Artsy Fartsy Friday~Real or Not

             



Sixteen years ago I created one of my most realistic paintings ever.

           A close friend of mine was married on a tropical island and a picture was taken with the lovely bride and groom on the beach. He held her in his arms and as they kissed the beautiful beach and water surrounded them in a perfect image of brand new love.


Since the picture was so tiny I decided to paint them an exact copy (just a tad bigger)  I painstakingly sketched then painted , shaded and mixed the exact shades of color depicted in the picture. To my delight it turned out beautifully.

Before I gave it to my friend I showed it to others and they couldn't believe how realistic it seemed. It was indeed one of my finest works.

I was never able to recreate the same level of realism.

When I gave them the painting they really seemed to love it and I was pleased. 



Years later they separated and eventually divorced and down came the painting along with all the other wedding pictures they were so proud of.  Even though it's been five years the sting of the result of their marriage breakup is still fresh on her heart so I have never asked what she did with the painting or even if it still exists...


I have always been fascinated with artists that could take pen, pencil, and paint and turn it into something that looks so real that it is difficult to tell if it's photography or not.
...let's see if you can tell....


                  
                            Posted to You Tube By: BuzzFeedVideo


I hope you have a beautiful weekend!
                                      Blessings, Joanne

Artsy Fartsy Friday~ Decorative Candles

       I used to love lighting candles (BC- before Children).  In fact when we had people over I used to make sure I had candles lit in almost every room in the house. My Father-in law would go around blowing them out because he thought we were going to burn the house down! 

Anyhoo, Recently I started to buy them again and I came across this video on how decorative candles are made. I find it fascinating and rather artistic....so please enjoy. 







                   
                            Posted to You Tube by: Moe Sal



               Wasn't that just awesome?! Now this year it's our turn to host for Christmas...hey wanna make a bet on how many candles my Father-in-law will blow out before I catch him red handed?


                Have a sweet weekend!
                             
                                             Blessings, Joanne

Artsy Fartsy.....Simple things...and Leaf Art

           
      




     Feeling kind of blah lately.

            It could be the cooler weather.

                 It  could be the anticipation of a stressful situations on the horizon.






                                   I have never been a big sharer of woes.

                                   except when I write of course.

                                   There in those blank pages I write about everything that worries me, saddens me and  angers me. I even have a prayer journal where I thank God first for his blessings in my life. Writing is my escape.




                               Simple things make me smile. I am happiest when I am with my family. I breathe easier when we are all together. I know that soon will change. College-age kids will be off sooner than I think... So I treasure every moment with them. We all know that our love for each other is unconditional~ I will never ever stop loving them...no matter how messy their rooms are! Together we have experienced enough to fill books that may be titled  what the heck is going on now!?!  ..how to survive this and that    and I'm OK you're OK too right?

                                  

                                     Simple things...


                                               Quiet time....


                                                        
                       and when troubles come my way...

                               I simply push them aside so that I can see the light behind the darkness. It keeps me up and ever present in "Hope"                                          
                                                                 

                                                 It's all good.


        I found this artist and his name is Norman Paper and in this video he makes beautiful art with leaves. He creates and before you know it...its gone. Life is like that too.  Go with the flow, don't stress the petty stuff and look forward for the next moment that will make you smile. This is what I keep telling myself~

                                       

                       


Enjoy the moment~Blessings, Joanne

Here comes the cold weather...Yuck Yuck Pooey Pooey!

                           Well, here it is again.


                                                        The Fall.



                                                                      I promised I wouldn't cry...but

                                                                       



I can't help it. I don't want to be a party pooper but whats so great about Fall and winter?


                                        This?

     He's saying...  

"OK, they looked pretty at first...but now I'm over it"
                                            
                               source














   and once all the leaves are finally bagged...then we can look forward to this?
                                                   
                                                                       source













       and no mater how small the patch is...someone is bound to slip on that ice
                                              












I have to admit that it takes me a WHOLE LOTTA effort to appreciate Fall and Winter.


Sooo...I'm going to start with a nice cup of hot chocolate
                                             
                                                           source



Yep, that's what I need to get me in the groove of this not so groovy weather

a nice hot cup of sugar coma inducing yumminess 


and while I am in that sugar coma......I'll dream of this.....

Bye Bye butterfly bush, see ya next year

                                       

'Til The Cows Come Home.....

Hi all,
          I found this video and I just had to share it with my bloggy buddies...


I Just love this Guy. His name is Farmer Derek Klingenberg and he has the most awesome videos. In this one he plays the Lorde song "Royals" and watch who comes home to listen....

and as if it couldn't get any cuter...toward the end they respond by singing a bit too!

Enjoy...and I hope this made you smile!

                 Blessings, Joanne





                    
                       Video Posted to You Tube by: Farmer Derek Klingenberg

College Night

   Soooooooo, tonight was College Night at my Daughter's High School. This is where tons of different college representatives set up an information area for the kids and their parents.


At 6:30 the corridor was already full with parents and their kids. We were happy to be there and curious at what these Colleges had to offer.

