Apparently MJ moonlights at a law firm when he's not making underwear ads. We took a day trip up to Waynesville NC last week and I couldn't help but take a photo of this window. I was about to walk right by it when I asked myself WWPKD? (That's what would Paul Kyser do for you non AUC-blogger folks). The answer? Take a pic and post it on the internet.
But aside from all that I really have been enjoying painting a little extra lately. It is so consuming. I don't know if any other artists out there have ever noticed, but to me at least, painting feels very similar to praying. Both have a tremendously calming effect.
I have to thank Jane DesRosier for one of my favorite new things to do, which is use gel medium. It adds so much texture, which I really enjoy. It really adds another element to art when there isn't just color and composition to consider, but also the texture. Here are a couple of my favorite paintings that make good use of gel medium- they're not very figurative like most of my paintings are- they're really just color studies of hot and cold, with a bunch of gel medium swirled in.
Night Owl (cool)
Summer Sky (hot)
Seriously, no offer will be rejected if you want one of my paintings. Go to www.loveaboveall.etsy.com or e-mail me @ a_bedealia@yahoo.com
The place that we did decide on is actually pretty swanky. It's a little more expensive than we had planned to spend, but other medical students live there and have nothing but great things to say about it, plus it's really pet friendly. We've still got a little paperwork to sort out, but I'm pretty sure that's where we'll end up living. It's so perfect for students- there's a library with wifi and a game room with pool tables and playstations. By far this is the best place for anyone with a pet- not only is it a pet friendly building, but theres a fenced in grassy area behind it so you can play with your dog without a leash. I didn't take any pics while we were there, but you can check it out at www.theopalny.com . It's centraly located near all of AUC's clinical sites in NY, so any AUCers looking for a place in NYC would definitely be happy here.
Things went fairly well at Pendergrass, but I don't think I'll be making an appearance there again. I just don't think it's a great place to try to sell art- knock off Abercrombie maybe, but not original art. It's just more trouble than it's worth. I was surprised (pleasantly) when my mom showed up to help out. Not only did it make time go by faster to have some company, but it also allowed me to eat and and take bathroom breaks (not simultaneously). I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead- it would have been a pretty long day if I'd have had to hold it all day considering I started at sunrise and didn't leave until 5:00.
One of my favorite singers, a Georgia boy by the name Shawn Mullins, came to town last week to perform in the series of shows held for free at the old Gwinett courthouse. He's honestly not much of a showman, but man he can sing. Seriously, I could listen to him all day long. I was surprised how packed the venue was since it was an outdoor show, and it was kind of rainy. Like everyone else we just pulled on our raincoats and sang along.
Hey look! It's Shawn!
Also, I'll have some of my other stuff for sale that doesn't look like it's going to make the move to NYC with me, like this pink vintage number from Paris Sport.
I don't know what sport the Parisians would play in a dress like this, but it's kind of harajuku if you wear jeans and/ or long gloves with it.
Also, an adorable peanut loving elephant has taken up residence there. 
Those owls just keep multiplying though. You can be sure there will be more to come.
Funny thing happened- I was at Subway, and a woman thought she recognized me. (Here comes the funny part) she asked if I went to South Hall Middle School. I was about to reply, "yes, I went to South Hall", when she finishes her sentence with, "are you excited about 8th grade?" What? I laughed and said I was ten years ago, but now that I'm 23 not so much. That's the last time I go out wearing jeans, t-shirt, and pony tail.
One of my favorite artists/ bloggers Jane Desrosier made some really nice little tip videos to post on her blog. Click on the link in the "artsy folks" list to watch them for yourself. I was so inspired I went out and bought some gel medium, so I could try some of her techniques. I've done similar stuff in the past using Spackle, but I think gel medium will offer a bit more versatility- I don't think a photo transfer with Spackle would work very well.
