Time for bed

Here I am again, time for bed & just getting the chance to sit down and blog. Today went by really fast, work was busy & I had a nice lunch with my Dad outside on Nicollet Mall. It was nice to get some fresh air, and I even got a little sun burn! I took off a few hours early to enjoy the nice weather and get some things done around the house. We just got home from the gym a few minutes ago and it was nice to get in a workout. This coming weekend we have a lot of things planned so I know the week will fly by! Friday night we are headed out to eat with my friends for my birthday & then going out for a few hours. Saturday is prom! So I'll be really busy Saturday getting Al ready for the big dance. My Grandparents are coming up on Saturday to see her at the Grand March, and Sunday is my birthday & Mother's Day, so we are having a big celebration! I'm really looking forward to it. Ok time to crawl in bed with Mr. Man. Hope everyone had a wonderful day =)

My art

I love painting-especially painting gifts. I think I made this canvas for someone in particular, but I haven't decided yet. I haven't really shared any of my paintings with anyone besides Jay, so I'm not sure how often you'll get a glimpse of my art, I figure I better post a picture while I'm in the sharing mood before I change my mind. I'm lucky I have a patient husband, because I'm a gypsy painter. I don't have a "workshop" or paint in an ideal place (example: the kitchen table) but instead I move to where I feel inspired. This one was on our bedroom floor, with all my paint supplies spread all over. Not so convenient- but it's how I work the best. This piece is called an imperfect life. It's about knowing that life is imperfect & sometimes painful, but still seeing the beauty of it. It's a quote that really touches me. I hope you like it! Thanks to Jay for helping take a picture of it :)

If you can't click on the picture for a bigger view, the painted words say:

I wish for you an imperfect life
and all the wonder that living can bring
The wealth that comes from knowing life
The tears that find their way to laughter
The joy that grows after the rain
and the love, felt deepest,
by those who have been carved by pain.

I hope that you can value that imperfection
Hold on to it, so it gives you such comfort
That you will dare embrace the beauty
of all the imperfect life that surrounds you
and then you will be perfectly free,
to step to the beat of your own
imperfect heart
and then you will have truly lived.
A little-know fact: I begin each piece by painting a secret on my canvas, so that when I finish & give it away, a secret goes with each one. Each secret unique & each one true.

Success!

First of all, I will share with you that Mr. Man is laying a few feet away in bed & is telling me what to say for him because he's too tired (*coughlazycough*) to get up and blog :) oh what a husband I have. To give him some credit, I came home to a clean house today after my afternoon session. He sure does spoil me. Anyways- he applied to seven jobs today & feels pretty good about it. It took him forever! When I got home he went to Mississippi Dunes to hit some balls in the beautiful weather. When he got home he watched me paint for awhile and then worked on some more applications-it was a nice break for him to get out for awhile. Just before dark he asked me to take a break from painting and go on a bike ride with him. We got out right as the sun was setting and the sky was a beautiful pink/orange. It was nice to get some fresh air.

Today when I was driving home I saw a sprinkler going & someone mowing their law! As I drove by I took a nice big inhale of the freshly cut grass....one of my favorite smells. It's funny how scents can dig up so many memories. We also noticed this afternoon-and were SUPER excited...that our peonies are growing!! This means our transplant was a success and I am so pumped. There are about 15 healthy peony plants growing AND they have buds on them!! We weren't expected them to bloom until at least next year. So I am looking forward to e-mailing Bunny to tell her the 30 year old family peonies have made it through the winter. Yay!!

Sunday Funday

Last night we had a nice time with Loren & Vonn at their house in Andover. They are doing a bunch of home projects at their place so it was fun to see the progress...it looks great! We drove out there and went out for some yummy Mexican, followed by a couple games of Joker. Jay & I were partners and we got our butts kicked! It was really great seeing them again and catching up. We wanted to plan a birthday get together with the four of us and it started out at the Chanhassen dinner theatre & ended up in Vegas. Quite the extremes :) I hope we can find a weekend to go and work it out because it would be a blast!!

