The Plane Ride

Josh and I flew to Dallas Tx on Thursday, the 18th of Dec. I was very anxious pretty much the whole time. It was interesting watching the people by-pass me when looking for a seat because I had a child!! :-) I could understand though... I was not sure what to expect!!!!! Well, it ended up being a really good experience. Josh was a little fussy towards the beginning of the flight and then by the last hour and 1/2, he was asleep. I don't know if I would want to fly solo again. It is really challenging. Lee will be with me on the way back and it will be a relief!!!! I have a lot of respect for mom's who do this all of the time!! I also admire the moms that had more than one child with them! I will add pictures when I get back home. I will be in touch soon! My mom and other family members will be in town tomorrow. My mom has not seen Josh since he was two weeks old. She is going to be so surprised! I am really looking forward to Christmas!!!! Take Care until next time! lt

Kids will be KIDS!!!

I have been trying to get a family picture for weeks now, and the timing was not working out... So I had a friend at church take of pic. of the family... and here is what baby Josh Did just as the camera Flashed!!!!!!!!!!! Classic!!!! We did manage to get a nicer one later! Too funny!!! Have a Great Day!

Lovlee

Just a little update!!

I can't wait to spend Christmas with my family! We love to wake up early and have our coffee and hot tea!!! I made these coasters about two or three weeks ago. I haven't put them on my etsy site. I may just give them as a gift! Hera are also some pics from a recent show that I did. I will show more pictures of the show later. There were four artists at this show. Here are the artists:
Syferiaa Jordan - Creator of Saffi Cards
Lovlee Helene Tang – Mixed Media Artist
Tricia Sebald - Down to Earth Expressions
Trisa Haisma- Custom Made Recycled Wood Gifts

Morning Thought

I can't believe that almost a year has passed since my husband and I had our son! Last year this time I was sitting with a big belly...waiting for my last day of work to approach, anxious to see my new baby boy! I don't know about most people, but I have been told that I am too hard on myself. I am the type of person that feels like I need to be always working towards something/accomplishing something. Not really allowing myself to just rest and take in life. I know that this personality trait is not all bad. I just feel like I have goals that I really want to accomplish. I also believe that as you get older.. you should also get better! But then you are left with the question..."What is better?" We each have to judge that for ourselves.

So my son will be 1 year old on the 18th of Dec., and on that special day he and I will be flying to TX to meet the family for Christmas! On this trip, I plan to take in every moment and just relax and enjoy. I feel like I am still learning about my family and my roots, and now that I have a child...I want to be able to share with him (as well as our future kids) about the family heritage that they come from. I know that my husband feels the same (He is from Cambodia). I consider my life and my family to be such a special gift from God. I will enjoy this Holiday!

I will not be too hard on myself today...and I will enjoy this day!

The Day After Thanksgiving!

Many people will be resting the day away, while those of us who have to work...will be getting ready to head out of the door! I really don't mind going to work today because it will be a really quiet day at the office and Josh, my son, will be staying home with "DaDa"! Which is nice, because I won't have the extra daycare stop before and after work today! Also it is important to not that today is FRIDAY! Thanksgiving day was a great day...I ate well, spent time with family, and did some yard work! I am also so grateful that God has given me such a rich life and an incredible husband and son! If you read this blog today...I encourage you to take on the challenge with me to make Today a GREAT DAY!

Lovlee

Being a Mommy !

My son will be 1 year old in less than a month! I am watching him grow and become smarter and smarter each day! It is amazing to see him as he learns new things. I am feeling a little sad because I feel like I don't have my baby boy any more! I read that these feelings are normal :-)! My son loves his daddy so much! When my husband walks into the room...Josh's face lights up and he says Dada Dada! I love watching the two of them. I feel so blessed and grateful that Josh has a mommy and daddy that love him deeply. I just feel more and more that he is such a precious gift from God. Being a mother is not easy...I just wanted to get a few things from the convenient store this morning and it was a whole production with the carseat and then trying to bring it all back to the car was a whole other deal. Thankfully I have met two nice ladies who helped me along the way! I am a first time mother and I was determined not to be a mother that gets easily worked up over the little things, but sometimes it is hard not to! He is my boy! My only boy! I could go on and on... He is so much fun. He has a really neat personality! He just makes me laugh! I know that my husband and I have a lot ahead of us, but with God we can make it! We hope to have more kids in the future! I can hardly wait!

