Nephew.

GUESS WHAT?!!!!?!?!? I have a baby... WHOA WHOA... not true.
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So I find it sort of awkward to have my camera with me taking lots of pictures in situations...and I really really dislike pictures taken with flash. As a result of my department change in Petsmart.. I am basically nocturnal... well at least I've noticed I'm awake when my mice are awake... because of all those factors I don't take pictures as often as I use to.

I do actually have another nephew and a niece... but I never get to see them. I devote my doting on this guy.

I am really amused by the fact that someone other than Carmen thinks the animals sounds I make are funny. He likes them. I also like to act like I'm yawning, it makes him yawn... which goes with my theory that yawning is at times contagious.

Fun at the Bynums home!

I got to spend a weekend being lazy and playing at my sister's house... oh and did I mention some crocheting, Yes, crocheting... I love it!

Here's some pics.






We had pizza and played on DDR. I should never be allowed to play... yet I was peerPressured into doing so... and yes.. I do STILL fail at DDR.

While I watch everyone else effortlessly play I assisted in keeping my adorable nephew Skyler from crawling under people playing DDR, and getting into stuff he wasn't suppose to be. I manage with only a minor injury to my thick skull. I was trying to keep him from grabbing the lamp... and he pulled the cord and it fell on my head. I think I'm pretty decent when it comes to kids. My CTR 7 class likes me a lot and Skyler and various other kiddos find me amusing. I think I get baby stage fright though. I often feel like I'll break a small child/baby ...and so I don't find true enjoyment while holding one..I constantly think ' don't drop it, don't drop it,... Don't drop it). Being a little lady that I am people often shoved young child.babies into my arms/ lap... and it makes me secretly hyper ventilate a little.. some times I am great and other times... I don't really do much of anything. What makes it worse is 'the adults' typically shake their head... poor child knows nothing... Maybe that is true. I do really great sometimes though.
I typically get over it for an AWESOME BABY. For example my nephew. So cute, so funny, so great!!!

Time for some art.

I have yet to fix my schedule to get lots of art done, which is unfortunate because that was one of the reasons I was excited to spend time at home.
I had been commissioned to make a painting for my sister. She's really into Tuscan theme decorating. Her request was lots of gold, trees, and some red. So I really could do what ever I felt like, at the same time I was contemplating declining as I realized maybe I couldn't make something she'd like. I after all... have never done a actual landscape painting before. The only sort of practice I had from was my last 6-panel painting.
So I sketched out a few ideas and Emailed them to her while I was still in Rexburg, ID.
Even after I got home I hadn't started. About six weeks ago I started on the painting. I blocked in where I wanted everything with pencil.I after all have no clue how to paint the proper way. The same day I had started... I sort of decided I hated it and put it away for a while. At one point I had made plans to see my sister and her husband for a weekend, however, our schedules made it to where it didn't work out.
Thus, my time frame to finish it had instantly become pushed further away.
Eventually again I had set up another weekend to spend at my sister's and with an actual dead line in sight, I got to work.
I have an issue when it comes to making art... I guess maybe it's the lack of vital information. I don't understand technique, I don't have a great grasp on creating the appearance of value and form, and don't really understand how someone gets their pieces to look the way they do.
So I sat there for about twenty minutes staring at some badly blobbed green hills.
There's something that always helps me get through making an art piece and that is what I like to call and artistic director. An ' artistic director' for me is the person I like to have with me when I'm doing a piece I actually want to look good in the end. Through out my life it's been certain special art teachers, my best friend Carmen, and my old friend Nate.
Everyone else either just annoys me or makes me overly self conscious which makes me not feel like not working.
This time it was Carmen and she has perfected motivating me.
I finally got to a point where I felt like it was going to a direction I was satisfied with.

With an end in sight, I got really excited and finished the piece. At the end I honestly could not think of an way I myself to better it anymore...and thing else would need some one else. I took about 10-16 hours in total to finish.
I was still really nervous that my sister Rosie wouldn't like it. I had no other landscape pieces ever completed to look at... she just believed I could do it for her. I posted the pic on facebook and tagged her in it. In the Moring I was greeted with comments that she loved it... despite the fact that I'm not really in love with the piece...she thinks it is good so that's all that matters.
I had issues taking a picture that showed what it actually looked like in person.

(2ft X 3ft acrylic on wood)


The same night I googled some images of Philip Smith my sister's husband favorite trumpet player. I couldn't find an image I felt like drawing. I stumbled upon some album art from Fandango. I thought it was really great and so after drawing and cutting out a tedious stencil ( thanks to Carmen for the help) . It all got pulled together in a timely manner. I think he liked it too! It was a very late birthday gift.




