True Friendship-amazing

10 Minute Trainer Tried to Kill Me!!!!

Deep breath in......ok good!! So those that know me, know that I am a sucker for an infomercial!! We have so many products in our house that were originally "As seen on T.V" that we could probably open our own store. So needless to say, 3 weeks ago, I got sucked into yet another one. Yep, the 10 Minute Trainer was just the thing I needed to change my life!! Ok, so I am carrying an extra 30 pounds still (or again), from the birth of my son. OMGosh, was that 6 years ago? Whatever!!!
So I am watching the show. What's that......tears from a client that completely had their life changed IN JUST 10 MINUTES A DAY!!! The founder, looking a little misty eyed as he talks about a man who was at death's door and brought himself back IN JUST 10 MINUTES A DAY!!!!
Hand me the phone and where do I sign??
After giving them 2 payments of $39.99, I waited anxiously for my UPS man. 5-7 business days later, (yep, if you order now you can get FREE express shipping, saving yourself the anguish of waiting 3 weeks.........Note above, when I ordered it.), and still no trainer. I do not have the time or energy to get into THAT story. Suffice it to say, 5-7 business days didn't happen. 3 weeks later,(today) I got my trainer. I did, however, manage to talk them into refunding my shipping charges, and sending me the items that were missing from my order. Should be here in 5-7 business days!!
So now it's 4:30 pm and I just picked up Connor from Summer camp. I asked him if he wanted to do my workout video with me and he informed me, he did not need to exercise today. Shot down!!! Plus, we have been fasting this month at church, and I chose Monday lunches in July. So I don't eat breakfast, had no lunch and nothing in my system but Starbucks Doubleshots all day. Yeah, lets start a workout regimen!!!!!
Ok, seriously, I thought the guy was trying to kill me!! There are 5 videos and you can do 1 a day (10 minutes) or 2 or 3. So, hopped up on espresso, I decided to do 3. Well, let me tell you, not a good idea. I think the 10 minute trainer people got word from customer service, that I called a week ago and threatened to start an internet campaign with all 19 of my blogger friends, dissing their fraudulent shipping promises. They, in turn, must have sent me a "special" workout video that they send to their troublemakers. Halfway into the second 10 minutes, I thought I was going to DIE!!! For reals, I had to crawl to the couch, and wait for the spinning to stop. And then wait for the urge to throw up to stop. And then wait for the cold sweating to stop. I just wanted it ALL to stop.

"Don't give up, you can do this", I tell myself.

Tomorrow..............one video...........that's it, just one.

Wylde Woman Blogger Award

So my new friend , Debbie Overton at MMCA, hit me with this Wylde Woman Award!! **bowing** "Why thank you, it's just so nice to be nominated"

So it is awarded to women who artfully inspire, and the originator, Tammy Vitale, is an amzing inspiration. Check out her site, and prepare for some eye candy!!

So I, in turn, would like to nominate my friend Dana at Inspired By Dana, for this award as well as my friend Jade: Author of Jade's Funki Junk. Ok ladies, now go check out Tammy's site, and pass it on!!!

I am Strong

This is another Kelly Rae Roberts inspired piece.(I just love her stuff, can you tell!!!)

It is 11" x 15", and the picture is actually bigger than the scanner, so the pic is a little cut off on top and bottom. Kelly Rae Roberts has an art book coming out next month, and I can't wait. You can check here out here. She Rocks.

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival

Hello!!! Starting next week, I am participating in a Blog giveaway that my BlogHer friend, Kendra told me about. I am donating one of my pieces of artwork, and you can go to her site here: Big Giveaway on Kendra's blog , and she will tell ya how to do the rest. Her blog is fabulous by the way. It is "The Adventures of the "Headless Family: Good thing the heads are attached", and she does a great job. So just relax, grab a cup of coffee and wander on through!! This is the piece I am donating. It is 4" x8" mixed media collage, framed.

Handmade Journal

Last weekend, Dana and I went out to the RSC show in Carson. We got to hang out for a bit with Teesha and Tracy Moore of zettiology.com, and they even had a little make-n-take. FUN!

Teesha was selling these great journals she had hand made, and while I did not have enough cash on me to get one, I absolutely loved them. Her artwork is amazing anyway, and this journal was awesome. She told me that the instructions were posted on her website, so this weekend, I decided to go for it. I had a blast. I have always wanted to make my own handbound book, start to finish, and her instructions were pretty easy to follow. Here is my finished product. Instructions for the journal are here:http://www.teeshamoore.com/how_to_make_journals.htm

I used (2) 8x10 canvas boards for the covers, painted them and added copies of other journal pages for the inside front and back covers. I used (15) Fabriano hot press watercolor sheets cut to 9.5" x 15.5", and folded in half to give me 30 pages. I then separated them into 3 stacks of 5 to attach in sets. Thick pieces of painted linen were used for the binding, and waxed linen thread was used to sew all of the pages into the spine. (you can see the thread if you look close) Beads were tied to the leftover linen thread, and holes punched into the covers to make the button tie closure. I then stamped the title on the front and added a few rub ons to finish it off. I think I will use this journal when we go on vacation is August. It is a little smaller and easier to carry around, plus I just started a new one a few weeks ago, so I feel I need to get through that one first. I am so please with how this came out! Thank you Teesha Moore for always being such great inspiration.

Mixed Media Collage Artists

I recently applied to Mixed Media Collage Artists, an online group of artists, and was accepted! Yay! The more opportunities to get my artwork out there, I'm all for it. Click on the MMCA link to the right to check out other artists in the group. So between uploading art to that site (there are monthly minimum requirements for new artwork), and getting stuff uploaded to my Etsy shop, I have been busy.

I did, however, stop long enough to finish this piece. It started out as a technique test using Goldens fiber paste and molding paste, and then stamping foam letters into it. That did not turn out as I had hoped, but by the time I was done messing with it, I had a great background. So I pulled out one of my favorite images, of my dad as a boy, and finished it up. It is 8x10 mixed media collage on canvas board.