define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true); Leanne Wildermuth : Artist by Nature » Life, Love, and Critters

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    35 Years ago Today…

    January
    15
    2006

    I’m not one of those people who hides from the Big Bad Birthday Monster – yet.

    TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!! And I’m being spoiled today, which is the perfect gift. All I asked for was to feel special, and so far my lil 4 year old presented me with this:

    All giggly about writing my name AND her name on the card. She picked it out, too! Of course! Mickey and a GREAT BIG HUG! That is so my little Chickeymonkey. She really wanted to get me a Princess Costume all for myself. She chose Princess Ariel, you know, the mermaid. Why? Because I would be PRETTY dressed as a mermaid! But alas, they shopped and they shopped and they could not find any adult-sized princess costumes. Bummer. I was really hoping to go out to dinner tonight topless with fins. I love this little figurine though – she’s sitting right in front of me now, wavin’ her little flag.

    I love birthdays!! I’ll update with more pics of more fun stuff throughout the day.

    *Update* My Willow Tree Collection has grown! Wow. It wasn’t too long ago I posted a pic of the three Willow Tree Angel’s that I have sitting on my piano. Since then, I received a few more, so it’s time for a new pic!

    From left to right, the Angel of Hope, a birthday gifty from my dear friend Clara. The one sitting beside her is Serenity – also from Clara. My lil Catybug gave me the Mother & Daughter for Christmas. The centerpiece now, Loving Couple, from my hubby for my birthday :sniffles: Then the Bug came home from a sleepover a little while ago and I opened up Angel of the Heart, awwww. More sniffles. The Angel of Protection sitting beside her is from my bestest bud from forever ago, Paige – and then to the far right is Thinking of You, a slight-post Christmas gifty from my sweetiepah girlfriend Erikie.

    All of the sudden, I’ve got a full blown collection. It’s beautiful, I can’t wait to see them tonight when the lights are out and they’re glowing just from the piano light! I’m so lucky – what wonderful friends and family I have. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!! I still have to do my “lessons learned” list, too. (I’ll get to that!)

    *Update* Adding a new piece, the Angel of Friendship from our friends down the street. You guys – you’re making me all sappy over here today!!!

    *Update* The dinner was MmmMMMM Good! We had Red Lobster, and frankly there’s NO nutrition information to be found for what we ate. My guess is if the nutrition information doesn’t exist, it’s really, really bad for you. I had a big old strawberry margarita, too. Whee! And then, my wonderful family who was determined to make me feel special today, followed through very well with my last minute birthday request (which was “I want to laugh on my birthday!”), they lit a bunch of candles for this nummy cake, sang Happy Birthday to me, and laughed with me as I blew out re-igniting candles…several times!

    Thank you all for sharing my birthday with me!! It’s been amazing day, and I truly feel blessed with friends and family!!

    Thursday Thirteen #21

    January
    12
    2006

     

    Thirteen Things about Leanne, Thursday, January 12, 2006
    My other Thirteens

      1. This is the 21st time I’ve done this thing, and I’m changing my format, so there.

    2. I’ve been insanely busy over here, and was almost not going to do my 13 today.

    3. I’ve been doing well with my fitness program so far (since Dec. 27, actually, but on P2G since the 1st) and, as of yesterday, lost 10.5 lbs. that I hope never find me again. I still have a jillion fat cells to go, I hope they’re as cooperative as the first bunch.

    4. Lastnight I had a dream that I cut our 4 year-old daughters hair. It was short and whispy, like a little toddler we saw at the gym lastnight. Only on OUR daughter, it looked horrible, she looked like she had a bowling ball for a head it was so round. That haircut made her face look like a pudgy little circle. Iew.

    Keep reading »

    Dog Painting : Joey WIP #3

    January
    5
    2006

    (from last progress update… “This is an 11×14 oil painting, a custom dog portrait – he’s a black poodle…”)

    Here’s the first layer of Joey’s fur. His eyes, nose and mouth are done, although I’ll probably add a smidge more shine to his teeth and tongue. I’m estimating about 3-4 more layers of paint for the fur before he’s completed, but I’ll paint that wet-in-wet and finish his portrait up tomorrow.