At some point that same night (that same night) I managed to play with Spencer ( the shih tzu Chihuahua mix) and help Carmen dig in the attic to look for a frame. While in the attic Carmen showed me a drawing I made for her in middle school. it's of the Milo and the late DaKota dancing... I'm really not sure what made me make this...

In honor of my 1st and 2nd eggs

Yesterday before I headed out to work
I checked the pen that has mostly my little bantam chickens.

I found a little white egg!!! I believe this is the first of my chickens to lay an egg. It is possible that my standard barred rock (Greta) or black astralorp (Monique) have laid an egg, however, I have not noticed them in the laying box..nor Do they look quite mature enough to be laying eggs yet.
Any-whoo...

I believe the egg laid last night is from one of my bantam chocins... Most probably the Gold laced one (Goldeen). Mainly because she looks the most mature and she made a big effort to get over a really tall fence to be in the goat pen...and they're was an egg in there as well. You never know. In 12 days I'll candle the two eggs laid in the past two days. After I know if they are fertilized nine days later my eggs should hatch...and I'll know exactly who my first egg layer is! Perhaps not amusing to you... but it's got me Super EXCITED!!!

Clive ( the stud of that bantam pen)

Clementine and Goldeen. ( Goldeen the black and orange one)



1st egg

2nd egg
In other news in the Taylor home we have a four chickes that are broody ( sitting on eggs so they can hatch). Although the Taylors do incubate around 30-ish eggs about every month we set eggs under the broody chickens and they've been producing little cute chickies. The past two days they've hatched some old english, and Ameraucanas.






As for other news... I have an over night job. I now watch doggies at the pets hotel in Petsmart. It gives me lots of time for my newly aquaired hobby (Crocheting ). So I've been working on my first blanket.



As I sat crocheting listening to a mixture of The Shins Nirvana and Neutral Milk Hotel & taking brakes to snack on YooHoo and ramen ( all at 2am while working over night at Petsmart's doggie hotel)... I was reminded that this must be why people keep calling me odd.

That's okay.

Slushie !!!

Last night was Greaaaat! I went to go see the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. ...yes because I'm five and a dork... but anywhoo It was pretty dang good and totally worth the over priced movie ticket :) . Today I slept in because I have NO work! I thought I'd bring Slushie in. She's a Modern Game chicken. She's got a bit of bad breeding which makes her even more difficult to tell that she's a chicken. I bought Slushie while I was out with Carmen on one of her chicken buying adventures. She got some roosters. I saw Slushie in a make-shift chicken coop troting around. Slushie was raised with a little girl in the home. The girl named her Snow Ball...and I wasn't really sure of the name. Carmen's momo suggested Slushie..and it stuck. Slushie is pretty well socialized and really sweet!

My Blogger is a bit different.

I changed up my Blogger a little bit. It's got a new name, banner, and I think I change some minor colors around. My sister has a Esty web page
( http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7300252&ga_search_query=wechoosejoy&ga_search_type=seller_usernames )
where she sells her crafty creations. I thought I'm make one
( http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=7626694 ).
There's nothing up for sale because ...I honestly have no clue what I'd sell. it'll be an on going project. Maybe I'll get some more time to make a painting I want to sell or pick out a high quality image to make prints from.
...Maybe.

As for art. I haven't been making a whole lot. I've decided I really like pieces that focus on lines or are really painty... I'm sure that can't be a term & perhaps you don't know exactly what I mean but.. oh well :). Here's the latest pics.

The Battle of the Chickens!

I'm not sure what this is ^

A painting based off of the song 'Engine' By Neutral Milk Hotel possibly my Favorite band.

Some dream I had I think... : shrug :

From a picture I took at my brother wedding.

as for my Sketch book this is the only thing I've done in the past two months or so. I've been really busy with work and keeping up with everyone. Luckily I live at Carmen's house so my room is always Super tidy ( Carmen's momo cleans it while I'm out). For the past two week I've been teaching my Sunday school class about missionaries and good missionary work. For one of the activities the class wrote one of our branch members currently out and serving. His name is Elder Carmona and he is actually from McKinney so I do know him a little. It was great to know that he was going to be getting extra letters and drawings.




In other news... My last 4th was a little depressing being away from my family and friends. This one was just how I like them. We had a great BBQ and LOTS AND LOTS of fireworks!!! Carmen and I shot off the bigger stuff for the little kiddos with only minor injuries. I hope every one else had a great 4th of July.

Oh annnnd I'm using Google Chrome_ me likey!!!

If you have any suggestions for my art-ish stuff. Keep it coming :).

Turken Vs. Polish

I love Turkens, Polish, and bunnies so they're having a duel!!! I haven't made a painting just for fun like this in a while. It's made with oil pastels and acrylic paint.