Tuesday 2/2/21 Bummer, man

 So I am quite bummed out right now. I was supposed to have my magpie tattoo finished today, but alas, it's been pushed back to next week. My tattoo artist said it wasn't quite healed enough for him to finish it today. And that if he tried, it could scar up. Well, I really don't want scarring to ruin my tattoo, so I guess I'm waiting another week. Next Wednesday. In the meantime he said to loofa the shit out of it and apply copious amounts of lotion (I've been doing lotion but not scrubbing it). So yeah, no finished tattoo for me. 

On the bright side, it's 60 degrees here in Colorado today! It's gorgeous out! It's making me long for Spring time, warmer weather, and sun. I may have to sit outside and read a bit. 

And on the darker side, I just got off the phone with my mom, who says she thinks she's going to die soon. Of heart failure. Because her chest hurts where her ribs were broken. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that my mom is an alcoholic. Has been one since before I was born. She denies it to this day, but it's obvious when she's been drinking. Anyway, I talked to her this morning and she was fine. Hadn't been drinking, we had a nice conversation for an hour. But then she calls me up, just a few minutes ago, crying and going on about how she thinks she's going to die and that she's going to get her will in order. Has she heard anything from a doctor? Has she even gone to a doctor? No. Her chest hurts where her  ribs were broken so logically she must be dying. You have to understand that when my mom has been drinking every little thing is the end of the world. The drama never stops. She's dying, she's going to leave her husband, and on and on. It's so frustrating to deal with. And because everything is the "worst pain" or "worst experience" of her life, I don't know what's real or what's the alcohol anymore. Everything is drama. Oy. I don't know what to do. Her alcoholism is the elephant in the room that no one dares talk about. I mean, her husband has to know, right? It's a Jeckle and Hyde type of transformation - I don't know how he couldn't know. Does he just deal with it? Is he truly oblivious? I've never asked him. And my mom would deny it anyway. She could be drinking vodka from the bottle and tell you she doesn't drink. And she believes it, that's the sad part. Denial is a strong and strange thing. 

Well, it was good to get that out. I'll chat with hubs about it when he gets home. I texted my brother about it as well. He said he talked to her earlier today and she seemed okay at first but then started getting all weird and feeling sorry for herself. I don't know. Let's move on.

Last week I shared the pigeon painting I did for a commission. I included this little gem for her too:

Because who doesn't love a fat little pigeon?! This little painting measures 4in X 4in. It's small. And cute. And I hope she likes it. 

Tuesday 1/26/21 Pigeons!

 Well hello there. Fancy meeting you here. 

So, I had a lady contact me through Etsy and ask if I would do a painting of pigeons for her (she had bought a pigeon painting I already had in my shop). She loved the painting she bought and wanted another one, but larger (the original was 5X7). I said yes. She told me about her pigeon themed room. It was kinda weird. But kinda cool. In a weird way. 

Here's the painting I did for her:

It's an 8X10, watercolors. She LOVED it. Here's the funny thing: I was going to charge her $30 for it. She refused to pay anything less than $50. She told me to edit my Etsy listing for it and charge her a "more appropriate price". Yeah. I was taken aback by that response. So I did, I charged her $50 for it. Both her and hubby told me I undersell my work. I'm my own worse critic I think. Well, I know this. I don't know what to charge for my paintings. I'm an unknown artist. I want to be fair. And I'm always worried that people don't like my work. And then today I got on my Deviant Art page and I had 96 notifications. All of them "likes" or comments on this painting. I was blown away. Seriously. People, apparently, like this painting. So maybe $50 is an appropriate price for it. 

In other news, we have snow here in Colorado. Lots of snow. And it's cold. Like, really cold. I'm over it. I'm ready for warmer weather. I mean, I love wearing my hoodie and all, but I wear it every. Single. Day. Because it's so cold. And I have to go to the post office today - which sucks in and of itself - but now I have to be out in the snow and cold, which makes it worse. Oh well. At least I have beefy new tires on my truck. 

I'm also excited because my tattoo will be finished next Tuesday! I've been impatiently waiting for Feb. 2nd to come along so I can have it done. I can't wait to see how it looks with color. I'll share pics when it's done. Also? It's much larger than I had originally planned. And I LOVE it. I was worried at first that it was too big, but nope. It's perfect. I'm already planning what to get for my next tattoo (probably much to my hubby's dismay). I would like a dove, on my right forearm (the inner part, by the crook of my elbow) to remind me that the Holy Spirit is with me, always. 

Anyhoo, that's about all for now. 

Friday 12/18/20 Covid Vaccine and Stuff

 Well it's Friday again. Another week has gone by. And nothing terribly exciting has happened. I painted some bookmarks, a couple of paintings (which I'll share below), worked (it's been busy), and got the first dose of the Covid vaccine. 

Wait, what? The covid vaccine? Yep. I got the first dose of it Wednesday night after I got off work. I get my second dose January 7th (I hear the side effects of the second dose can be pretty bad). The side effects for this first dose weren't too bad: arm soreness where I got the shot, and some minor body aches, headache, and sore throat. That went away after several hours. I was nervous to get it. I mean, yeah there was a test sample of 40,000 people, but we don't know any long term side effects of this vaccine. A vaccine that was developed insanely rapidly. But talking with fellow nurses helped calm my fears and I decided that if I can do something to protect myself - that will ultimately help protect my family - then I need to do it. So I got the vaccine. Hopefully I won't get some weird cancer in 2 years or something. 

Working full time is so far working well for me. And the extra money of course is nice. We were busy this past week and I didn't have to float to another unit which is always stellar. I work again tomorrow but I'm primary nursery, so no floating for me tomorrow either. I enjoy not floating. 

I seriously don't know what else to write about. Writing comes so naturally when I'm feeling like shit. But when I'm well, I'm at a loss for words. It kind of sucks because I enjoy writing but my life is pretty freaking boring. I don't really go anywhere other than work and grocery shopping - thanks covid. We're not going on any adventures or anything. It's too cold to go on walks or hiking. So yeah. Boring. Nothing going on. 

But, without further adieu, here's my two paintings I did:

A judgmental pigeon

He's judging you. Harshly.

And a mountain bluebird

Well there you have it. Another week in the boring life of me. Yay.