My latest art project

A lady at work commissioned me to draw her grandson for Christmas. I was really happy with the way it turned out, and, more importantly, she was too. This was just a regular snapshot they had taken of him in his highchair, but the expression and lighting were perfect for a picture. This is one of my favorite portraits I have done so far!

One of my new favorite things......

For Christmas, I got a Kindle! My cousin got one a while back, and I thought it looked neat, but it was hard for me to give up the idea of holding a real book in my hands and turning pages. I mean, you just can't replace curling up in a chair on a rainy afternoon with a good book. But when some other friends began raving over there's, I started to reconsider.

Well, one of the main things that made me reconsider is the library system here. In KY, we had FIVE libraries within a ten mile radius of our house, with online catalogues to renew and place holds with, and an Interlibrary loan system that brought books from California to my house within a week. Here we have one tiny library, without a lot to choose from, with only a three-week loan system. I never remember to return books within three weeks, so I always end up with fines. And as for the Interlibrary system -- I placed a book on Interlibrary loan in October of 2009. Guess when I finally received it? May of 2010. I had completely forgotten about it by the time I got the call that it had arrived. So, the idea of being able to have practically any book I want in my hands anytime I want it was definitely appealing.

So, I next had to decide between a Nook and a Kindle. Both seemed to have their perks, but I finally took a chance on a Kindle. And I love it! I downloaded Elizabeth Gaskell's entire works -- Wives and Daughters, North and South, Mary Barton, The Life of Charlotte Bronte, etc -- for just three dollars!! Not only that, but nearly all the classics (i.e. really old) books that I like to read are FREE!! I have already downloaded about thirty books and a few games as well. I admit that it's not exactly the same as buying beautiful, gilded books with illustrations and seeing them on the shelf, but the ability to have practically all the books I want makes up for it! This is definitely my favorite new gadget! :)

A few pics....

I live once again in the sunny south, where we wear t-shirts on Thanksgiving and have 70 degree Christmases.

Can't you tell???

All this snow came, the day after Christmas, the closest thing to a white Christmas that any of us have seen. Princess definitely had fun!

This is our snow-covered house!

And now presenting the new kitty!! My sister went to the mall to buy a birthday present and, after not finding anything she liked for me, stopped by the pet store. She came home with this thing lol. She named him Pippin, but we mostly call him Pip. He has a very pink nose, very pink paws, and he literally cries like a baby when he is upset. He has a prissy little walk, he is somewhat cuddly, and he enjoys aggravating poor Scout within an inch of her life. He is only nine months old now, but as you can see, he is a pretty big baby!

He did not know what to think about the snow!!

We got almost ten inches!!

This is his favorite way to be -- asleep, upside down, and stretched out!!

This was taken right after we got him in October. You can see he has practically doubled in size since then!

This is one of my favorite pics ever!

2011

Well......what can I say. Blogger tells me that my last post was February 26, 2010. So it has been almost an entire year since I posted on here. I think I really needed a break for a while. Last year was a pretty stormy year. We had a lot going on, a lot of adjusting to make to the "new normal" for our family since my mom is gone, and a lot of sorting out to do. I really thought I might crack under the pressure for a while -- we had to go through and divide all of Grandma and Grandpa's things after Grandpa's death, completely turn the house upside down again to put in new carpet, go through the drama of class registrations for myself and my sister, go through the drama of changing jobs, and about a hundred other things. My Grandma on my dad's side died in April. Princess had to have major surgery because of a lump on her stomach and the vet was not very encouraging through that time. And we've basically had to learn (or attempt to learn) how to get along with each other through all this. So, hopefully you can see why I have been absent for a long while.

Don't get me wrong, some good things happened last year, as well. I was able to finally leave retail (wahoo!) and started working in medical records at a hospital, which is great because that is what my degree will be in. I passed all my classes for fall, and was accepted into the Health Information program that I wanted. We got a new kitten and my aunt opened a little store in town that I have been able to sell a few crafts in.

I am really optimistic that 2011 will be a much better year. My sister and I have gotten used to registering and taking classes and my job schedule is much better than before. And we have come to accept the way things are now. So, any way, I hope everyone is having a blessed and happy new year!