I have been on VACATION!!!!!!

Yeah, I have been on vacation. It's over now. I went to DC for Easter weekend and to Baltimore for a few days to see my sister and her family. My niece is adorable. I was also able to spend a few days here at home just relaxing and visiting some friends I haven't seen in a while. Though it's cold here and I am really tired of being cold.

Tomorrow is back to normal... for a while. Work should be normal, however I need to find a way to get the keys to my new apartment. My roommate will be gone all next week, so we'll start moving stuff the week after. However, the big move is scheduled for the 19th. It is coming up much faster than I expected. I feel like I'm going to blink my eyes and be 30, then 40 and so forth. It's a little scary.

Loving Chicago, literally.

"It was October and a harsh breeze blew her along under trees without leaves, past houses with cold corners, past caves of the wind that were the mouths of residential streets. From that time until April, Chicago is an indoor city, where entering by a door is like going into another world, for the cold of the lake is unfriendly and not like real northern cold – it serves only to accentuate the things that go on inside. There is no music outdoors, or love-making, and even in prosperous times the wealth that rolls by in limousines is less glamorous than embittering to those on the sidewalk. But in the houses there is a deep, warm quiet, or else an excited, singing noise, as if those within were inventing things like new dances. That is part of what people mean when they say they love Chicago."

From “First Blood” of the Basil and Josephine Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The things you miss when I fail to post for a week...

Even though it has only been slightly over a week, it feels as though it has been four hundred weeks since my last post. This past St. Patrick's Day weekend was loads of fun, but very very busy. I finally got a glimpse of "green" river. Every St. Patrick's Day or the Saturday closest to it, the city of Chicago intentionally dumps chemicals (sorry, dye!) into the river to turn a section of it a bright emerald green. It's rather fun to view, but I laugh because the river is normally a muted icky green. I did not attend the parade this year, mostly because I went last year and thought it was over rated. I also had a fantastic time helping my friend celebrate her birthday.

Tonight I am preparing for my trip to DC/Baltimore. I will be spending Easter in DC. I am very excited to be able to attend my church there for Easter. I will also be able to catch up with a few friends I haven't seen in ages as well as one of the families with whom I previously worked. I will finish up the trip with my lovely sister and her family in Baltimore. It will be a nice break.

I will also have a few days off still once I return to Chicago. I am hoping to use those days to begin sorting through my stuff, in preparation for packing. As much moving to new places, I really, really hate packing and the moving process. Thankfully we have a month overlap with the two apartments and will have time to move at a less crazy pace.

Oh, and H is as adorable as ever. He's starting to walk with confidence. At times this is misguided confidence, in that he thinks he can walk over his toys without actually picking up his feet. His parents also bought him big boy shoes... which he refuses to wear.

Teeth and Taxes

Today when I was looking at H, he grinned up at me revealing his toothy grin and the realization that he truly is growing up hit me, once again. I know these six teeth have been there for a while now, but I was remembering his formerly gummy grin. I am not sure why I am so continually surprised by the fact that H is growing up. With many of my nanny jobs I have worked with the infants up to the point of having one or two teeth, but that age group has seemed to recycle itself in my various positions. I think part of the shock is that I am still here with H, after this point. While I have left all of my jobs for wonderful reasons, I feel strange about having made it past this point in the child's development. Strange and yet, honored. I can't help but feel as though the ax will drop and this happy situation will end. This feeling has nothing to do with my job, I am happy and I believe my employers are happy, but with the fact that around this point I am used to having my happiness rug pulled out from under me.

Side note: I finished my taxes. I feel so responsible... don't worry. This feeling probably wont last.

Great news!

Two great things happened yesterday.

First!
I had a meeting at one of the Chicago libraries. They have a section of their library leading into a conference room that they allow local artists to hang their works. The woman in charge liked my paintings and gave me the mid-July to mid-October slot! It's free, the library isn't involved aside from lending me the space, so if anything sells I get all of the profit. I also have to hang my own pieces and promote them, but I will be able to learn from my friend who has the mid-April t mid-July slot. I also think it is an excellent way for me to begin showing my art in a very low pressure situation. I am very excited.

Second!
Yesterday I received the news that my roommate and I were accepted for the apartment that we both really wanted. We'll be able to begin moving in April. We need to be out of our current apartment by the end of April, so I think it will be an "easy" move.

I will try to send out new address notices or email as soon as possible.

Almost a Professional Artist

I have finally finished my portfolio. The only thing I have left to finish before my meeting on Wednesday as the Artist's Statement. You might want to click on the above picture to get the intended effect.

Here is a sampling of what the pages inside the little black book look like. These are two of my more resent pieces. I have a few pieces that I might add still, but I have 14 pieces in here, one of those being my set of four cubes, so I feel that I have decent presentation of my work.

Thanks for all of your support! I will you know how the meeting goes....

Organized Chaos - Putting together my Professional Painting Portfolio

This the the in-progress layout of my portfolio. My fellow artist friend just stopped by and told me I should make some of the pictures bigger, so I will work on that.

It is amazing how little I know about computers and how much they are required in my profession. I had to figure out how to print these suckers, size them and all that fun stuff.

Most days I would prefer to paint, hang the finished pieces on my walls and call it a day. However if I aspire to make money doing this I have to show people these paintings, then I have to convince them to buy them. This is really not that much fun. Thankfully, as an artist, I enjoy the process of creating this little scrapbook (sorry, portfolio). It does make it easier to show people my work if I have it all wrapped up in this handy little black book. With the help of my artist friend I am getting more and more involved with the Chicago art scene. I really enjoy meeting other artists. Until I figure out what I should do next, this is certainly a great way to fill the time.