Resting and Reflecting on 2010



Pen and Ink Commission
Beth S Macre© 2010

Well its been awhile since I posted in my blog. Its been a very hectic 2010, but especially leading up to Christmas.  I was commissioned to do several pen and ink home portraits for Christmas.  Although I love doing them, the added pressure of getting them all done in time for Christmas on top of working full time, was stressful to say the least!  I hope to do more in the future, just not all right before Christmas! 
2010 has been a busy one and I will be happy to say goodbye to 2010 and hope for a less stress filled 2011.  I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and hoping the economy will keep getting better and better!

I hope everyone has a great New Year and stay safe and close to your loved ones. 
Beth 

Peace Painting

 Peace...don't we all wish for Peace. Peace in the world, peace at home, peace at work, or simply peace in our hearts.  This is something that I pray for every day.  Somedays I have it, some days, not so much. But to me, a freshly fallen snow is about the closest to Peace as I can be. 

So, the studio in Searcy, Second Saturday Studio, asked the artists to create a piece that illustrates the word Peace.  This painting will be on display and for sale December 11th at the Studio in Searcy, Arkansas.  I thought I would experiment with mixed media, texture, but also include a home, which seems to be my favorite subject. Here are a couple of photos of the painting, as it was finished.  The second photo was taken from the side, so you can see, the texture and the fact that the painting wraps around the
side of the canvas. 

So, I hope you find Peace daily, but especially this season.
Beth

Thanksgiving Week

I cannot believe that it is already Thanksgiving week!  Only two days to work the day job this week, but I have plenty to work on. I now have 5 pen and ink commissions to get done by Christmas, plus a some custom clay houses that I need to finish before Christmas.! So yes, I am getting a little overwhelmed with all that I have to finish! The pressure is on.  I can't share the pen and ink that I am working on now, because it is for a Christmas gift for a local family.  Don't want to give anything away.  I guess the only piece that I can share right now is a Pen and Ink of a local church that I drew as a commission and has already been delivered.

So, I am very thankful to have all of these projects in the works.  Hope you have alot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Beth

The Holiday Rush has begun!



Pen and Ink
Commission 2010

This is my latest commission. All of those windows was really a challenge, but I finally got them done! I've even finished another pen and ink commission since I finished this one. Now on to the next 4 commissions! Love the commissions, just wish I were doing this full time, not moonlighting! One of these days. 
Have a nice weekend!
Beth

Juggling plates...

I am juggling creative time with my day job and and trying to get some rest.  This time of year is so busy at work with parent/teacher conferences, paperwork, lesson plans, after school activities. At the same time, I want to work on my own art and creative projects. My body is telling me to slow down or crash...so I am choosing to slow down for a bit.  I will be working on my creative projects though. Those are the ones that heal my mind and body the most.  But I have to force myself to get rest.  I can't sit still very long and would stay up late at night if I could, but I know that I need more sleep!

Here are a couple of fall paintings that I have worked on this year. I love the colors of fall. These paintings will be in my Etsy shop soon.

The Art Festival Booth Changes

Norcross ~ October 2010

I have TWO whole art festivals under my belt now! And I have made progress! After the festival that I went to on Mother's Day weekend, last spring, it was suggested to me to work on my booth appearance.  I took that great advice, and worked hard to create my new booth look.  I knew that it wasn't the most professional looking booth to begin with, but it was the best that we could do for the first show.  We really didn't know what to expect or what we were doing. Starting from scratch was hard. But I think it paid off at our second art festival in Norcross.  I needed a white tent to lighten up the display and a better way to display my mini houses. So I designed some shelves and asked my talented Dad to build them for me and he really came through and did a great job.  I asked my mother to sew some table skirts for the new taller tables that we created from saw horses and boards. She is a very talented seamstress.  I think it turned out pretty nice.  We will continue to make changes to improve on what we have now.   In the 3rd photo, you can see a window behind my booth. Inside that window is a little paper cut out of a house (bottom photo). When we were unpacking our booth the first day at the festival, we saw that house in the window and knew that it was a sign that we were meant to be there that weekend! The house even has a little heart on it...just like my little houses do.

Booth before

My next business goal is to find art shows that are closer to home. The 8 hour drive is really hard to do. So I will be looking for some shows in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri. If you know of any good ones, I'm open to suggestions!