    View my Custom Dog Portrait category to watch the painting as it has progressed.

    Thursday Thirteen #20

    January
    4
    2006
    Thirteen Things about Leanne, Thursday, January 4, 2006
    My other Thirteens

    * * Posted Wednesday night, ’cause there’s birthdays and blogroll info involved! * *
    1. We’ve got a bunch of TT Cappies out there! Hop on by and wish Renee (1/4), Crystal (1/6), Steph (1/6) and Charity (1/9) Happy Birthdays, and if you guys are here, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! (I’m not sure that birthday wishing will be a regular feature of mine or not, but I’m a Cappy, they’re Cappies, it’s a Cappy thing!)

    2. The group weight loss blog is OPEN, if you haven’t seen it yet stop over there! There’s 40+ members already, holy MOLY! HTTP://POUNDS2GO.NET

    3. My Birthday is 10 days away! I’m going to be 35, for those of you who are wondering. I don’t care what the number is, I care about how I feel. (I say it this way so it excuses me for not even being able to calculate how old I am, and always resorting to the mathematical genius of my hubby and/or daughter. Oy.)

    4. I was hired as a (blog/graphic) designer for E.Webscapes. W00T!

    5. I didn’t finish Joey yet, got all buried underneath P2G memberships and plugins and stuff, and when I got up today I thought it was Thursday so I started working on this TT. THEN my hubby tells me “It’s Wednesday, honey.” DOH! and YAY! I have almost a whole EXTRA DAY TO DO STUFF!

    6. In addition to blog design, this year I’ll be preparing for my first art exhibition, too! Thankfully I can include photgraphy, if I need to fill a bigger space than what I’m seeing in my head. I have 6 paintings planned already, so I’ll probably stop taking custom portrait commissions for a while so I can work on blog designs and paintings. It’s going to be a very creative year!

    7. In the midst of the year, I’ll be in a wedding. Rubbing a buddah’s belly. On the East Coast, even! (unless they elope, that is. heh!) The bride and I are going to be hotties, too, because we’re both determined on our skinny programs.

    8. We’re also planning to go back to Disneyworld this year. At some point. :biggrin: We are a total Disney family. Did you know that of all the Disney characters, Thumper is my favorite? I am still hoping to get a Thumper tattoo. On my xxxxx xxxxx. (figure that one out. haha!) I’ll get it when my skin is the size it’s meant to be!

    9. My weight loss motivation comes from believing with my whole heart that when I reach my goal, someone is going to see me in the grocery store and offer me a million bucks to model bikini’s for them. Yep. That’s exactly how it’s going to happen. I’m sure of it.

    10. Our eagles are impressing the hell outta me this year, and I WILL PHOTOGRAPH THEM. They’re only here for the winter – and it’s not too terribly cold out there. I gotta get over to their nesting areas and take pics!

    11. We also have to get down to Colorado this year to visit our friends, Clara & Co. We miss them like crazy and it’s our turn for the road trip. She took the trip last time. Catybug is dyyyyying to go see her bestest buddy that moved away.

    12. I’m going to be really busy over the next few days, so if I disappear you know why.

    IMPORTANT for TT’ers

    13. I did a quick check of the Thursday Thirteen blogroll and unfortunately had to remove a whole slew of folks because they did not have the blogroll displayed on their blogs. There was even a blog on there twice that was very obviously not a participant at all. It was a random check of new blogs whose names I haven’t grown accustomed to yet – so please help me out with this. If you are on the blogroll, your blog should be displaying the blogroll. If it doesn’t, I’ve gotta remove you – it’s only fair. You can put it on a page and link to it, but it has to be there, somewhere. On. The. Front. Page. So if you don’t have it displayed, grab the code. If you come across a blog that is on the blogroll but you don’t see the blogroll when you get there? Let me know. It’s not my intention to tick people off, I did it to promote regular visits between everyone and give equal link promotion across the board. /rant.

