A day in the life of a glamorous artist
At some point today, I need to find time to take a shower.
At some point today, I need to get a teen and a toddler up and ready to run errands that they will both hate, with the exception of bribery lunch.
At some point today, I need to find out what that smell is in the van.
At some point today, I need to make my appointment at the Apple Bar and try to convince whomever has the pleasure of serving me that my MacBook can be fixed, and the fact that my toddler spilled apple juice all over it before it mysteriously went kaput shouldn’t be a bid deal…In reality, it was rum and diet coke…. mine, not the kids… pretty sure I murdered it by my own clumsy hand.
At some point today, I have to make my way to the castle, beyond goblin city so that we can be protected from the fire breathers. In other words, Downtown Dallas, worst parking lot in the world, navigate the busiest children’s hospital on the planet so the little kid can start allergy shots. How sucky is it to be allergic to fire ants when you live in Texas….How sucky is it for his PARENTS?!
At some point today, I will have to drive an hour home with grumpy children just so I can start thinking about what to cook for dinner and what is the most dire area to clean up so we don’t end up on a bad episode of Hoarders. Pretty sure it will be dishes.
At some point today, my dishwasher will breath a sigh of relief as I ignore a new sink full of dishes and choose to take a walk with my Simon, Captain Neurotic dog, and the Toddler of Doom. We will of course ask the teenager one to go, but he will grunt something in his language while rummaging through the fridge. I will of course point out that we just ate, how could he possibly still be hungry and he will then grunt something in teen-eese. I will, of course, pretend to understand and just walk away. After all, he is 14 and already over 6ft. I assume it takes much fuel to haul himself upstairs to navigate the xbox.
At some point today, we will use a combination of good parenting skills, and Diego/Dora to occupy toddler kid in hopes to spend a few minutes catching up on what earth shattering things we missed on the internetz, possibly do some work, say something clever and snarky on FB, retweet something with cats in it and wonder why we don’t get any work done. At this point, we’ve neglected to tell xbox to “play next episode” and toddler Jude is swan diving onto my head from the table behind the couch. If he is lucky, I will break his fall. If not, he will most likely end up head first onto the floor. I will do my best to break the fall.
At some point today, Simon and I will begin the intense negotiations of bath/bedtime. It will be intense, there will be flooding, tears, many contracts read (mostly Winnie the Pooh and some fishy books), Finally, terms will be met and If we sneak away quietly we can call it a successful negotiation….errr I mean the tired toddler slumbers. Teenager Parker is responsible for his own bedtime negotiations.
At some point today, I will have a huge decision to make. Do I try to catch up on blogging, try to get into the Studio to either clean it or do something creative in it, or do I just go to bed? Judging by the frequency of blogging lately, I am pretty sure you can guess which I will do.
At some point today, I will remember that SuperSimon has a meeting to attend after work and won’t be home until 10 so I am on my own this evening. I have actually just now realized this but am too committed to this lovely day to change my evening plans.
At some point I will realize I never did get that shower.
With exhausted devotion,
Wenders
p.s. I MUST not forget milk and toilet paper at the grocery store. The situation is very dire!
June already?!
I can’t believe it is already June! of 2012! What happened to May!? Time is just flying by and summer is here. I can’t wait to see what interesting and exciting things summer will bring. On <non disclosed dates> will be our 2nd annual family vacation to South Padre Island. Last year was super fun, and the weather was great! I can’t wait to see what Jude thinks of the beach this year. Maybe he will even go in the water more. Parker was getting pretty brave with his wave board, so this year should be a real show. I plan on keeping my toes in the sand as much as possible and when I am not super SPF’ing it up on the beach I will be pool side staring out at the beach….and keeping an eye on the kiddos of course 🙂 I am hoping Simon gets as must rest and relaxation as possible. He has been working so hard lately and is due for some down time.
I can’t wait to have this much fun again! See how excited Parker is? He can hardly contain himself!
In the mean time we are practicing our water baby skills at the neighborhood pool.
Full of summereaze and love,
Wenders
Wednesday Wednesday
Well that last post was certainly depressing! Man am I rapid cycling these days. Today, I had these grand thoughts about unplugging and spring cleaning to clear away the cobwebs. Totally excited and pumped to get started! I even turned the computer off. Then this happened …
One more cup of coffee…check email on iphone…something needed attention on the blog… turned computer back on… decided to blog about it… well crap… cycle repeats…about to turn computer off… wait, cant post a blog without a picture! Wanna see the result of painting the shelves in the studio? Well of course you do.
