winter....

well winter can be done...except, for basketball. i could watch basketball until the cows come home- oh, good thing they are all frozen in place and won't be able to get home....so, onward with basketball!!

tk plays center for 8th grade, and was asked to step up and play with the freshman team. tk and a guard. what great experience for the girls and the freshman have been so welcoming which is nice, because i know how not nice girls this age can be. tk got to play more tonight and put up some points...we even had one set of parents that said that tk played really well and was a nice addition to their group (proud parent moment...). keeping life busy for us, but, fun...

happy new year

twenty eleven...what are my aspirations for this year? what are your aspirations for this year? i'm not going to use the word "resolution" because i feel like that is supposed to be a fix for a problem and life is way too short to worrying about all the problems. i want to focus on dreams, aspirations....

my aspirations for 2011:
move more, as in exercise...focus on keeping my body in shape
declutter- get rid of the junk- everywhere! if i haven't worn it- gone; if it is not being used- gone; if it just hanging out cuz it doesn't have a better spot- gone
do more art...just go to the shop and turn on the music and let it be- but, much more often
focus on family...keep everyone engaged- life has gone so fast
find my balance...stay focused and keep doing something (this is for you Gramma Bee...you are already missed every day). gramma always said- her idea of hell was having nothing to do; the pic is from our art show this fall in november...

what are your aspirations?

post holiday

day after finds me wanting to clean house...maybe to make room for what was received; maybe anticipating the new year coming this next week, and wanting a fresh start; either way, i'm thinking about sneaking down to my art shop until the feeling passes for now anyway...

i'm hoping that the newest christmas gifts have righted the electronic world back into my favor making it MUCH easier for me to use my laptop. i was tired of arm wrestling my kid for the use of the laptop, cuz let's face it- i'm no longer a spring chicken, and she is as big as i am now (actually a little taller now...) i can feel the missing piece of inspiration from the other bloggers creeping back in and making me feel at peace again...aaauuuhhhhhhh!

my pic is my newest addition to the tree which is a little giraffe made out of candy wrappers courtesy of my mom- thanks mom! he is soo cute!

life

life is still very much happening...with the kids, it feels like we just go to sports events (i followed the bus today- tk told me i was stalking them...), or picking up from something. but, in the mix of all of this, i have made some wonderful new art and have managed to get into another gallery (ok- so, the owner is my bff- still, a new gallery), and we will be the featured artists on the second floor of the goss opera house in watertown, south dakota.

what a space!! it is totally amazing! my mom and i met with the art manager yesterday, and our three generation art show is the first show ever on the second floor. i have to admit i was a little disappoint that the website did not mention anything, but, we are the first to show there and i think we are the guinea pigs...but, it is totally amazing.

toe envy...

here is to hoping for some indian summer...to enjoy the cuteness of the toes. there is nothing better than capries, sweatshirt and flip flops (to continue to show off the toes of course...)

house

we have transformed our living room...new couch and new tv. we have streamlined and got rid of all the extra "stuff." what i am so excited about is that it seems to have this pull...drawing us all into it- the oversized comfiness with the intimateness to induce conversation...even in kids...enjoying the home and the family.

lazy days of summer past....

well, summer has somehow past with us going into our second week of school...that is so hard to believe. we have a 6th grader, an 8th grader, and a junior- i am definitely not old enough for all of this- i am not that old!

our summer days saw a bunch of friends; warm, rough pavement on the bottom of our feet; fire flies and bon fires with gooey marshmellows and warm chocolate; it saw a trip to spain for our oldest (who had a total blast and survived without his parents for two weeks-ha, ha, ha) actually, i think i had panic attacks for the first two days he was gone because i hadn't heard from him and i didn't know what he was up to- and then, i would remember- he wasn't even in the US- ha. swimming, and walks, heat and humidity, and alot of rain for our area...it ended with alot of discussion over whether we should stay where we are or whether we should be moving....alot of discussion. and we came to the conclusion- we couldn't make the other house/ property work for our total needs and that we were happy here; and that, we were willing to make some changes to make this move happen, and maybe we needed to be focus on the changes, but, staying where we were already...

so, happily we have "flipped" our living room and have plans for our kitchen...the living room has pulled our family together even with all of being sleep deprived after being forced into school-time...which we all desperately needed. a little set routine and more normal bedtime...yes, summer has finished and school has started and i am ok with that. hope everyone's summer saw as much happiness....