I would love to hear what you think about my booth and if you have any other ideas. I'm still working on making it cuter and easier to pack.

~Beth



 

Booth After Makeover...
Display table with new shelves and table skirt.







Little House in the Window
(behind my booth)



Its getting down to the wire now. One more week before we go to our next art festival. We've been getting things ready to go, so I've been a little quiet lately.  School started  5 weeks ago so, I've been doing double duty since then.   I have been working on my clay tiles and houses, and I've been working on some new paintings to take along.  If only I could clone myself to have 'me' stay home to paint, so that I could paint at home and go to my 'day' job!

Come see me in Norcross, Georgia!  Oct. 2nd & 3rd!
Beth

New School Year Begins...

...and I'm already exhausted!

Starting a new school year is always exciting and exhausting! There are so many things that have to be done and standing on a concrete floor all day can be hard on the legs!  But its always exciting to see the students come in. Many of them are so excited to be back in art and that makes me feel great! I am so thankful to have so many great students! It makes my job so fun. 

Only 5 more weeks to get ready for the art show! So, I have to get busy again this weekend!  I finally received my new business cards this week. I ordered some of the mini moo cards a few weeks ago.  For some reason the  package had to travel many many miles all over the country before they came to my house though! I like the little card size, but I'm NOT extremely happy with the color of some of the photos on the cards.  I must go back and check the photos that I submitted, but I don't think they looked quite like they appear on the cards.  But they will have to do for this year.  Overall they look pretty good. Here are some photos of the cards.  I like the little boxes that the cards came in.

If any of you artists have any recommendations  or tips for business card printing companies, I would love to hear them! 

~ Beth

Norcross Art Festival

This summer, time has flown by! I am going to be very busy over the next 7 weeks!  Not only does school start in a few days, but I am going back to Georgia in October for another great Art Festival.  This one is in Norcross, Georgia.  I am excited about going, but I do have a lot to do to get ready for it.  The Norcross Art Fest will be held October 2nd and 3rd, 2010.  I may be a little quiet on here until after this festival, but you will know I am working hard to get ready for this event.

~Beth

Latest from the studio...

 I've been finishing up several projects. I go back to work next week, so I need to get as much done as I can. Here are some of the finished houses that I posted earlier before they were fired.

This summer has gone by so fast! Of course it did start a week later than it should have, but since then its been a big blur.  This is already my last full week of time off.  I won't call it a vacation because I certainly haven't laid around all summer. I've been working non-stop on art projects...and that is great! But that also makes the time go by so quickly! I do feel like I've been very productive and that is a great feeling!   I am getting ready for some art shows this fall, so I need to be productive!

This week I've tried to get caught up on several more projects.  Last weekend,  I made the drive over to the other corner of the state to visit my daughter. After the weekend of eating out, pedicures, shopping, and just enjoying some time together, I came home ready to get busy in the studio.  It was nice to spend time away from home and the studio for a few days, but I have lots to do before school starts. 

Last week I spent some time in my class room cleaning out closets and throwing away 'stuff'' .  If you are an art teacher, you know how that 'stuff' can pile up quickly!  Art teachers are always looking for projects that make use of the 'stuff''!  But after being in the same class room for 23 years, it needed a good purging.

Thanks for looking! ~Beth

Creating Ceramic Houses

Little Clay Houses
Just thought I would post a photo of some of the clay houses I've been working on the past week. There are many more on the drying shelf.  These are just a few that I picked out to photograph. They are little larger than the ones that I've been selling.  These range from about 3" to 5" tall.   Most of the ones before ranged from 2" to 3 1/2" tall.  I will still be making those, but I'm also adding this larger size to the 'collection'.   The taller one, with the cut out windows, will have an opening in the bottom for a candle.  I plan to make a series of those as well.

