I attend a writing group with some fellow bloggers/aspiring authors about once a month. I got home late from our last monthly meeting the other night. When I asked my husband how his evening was, he gave me a sarcastic little laugh and said, "Aaah, children!"
He related to me what happened: Almost immediately after I left the house to leave for my writing group, our recently bathed and put in bed oldest daughter (3) came out of her bedroom holding an empty A+D tube. For those of you who don't know what A+D is, it's a diaper rash ointment that is extremely greasy. Obviously, my poor husband went rushing into the girl's bedroom to find, much to his dismay, that our children had indeed made a mess.
What a mess it was! Both of our kids were covered head to toe in diaper rash ointment, huge globs of it lounging in their hair. My baby's crib had been thoroughly smeared up and down every single post with ointment. The carpet housed large blobs of the goo and the closet door mirrors were slimed as high and low as a three year old can reach. Grease covered the toys, the clothes, and the books that happened to be available for smearing.
My sweet husband bathed both girls again, washing their hair twice and cleaning up the mess as best he could. The next morning, both girls smelled horribly of diaper rash ointment and their hair was still as greasy as could be. I had quite a time cleaning up the ointment that had been wiped on everything. In fact, I am still discovering areas of grease on the crib and certain toys that I missed on my first go around. All I could do was laugh about the incident, and thankfully, so could my husband. Children definitely make life more interesting.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A Born Leader
During one of my frequent chats with my mom, she told me an interesting story about my brother and a track and field event at school.
My youngest brother is 15 years old and has always been fairly athletic. Recently, he participated in a triathlon. I believe that every kid at school was required to participate, and my brother was designated the swimmer (he swims like a fish). He swam his leg of the race and then the cyclist took over. By the time the race had wound down to the runners, my brother noticed that one of the runners was leisurely strolling down the race track. It was an overweight boy that was usually the brunt of adolescent name-calling and general bullying. He had tried to run as far as he could, but was exhausted and had taken to walking down the track.
My brother, bless his heart, took off running down to the track, a group of his friends close at his heels. They didn't know what he was doing, but they followed anyway. He walked alongside the "runner" and talked with him, telling him that he was doing great, and when they got to a certain point on the track they were going to run and finish the race together.
As he was talking, more and more kids began to gather around the young man running the race. When they reached the designated spot on the track, they started running. By the time they crossed the finish line, the entire class was running down the track with the boy, cheering him on. The teachers all had tears in their eyes as everybody congratulated the runner and cheered for him.
People need leaders. They need someone to take charge and lead the way. Some people are natural leaders, like my brother. I feel humbled when I think of his sportsmanship and team building personality. As someone who is naturally gifted at leading others, he could have chosen to make the situation horrible and humiliating for his teammate. Instead he chose to create an experience that the people in his little town will remember for a long time to come.
My youngest brother is 15 years old and has always been fairly athletic. Recently, he participated in a triathlon. I believe that every kid at school was required to participate, and my brother was designated the swimmer (he swims like a fish). He swam his leg of the race and then the cyclist took over. By the time the race had wound down to the runners, my brother noticed that one of the runners was leisurely strolling down the race track. It was an overweight boy that was usually the brunt of adolescent name-calling and general bullying. He had tried to run as far as he could, but was exhausted and had taken to walking down the track.
My brother, bless his heart, took off running down to the track, a group of his friends close at his heels. They didn't know what he was doing, but they followed anyway. He walked alongside the "runner" and talked with him, telling him that he was doing great, and when they got to a certain point on the track they were going to run and finish the race together.
As he was talking, more and more kids began to gather around the young man running the race. When they reached the designated spot on the track, they started running. By the time they crossed the finish line, the entire class was running down the track with the boy, cheering him on. The teachers all had tears in their eyes as everybody congratulated the runner and cheered for him.
People need leaders. They need someone to take charge and lead the way. Some people are natural leaders, like my brother. I feel humbled when I think of his sportsmanship and team building personality. As someone who is naturally gifted at leading others, he could have chosen to make the situation horrible and humiliating for his teammate. Instead he chose to create an experience that the people in his little town will remember for a long time to come.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Christina Brunk Photography
On Saturday morning I got together with my good friend Christina Brunk. She is the amazing photographer that took our family pictures back in April. She had recently purchased some new photography "toys" and was anxious to try them out. So she photographed some of my paintings. I was so happy and excited to see the results. These photographs are true to life - color corrected and distortion free.
