[i] LoveLife

LAST CALL FOR LADIES.

These two are SO CUTE. They adore each other. They're watching the garage-salers go by this morning. And by garage-salers - I do not mean boats. Hurray! Hello Saturday. It's summer and summer means garage sales! Pilot's getting better at sitting by herself everyday. Crash has always been excellent at sitting by himself - but, he's a rockstar. ;)

LAST CALL FOR YOUR CUSTOM TINY ART LADY. Yes. After today - I will not be taking anymore orders.  Prints will still be available. All of the custom ladies will have a grand unveiling in a few weeks. Life will be golden and awesome. BUT I AM NOT TAKING ANYMORE CUSTOM TINY ART LADIES AFTER TODAY. I'm NOT. So do not even ask because I will find a really nice way to tell you to jump in a lake. GET YOUR ORDER IN TODAY. GET IT IN.

Today: There's some lovely, lovely jazz music all over the house. It's awesome. The coffee is good. Pilot is napping. Dan is home! We're enjoying the day and ready to head out for a walk in a little while. In the rain. It's a beautiful slow Saturday. SWEET DEAL.

Let's do this. GO!

Edemame Keemosabee.

All kinds of good things been happening around here and nothing particular. Love, love, loved the spring palette of green-on-whites as I chowed down on my new favourite lunch. I really liked this photo and I'm just bubbling over because it's Friday. SWEET DEAL, my friend. This post has nothing related and nothing revolutionary - just a sprinkling of funny pictures and random crap.

This is a little sneak-peak-a-roo at a cool new project I'm working on. This is a very, very, VERY early draft - but, it's been fun to cook up and I enjoyed the research yesterday. Actually, it wasn't my idea in the least - I'm just trying to put a pretty/edgy/cool spin on it. AND I WILL TELL YOU MORE WHEN I CAN. I can tell you that it has something to do with PLANTABLE papers. But, that's it. No more. My lips are sealed.

This is Hula Gus. Actually - his name's just Gus and he's Tammy's rescue pug. He's been around for about 8 months now and he's fits in so perfectly. It's a bit of a tradition in our friendship to get the token dog-in-flower-lei photo and Gus's time had come. (Mostly because as I was turning in my Jeep I took one last look in the glove box and found my trusty old party lei. Oh, good times.)

I've been trying to hack through a bunch of laundry over the past week. Don't even get me started on HOW MANY TIMES I FORGOT THE LOAD IN THE WASHER OVERNIGHT AND HAD TO REWASH IT. Oh, my goodness. Pilot's really not that helpful while I'm loading and unloading and there's not really any good place to put her down where she won't be contaminated by the basement. Plus, I find it annoying to hold her and swap loads sock by sock. SO, I found a good place to keep the SQUIRMY-WORM safe and out of my way. HA! Take that - SQUIRMY-WORM.

LAST CALL FOR CUSTOM TINY ART LADIES. No kidding. Tomorrow at midnight is the cut-off. Email me to order one. Or two. Or nine.

And that brings me to right now. I have been trotting around here like a jittery race-horse. There's lots to do - and I LIKE IT LIKE THAT. I can feel the coffee in my veins, but I can also feel a big painting coming on. PLUS, you know that life is very, very good when you have a hot pair of jeans that makes you feel like a million bucks. Okay - so they've got barf on them. And puréed bananas. And rice smush. And dog slob. DOG SLOB?? Come on. GET SERIOUS. I guess I have another load of laundry.

Today: We're off to grocery shop so that I can make a yummy dinner for Adam & Jessica. I have a hankering to make Chocolate Chicken. Yes. It sounds pretty gross, but it's amazing. Thank you to the Mayan people for thinking this sweet little number up. (And thank you for tequila - but, I digress...) We went for a radical walk yesterday instead of a bike ride and I want to replicate the goodness of that. We didn't get to our perogys, but we did swing a latte. We didn't get ANY of the things we were waiting for in the mail - BUT WE GOT MONEY. Sweet. How about some more of THAT! ;)

It's Friday and the world is our oyster. Okay, keemosabee, let's GO!

Sweet.

Beep, beep.

Thursday - check! Yesterday went pretty smoothly - all things considered. I got my Jeep returned without too much hassle. It's from a dealership out-of-town so it was a little more involved to organize rides and Pilot and all that jazz - BUT - it worked out awesome because it meant Pilot and I got to hang out with Tammy on the ranch all afternoon sitting in the sun and walking in the fields. Even Crash got to join us. And Dan came out for dinner and to pick me up. It was nice and relaxing - and by that I mean that we sipped daquiris in the fresh summer sun.

LAST CALL FOR CUSTOM TINY ART LADIES: I'm only taking orders until the 31st of May. I'm only taking orders until the 31st of May. I'm only taking orders until the 31st of May. I'm only taking orders until the 31st of May. That's Saturday so make up your mind and send me an email. If you've got questions for me - fire me a note and I'll get back to you. People are really catching on to what great and meaningful gifts these pieces can be.