                                              
                                                                     source


All of the representatives were helpful and friendly and full of enthusiasm. We gladly walked around to all the schools informational areas and asked questions. We were pleased with what we saw.


                     source







We have gotten over the "tuition shock" and have accepted that it's going to be rough, but with scholarships ( please God) and hard work and determination we can get through those years and help our daughter become a College graduate.

                                             
                                                                Source












Yessiree, We are going to be okey dokey

                                                      
                           source  






     



At the end of the college night, my daughter said " Sheeze, it looks like I'll have to get my Masters to work as an O.T. (Occupational Therapist) Thats 6 years altogether....If I added just a few more years to that... I could be a doctor....

                  I might as well become a Doctor...."  














Medical School?

                            
                                             source 

Four Year College Will Cost More Than my HOUSE!

             My Daughter came home the other day and had an envelope in her hand. It seems that she qualifies to be in the National Honors society. Needless to say Her Dad and I are thrilled.


She also had in her possession a booklet of all the colleges that will be represented on College night at her school really soon.


I flipped through the book and this is what I saw under Tuition and room and board for the 
2014-15 year 

   

Tuition & Fees (all students):	$40,670
Room & Board (freshmen)*:	$14,490
TOTAL:	$55,160

                             

                         $55,160     FOR ONE YEAR! 

What The Frig!!! This is not even an Ivy league school!....ok, now I have to check the tuition of other Schools...I'll be right back.

Talk amongst yourselves...

                     

  Here's a topic...The Partridge Family was neither Partridges or a family...discuss.

Ok, I'm back.

Yale---60,900

Harvard---60,000

Dartmouth---62,337

Sarah Lawrence--63,472

University of Southern California---62,031

  PER YEAR   PER YEAR   PER YEAR   PER YEAR!!!!!!!

No worries......

           Her Dad and I have a plan

                 

                        Hey, I didn't say it was a good plan....

Crash

           Well Hello out there in Blogger world....How the heck have you been? I have missed being here so much. Now....last time I wrote about my hubby's car dying and how it cost us a pretty penny to get it fixed. I felt a giant sigh of relief when we finally picked the car up.



well, that feeling lasted about two weeks....




           because look what happened.....
         
                                                         

 

Yup,...I was involved in a car accident. I was traveling north and a young lady driving a caravan was traveling south when (for whatever reason) she wasn't going to yield to traffic going in the opposite direction and she tried to make a quick left. Maybe it was lack of experience...I don't know...all I know is that I tried to avoid her and boom...

 

 

I am grateful.

 

 

Why?

 

 

Because no one was hurt. My daughter was in the car with me. and you know what?

 

even though the airbags deployed, our faces never hit them. Our seatbelts were enough to stop us.

 

My friend said that maybe God put me there at that very moment because he knew another driver might have driven faster and therefore someone might have been hurt...or worse.

 

 

So...ok my car is totaled. They can't repair it. The young lady's car has a nice big dent.

 

Most importantly...

 

 my daughter, the young lady and I left without a scratch on us.

 

Thank You God!

There's a Storm A'brewing

Wow...it's soooo true...."when it rains, it pours " We are really short on cash....so of course the computer dies (I'm currently typing on my little kindle) and it's going to cost 250.00 to fix it. I Then get a call from my husband and he tells me his car broke down and its going to cost 400.00 to get it towed....FOUR STINKIN' HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!! Now, with the added cost of whatever the heck is wrong with it I say we are in for at least a thousand this week. With a maxed out credict card and no money in the bank My husband took it in stride...he puts it all in Gods hands and onward we go. So hows your week going so far? Please...I need some good news! :o)

Hi all, I haven't given up the blog....my computer died and is currently at the "computer hospital" (yep...that's the real name of the place). Anyhoo, its too hard to type a post on my kindle so ive decided to wait until the crappy computer comes home. I hope all is well with each and everyone of you! Blessings, Joanne

It'll make you chuckle...Kid Snippets

         







         Hi Everyone, 
                I found the following video recently and its called a kid snippets. Its where kids tell a story and then the adults lip sync and act it out. What comes next with the collaboration is soooo cute....enjoy!
       

             
                 Posted to Youtube by: Bored Shorts TV

Me Time

       Soooooo, both my Kids are at camp for the week.


                    and there they go...
                                                 

Whoo Hoo...Time for some ME TIME

what to do what to do...

spend some quality time with my dog?

                              Uh....he's a bit tired









                         Well, theres the veggie garden...
                                               

Hmmm, yep...it's still there

 I took a picture of our Butterfly Bush

   Well whataya know...it actually lives up to it's name










    Lets see if Max is up for playing a game of fetch
                                           

Nope not ready yet

maybe I'll finally get to read one of the books

 I keep saying I'll get to "later"

 

After ten minutes I was doing this...

source

so I had a little snackaroo

Then a little of this

source

 OK, maybe watch a bit of TV? 

source

oh oh...not again.

source

 OK, back to Max

Nope not ready

I MISS MY KIDS!