Another 6 x 6 canvas

I'm really enjoying painting these smaller canvases! I think I need to go do a little house cleaning now and then maybe I'll do a few ACEOs later on :)

I love days like this! Nothing scheduled, just going to go with the flow and see what the day brings. I pray it's all good.

Have a great weekend!
Darla

Oh what a night!

We had such a great time at the Randy Travis concert!




It started out kind of interesting though. We had 6 front row tickets and when we got there only 2 were open. 4 people were sitting in our chairs. Dale's daughter kindly told the older couple that they had the wrong seats and they wouldn't move. They showed her their tickets and it said section NINE, row A and they had planted their butts in section ONE, row A......our seats!

Personnel came over and told them they had the wrong seats and they still wouldn't move saying this was where they were told to sit. What the?????? Jessica also had asked them if they could PLEASE move because they had bought these seats for their Dad for father's day! Unreal! So the gal working had to go get security, yes a man in a uniform and he finally got them to move. The two other girls sitting just waited to see if the older couple had to leave and they smiled and left. Who does this stuff? I wouldn't think of doing it!

Here are a few pictures..........it was such a nice concert. Not overcrowded as some can be and they let people walk right up, take pictures, etc. Dale & I both were able to shake his hand which was cool. Mr. Travis is an awesome entertainer and so kind to his fans!


Dale's daughters, Jessica and Michelle (Mickey)


All three daughters, Terri, Jessica & Mickey


I was able to get a picture of them in front of the stage while Randy was singing one of their favorite songs in the background. Do ya THINK they are having fun???? haha They sure did!


And look what Dale got!! His brand new shirt autographed! It was a great night!!

So how's my diet going you ask?

It went well for a week (which is typical) and then I resorted to my old, bad habits! I got over my love of fresh veggies quickly.

But I had fun this morning on www.faceinhole.com putting my face on the body I'd LIKE to have! I'm thinking about printing this out for motivation. But in reality, I'm 50 years old and everything appears to be sagging. Even my eyes, which I've been told are one of my best features, are tired and sagging. So sad.........but I'm alive. That's what I hold on to. My dream of having a great figure and looking beautiful was hard enough to chase when I was in my 20's, so I'm surely not going to catch it this late in life!

My new goal is to try.....just try eat healthier, move my behind 3-4 times a week and learn, more than anything, to accept who I am and be happy with myself. That is unbelievably hard for me. I've spent so many years......wasted so many years...wanting to be better if not someone totally different from who I am. Again, so sad.

Tonight Dale and I are going to make a trip to Hankinson, ND to see Randy Travis in concert. He's a favorite of Dale's and his daughters chipped in and gave him a pair of tickets to tonight's show. They are all joining us too! Should be a great time!

I'm hoping to paint a little this weekend. I have designs brewing in my head, just need to find the time to get them out :)

Happy Friday,
Darla♥

'First Day of School'

My son just sent me this cute picture from his cell phone! Cailee and Nora started school this morning. Cailee is starting 5th grade and Nora will be in 1st.

I called to wish them a super day. This really brings back memories from when my boys were little.
The first day was always exciting......and then about a week into it they were sick of school and it was a battle to get them out of bed! ha

I just can't believe that next year, my first granddaughter will already be out at the middle school! Before long I'll be attending her first prom grand march! WHERE does the time go??
I feel like I wish my life away always waiting for the weekend. I need to remind myself to just enjoy each day and slow down a bit.

Have a nice 'slow' and peaceful day :)
Darla

Les Petite Chef!

No, I'm not taking Suzi's class, I'm just painting on small canvases! :)I ordered some 6 x6 canvases from Dick Blick last week. I love them! By the way, they have a special on shipping right now and some great fall sales! Check them out.


I woke up at 4:15 this morning and couldn't fall back asleep so I'm heading off to bed now. I've got such a busy few days ahead. I don't know when I'll get my lawn mowed or any of the other things on my to-do list. Some weeks are just so busy! I really wish I was wealthy and could pay people to do all the chores and I could just play, play, play!
But as the saying goes, 'If wishes and buts were candy and nuts~we'd ALL have a wonderful Christmas' :)

Have a great night,
Darla♥

Sad weekend.......