I've decided that I will have an online kind of "show" of the ladies and I've also decided that I will refrain from giving you any other information about them - besides what's in the image. Not even a name. The less you know - the more interpretation room you have. There's a little romance. A little guessing. It opens up the door for you to see your own experiences. And that's better.

THREE CHEERS FOR BETH. She helped me out in a denim crisis. I can't seem to find my favourite jeans around town anymore. Bugger. BUT, they have them on Amazon. BUT THEY WON'T SHIP TO CANADA. And that's just as ridiculous as you can get, but I don't want to get into cross-border relations EXCEPT TO SAY THAT BETH ROCKS. I had them shipped to her and then she wrapped them with a pretty silver bow and shipped them to me. Aside from all the postage - I was just really, really touched by her big heart and willingness to help out a friend. That's what makes the world go round, right? Illegal activity. And denim. Sweet. ;)  Beth - if you need something from here - you just say the word.

WAITING FOR: This. This. And THIS!

NEW GOAL: I am tossing around the idea of taking the month of JULY to see if I can go 30 days without doing ANY WORK. I haven't decided the parameters of my 'work' yet because there's a LOT of things going on here... big art, Tiny Art, prints, paintings, books, design... I think it would be a HEFTY, HEFTY CHALLENGE FOR ME. I'm tossing around the idea. Just tossing.

Today: The lovely cleaning lady is on her way over to help dig us out of our pit of dog hair. GROSS. Pilot and I are going to go for a bike ride because we need to pick up some perogys. I have lots of yummy-yummy new cool projects to do for Heidi and I'm going to try to remember to eat lunch. Tiny Art Ladies are one deck as well as a new series of trout and salmon paintings. AND A THUNDERSTORM OR TWO THIS AFTERNOON. Sweet.

Dan: your coffee is DELICIOUS THIS MORNING! Let's roll - let's GO!

Bump day.

Wednesday. Alright - this is quick because we are on the cusp of a really busy day... It's sort of a day that I've been counting down to for quite some time. My Jeep lease is up. Today. It's all washed and pretty and ready to be returned... I am conscious of the fact that it's just a big hunk of metal. I realize that it's nothing more than some screws, rubber and excessive fuel consumption (sorry about that, environment). I get all that. But, there's still a small part of my heart that is cringing. A lifetime of changes has happened since the day 4 years ago when I got this particular Jeep. I published a book. I won an Entrepreneur of the Year award. I traveled. I let go. I had SO MUCH FUN. I got rained on A LOT. I met Dan. I got married. I had Pilot. And I somehow managed to go from full-time design studio girl, artist and no-time mom TO FULL-TIME MOM AND FULL-TIME ARTIST. If we're being honest - I got the Jeep when my heart was so far from bulletproof - I needed a little wind in my hair and sun on my face. I also needed to be able to get out of snowbanks on my own. So, handing over the keys - just makes a bit of a lump in my throat...

But, I'll probably be over it by the time I walk back in the door. Thanks Jeep. You ruled. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. And this is not a forever goodbye - this is just aloha until I don't have carseats to LIFT IN THROUGH THE BACK WINDOW and small people to get sunburned and grouchy with the top off. Babies. Sheesh.

I like this Custom Tiny Art Lady. I put the finishing touches on 8 orders yesterday. That felt good. I still have lots and lots to go - but, they are coming along. Three days left to order a Custom Tiny Art Lady of your own. Or for a gift. *I haven't decided how I will display these when they are all done. I'll keep you posted.

COFFEE CONUNDRUM: Dan was making the world's WORST coffee for the last few days. So yesterday I decided to spy on him and see if he was accidentally throwing in some toilet water or dog food for kicks. He was NOT. And just as we were chatting about how ASS-LIKE his coffee had become the SELF-CLEAN light went on. (Sorry about that Dan!) Three rounds of vinegar and water and we are GOOD AS NEW and percolating caffeine happiness once more. WHEW!

FISH BAIT PAINTING: Yes. Sure. This will be for sale - but, I'm working on a couple more and I will post and release them all at the same time. And I will not tell you when that will be because last time I did that I created internet chaos.

NEAT Tiny Art FACT: I just hit number 75. SEVENTY-FIVE tiny art paintings since January or so. That's a lot of art going on around here. I'm including the Custom Tiny Art Ladies in this count and I am STILL NOT TIRED OF MAKING ART. And I am still not even CLOSE to running out of ideas.

And what else to close the post - BUT A CUTE SHOT OF PILOT. I like this picture because she's starting to look less like a shrivelled up cabbage-patch-baby and more like a kid. AND I hate this picture because she's starting to look less like a shrivelled up cabbage-patch-baby and more like a kid. I love this little shirt. She's still pretty teetery when she sits AND she's getting RIGHT PISSED OFF AT THE WORLD that she can't figure out how to get mobile. It's cute.

