A First!

Yipee! Look at those fabulous feet. :) I got my first pedicure two weeks ago and see how cute they look in those shoes and in 3rd position (ballet) non-the-less.

My friend gave me a gift certificate to get a pedicure for my birthday last October and it has been sitting on my filing cabinet waiting... and waiting...

I haven't felt like I had pretty feet since about 6th grade when someone made fun of my really long toes. I remember looking down at them and realizing that my toes were very long- so long in fact that my second toe was as long as my friend's pinky finger.

Anyway, that gift certificate just sat there because I felt it was pointless to get a pedicure on feet that couldn't have much improving (how can you shorten a second toe?). Boy was I wrong. I can't stop looking at them. I have to wear shoes that show them off with every outfit and in every kind of weather. :) Now I see why people get pedicures. They are so fun! I think that Seth is now worried this may become a monthly expense. He's probably right. :)

Deck of Me- Week 11: Your Initial

So here's my letter K painting for Emily's challenge this week. I had visions of making it much more detailed and complicated, but ended up having fun making it more simple. Sorry if I've confused people with having the blogger name of "Penelope Crackers" because of course that's not my real name. I've always loved the name Penelope since I first heard it in 6th grade studying Greek Mythology. As a kid I was bummed out that my parents didn't give me a middle name so it was then that I decided that Penelope was my middle name. I would put it on everything, even when I graduated from college I announced my name at the microphone with a Penelope stuck in there (mostly to make my parents roll their eyes I think). So that's me... Karalenn Penelope. :)

A Slice of Nostalgic Pie

Well maybe I shouldn't post this because it's a bit embarrassing, but it's fun too (in a nerdy sort of way).... Yesterday, I looked in the top of my bedroom closet at my special white box that holds my wedding dress (from almost 8 years ago) and a blessing dress that I sewed for my little Kendyl and decided to get them out to play with them. The last time I got my wedding dress out (3 years ago) it sadly ended in tears because I couldn't zip it up (I had just had a baby a few months before that). I was actually quite a bit bigger then and have been working hard for three years to lose most of that baby weight that you can get from having two kids in a row.

So as I pulled it out and tried to slip it on I was nervous that it still wouldn't fit even though I knew I was smaller now. I was so excited when Seth zipped it up with a whoosh! It's the first time I have fit back in my wedding dress since our two girls have entered our lives! It was definitely tighter through the hips and stomach then I remember and looser in the chest area than it was 8 years ago, but I got it on. :)

I put on lipstick and earings and put my hair up in a weddingish hairdo. I also paraded all over the house and let my girls hold the train of my dress and made Seth take a bajillion pictures of me. I even called my parents and talked Seth into calling his parents to tell them that I was prancing around the house in my wedding dress. :) My oldest said excitedly, "What if daddy dies and then you have to wear this again?!" This didn't impress daddy very much. :)

My mom's life long best friend made this dress for me. She used some lace that my mom had for the top part. If you look closely you can see that it's hand made lace because it's a bit uneven. The lace, of course, is very old, because my mom has rooms and boxes of old trimmings, lace, fabric, etc. and it was just the right length. I sure am grateful my mom collects that kind of stuff.

What we also pulled out of the box was Kendyl's blessing gown. (Makenzie was blessed in a very old handmade gown from 1800 something that my mom still has). With Kendyl I decided to try to sew her gown. It was a new hobby at the time I was trying to develop. I made the slip underneath and then the dress.

Here's a close up of my two favorite things about her blessing gown. The handmade butterfly lace trim from around the turn of the century (another gift from mom) and the little flowers you can see dotting the dress that poke out. Those flowers were left overs from my wedding veil that my mom sewed into it. I had 9 left over that my mom didn't use and so I put them scattered throughout Kendyl's dress.

We were very nearly late for church because nothing seemed as wonderful to put on after playing in my wedding dress for an hour. Kendyl and Makenzie carried their dressed up dolly all day long and shared holding her at church as well. What a fun morning we had. I need to get that box out more often. :)

Deck of Me- Week 10: "Note To Self"

Emily's challenge this week is "Note to Self"- something to remember to do this week. Unfortunately, I immediately knew what needed to be taken care of... my monstrous pile of evil laundry. I went ahead and began this tonight so that I could dedicate myself to laundry tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day etc. :) I knew that if I didn't finish this card tonight I wouldn't get to that laundry, and we'll need underwear in a day or two (I know, too much information).

For my card I drew and painted it like usual, but the shirt and pants in the middle are pieces of fabric that I have stored away for making quilts for my girls someday (when Kristen decides to teach me how to quilt- she didn't know I was going to ask that of her :). So I guess I'm proud of myself because using fabric seems a little scrapbooky, instead of just painting.

So now, I have no excuses. Off to bed and then I have my lovely laundry awaiting me in the morning. Oh joy!

A Mess of Cards (what I've done so far)

I've been hanging my little cards from a piece of yarn across a wall in my bedroom. It's so fun to see them all together that I decided I wanted to see them all together on my blog (except for my fish one- it wasn't painted like the rest of these). It's such a feeling of accomplish-ment! To think that I haven't painted since college (7 years) like this because I felt like I wasn't good enough and it was scary and all it took was Emily's challenge to get me going again. It's not that I didn't try. I would sit down in front of my art supplies and just freeze. I didn't know where to begin and was scared that it would not be good just because I knew it wouldn't be as good as my husband could do. (He's an animator for Sony and a gifted illustrator). He would try hard to get me to do it again as well. I just couldn't get past my mental block. This challenge is small and with the themes it really helps me do it. Also there's no pressure if I don't get it done like I would have in my painting and figure drawing classes. It's wonderful and I feel glad to be back.

Since this challenge began sometimes I have felt the flood gates of creativity come rushing in that I haven't had axcess to for years. I've been writing down all my ideas so I don't forget them. I'm so happy to be painting again and to feel success with it and most of all... I love looking at them in my room and feeling proud of them and seeing that they are beautiful instead of cringing and thinking they aren't as good as someone else might do. They are beautiful because they are what is inside me and I can finally release what's inside me again in this way.

Deck of Me- Week 9: What Inspires Me

I find that I am always inspired by beauty. I love walking into a beautiful home, spending time with a friend with a beautiful soul, or being out in nature. I feel inspired to be a better person and feel happy.

Today while my girls were in school I tried something new... I went to the beach and brought this card and my paints to put some color on this design I drew the night before. It was such a wonderful moment. I sat on some rocks and put my feet in the sand while the sun was warm with a little breeze. I watched the waves and then began painting. The greenish-blue in my design is the color of the ocean today. I was so content that I couldn't help but sing and smile goofy the whole time I painted. It was a glorious moment that I'm determined to do more often.

So anyway this is what I was inspired to make, a pretty little design that feels calm and makes me happy and represents being inspired.