Path to Painting

I recently opened a shop on a site called Etsy where people can sell handmade and vintage items.  If you've never checked it out you should.  It has some great, creative stuff.
Well since I've opened the shop I figured I would do a blog post to tell my story and show some of my paintings.  I've always been into art.  I started taking art classes as an official elective class in 6th grade.  I took it all through middle school and then in the 9th grade I was able to skip Art I in high school and start at the Art II class.  Whether it was the teacher, the subject matter (ribbons mostly) or just being in a class with kids older than me, I didn't take are class after that.  I continued to sketch off and on, one in particular I remember sketching a picture of Sarah and I at the beach while I was in college.  I don't know what happened to that though.
Then when my sister-in-law Ashley moved into her apartment after graduating from college she was looking to decorate her walls and had a picture of a daisy that she liked but she wanted the colors to be different.  Somebody (I don't remember who) said "why don't you have Ben paint it?"  Well, I wasn't totally sure I could do it since I hadn't painted anything in a long time, but I figured I'd give it a try.  And so my love for painting and art was reawakened....

Ashley's Daisy

After the Ashley's daisy I started getting requests from other people in my family to paint things...
Sarah always liked a picture she had seen of a couple dancing on the beach in the rain but our living room has a Parisian theme so I combined the two into this painting:

A Painting for Sarah

Next (I think...I can't totally remember the order), I painted more flowers for Ashley:

My mom asked for a field with flowers:

And later I painted a picture based on a photo from their trip to Italy:

Blogger must have a limit to how much I can put in one post.  So I'll have a Part II coming in a few days.  For now please feel free to check out my new Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrnersCorner).

link to part 2...

Tick...Tock

Assuming Caleb comes on time…

Sarah and I have only 2 more weekends without a third person in our home…

We have only 2 more Saturday mornings where we can sleep in as late as we want…

Only 18 more days until any and all routines we might have are thrown out the window...

Only 14 more days of work until I get to come home to not only my beautiful, wonderful wife but also to my son...

Only 2 and a half weeks to go...

Everything is ready for him though, and we’re very excited that it won’t be long now until we can hold him and love on him!

Waiting is the hardest part...

We had 2 great showers in the past week and have been extremely blessed by everyone’s generosity!  This weekend we spent a lot of time arranging Caleb’s room and making it look “cute”.  It was a lot of fun but now that the room is almost all ready I find myself getting impatient.  I am drawn to his room and just stand there or pace, looking for things to do, praying for Caleb and just generally wanting him to be here.  I think I could just stand there, in his empty room, for hours.  I know Sarah has a lot more reasons to want him here than I do so I can’t imagine how she feels.  It’s been so exciting to see everything come together as we get ready for his arrival in 7 weeks or so.  

Work Shower

A preview of the nursery

Simplify your life

I found this on twitter via @derekwebb from a blog called Apartment Therapy.  I know nothing of the blog but thought this post was good (I especially like the term "absofrickinglutely"):

In the spirit of keeping it short and sweet, here are five quick suggestions for simplifying your life:
1. When deciding whether or not to do something (or buy something) if the answer is not "Absofrickinglutely!" then let the answer be a definitive, "No." I read this in a book recently, and it has been life-changing. Do you want to volunteer for the school annual fund this year? Well, I guess I should, but....STOP! The answer is no. Do you want to help the first grade bake cookies for Valentine's Day? Absofrickinlutely! You get the idea?
2. Purge, Purge, Purge. I think there are at least one zillion sayings that roughly translate to the less you own, the less that owns you. Grab a bag and purge. A bag a day for 30 days? Sure. And when you are tempted to buy something new, see #1 (Do you absofrickinlutely have to have it?)
3. Set limits to your availability and access to technology. My personal rule is that I log off at 7:30pm every night. No texts, no emails, no internet after that point. That way, I can relax without interruption and spend time with my family. Set limits to checking your email, too. A couple times a day (or a few more depending on your needs.) Otherwise, you can seriously spend your entire day checking your email and sending texts. I also recommend a technology fast every once in awhile. (Talk about feeling healthy and refreshed!)
4. Outsource, delegate, repeat. No one can do it all. (Unless of course, you can, in which case, can you call me so that I can delegate some tasks to you?) Hire a neighbor's cash-thirsty teenager to help with some household chores. Try to find room in your budget to outsource the most time-consuming things on your list.
5. Set your sights on new experiences, not new things. Experiences, more than material things, are what make humans the happiest. Perhaps rather than creating a wish list that includes new "things" (which will require packaging, un-packaging, using, storing, cleaning, upkeep, etc.) think about setting your heart's desire on new experiences. A backpacking trip. A new yoga class. A massage. A night with the TV turned off, cell phones on mute, laptops closed, playing backgammon with loved ones. Simply sublime.

New Year's Trip

Over New Year’s weekend we visited a college friend of mine in Ohio.  We had a blast hanging out with him (Matt) and his wife (Kristan) and their two kids (Jaxson and Paisley).  We had so much fun catching up with them and even got a little snow.  We took a vacation day on Tuesday so that we could stay an extra day and boy am I glad we did.  Turns out on Monday there was a 30 car pile-up in the snow in West Virginia on the route we would have taken home and the snow and black ice was terrible.  While we still had some snow (see the picture below) it wasn’t for long stretches and we made it home, amazingly, without seeing a single accident or having any traffic.  What an answer to prayer.  Here are some pictures from our trip:

Paisley going for a ride on Lucy

We did some work on the water heater and Jaxson watches from the Basement

Jaxson playing with Paisley's toy

Lucy enjoyed the extra attention

Snow!

Had some white out snow on the way home (not much though)