Happy Dance. We got orders...

First off I’d like to say, welcome to my new readers! Please bare with me as I try to catch up to all of your blogs and respond to your emails and comments! I’m overwhelmed with all of the wonderful compliments that you guys have given. I greatly, greatly appreciate it!

My batteries are recharged. I’m feeling refreshed and energized and I’m ready to tackle any challenges given at hand. Life has a funny way of making everything even out. We all travel through the highest of peaks and the lowest of valleys; some of us even have to travel the long way around the mountain, and that’s okay too. In the long run, we all get to the place where we belong, a soul satisfying place.

“The grass is always greener where you water it.”

There are still layers of ice and snow on the ground that proves that winter is still among us, showing zero signs of spring. Even through the layers of white fluffy snow, my grass is green- a nice shade of chartreuse to be exact. In fact, I’m seeing an endless array of grass blades sprinkled over acres of prairies, nicely tucked under a canvas of bright manganese blue skies. And to add to the romance of my daydream, let’s add puffball clouds, bare feet, yellow sundresses, daisy hair wreaths, and picnics on patchwork quilts.

Are you feeling me? Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

That’s right folks, we have orders!

*DING! HAPPY TIME!*

This is big life changing news people! My heart is twisting and turning and flipping in so many ways, all in different directions. There are so many emotions running through my body at this exact moment that I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it.

I’m blessed. Absolutely, 100%, no doubt about it, I. Am. Blessed!

I’m calling all the people I love, and shouting out the good news...

WE’RE MOVING TO OKLAHOMA!!!!!!!!!

There is so much to prepare:

• Service the car
• Passports
• Proper documentation
• Schedule TWO separate shipping dates
• Ship off one vehicle
• 30 day notice with housing plus housing inspection
• Sort through our stuff and donate unwanted/unneeded items
• Hire a maid and a carpet cleaning service
• Plan a road trip and book a spot on the ferry (if we don’t drive through Canada)
• Book TLF on Elmendorf AFB
• Book TLF on Tinker AFB
• Housing Hunting
• Research Schools
• Research the art scene and local galleries
• …and much more.

Shew, it’s a good thing my batteries are recharged!

I’m going to go crank up "Walking on Sunshine", and do a happy dance.

Happy Monday,

Em

Blizzard Bloghop and a giveaway!

Today, I’m snowing myself in to the Blizzard Bloghop…

Hello, hello!

My name is Emily and this is my little blog, The Writings of an Air Force Wife.

As cliché as it sounds, this blog is my “happy place”. Every week I sit in the same chair, at the same desk, possibly drinking coffee out of the same mug, and I write. I write and I reflect on all things good and positive in my life. Years from now, it’s the good that I want to remember.

I’ve been married to Ron for (almost) nine years and together we have two beautiful children, Krysta (7 yrs) and William (11 months). We’ve endured six deployments and a handful of TDY’s to the sandbox. The Air Force has given us the amazing opportunity to live in the Great State of Alaska for the past four+ years. We’re currently in the process of PCSing this spring- destination unknown.

I’m a professional commissioned artist. I love painting almost as much as I love milk and cookies. When I’m not painting, my other loves include, in no particular order, freshly brewed coffee, Sunday mornings, photographing my babies, salt air, chunky sweaters on a crisp autumn day, good conversations with friends, laughing until my sides hurt, dirty politics, my husband’s taco recipe, and a good book under a thick quilt.

So, come and stay awhile and read about the life we’re creating!

~Em


PS Ever thought about having one of your baby’s portrait hand drawn?  Household 6 Diva is giving away one of my 9x12 custom portrait drawings! Head over to her blog to check out the excitement!

a gift for YOU! and a good cause.

Just a quick note to all of my loyal readers:

You guys are awesome! Throughout this year (if you're on Tumblr, throughout the past several years), you've been so supportive and so positive throughout my move to Alaska, my pregnancy, and my everyday life.

I want to give a little something to you guys to show my appreciation for being such loyal readers! I'm giving everyone, yes EVERYONE, 25% off anything in my Etsy shop- including custom orders! I'm in the process of adding A LOT more paintings, but take a sec to browse around!

Also, some of you who are on my facebook may have noticed that I'm part of Team Fox. I'm working through the Micheal J. Fox Foundation to help spread awareness and raise money through my art to help with Parkinson's research! 30% of ALL proceeds will go towards the foundation. I'm so stoked about this new chapter of my life. More on this come!

If you have any questions, please message me!

Love,

Em

If you're on myspace, I have a page with even more examples- www.myspace.com/theartofemilyroe 

warning: I haven't logged on in over a year, so if you have any questions, just message me!

