I VOTED

DID YOU?

Sedona

A shot of the hills near where we were staying

The red rock canyons are incredible

The variety of vegetation surprised me...there were trees with leaves changing colors. This shot was taken by a creek near Montezuma's Castle.

Montezuma's Castle...mistakenly named Montezuma's Castle because white discoverers assumed it had been built by Aztec Indians (it was built by a much smaller tribe). I don't know how they managed to build this...or live there...it was a straight climb up these rocks to their homes in the rocks---and they were not close to the ground!

Another shot by Montezuma Castle...the sky was so blue!

Another rock formation...don't ask me the name!

A few shots of the red rocks at sunrise. Truly amazing!

A few shots of where we were staying. I loved all the adobe homes.

Cactus!

So I've returned from Sedona. It was beautiful...highs in the 80's, no humidity (resulting in good hair days), no clouds, beautiful red rock canyons, lots of art and bead stores...a little bit of heaven.

I'll share the pics for now...details later.

It's time to go

I am finishing up my packing and preparations for my trip to Sedona. It's been crazy busy at work the past few days. My work day ended with me locking my car keys in the ignition. Thank god for AAA.

So I'm excited and a little nervous. And strangely a little sad. I have not taken many out-of-town vacations in my life, especially without family. I have only flown anywhere 2 other times! So while I am overwhelmingly excited about this wonderful opportunity, I am also aware that I am leaving my family behind...and I am not any more used to that than I am to flying. I spent a little time with both my kids today and once I finish this packing, I'll be spending some time with my hubby. I know I will miss them while I'm gone.

Sometimes you have to leave your life in order to appreciate your life even more.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

In two days I will be heading out of town, meeting up with my best friend and fellow artist, Julie, at the airport in Phoenix. From there we will drive to Sedona, where we plan to spend a week together in a self-prescribed artist retreat.

I can't wait.

Julie and I have been friends since our kids came into this world (they're now in their early 20's). Initially, we worked together at the U libraries...both having majored in Studio Arts. Then we had kids together. Then, living miles apart, we went through ugly divorces together and raised our kids as single parents.

As we struggled to raise our kids singlehandedly, we dreamed of someday being able to go on a vacation together, just to spend time together and make art.

The time has come.

I'm not sure if I will have access to a computer while I am gone. If you don't hear from me before Halloween that is the explanation.

I'll have plenty of stories and pictures to share when I return.

First Sale

I had my first Etsy sale! I had my first Etsy sale!

The first thing I've been doing each morning is checking my Etsy shop...I almost thought I was dreaming when I saw there was a sale. (I sold my Follow Your Heart Create Necklace pictured on the left. Don't worry, Stacy, your necklace has been made. And if anyone else wanted one, I still have more of those beads!)

Yippee! It's a good day!

Tearjerker

If you're sick of political ads and stories about our failing economy, here's a story that is sure to touch your heart. It was broadcast on Kare11 News tonight and even the second time it made me cry. Click here and then play the video.

Art Crawl weekend

I am busy (very busy) with final preparations for the Fall Art Crawl. I'm anxious for the prep work to be done and the crawl to begin. I'm excited about family and friends visiting my studio. I wonder what new visitors will have to say about my artwork. And as a bonus I'm selling (or trying to sell) some the necklaces I've recently made.

Feel free to stop by. If you stop over at my art blog you can click on the links to learn more about the crawl and read my tips for exploring the crawl.

Hope to see you there.