Something New

All change. So much is happening and it's all good. My store will be up and running very soon; I'm getting married next week; we are moving to Kent tomorrow; my freelance work has really kicked off and I've made a wonderful new friend as a result. I'm very excited about all these changes even though I know a lot of it is actually quite challenging!

Going to be offline for a little while until Steve gets everything up and running again. So glad I've got my new laptop bag. Oh yeah and I picked up my laptop from the shop today... it's had a really good service and is all ready to go!

A Beautiful Day!

I just had the most amazing day with my man. We got up early and drove to Harrowgate where he dropped me off at the "Paper Extravaganza" show. I had a wonderful time wandering round looking at all the fab paper craft products and bought a couple of bits and pieces. My best buy was a beautiful Mimi Digiscrap Laptop Tote Bag (mine is lilac!) It's so lush. I love it. It's perfect for me.

Steve then picked me up and we decided to go for a drive as it was still quite early (2:30pm). We ended up driving through the Yorkshire Dales National Park and oh my goodness it was beautiful. We decided to go to Bolton Abbey and weren't disappointed. It was stunning. Steve took 100's of photos (will sort them out soon) of the ruins, the river and the countryside.. oh and a couple of me and Cassy (our demented German short-haired pointer). The weather was wonderful. The sky was blue with the odd fluffy cloud; there were Spring flowers everywhere... and it was oh so perfect.

A welcome break from our computers, packing and the mad onslaught of the next week or two!

Time - Where'd it go?

Ok - who stole the last 4 days? It's Friday and I don't know where this week has gone. I'm up to my neck in packing and sorting out for our move next Friday and then we get married the following week. And I'm trying to work. Working is a great passion in my life. I love my work. I'm a workaholic. Tis true. I hate that I have to tear myself away in order to pack for the big move but at the same time, I'm so excited about moving!

My store is coming along nicely. I'm preparing all my products for uploading and I can't wait til I'm online but I don't think it's going to be until after the move now. I just want to get going but these things take time. I'm designing new products all the time as well as my other commission work. I've got a sketch book full of ideas for new products... oh and there just isn't enough hours in the day!!

Snow

Just getting excited about Spring and then it snows. I love snow and it was great to see it yesterday and today even though I was really looking forward to the warmer weather. Me thinks this is just a little blip and Spring weather will return very soon.

Talking of Spring... what a wonderful time to get married... new beginnings and all that. So I'm getting married in 2 weeks time! Yay!

More Creation

Work and more work. I can't get enough and I know I'm extremely blessed to have a career doing what a truly love. Although we are moving in just a couple of weeks, I'm working more than ever. Got lots on and it's all exciting. Right now I'm creating some baby girl and baby boy graphics and they are oh so cute. I love them. Hope the company I'm creating them for will love them too! Got another meeting next week so will find out then.

Need more time to do some scrapping. I've got several projects on the go including a little 8x8 album for my son and his wife of their baby's dedication day. Also working on some 12x12 one off layouts that I want printed and framed of my kids and an album of my first months with Steve. Definitely need more time.

Oh yeah, my ticket arrived for the Paper Crafts Extravaganza so I'm looking forward to that next weekend. Steve's going into Harrowgate while I'm at the show to have a wander round and take lots of cool architecture photos!

Yep. It's all happening!

Pushing Through

We are moving in three weeks time and I can't wait. I will be living near my precious children again and my granddaughter as well as my parents, brother and sister and their kids. Yes. That's where I need to be. I know I had to move away though to heal and get my strength back from an emotional rollercoaster and from being very ill with anaemia. But it's now time to go home. Steve and I will be living with my parents for a little while until we can find our own place.

And I have a ton of work to do so that'll make the time go that much quicker! Yay!

Creative Outlet

So the past few days have been difficult for me emotionally with lots going on with my family. Work keeps me busy and focused. My work is my passion and one of the great loves of my life and it's time like these that I'm grateful that I have a job I love. Digital art is a wonderful creative outlet for me and it's wonderful that it's also my work.

So here's a few of random photos. . .

Spring!