Also, I found the camera, but I couldn't photo my new paintings today because it was so rainy and grey out that I couldn't get enough light to get good shots, even with all the lamps corralled around them. Tomorrow I'm going to Six Flags, so I probably won't get it done tomorrow either, but you can expect SOMETHING from me on Wednesday :)
Yesterday, I was going about my business when suddenly BAM! a birthday just jumped out in front of me and I hit it with my car and now I'm 23. To mourn the passing of my 22nd year a service was held at The Grit where vegan entrees were enjoyed by all. Indeed it's pretty much the only place on Earth where I can eat as much as I possibly could and still feel healthy. Afterward, I was taken to the loveliest cupcake store I've ever seen. That's right- a store primarily dedicated to the making of cupcakes. My foot had fallen off when I woke up this morning, so I think it's safe to assume that the ginormous single serving treat gave me diabetes. (I always say that). Something else I always do is toss tissue paper from gifts around like a juggler. Unfortunately, when I joyfully tossed the piece of tissue paper tucked into the top of the gift bag that Jamie gave me, I discovered that it was, in fact, holding small gifts. Fortunately they seem to have survived my over exuberant gift opening tactics. I really shouldn't ever be given anything.
Also, I have a bunch of new paintings done, but I haven't been able to photograph them yet, because of the aforementioned missing camera :( however, I will probably be scanning them and posting them on www.loveaboveall.etsy.com sometime this week, if not this day.
I can't say how impressed I am with her taking that step. I know for me it was easy because that was where I was raised- I was pretty much always involved with one church or another, so growing up it never really seemed like there was any other way to be, but Jamie's parents stopped taking them to church when they were still kids. They got mad about a comment she made about how they stopped going to church when they moved here and they took offense and said, "well you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink", but DUH, you have to actually LEAD it to the water first. Not kind of take it half way and drop it off and say, "eh, if you were really thirsty you'd find it yourself". I think it's really important to raise kids in a christian community, i.e. church. Someday I want to have or adopt kids, and they WILL be involved in church. A Christian church, NOT some wackadoodle Arnold Murray semi-cult. I used to kind of like Arnold Murray, but I've come to dislike him more and more... not that I am totally against his teachings, I just hate that it discourages people with otherwise Christian beliefs from participating in an actual church... also he's kind of a wackjob. Google "Arnold Murray" Shepherd's chapel" to see what I mean.
At Athens Church people make a video of their testimony, and it's played right before the service to introduce the person getting baptised. Jamie's video was so cute! Her room mate (who initially brought her to the church) actually started to cry. It was so emotional. So many people love her- over a dozen people who don't go to that church or even live in the same town, came to see her get baptised. I have never seen so many people come out for one person like that. After the service we all went to DiPalma's In downtown Athens- one of our favorite restaurants. Almost every time we go downtown we have lunch at DiPalma's... except for that one time at Doc Chey's, but that's a different story. I knew several of the people that came from high school, but I hadn't seen in years. I hope to go back to Athens soon; visit Jamie and The Grit :) 
It only took all day, but I am now the proud owner of a Roma commuter bike by Scattante. Mom and Brad and Peter and I all jumped in the Jeep to make the trip to Atlanta- I don't really know a lot about bikes so I really wanted my Brad's opinion. Peter knows a ton about roadbiking (but I think he's a little Scattante crazy) and mom just wanted to come along. Anyhoo- we left fairly early, and got there around 11:00. We were finally helped by an employee around 12:00, but by that point we had looked at almost all zillion bikes they had, and decided collectively that the Scattante Roma was indeed the best bike for the purpose of commuting around town, and also it was a good deal at the discounted price of $549. (Brad and Peter actually bought it for me! birthday present). I was a little proud for having picked out the best bike without even really knowing it, and anyone who thinks $549 is insanely expensive hasn't bought a new roadbike- they get crazy expensive- although it definitely wasn't the cheapest there- cheaper ones weigh a ton and have crappy parts on them that will have to be replaced. Moving right along with my story about the day long trip to the bike store... at twelve we finally got a guy to hear us say we wanted to buy it... only problem was they didn't have one up on the shelve that would fit me. It took the schizophrenic ADHD ridden clerk over half an hour to check to see if there was one in the back... which there was which took HOURS for them to build... so we went to The Varsity for lunch and came back and waited some more. I could have just came back another day to get it, but it is such a long drive up there I really just wanted to take it home that day, and