Sweet Birdie

It has been a busy few weeks for me so to help myself relax, I crochet. I have been working on these sweet itty bitty birdies. They are tiny little things and have been crocheted with love for a larger project.

This last week Parker and I went to my sisters house in Indiana. Parker loves to be with his cousins!

Getting ready to play army outside

Time for some video game fun!

Army fun in the house

My little cutie pie

Big cousin Jason

Being silly with big cousin Sammy

Being silly with big brother CJ and big cousin Sammy

Sleepy time with Gizmo, the family dog

 It was a nice visit with my sister and always hard to say goodbye. 

Check back soon to see where these little birdies end up. :)

Hard time saying goodbye

The Velveteen Rabbit is my favorite children's book. Even at the age of 100 (I'm now counting my age in elf years), I will grab my worn copy with the coffee cup stain on the cover and snuggle up in a chair to read it. As a child, this story made perfect sense to me. Of course the bunny was real. All of my stuffed friends were real. My Teddy was just like the velveteen rabbit, he was with me always. I talked with him and fed him the same snacks that I ate and I protected him. I projected many human traits on toys, appliances, and objects as a child. In my world, everything had feelings and emotions.

When I find a copy of the book The Velveteen Rabbit, I want to snatch it up and take it home with me. I know that this isn't reasonable, I mean how many copies can you have of one book, but it is almost like the book itself has feelings and I want to save it from any impending doom it might have to endure. If the book is used, I will most certainly buy it.

Recently I came across a used copy that was all but destroyed. The binding was torn, the pages were falling out and some were missing, and the cover was worn. The book was tired. I posted it to my etsy account figuring that I could at least salvage the cover to be used as an e-reader cover, somebody out there was bound to love it and would take care of it.  It sold almost immediately, I made the cover and when it was finished, I didn't want to let it go.

I know I'm a little strange, but I hope that they love him as much as I would.

2011 in review

I am not one to celebrate the New Year, after all, it is just another day. I do however use this time of year for reflection and refocusing, to look back, make some changes, and move forward.

2011 Year in review: Goals set, were they met?

1. Establish an Identity as an Artist
Accomplished.
I spent a large part of my time this year dedicated to creating my identity as an artist. nikkiMdesign now has a logo, an online store, a blog, and has reached and sold to customers outside of the community.

2. Be more aware of my mood and my environment
Accomplished.
In 2010 I was diagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and social anxiety disorder and began treatment immediately. Within six months my overall health improved; I became more mentally stable and the anxiety symptoms lessened. I assumed that sometime during 2011 I would be able to come off of my meds and be "healed". When the doctor explained to me how the treatments worked and that it would be premature for me to stop taking the medicine because I would most likely suffer a set back, I was a little disappointed but understood. Instead, 2011 became an opportunity for me to work with my doctor to learn about myself, what some of my anxiety triggers are, and how to feel the fear and do it anyway. I can't expect the medicine to do all the work, I have to help me. Some days I do well, some days I do not, but mostly, I'm learning and moving forward.

3. Take Commissions
Accomplished.
This goal ties into the one above. For years I didn't think I was a good enough artist to put myself out there and offer services to create art for somebody else. The idea of that scared the pants off of me. I worried that I might fail, or worse yet, succeed. What if they hated what I did? What if...what if...what...blah, blah, blah. This year, I just did it, and to my surprise not only did people pay me to do it but they liked what I did.

4. Design a professional Interior Design project
Accomplished.
After I graduated in May, I started working as an interior designer with Brooke at Nest Interiors and I have been designing kitchens, living rooms, commercial projects, etc.

5. Complete a Professional Rendering
Accomplished.
Completed renderings and have had repeat business.

6, Illustrate children's book
Not yet accomplished.
My wonderful husband took my idea for a children's book and wrote it. It is a lovely story and he did a fabulous job, however I have not yet had the extra time to illustrate the pages. I think that this is a project that may have to wait for another 6-12 months before I can even consider putting it onto my goals list.

7. Finish staining the staircase and restoring the tiled bathroom floor
Not yet accomplished.
These are two very big jobs that are not finished, however there has been a lot of progress on both over the last year, and I did finish the upstairs built-in cabinet and bench seat that were started at the same time. I don't know if I would categorize this as a not yet accomplished but rather almost accomplished. :-P

8. Lose 10 lbs.
Not yet accomplished.
Meh, I hate this goal for all sorts of reasons, but  the biggest reason is because it is one of those cliche resolutions. Anyway, I did not achieve this one, and to be honest, I gained about 5 lbs this year. I think part of the problem was that I was vague in defining this goal. Rather than saying that I should lose 10 pounds, I should have given myself a target weight to work toward. This goal will (unfortunately) make it onto my 2012 list.

All in all, I am pleased with my goal progress for 2011. I have thought about my list for 2012 and I it is almost complete. I will share what those goals are soon.

Happy new year to all!