I am also trying to learn how to do some things on photoshop. I need a new banner on my Etsy shop, so I am trying out some new designs, but I need help with the Photoshop Elements. I have been looking on You Tube for tutorials.  There are alot to weed through, but there are some pretty helpful ones.  So I've been working on that when I have a little computer time.  But I really wish it were easier to use! We didn't have computer classes when I was in college...or at least anything that I can use now!  If you know what data punched cards are, then you know what I'm talking about.  It seems so ancient, but it was ony about 30 years ago! But that is a whole new post to fill up with 'technology' of the 80's!
So enjoy your PCs and your laptops! They've come a long way!
~Beth

Latest Pen and Ink Drawing and Facebook

I'm feeling like a broken record this month! I have had more pen and ink commissions come in this month than I have in a few years!  This is my latest.  I guess that word of mouth is partly the reason for the sudden interest in the pen and ink drawings.  But I love it and these little house commissions are only 8 x 10 inches, so they do not take too long to complete.
The great thing about these pen and ink drawings is that I only need a few materials. Black drawing pens and a good drawing paper. My favorite pens include both Zig Millineum and Sakura Pigma Micron in several different sizes. My favorite paper for these drawings is Strathmore Smooth Bristol Board. I love it because it is smooth and the pens do not get caught on the texture of the paper.

I also post photos of my latest work on Facebook , on my 'Fan Page' (separate than my personal page).  And I have found that it really makes my artwork visible and makes people aware of what I do.  So, I have found it beneficial to participate in the 'social networking'.  Although, at first, I found it very difficult to post pictures of my work, so publicly! Its still difficult, but its getting easier.  Some people that I know from everyday life, have told me that they did not know that I was an artist!  So that is a positive thing and I get good feedback on my work from people that I have, or someone that I know has, some connection  with.

In other news, I am also still working with clay. I have been accepted to show and sell my work at the Norcross Art Festival in Norcross, GA in October, so I will be busy behind the scenes working on many, many more clay tiles, houses, ornaments, and more! The photo to the left shows some beads that are in the process of being glazed.  The beads are added to the hanging houses and ornaments.   I will post more photos as I go.  I'm beginning to get a little panicky, though....I realized the other day that I only have 3 1/2 weeks until I go back to work to my full-time teaching job! So I have to get as much done now as I possibly can.  I always feel this panic about this time, though.  Lots to do and not enough time to do it in, but I am so thankful to be able to do what I love. 

Stayed tuned for updates! ~ Beth

New Blog and New Pen and Ink

Image from My New Blog:
View from the Highway

I love to take random photos when I go on trips.  I take pictures from stores, signs, scenes from the road (View from the Highway).  But those photos just go into my ever expanding digital files on my computer.  So I decided that I should share some of my favorites from my travels.   So I started this new blog called 'View from the Highway".  Those photos do not quite fit into this blog, so from now on, whenever I go on a trip I will be posting those photos into my new blog.  If you are interesting in following along with View from the Highway, feel free to 'follow' me over there! Hope to see you over there! 

Below is my newest Pen and Ink commission. 

Pen and Ink on Smooth Bristol Paper
8 x 10

Pen and Ink House Drawing

Private Commission ~ Pen and Ink

8 X 10 Pen and Ink in Frame

I've drawn a few homes and businesses over the years. Many of them have been done with black pen. This one is my most recent home drawing commission. I have 2 more orders that I will be working on over the next week.  I love drawing houses and architectural structures, as you can probably tell by looking at my artwork.  Many buildings, parts of buildings, plus the many little houses that I have created out of clay.  Yeah, I probably should have been an architect.  But I didn't go that route.  Sometimes I wish that I had, but this is pretty interesting to draw and paint and sculpt them.  So a realtor, who happens to be my neighbor, commissioned me to do this drawing for her client, and she has ordered 2 more drawings. So you will be seeing more pen and ink artwork soon.

As for the supplies that I use, I prefer a smooth acid free paper (this one is Strathmore Smooth Bristol 100 lb.)  and I use a variety of black pens, but for commissioned artwork, I use either Zig Millennium or Pigma Micron, in different sized tips. Both of these types of pens are acid free, lightfast, and waterproof. So these drawings should last and last!

So enjoy and I hope to show you more next week!

~Beth

Go Hogs Go!

For the Razorback Lovers
Order a personalized Hog ornament

It won't  be long before football season is here and Razorback Stadium will be filling up with thousands of Razorback fans!  I am currently taking orders for a Hog Ornament, similar to this one, that can be personalized.  The ornaments are glazed on both sides.   Colors can be changed, filled in, whatever.  If you have any other ideas, just ask!  Many people have very creative ideas that I haven't thought about!

I can make them larger, smaller, heart shapes, square... pretty much whatever shape. I make each one from wet clay, so I am flexible!  You can send me an email here.  Or contact me through Facebook or My Etsy shop.

Thanks for looking!

