you’ll never guess what i did last night…

I sat for an artist friend so she could paint me! How neat is that?!

Alix Martin is the owner of redFISH (a studio here in the village) and is also the one working on the mural for the co-op, which is how I met her. After we’d gotten to know each other a little bit, she asked if I would sit for her. Of course I would! I was really looking forward to it and, finally, our schedules synced up enough to get together for a few hours last night while Andrew played rec volleyball at the middle school here.

(Before I get too far, can we just take a minute to check out my arms…I worked really hard for those!)

Such a neat experience! We met at her studio–I LOVE it! As you can see in the photo, there is color everywhere and it’s got a very bohemian vibe.

You can see a little of her work in the photos; she paints all sorts of “real” things (like birds or people or landscapes), but manages to give them whole new life with color and texture and movement. It’s totally my speed in terms of art; I’m not drawn to traditional (think the landscapes 99.9% of the population have hanging on their walls), impressionism (while it’s beautiful and I like water lillies and ballerinas as much as the next person, it’s still not “me”) or super-modern (Picasso was brillant, but he’s not going anywhere in my house!) pieces at all. Of the classical painters, I suppose Van Gogh is one I like, but more for his use of color than texture.

My taste in art is kinda like my taste in style–very classic and minimalist, but with unexpected and non-traditional pops of color or other eclectic pieces thrown in. We recently had the Elmwood Festival of the Arts here in Buffalo (which is HUGE, by the way), and Alix designed the cover of the brochure–you can see it here.

And, in the interest of journalistic integrity, I DID take it all off….

…and it was SO EASY. Seriously. Although I’ll admit–with my background growing up (my mom often said, “Who cares? We’re all girls” in situations like locker rooms, or just changing clothes in general) and in the military (hello communal showers!)–my “shyness” is pretty limited. I mean, you just do what you have to do, and anyone who showers and changes regularly at a busy gym can attest to that.

And Alix is a friend; I don’t know if I would have felt as comfortable with a total stranger. We worked up to it; I posed with the slip for most of the 2.5 hour session, then she did some quick sketches au natural. I’ll have to go back for her to finish the primary piece, and I’m hoping to do more in the future. I mean, we chatted the whole time; it turns out she and her husband built a totally recycled/reclaimed house here in the village three years ago that’s going to be featured in the Buffalo News in a month or so, and we commiserated together about non-traditional families and the challenges they present.

To his credit, I think Andrew was more nervous about the whole “me-posing-nude” idea than I was. (And he’s going to flip when he sees I used one of her snapshots of it here. Sorry honey, but it tells the story and is very tasteful.) The truth is, it’s art (heck, these iPhone photos are art in and of themselves!) and it’s beautiful. I was so honored she asked me to pose and it was an opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.

I’m just glad I lost all that weight BEFORE she asked me to pose for her…

whew! glad that’s over…

…at least the worst of it! What a difference a day makes!

Who WAS that strange person who hacked into my WordPress account, masquerading as me? I didn’t even recognize her…

A HUGE thank you to all of you who were here yesterday and left sweet comments. They truly warmed my heart and confirmed two things: 1.) my topic really wasn’t COMPLETELY horrible and inappropriate, despite Andrew’s thoughts to the contrary, and 2.) I have wonderful friends and family. (But I already knew that!)

Yes, Andrew was pretty horrified, but there was just no way around it yesterday. It was a doozy! I do, however, promise not to make blogging about such things a habit. (Insert collective sigh of relief here)

Before I get too far, I’ve been meaning to announce my first “Eat This” post for the East Aurora Co-op. It’s kind of a grocery-store ‘how-to’ and you can read about it here. If you’re terribly interested in seeing all of my food posts for them (I plan on doing them about once a week), you can subscribe to their blog as well. (I don’t necessarily think that any of you are, but just in case.) Next up: figs! I had them with blue cheese and honey yesterday for lunch, came up with a salad recipe for the post and am having them on my overnight oats this morning!

