The Move



All packed and ready to go!

 I hate moving for multiple reasons, many of which you will see if you are on Twitter.

Packing - sucks

Not having your stuff easily accessible - sucks.

This box is just wine and alcohol related glasses.... i don't think its healthy to have a box that large for just those things.



The urge to drink - well it doesn't suck, but it isn't healthy.



important things are unpacked.



However the moving part is done. Now comes the unpacking. Ugh the unpacking. I've already done most of our closet (need to find the shoes...wherever they are), bathroom is done, bedroom is mostly done, office/library is done (well my portion.), and the kitchen is mostly done. However there are 3 important rooms that aren't. The living room, family room, and the garage/exercise room/studio/mancave. 

So unpacking is going as expected.



We have started taking the dog for walks 2-3 times a day now that he doesn't have 10 acres to run around on. Neo (the dog) has gotten a lot better behaved on walks, and we are starting to get exercise. Though i am often tempted to just not go, I do. That's the point right? Though I could reason that with all the lifting and stair climbing I've done in the past 2 days that I have had more then enough exercise...but I also know we have eaten out for almost every meal. This morning was our first time eating a meal in the house...and it was a bagel.

hiding under the bed.

My cats are not accepting the change as well as I would like. No.1 they haven't moved since they were kittens. No.2 they saw the dog. they are now petrified to go downstairs in case he see them from outside. No.3 it was a really hot move. i had them in their large cat carrier with a bad of ice at the bottom for them to lay on and a small cup of water for them. Bella has adapted a bit better, despite actually having a run in with the dog, and is still the more curious of the two, however, Laine has just barely made the few steps out of under the bed...though yesterday he did get himself trapped in the living room (because the dog could see him near the stairs, he therefore couldn't go up them...).

We also don't have cable or Internet. Not for lack of trying though. Turns out that ALL of the outlets in the house are "dead". Therefore somebody else has to be called to get those working and then they can install our Internet and TV. Ugh, I don't know how long I can handle not catching up on my True Blood episodes.

That's another reason I hate moving. I still haven't seen last week's True Blood, and now I haven't seen yesterday's either.

But being in Langley is nice. The 20 minutes commute through town is much better then the hour through 3 towns. Getting home and not being exhausted, I imagine, will be even better (though I'll have to wait till the moving exhaustion goes away, to test that).



Another cool thing about moving (especially about moving with mom) is that she has all this random stuff. Okay, for the most part that's a negative, cause alot of it is shit she hasn't seen or used since she moved in with her husband, but some of it is cool. Like I went through a box and found my old sketch pad from high school! So cool! I also found an animorphs book, specifically the one I mentioned in my last blog about Book Influences. I noticed, going through the old sketch pad, that I was actually good. Alot of it was romantic, a little anime, and a little sexual - typical me in high school (that sounds a bit weird though), but it was good. i used to sketch often, and I spent much more time sketching then I do now, now it is just a outline for what I will paint (unless it's chalk and charcoal, but even then, that's a different kind of sketch). I'll scan (when comp and Internet up and running) some to show you all. But I have decided I should start sketching again. Especially faces. The last sketch was this face that had the eyes, and lips shaded, to me, beautifully. It was nobody in particular, a little bit anime, but I saw it and loved it. So I have decided to start sketching again...well once unpacking is done.



The bed has been in the same place for 3.5 years...clearly.



Also, speaking of old art - i tracked down my (really) old DeviantArt account. I used to play around with graphics and changing pics...you can see my old gallery here. It's kind of amusing to me.



Also, I had good news that I made my first sale on Etsy. albeit a bit confusing because they wanted a commission, so I didn't know if they were paying for that, or if it was for the charcoals and then they wanted to discuss the possibility of a commission later.

Next weekend will be cleaning up the old apartment. It has been vacuumed, but the walls still need to be washed, as well as the Fridge, etc. Carpets need to be cleaned - ugh.

Almost done. My mantra for the past 2 weeks. It's almost true.

Book Influence

I'm slacking at work, reading twitter trends, and finding the #bookinfluence hashtag interesting as all get out! It made me start thinking about books that influenced my life and how they did so.

Of course the first book I read had a huge impact - however I don't know what it is.

