Saturday, January 29, 2011

Last night was great celebrating Jack and Tristans birthdays together. I love the friends Jack has chosen, they're all good boys. Dinner was great and Kate even joined us! Yay! Joe wasn't there but I'm sure he was having a great time at his friend, Sams for a spent the night as he used to call it. Today is beeeeaautiful! Its a huge tease but I'll take 70 in January. This is why I love living in Bama, b/c we can have some really great days in the middle of winter. Soon, the early blooming trees will have leaves, its usually around Valentines day that I start noticing them. We have about 6 weeks until spring break and I think I'm going to put myself on a detox program. I have a great book that has a good plan in it and I just need to follow it. I'm curious to see if I will feel better, not that I'm feeling bad but I'm always trying new health things and I've never done this b/c I do enjoy Friday nights but on the cleansing program, Friday nights will consist of green tea! Ahh! I am up for the challenge and I want to go into spring with feeling great! I'll let you know how it goes.

Friday, January 28, 2011

It's Friday! My favorite day of the week!!!
Lots of fun things to do today,
have to pick a cake up for Jack and Tristan's little party tonight. Dinner and Beef O'bradys with Carrie and Tris and the kids. 

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Home today! Ahhh. It feels so great to be home today. I cleaned the bedroom worked on some pottery pieces. I have my new running shoes on and I'm going to get out there and run a couple of miles just as soon as the veggie soup I just ate isn't sitting in my tummy. All kids got off to school great and Rick will be home tonight. Kate applied for a really cool thing last night, I'm not saying what it is b/c I don't want to jinx it. I think she'll get it. If she does, it'll be sooo cool! Just got the message for the sb11 meeting for Kate and her friends. I know they'll all have a great time and two of the three moms chaperoning are seasoned and pros at this. I'll be there too in case they need anything but I know the girls will be great. I told Kate I would help next year and chaperone her senior beach trip. Ha, Jayne you can come too!!! whoo!! I need to get going and looking up flights for Lauren to visit during prom. I'm sure the boys will start asking early Feb. Its always so fun to see how they ask and who they ask! No bf for Kate this year so hopefully a nice friend will ask and they'll have a great time!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Today turned out to be so pretty. I bought new running shoes and even ran a mile in them. I was deteremined to get outside at least to run a mile. Jack had track practice and Kate worked. Joe came home and did his homework. He is so great about doing his homework right when he gets home. He said his class had a sub today so if there was supposed to be math hw, the kids didn't know about it. Jack is enjoying track, its so good for him to run. I'm looking forward to going to the meets. The babies were all so good today, it has been a lot of fun watching them grow this year. They all have such different personalities and they're all precious. I subbed on Tues in the 18mo room so I actually worked three days this week which was great but I really need to be home on Tues and Thurs to work on projects and to keep up with the laundry. I'll be home tomorrow. This time last year we were waiting to hear if Kate made belles, I'm glad we aren't going through that this year. She has had fun participating in all the belles events and she has truly enjoyed working at Wrapsody. I know she'll look back on her days at the store and have a lot of fun memories. It is really a job that a lot of girls in h.s. would love to have. Jack thinks he wants to work but I told him we're not even going to talk about that, he has to have a certain gpa before he can get a job. His grades are most important especially b/c he'll want to go to Auburn. I'm really hoping I can get one of these kids over to Tuscaloosa! Joe will do it! I think he is a Bama fan deep down, he is just scared Jack will beat him up if he actually says so.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Had a wonderful family dinner at Stix tonight for Jack's 14th birthday! Can't believe he is 14! Today was chilly and dreary and rainy but it wasn't icy or snowy like the day he was born. He is just doing so great and we are so proud of him. He is sweet, and thoughtful and so smart. Thank You God for Jack Leventry!!!!

and so it starts!

So yesterday Joe and I were chatting after he got off the bus and then he got a text from a friend who happend to be a girl. He said, "oh mom she wants to know if I like her." I said, oh well, do you? He said, I don't know thats the big question.. haha. I said, well why don't you just tell her you like her as friend. He said. ok that is good. So he texted her that he likes her as a friend and she texted back saying, oh good, me too, I was just checking. ha. aww. sooo precious! This is such a cute age and I don't think I really appreciated it when Kate was that age because she was my first and I worried about everything. Joe said he and his friends are excited to get to the middle school so they can meet all the kids from the other schools. Such a great attitude to have! I do think I'm in for a very social Joe Joe! That's okay. I know it will go fast and I'm going to enjoy every second of it!

Saturday, January 22, 2011


Sadies was a success!! Aww that was kate's 3rd Sadie Hawkins. Wow. Time is sure flying by. She is so beautiful and has wonderful friends! Only one more sadies at hhs to go! Next year, Jack gets to go! whoo!!! oh goodness! :)

Friday, January 21, 2011

2nd to last Friday in January, the longest, coldest month of the year!! Tonight is Sadie Hawkins for HHS. Kate is excited and looking forward to wearing a new dress and new make up and new shoes and new jewelry. Gosh its expensive to have girls, although, I will say, Kate has bought a lot of her own things and we are so proud of her for working so hard. Last year, it snowed on sadie hawkins, thankfully this year, there is no snow just cold air. I worked in my office for a little bit this morning, walked two miles with Rick and now its time to get ready for the day! Wishing all of you many blessings for a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend.

