Day 31 "Pisa Cake" for Sammie

Well friends- this is it, today marks day 31. I kept my commitment. I painted 31 days in a row. And not "JUST" painted, I created some little painting every day.  It was so much fun. I will admit at about days 14-19 I started to feel (and behave like) a bad kid who needed a nap. That's mostly because I DID need a nap. I was staying up late (TK doesn't start winding down till about midnight most of the time, and since I developed the habit of "fighting sleep" at a very early age-under the assumption I would miss out on something if I went to bed before the others in my house- and you can FO-GET about a nap. Really? Sleep in the middle of the day? People do that?) Anyway- staying up late like normal but getting up at 4:45 am two weeks in a row started to wear me down. But...some adjustments were made- and by "adjustments" I mean, I agreed to go to bed earlier if TK agreed not to do anything fun, or allow anything fun to happen without me. Aside from the fact he watched the newest Karate Kid one night- he kept his word-and I started to get my normal 6 or so hours a night again. Thus...the project continued.  I am overwhelmed by the number of  people who said "I check for your blog every morning right when I wake up" or "I love to see what crazy thing you will paint each day" and for those silly comments, although they were not the driving force behind this project, I am so thankful. The people who participate in a project like this are what make it fun. We have grown by I think (I'd have to go back and look) 12 followers this month. The blog now has 28 followers- WHOO HOOO!! That's exciting to bloggers you know.  Through this month I have been commissioned to create 4 new works on much larger scale-so that's awesome! (More art sold=more orphans helped in my world) AND....I have started to realize my own personal style of art. (I think THAT was the main point of the "paint every day" suggestion to begin with.)  It's been so much fun to blog and paint personal thank you notes to some of my friends and to pay tribute to loved ones passed. Yea, I have had a good experience this month. I tried to remember to say it every day-but sincere appreciation is worth repeating so thank you again to each of you for being a part of my blog.  I can't really say it was a "Pisa Ccake" but I am so glad I did it. As I was cleaning brushes just now-I started to miss it already....hmm... But today was done for my great friend Sammie's birthday (in April) I love you! I wish for you many many more surrounded by those you love and those who love you in return! (In April) And also, if you know anything about Sandra-you should know first off she loves chocolate. I like to think the cake I painted this morning is entirely chocolate. Some layers are filled with chocolate mousse and some have chocolate chips inside the cake batter. Of course it's all chocolate frosting, three different kinds: Milk, dark and white. (and it's calorie free! which is more than I can say for any of the other cakes I have made you dear friend!)    Thank YOU for being a part of my blog. (twice!)


Okay followers. NEW PROJECT!  A Few Details I will post soon! Something BIG!

Day 30 "Angels 4" For Judith, in honor of her grand daughters

"They are the center of her world, and she lets them do whatever they want..."because that's what Grammy's do.""  Erin Beck (mom of Angel 2 and Angel 4)

To my dear friend Judith,
I hope this reminds you of those little girls and you smile.  Thank you for being a part of my project. I love you!

Day 29 "you are so fly" For Sabrina

It's crazy to me how many "old" friends I now keep in touch with since the whole facebook thing started.  I know where childhood friends live and what they do for a living, I see their families celebrate birthdays and graduations. It's really fun to me.  I love it when someone I have thought about off and on for 10 years or more just shows up on facebook one day-on someone Else's friend list or better yet when that person sends me a friend request. It's like "hey-yea, I haven't seen you since the summer of 1995 but I haven't forgotten about you either and let's catch up!"  I'm all..."OKAY!" and "ACCEPT!"  
Sabrina is one of those friends. Believe this or not but I (yes me) used to help out with children at a church in college. I also helped (I guess you could call it helping, mostly we hung out and played a lot of basketball) with the high school kids.  Sabrina was part of that group.  She turned into this amazing grown up with children of her own and has become a nurse. Working for the same organization as I do. Crazy-how our paths never really "uncrossed".   I am thankful for that. 

Sabrina,  I was thinking about that amazing Easter lunch you cooked for me and your mom all those years back. (really? you woke up at 5 am and were thinking about Easter lunch from 14 years ago? correct!) It was fantastic-and not just impressive for a teen age girl-but impressive by adult standards. Sabrina could cook!  I admired you then and I admire you now.  I hope you have a fantastic day!  

Thank you everyone for following along and being a part of the project.  I am torn at this point, do I continue to get up before daylight and paint each morning- blog each day- or do I begin to paint some of these big big projects that have been inspired by this daily exercise...  I suppose I have two more days to decide. 

Day 28 "Enjoy the Ride"

With bumper cars you get on knowing your are going to get...well, bumped up a bit.
But still-you get on. And you're silly and giddy and just chomping at the bit waiting for the ride to begin.
And when it starts-the lights are all flashing and horns honking from all directions and there is music. From time to time you can look around and see the cars in the ring are all moving about sort of harmoniously...dare I say it....dancing.....some leading, some following and then...then some bumping. (it is bumper cars after all) Sometimes the bumps come out of no-where and catch you completely off guard, and other times you see that car coming at you and even so...that bump gets ya too. Some bumps shake you up a bit but  make you laugh and others seem so hard or sudden you might wish you could go back to just following or better yet-leading the other cars. Maybe circling around that ring in single file again-safely on guard-not allowing anyone the opportunity to pick you out.  Appealing just after a bump-But that's no fun! Not really, I mean THIS IS BUMPER CARS! Not dancing cars or circling cars! If you like the predictable, the pretty all the time, the pattern of circles rhythmically moving in perfect cadence on autopilot, then the carousel might be more for you...Either way opportunities like this  don't come along every day-for some they are once in a lifetime-so Enjoy the ride!

Day 27 AND THE WINNER IS......PENNY LANE!

There is aparently a tech issue with blogger at this moment. click this link to see today's work.

The winner of the "follow the blog-share the blog give away" is Penny Lane.  And just to be fair, I put all the names in a paper bag and asked TK to draw out a name for me. (I might have a history of "rigging" drawings...might. But this one was totally on the up and up.  I painted a second "Bar-B-Cutie" for Penny because she really liked the original one I painted (for TK) on March 5th.   Thank you so much Penny Lane for your encouragement and friendship. I wish you guys the best of luck in your barbecue endeavors!

Thank you to all the new blog followers. This month's project (which sort of by default has been titled "the project". Thank you Sandra) has been a lot of fun for me. Thank you all for being a part of it!
Also, a big big thanks to those of you who shared the blog and recruited new followers!

There is still one day that is not spoken for. If anyone would like to claim it, let me know.

See ya tomorrow!

Day 26 "Smoke Rings"

I do really like pigs.  This is the second pig I painted this month. I have another sketched I am just dying to do but am saving it for a day when nothing is on my mind.  I am not a collector of pigs. For good measure, I think I will say that again. I am not a collector of pigs. I had two feeder pigs growing up-Elvis and Erin (Named after The King. Elvis's middle name is Aaron, but one of my pigs was a sow so...I changed the spelling. As if it really mattered it's not like these pigs needed proper documentation of their identity- they were never going to apply for an Oklahoma Drivers License or anything. I mean that's just crazy talk, everyone knows you kill a feeder pig long before they turn sixteen.) 
I was saying-I do like pigs and I think like many other forms of live stock they can be used to teach children valuable lessons. For example the lesson of  sticking to it even if your pig never wins in the show ring- and the lesson of "you have nothing to be ashamed of, you worked really hard, it's not your fault your pig gets nervous and develops....echh hmmm...."stomach issues" in front of the judges at the fair and every three steps you take your pig's echh hmmm..." stomach issues" materialize and everyone in the area snickers and laughs as you walk your pig around the ring." and of course there is the lesson of "sometimes you have to do things in life that are not fun-like walk your pig every afternoon even when it's 32 degrees outside but the hard work will pay off when it's time for shows.....unless of course your pig gets nervous and develops.....echhmmm..."stomach issues". Then I gotta be honest, the best lesson learned at that point is "pretty soon that piggy with the week constitution will be all sliced up, sitting next to some of your Granny Jone's home made biscuits-proudly displaying his smoke rings!"
In conclusion I'll place my points in the order of (this is FFA pig judging format for you non-ag followers)
1, 2, 3,4.  1. I like pigs 2. Pigs teach valuable life lessons. 3. Even a nervous show pig makes good bacon and 4. I do not collect pigs.

Day 25 "Whew"

INVITATION:
We are having a party! All chickens are invited to attend!
Lacey has gone back to America, so fear for our lives will now end!
Lacey is awesome. Quite the hhumanitarian.
But one thing she's not, and that's  vegetarian!

Celebration will begin upon Lacey's arrival in the US.

So score yo' fly selves some Flagyl and come do the funky chicken.
as DJ Albert spins and we do some scratchin.

Date: March 25th
Location: The yard out behind the orphanage!

RSVP- The Chickens! 




Some quick back ground information. This is a picture of Lacey eating a chicken head this past December during a circumcision celebration meal at the orphanage. Two words for Lacey. HARD. CORE.
Welcome Home Lacey!