Happy New Year to YOU!

I've definitely been gone, but hopefully not forgotten!  The computer I had been sharing with my daughter (since my own computer died last Spring) finally crashed and while I've been using my hubby's think pad for reading blogs, I have really slacked off on the actual writing of my own blog!

This last week I've been thinking and thinking- trying to come up with some good resolutions for this bright new year  And as always, I had something of a hard time narrowing it down; BUT I did come up with a few.... 

1. Keep the Quit- many of you know that I quit smoking for the umpteenth time last August; my goal here is to stick with it!
2. Be Grateful- remember the gratitude journal I made a while back?  I need to get back to daily entries.
3. Stay Positive- this is not always an easy thing for me, but I'm gonna work on it!  
4. Be a Better Juggler- parenting, wifing, arting, teaching, blogging- these are just a few of the things that I love in my life and I need to do find a better way to balance them all...get those balls back in the air if you will!

To be honest, 2011 was the hardest year I've had in a long time.  There were a lot of health issues that led to financial issues both of which have had me in and out of a funk for a while now.  But there were also a lot of good things that happened last year!  And while I am grateful to begin a fresh year; I do want to take a moment to think about some of the 
blessings that 2011 has brought my way;
 Being able to combine teaching with being an artist- I love the freedom of my little classes- and having time to paint is such a wonderful feeling!

 Our new little kitten- Mojo has been such a wonderful, funny addition to our family.....

 

   helping start the Sisterhood of Traveling Sketchbooks- I have loved this physical connection with my bloggy, artist friends!

And then of course, there are the blessings that have only gotten better over the years.....

 my sweet (mostly) husband Bill- I can't believe we're about to have our 20th anniversary in a few weeks!

and

my "babies" on Christmas morning, sleepy, but beautiful!

I'll end my rambling of resolutions and gratitude here.....I hope you all had a blessed 2011 and an even better beginning to 2012!

Love and Hugs,

Stephanie

Weekly Challenge at Inspiration Avenue: "Tea"

Here's my entry for this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue- the theme was "tea" and I thought it was a perfect oppurtunity to experiment with the oil pastels I just got for my art class supplies.  I had been letting my students use my Caran D'ache pastels which worked great for a small group to use in my dining room- but this party that I'm teaching tomorrow has 10 young ladies coming, and there was no way I could stretch my own stock that far!

Anyway; I bought some sets of Sennelier oil pastels  (at about half the price of my others) and wanted to see if they were as good as advertised, and they ARE!  I love the way they layer- you can build color on top of color using either your finger or the actual pastels to blend them-I LOVE these pastels!
So here's my entry for this week's challenge:

I've been wanting to do a portrait of our kitten, Mojo, so I incorporated her into the challenge.....
And there you go!  Be sure to stop by IA to see what everyone else came up with- as always, there is sure to be a beautifully diverse collection of art!
Happy Sunday!
Stephanie