~Beth

Happy Fourth of July!

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

So many choices!

For several years I have considered myself to be a colored pencil artist.  But being the art teacher by day, I have to be familiar with many different materials to introduce to my students. Which also means that I get to experiment with many different materials! Which can be really fun!  I still work alot with my colored pencils, but over the last few years I have begun to work alot with clay and mixed media and collage.  I bought some painting mediums for my students a couple of years ago, to mix with acrylic paints to add texture.  Many of my students really loved the paint mediums, as I do.  At first we just experimented.  But I have come to love how they can add texture to the acrylic paints. The sample to the right is my first experiment/demo with the paint that I mixed with Goldens Molding Paste. I got a sample pack of the different textures that are available in the Goldens, so I don't remember if this was the Light Gel, or the Extra Heavy Gel.  It also has some tissue paper painted/layered in there to get another texture.  While it was drying, I also applied some objects that had textures on them, to get more of a variety of textures.  This one is not finished at this point though. I plan to get it out one of these afternoons and add more texture.

The sample to the left is one that I did this year where I demonstrated getting the texture down...not really knowing at first what I was going to do with it. This was an abandoned canvas that had pink painted allover. So I partially covered it with blue. 

Then, I decided to add the shape of a house, to add to my house theme collection!  I didn't have an acrylic painting of one of my little houses. After adding layers of paint, I decided it needed more embelishments, so I created some 3D pots of flowers out of clay. After glazing and firing, I glued them to the canvas. I think it needs some more work with some detail or added dimension somewhere. So it is a work in progress. You may see it again someday.

This summer, I plan to play around a lot more with the mixed media materials.  Mixed media really seems to be a popular technique with artists today.  I have been seeing more and more magazines, blogs, workshops and websites that showcase some really cool mixed media art. 

So many choices...and not enough time!  I have old books! I could alter them, I could cut out of them and use parts of pages!  I can create some printed text with my computer printer!  But I also need to making lots of little houses and some new things that I'm thinking about.  So there's never enough time! But that is a great feeling to have alot of ideas jumping around in there.

I hope to show some of my progress with a variety media and techniques this summer.  So many things to do, not enough time in a day for me to play!

I'm off to play in the studio. Have a nice day!
~Beth

Patience and passion...

Scribbler Too
Cool onine sketch tool

...are two qualities that are wonderful to have plenty of!  Its great when both seem to be running along smoothly.  When I feel passion for what I am currently creating, then I seem to have plenty of patience.  But if I am feeling impatience with something in my life, then the passion doesn't seem to flow as smoothly.  For many years I have had passion for art.  I love to look at it, buy it, collect it, study how it is made! Although I can't afford expensive art, I really love to own original works of art, expecially by artists who I have connected with through online forums, art meetings, and other chance encounters.  I have a small collection started that I hope to add to each year.  I am passionate about creating art too.  I have plenty of patience when it comes to working on even the most tedious tasks, if it is a creative and artistic outlet. I get impatient when I don't have enough time to create! Some people find comfort in creating art when things in their life are not going smoothly.  But for me, when things in my life are not going smoothly, my passion for creating suffers.  Right now is one of those times.  I'm not good with life changes, and I have to remember to be patient and keep my passion flowing.   I have to remember that life is always changing and to keep on creating and hopefully those changes that have been worrying me and taking my creative time away, will work out very soon!
Check out the ScribblerToo site where I played around and created this little abstract design and the little house.  It was lots of fun and I plan to use it for sketching ideas. You can even save them on your computer and add color, text, etc.  Just have fun with it!


Stay positive and believe in yourself!
Have a wonderful weekend!
~Beth

Reunions and Summer Breaks...

...are some of the greatest things! Summer break started for me 2 weeks ago and I've been to 2 reunions. One was just a weekend of close friends from high school and good times...the other was an actual high school reunion for 5 years of classes from 1975-79! Yes, it was 1978 when I graduated high school. Gee things have changed so much since then, but the high school reunion brings back memories like it was just a few years ago! 
So now that I'm back from traveling, I have to get down to business.  I will be traveling back to Georgia in the fall to participate in the Norcross Art Fest in October! I'm pretty excited about it. We had so much fun going to Dunwoody last spring, that we decided it would be worth the trip to go back for the Norcross Art Fest. It is such a nice area. 

