gratitude: I am so grateful for another reminder to share willingly with people and trust they will protect your heart.