Another month comes to an end

It is hard to believe April is almost over! I am still without a computer but hoping I will be picking up my son's laptop tomorrow. There were some installations issues so we had to take his in too!

I am amazed at everything I used my laptop for, before it crashed beyond repair!! But it seems that all my files were able to be released recovered from my hard drive......and I am very thankful for that!!

I have managed to get a second job, needed to try to get ahead of bills and fix the no computer issue. I never thought at this stage of my life that I would be struggling so hard and having to take a minimum wage job on top of the one I already have, just to try and survive and only have one day off in 10. I truly thought with my college education and experience I would be in a much better position and not having to do such physical work (my back is not doing well).
I haven't been doing too much at my art table lately but completed an ATC swap and my part in The Traveling Art Project started by Joyce van der Lely I will share those pics after they arrive at their dest
inations.

I did do a 12X12 piece using colors way out of my comfort zone of....purple LOL I used my Faber Castell Whipped Spackle, Gelato and some Prima Color Bloom Spray and my embossing folders, punches and my Big Shot.

I can't wait to share more with you....works in progress, finished pieces, backgrounds from my art journal.....so many things!!

Thanks for stopping in!

Have a great week!
Cathy

Easter, Best Friends and Life

Yes....I know my last post was a depressing one. But that's  life some days. Things haven't  improved too much and the job interview that I had and was super excited for, didn't turn out in my favor. I had thought it had gone so well but someone else got the position.

Easter weekend was awesome though!!! My best friend came over from the island for a jammies clad crafting weekend!! Picked her up at the ferry terminal about noonish....talked all the way back to the house then talked some more. Do you have that friend in your life that you can say anything to...no matter how dark & depressing it is, or how silly it sounds. That person that you can say everything that is wrong...ALL of it and there is no judging, just understanding and empathy and then tears (lots of those) and then some laughter (tons of that) maybe some more tears. Yeah that's  my friend  Linda Lou!!! I am so glad she came even though I truly had nothing to offer her...cept tea, but she came, picked up a few groceries & snacks and still came for the long weekend! And I needed that visit even more than I knew! And to top it all off....she spent a bunch of time with my crazy family coloring eggs and then Easter dinner the next night!

Going on 24 years of friendship and we are still the most hysterically funny people we know!! And nope....not everything we find funny is politically correct or appropriate yet we laugh anyways!

We spent Saturday evening dyeing eggs with my nephews...so much fun!! So much dye spilled on the table....we decided we should have white material on the table next year because the spilling made such cool colors and patterns!

Getting all the dyes readyand still using Mom's teacups that we used when we were kids 

There were alot of eggs dyed (and cracked)

 I am very lucky that I am able to do fun things like this with my nephews!

Will post again very soon to share some of my works in progress from my art table and some great pictures I took out at Crescent Beach last week!!

Thanks for visiting!! Have a great start to your week!

Cathy

Please life......

.....could you let something work out for a change?! It seems like a small thing...but this morning my laptop crashed...hard! I can't get it to boot past about 10%.....so all the tips and tricks I've managed to Google will not work.
But my life is on that laptop....I need to access my work site, all my pics, all my art classes, my daily job search and yes my guilty pleasure of Netflix (but I don't have cable so I don't feel too bad about my Netflix watching haha)
Due to underemployment, not enough hours a week, I can't just take my laptop in somewhere to get it fixed. Everyday is a struggle financially right now and it's breaking/beating me down. Cell bill is overdue, rent is due and I'd really like to grocery shop and be able to cook dinner a few times a week. PB  & J sandwiches get old fast.
i was so happy to move home to Langley a year and a half ago but things have not gone well or anything like I expected. I'm just so tired of struggling and trying and things not working out!
I just want to work, full time, be able to catch up and take care of monthly expenses and go grocery shopping. And yes I'd like to be able to buy some art supplies for my classes or just for projects I want to make. Just so done with trying so hard and being kicked while I'm down :(

Well that's my vent/self pity for the day. I try to keep it all in and put on the good show with everyone that things are okay. But it's exhausting to do that all the time. I don't leave my house much on my days off because I can't afford to waste the gas in my car. When no oneis around, I cry aa lot. I know it doesn't help anything but I can cry while I do my job search daily lol well until my laptop crashed today. So yes I did this really mature thing and curled up with my blankie and cried myself to sleep! Again, i know it didn't solve anything or make things better, but I felt a bit better after finally getting some sleep. Still just all the small things keep adding up and I justices like an overwhelmed loser.