for the first several hours everyone was on board with waiting out Performance's insanely slow service, but after a while folks started getting on edge. When they finally finished the bike we raced to the cashier before he could disappear, and I rode it out to the car... where I discovered that it clicks freakishly loud in 6th gear. I thought about taking it back in and saying, "Hi I think you've put something together wrong, could you please fix it?" But my will was so broken after the long wait, and evening rush hour traffic was building up, so I just slung it on the bike rack and headed home. Next time I'm trying to politely alert pedestrians of my presence I'll just kick it into 6th gear and watch while they dodge the rapidfire gunshot sounds. It's a really beautiful bike though... and super light. I love everything about it except that I had to buy it at Performance Bikes the day before 4th of July. I think if I had've come any other day, the service may of been better. I took it for a ride as soon as I got home and it is super fast. It is much faster on the road than any of my mountain bikes ever dreamed of being. I'm a little wobbly when coasting downhill, but Peter says I'll get less wobbly with practice. I'm actually kind of surprised with how much I love this bike. I'm pretty darn excited to take her out for a long ride on Saturday :)
Anyhoo, I have a birthday coming up, so maybe I'll have some birthday cash to put toward it. I was really hoping to find a cheaper one or a used bike that was decent because this really isn't a want, it's more of a need. I WANT to take the car, but since I can't, I NEED a bike. (I really dislike roadbiking). Peter and Jamie have both really gotten into roadbiking lately, and I'm nothing if not a band wagon jumper on-er, so maybe I can learn to like it. At the very least I foresee it being a very handy way of getting around the city.
I spent Friday night with my sis Jamie in my favorite city within the continental United States, Athens. It was my first sleepover (sans males) in a looooooooooong time. I think the event can be summed up accurately with one word.
Snozberries.
You'd have to visit The Winery in downtown Athens to fully understand what I'm talking about.
The most notable player of the event was the insanely persistent overweight Asian man who, after being told twice that we (none of us) were interested in dancing with him, proceeded to come back in an almost Night at The Roxbury style, not once, but two more times. 
At first I was really polite, just dancing with the girls, "not interested, thank you" but later it started getting ridiculous and became more like, "NOT INTERESTED!!!!!". Like a goldfish who runs into the side of the glass bowl, forgets five seconds later, and runs into it again. Maybe he thought I was drunk, and would forget that I'd said no four times before.
Then, on Sunday, Peter and I loaded up the car and headed down to the worst smelling city I've ever been in, Augusta. Paper mills...blech. It smells so bad, and it's like once the smell is in your nose you can't get it out. We drove a good bit out of our way to find a hotel that was outside the stink cloud that engulfs most of the city. But the smell is beside the point... the whole point of the trip was (drum roll, please) Peter's United States Medical Licencing Exam. That's right folks- it's finally over. I've been praying like crazy that he gets a good score on this. His entire career is dependant on this one exam... seriously. We should know in a couple weeks how he did... till then it's just pins and needles and really focused prayer. It's rare that I ask for particular things in prayer... it's usually just praise, guidance, blessings, safety, etc., but these days it's specific and focused, and even more constant than usual. Peter has worked so hard- the past few years have been extremely difficult for him. I really want this to work out for him. 
Anyhow, after the work was done I wanted to take a look around the place I had spent so much of my childhood.
It was hard to believe that it was the same place. Aside from all the damage the renters had done, everything was still in the same position. I remembered weekends sleeping in the living room in a sleeping bag next to my cousin and sister, but how did we fit? The space seems so small now. The windows were curtainless but didn't let in the sunlight that used to fill the living room. Even though we're constantly changing I think we expect things we leave behind to stay the same. I think today was just the culmination and realization of a feeling I've had ever since I got back- it's true- you can NOT go home again. The second you leave it's no longer home. When I think about the journey between where I was in the place that I was remembering and where I am now, the road seems incalculably long. I guess it's unfair for me to expect things to remain constant, when I myself have changed in every way.
A couple weeks ago I was contemplating the choices which brought me to where I am. It's like we create our own butterfly effect within our lives; decisions I made in high school that seemed fairly minute and unimportant turned out to have a life-altering effect, whereas things I thought would be life or death turned out to be not so important. For example I can look back now and see that a football game in 7th grade has had much more of an impact on my current life than my S.A.T. score ever did.