Old Friends and Week One of Summer Break...

...has begun.  Last Friday was my last day of the school year for teachers.  Friday afternoon I traveled to Alabama to spend the weekend with my long time girlfriends. Six of us have stayed in touch since Junior High School.  Half of them were actually in elementary school together, but all of us have known each other since high school.   Over the years, some of us have moved away to live our lives, but stayed in touch. Sometimes we didn't talk often, but when we get together again, its like there was never a break in our connections. We spent the entire weekend talking, laughing, eating, reminiscing and just enjoying our time together. We promised to continue this as our new annual tradition.  We have all turned 50, or will, this year, so we all realize how important it is to stay connected to our closest friends.  It was so comforting to be with people who have known me since I was the young, shy, carefree girl that I was in the 70s and 80s! Before the responsibilities of children and jobs and married life.  So you can expect to see more of the influences from those relationships in the future.   The 'girls' all loved my little houses and all went home with at least one!  So they are very supportive of the artist part of my life.  Some of them even benefited from my art while we were in art class in high school!   Thank you Girls!

So for the first week of summer break, I am catching up with some chores around the house and just relaxing a little bit and planning some projects for my time in the studio! Looking forward to getting a lot accomplished over the next 2 months!  Hopefully life will cooperate with me.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Beth

The Last Week of School...

...is this week. We have 4 more days to make up from our snow days.  So this should be our first week of summer but its not.  I will be getting back to the studio full time next week.  For now, I'm currently still listing new things in my Etsy shop and finishing up the school year.  I am also working on creating a website that I hope to get up soon.  So for now...

...Have a great Memorial Day!

~Beth

'It takes a Village'...

Row Houses
On Etsy

Create a Village
with HeartHomes

Lime Green HeartHome
On Etsy

...well I can make a village! I love to create these little houses and never run out of ideas to add little details.  Shown above are a set of Row Houses that I recently added to my Etsy shop.  Also shown are several houses and other buildings that I've created. I've even created some trees to go with the houses or village, if you decide to collect some houses.  I've sold most of the trees that I made, so as soon as school is out next week, I'm going to start making some new accessories like the trees.   I have plenty of houses to list, but need more accessory pieces and other town buildings.  I've made churches, a school, and downtown buildings that I will be listing soon too.
     One more week of school and I will be finished until August.  I'm looking forward to getting into my studio and painting, drawings, and creating more village items.  Check back often to see what I'm working on!   For now, I'm looking forward to a 3 day weekend.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
~Beth

New layout and new listings...

Purple Cottage Heart Home Clay Tile
5 x 5 inches
My Etsy

Blue Cottage Heart Home Clay Tile
4 3/4" x 4 3/4"
My Etsy

 I am slowly getting back to listing my clay items in my Etsy shop. I listed these two tiles today.  They are the most recent tiles that I've created.  I love the cottage feel of these two houses. If I could build a house anywhere and anyhow I wanted, it would be a mix of these two houses.  And I would build it beside a lake, with a little workshop/studio in the backyard, right beside the pool!  Yes, I'm dreaming, but its okay to dream. 

Also, I've been playing around with different ideas for the layout of this blog.  Its difficult for me to just leave it black.  I feel like it needs 'decorating'.  So I've added this background from Shabbyblogs.com. 

I just love how rough and soft it looks at the same time.    So what do you think? Does it work? Is it easy to read and look at? 

Where would you go? What is your dream?

~Beth

What's New?

New hanging HeartHomes that I will be listing on Etsy

The Birdhouse and the Small brown Doghouse are already listed on Etsy. I hope that you will check them out.  I started making beads with clay because I wanted to make these ornament houses, but they just didn't look finished hanging by themselves.  So I added the little mini dog bones and paw prints for the dog houses.  And little birds and eggs to the bird houses.  I really like making beads. I think I will be doing more of those.

Have a great week!
~Beth

Slowing down a little...

Hanging Birdhouse Hearthome

My Etsy

After the Dunwoody Art Festival last weekend, I had hoped to get some rest this week.  But this week my 'day job'...was very busy! As always, the graduating Seniors finished up earlier than the rest of the high school students.  Graduation is next Friday, so they had to take their finals last week.  Which means the senior grades were also turned in...so between testing the seniors, turning in their grades and doing my usual lesson plans, class instructions, meetings, etc...etc...it was a busy, busy week.  I'm very ready for the last week of school to get here!  Fortunately we only have 14 more days, including finals! So it will be here soon. 