PS. Pilot's eyes are not green. They are not blue. They are not brown either - for that matter. Right now - they are a really dark grey with a little bit of brown in the middle. I think that makes them hazel and that makes me feel bad for her because my eyes are hazel, too. I always wanted sparkly blue eyes like Dan's. But, whatever. C'est la vie. Her eyes are just so dark and shiny that every time I take her picture they reflect the paint colours in here. (Which are green and blue.)

Today: I'm doing odds and bits until it's time to get this Jeep on the road. After that I will be carless and at the mercy of the wind. I can handle that. SWEET DEAL. I need coffee. I need to RE-DO the laundry that I forgot in the washing machine last night (oooops! sorry about that, environment). AND Pilot and I are going to be spending the late afternoon at Tammy's walking in the country. Excellent.

Get your order for a Custom Tiny Art Lady in quick. Like today.

Yesssssss. Let's GO!

Dill-icious!

 WHOOO HOOO! (Thank Dan for the blog headline today.) Back online! Look at me - early bird! That didn't take too long thanks to some very-helpful quick-thinkers. MARY BENBOW totally came to my rescue by DROPPING OFF HER POWER CORD so I could charge my laptop and get back online. Thank you, thank you, thank you. EMMA E. read my blog and she actually WORKS FOR APPLE so she emailed me as soon as she heard I was having trouble. THANK YOU! MAN. That's so cool. Thanks so much! Look at me - BACK ONLINE.

Dan thought I was going to have a complete meltdown because my computer was out of commission. But, I did not. I didn't. I had PINA COLADAS instead. It was actually a nice little opportunity to drink change directions for a couple of days. We were at Costco on the weekend and they were having a sale on Cedar Fish-cooking BBQ planks. We've never cooked salmon on a plank BUT I'VE NEVER PAINTED ON RAW CEDAR BEFORE either. So, it sounded like a WIN-WIN situation to me. We picked these planks up and I started working off on a bit of a fish tangent...


And LA TEE DA. There you go - a little pencil crayon and acrylic fishing lure piece. Hey - I am not a fisherman. No sir - I do not touch fish that are alive or dead UNLESS THEY ARE IN A SPICY TUNA ROLL. Then I'm ALL OVER IT - and I will take seconds and thirds thank-you-very-much.

LAST CALL FOR CUSTOM TINY ART LADIES. Wow. This turned into a really big project and that's OK. It's really cool. It feels good to be part of something like this. I'm only taking orders for CUSTOM TINY ART LADIES until May 31st. That's Saturday. No exceptions. I'm hardcore that way - you might ASK but, I will just SHOUT AT YOU IN EMAIL-FORM: NO WAY JOSE.

FUNNY GIRL. My Baba would be so proud of her. She's definitely started teething and what's better to give a 5 and half month crank-pot THAN A HOMEMADE DILL PICKLE to shut her up?? Dan and I are waist-deep in Ukrainian roots so Pilot comes by her love of pickles honestly. And you know what - that's WHY WE LOVE HER SO MUCH. She grabbed on to that thing and was as happy as pie. See BabaLuba? I learn things.

Today: Pilot and I are going to do laundry, hit the ground running, drink coffee and share a jar of puréed pears. We have a long walk planned that might turn into a bike ride IN OUR FANCY NEW BIKE TRAILER. Sweet. I have a ton of photo-editing for a little project I'm working on and about 9 different things on the go in terms of paintings and painty-projects. I LIKE THAT. The sun is shining. Hey DAN: your coffee sucks balls lately. What's up dude?

Okay, okay. Let's GO!

Status unknown.

GET SERIOUS. Yes, really. GET @#$@# serious. My power cord for my Macbook Pro has died which (I realize now, after a little internet research) is apparently a common problem. SO. As the sun sets on the last 12 minutes of my remaining battery power UNTIL JUNE 10th (when Apple says they can get my new cord delivered) I have only a few things to say.

1. GET F@#$#N SERIOUS APPLE.

2. I DON'T THINK IT WILL TAKE THAT LONG for me to get the new power cord or for Dan to jimmy something McGivor-style to get me online again. I have good faith in his rock-star abilities.

3. If you want a CUSTOM TINY ART LADY - email me today. If I don't get back to you right away - this is why... BUT - you are in the queue and the ladies are humming along.

4. This might be a message from the Universe to GET OFF THE COMPUTER for a while. Whatever. I WILL BE BACK online SOON. Don't send me messages asking if I have died or succumb to other kind of tragedy. I'm JUST OFF LINE. No biggie.