I guess what I'm trying to take from all this is that I ought to live more intentionally. It's impossible to say what small thing could determine tremendous future events, so it's important to take every decision seriously, even small ones.
Anyhoo, after I spent the morning wrestling blackberries and strolling down memory lane I went to the library and checked out some more books. I want to learn more about business, so I am going to take the next few weeks to read every book I can get my hands on. I've always found that when it came down to it, I could teach myself things just as easily as I could learn them in a classroom. First read: 
I picked Small Business for Dummies, because you have to start somewhere, so why not start with "small business... and I'm a dummy :)
Most of all, I like the thought of giving new life to loved things. It's like saying, "welcome back pink cardigan I ripped a hole in climbing a tree. Nice to see you purple flower print dress with ginormously puffy sleeves. I can't wait to see what you'll become."
When I wasn't doing Vacation Bible School, I painted her house to make it easier to sell. (Nothing fun, just a warm neutral almost yellow color... blah)> I think it's already starting to work though, because while I was still there with brushes and rollers loitering all over the place a guy stopped by. I had such a hard time keeping a straight face talking to this guy. He was the kind of person you really only ever meet in places like Dawsonville or maybe the backwoods of Canada idk. Anyway, he was like, "I got me a house in Roswell, but now they got these codes and they come and say I can't keep my tractor on my lawn no more, so I got to find me a house somewheres folks stay out of mine and my tractors' business." He asked if the rotting trailor on the edge of the property was included in the price and I was like, "it sure is!" and he was so psyched. He said it was "the perfect place to store all of my dead momma's stuff" I told him, "be careful- it's full of mice and sometimes snakes" (and various oddities that the childhood version of myself left behind). But he just pulled his pants up to his chest and trekked right in. He spent hours out in the hot mid day sun wandering around the property, so we think he's pretty interested. He's coming back next week with his son to get his opinion, so it may be him who really decides if he buys it or not. 
Hi guys! Thanks for your overwhelming support with the paintings! I just want to let everyone know that if you are NOT an etsy member or an e-bay buyer, but still want to buy a painting (even if you're not in north GA) please just shoot me an e-mail or leave me a comment about which painting you're interested in, and I'll get back to you later that day. If you ARE in north GA please please please send me an e-mail about which painting you are interested in, instead of buying through etsy, so I can deliver and accept payment in person. This will save YOU the shipping cost, and me the seller's fee.
Well, I'm off to make a sandwich, then to make some more art! Check the shop for another update tonight! loveaboveall.etsy.com
I hope all of you remembered mother's day yesterday! My mom got some flowers from my sister, and a plant from me (which I watered today, and am planning on planting tomorrow), and a cute new french tuille apron I lovingly made with my own hands from my own design. I am thinking of making some more to put in my etsy shop (loveaboveall.etsy.com). At the very least I'm definitely going to be making one for myself to protect my clothes from the constant paint stains that besmirch half my wardrobe. I always say I'm going to be super neat and not get a drop anywhere but the canvas, then next thing I know I darting for the pre-treater in the laundry room and trying to pick dried paint out of my hair. It's a testament to the high quality of the paint I use how difficult it is to get out of my hair! It won't wash out with just shampoo and conditioner. I have to single out the stricken hairs and basically peel the paint off. I finished my first painting since arriving in the states. Just when I was starting to think the creative spark had left me for good, my brush started whipping around and voila, a cute new critter to add to the Blossom Creek Zoo (what I I'm taking a couple Maymester (3 week long) classes. They start Wednesday, and I really couldn't be more excited about it! I've waited much too long to go back to school. Jamie's break ended today. I regret not getting to spend more time with her. The day in Athens was probably the best day I've spent in the US since we came back. I don't many people who live here anymore, but even if I had my pick of folks to hang out with I'd pick Jamie- she's the best! There are a few people who I fully intend to catch up with this Summer. I guess I'm kind of the event planner in my marriage, but I've been in such a funk I haven't wanted to go anywhere or see anyone. Things have kind of plateaued around here. I've got a routine. I keep to myself. I keep my head down and try not to be too disrespectful. My mantra is "this is only temporary".