Again, thank you for reading, for your comments, and especially for your prayers. This is a very trying time for us (being in a hotel, full of uncertainty and having to make a decision on a house, on top of me jumping into school), but also full of blessings. We have found a fantastic church, made some friends and I’m starting a Beth Moore Bible study this week with some women from the new church, so I’m excited for that. We have seen God work and He has truly blessed us in so many ways during this move, despite some of the less-comfortable “growing experiences” He’s allowing us to go through as well.

Please please PLEASE pray! The next five days or so will certainly be challenging for us as we try to make the best decision on a house. Specifically, please just pray that Andrew and I would be sensitive to God’s leading in terms of housing and that He would make it CLEAR and give us peace about the right decision. That may be a new house, one we’ve already seen or even the apartment option.

Thank you so much 🙂 We have felt your kind thoughts and prayers and are anxious to be able to announce our next step of the move!

all over the place

It’s that kind of day for me today. Say a prayer for me today!

First off, OIAJ!

Been waiting to make OIAJ in this one for awhile, and then I went and scraped out the bottom for yesterday’s sandwich before I realized I should have kept a little in there! Darn it. It was still yummy anyway. Oats, half a banana, flax, milk, coconut and maple syrup.

Disclaimer: If you are reading this and you are MALE, proceed with caution. MUCH caution.

1. I’m not sure anyone blogs about their periods, or even if it’s kosher, but by gosh I’m going to do it anyway. I have been so stressed out this past month that my cycle started TWO WEEKS late. TWO WEEKS. That has never happened to this “regular-to-the-day-and-almost-hour” girl. That is some kind of stress, not to mention the additional stress brought on by not getting your period when you think you’re supposed to. Two negative pregnancy tests later…

2. It started. FINALLY. Guess that explains my ice cream binge in the kitchenette yesterday, as well as the violent mood swings I’m experiencing. And the “I-can’t-get-off-the-couch” depression this morning. And the 30-minute “I can’t find anything to wear” fit I had before going out to dinner the other night. But these are all (relatively) normal for me… Between the hormonal roller coaster and Midol’s pain- and mood-enhancing chemicals, I can’t tell which way is up.

3. Not to mention the fact that Andrew and I are both stressed beyond belief about our housing situation. Yet another thing I can’t even think straight about anymore. Yes, we’ve probably been too picky. But what else are we supposed to do? It’s a HOUSE.

4. Didn’t someone say you should never make big financial decisions during times of grief (usually in the case of a death in the family/inheritance, etc…)? It should probably include women’s menstrual cycles, too.

5. I’ve failed miserably at making good eating decisions. Basically, for the month since meeting my weight-loss goal, I’ve been hovering a good 3-5 pounds above it… Most of that, I think, is because my body has been trying to have a cycle for that long, too, so I’ve been experiencing all the period side-effects with no period. However, I’m not happy with my lack of self-control. I mean, why in the world would anyone keep eating after they are full? Like UNCOMFORTABLY full…? I blame the period.

6. I have my first two tests in school Monday. One in Biology and one in Anatomy and Physiology. I’m not stressed by them at all, really. Maybe I just have so much else going on that they seem like small potatoes. Or maybe it’s because it’s only Thursday.

7. I had intended to go to the gym today to lift and swim. I couldn’t drag myself there if I tried. Again, the period. I did, however, take Hadrian on an hour-long walk. It was nice, except for him wanting to chase squirrels. It’s also freezing here, by the way. Well, not freezing, but cold for September. Made for a nice walk. But I’m started to stress (great, more stress!) about us not getting any of our winter stuff from storage for at least another two months…

8. Speaking of Hadrian. We need a house, with a fence, and FAST. My grades in school depend on in. My sanity depends on it. The sanity of those in the rooms around us depend on it. Seriously, he’s either sleeping (which is a lot, I’ll admit) or pacing at the door. Or shoving his face in my face. Or barking whenever he hears people outside the door. And don’t even get me started on housekeeping. Every afternoon is a bark-fest when he can hear “housekeeping!” from down the hall…

9. We’re seeing a house Saturday. It’s new to the market and in the village and has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. I’m trying desperately not to get my hopes up, but it’s hard.

10. All these things, and more, have been swirling around in my head ALL MORNING. I HAD to get them out before I could focus on anything else…like chemistry.