ONE MORE THING: I have a goal to take one or two really good shots of Pilot and myself together every month. WHICH MEANS I HAVE TO GET CREATIVE. This is my current favourite. SHE IS SO CUTE.

Alright, internet. Nighty-night. Don't worry about me. I'm busy making stuff and enjoying my nice trip around the sun. I will be checking mail on one our other computers... but, it's just not the same. This little machine has become my right-hand-man. We're tight. BOOOOO MacBook Pro power supplies. Hip-hip hooray for Pina coladas because I am off to sip one right now.

Woot! Oh, and GO!

Kung fu cupcakes

Everybody was KUNG FU FIGHTING!  Nope. No fighting involved. It was my friend Tammy's birthday celebration last night and we all headed down to the Ichi Ban for some Japanese steak house fun. And fun we had. I'm gonna post more photos than necessary - because it's easier for me - than emailing them around... what fun. Pilot joined us and did a pretty good job. It will take me a while to get used to going out and worrying about her and trying to enjoy the conversation at the same time. BUT - that said - it did me a world of good to get out with good people and let myself just enjoy the laughter. AND yummy chicken livers!
I especially like this picture because that pretty girl there - is Lisa and sitting next to her is her good-looking newly-wed husband Jay. At least he was there when I was setting up the shot. Whooops. Sorry Jay!
There you are. Grainy shots. Happy accidents. SO MUCH FUN. The shot above on the left side: I happened to snap just as a flash went off from Tiffany's camera. It took me a while to figure out what happened. And on the right side: the undeniably adorable Pilot.

Today: FRIDAY. Sweet. I'm still feeling under the weather and Pilot is recovering from her late night out. Party animal. I'm hoping that means lots of zzzzz's for her and lots of painting for me. I have a LARGE, LARGE canvas that's ready to roll and 30 Custom Tiny Art Ladies chatter in the background. Hello girls!! Oh, in a perfect world - today would also be the day that the postman brought me something fun AND THE DISHES WERE MAGICALLY ALREADY DONE. Dinner and a movie night with my favourite husband and that takes us up to the weekend - which is never a bad thing.

Alright everybody - onward. Happy day. Let's GO!

Rock and go.

I will make this short today. LOTS to do. LOTS of rushing around. LOTS of fitting things in. LOTS. This is the third attempt at a blog post today - Typepad is not cooperating. AND THAT'S OKAY because it probably just means I should go outside and play or something less computer-ee.

CUSTOM TINY ART LADIES. Get your orders in soon. The May 31st deadline is approaching and after that I'm on a Tiny Art Lady hiatus. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything they have brought me. I have about 24 on deck at the moment. WOW. They make GREAT gifts and I am happy to report that there are a few GENIUS husbands out there ordering pieces of the wives. A few girlfriends ordering them for their girlfriends. A few daughters ordering them for their mothers. AND even a few mothers ordering them for their new baby daughters... with hopes that they will help give them strength and send them out on a good path. That's TOO COOL.

The mailman stopped me yesterday to shyly ask WHY I WAS GETTING PENCILS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. Ha. Welcome to the future, mail-delivery-dude. I heart the internet and I am SET FOR LIFE when it comes to Deco Blue Prismacolors now. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone that sent me one. Or five. ;)

GOOD NEWS for Cargo & Woot! Blurb has changed their shipping rates to Canada. Hurray! Now, it doesn't cost MORE THAN THE BOOK to have Cargo & Woot delivered right to your Canadian doorstep. Thank you Blurb!

Today: Yikes. I'm sipping on a cup of terrible coffee (sorry Dan - it's pretty bad today!) getting ready to have a babyfood ho-down with Miss Pilot. We have all kinds of things to do today and a few work projects to tend to as well. Oh, well. She's about 3 days away from sitting all by herself for GOOD. We're celebrating THAT today for sure. And we are going to get out for a walk. Bake a cake. Wash clothes. AGAIN.

Oh my goodness - enough CHATTER - let's GO!

May bulletin.

So - these are the things on my 'bulletin board' today... the things that have been on my mind and literally going 'round and 'round the luggage carousel in my brain. It's hectic around here - as usual. AND THAT'S OKAY WITH ME. The Custom Tiny Art Ladies are making me thin A LOT too much about body image and the state-of-the-world in terms of how sad we are with how we look... THAT IS SO MESSED UP! But, it seems to be just the way we are. I can't stop thinking about my weight. My extra weight. And then I can't stop getting angry with myself for worrying about it. It's a vicious circle in my brain right now and I must just turn it off. Let's see... I feel old when I see my skin compared to Pilot's. She's just so new and perfect. I am REALLY, REALLY, REALLY enjoying her smiling face.

Bits and pieces and all the rest... I'm off to nurse the last of this head cold and get my work lined up for tonight when I get a solid chance to paint.

Aloha Wednesday. You are wonderful so far.

WORD.