A little bit of randomness.

 This week has been full of little nothings. As I type and attempt to make all of these little nothings into somethings, I’ve concluded that this is just going to have to be a post of pure randomness. Sometimes random is good. Sometimes random is just what we need. Sometimes random ties together into meaningful memories and family togetherness.

As I sit in front of my netbook, bouncing William with one hand and typing with the other, I’ll give you a peek of the little nothings that added up to be a fantastic something…

Frozen Tundra

It has been -16 all weekend long; even now it’s around zero degrees, so you know what that means?  

Home-bodying, and lots of it.

I’ve been drinking an endless supply of coffee with Ron, reading Tinkerbell and the Quest for Neverland with Krysta, lots of playtime with Will, and of course, hiding under the false security of thick quilts as a whole.
It was just as weekends should be. Not because we got an extra day off, but because it was just us, just being. Time was literally at a standstill and I love that.

Hey you, Chubby Cheeks

As I’ve stated here and here, this year is going to be a healthier one. It’s no secret that I love food. And because I love food, I need to give myself a good kick in the rear when it comes to working-out and eating right. To start things off, I’ve gotten rid of all the bad snack-ish foods in our fridge and pantry, and replaced them with whole grains, fruits, and yogurt.

The hungry caterpillar feels my pain, but I’m not giving in. I got this! I’m embarking on a journey to a new lifestyle and I’m more than excited!

Awards and Rewards

I’m simply over the moon about this one. Last week the bigger of my bambinos received another Academic Award and Outstanding Citizen Award! Whoop Whoop!

My happiness was obvious. I was the crazy mom who was snapping a million and one photos.

Oh, and Krysta’s happiness was just as obvious! We were locking eyes and grinning at each other until our cheeks burst.

This was a HUGE moment for her, a confidence booster in its finest form!

After the ceremony, we snatched Krysta up and took her to Red Robin for lunch. Getting to eat lunch away from the school cafeteria made her day. She was on Cloud 9 and nothing was going to pull her down.

The difference Between Playtime and Sleepy-time

William and I played and played and played and then played some more. This kid LOVES his blocks. And he LOVES knocking down said blocks even more. I see lots and lots of legos in his future.

I love being a mom… even if I don’t get to sleep. This week we’ve been trying out --once again-- another sleep schedule. Dude, I gotta have my ZZZ’s! Time will tell if this one works. 

Craft-tastic

I’ve been channeling Martha Stewart. Not the insider trading part of course, but the look-at-me-I’m-super-crafty part. I’ve got TWO birthday parties to plan within TWO weeks of each other, so I’m digging deep into the cyber world for mucho inspiration. After a few trips to Micheal’s for supplies, my kitchen table is now adorned with an array of scrap paper, felt, tissue, ribbon, and hot glue sticks-- not to mention my previous project that involves a sewing machine and yards of porcelain blue dupioni silk fabric. After all is said and done, Martha Stewart’s got nothing on me!

Commissioned Fine Art

A few months ago a lady commissioned me to do a painting for her. After a few emails discussing her vision and goals for the piece, we came up with a solid layout. The photo below is only 1/3 of the painting. The remainder of the piece is extremely personal, so this is all that I will be posting online.

It is to be a wedding gift for her fiancé. I’m so honored that she chose me to do such a personal gift for her.

the color is a little off. once it's completely dry, I'll photograph it again.

On a side note, I’ve been living with this quote over the past several days…

“When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"
- Sydney J. Harris

With that said, I’m off to enjoy the rest of my evening. I’ve got babies to bathe and nurse to sleep.

Much Love,

Em

Soul Searching

I’m going to be brave and climb out on a limb here.

I’m a wreck. A pure emotional, rollercoaster riding, can’t stop the train type of wreck. I feel small and limited and I’m questioning my abilities. This I hate.

In the rare event that these feelings come around, it punches me in my face. Hard. So much so, I lose my footing and I fall into a dark place. It’s hard to overcome a blow like that. It grabs me by the ankles and anchors me down to a complete stand still while the world continues to move forward. Anyone else in my shoes would throw their hands in the air, give up, and continue living in a dark world of stress and anxiety. Me? I choose to fight-- to throw back a few punches and sock it to em’ where it hurts.

I’ve called a seamstress to help stitch the broken piece of my soul. It needs to be repaired, mended, and made whole again. But we all know no one can fix you; you have to fix yourself. And so I did.