I've noticed the past couple of days when I've been out that there seems to be an abundance of beautiful Spring flowers and the trees are in bud. Very slowly nature is emerging from Winter. And then yesterday, I saw a mummy duck with all her little ducklings following her. Our apartment over looks the Rochdale canal and we see all the beautiful wildlife including various ducks, swans, geese, herons and we've even seen a beautiful kingfisher. So yeah, baby ducklings swimming away with their mummy. It was a joy to see and I felt all inspired and warm inside. I'm going to go for a walk down the tow path and see if I can see them again and get some photos.

I'm busy creating new products for my store as well as working on commission projects. It's very exciting for me to be this creative and getting paid for my art. I love it. Here's a sneak peek at something I just finished for the new store. A decorative alphabet with denim look.

Happy Sunday!

I woke up feeling so happy and light hearted today. My mood has greatly improved. A lot happened in the last couple of days and I got more closure on my past (divorce) by talking to my ex about "stuff". It helped. Now, my main focus is getting down to Kent where I can be near my precious children and granddaughter.

Steve and I also talked about getting married. I think we are going to "just do it". Neither of us want a "tradtional" wedding. We just want to be married, y'know? No big deal. Just husband and wife. So I think we're going to possibly do it in April and then once we've moved have a nice party and get together with my family to celebrate. But for now, we just need to be married.

Sunday is a day for leisurely activities, so my Dad is always telling me. It's true. But the thing is my work and my art are all the same thing. I'm creating some new products for my new store and it's so exciting. I love it. It's what I do and it's who I am. I may go for a nice long walk later but right now it's pouring with rain.

Oh and I'm creating some LOTR inspired papers/backgrounds. Steve and I watched an amazing documentary this morning (while having breakfast) about the making of The Lord of The Rings and I was so inspired. Some of it actually made me tearful in as much as I love, love Tolkien and that triology. Peter Jackson and his whole team were genius in what they achieved. I've started to read the books again. I read them many years ago when I was young and while I have always loved them and the world that Tolkien created, I think I'm going to appreciate reading them again much more now I'm an adult.

Oh and did you know that C.S Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R Tolkien were good friends? Wow! Can you imagine being in the same room as these great authors and listening to their conversations? They both had dreams about the kind of worlds they wanted to read about and both had to write about them in order to read them.. if that makes sense. So yes, it's a good day today. And I'm inspired!

Change of Scenery

I've been unwell and woke up this morning feeling pretty down and upset. Tearful. It started last night. I think it's being unwell but also missing my family and just eager to get moved back to Kent. Anyway, one of my dearest friends phoned me and for some reason I ended up crying and realised I'm still not completely over my divorce. I see how things look to others who don't know the truth of the situation. I shouldn't care but I do and as I was talking to my friend, I just started crying. She's a wonderful friend and said all the right things and helped so much.

After that, I just couldn't shake my depression. My dearest Steve came and sat with me on the sofa and we talked and talked. It helped and then he decided to take me out. For a drive. To see the world around us and it was wonderful. It was exactly what I needed. We didn't really go far before we were hit by spectacular views. It was freezing cold but so exhilerating. I came back happier and excited once again about my new life.

I'm certain everything will fall into place in time. I'm excited about moving and I'm excited about my work which also happens to be my passion and great love. I know I'm so lucky to have such Blessings in my life... it's just that the past sometimes comes back and haunts me. Plus, I feel frustrated at not being near my kids and granddaughter. So right now I'm focusing on working and getting enough money together to move asap!

Oh and yesterday I went for a little walk on my own and took some photos of the local ducks. They are cheeky little chappies and so tame. As I was walking along the tow path I saw 2 of them flying and I just started taking photos and managed to catch them landing in the canal. The shots are not great but it was wonderful to watch and so glad I got some photos of it. I've decided to create a photo book (coffee table book!) of our first months here in Yorkshire. I want to have something of this time as it has been foundational for our relationship and there's so much here that we love and so I want a record of it. I'm glad I moved here. I know it was for just a Season though and I'm ready now to be where I need to be - with my children and granddaughter.

Blah!

I have a nasty cold. Some kind of virus thing has got a grip on me. I feel blah. I didn't sleep last night and ended up going to bed at 5am. Somehow though, I managed to do some work. It was easier than lying in bed feeling so feverish and uncomfortable. I slept so well from about 5am - 11am and I'm sure it's because I was just so exhausted.

So yeah. Blah