We got it!

We finally got the warm weather we've been waiting for and we're loving it!


Lydia started summer school at the lab preschool at the university this week. It runs for 8 weeks. Then she'll be in art camp for two weeks, and swimming lessons in August. In September she will be starting kindergarten, and I am thinking about starting her in the youth conservatory piano program at USU. There is just so much out there for kids to do once they turn 5! I'm having a hard time deciding what to put her in. If it were up to her, she would be in the ones I mentioned, plus gymnastics, soccer, guitar lessons, and horse back riding lessons!

Violet will be turning 2 next month. I can't believe it. I had a tear jerking moment with her tonight. I was holding her on the rocking chair in her room and reading to her like we do every night before bed. She squirmed off my lap and said "Sit" as she wedged herself beside me on the chair. It was one of those moments of "I'm getting too big for you to hold me". I had to let a tear fall for that one!
She is quite the performer as anyone who saw her at Summerfest can attest too! She stole the show during Ryan's band performances on Friday and Saturday. She had some pretty funky dance moves, and she made sure that everyone saw her! Yesterday, while I was hanging my show at the Thatcher Mansion, a photographer from the newspaper came to take pictures for my article in Friday's paper. Once again, Violet went right in front of the camera and did everything she could to impress the photographer. Violet got her way- she'll be in the paper now too!

I want fun in the sun!

This is me and my sister Janel at about the same age as Lydia and Violet are.
We had so much fun playing together when we were little. Since we didn't have close neighbors, we only had each other to play with in the summer. That was good and bad :), but mostly good. Lydia and Violet have just started to really play together and it's the cutest thing. They've already started teaming up on me and Ryan and causing sneaky trouble!

I want to get out their pool so bad, but we just haven't had the weather for it yet!

I think I kind of look like Violet in this picture.

My Deva Haircut

I used to have pretty curly hair. Tight waves and spirals easily formed. Then I began highlighting and straightening my hair with a straightening iron, and using products to smooth my hair, all of which were really killing my curls. My goal is to get my curlies back!
On Saturday, I got my first Deva haircut. This is a special haircut specifically for curly hair given by a stylist who has been trained in the art of the Deva cut:). It was the most educational haircut I've ever gotten.
She cut my hair dry, then washed it, clipped and twisted the top (very quickly and simply) and blow dried with a diffuser. Then after seeing how my hair would lay, she began to cut little snips out here and there at different lengths to accentuate my curls.
I really like it. It takes way less time for me to do, and I don't have to use any hairspray to set my hair in a certain way. Plus, the information I learned about how to take care of my hair was the most beneficial. Our curls are so delicate! Hopefully mine will be returning soon.

Mini Photo Shoot With Violet

I gave Violet another mullet reduction hair cut the other day, and decided to give her a pixie hairdo. She looked so cute I had to take some pictures! Here are a few...

Yay, I sold 2!

I am so happy that I have sold 2 of my paintings. It's always hard to let them go, but I will set them free to beautify someone else's surroundings. (Plus, I could really use the money to buy more supplies!)

So long sweet Bluebird may you sing for many, many years!

Ride on with your big wheel sir, long after I'm gone!

I feel very flattered that "Big Wheel" was purchased by an Art professor. These sales have inspired and motivated me to keep making more! It's so much fun. I would love to be able to make a career out of it!

Dream of Death

This morning I awoke form a very lucid dream that left me deep in thought today. Have you ever had a dream that was so profound you knew it had a special purpose? This was one of those dreams. Although some things that happened in this dream would never happen in real life, it was all so very real to me. I always dream in color, and I was myself in the dream, not an observer.

I dreamed that I was dying of cancer. I had been suffering for a long time, and decided that I would take a prescribed pill to end my life. I went to the mortuary and sat in a room with my empty casket with loved ones all around me, and I took the pill and got ready to climb into my casket. As I was about to do this, a strong feeling hit me, and I stopped and said, "No, I don't want this to happen right now! Call a doctor to save me from this pill I just took!" So the Doctor came in and I said, " I don't want give up! I will fight this cancer and win! I will exercise more, and eat better!" So I got another chance, still not knowing how long I would survive, and I had the feeling that I could still die very soon.
Later on, I was at my home and there were people stopping over to see me. A woman who was an artist that I had booked for a show at the Ibis came to show me some of her work. The frames that she had her work in were very cheap and you could see tension brackets around the sides of her work through the glass. Normally, I would be very sweet and apologetic and suggest other options, but after all I had been through, I said " I hate those frames, they look awful." Then, a nice person in the room suggested that she outline her work with a pen. I said "No way, that would look terrible. You need to do some serious work to make these look presentable."

I remember feeling like, "This lady should know the truth or she'll never make it as an artist."

End of dream.

(I do not remember the people at the mortuary with me, but I know for sure that my girls weren't there. I also don't remember who was at my house, or if Ryan was in this dream at all.)

I am no dream interpreter, but this was very profound. I got out of bed, really ready to devote myself to more exercise, and healthier eating habits. I did yoga, and went for a walk this morning. As for the art thing, it made me realize that with the idea that I could drop dead any minute, I was more honest and less like my "try not to offend anyone" self.

Any interpretations would be appreciated and entertaining I'm sure!

Death (taken From http://www.sleeps.com/analysis.html)

Nearly any dream you have that refers to death, dying or attending a funeral, or the like, pertain to change. Most all the time this change is very dramatic and major. It can be change in your life attitude or emotional balance. These types of dreams can also symbolize confronting fear, usually fear of death or change. Since most of use will agree that death is the ultimate change, and many people fear it. Death dreams are generally big changes and should never be ignored. Sometimes they really do signify death! Another possible symbol of a death dream is threat. Whichever suits the dream depends on how well the theme was arrived at. Most death dreams are about major change and not about literal death though, so don't panic if you have one. Just patiently go through the analysis process, and make sense of it.

My house smells so good!

We are so lucky to have a beautiful thick row of mature lilac bushes in our yard. There are light purple, dark purple and white and they smell so o o wonderful!