Train Mural Process #1

I began this mural last Saturday night...As you may already know...I am a wife, full time working mommy and an artist...so when I paint...I have to schedule it around my life! I enjoy every project that I do!! With this project I typically worked on it after 9 or 10pm until about 2am. The owners were nice enough to give me a key to the center, which gave me the freedom to come and go as I pleased! I met all of the wonderful security guards that monitor the buildings in the area too!

With this project, I drew the design, and traced it on overhead projector paper and then projected it onto the wall and traced the image. I liked this technique because it allowed me to ensure that the size of each cart would balance with the one before and after it! I traced the image with a pale gray color. If you use a color that is too dark...you may run into some problems when it comes time to paint in the colors that you want to use...the tracing lines may show through the paint.

You are not able to see it in the final pictures...but I painted the letters a little thicker to make them stand out better. I will take pics. of those soon.

Train Mural Process #2

I took me a while to get the shading the way that I wanted it on each cart! I wanted each cart to be different but fun and fit the theme of the Learning Center. I used acrylic paints for this mural...some paints had a gloss to them which added a nice touch!

Train Mural Process #3

The final stages of the mural consisted of painting on the letter in each cart. I think my biggest fear was missing a letter from the alphabet :-)! The owner was so thrilled with the final outcome of the project! I was too!!!

Family Photo

Josh, my husband and I haven't had a picture taken of the three of us for about 3 months. Here we are at a local Mexican Restaurant over the weekend. The older Josh gets, the more he wants to do his own thing. I think Lee and I thought that Josh was going to always be the nice and quiet baby we took to the movies when he was just a few months old. He slept the whole time. Those days are no more...but it has been truly amazing to see him grow. He learns something new everyday. He just started taking steps about two weeks ago. Now he can do about 6+ steps before falling. My husband is just blossoming into an incredible "DaDa", as Josh calls him. I love to see him playing with his boy.

I have learned a lot from Josh too! He is so brave, and he just gets so excited when he tries something new. When he walks to me...you can see him getting up the courage to go for it, and when he reaches me...he gets to tickled with himself. I think to myself...I want him to always have great courage to try the hard stuff that life with throw at him. In the Bible...God tells Joshua "to be strong and courageous!" I see this in my boy!!!

I take this lesson from my 9 month old son... "Take risks and try, try, try, even if and when you are scared, and when you reach the other side... you can thank God that you made it and be tickled with yourself too!"

Have a Courageous Day,
Lovlee

Past Weekend Project: First Window Mural

I worked on my first storefront window mural this weekend. I sketched out the picture on paper, and then went to town on this big window. This biggest challenge was painting the mural in reverse. The real picture is seen on the front of the window. What you see here is the back. I will take pictures of the front when I can get some day time hour shots. This mural was done for a daycare center that will be opening in a few months. I really believe that it will be successful. I have met so many nice people while painting this mural. It took me about three days. I began at about 8:30a on Saturday morning and worked for about 4 hrs. I went back on Sunday morning from 7:15a-9a, and then that same evening for several hours and now today is Monday and I put the finishing touches on it tonight. I can't wait to get the daytime shots. Fun! Fun! Job and it was nice to have some time to create!!! Sip coffee and jam to my new CD. Loved IT! I hope to do more in the future!

Art Project in Progress!

Here are some pictures of my working on the art project I mentioned on a previous post! I do have a 4th bedroom turned studio on the 3rd floor of our home...but I like the dining room table!! I hope to get my studio set up the way that I want it an use it as my "away from home...in my home spot". See the finished product on www.simplylovlee.blogspot.com or just hit the link on this page!

Dirty Dishes Again!?!

It is Wednesday morning about 6:45am and I finally have time to complete my Monday Post! :- ) I had arrived home from work with my son and we met daddy here at the house. We were both excited that we really didn't have any plans that evening except getting a few groceries. Lee, my husband, had already agreed to take Josh with him to the store... so I was set to have a little time to myself. Now with some peace and quiet in site...and hopefully some relaxation too...I was confronted by a sink full of dishes. I really felt like they couldn't wait because the kitchen needed to be clean and ready to receive the new groceries that would be arriving shortly.

I just thought to myself that this never ends! Dishes are something that never seems to end. The minute you breath a sigh of relief that they are done...either someone decides to have something to eat or drink, or you find some dishes in the other part of the house that you missed. I know that before I became a mommy, I still had to do dishes...but they didn't have the symbolic significance that they do now. Now I feel like if I can't keep at least the dishes done...I am a horrible mom and wife! (LOL!) Maybe not that drastic all of the time... but I think that the moms, working moms, and can understand. Sometimes you just need that one thing in your day that you can start and finish and see the immediate results and think..."Okay this is good!"

