Goodbye Richmond

The movers came in at 7:30 this morning, an hour earlier than they were supposed to come. Everything is packed and all that's left is to put my stuff in the car and drive on up to Delaware. It's been quite an adventure down here in Richmond, but I am ready to leave for a hopefully better job and hopefully better place - the no tax thing helps a lot :-)

I'm in Delaware!

My goodness its been a while. In fact, it looks like its been long enough that I've finished some more pieces and yet have not posted them. What is wrong with me?

I'm getting ready to move onto my new job in NJ and am currently in Delaware looking for apartments. It's a lot harder than finding one in Richmond. They are a bit more expensive and I'm trying to find something with enough space that I can fit my office and art supplies. And it seems that there are quite a few that didn't have any openings. And its always hard to tell whether or not an apartment is worth it. But I think I've found some and plan on signing something tomorrow. Hopefully, there will be some good news.

What the New Year Brings

Well, the new year has really brought me nothing so far.

I cleaned out my office and now it's so nice and neat. I even have a wall in my office dedicated to my paintings, as a gallery of sorts and I can even switch out painting when I want to. It brightens up my drab office.

The first movie I saw Transformers 2. It was 2.5 hours, so I thought I wasn't going to be able to sit through it since it's so long, but it was such an amazing movie! So much action, but my favorite part is still when they transform. I can't believe I waited this long to see it.

Next is GI Joe. Hope it's not a bust.

Snow in December. How it should be.

It looks like we got another snow storm this year. It snowed for 2 days about, but now, on this Sunday, it is warm and sunny and the sky is so damn blue. I really thought there would be more snow then there was. We only got 6 inches and I was really hoping for maybe a foot. But here are some lovely pictures that I took along:


This was at around 5pm Friday, when it began to snow.
This is how it looked liked 20 hours later.
Another two hours have passed and it's time for me to start cleaning off the car. At least it was a powdery snow and not wet and icy.

I spent all day inside under a blanket and watching TV. Not like I could do anything else.

New Computer!

I finally got my new computer today. An HP dv6t laptop. It's really pretty and a lot faster than my old toshiba. The best part is that the screen on this computer works. I just figure out what to do with my old laptop, probably a computer for other programs since it's starting to be slow as well. I absolutely love playing around with t.

Then there's my old desktop. It's 8 years old and I've been trying to find a way to recycle it, but all the information about recycling is not very clear. Is it really that hard?

Pink Waterlily

Oil Pastels - 2009

So things have been a bit slow at work lately and it is driving me up a wall, so I decided to do something about it and do a little artwork on the side. This is what I came up with. Haven't used oil pastels in a while either, so it was a bit interesting. The ones I did have were old and almost nothing left. I guess I need to invest in a new set.

Ice Skating!

I did it. Today, almost in impulse, I signed up for ice skating lessons. Now there are only two rinks in the area, owned by the same people, but the rinks aren’t bad. I made sure I signed up for the adult classes though since it would be really weird taking lessons with kids. It’s been a while since I’ve been skating, most of which I taught myself, but I figure now is as good a time as any to learn how to stop, since that’s the one thing I have not been able to figure out on my own and is probably important. Classes start on Wednesday with practice sessions available throughout the week, so it looks like I’m going to have to get my skates sharpened.

I also need to start on my painting. I have been putting it off for way too long.

More NY Goodness

I found pictures of Central Park from the NY weekend. I miss it so much, but won't probably go back until March or so because it's going to get cold and nasty real soon, but I'm planning all my stops now (the first thing I'm going to do is get a haircut).

Also, did I mention we crashed a wedding?

Rainbows

I found a rainbow this weekend. I couldn't get a good picture though since I found it while driving and couldn't find a good place to pull over and still see it well.

It was a slow day at work...

I had some downtime at work and so decided to do some doodling. These were done in dry erase markers, highlighters, and sharpies. Something to pass the time.

As much as it is to have some downtime, I really hope things get to pick up soon because I hate sitting around and doing nothing.

Grr..

I am currently at war with my work computer, but can't really tell who is winning

I'm Cleaning!

It's weird, but I've been on an organizing binge lately. I'm doing my office and my apartment which is kinda odd. I guess we'll see how it comes out.

So sad...

So the end of my vacation to PA is over, but it was not uneventful. I got to play with some kids, got some good shopping done, missed two days of work, and most importantly...found BACONNAISE! I have been looking for it for so long and finally found it up there in Wegman's. Now I can enjoy bacon without the meat part of it since it really is vegetarian!

I don't want to go back to work.

Why haven't I posted this one yet?

Purple Gardenia - 2009
I forgot when I did this, but it was a while ago and I never posted it.
Maybe I should go update my online portfolio.

One of the best parts of NY is the dessert

So I had craving for rainbow layer cookies - they are these Italian cookies that have three layers of marzipan, with raspberry jam and topped with chocolate. So good. Except I could not find any places around here that sold they, so I decided to make them myself. It takes a lot of work, but I am looking forward to them. So yummy.

It's amazing that people here don't know about them or a lot of other desserts - cannolis, napoleons. I guess it just shows the difference between NY and VA.

Man do I miss NY. I'm always going to be a NY girl, so matter where they put me in this assignment.

Pictures to come soon.

I may be losing it ... AKA - Told you exercise isn't all that necessary

Today was the first day in quite a while that I've gotten to do some actual work. And boy was it work. And then towards the end of the day, something happened. My computer said that I was fat. Or at least I think it did. With my hate-hate but necessary to work with relationship with my computer, it may have very well said it. Or maybe it was just too much work in one day.

On a second note to the computer calling me fat, while I was looking at the news today, I found an interesting article on why exercise won't make you thin (thanks to TIME magazine). Hah to all! It's quite informative all about how though you exercise and we all spend so much money on it, it can actually make you bigger, mostly because you think you can eat more. It's still interesting.

My Strengths Are...

I took this “What are your strengths” test today. It’s based on research that was gathered by a man named Tom Rath as part of his series on developing a person’s strengths in order to succeed as opposed to working on your weaknesses. From what I saw, the book really is a good read and makes you think.

After answering a bunch of questions, they give you your top 5 themes or strengths, Mine were:

Deliberative – take serious care in making choices

Analytical – search for reason and cause and think about all factors

Intellection – introspective and go for intellectual discussions

Competition – measure progress agasint other and want first place

Context – understand the present situation by looking at the past

Which are all very true about me. Now to put these babies to work – once I get some that is.

New Yorkers are the worst drivers

Go New York. Suck it New Jersey.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/993/where-the-worst-drivers-live/

Plumeria

Plumeria - Oil Paint - 10"x10" - 2009

Steps to my next painting

So I accomplished something this week - I did another painting. One of a plumeria. It's much smaller than what I'm used to, but I'm also thinking about making it part of a series.

I also thought it might be nice to show some of the steps I take to make it. So here: