Sneak peek at one of my paintings. This one is three feet by four feet. And I already don't want to sell it because it will look so cool over my couch! I added the text in photoshop and this will b the promo postcard for the event. Not sure when or where but who needs to know those pesky details???

On another note I watched Il Postino, (the Postman) last night. I had not heard Pablo Naruda's poetry before. Oh my...it will make you swoon. I certainly intend on reading this man's work now! The movie is subtle. So beautiful. It gets it's message across so softly without clobbering you over the head. It made me wish that I could craft words into images like that. It is a story about a man who was foerver changed because of a chance meeting with someone whose worked touched his soul. He found his passion because of another's. Isn't that what life is all about? Us all touching,r, connecting, inspiring, helping each other? This man woke up from his life and began to live, really live his life because of Pablo Naruda. If you love Italy, if you love words, if you love stories of quiet inspiration, go rent this. It's beautiful.

And on one last final note...I am deliciously iced in. Yes, my parking lot ios a sheet of ice at the bottom of a hill. I have no guilt about doing nothing outside the house today! I have hours and hours to get my design work done then possibly work on something JUST. FOR. ME. Oh, the decadence!!

Last night I had a dream to watch a certain movie. I have been wanting to see it and did not rent it because I am pinching my pennies as much as I can. But today will be a nice long workday and I think that my dream means I can spare the few bucks and pick it up on my way home. Tonite it's just me, a glass of wine and my movie. Sounds lovely.

Oh, and who wants to see a sneak peek of one of my new paintings? Huh, do you? Do you? Sorry, got dogs on the brain. I will take a pic of the one I finish tonite. Maybe I shouldn's show any of them early, but they will make you smile. And ain't that what life is all about? The times we get to smile?

Speaking of, and now I am just a' ramblin' away, I saw Mr. Boo yesterday. The Chinese Crested dog. I need to post my pic of him! He sure made me laugh and smile! Some mean ol' person decided to breed the ugliest, saddest looking dog on earth. And by golly, (by golly? I am in a strange mood today!) they did! So ugly he is cute. Well, not really, he is uglier than a mud fence, but he is my newest client and his mamma is the sweetest woman so I need to be nice!

Have a beautiful Friday lovies!

So here it is. Real life. I email people, I contact magazines, I get proposals ready, I hang flyers, take out ads have meetings, make phone calls...then....I get apathetic. Totally lazy day yesterday. I SHOULD go paint at the studio today, I think. Make sure I am seen. But then again, my pj's are warm, the coffee is hot and I have all the paint I need to finish the commission I brought home to finish last night. So I am lazy. I stay home and paint. I research a few licensing agents, and get overwhelmed. Start thinking, is this REALLY what I want? What do I want? What is life all about anyway. Why the f#@* is this so hard sometimes?? Yeah, yeah, I get overly philisophical until I get myself all worked up and not sure that I am even remotely on the right path in life. It get pretty bad. Must call best girl friend. Which is usually the solution unless she is in the exact same mode. And she just got off the phone with someone in the exact same mode. Uh oh. A big tri-state "what the hell are we even here for, really??" conversation. You know the ones. I realize that there is no answer, so I don't keep asking. I resign myself that today is not going to be a highlight kinda day. I pick my kids up from school and play make believe fairies with Sophie outside for over an hour. (we go hunting for treasures and build a little house for fairies, it is so much fun) I live in those moments. They are good. I went to bed kinda just there, but realizing those days are ok to have even if they are SO unsatisfying. Today is so/so. I am meeting a woman at 1pm that has a Chinese Crested dog. It is guaranteed to make me smile and love what I do again. Until then I am finishing the detials on the commission from yesterday and finishing small design jobs. But I just checked my email. Travelocity gave me a fare checker saying I could fly to Florence for $233. HELLO. Is that CRAZY or what?! I could just forget this whole silly pet painting business, take what's in my checking account and run off to Italy. Ya think?

Ok, ok, that is a bit tongue in cheek. But it seems oh, so appropriate with all the reality shows going on! But due to new life circumstances, I need a bit more security than "Oooh, I hope this month is a good month for freelance and commissions!" That is great and it has been working, but I need, um, for lack of a better word, MORE. So today begins my new plan for my future. I need to know that college funds will be there one day, money for emergencies, heck, just the elusive SAVINGS account. Huh, what's that?? So today I begin doing all the things that are in my head. Some I haven't done out of fear, some out of procrastination, some out of that thing we are not really sure of why we don't just get off out butt and do. So I am not watching tv at night anymore. Not even if I can paint and watch my beloved Law and Order. (I a have an addiction, I admit it. Any 12 step programs to help me with that??) No, tv is a a time sucker, even if I do tell myself how Donald Trump is giving me great business tips. I need to be doing, not dreaming; Moving, not list making. Lists about what I want to do are great, but useless if I don't actually DO them.

So here is where I will document what I do. And I will let you in on the triumphs and misses. Not failures people, there is NO SUCH THING. Just things that work, things that don't and things that should be tried again and again until they do. Some of the things I need to do are submit my book proposal to the publisher I have had picked out since September, find a new licensing agent (my last one released me from my contract while encouraging me to find one that had clients better suited to my style - ouch.), I have a company in NYC interested in selling original art and posters and I need to get them some samples, I have a show to finish the paintings for and promote by contacting a rescue group. Some of these things will bring success, some will not work out, some will need to be fine tuned and tried again. It isn't so much to do if I just begin. Oh and not watch tv. But I will share with you what works and what doesn't. And maybe along the way I may find some of that security thing. I will keep you posted.