Sometimes you need your routine to help you get back into the swing of things. While I worked all weekend and almost have a huge job finished, it was emotionally a rough weekend. But after a good night's sleep and my kids back at home (one last day of spring break) I am feeling right again. I have two festivals this weekend to get ready for and some design jobs to get done. Time to chug along and get it all done. I am doing some new things to try and sell and thanks to a very sweet friend lending me a very nice matte cutter they will all be matted pieces of original art. Woohoo!

I am also going to post later here and on my homepage about some stolen art of mine. I had a whole box of art stolen out of my car about a week ago and I am sure somewhere that began the start of my getting down. It is the box I bring to the nursing homes, children's hospitals and schools I go to and show samples of my art. I had three original illustrations to my children's book, sculptures, a clock, stuffed Lucy and Rufus dolls, and a manuscript to a second book all stolen. (Plus a leather bag and walkman with my FAVORITE Ella Fitgerald cd in it!! But still more concerned about the art.) I want to post pics of as much as I can just in case they are not in a dumpster (I can hardly stand the thought) and MAYBE someone gave them to people. Everything is signed and there were business cards with everything so this person KNOWS who I am and where my studio is. Perhaps if someone recieved a piece of my art they will look up my website and see that the art was actually stolen. It's worth a shot. And I will say this, I would rather not get any of it back and hope it is with someone who likes it than to think that it got dumped somewhere. All I really want back is the book illustrations. They were my favorites.

I would classify myself as an eternal optimist. I see the bright side of things even when I don't want to. I can even annoy myself when I feel like just wallowing in swlf pity. But right now it is 4:30am, and I am slightly overwhelmed at how much the last six months of my life has been so hard. I am so over it. I am tired of being strong, tired of going it alone, tired of no help (I feel this most when bringing groceries or a huge bag of dog food up the riduculous amount of stairs to my apartment) and tired of having to be a mature, responsible adult. I want to cry out that life is not fair and that for once,just once could maybe I catch a break. I already hate how whiney this entry is sounding, and I wish I were all, "but life is hard sometimes and you have to make lemonade out of lemons, yada, yada, yada..." But I am not. Life is hard, I have lost alot in the past six months and I am tired, and cranky and want something, SOMETHING to be easy soon. Is that really too much to ask? Just one bright spot that doesn't have to be worked at, gotten through, just is lovely, and easy and makes smile. I am sure I will regret this entry tomorrow morning, hating how I sound defeated in it. But right now I feel defeated and alone in all this mess. Life is too damn hard sometimes. And for someone who almost dares life to make me feel down, that is saying something. Bah.