    LINKS TO THIRTEENS I’VE VISITED TODAY:

    I’m visiting – just not leaving many comments at the moment! Gotta paint!

    Leave your link in comments & I’ll do my bestest to visit over the next few days!

    Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
    The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
    View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

    For those playing, claim your blog at Technorati to get on their listing if you haven’t already!

    Pounds2Go!

    January
    1
    2006

    POUNDS2GO.NET NOW OPEN!
    I am absolutely, positively THRILLED to have thought-up, designed and launched Pounds2Go.NET – my new weight loss blog! I would be honored and tickled and very giggly if you would head on over there, check out the design (patting myself on the back – I rawked in the graphic design studio here, even photographing my very own scale for reference!), check out the purpose, and JOIN ME!

    C’monnnn… everybody has a few Pounds2Go, right? Yeah. You know it.

    I’ve got some tweaking to do, some plug-ins to add, some bells and whistles and things – but for right now, the first of the year, it’s time to launch!

    If you would like to inquire about a custom illustration, blog or website design, please place your inquiry/order through E.Webscapes. Thank you!

    It’s Here!

    January
    1
    2006

    It’s 2006! YAHOO!
    This is going to be an awesome year, can ya feel it?!

    That pretty head up there is my last pic of 2005, I braided Chickeymonkey’s hair lastnight and we all snuggled in the New Year on the couch watching You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Catybug finally made it ’til midnight, too!

    So now that I’ve got this clean slate and all, I’m determined to maintain focus – complete all of my projects, kick some serious butt this year artistically, through stylesheets and graphic design, and above all else, with my treadmill! I am nearly finished with the new blog design, and will do my best to go live today, if not tomorrow. Part of the learning curve, you know, making sure things validate in two different browsers. Fun stuff, that is! I’ve already lost 4.5 lbs (as of yesterday), and have some amazing recipes and things to share in the new digs!

    I hope you woke up rejuvinated, and you’re just as energetic and ready to go this year as I am!

    How Old Sayings Go

    December
    30
    2005

    My Mom tells me that according to her mom (my Gramma), when Doves are ever-present in your surroundings it is a sign of a peaceful home. Our Mourning Doves are huddled close together beneath our feeders, such a pretty thing to see when your eyes are still tired first thing in the morning.

    I love that when I see these birds, I’m reminded of my Gramma. It got me curious about “how old sayings go…” Do you have a favorite old saying?

    As a sidenote; you guys kicked some serious bloghopping bootie yesterday! My eyes fell out of my head at some point, and my hubby had to pick them up, clean ’em off and pop ’em back in for me. It was really overwhelming, and I hope I can get to everyone who left their links at some point this weekend! I’ll be coding the weight loss blog design today, and hopefully have it up tomorrow (crossing my fingers), and this weekend I’ll be finishing up Joey’s portrait.

    Thursday Thirteen #19

    December
    29
    2005
    Thirteen Things about Leanne, Thursday, December 29, 2005
    My other Thirteens

    1. I visited everyone who left me a comment last TT. Finally!

    2. Today is Running2K’s Birthday! Go wish her a HBD!

    3. I am back on my skinny plan with a vengence. Since last Saturday, I’ve swam (swum? swimmed?) 1/2 mile and treadmilled 7.21 miles. (I added in this morning’s walk, getting ahead of myself!)

    4. Since last Saturday, I’ve gulped down approximately 340 ounces of water!

    5. I’ve purchased a new domain and am designing a group weight loss blog where people can join in as authors to write and stay motivated with their own programs.

    6. Hubby picked up 200 CDR’s and a giant CD case for me yesterday, and I have to burn all of my paintings and photography files to CD. Each painting will get its own CD. Photography is stored by month. I have a whole-lotta-burnin-to-do.

