Pssst!

I just wanted to stop in one last time this year to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Here's another little secret. "Pssst!" is in my etsy shop right now. Yep, I somehow managed to squeeze out one last painting for 2009.
I'm looking forward to an amazing 2010 and to being able to reveal another (bigger) secret that I've been keeping. :)
That one will be staying under my (party) hat for a wee bit longer though.

If you are in the valley tonight and don't have any other plans, come on down to Hey Andy! and ring in the new year with Flyght.
It's gonna be fun.
If not then I'll see you next year!

IF - pioneer

Yipes. It's Tuesday and I'm just remembering to see what the IF theme is!
Things really won't get back to normal around here until the kids go back to school and Mike back to work next Monday.
Please bear with me.
Also I still haven't located the camera cord (not that I've really looked very hard) and, so, can't share any photos anyway.

The house is still in total disarray. I've tried to get things organized a few times, but with everyone home it just ain't happenin'.
I just got back from the dentist (don't ask) and plan on at least getting the empty boxes organized and back up to the attic.
New art soon! I mean it.

Oh yeah, the IF word is pioneer.
I thought this image worked.

Sending warm wishes...

...out to all of my friends, family, and followers this holiday season.
Hope your days are filled with people (and pets) that you love, fond memories of Christmas' past, and hope for a shiny New Year.

Creative time...

...is hard to come by this month.

Here's all the further I got on this before production screeched to a halt.


oh, i fit in a doodle here and there while I'm printing out the days orders.
I've made a few gifts, but they were more crafty than arty.

I'm really looking forward to spending some nice quality time with my family and then after that some nice quality time with my paints and brushes. I should head on over to Dick Blick and place an order right now so that I have everything I need when that time finally comes.
I want to get back to the "Pretty FAces" series and the "Simple Folks".
And I have a new "She Believed" girl that's wanting to speak her mind.

Here's an average joe who showed up on a random piece of paper.
He looks a bit confused. But charming. :)

I got soooo close to finishing my shopping yesterday that I could almost taste it. (it tasted like sugar cookies ;) )
Now I'm without a car today so Mike may be the one checking the last two items off of the list.
He's going to try and finish up after work so that we have tomorrow to head to the grocery store and get all of the supplies for Christmas Eve dinner.

I had planned to leave you with a few pictures of our tree now that it's decorated, but the camera cord seems to be MIA. :(
Sooo, that's not happening.
Now, I must get wrapping.
Have fun tying up all of the loose ends. :)

IF - Undone

Some things just can't be undone.
But a heartfelt apology can never hurt.

For the Illustration Friday theme: Undone

The sweetest couple.

I just love these two as a couple.
One so tall. One so small. :)


And that's with heels on. Her, not him. :)



I think they had fun.
Aaron had to go too to take pictures for the yearbook. We didn't get any pictures of him because he wasn't ready yet when we left to take Eli and Taylor. He looked pretty much the same as last year...minus the burgundy shirt plus a white shirt.
Not so much fun for him, I guess. Someone was supposed to come and relieve him at some point but they never showed. (what's up with that, jenna?) :) Anyway, he didn't even get a meal, poor kid. I'm sure they'd have given him something if he'd asked. Sometimes he'd rather just suffer and complain about it later. ;)

Anyway, busy week, again.
Went shopping with my mommy yesterday and she bought me lunch at The Olive Garden.
Still not done with the shopping. :(
Today I need to grocery shop and take Josh for a haircut.
Tomorrow night we get to go and see Julian Velard! Aaron bought us tickets months ago.
Thursday night is Eli's last ice game before the holidays. In Morgantown. Thats ALWAYS an adventure!
I think Mike is meeting old work friends on Friday night. Not sure yet if I'll join them.
Saturday is a Christmas party up at cousin Nancy's.
And Sunday, Taylor (the other Taylor) is coming home from HAWAII!!!!!!! Haven't seen her since August so we can't wait!
And we've promised her her favorite dessert.

In between all that I've been printing oodles of prints and making some gifts for family members.
So if you're wondering why no new art, now you know.

Hope to get back to it soon.

Getting excited about JV!

This Wednesday!!!
(be sure and scroll down and stop my playlist if you're gonna watch this)

IF - Hatch

These two are hatchin' up a plan.
For this week's Illustration Friday prompt: Hatch

Sorry it's just a sketch...for now.
Better than the "nothing" I've submitted for the last 2 weeks. :(
Christmas, ain't it?