This morning I met with a client & booked my first wedding of 2010. Craziness! This afternoon I'm off to a 4 generations photo shoot. Should be fun. What a perfect day to spend outside =) The agenda for the rest of the afternoon is looking pretty great. Mr. Man will be applying for jobs while I'm out (send prayers his way & cross your fingers!!) and then the Twins game is on. I'm planning on joining him after my session and doing some painting. He made a point to tell me he wanted to blog today, so stay tuned for some fabulous updates from him...hehe. I think tonight we might grab some dinner somewhere & then rent a movie. Looking forward to it!

Late night thoughts...

Friendship is good for your health. We have been blessed with so many different kind hearts & faces that we call our friends. Some we have know for a long time, and others just a short while. But I believe there is a reason for the people we have met in our lives, especially the ones that stick close. We are very lucky.

This brings me to my dear friend Jenni. Years ago, we began as highschool friends venturing out into college, and just trying to figure out what we wanted out of life. A few years later, we both find ourselves with amazing lives & blessings all around us. I am married (ok so we knew this was coming!!) but we both qualified for homes on our own, both bought them, & have steady jobs. Jenni also recently bought a puppy. I'm so proud of her for accomplishing so much on her own & not being afraid to do it alone. I admire her independence. I can't wait until the day that she finds her perfect man!! (believe me I'm trying, anyone know any cute, single, & non-crazy men?? yes men...boys need not apply). We have grown so much in the past few years and our friendship has done the same. I love the steadiness & reliability of our friendship. I love it & I love her. Ok that's all =)

Oh & p.s. tonight someone asked if we were sisters AGAIN! ok, we used to sort of, kinda understand when we were both blondes...but I'm currently a brunette?!? We get this all the time. so weird. Anyways-here's a shout out to our crazy but awesome highschool friends! This is just a sample of some of our great friends.

I absolutely adore my life. **those not pictured (and there are many)-we love you too!!!! =)

Girls night out!!

Tonight Jay is going out with his work friends which gives me the night to myself....yes!! I am working until 2:30 or 3 and then heading to the mall for some shopping & dinner with Jenni. We have several weddings coming up this summer so I need the appropriate attire...and my birthday is next week! Needless to say, I have some major shopping to do. Then the rest of the night is wide open (how nice!) so maybe a little movie action, or some reading & relaxing. I'm just happy it's Friday. Tomorrow we are heading to Jay's Dads for dinner and Sunday I have a few sessions, so it will be nice to have a low-key night tonight.

Now on to some equally exciting & boring news. Today we were able to pay off not only the rest of of bedroom furniture, but our entire credit card!!!!!!!! This is a huge accomplishment for us. We don't use our credit cards often, only for major purchases that we can't afford to pay in cash, and very rarely (we were taught well!). But we bought the most beautful set of bedroom furniture right before the wedding, and were able to pay in cash for everything else we purchased for the house. We also had our trip to Portland on there. We knew we would be getting a little money back, so we put the trip on our card to rack up our frequent flyer points. Thanks to our tax refund, we were able to pay for everything (the furniture & trip) and still have a little left over. I have no idea how this happened and how we got so lucky-but we are SO thankful. That knocks off two of the major items on our list. We may look over & revise our list this weekend because it seems like everything is all of a sudden happening at once-especially things we thought would take time. We really want to be challenged by it, so we'll see. I have already upped the number of weddings I photograph in a year because I keep booking more! We are all set for our donation pick-up on May 7th so this weekend I am going to tackle some of the boxes in our storage...spring cleaning!!!!!!

Random Fact Friday

RFF: I won't read a book if I don't like the main characters name. Weird, I know. But I never connect with someone that has a name like Candy, or Gigi. Mr. Man doesn't read books.


For all my fellow Twilight/Rob lovers:

HAPPY FREAKIN' FRIDAY!!!! I know this pic makes your day. *If it doesn't, I am seriously concerned by your lack of correct judgement on good-looking men. Just kiddin.