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Isn’t she cute?  That is loosely based off an image of Kristen Bell looking adorable, stylish and also barefoot.  My kinda girl.

First off, I really have to apologize for the tone of my last post.  I have had a crazy couple of weeks.  Months even.  The summer was non stop going as hard as I possibly could.  Between starting to get some of my first commissions, training hard for capoeira and travelling pretty much every other weekend, there was very little down time.  Then I hurt myself in Vancouver and did not take any time to recover.  In the midst of that…I decided to go to New York!  And what better way to earn that trip than to paint an entire 2014 calendar – in under one month.

First of all…where do I begin?  I took a mental health day a few weeks ago that actually turned into eight hours in my study painting.    I took two classes off from capoeira before deciding I was strong enough to keep training.  Not the case.  Ever disclocated an elbow before?  It really does render the rest of your limb pretty useless.  Anyways.  I was bombing through calendar months, getting girls painted, starting on backgrounds without a second thought before it finally hit me.  This isn’t fun right now.  Not to mention I had stopped any other form of exercise in my quest to stay on top of painting.  I think my workouts are as vital to my mental health as…breathing.  I can’t think of an alternate at the moment, forgive me.  So finally, after one Monday night of giving up and crying in the shower (personal – I know…) I just…stopped.

I sketched Kristen here over the summer and wanted to save her for a special occasion.  After a week away from my desk, I was ready to paint again.  I love doing this, truly I do.  Sometimes I wonder if this blog was started too early, and before I could make my love of this craft truly something for myself, I was sharing it with the world.  It helped, stopping.  And after hurting myself in two consecutive capoeira classes, I conceded I need a break there too.  I need to heal.  I know I fell in love with both of these hobbies of mine for good reason.  But I need to take care of myself first.

I’m leaving tomorrow morning for New York City.  24 hours from now, I will have spent the evening at a frivolous and hopefully wonderfully successful cocktail party with one of the most inspiring artists I’ve encountered, Inslee Haynes.  A part of me can laugh at this, and as my wonderful husband will shake his head and say – she’s just a person!  For me…this is a dream realized.  Meeting a personal hero.

Once that evening is over, I have five days in New York.  And I’m going to enjoy it!  It’s my birthday present to myself, to wander the city aimlessly, visit art galleries all by myself, sit in a coffee shop somewhere and sketch….and maybe splurge on a purchase or two as well.  Here’s to appreciating my own mental health, and treating myself every once in a while.  Wish me luck.