Ta-da!
It is a space that feels really good. Therefore, mission accomplished! There is still much to do. Most importantly paint the walls. Current color is NOT a good studio color but that is a job to tackle another day. For the moment, it is a wonderful space to work in and we are happy artists.
Love and unplugging for realz this time,
Wenders
Monday Monday
Trying to stop letting lhe “To Do” list overwhelm me. I crapily painted the shelves for the studio. Note to self: Don’t skimp on the quality of the paint. Even medium grade paint would have worked fine. Also use a primer. ALWAYS! By the time I was done, or mostly done, I was so sick of that paint that I was done (even when it could have done with a few more coats). Just done. We needed a working studio though. At this point, I have no idea what to do in it. I am so confused on direction right now. Maybe if I just go in there and worked on something it will come, but at the moment I feel like I am heavy with details I am not even aware of yet. Finding myself right now seems monumental and big.
Windmill City and Spring
Spring is here! We just got back from a spring break trip to visit my parents in my hometown in West Texas. It is always nice to regroup and spend some time in the country during spring time. Which is the only time West Texas is pretty in my opinion. It was nice seeing all my favorite plants in bloom and more fruit trees being planted. Jude absolutely loved being outside and he exhausted me and my mom with his obsessive need to slide on the big kids slide and swing set. I wish I’d taken pictures now but I was on a camera sabbatical. Parker had fun catching up with old friends, riding the gocart and catching up with old friends.
Now we are back home and trying to settle into some sort of routine. Easier said than done! So far studio time on Tuesdays and Thursdays is working well. Jude is still settling into preschool (i.e. still cries like crazy when I leave him) and I have managed to complete one commission job and start a few paintings. I also have a house full of furniture and other various non canvas items to paint and get creative with. So much so that I am toying with the idea of renting a booth in one of our local junk/antique shops to sell some of my custom painted furniture. Just toying with the idea mind you. I have a bit more than I can digest right now but it is on the back burner. I think Wenderflonia Studios has suchgreat potential and I am feeling a burst of creative spirit. Now to find the energy and organization it will take to keep things going. That is a tall order right now but it is one day at a time.
In other news. I am really looking forward to an upcoming girlfriend retreat. Two of my dear friends and I are running away from our kids and menfolk for a much needed weekend of relaxation and retreat. Can you say spa treatments!? Woo hoo! This will be exactly what I need to meditate and regroup.
Love and stuff,
Wenders.
Fresh Starts
What a glorious day!! So many fresh starts and changes in the air.
I have been working on something that I have wanted for so long. My own studio (or shared studio space with the man of my dreams!) ….aaaaand I GOT IT! I spent the day organizing that dream. It is such a nice in-home space with doors that shut out the world and grabby toddler hands. It was an amazing and sometimes hard journey to get here. When we first decided it was time to buy our first grown-up house we made a list of a few must haves. I won’t bore you with the long list of picky details, or how long we had to wait but will just say that we got it all and then some. The best part being a studio space. I guess in most people’s homes they would call it a downstairs study or office, but to us it is pure heaven with french doors. I plan on doing a “before and after remodel” post so I won’t reveal too much of the awesome-ness now. I just wanted to talk a little about what it means to me as an artist and stay at home mom.
First thing we had to do was come to terms with was the fact that it was time for Jude to start going to some sort of child care or Tuesday/Thursday school outside of the home. The occasional play dates and library story times a few times a week weren’t cutting it. There is only so much entertainment I can give a kid who needs a little socialization and time away from mommy. I was already past desperate for some me time as well. Realizing that I was pushing back the Wendy that wanted to create and paint for herself simply because it was too tiring to be her and the supermom/partner that my family needed me to be was hard to swallow. It was time to let others into our life to help care for little guy. We so lucked out with our small community’s local child care facility. They are so kind and loving. They also had the perfect spot for him to go two times a week that worked with my schedule. The best part for me is that they offer video monitoring. I love this!! I can log on and see what my sweetness is doing all day. It is hard for me to break the attachment and closeness we have shared over the last 2 years, so still being able to see that he is actually napping, eating, playing with other kids helps me feel connected. He is still in the adjustment period and drop-offs are still hard but he seems to be adjusting well.