Christmas never fails to sneak up on me

Every December 26 I vow that next year I'll be ready.
I'll have my shopping done early.
Decorations will look perfect and the house will smell of peppermint and pine.

I won't have to stay up late on Christmas Eve to wrap presents.
And my etsy shop will be stocked with lots of Christmas-y goodness.

I guess I forget that even though it's Christmas, it's also still December.
A regular old month when you have to do laundry, buy groceries, do all of your printing and shipping. Not too mention hockey games and Christmas dances.
So even though I sketched these little sketches when I was down in Virginia, I still haven't had a minute to do anything else with them. :(

Andy yet...

...as overwhelming as this all can seem, when there are Christmas carols playing in the background, all is right with the world. :)

New offering and beginning to look a lot like Christmas

First off a new original painting, "Does your Harbor Light Still Shine", (it's a Clark's song) will be in my shop soon after I finish this post.
It's not the least bit Christmas-y and I have no excuse.

Now for my annual Christmas around my house photos. Some things look the same and some different.


Did I mention that I'm not crazy about the new dining room color. :(


But am still madly in love with the new living room color.


Still need to add some greenery here. Luckily we cut an extra tall tree and have plenty of leftover boughs.


That's the big old ugly t.v. that those cherubs are tumbling across and my Pure of Heart angel in sepia in the background.


Here's what's hangin' out on my dining room table right now. Needs work.


And here's our beautiful blue spruce (we're known as the blue spruce people at the Christmas tree farm) waiting for Mike to add the lights and beads and the rest of us the decorations.


Toys in the corner.


My pap pap's old fishing hat and an original painting by my talented husband.

Some favorite red books and a one-eyed reindeer.

As you can see, there is still a lot to do! Window wreaths have yet to be hung, Buddy is still in the attic, Eli needs a suit for the dance this Saturday, and so on, and so on.
I've made a small dent in my online shopping but have yet to go out into the real world.
I'm sure you are all just as busy though and probably have no time for reading this anyway.
So I'll be on my way.
And don't forget about this girl...

Here's what happened yesterday...

Here's the email Mike sent out to friends. Since he already wrote it I figured I'd just steal his words.

Subject: Gene Simmons giveth...

... and The Hard Rock taketh away.

Greetings, friends.

WDVE and The Hard rock Cafe are currently sponsoring a band competition in which the winner will be the opening act for Kiss at their show on December 13th at Mellon Arena. My son's band, Flyght, entered the competition. DVE selected 15 finalists from the entries they received. Those 15 were sent to, none other than Dr. Love himself, Gene Simmons. Gene narrowed the list to five and Flyght was on it. Those five finalists will compete in a battle of the bands at The Hard Rock Cafe. It's sick. Right?!

Well, here's where it goes sour. Because the show is also being sponsored by an adult beverage, participants in the competition must be 18 or older. Aaron will turn 18 on January 5th. Such is the life of an aspiring rock star--I suppose--a constant roller coaster of emotions.

There is an upshot. The lady who is handling the submissions said she would forward Flyght's demo CD and video to Gene Simmons as a favor to them, and because he liked them well enough to include them in his final five. It seems that Gene is always on the lookout for up and coming bands. So who knows? The stairway to stardom may just be built by Gene Simmons.

If you want to see the music video Flyght shot over the summer, go to their myspace and scroll down. It was done on a pretty low budget, but it turned out pretty well. (In my somewhat-biased opinion. : )

Everclear

If you want to see Flyght perform live, they are doing a show in Finleyville, PA tomorrow night. They will go on around 9:30 and will play till 1:30 or so. If you google "Angelo's in Finleyville, PA," it should produce a link to a map that will get you right there.

Thanks for reading.

Mike D.

So that's it. They are taking it very well, I think.

It's still so exciting, either way. :)

PS. Here's the video that caught Gene Simmons attention.

Happy December!

"Very Sweet and Pretty"
In my etsy shop and sold already!
I'll add prints soon.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.
I ate so much I was sure I'd never eat again! But, of course, I did.
MMMMMMM! Pumpkin Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory is to die for!
We had a very nice visit with all of the family in VA.
Thanks to Mark and Kristan for letting us take over their home for 3 days. As usual, I left my camera behind and have no pictures to share. :(

Spent most of yesterday printing and packing, so if you are waiting on an order it will be on it's way today.
Now to get started on the shopping and decorating!
It's my plan to take deep breaths and do my best to enjoy the whole process. Let's see how that goes.