An Artful Life http://www.laurieappleby.com Art, craft, and life in Lexington, Kentucky. Fri, 18 May 2012 02:51:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/17/3242/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/17/3242/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 02:51:22 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3242 I spanked Ruby for the first time today. Her offense? I caught her on the couch walking directly on the Mac which was open, keyboard exposed. I felt bad for a few minutes, especially after her face melted from her mischievous grin to a big sad face with fat tears rolling down her cheeks, but I felt that the situation warranted a quick thwack on the bottom. A Mac is not a sidewalk and I have lost count of how many times that Heath or I have looked her in the eye and explained to her that the laptop is not her toy. She wasn’t too affected by my actions. About 5.3 seconds later she was back up running on the couch like a little madman. That’s going to be a fun habit to break.

I guess that answers that question. Yes, I will probably spank Ruby. I’m not really hard core pro-spanking but if calm verbal discussions and  warnings go unheeded then I’m okay with it. Ideally, I only want to do it when it is a situation involving something that could have serious, maybe irreversible consequences like, No, you can absolutely not run into traffic. Otherwise, time-outs will probably be the go-to discipline tool. Anyway. Guess I felt like I had to defend my actions there.

It’s been a busy week. The current show in the gallery was taken down and packed up on Monday. Things went smoothly and I was grateful for the help from interns and staff. Tuesday I worked my shift at Target and Wednesday I tried to work on shipping the work OUT of the gallery but unfortunately FedEx and UPS make that an extremely confusing process for shipping newbies so I didn’t really get anywhere with that. There is a wedding in the gallery this weekend so everything has to be hidden out of sight. Our receiving room is packed to the gills right now!

Today was my ‘off’ day but I did work a bit this morning. Afterwards I was able to spend a little time working on some of my pieces before heading to the blood bank to donate platelets. Then it was off to the grocery store, home to start dinner, time to pick up Ruby, and then back home to finish dinner (cobb salad, gotta use up all that farm share lettuce!) and take care of my girl. Dinner was yummy and after that Heath played Diablo III and I went to the gym to try my ankle at the eliptical machine. Jury is still out on that until the morning I think.

After today I will be working every day until next Saturday. Shooting another wedding, Target, unpacking the next show, finishing all the details for the next show, the opening! Oh, and my 8-year wedding anniversary is this upcoming Tuesday. A busy, busy time coming up but I’m grateful that everything is at least fun!

 

 

]]> http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/17/3242/feed/ 0 Liz and Lyle: A Little Peek http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/14/liz-and-lyle-a-little-peek/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/14/liz-and-lyle-a-little-peek/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 11:52:23 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3237 Before this crazy week gets off to a start I thought I would share one shot from Liz and Lyle’s wedding this past weekend. It was a beautiful day, perfect for an outdoor wedding, and I can’t wait to go through and edit the rest. Liz and Lyle, I hope you enjoy your honeymoon this week. Thank you for choosing me to be a part of your big day!

]]> http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/14/liz-and-lyle-a-little-peek/feed/ 0 TGIF! http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/11/tgif/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/11/tgif/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 19:30:48 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3233 Just thought I’d pop in before the weekend with a little progress report. I’ve just been trying to do little snippets of work here and there when I get the chance. I have several canvases collaged with material and I spent a little time yesterday on the next step. I hoping that even though it’s a pretty busy weekend that by Monday I’ll have a nice stack of canvases ready for painting.

Already, the next event where people will be walking through my studio is only two weeks away!  Even though it seems a little daunting (because of the weddings and gallery work that I’ll be doing over the next two weeks) I’m going to set my goal for 10 new pieces to be ready by then. As soon as they’re finished I’ll post them.

On the ankle/no pop front things are going well. Yesterday it was almost like I hadn’t broken my ankle in the first place. I didn’t limp a lot and it didn’t hurt hardly at all. It was quite nice. It’s a tad sore today but I was able to wear some cute flats instead of my tennies so I consider it a victory. On the 5th day without any pop. Slowly I’m missing it less and less  and it’s nice to have the  I have to eat everything that bad for me and delicious RIGHT NOW!!  feeling not consume my every thought and action.

Well, I am off to get a few things done around the house before I head to a rehearsal ceremony this afternoon. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

]]> http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/11/tgif/feed/ 0 Farm Share http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/09/farm-share/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/09/farm-share/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 01:14:40 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3222 Today I picked up our first farm share delivery. I’m sure we’ll get a lot of this:

I wouldn’t be sad if we got a lot of this:

Hmmm. I’ve not had a lot of bok choy but I’ve heard it’s good in smoothies. I need to look up some recipes for this:

Green garlic. I’ve never used this before but the little newsletter that came with the share said that you could use it just like regular garlic so that should be easy to do.