For now, I will be listing several new houses,like the one above, in my Etsy store over the next couple of weeks.  I hope to squeeze in some time to work on some new project ideas too.  I get very cranky when I'm not able to work on some art projects, whether its clay, painting, or colored pencils.   So I will definitely work it in somehow.

On a personal note...my daughter came home to visit this weekend.  She seemed upset that I was out of town last weekend, on Mother's Day, so she decided to come home this weekend!  Today we had some Mother/Daughter time that was very nice.  She took me to to get a manicure and pedicure.  She cannot believe that I have never had either before now!  I've never really cared about having one before, but I really, really, REALLY enjoyed it!  One thing that made it even more enjoyable was the massaging chair that we got to sit in during the pedicure!  The whole proces of getting my feet and hands massaged and pampered was JUST what I needed!  So this is definitely something that I will try to do again!

How do you pamper yourself? or pamper someone that you love? Hope you are having a blessed weekend!

~Beth

Whew! Now I can breath a little!

Setting up my booth at Dunwoody, Georgia

A colored pencil friend, Cathy, stopped by!

I've been preparing for the Dunwoody Art Festival for 6 months and now it has come and gone! I had a great time, sold some things, and learned alot!  This was my first art festival and I felt like a true amateur...at least in the merchandising aspect of the show!  We didn't spend tons on our display, because I really didn't know what to expect or whether we would be doing this again or not.  So I have realized that if I do want to do more shows, I need to create a much better display for my booth.  My assistant (my husband) and I really enjoyed it, even though it was a lot of work! We are exhausted this week!

There were 148 other artist booths in the show.  I believe all of them were excellent at what they do! There were a few rookies there, like me, but many of the other artists were very helpful! They gave me lots of tips and suggestions on what I can to improve my booth.  Which is definitely what I need to do.

Although we are looking for art festivals closer to home, we hope to return to Dunwoody next year.  The festival was very well organized, with a lot of people coming through!  So, thanks to Francis for inviting me to participate in the festival!  I really appreciate your interest and support!

My booth needs work, but he kids loved it because the houses were at their eye level!

Check back soon to see what I've been working on!

~Beth

Hanging Mini Houses and More...

New Hanging Mini Hearthome for the Doggie in the family!

The studio has been full of activity in the past few weeks. I have been working hard trying to get the last of the houses and other items ready for the trip to Georgia on Mother's Day weekend. School has also been busy, so I've been pretty exhausted when its time for bed!

Shown here is one of my new hanging mini hearhomes.  This one is inspired by one of the granddogs..Radar.   This one looked like a doghouse, so I used colors that look like him.  White with light brown spots.

I am making several new hanging homes that I will show in the near future. I am working on displays for the art festival, so I hope to show photos of that soon too.

Have a great weekend!
Beth

New Houses and Grand Opening Pictures

 I took a couple of new size houses with me to the Grand Opening of Second Saturday Studio (SSS).  The green one is shown above, and the the blue one is shown below.  They are quite a big larger than the small ones, but a lot smaller than the largest ones that I completed about a month ago.  I like this size much better. They range from 6 inches to 7 1/2 inches tall.  They are much easier to handle, as well as display on a shelf or cabinet. 

Below is Christie standing by her beautiful jewelry display.  She is another artist that is displaying her art (jewelry) at the studio. I just met her on Saturday and I enjoyed talking with her so much! I look forward to seeing her more in the future.  We had a nice walk around the downtown square, where she told me about some of the old places there. 

Here is a photo of the studio wall that is filled with paintings.

 On our walk around the downtown square, I took several photos with architectural details.  They were very interesting.  So here is a photo of the beautiful courthouse in downtown Searcy.  It is about a half a blog from the SSS.

Below is a photo of me standing next to my paintings and some of my mini houses (in the bags).  This is definitely not a flattering photo of me, but I'm going to post it anyway, although I hate it!  I must have a talk with my dietitian and trainer! (haha...that would be me and me)  I definitely need to start walking 4-5 times per week.  We'll see when that will happen. Hopefully I can keep that 75-78 class reunion in mind when exercising. 

Just went back and edited this post. I was very tired when I originally typed it! Guess I shouldn't type when I am sleepy!

~Beth