Dale's little buddy, Sammy was killed on Saturday :( They live on a farm and had just walked up to the end of the driveway to get the mail. For some strange reason Sammy did not follow Dale back right away. He just kind of meandered and Dale called for him to 'come!' and he was on his way and then he darted off towards the road. This little 12 lb. min pin felt the need to chase an Avalanche pickup pulling a boat! Poor Sammy didn't know what hit him. What makes me SO angry is the driver did not slow down or stop, but actually increased his speed to get the heck out of there! Dork!
I'm so sad about this. Dale and I used to tease each other about who had the smarter, prettier, most wonderful dog. I, of course, would tell him German Shepherds are REAL dogs and he would tell me daily about Sammy's fur 'like velvet!'
It was a constant, fun ribbing between the two of us.

Sammy loved to lift his leg and pee on my car tires. Drove me crazy. I'd see him go near my car and I'd say, 'Sammy! Don't you dare!' and he's stop and act like he was respecting my wishes. Then he'd sneak off around the other side of the car for a bit. Suddenly he'd appear again and spin out his little back legs like he was so proud and 'all done' with his duty. I'd go check and sure enough.......wet tire! Grrrrrrrr
Honestly, I'd gladly let him pee on my tires if he were only here now. Poor little guy. R.I.P. Sweet Sam♥

On a brighter note, I had a great Etsy weekend! I sold 5 items! I've got this wonderful customer who keeps coming back. I love her!♥

And.....remember sledge hammer week? Well I finally got my little patio somewhat together. I'm hoping to decorate it better next summer since this summer is coming to an end shortly. But it looks so much better than what it did look like! I might put up a little privacy panel and it will be my little cozy haven! Yeah!!

Saturday I went with a friend to see Julie & Julia. I'm not sure I can recommend it or not. It was 'ok' but I think I was expecting more comedy? Still, it was cute.

I'm SO behind on checking your blogs! Our company (yearly) audit is coming to an end so I'm hoping to get caught up here soon!

Miss you all,
Darla

ACEO night

Citrus Skies


Coffee anyone?

I thought I'd add a couple of ACEOs over on Etsy as I have a sale starting tomorrow. I really want to move some stuff out and make room for some possible gift items for the holidays. My mind has been swimming lately trying to think of what to paint for this auction donation item and it's so frustrating. I WANT to do something grand but then I remember how poorly things of mine have sold in the past and I change my mind. I think I'll go with simple and sweet and I will NOT invest a lot of time in it this year. Is that wrong? Hope not!

I haven't had time to visit blogs today like normal. My yearly audit was supposed to start Monday but he called this morning and asked if he could come early. Needless to say, I'm a little busy in the office and if I'm not, I have to at least look busy. LOL

Things should be back to normal very soon!
Hugs to all,
Darla♥

The show must go on

Here's my newest 10 x 10 canvas. I really enjoyed playing with bright colors on this one.
I heard 'The tears of a clown' by Smoky Robinson the other day and I've always loved that song. It just reminds me that sometimes our hearts can be breaking but people still like to see our happy faces and we put them on and pretend everything is ok........when really it's not.






Good night dear blog friends
Darla
p.s. For some reason I can't do my little 'hearts' on my signature since I updated firefox on my home computer. I can still do them at work so the hearts will be flying willy nilly now. LOL

Halloween is coming!!

I just discovered Carolee and her wonderful blog, King of Mice Studios
She's hosting a giveaway and this is what you can sign up to win!


Isn't it adorable? I love it!

Last night I finished a custom order for an Americana saw. Sadly, I've put this off for a year. Isn't that horrible? They should NEVER tell me there is NO hurry :) It's 6 feet long and only 3 inches tall. VERY hard to come up with a design to incorporate into 'God Bless America' on such a long, narrow surface. I finally bit the bullet and just did it. I'd post a picture but I think I'd need a panoramic shot! ha Maybe I'll try later.