Sweet potatoes. A lot of them. Good thing they sent a recipe for sweet potato hummus. Yum!

By far the best thing we got were these strawberries:

Even Rubes liked them. I’m pretty sure that if I’d have let her she would have eaten them all. I was actually tempted to let her, she’s barely eaten anything the past week!

]]> http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/09/farm-share/feed/ 1 Update: Random Style http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/07/update-random-style/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/07/update-random-style/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 19:42:29 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3216
  • It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything on my artistic progress. Mainly because I haven’t had all that much. I’m moved back into my studio a few weeks ago but I haven’t spent as much time as I could working. No terribly good excuses other than being busy with life. I’ve worked a few hours here and there but it’s a far cry away from what I need to be doing. One of the people who bought one of my pieces last week? They mentioned that they might be interested in coming back to buy more to put on a wall in their house. When/if they return I need to be ready for them!
  • I decided last night that I am going to try and go without pop or coffee. No more Coke Zero, no more iced coffee, just water. Less than 24 hours later and I am already extremely bitter about my decision and I have probably thought about popping the top of a cold, delicious, sugary Mt. Dew more times than the average male thinks about sex. I also have a headache. And a short fuse. Right now is not the time to get on my bad side, lol.
  • I’ve been avoiding it for months but I finally stepped on the scale this morning. Ugh. It was so depressing. I admire those who can share the number so openly but I’ll tell you right now, it isn’t happening. Let’s just say that it is the most I’ve ever weighed in my life. I really need to take a photo of the number so that I can just pull it up every time I want a pop/Frappuccino/Snickers/Reese’s…any number of delicious things I like to eat.
  • Heath is surprising me with something this weekend. I have not a clue what it is, all I know is that Ruby’s will be going off somewhere to get taken care of while we are out. I’m exited and intrigued. Also, since our wedding anniversary is coming up I am making this for Heath. (Heath, if by some chance you are reading this don’t you dare click on the link!).
  • The next few weeks are going to be really busy. I have weddings the next two Saturdays and at the art league one show is coming down and another is going up. This means a lot of packing, shipping, unpacking, painting, spackling, and so much more. Thank goodness for interns! Plus I have to get entries ready to be sent off for the juror of another show that goes up in July. I’m really enjoying my work so far though. It makes me wish that I had taken more Arts Administration classes while in school.
  • Ruby is in a picky eating phase. No vegetables, no meat, most fruits-only crackers, raisins, oranges, and (so far) any of the Plum pouches. I know it could be worse but I am just not used to her being like this. Usually she inhales pretty much anything you throw at her. I am crossing my fingers that this is only a phase.
  • I am picking up our first farm share this Wednesday. I’m so exited!
  • Heath and I went to see The Avengers. It’s so awesome. My favorite scene? Loki and the Hulk. If you’ve seen it you know what I mean and if you haven’t I don’t want to ruin it for you. It’s awesome. Heath and I went on Sunday at noon. I was certain that it would be dead at the theatre but it was crazy crazy busy. We got there 20 minutes early and we ended up buying the last two tickets for that showing. The theatre was packed and there was already a line outside of our theatre of people waiting to get into the next showing. Have you had a chance to see it yet?
    • ]]>     http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/07/update-random-style/feed/ 2     15 Months http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/03/15-months/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/03/15-months/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 14:21:28 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3205 Yesterday Ruby had her 15 month check-up. First, a photo from her 12 month check-up for the sake of comparison:

    And today. Tee hee. I never really saw her as a chubby baby but I guess she kind of was! And she actually looks somewhat happy in the picture above! She was not pleased with the whole thing yesterday though. As we were walking into the hospital she started freaking out and gave me a big ‘ol head butt right in the jaw. Awesome.

    She screamed her head off all through all of her measurements being taken (real at first but then her new fake ‘dramatic cry’ took over) and didn’t calm down until we stripped her down to her diaper and released her to play with some toys. She kept pushing the truck around and saying “Wheeeee!” and then when she pushed it under the exam table, “uh-oh!”.

    She was a little skeptical of her pediatrician but for the most part did really well with the exam. She got two shots but did well with those too. During the exam the pediatrician had a conversation with Ruby about how ‘mom and dad need to give you a little brother or sister’. *Rolling eyes* Great. So it looks like all that is going to be starting up again soon? Oy. Anyway. Thankfully Ruby is a perfectly healthy baby girl and I am SO unbelievably grateful for that.

