Suomi in Springtime

Finland is such a different country when the snow is all gone. The greenery is wonderful. Flowers are rearing their pretty little heads.

The plainest of birds are actually not that plain-looking.

The bumblebees I've seen are black and orange, not yellow.

I enjoyed walking outside without a jacket, or big boots. No gloves or scarves. Girls in tank tops. Kids with ice creams.

I've had an incredible, stressless time here. I'm quite happy with the work I've made, my interim paintings that were mostly for fun and experimentation. It's definitely going to be the big thing I'll miss (besides my friends, of course) when I go back. I've been so happy at school. I will miss that happiness. :P

Hopefully I will kick it up a notch this summer. Start making prints; marketable works.

Ooh, Finland. Now that your weather is gorgeous, I almost wish to stay. ...almost. ;)

Quick update!

So, today was my first "sick day." I didn't attend class this morning because I've finally caught the sickness. I had a perfect streak going of zero absences in all my classes! Luckily, the other two classes for Mondays were cancelled, so I've been able to get rest. I still feel bad, and I think it's stress. All of this is piling down on me once again. I ran into my neighbor earlier, and after discussing finals he humorously added, "And then the crying starts." No kidding!

But, a little ray of sunshine to peek through this mess: I won a giveaway! Well, two to be exact, I just mentioned one on Twitter. First, my dream of owning a pair of feather earrings came true thanks to Tina of Flock Together Crafts! And today, I got an email from therikrakshop about winning the fabulous Sponsor's giveaway. So there are some happy pieces to my stress puzzle. Hopefully the luck will continue! :)

(Edit: Just found out that I won this giveaway, too! A while ago I won an eyeshadow color from Orglamix, featured on my pirate Halloween outfit, and now I won a collection!! I am so excited! This makeup is divine, I encourage you to take a look.)

One more thing, before I go. I love dripping and splattering, experimenting with direction, and also different media. For a few days I've been building up on a 18x24" canvas layer after layer of coffee, tea, and India ink. Here is the result:


Should I put it in my shop? :) What do you think? Should the presentation be different? (Flip around, sideways, etc.)

One last thing... it's getting close to that time. I've been unable to produce a good one so far, but it's about the time for a giveaway. I'm two away from 100 followers, I'm over 300 on Twitter, and it's near the holidays. Once that 100 is reached, I'm going to produce a giveaway, hopefully one to blow your socks off! Stay tuned! (Tell your friends *wink!*)

3 years. <3

Patrick and I on my 18th birthday, 2007

Today marks the 3-year anniversary for my sweetheart and me. I can't believe it! Time goes by so quickly when you're in love. ;)

To celebrate, we're... relaxing. Exciting, yes? A nice little movie night with snacks as we cuddle on the couch (or the floor, depending on which system we use).

In high school I never thought I'd meet the "someone just for me" until after college. I wasn't really bothered, and my self-esteem was pretty low. However, my senior year brought me Patrick, who just happens to be the brother of my best friend. Coincidences are spooky sometimes!

Our love is only growing stronger. We have our ups and downs, but we accept each other completely with warm hearts and loving kisses.

Ah, sorry for the sap. May you enjoy your love, be it of friends, family... or that someone just for you. :)

Sunday Wrap-up.

I finally got a break after six weeks of work, work, and work. I visited my home to spend some time with the folks. Went to a shooting range and popped a few rounds with my dad's AR-15. It's a great experience; I even managed to hit the center of a target! It turns out I'm a left-handed rifle woman, who knew? I'm right-handed, so that was a surprise. Made shooting awkward at first, trying to find the buoy without straining myself. Very powerful, so for those who have yet to shoot one but want to: be prepared for the intensity!

I reunited with an old friend. We'd been apart for more than a year due to life circumstances, needing distance to grow up, and so on. Fell back into old times, though, and enjoyed ourselves. I also took photos as a documentary series for class, hopefully the pictures will turn up since we were out at night. Cafe Coco's white satin never tasted so good. But it was really nice catching up with her, I feel much better deep down knowing she has matured and that she's okay.

I'll post pictures soon of artistic progress as the week goes on, but I'm pretty busy with things. Fall break is around the corner, but there's only so much rest I can afford myself before hitting the sketchbooks and drawing pads and printmaking.

Giveaway to come soon, just gotta find something special for you fine followers. I'm not sure how I'm going to top my journal, but perhaps something holiday related might be nice? Please, if you have ideas, let me know! :)

Here's to hoping the week goes well, and that my traffic flows up again -- I don't know where everyone went! :P