I may need an intervention...

 

I went to the store tonight to get a couple of things (milk and eggs), and happened to walk past the flower section... purely coincidental. Okay, not really, but I really didn't intend to buy anything... until I saw this HUGE plant of Hydrangeas. It's like 2 feet tall! With thick, healthy canes and gorgeous purple and lime green flowers.

I was taken by surprise at how healthy and big the plant was compared to the normal puny, dying plants you see in the supermarket, and I just couldn't walk away. I rarely buy extra things, like this is the first time I had been to the store by myself since we lived in Idaho since I hate shopping. I had some birthday money Joan sent me, and decided this was worth it. I knew Ryan would roll his eyes when he saw it, but it is seriously so pretty! I had to promise myself that I couldn't buy any more plants, though, because I honestly have no where to put any more in this small apartment.

sweet pre-spring days

I will never get tired of this sweet face, or of her randomly saying "I love you".

 

I bought a dish made by my friend Sophia, and it arrived in the mail today. It is the dish with the little bird on it, and it looks lovely with my potted plants. She is from Taiwan, and attending school at BYUI, and does beautiful ceramics. I'm hoping that she decides to do them as a career, because she has serious skills. She was attending for an art education degree, though she wouldn't be able to teach or create ceramics if she decides to go back to Taiwan. I hope she stays in the U.S., but I know that would be a very hard choice to make.

hydronephrosis

Yesterday Ethan had an ultrasound to check his kidneys, and we discovered that not only does he have hydronephrosis in both kidneys,  it is really bad in his left kidney. apparently his left  kidney hurts a great deal, but of course Ethan never tells me when something hurts... I hope the doctor will call me and talk to me today, but I might have to wait until our appointment in two weeks.  Prolonged hydronephrosis causes permanent kidney damage,  so since this has apparently been on going since he was in my tummy I am worried he may have permanent kidney damage. I know that there isn't any point in worrying,  but I still do.it has most likely been caused by a malfunctioning valve, the one that lets pee out of the kidney--but this valve is letting reflux back in. Most likely it will require surgeries to correct. Typically this is something kids outgrow,  and it was improving so the doctors were not very concerned after our last ultrasound when Ethan was about one years old.  I'm greatful we have insurance now and can afford to take care of it, but I wish we would have figured it out sooner for his sake.

Books!

I just ordered a bunch of books and I'm so excited. All of them are for the kids, except one which is an anatomy for artists book which I am very excited to get.

I've decided that I need to start ordering books online, because I honestly don't have time to get to the library lately, and I miss reading. I'm going to start ordering myself the classics, like Jules Verne books.

The kids book collection that we have accumulated from DI over the years has not only literally deteriorated, but Ethan has also out grown it. I ordered some Little Critter, Berenstein Bears, and Magic Tree House books. If anyone has any ideas on chapter books for kids who are beginning chapter books, I would love to hear them--especially if they are exciting type books. I grew up on the Boxcar Children books, but I doubt Ethan would be very interested in those. When we look at books in stores he always gravitates towards those advertising gimmick types books about legos and action figures. I know I want to try out the Redwall series on him, but any other ideas would really be appreciated.

By far the best painting I've ever done and I'm positively giddy about it. And ryan pointed out it only took me painting it 6 times to finally get it hahaha. It looks much better in person, as the light in a photo bounces off the colors and shows them as opaque insteadof showing the multiple layers of complex color and value. I'm so happy with it.

Just in case I mess it up...

Just in case I mess this painting up, I needed to post this picture--Because I am loving it so far. I seriously love how her dress turned out, especially that line along the bottom of the dress. It is perfect. And her hair turned out perfectly, though I will be adding some darker spots; and her skin is going perfectly, though I need to add some details. You can click on the image and it will show a bigger version.

Portrait

I promised one of Ryan's cousins that I would do a portrait for her as a wedding gift. This portrait is kicking my butt, hahaha. The truth is that I've decided that from here on out in my art career, if I mess up past what is fixable I have to start over, I can't just call it good and move on to the next picture. I have never, EVER started over on a painting after the second try failed, so the positive side of things is that going on the 6th draft of a painting is really pushing me to keep working at things and not give up. The ADD side of my personality is going crazy, hahaha.

Here are 4 of the 5 drafts I've already done. The first 3 I tried doing a landscape along with the portrait, but Ryan accurately pointed out that they were more of a landscape than a portrait, and since I am wanting to improve on portraits it would be best to make the couple the entire focus of the painting.
I can say that I have learned a lot in the process, even if it is so incredibly frustrating. I am a perfectionist in that I see miniscule details that bug me and bug me until I destroy it trying to fix it (which is what happened in the last draft I did), give up completely, or start over... so others might say, hey that looks fine but inside I hate it because I see the mistakes. I really want to finish a painting and be 100% pleased with it, and know that it is of professional quality.

So here we go on number 6, and I really hope this is the last time of starting over.