Saturday Deals

I almost named this post Saturdeals, but that was just toooooooooo bad. So, what can I say, except you're welcome...

Slept in. Woke up refreshed. Ate leftover cheesecake and yogurt for breakfast, because why not. Also, Chris' Outrageous Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory is hands down the best over-the-top cheesecake ever.

The weather is one of my favorites, overcast, slightly warm with a breeze. There's a storm rolling in, so I'm excited. Hopefully it means thunder. Oh, and ridiculous amounts of rain. Northwest girl here, am I right? Anyway, I spent the afternoon running errands and leisurely walking through the mall. I rarely do the mall, if I do, it's always super fast. This time, I had several things I was looking for and willing to pay (kinda) for.

Top of the list? Plaid shirts. Because last season I tried a traditional buffalo plaid on and then decided not to buy it. I regretted it literally all year. Plus, they were 40% off, so that's a pretty decent deal in my books.

I got a beautiful green shirt for $2.25 at a thrift store here. It's going to be a sweet addition to my wardrobe. I have been so into the color green, that I usually just skip that color while shopping, otherwise I will buy EVERYTHING that color.

It was a nice, relaxing afternoon, a change of pace from the usual days around here and nice to get some of the things off my list that have been on there for ages. The day ended with delicious salmon, card games with the Little Fuji Family and a couple episodes of Chuck.

Art Instagram

A while ago, I started Barely Artistic Grace on Instagram. I'll share a post or a story whenever I update my blog. So go follow me there! 

Thoughts and Feelings

I've been in Tennessee for twenty-seven days and I thought by now, the homesickness would have faded. I'm in a good routine here with the girls now and while I know I'm doing good work and a lot of work, I feel like I'm doing the same thing with no variance. Routine, right? Well, I'm not doing enough to inspire or push myself like I do in Washington.

That with the addition of feeling very lonely is not exactly my favorite combination. I feel out of touch with people, like there are only so many topics you can cover through text and only so few real emotions and social cues you can pick up on in texts. Am I right? Or is that just another weird me thing.

This lack of socializing has also thrown me back into some of my anxieties and insecurities in that area. Ones that I have to face with prayer. Prayer that my brain doesn't over analyze things or trick me into believing something that isn't true.

Painting with a Toddler

Today I was brave. I decided to brave the mess of paint and let Elsa paint with my watercolors. I lined the part of the counter that she was working at with plastic wrap and taped it down in one spot to hold it in place. She wanted blue, purple and red. With a paper plate palate, I got her set up.  

It was so fun to see how into it she got. She was serious and had fun. She was excited to show Lisa when she got home for lunch and said that one of her three paintings was for her and the others were for Samuel. 

For an hour of fun, there was hardly any cleaning up to do. And this water color paint comes off of skin relatively easily, which is a good thing. :-) Unlike glitter... 

Her works of art. The middle is by far my favorite and her first one, the green one was her last one and she says it's a princess. 

Buggy News

I couldn't help but laugh. The reason the car broke down was hilarious. Basically, a gigantic bug flew in the exhaust intake, it was so big that it blocked the intake. This apparently made the battery short out, or something like that... I don't know if I repeated that all correctly, that's what Lisa told me after talking to Samuel today. So basically I didn't have a car for the weekend, waited 5+ hours for a tow truck and spent the majority of my day trying to get home. Because of a bug...

Speaking of bugs. There was (yes, was) this horrible fly that would get in your face, land on you a second after your brushed it away or land on your food and wouldn't be shooed away. On my second attempt with a magazine, I killed the fly dead. Elsa seemed a little concerned, but no more fly. \

Oh, and the mosquitoes here are huge and nasty.

That's all for Bug News!

A Bit of Fall

Fall colors. Vibrant and natural. Leaves are just starting to fall here and the trees are barely starting to change colors, but as the temperature cools off to the low eighties instead of low nineties, it feels like fall is well on the way. This is my first attempt at an autumn tree...

Another Type of Art: Photography

Collecting memories has always been important to me. Memories of the good times and of rough times. Of adventures, work, home and life in general. This is where photography kinda came in.

To me, it helps the homesickness fade, it puts me in perspective that times will pass, it reminds me of the greatest of adventures or the smallest memories. It gives me something to share with people.

I worked hard on my photography skills, learning a little (and still learning) about lighting, about exposure and about the camera I use. It's old, so getting decent pictures is sometimes a trick, but I heard a quote once that basically said do the best you can with what you have. I'm embracing that. 

I started out with taking pictures of food for Gracie's Tasties. Then baby pictures while I was/am as a nanny in Tennessee so family and friends can see my nieces. From there it's branched to summer camps, day trips, road trips, catering jobs and times with families and friends. Now, I run Arlington Composite Squadron's CAP Facebook page.

I've always been concerned that I was "stealing" my older sister's hobby because she is into photography, but as I've developed my skills, I figured out we have totally different style and are rarely in the same place at the same time. Plus, she is way more experienced so it isn't a problem.

Pictures are part of me. Now, I almost always have my camera near me. So I continue to take pictures, another form of art.