I also started a 10 x 10 canvas with a clown on it. I'm excited to start painting it tonight!

Have a super day
Darla

Another non-painting post......sorry :)

But I just had to share a couple of pictures that I took of my best friend, Mieko last night!


I just want to marry him! LOL


'Puleeeeeeeeeeeeze, can we get a kitty!?'

My attempt at digital humor

My best friend of almost 40 years (WOW!) stopped over last night and brought me a cabbage from her parent's garden. It is huge! She told me to take a picture of it for facebook so others could see how big it was compared to something else :) Do you think they'll realize the enormity of this veg now? haaaaaa

Actually it is huge and here it is next to a 12 oz. can of Diet Coke:


Dale and I had the walleye last night, it was very good! Then we got all ready and headed uptown for the movie, 'The Proposal'..........it was closed. Maybe I should have read the dates of the movie a little closer :) I guess it's NEXT weekend! ha

Have a great Monday!
Darla♥

Completed and off to Etsyland!

She's done and I don't often find the beauty in my own work, but this one I can honestly say I like :) That's a great feeling!

I'm going to fry some walleye for supper that my son brought me from a fishing trip. Walleye is so good, I hope I don't mess it up. Then Dale and I are going to the movie, 'The Proposal' . He LOVES Sandra Bullock. I do too and the previews and everything I've heard tell me it will be a great movie!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We've gotten about 2" of rain! MUCH needed rain so it's been a great one!

Hugs,
Darla

We have a winner!

Congratulations Renee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those of you who have not been blessed to have discovered Renee's blog, please stop over to visit her! Your life WILL be changed!



Pardon my horrible video abilities. I just used my little digital camera :)
Please email me (address over on the sidebar) with your address Renee and I'll get this mailed out as soon as possible.
Thank you to ALL who entered my little giveaway♥ I really appreciate your interest and I love that we're blog friends!!
Hugs,
Darla

Work in Progress

Here's a little peek of my newest canvas. I haven't listed a new canvas on Etsy in awhile so I needed to get busy :)



So far, I'm fairly happy with this one! I really wanted to capture a cool bark technique on the tree trunk with crackle but it didn't quite work. It's super shiny and I'll need to distress it or try something new. I plan to add some foliage around the base of the tree and little leaves off her new branch.

I want to add some wording such as : 'Trust in your ability to grow' or 'Never doubt your ability to grow' etc.

Off to a birthday party today and then we're going out for supper and drinks with my brother and his wife who are in town visiting. We got rain last night! YES!

Hoping you all have a wonderful weekend! Remember........sign up for the giveaway :) The drawing is tomorrow!
Hugs,
Darla♥

When I needed a smile & Giveaway reminder!

My daughter in law sent me a photo last night of my grandson! Seems Cutler found the 'stickers' under the bathroom sink :)

Thanks for all the moral support yesterday♥ I was just having a moment....I'm feeling much better today! Looks like we may just luck out and get some rain tonight so my plan is to stay in and clean a little and hopefully sneak down and finish a canvas I'm working on!

Remember to sign up for my 200th post giveaway! The last day to sign up will be tomorrow and I'll draw a name on Sunday morning! Good luck :)

Happy Friday everyone!
Darla

A little pouty today

I'm sure it's because I'm just tired.......every muscle in my body hurts and it's been in the 90's but man-oh-man~ I'm hosting my own little pity party today.

When I was out busting concrete 2 nights ago, my neighbor's boyfriend was over mowing her yard. Last night when I'm wrestling with 8-60 lb. bags of cement mix (that's almost a quarter ton!) my neighbor's boyfriend was over washing her car.
I started to wish I had a boyfriend.......then I remembered. I DO! Where is he? He knows I'm working, and yes, it's hot and no I didn't demand he come and help me, but couldn't he show some interest or concern and maybe pop in to lend a hand?

Dale's not one to verbally communicate 'love' very well. As if it's uncomfortable or silly, but he's always shown love in other ways. But last night I had to wonder. I really did.