So I say all this to say... that my original plan was to take a picture of the finished product...but of course as life will have it... I realized that my refrigerator needed to be cleaned out...so I began filling the sink again with food container and pots. Then Lee and Josh were home, and I was back were I started...trying to put away groceries in a messy kitchen with two extra people in the house.

So I laugh as I type because this is life, and that needs to be okay for me right now!! Especially since I would love to have two more kids :-)!!! I cannot measure my success and/or failure by this sink of dishes. I need to focus on the smiles and love I receive from the most important people.. My Husband and baby boy, Joshua Lee!

Take Care Until Next Time,

Lvolee

Change is needed every now and then

A couple of weeks ago I changed my hair. I needed a little something to get me motivated. I have two projects that I am currently working on.. a total of four sets of coasters, and I am sketching out some ideas for a window mural. I am really excited and grateful to God to be creating again! It's been a while!
Lovlee

"End of Day Reflection"

Today was a hard day! I did get a lot done at work. I had a meeting, and then returned to work only to find out that I had compiled a report completely wrong. The sad part was that I was so excited to be done with it last week and I was feeling kind of good about myself. :-D Well, the lesson is that it is okay to make mistakes and the words of my dad have been ringing in my ear ever since I realized the mistake..."Hast Makes Waste." Well it is true. I will make sure that I take my time when gathering info. and check it before handing it to the next person... Lesson learned. I also realized today that I need to make time for myself by having "girl time." Sometimes I get so busy with the activities of the day/week that I don't even realize that I miss or need it. I don't realize my need for it until I have had an emotional melt down...One that would have been cured or even prevented with a little TLC from the girls and a glass of wine :-)! My husband is doing well and our son is just growing like crazy. He is now 8 months!!! He is such a joy! My goal for the next week is to set up some "Girl Time!" Can't Wait!!!

Mind, Body, and Soul

I just wanted to share with you my thoughts for the morning. Hubby and Baby are asleep. It is about 7:03am, and I am sitting down for my spiritual and creative thinking time. The weekends go by so fast... and already it is Monday again. I have taken some pics for my Etsy site to post some time today, and I am now meditating on my scripture for the day. I heard this scripture at church yesterday, and I was so convicted that I need to continue to study it and see how it impacts my life. Take some time today to look at John 15:1-27. The caption reads Jesus, the True Vine. Let me know what you think and how it impacts you. Here is a sneak peek at my Etsy pics. for the day.

So my title is mind, body and soul. I left out the body part because that is the part that I still need to schedule. I have great plans of creating a workout routine, but little motivation. Balance is key and I will strive to fit it in. I'll keep you posted on this one. Take care and have a great day! Lovlee

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A Tribute to My Sister

Today was a great day! Very productive! Hubby was in school tonight... so baby Josh and I spent time with friends. I wanted to share a quilt that my big sister made for me over 10 yrs. ago. I have it in my home on display and for any cold body to use! I wanted to share this because I am inspired by her talent! She is an incredible woman with much to offer the world! I love her!!! This was her first octagon quilt and she sewed the octagon shapes together by hand. Pretty impressive!!! I hope to keep this in my family forever.

Unpredictable Morning

I love when weekends come, as most people do!! It is Saturday morning, and I was looking forward to getting up this morning while it was still dark and reading my Bible, enjoying a cup of coffee and working on my etsy site, but... my 7 month old son had different plans. Usually he will fall back asleep after his 5:30a/6a bottle... but not this morning. He must of known the plans that I had and my excitement to begin them. So I type this entry at about 9:32am. My boy has been asleep for about 45min. and now it is crunch time. I can't be upset though, because it is in the special and unexpected moments with him that I gain the most joy. Today my husband and I did not have to hustle to get ourselves ready and him ready too. My son and I could just hang! Spend the quality time that usually rushes by us during the hustle and bustle of the work week. I will maximize these few minutes of silence, sip my coffee, and read some words of encouragement from my Bible, and maybe take a few pictures of my art work, as I wait for him to arise from his morning nap!!

Take a look at my art work at simplylovlee.blogspot.com and shop online at

simplylovlee.etsy.com for unique art and whimsical gifts!!!