Trying new things...

I'm working on my first custom order since I opened shop.  The order is for 3 different paintings!  I am very excited for this as it makes me feel that at least one other person out there likes my style.  I figure if one other person likes my style of paintings then there must be others as well, it's just a matter of finding them.

In other news, I am thinking about starting a new mom blog.  Our family needs more money as we are trying to pay off all of our debt.  We have been following Dave Ramsey for quite some time and although we have not officially gone through the Dave Ramsey program of Financial Peace University, we understand the basic idea and are trying to figure out where to cut expenses so that we can apply all the extra towards our debt.  I hope that if I start a blog, maybe I can document things that happen with our family for my kids to look back on in the future as well as hopefully make some extra money through affiliate marketing.  So between my paintings and blogging I am hoping to accomplish our debt free goal and eventually be able to get out of my current profession.

Life's issues!

In my "real world" job last night I had a pretty tough call to deal with. Unfortunately, since I work until midnight, I have no down time before I need to go to bed. So I tossed and turned all night thinking about work and dealing with seasonal allergies too. I guess that's life though. I'm thankful that I can have a rough day or night, put it behind me and move on. Things can be rough but we can't let it get us down. If life drags you down then stand up and fight back!! Today I am going to take a nap, clean house some more (never-ending) and paint my latest flower/ladybug design.

My plans for this blog!

I have attempted to try and start a few blogs here and there but never really had a focus or knew where to go. My biggest reason for creating a blog is obviously to help promote my paintings. Eventually, I also plan on exploring polymer clay and creating sculptures out of this for various purposes.  But for now, I feel I need to focus on one thing at a time!  The other reason for this blog is to keep track of life and how it is going and to be able to look back and see where life has taken me.  My hope is also that it gives others out there an idea of what my life is about and gives you hope, encouragement, a laugh or a bit of "been there, done that" feeling to know you are not alone in life's struggles!

Today I have to work at my nursing job from 4-midnight, ugh. I can hardly keep my eyes open as it is but have a 2 year old running around so can't exactly nap!  This week has been one of those where everyone else is keeping me awake at night...my daughter is getting her 2 year molars and waking frequently, my son decided it was important to wake me up to tell me about his dream (not nightmare) at 2 am, my husband snores periodically but not enough for me to get used to it, just enough to wake me up!  I'm sure many of you have similar problems!

Well, off to do some more painting, catch up on the 4 baskets of laundry that need folded and put away (my least favorite chore of all) and play with my daughter!

Monkeys!

I did this monkey painting and my daughter fell in love!  This is definitely a fun picture all around, was fun to paint and now fun watching my 2 year old daughter light up every time she see's it!  Would love to do more of these monkeys and more than willing to customize to fit your kid's room decor!

Visit my etsy shop, Happy Dream Designs if interested in seeing more designs!