Now we need some positive thoughts....I did have a job interview today with a company i think would be awesome to work for (fingers crossed). We did have a great family dinner for my Dad's 67th birthday on Saturday. Got to do a fun day with my nephews at Svience World last week....and those boys are so awesome ♥

I think that's enough for today.....thanks for sticking with me and reading! Sometimes it's helpful just to get stuff out, even if it's not seen by lots of people.

Have an awesome week everyone!

Cathy

Life Book and Life

Wow....the days and weeks just seem to be going so fast lately. I have worked on and completed a few more of my Life Book 2015 lessons! I am really looking forward to working on the ones I have waiting for me. So many new things to learn and so many techniques to work on getting better at. And the supplies!!! Oh lordy I need 5 jobs so I can shop for art stuff whenever I want too!! You all know what I'm talking about! LOL Especially now that I'm actually using the supplies that I have been "collecting" for so long, I need to replenish the basics regularly!

As for life....well it's the everyday ups and downs. March 15 would have been my Dad and Mom's 42nd anniversary, but this was the second one without her. Mom has been gone for a year and a half now, some days it still feels like it happened yesterday and some days it's not as painful, for me. For my Dad it's always painful and he misses her and still cries almost everyday for her. He keeps busy and looks after his littlest grandsons (7 and 3) and they keep him on his toes and he does things for his Mom (93) and his brother so he's on the go alot, and I'm lucky that I get to spend time with too and with the little ones. But somedays he just mentions Mom and he tears up, or he forgets the words to a song he wants to teach the little ones and cries because he says Mom would remember all the words. I know everyone in my family struggles with the loss still, but we all had our own lives, but for Dad his whole life was wrapped up with my Mom's.
I miss her every day, I know people say it gets easier, I haven't found that yet. It's just different. I miss showing my Mom all the things I make or create, she was my biggest fan when it came to my creative stuff. And she was usually the recipient of all the new things I came up with. My kids miss her, they were very close to her and there was no one in the world aside from me that my son was more loyal too. It broke my heart that his 18th birthday (legal in Alberta) had to be celebrated just 8 days after my Mom passed and 4 days after her service. He didn't want to celebrate at all, but we had to remind him...if Grandma was here she'd be all over taking him to a pub and buying him his first legal drink and I think it helped that my Dad said he was coming out. The things family does to protect and help the ones they love. I still have days where I just don't feel like it's real and I have days where I'm angry and days where the littlest thing or a song makes me cry and then there are the moments when someone says something about Mom and we all laugh. Those are the best moments, doesn't mean I don't miss her, but it's nice to laugh when we talk about her sometimes too.

Life in general is......challenging. Still looking for work as my current job is not enough hours to survive. There has got to be the right job out there for me!! I just keep getting up everyday and trying and applying and really try to not let the negative take over....ans sometimes that is a job all on it's own! But I can't wallow in the bad stuff, it doesn't do me any good and it certainly won't make the day better.

I have been doing some work with The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and making a few steps forward with that. Trying to declutter and  organize was my first month's goals and my second one is too make a more concentrated effort on updating my blog at least weekly, sharing more of the creative things I love and find on my interent adventures and also to put myself out there and work on some projects and apply for some design teams! These are things that although I can't make them my job, they do make me happy and I love to create!

Thanks all for checking in and we'll talk soon!

Cathy