MEANWHILE! I have been busy getting the space ready to be a wonderful place for creative goodness. This is absolutely my dream come true. I have so many plans for business opportunities to come. Along with a fresh new physical creative space, Simon also put a new coat of paint on the old Wenderflonia website and it looks great. He added a few new tabs such as the newest painting tab that has a sweet button that will send you straight to my shop to purchase. Loving it! A renewal of sorts is setting in. I am feeling this! What are you doing to see your dream come true? This is what mine is looking like.
Love a real live artist,
Wenders
Happy Birthday JuJu Bee!
Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of Our Jude. He is the sweetest, most dynamic and talented 2 year old we know.
His first birthday (remember that one!?) was a grand affair (as it should be!) so we decided that a small little gathering of nearby family and friends would do us just fine. All my awesome menfolk came early to help with the last and worst part of our move. My raised beds were still at the old house and I wasn’t about to leave them behind. We also needed the dirt for back-fill in some washed out parts. It was very hard work and I am so lucky to have such a giving and helping family.
Once all the hard work was done we enjoyed presents, burgers and good company. Jude has been in toy heaven ever since. He doesn’t get a lot of sugary treats so he was a little “high” on the excitement and junk food. He didn’t go to bed until 1:30 am!
So happy birthday Jude! This next year will be so full of excitement and new adventures. Let’s go take a nap.
Love the mama of a sweetie,
Wenders
Holy blog no more Batman!
Wow! I just realized it has been since November 1st since I last blogged. I am so wrong for that! Can I say that life has been crazy yet again? How many times can one use that excuse? Because I not only say it but hear it all the time as well. No but seriously, It really has been crazy. We had all the major holidays and the great Short Sale Hell of 2011 to contend with. As soon as the sea parted and the powers that be said we were good to go on buying “the house” we had whirlwind packamovathon. Whew! I am exhausted but managed to push back my 4th nervous breakdown. Boxes are still piled in the garage, I still don’t know where half my stuff is but we have the skeleton of a real working studio! Things are about to get great folks. Wenderflonia is about to get her long awaited break. Real workspace AND office hours! The little one starts part time child care and I am so nervous and excited. I have so many wonderful things to share and will kick myself if I drop the ball again. Until then. Take a gander at the new casa.
See that big window in the front? Yep, that’s the window to the beautiful studio with soaring ceilings and great acoustics. Not that acoustics matter to me, but the teenage one just moved his keyboard in. Looks like we all have to share the creative environment! 🙂
till next time
Wenders
Fall, Halloween and Purgatory
I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween. Ours was great!. The big kid ran around the neighborhood with friends and we parked the little one in front of the candy bowl. We handed out bowl after bowl of sugary-over marketed goodness. We attempted the trick or treat thing but it didn’t really work. Jude was perfectly happy mooching out of our own candy bowl. Fall is officially my new favorite season. (I gave up on spring when we only got a few weeks of awesomeness and then it hit 100.) Right now everything is cool crisp and changing colors! It is beautiful and quiet here in suburban North Texas. I’ve done little things here and there that I will try to blog about, but mostly the days have been filled with keeping up with the family.
As usual, I’m having energy problems. I dont have enough. Sometimes our days can get hectic with everyone having such a crazy schedule. I have to keep up wit hall of them and feel a little dizzy at times. However, I am still trying to be more relaxed and let the holiday season roll up. Next up…Thanksgiving….Oh gawd I am tired already! 😉 The season is upon is and there will be tons of things to get ready for…. Did I mention that I have an energy problem?
In the studio news…. Is there any?! There are many things I wish I could be doing in my studio and in the garden right now; however, I feel like I am in limbo. To spill the beans, we are in the process of buying some property that would allow for REAL studio space! I can’t tell you how excited we are. The snag is that, as with most of the real estate in our newer area, it is a short sale situation. I don’t have the heart to explain the stress of a short sale, or what it even is if you don’t know, so here is a link. I will let Wikipedia do the job. Needless to say, purchasing this home has been a very stressful and long task. I feel like we are in purgatory and nothing is getting done or progressing untill we have a closing date or even a final answer. We are in the last stage right now where we are jsut waiting on final approval from the investors. We are mainly trying to keep positive and hang in there and be patient… The patience thing is really hard!
So that is where we are at right now in Wenderflonia Land. The holidays are coming up and am in the craft making mood. I’ll get to blogging more.
On pins and needles, but still yours.
Wenders