Thursday, January 20, 2011


Thinking about summer!

zinnias!!!

this can be purchased as a giclee print on canvas or as a framed print or as a print in several sizes and also a greeting card at http://www.fineartamerica.com/
Love this message tile! Just relisted it on etsy after sort of forgetting about it. 15.00 is a great deal for this cute little gift.
Thursday, one of my favorite days b/c it is so close to Friday and Friday is my favorite day. I've had a good week. Thankfully, I've had several orders and people have responded favorably to new pieces which is so fun and validating. Teresa cleaned yesterday which was wonderful. I love having her come twice a month to clean. It just helps! Owen is being bad. He still has a l ot of puppy in him whcih is adorable and sooo not a adorable.  I just ate fresh guacamole with 10 multigrain crackers and a cup of sugar free vanilla yogurt. Hoping that keeps me satisfied for a long time! I'm off to work upstairs.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011



I'm not a jewlery maker! It is so hard for me but I do love making these pendants. This is my kind of  jewlery making.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Flying Novena

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence fly unto you. Oh Virgin of Virgins, my Mother! To you do I come; before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful Mother of the word incarnate, despise not my petition, but in your mercy hear and answer me.. Amen
painting by Joni McPherson

Took the 5th grade boys roller skating yesterday. What fun watching them think they're sooo big! Also, bought Jack two pairs of jeans. He really needed them and I really hope he grows soon!! :) Second week of 1200 calories a day. Its not too bad. Last night, ohhh how I wanted a big bowl of mac and cheese but nope, I opted for the frozen raspeberries and strawberries. It'll be worth it and they were really good. This morning I'm thinking I've eaten about 250 cals so far. Hopefully I'll get time to do a work out. I should be able to. Its gloomy here and rainy. yesterday however was beautiful. I did get outside and jog 2 miles. We're making our way through January. Next Tues is Jack's 14th birthday! Wow!!!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

I have discovered the site... fineart.com ohhh goodness I've had fun uploading my prints to it. I love seeing my paintings in a print! How cool is that? I have no idea if I'll ever sell one thing from that site but I hope so. I just love going to it and looking at my paintings. http://www.fineartamerica.com/
I am the only one in the family who will eat left overs!! Hello, they're actually soo much better than the first time around. Lunch today was left over brisket with rice and onion sauce. soo yummy. aprx 300 cals along with a l.f. string cheese coming in at about 70 cals. so far. about 700 cals and its 1:30 whoo!
Sunday morning!! Breakfast bagel with tsp cream cheese and honey topped with 4 almonds and a sprinkling of granola... yum! aprx 300 cals.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

2 weeks into my goal of painting at least one thing every single day. its kind of like exercising. Some days I'm all about it, I really can't wait and other days, I'm so over it, like who really cares but with both of those, comes the feeling of accomplishment when the task is completed. So, here is todays painting. Its taken me a couple of days to do this one but I love it. The canvas is small, 5x5 and its wrapped but its very high quality and it was rather expensive. the flowers were a joy to paint and I really loved creating the back ground. my favorite part is mixing the colors the way I want them to be.

ps I really want to paint a cool cross on canvas. I'm not happy with whats on there now... Hopefully, the end result will be good and wouldn't it fabulous if these sold? oh yes it would! but, in the mean time, i will find a spot so I can enjoy these flowers while it is cold and gloomy outside.
Many people see themselves as the sum of the past, the result of everything they've accumulated along the way. That's one way to look at life.




I prefer to look at it another way. As I see it, the person I am today is perfectly positioned for my future. The future, not the past, has conspired to put me where I am in this moment, in this place, in this position in my life, so that I can claim the potential that awaits me.






- John-Roger with Paul Kaye


(From: Momentum, Letting Love Lead - Simple Practices for Spiritual Living, p. 91)

Always love waking up to an email from etsy!! Oh how I love special orders and I love people saying they love my work. Validation right there! :) Yay!

Highlights this morning for my hair. I neeeeeeeddddd them sooo badly!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Lunch

I know it's January when I'm posting more than twice a day. Its cold out and there really isn't anything to do but be inside. I've gotten tons of stuff done this morning, I printed lots of coupons, painted, postsed several things, listed several things on etsy, vacuumed and I just had lunch at 11 am! Yep thats what happens when I'm doing the 1200 cal thing and I eat breakfast at 6:15am! Sooo lunch was fabulous today.

half an avocado
2Tbs lime juice
diced onions
diced organic tomatoes.
garlic powder

mix all together enjoy on one flour tortilla!

Dessert
greek yogurt, a few peanuts and puff ceral with organic frozen cherries.

total cals about  400

Breakfast half cup oats with tsp of cocnut oil and a dash of brown sugar and cinnamon

total cals about 200

Bama Girl


Sooo.... I'm a little partial to this painting b/c I'm a Bama fan. I love how different each girl is in each of the three paintings. That is truly how God has made us and it is always duplicated in what we create ourselves. I cannot make this painting exactly like this again. I can do the same design but she will be different and unique and I love that! Roll Tide!

Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onion Gravy

Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onion Gravy

Dinner Tonight!

Fearless Friday!

So.... Friday is my favorite day of the week. I don't work on Friday, there is usually football to look forward to and friends to see but Friday in January is not really any fun. Its cold outside, no football and pizza and ice cream sundaes aren't on the 1200 cal plan.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

I forgot to mention in my previous post about things I love about today that I love Alan Short and I love that he was born today!!!

Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken

Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken

Dinner Tonight!

Things I love today!


THINGS I LOVE TODAY!

beautiful sunrises
my HoUsE
my ChildRen!!!! (for exlcamations for 4 beauties)
my husband!
having silly sisters
my mom
my dad
my dad who texts back after sending him a text 2 days ago! haha
bama girl, auburn girl, and white flowers
imperfect greenware fired to bisque
babies who don't cry
yoga
walking outside
1200 calories
lunch with a friend
dreams that make me laugh
facebook friends! lol
coconut oil
i'll see the beach in almost 7 weeks!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Auburn Girl.... Bama Girl, still in the studio.


January in Bama

January in Alabama is always interesting. Last week it was warm, 55 60 degrees. lovely! This weekend, we've had a blast of winter weather. Hoover did not get the snow but a little north of us sure did. they are really snowed in. We are just sort of icy down here. Just enough to be annoying and enough to worry about kids driving. kate went to her friends last night before the big Auburn/Oregon game. Thankfully she made it okay. I need to get out and go to the grocery store b/c the boys are eating me out of house and home! I've made my menu for the week. I'm sure we'll all be back at school tomorrow, which will be a good thing. We need activities and a schedule. We are all rested and have enjoyed this time. The count down for spring break has begun. 8 weeks to the beach! Its been a while since I saw the white sand of the emerald coast, and I'm ready to see it again.

Monday, January 10, 2011

counting calories!

I love eating good healthy food! The problem is calories are calories and even if a food is healthy it doesn't mean that it doesn't count as calories. Soo, I'd like to lose about 10lbs by spring break which is mid March. I looked on Web Md and figured out how many calories I need to eat in a day to lose the 10lbs by sb. The magic number is 1200! Yikes. that is not very many calories. So, let's see. this morning for breakfast which was at 7 b/c the dogs needed to go out, I was hungry and I ate a small homemade granola bar. I'm guess it was about 140 cals. not bad. Then I went back to bed b/c we have a snow day today and finally got up at 9:45. For my real breakfast I made two eggs, one with just egg whites. I also had 2 pieces of toast to go with it. So, that was probably, 260 cals. So, I'm already up to 400 calories and its not even noon! It is easy to see why its important to count calories. The first days of calorie budgeting are always hard but by the end of the week it will be easy breezy. I'm baking sweet potatoes and organic russett potatoes for later. Tilapia is thawing in the fridge and Publix makes a mean salad. Hopefully I can manage to budget my 5oz glass of red wine which is my dessert. The national championship game is on tonight and that means, sec football which of course, when sec football is on, i am like pavlov's dogs and I start craving, crap. I must plan ahead today for something lean and yummy to eat during the game!! anyway, it will be fun to see how this turns out by March 12th. :)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Desire, Now I get it!

Today, as I was working on painting this window, I realized what desire really is. I mean, obviously, I know what desire means and I've desired many things in my life but today when it took me five times to get this painting the way I wanted it, I realized what desire meant. That is why people go far, that is why they get noticed, because they have the desire in their heart to make it good. To keep going when its just not fun any more.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

ever evolving style!

faith... It's usually my go to word if I'm looking for a word to use on a piece.

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Eats!

Just made my grocery list for the week. I find when I actually sit down and make a menu I spend half the money and half the time at the store. And, yesterday, I thought, why not really stick to menu making each Sunday for the whole year, put them in a binder and then I'll have 52 weeks of menus to refer to through out years to come. So cool! So, I did it. yay me! I'm off to Whole foods today to buy my grassfed beef and organic turkey and sirloin steak. I'm really sticking with this clean eating.

Christmas is down and the house looks back to normal. It looks bare but it was time to get everything down. Theresa comes on WEd. so I think I'll leave the dusting up to her. Kate's room looks great. Rick and I put the new/old red velvet settee in her room. Slowly but surely, its coming together. The boys are still sleeping as its their last day to sleep in. I've loved having them home but I'm eager to get started on 2011. I'm hoping Jack picks football this spring.I'd love for him to be a part of the Hoover High School football program. I have several emails into condo owners at the sundestin, hopefully, one of them will get back with me soon so we can get our trip booked.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The theme for 2011 is LOVE

I've read so many books recently that the message is love. Having love for everyone and everything is hard, and if there is not love, then you must let it go and not think about it again. Love and fear, hoping this year will be about loving and not being scared. I've learned that the ego can so easily get in the way of love and loving with out conditions is only hard because the ego says so. It doesn't have to be. It is actually quite simple and will make everything in the world better.

Love is patient love is kind, love never ends.