    Stats:

    30.5″ (50th)

    21.1lbs (25th)

    Head  forgot the number) 47th

    ]]>     http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/03/15-months/feed/ 1     Bowling http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/01/bowling/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/01/bowling/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 03:28:55 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3190 Last night I went bowling with my mom and brothers. Actually, I just watched (and took pictures, obviously) because my ankle was killing me. I wish that I could have bowled, it’s been forever since I’ve had the chance to. My highest score is 175. What’s yours?

    ]]>     http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/05/01/bowling/feed/ 2     On the Farm http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/29/on-the-farm/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/29/on-the-farm/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 23:46:28 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3172 Today we went to the farm where we will be receiving a fruit/vegetable farm share. It was a gorgeous day and besides getting chicken crap all over my camera lens, it was a lot of fun. Ruby enjoyed running around in the grass, eating dandelions, and seeing the animals. When she saw the cows she immediately started saying, “moo!”, it was adorable. I wish I had gotten some video of her laughing when the chickens were running around her. It was just about the cutest thing ever. They had food samples including a green smoothie and the most delicious strawberries. We also got to take home a bag of sweet potatoes as a parting gift.

    {super smize}

    {delicious dandelions}

    ]]>     http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/29/on-the-farm/feed/ 5     Happy Dance http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/28/happy-dance/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/28/happy-dance/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:46:29 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3169 I’m on my way to shoot a wedding today but I had to share this because I am still so super psyched about it. Ready?

    I sold 2 of my collages last night!!

    I moved all of the work I’d done to my studio last weekend and hung them right before last night’s event. I honestly wasn’t prepared to sell anything so when people inquired about the price I just threw out a number. It may have been too low, I need to get some opinions from the more experienced artists in my life, but whatever. I sold two pieces!

    I’m such a dork. I texted Heath immediately and my BFF, then I found a friend at work and told her. I was *this* close to breaking out into a robot-esque happy dance. I wonder if this euphoria goes away after you become more well known and you sell stuff on a regular basis? That would be a bummer. It’s such a great feeling!  It’s not like I’ve never sold anything before. I was very fortunate to have about 75% of my BFA show sell out. But it’s been a while and the collages are something new that I’m doing. It was very validating and gave me a lot of motivation to move forward.

    Yay!

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

    ]]>     http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/28/happy-dance/feed/ 4     Excuse my absence! http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/27/excuse-my-absence/ http://www.laurieappleby.com/2012/04/27/excuse-my-absence/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:56:43 +0000 Laurie http://www.laurieappleby.com/?p=3157 Hey! Sorry for the black out there. There was a mix up with my hosting company involving payment of hosting fees and whether I had or had not informed them of my new email address (I had, and re-sent the email to prove it) but thankfully things are up and running. Finally! Now where was I……..Oh yeah. Last Friday we had a big pARTy for my job at the Art Organization. Since I was out with the broken ankle I had little to do with the planning but on the day of I helped set up and then at night came back to take some photos. Here are some of my favorites from the night:

    {the tattoos were quite popular with the crowd}

    {local artist Madeline Enochs-Epley working on one her 500 1-hour portraits} 

    {This photo and the one below are my two favorite photos of the night of the March Madness Marching Band performance. It was great to watch and obviously the performers enjoy it as well!}

    {Somehow I never got the hip motion figured out for hula-hooping. These ladies had no problems. I was impressed.}

    I also moved back into my studio this past weekend. Ruby and I enjoyed the gallery while Heath hauled my stuff up the stairs. Thank, hon!

    I did a little thrifting yesterday. I scored a bunch of adorable Gap Kids stuff for Ruby from Goodwill. Sure, it will be a couple of years before she can wear it but for $1.50 I couldn’t pass them up. At what age do kids start picking out their own clothes?  I even found a good deal for me. Not from Goodwill but from Macy’s. I scored this sweater, originally $169, for only $22. I can’t imagine paying full price for this. It is cute but definitely not $169 cute.

    This weekend will be busy, but fun. There’s an exhibition event tonight that I’ll be working, tomorrow I am shooting my first wedding of the season, and Sunday we are going to tour the farm where our farm share will be coming from. I am exited for Ruby to see some farm animals for the first time, in person rather than in books. I see a lot of “oooh oooh”-ing in our future. Oh, and my family may be coming into town from Minnesota. What about you? Any big weekend plans?

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