A Lot of Play

I've been playing so hard these past few days that I haven't had a chance to work. Easter was a total blast. It was the first year that my children were old enough to really understand what Easter is about and enjoy the holiday.

My parents and my youngest brother drove down from Canada to visit us and they arrived the afternoon of Easter Sunday. We only had a few days together, so we spent every last minute running around and having as much fun as we could pack into our limited time.



The first thing we did was head off to San Francisco. We rode the world famous cable cars down to the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39.


We also stopped off in Chinatown. It was beautifully decorated.

We also went back to Santa Cruz to enjoy some sunshine and sand. We gathered a large bucketful of sea shells and enjoyed soaking up some sun rays.

We went on a hike in Los Altos, visited the bay in Alviso, went shopping at the Great mall, ate a LOT of Easter candy, watched Disney's Tangled, and enjoyed each other's company.

Photo Shoot for Virgin Mary Paintings

One of my close friends is pregnant right now. I asked her if she would model for me sometime, and she agreed. We made a couple of attempts to get together, but it always seems like one of us would have a last minute change of plans. She is getting VERY close to the end of her pregnancy and I was starting to worry that I wasn't going to get a chance to photograph her before her baby was born. However, the stars all aligned just right and we were able to do a fantastic photo shoot. I was so happy! She was the perfect model and I just love the spirit and the perspective that she brought to the subject of the Virgin Mary.

In all, I took about 150 photos of her in various positions. I got some photos of her posing as Mary, and I took some of her and her daughter in modern clothing as well. I got so much fantastic material, that I should have enough information to create several beautiful paintings just from this single photo shoot. Thank you to my fantastic models! You were absolutely wonderful!

Joseph Smith: Take II

Once again, I felt really good about how this painting started, but it seemed to lose quality as I went along. My finished painting was definitely better than my first try, but not good enough to put out in public. After two failed paintings, you would think that I would give up and move on to a different project. But instead, being the tenacious woman that I am, I am preparing a third canvas. This time, I feel like I know where I went wrong with the first two, and I can make this one turn out as beautiful as it is in my mind. The third time is the charm, right?

P.S. My apologies to the Swenson Family for the extended wait on this painting. I did not intend to do this project three times. However, I cannot exhibit a painting that is not up to par with my expectations. I hope you understand. Please bear with me a little longer!

Visit to Google

My husband surprised me this weekend by taking me to visit Google. I am a major Google fan and I have always wanted to work there. Who knows if it will ever happen, but I can dream, can't I?

There are a bunch of Google bikes for visitors to ride around the campus. So of course, my husband and I had to try them out.
Look at all those bikes!
My little girl loved the big desserts display they have. There was a giant doughnut, robot, honey bee, sundae, and some sort of eclair thing. We had so much fun walking around the Google grounds and taking pictures. We weren't the only ones doing so either! There were quite a few people out taking pictures in front of the Google sign, in front of their main office, and of course, in front of the big desserts.

The Art of Google

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of Google and their doodles. I always enjoy seeing what their doodlers come up with for various events and celebrations. I found this video that takes a look behind the scenes of creating a Google doodle. Enjoy!

Weekend in Carmel

My husband and I took our kids and drove to Carmel for the weekend. It was beautiful there! The beach was all white sand and sat right next to Pebble Beach, the famous golf course. My husband was very excited to see Pebble Beach in person and proceeded to tell me all the facts about the course.
Carmel is a very tourist oriented city. The shops are all very whimsical, like they had been taken right out of a Thomas Kinkade painting.

My baby has decided to give up crawling for good. She is quite steady on her feet and can cruise pretty fast! This little alley opens up to a garden and a (you'd never guess) Thomas Kinkade gallery.

These are just some fun photographs that I took while we were there.

The Gifted - A Novel by Deborah Andreasen

Pyper just wants a normal life. But ever since the day she died, she’s been able to control objects with her mind. What she can’t control is a mother who fears Pyper’s ability and the possibility of it being discovered. Pyper only finds solace in her friend and brother, Baler. When Pyper moves to yet another new school, she meets Kael, who takes an immediate interest in her. He knows her secret, and he needs her help saving the Fae people. The problem is, Pyper doesn’t believe in Faeries. But when her brother is abducted, Pyper doesn’t have much choice. Can she really save a race she doesn’t believe exists? Can she rescue her brother? And can she accept her second chance at life?

* * * * * * * * * * *

Deborah Andreasen is the author of the newly released YA fantasy novel The Gifted. She is also a good friend of mine and was my roommate in college. The first time I heard about The Gifted was after Deborah participated in NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) a few years ago. This novel was the product of a crazy month of writing like a mad-woman. Of course, a month of key pounding did not produce a finished book ready to publish. She spent countless hours editing, rewriting, editing, rewriting, and editing her book. She entered it into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest where it reached the top 100 finalists out of 10,000 entries. At this point, it was reviewed by Publisher's Weekly.

Finally, we are all given the opportunity to read this exciting novel that Deborah has spent so much time creating. A couple weeks ago, The Gifted was released for sale through Amazon in both print and Kindle versions. I immediately bought two copies of the book - one for me and one to give away as a gift.

I didn't plan this, but it just so happened that I ran into the mail man when he was bringing the package up to my apartment. Unabashed, I simply asked him if the package he was carrying was for me. It was, so I took it and headed home. I started reading and didn't stop until I had turned the very last page.

The Gifted is an exciting, action packed fantasy novel that will keep you turning pages from cover to cover. The characters are fascinating and keep the reader interested in the story from start to finish. My favorite part of the story were the descriptions of Pypers ability. I almost felt like I was Pyper and that I was the one controlling things with my mind. The climax was exciting and riveting.

While the story and characters were wonderfully developed and the descriptions invited the reader into the experience even more, the best part about this book was that it was 100% clean. There is a romantic side to this story, but it never gets questionable. There was no vulgarity or anything that would make me squirm in my seat. I would feel completely at ease recommending this book to all ages.

Really?? Pia?!

Okay, so I have to admit that I am a big American Idol fan. I've never been a fan of the first few weeks of the season, but once the show actually gets going, I love it. Especially this year. All of the contestants are amazingly talented and they give me goose bumps every week. Although, I also must admit that I don't vote. Ever. I waste enough time watching the show every week, and I just can't seem to justify wasting any more in order to vote.

I was very sad and surprised to see that Pia Toscano was sent home last night. I had her pegged for a finalist. It was definitely a shock. Okay, so she didn't move around a lot when she sang. Sometimes she did these squats while she was onstage that were really weird and her clothes were a little too outlandish for my tastes - but she is amazing singer.

Honestly, I think that she will be just fine. Sure it would help if she had a few more weeks on the show, but she has already established a large fan base. She has those gorgeous curves, that beautiful hair, and with a voice like hers, she will never be wanting for a stage!