    7. My daughter and I had a date, and I took her to see the Chronicles of Narnia. Excellent movie, I’m glad we saw it on the big screen, in. the. third. row. It’s captivating. That was our first date, aside from shopping outings. She’s a cute kid, quickly growing into her own little woman.

    8. I had a horrible dream lastnight that made me cry in my sleep, and I woke up from it (with tears in my eyes) and couldn’t go back to sleep. Here I am, doing my 13 at 5:30 in the morning. I try not to let the emotions in my dreams carry through to real life, but it happens. I’ll have to talk to hubby about it as soon as he wakes up to get it out of my head. I wish I didn’t dream so vividly all the time.

    9. I ate grass. I tried dirt and sardines, but I spit it out. I ate black pepper, too. It was pretty interesting! No way will I ever eat vomit or boogers though. You’d have to tie me down first. Blech! Here’s what I’m talking about.

    10. I still haven’t finished making Christmas ornaments. Jeesh. I’ll do that this morning since I’m up so early.

    11. 17 1/2 days til my birthday. Yep, I’m a Cappy!

    12. My daughter said that because (I’m in charge) I do so much for their birthdays and no one ever does anything for mine, that she wants to do something for mine. ‘Cept I didn’t do much for their birthdays this past year on account’a Catybug just wanted to go to a waterpark with her cousin and Chick just wanted to go to the zoo with us. They both got what they wanted, but it’s not like I had to plan out a party or anything.

    13. Aaah 13. I’m here. I’ve arrived. It’s 6:30 AM now and I am going to go work on those ornaments!

    Happy Thursday, I hope you are all recouperating nicely from the festivities!


    BLOGROLL: Please check my sidebar for the TT Logo and Blogroll. If you’re not on it and you participate in the TT, You can ADD YOURSELF TO THE TT BLOGROLL HERE! Those blogs with the yellow/black exclamation points have been recently updated.

    LINKS TO THIRTEENS I’VE VISITED TODAY:
    1. Shelli @ Shelli’s Sentiments
    2. D @ Straddling the Line
    3. Uisce @ Whiskey Talking
    4. Nancy @ Crazed Mom
    5. MommaK
    6. Veronika
    7. Mary @ Fireflies & Frogs
    8. Lisa @ The Shizzle
    9. Phoenix
    10. Mrs. Fun
    11. Lazy Daisy
    12. Ocean Lady
    13. SusiePie
    14. Gabrielle
    15. Lisa @ The World According to Me
    16. Colleen @ Loose Leaf Notes
    17. Sleeping Mommy
    18. Sandra aka Crusty Crone
    19. J&J’s Mom
    20. Lyndsay @ The Martin’s
    21. PractiGal
    22. Barbara @ Burning Evanescence *note* captchya not working for comments
    23. Janet
    24. Karri @ Goofing Off
    25. Terrilynn
    26. Chickadee aka Colleen
    27. Jane @ Cozy Reader
    28. Carolyn @ Prairie Rose
    29. Uzi
    30. LadyBug Crossing
    31. Angie @ Ficken Chingers
    32. Squashed Toad
    33. Lilyblue
    34. Heather @ Goofy Girl
    35. Cin
    36. Jules
    37. Chelle @ Crazy Thoughts
    38. Allison @ Geronimo!
    39. Fionna
    40. Greek Goddess
    41. Craig
    42. Charity
    43. Kristi
    44. Crystal @ I Heart Peanut Butter
    45. Judy @ Insecure
    46. Jen @ Jen’s Horde
    47. Ceece
    48. YellowRose

    Leave your link in comments & I’ll do my bestest to visit you today!

    Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
    The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
    View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

    For those playing, claim your blog at Technorati to get on their listing if you haven’t already!

    M.I.A

    December
    28
    2005

    I’m working on stuff over here, so while I’m off neglecting my blog please entertain yourselves by thumbing through some of my Captionable Critters and see if you can’t find a voice for them.

    You could also go here: Serenescreen.com and download their (free) aquarium screensaver. I’ve never seen one so realistic! It rocks!

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