Over the past few days, I’ve been finding myself reminiscing back to a time where my art was drastically changing and evolving. I was very apprehensive to reveal it to the public because it was so different from my past work. It was a completely new territory and I was attempting to provoke a new feeling of allure to my pieces through new subject matters, style, and medium. I had to keep reminding myself that, I can’t go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.

 tomorrow is a new day

I’ve been reflecting on all aspects of my life, digging deep inside that soul of mine to get the answers I’ve needed. I’m reminded of who I am as a person and my endless abilities and capabilities. I’m reminded that I’m strong and independent and I can overcome any obstacle. I’m reminded of all the amazing opportunities I have going for me and the artistic talent that God has blessed me with.

I don’t think we’re ever done soul searching. We’re constantly growing and learning and changing and gaining new perspectives and seeking new horizons. Our goals change and our views deepen. We’re faced with new hurdles and steeper mountains. And yet, we always come out on top, stronger than before.

We must carry on, we must continue to grow, and then when the time is right, we’ll bloom.

I’m madly in love with life.

I’m popping the cork and drinking it up by the gallons. Here’s a toast, to life.

“Life isn’t about Finding Yourself, it’s about Creating Yourself.”  

~I don’t know who said that, but I dig it.

Thankful Tuesday

Today, as I've been attempting to write a blog post, I find myself in tears and having to pull away from the computer. I've been dealing with a lot of issues, both good and bad, that have been weighing heavy on my heart since this past summer. Issues that have rocked me to my core.

Since it's Thankful Tuesday, I'm going to put that emotional blog post to the side, and focus on the positive aspects from this past week.


1) making GREAT progress on my latest commission. I sent a photo to my client for approval, and she LOVES it! Hard work pays off.

 2) going to Target with my firstborn for storage bins to organize her toys. Her toys were once in canvas baskets placed on her bookcase, but it didn't seem to work well. Hopefully the stacking storage bins being placed in her closet will be a better system.

3) weeded through William's baby clothes. Talk about waterworks. My baby squirrel is getting WAY TOO BIG!

4) 2011. a clean slate. a fresh start.

5) my husband, who has been cooking the majority of our dinners this week so I can continue to work on my commission.

6) iced snow. It has been so cold that the snow has turned to flaked ice which has made everything frosty and sparkly. Beautiful.

 7) my babies. William, who is learning to walk! Krysta, who is getting ANOTHER academic award this Thursday.

8) inspiration and motivation. I'm ready to be a better in all aspects of life.

9) patience. we're moving from Alaska in 18 weeks and we still have NO CLUE where we're going!

2011 Truly Begins

Okay so check it-- this year is already turning out to be super busy. 2011 is in full swing, so I’m strapping on my super-mom cape and carrying on to the best of my abilities.

By this weekend all Christmas decorations WILL be put away, my commission WILL be 90% complete, my laundry and house WILL be clean, and Krysta’s closet (which I started over Christmas break) WILL be organized. Don’t laugh because I can do it! I got my super-mom cape, remember?
48 hours left and counting… ready, set, GO!

********************************

New Year’s was great. It was just us, cozy pj’s, tacos, and the dropping of the NYC ball on the telly… at 8pm! With the Alaska time difference, we didn’t miss a beat.

And the holidays aren’t complete without Mimi flying 4,000 miles from the east coast to take Krysta to Build-a-Bear.

As the holidays comes to a close, the reality of the endless Alaskan winter sets in. It’s cold, icy, dark, and slow. This week, however, has been something out of the ordinary-- we’ve been hit with a heat wave!

This 30-something odd degree weather has cast a spell over me. I’m craving all things spring --spring clothes, spring colors, spring smells, spring cleaning-- but the realization that this heat wave is going to pass has held me from clicking the online “checkout” button to my shopping cart that’s full of sandals and sun hats. By the end of the week, the temps will be back in the teens and below and Alaska’s long winter will continue just as nature had intended.

our friends came back for another visit!

As the dreary January rolls on, there are still good times ahead --Valentine’s Day, William’s first birthday, Krysta’s eighth birthday. More on this subject later.

For now we’re attempting to get back on our school schedule after a fabulous winter break

sleepy head

And working painting commissions

And playing with my baby squirrel.

 pardon the holiday mess-- a hurricane William blew through our house

Everything in life has its own timing. So for now, my sandals and sun hats and dresses will patiently wait in the back on my closet, and thermals and wool will remain front and center.

On a side-note:

Hi. My name is Emily Roe and I’m an addict.

I’m addicted to Words with Friends App on the iphone. I find myself hiding in dark corners contemplating my next move.

Please save me.

Happy Friday Eve!