I asked Christina to try photographing one of my paintings in its frame. She did a fantastic job! I am really happy with the results. Now I have quality, high resolution images to use for giclee prints and reproductions as well as web and print materials. Thanks Christina!
To see Christina's work, visit her website at www.christinabrunk.com.
I asked Christina to try photographing one of my paintings in its frame. She did a fantastic job! I am really happy with the results. Now I have quality, high resolution images to use for giclee prints and reproductions as well as web and print materials. Thanks Christina!
To see Christina's work, visit her website at www.christinabrunk.com.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Oil Painters of America Membership
A couple weeks ago, I sent off my application for the Oil Painters of America. I just got my response back this week that I was accepted! I am thrilled to be part of this wonderful organization and participate in their events.
For a long time I have felt like I needed to join some sort of organization, and I've always had my eye on the Oil Painters of America. They are a prestigious group that works hard to promote and encourage their artists. They provide numerous opportunities on both a regional and national level. It usually takes me quite a while to make a commitment to something like an organization. I want to be sure that I have the time and energy to put into it, otherwise I would just be wasting everyone's time. But my baby is 15 months old, and I felt like it was time that I get connected with this society. Since my artwork is both representational and traditional, it is a perfect fit.
For a long time I have felt like I needed to join some sort of organization, and I've always had my eye on the Oil Painters of America. They are a prestigious group that works hard to promote and encourage their artists. They provide numerous opportunities on both a regional and national level. It usually takes me quite a while to make a commitment to something like an organization. I want to be sure that I have the time and energy to put into it, otherwise I would just be wasting everyone's time. But my baby is 15 months old, and I felt like it was time that I get connected with this society. Since my artwork is both representational and traditional, it is a perfect fit.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Reading
I might as well admit my one major guilty pleasure: I love to read. I could honestly sit and read for 20 hours out of the day and be perfectly content.
Due to my love of reading, my wonderful husband bought me a Kindle for Mother's Day. I was so surprised and thrilled! Instantly, I began downloading all my favorites: Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and A Girl of the Limberlost, to name a few. Currently, I am reading Life of Pi. I started just this afternoon and am loving what I'm reading so far. It sounds VERY interesting. I may be slightly biased, however. The author mentions Canada several times and says how much he loves it.
My mom gave me a book about a month ago called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's a mouthful right? At first I was a little skeptical, thinking that it was probably a book that was published in the 70s and not really my taste. In spite of my skepticism, I began reading (it was published in 2008) and was completely and pleasantly delighted in the story. It is a historical fiction novel about a woman that lives in London. It takes place just after the second World War has ended. She starts up a friendship with a group of people on the island of Guernsey (one of the Channel Islands between England and France). The story made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think. Books like this don't come along every day, or even every year. It was a fantastic read, and I am so glad that I beat down my inner pessimist and took a chance on a book (and an island) that I knew absolutely nothing about. What a treat.
Due to my love of reading, my wonderful husband bought me a Kindle for Mother's Day. I was so surprised and thrilled! Instantly, I began downloading all my favorites: Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and A Girl of the Limberlost, to name a few. Currently, I am reading Life of Pi. I started just this afternoon and am loving what I'm reading so far. It sounds VERY interesting. I may be slightly biased, however. The author mentions Canada several times and says how much he loves it.
My mom gave me a book about a month ago called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's a mouthful right? At first I was a little skeptical, thinking that it was probably a book that was published in the 70s and not really my taste. In spite of my skepticism, I began reading (it was published in 2008) and was completely and pleasantly delighted in the story. It is a historical fiction novel about a woman that lives in London. It takes place just after the second World War has ended. She starts up a friendship with a group of people on the island of Guernsey (one of the Channel Islands between England and France). The story made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think. Books like this don't come along every day, or even every year. It was a fantastic read, and I am so glad that I beat down my inner pessimist and took a chance on a book (and an island) that I knew absolutely nothing about. What a treat.
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