I WILL get this project done and I WILL have the pride in knowing I did it on my own. And as soon as the muscles in my shoulders and arms return to normal, I'm quite sure I'll FEEL great about it all♥

Who needs a man........not me I guess :)

Sorry for the downer post, I'll be back with puppies and rainbows soon! I promise!
Darla♥♥

Thank you Annette!

Sweet Annette presented me with the Kreativ Blogger award! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Please visit her blog~ She's a wonderful illustrator! She truly is!

Here are the rules of this award:

1. List 7 things that I love 2. Link back to the blog that awarded it to me 3. Choose 7 blogs to award as 'Kreativ Bloggers' 4. Comment at each blog to let them know they’ve been chosen

Ok, here goes!

1) Of course, my family and friends will always take this #1 spot♥ and my Mieko!

2) I love thunderstorms

3) I love the smell of a newborn baby after his or hers first bath..........HEAVEN!

4) I love pasta......oh yes I do!

5) I love to curl up on a Saturday night to watch tv with the house clean, laundry done and candles lit.

6) I love that I found the strength in life when I needed it most.

7) I love food.....oh wait, I think #4 already touched on this! Ok, I love flavored creamers in my coffee!! ha

Now, I know this part isn't following the rules, but sometimes I worry that I'm giving another blogger a 'to do' that they just don't have time for. So instead of passing this to 7 people, I am giving it to you! YES, YOU! If you're here, and you're reading this and you've made it this far, grab this award! I give it to with love♥ and gratitude for sharing my day to day life.

Hugs, Darla

Affirmation Girl

I stumbled onto Lisa Nova on youtube (yes, I'm addicted to youtube!)
How many times have we all wanted to start fresh, eat healthy and exercise? I know I do it every Monday :)

I'm a little annoyed this morning! I'm trying to check my favorite blogs and it's telling me I'm NOT following any blogs! Usually if it does this, I hit 'refresh' and it's all good. Today it's not working. I'll be very, VERY upset if blogger has truly lost all the blogs I follow :(
Is anyone else having this issue?

Talk about DUAL personalities!

One minute I'm out flingin' a sledgehammer (GOOD GOD THEY ARE HEAVY!)


and then I need to take a break.........



so I paint roses :)


and sweet expectant mothers. Sometimes women really do it all? No, I am more than willing to accept that I would like a big, strappin' young man over in my back yard right about now!

These paintings are for the August ATC swap. One card was to have the theme 'birth'.

Ok, back to the basement to cool off a bit and work more on my princess and then I'll have to go outside and put on my construction worker hat. It seems easier to break this job up a little. Pardon the pun! LOL

Later,
Darla

Finished......I think

This is the 16 x 20 canvas that I was going to possibly donate to an auction......but I seriously don't know that it would attract many bids. I'm very tempted to keep it and list it on Etsy. haha, after I typed that I realized that my items don't necessarily FLY out of the etsy shop either :)

National S'mores Day!

I love watching this youtuber! She's got some great recipes!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Joshua Gene Peterson!! Happy Birthday to my youngest son♥



New Tonka trucks make GREAT chairs!!


What a ham! Love that smile :)



Josh with his big brother Ryan♥



Awwwwww chubby baby cheeks! Life memories don't get much better than this!




Time for a buzz cut! Yes , that's me....lovely perm!



Time for the dentist! He's smiling? He must be fairly new to this! LOL



Josh grown up and always with the girls! I snagged these off of his facebook so I'm not sure who the girls are!



He really does have lots of pictures with girls!


Josh before a wedding last summer. He was an usher.



Oh look! Josh and..........another girl!



Josh and his baby nephew, Cutler (sorry so small!)


Another small one but I KNOW this girl! Her name is Kelsey and she used to date my son, Ryan. She's a cutie!


And finally, Josh with................... more pretty girls!

If you haven't figured it out yet, Josh is my little party animal. He loves to hang with his friends and seems to have many! He works as a gaming manager for a charity organization. He really likes his job.

Love you Josh and HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!♥