I know the first romance I ever read, my aunt or cousin gave me. It was "To Chase a Ghost" I'm not sure who it's by. I googled it and couldn't find the right one. It's a silhouette novel. It's also packed in a box ready for the move. I still keep it. It's like keeping the first piece of art I had an offer on to buy. Reminds me of my "roots".

Now maybe we could say my "slight" obsession with paranormal romance came from that, or it could have come from the series of books I read in elementary school about shape shifting kids. Those were Animorphs by K.A. Applegate. I also read the R.L. Stine books, but scaring myself was never that high on my list.

Aside from influencing my own reading choice - books have influenced more.

I have always fallen back on books in my greatest times of need. I can remember very specific books that have gotten me through parts of my life.

My first break up ever! - the book that got me through that was the over dramatic Stephanie Meyer book : New Moon. And before anyone gives me grief - this was when it FIRST came out (yes what convenient timing) and I was in my teens.

Body issues: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. I never felt fat after reading that (perhaps I should read it again since my self confidence has plummeted), and always told everyone to read it...though I don't think anybody else i suggested it to got all I did out of it.

Love: ah love, all the problems I went through, the growing pains Andrew and I struggled, all could be fixed with a book. Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos gave me hope for love after a tough break. The Penny Tree by Holly Kennedy made me persevere and believe I would be fine.

Of course I could always find a book that was specific to my situation. Oh I was in love with my best friend in high school who treated me like a sister? Well there's a Nora Roberts for that. Oh, my boyfriend is harry and slightly aggressive, there's a Laurel K Hamilton for that. Ok. the last one didn't really happen. And don't tell Andrew I called him harry.

I can remember spending more time reading then partying. Probably a god send to my mother, though ultimately more expensive.

When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up - my choices would always bend with what book I was reading. During high school it was almost all Nora Roberts, so you can almost go down the new releases for 2002-2006 -and tell what kind of career I wanted. Architect, Lawyer, House flipper, Librarian, Gallery Curator/Artist, Entrepreneur - i still want that.

I have eaten foods on the whim of the characters I was reading. I have researched new religion, food, decor, etc because of a theme in a book. I have painted paintings because the image of art described in a novel where so strong in my mind.

Hell, if we really want to get down to it, even my accessories are influenced by my reading. I am never without a purse large enough for a hardcover.

So what books influenced you?

Moving Week

We're moving closer to work! We found a place in Langley, cute 4 bedroom newer house. We are damn excited to move, and mom is moving in with us.

So today we get the keys, and start our first of many loads. The game plan is that everyday we commute to Langley for work, we bring a car full of stuff. It's the first day, my car is loaded, and we have no more boxes left in the house - except for the open ones with those odd shaped things that don't fit in anything but an open box.

This whole procedure is in the hopes that we wont have that much to move come Saturday the 20th.

Also, emergency cleaning is needed as the landlord wants to take a look at our place, probably before she starts showing it. Which is good, but since we haven't done anything - we're now in a rush. I also need a list of things to be fixed, which I promised and have yet to do.

So why am I telling you all of this? Why it's not just to write something here so you know I haven't forgotten about my blog, but rather to explain why I havent done anything. Seriously. I've been packing and once I'm done packing, I've been relaxing (ie: being lazy as hell). And since most of everything is packed or misplaced in my house, I have no reasonably way to paint, or even get in touch with my painting mojo.

I have also been reading tons of articles, after finding tons of new artists on Twitter to follow, learning tons of new things on painting, tons of concepts I want to include and use, etc. I can't wait till we have my studio up and running and I can stat using them. The plan is to transition the double garage we are getting into a combination studio/exercise room. Since I know us, I don't think I'll have much of an issue with anyone distracting me while I'm painting. We don't do exercise.. or atleast not for a period longer then 1 month. Though hopes are high.

I have lists in my head and on my blackberry of all the things I want to do, and oh, all the new wallspace I have to fill.

But right now we need to concentrate on cleaning and fixing and moving. After that I'll probably right a very exhausted blog entry that's mostly pictures of my new studio and house - hopefully it doesn't take me a year to get it to you though.

Cross your fingers the move goes good and that Andrew and I don't end up trying to maim eachother with boxes - which is liable to happen...I don't move well.