"I might have relaxed a little more in those foggy newborn weeks, and actually enjoyed my infant instead of cowering in self doubt and insecurity."

From an excellent post that really rang true for me.

painting day two (and three?) whatever, it was a like a week ago or something

I just have to laugh because I want to say, "just squint your eyes, and it looks just like him," heh, which was always one of our jokes in the illustration program.

Still no progress from this point, but hopefully today I can make some improvements.

glee

Is this not glee?

quiltin

Kevin did all the hard work of measuring and figuring and cutting for this special quilt we made for him. It's a t-shirt quilt made from concert shirts, youth conference shirts, and other special memory shirts. So once the t-shirts were "retired", instead of sending them to d.i. or making rags out of them, or whatever, we made a cozy "memory" quilt. He had enough t-shirts for the front AND the back! I've included photos of both.



I had the easiest job of all, I just sewed the pieces together in rows. Kevin actually had them ready to be sewn for a year, maybe more, and I--like the procrastinator that I am--kept thinking it was a big, hard, time-consuming project, and so never did it. Turns out, it took me maybe an hour and a half on three separate mornings. Maybe. It may have been even less. Just goes to show me, if I just get going on something, it isn't half as difficult as I always imagine it to be! Mom did the awesome quilt meandering, doesn't it look fabulous? I can't wait for fall to snuggle up in it! Right now it is just to blazing hot!

And happy birthday to mom today!

yogurt equipment

Here are pictures of the equipment I used for my yogurt:




This last one isn't quite accurate, I actually had the thermometer probe inside the yogurt, with the lid clamped over the wire part. I started with the heating pad at about 2 pm and then put the yogurt in the fridge at about 9:30 pm, so I guess about 7.5 hours heating time, then 12 hours in the refrigerator.

first day of painting

Woohoo! I started the underpainting, and in the process, wiped the drawing off. So I had to transfer the image again.
Then, I started painting. I ended up wiping the first bit of painting off and starting again, and in the process wiped the drawing of his face off. Sigh. But it's a start, eh?

This was actually first day of painting two days ago. Yesterday I had barely sat down to start painting, and the lawn people showed up and woke Oliver up. Curses! There is just no way around their blasted lawn-edger-chain-saw-horrible-baby-waking racket. I wish I knew when they were coming so I could plan to have Oliver take a nap at grandma's instead. Or something. Oh, well, hopefully they won't come as frequently in the fall or winter.

experiments in domesticity

Last week I tried making my first batch of french bread during Oliver's nap. It turned out quite tasty, and was surprisingly more simple than I imagined. I even kneaded it by hand, because I was afraid the Kitchenaid would wake him up. Really crusty crust, and light airy interior. Other than an unappetizing color--it had a kind of greenish tinge to it, ew--it was fun and good. And only cost about .30 per baguette. Not including the cost to run the oven, of course. I have no idea how to figure that out.

I also tried my hand at homemade saltines. It was also quite simple, but I had to leave to go to a press check for work right during the baking, so I just left them in the oven and turned the oven off. So they completely dried out, and are kind of, well, hard like rocks. But they taste good. :) Butter and salt. Mmmmmmm.


And lastly, homemade yogurt! I've been on a quest to find yogurt that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners added. I've been hard pressed to find any. The health food store does have a few brands that fit the requirements, but at nearly a dollar for 6 oz is beginning to be too much! It was surprisingly simple again (I used an ordinary heating pad, a #10 can, and an instant read thermometer). I followed Alton Brown's recipe. Now I have a quart of homemade yogurt, which, I might say, is quite tasty, especially if you stir some homemade strawberry preserves into it. Oliver likes it that way. I even like it plain. Next I think I might try to make some cheese out of it. But I'll need some cheesecloth. I might have to wait until paydady. Oh, dear.

I transferred my sketch from my sized-down photocopy of my sketch using some transfer paper and a ballpoint pen. Here's kind of what the process looked like.






I've finally got my painting area set-up, too. Now, the biggest challenge of all. Actually painting. I sure hope it's like riding a bicycle!

Get to it, Megan!

wise up

Currently loving and listening to this song. Sung by one of my favorite female artists, Aimee Mann.

Wise Up

It's not
What you thought
When you first began it
You got
What you want
Now you can hardly stand it though,
By now you know
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Til you wise up

You're sure
There's a cure
And you have finally found it
You think
One drink
Will shrink you 'til you're underground
And living down
But it's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Til you wise up

Prepare a list of what you need
Before you sign away the deed
'Cause it's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Til you wise up
No, it's not going to stop
'Til you wise up
No, it's not going to stop
So just...give up

oh, yeah, that's why

I'm trying to get my painting area set up, and as I was getting my paints out, I saw this:



Oh, yeah! That's why it has taken me so long. I didn't dare get the paints out when I was trying to get pregnant, or when I was pregnant, for fear of doing Oliver some kind of harm. These last few months I've been cursing myself for not doing the painting before I had the baby, when I "had the time." The uninterrupted time. So actually, I don't have to kick myself as hard, because two of the three years were taken up trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, or having a newborn or whatnot. Yay! I'm not as much of a slacker as I thought. Well, technically, I could have used acrylics, but that still even made me nervous, and it wouldn't quite have the same "look" as the other portrait I did for the same family.

So, once I buy some odorless paint thinner, I think I can begin painting. Stay tuned.

delicious

Does anyone else love sleeping as much as I do? I'm finally getting long, uninterrupted hours of sleep, but I still don't like waking up. I still just want to sleep and sleep and sleep. I love it. It is so delicious. Maybe there is something wrong with me? Before Oliver, it used to be that I could got to bed at 10:00 or 10:30 and my body would just wake up 8 hours later, and that was it. I could start my day, I felt good, and trying to sleep more was either an exercise in futility or just made me feel ill. But now, I'm getting nearly 8 hours (sometimes more), but I feel like I could sleep ten or more and it still wouldn't be enough. I guess maybe it's just, "welcome to motherhood," eh?

nuptial scribbles

A friend who introduced Kevin and I to each other (and basically married us off) is getting remarried this month. I was asked to do some artwork for her bridal shower invitation. So, here it is! I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed drawing it. :)