ETSY Up and Running!

I finally put some things up in the ETSY Shop.  Check it out... Rachel Mims Studios

Here are the pics of whats up in the shop:

11X14 painting

11X14 painting

8X10 painting

8 B&W Note Cards

4 Purple Flower Note Cards

Hopefully I will have some more things up in the next few days.  I will try to keep you guys updated with blog posts!

Finally...

I had a productive day today!  Wednesday was crappy... Thursday was blah...but today was actually pretty darn good.  I started with the Christmas decorations and tree.  After I got it all packed and put back in the garage I organized the garage.  I attached a water bottle holder and a wallet holder to my bike.  I fixed my garage door when it broke - well sorta...I got it back down and closed at least.  Then I showered and made lunch:

Broccoli & Quinoa w/ lentils, cherry tomatoes, and avocado.

Then I decided to clean the kitchen.  It REALLY bothers me when the kitchen is dirty.  The bad thing is that as much as I cook in there it gets dirty really quick and I usually don't have the energy to clean it thoroughly.  Then I went out to do errands. 

When I went home for Christmas I forgot my cell phone charger.  My dad let me borrow his and when I left I packed it and took it with me.  So, I put it in the mail today.  Sorry Dad! 

I also paid rent - always a good thing to make sure you have a place to sleep right? 

Next I went to get my Christmas present.  Mom and Dad gave me pre-paid MasterCard gift cards for Christmas and it took me this long to figure out what I wanted to get.  Well, that's not exactly truthful.  The idea was to help me get a TV with Internet so I wont have to keep moving my computer to the couch when my leg hurts too much to sit at the desk.  But, I was under the impression that I could get a TV with Internet for about 400-500 dollars...upon further investigation the least expensive one was 800...and that doesn't include warranty.  While I really want a TV with Internet I just cannot convince myself that it is ok to pay that much for one.  Isn't there a few hundred (at least) better ways to spend 800 dollars?  Anyways, since I realized I was not going to be using those gift cards to help me get a TV I had to figure something else out to get with them.  Today it hit me!  Something I've wanted for at least a few months but have not ever had the money to spend:

Awesomeness

An Ipod Clock/Radio/Alarm.  Now I know this probably sounds dorky but I am very excited about this!  I already used it.  Right after I got home I set it up and started playing music!  I love having music playing when I am cleaning the house or doing art.  I am VERY happy with this!!  Currently I am somewhat addicted to the Neon Trees Album - there are some VERY good songs on there.

After I got the radio I got some new shoes.  My current shoes for PT are running shoes from last May/June time frame.  Running shoes are only supposed to be good for about 6 months... less if you are a heavy runner or a hard runner... I'm not a runner but I am heavy for a runner and I know I put a lot of pressure on my shoes - so it was time for new ones.  I got 2 pairs - different because I don't need a running shoe anymore now that I am not running- I got one pair or Asics (I Love Asics shoes!) and one pair of Mizunos (I have never owned this type of shoe before.)

Lastly, before coming home, I went to Hobby Lobby.  I was checking out prices for my classes that I intend to teach - you know, finding out how much paint costs, and canvases and brushes, etc. 

Once I got home and set up the radio I did art.  Nothing to show you yet except the mess:

See?  I am doing something even though I don't have a finished piece yet.  Does making a mess count as being creative?  If so I am creative several times a day - and not just when I am making art. 

Dinner tonight was a veggie chicken patty burger (I hope you know what I mean) and sweet potato fries.  I mashed half an avocado and had it on the burger and it kept falling out so it was messy, but VERY tasty.  Did you notice I didn't eat any meat today?  Yep, I am back to trying to eat meat less... I just feel like its better that way - I mean morally and for the environment.  As per my new years resolutions I will be doing meatless Mondays - but occasionally if I get the feeling I'll have meatless some other day of the week!

Since I sat down for dinner I have realized how worn out I am, so I will be staying right here on the couch for another hour or two until I get sleepy and head off to bed.  Yes, that is right, I am not doing anything special for the new year.  1) I don't really care - I've never done anything super special for new years so I don't feel pressure each year and 2) My body really doesn't handle staying up past 10 very well.

Plans for tomorrow include: Yoga, eating some black eyed peas for good luck, working on the art journal page I was working on today, working on the painting I was working on today, cleaning my bathroom and lastly vacuuming the house.  Great way to start the new year, huh?

Do any of you have anything exciting planned for tonight or tomorrow?

Happy New Year!

(Although I think its a bit early to say this, everyone else is doing it, so I figured I might as well too!)

(This picture also reminds me to tell you that I will be in glasses at least another week while I wait on my contacts to come in... those suckers are 52$ for 3 pairs... I used my other Christmas gift card for contacts)

One of Those Days

So I am having one of those days.  I woke up and my body was hurting pretty bad and within a few hours I knew it was going to be a bad day.  I've been hurting all day long.  And I felt kinda queasy and like crap. 

I thought I was past this but really I just keep thinking is this really how my life is going to be?  Am I really going to hurt every day for the rest of my life?  Am I really going to have to take 3 or more prescription medications every day and yet still hurt? 

And then I think about this whole medical board process.  I feel like if there is really nothing that they can do for me then they should just let me go.  I just want to move on with my life and do something that makes me happy.  But will I really be able to be happy?  I'll be limping, using a cane, having trouble walking, hurting when I sit too much, having multiple hip and leg issues for the rest of my life... going to orthopedic specialist, neurologists, psychologists, physical therapist, etc for the rest of my life?

Like I said, its just one of those days.  Hopefully tomorrow I wont be so disappointed about things.  I really am trying to be positive - hard to believe, I know.  So, some positive things are:  I set up an interview for a position teach art on post - I really think I would enjoy teaching art.  Also I start my classes for my 2nd degree on the 10th... learning is good!!  One of the classes is supposed to prepare us to apply for jobs - never a bad thing. 

I did some art today.  First I worked on a piece in an art journal - taking two unfinished pieces and gluing them in so that there will be one large piece.  Its still unfinished but at least the gluing is over with - now I can start on the painting and collage.  Then I did this art journal entry:

Its all about my hip problems... written on top of two hip diagrams... kinda of fitting.  The color is some acrylic ink splotches.  No I did not use that sharpie in the picture...I'm not sure how/why but that sharpie just kind of randomly ended up next to the art journal while I was taking pictures.

I had plans to make shrimp with a tropical sauce for dinner - I think it will be really good - but since I felt so crappy I just heated up some soup from yesterday. 

Well, like I said I don't feel too great right now, so I am going to go lay on the couch and watch some tv until bed time.  "See" you guys tomorrow.

Easy Ham and White Bean Soup

Hey there!!  I am back home and back in action (in the kitchen!)  Tonight I made Ham and White Bean Soup for dinner.  This is probably the 2nd easiest soup I have ever made (not counting soup that comes in a can, box, or is otherwise pre-made.)


Ham and White Bean Soup
1) In a soup pot heat 1 tbsp olive oil and then saute 1 sweet onion (chopped into medium pieces) until soft.
2) Add the following: 2 large carrots (peeled, halved and copped), 1/2 a head of cabbage (cut into bite size pieces), 12 ounces lean ham steak cubed, 1 quart chicken broth (I used 2 cans), 1 can diced tomatoes, 2 cans white beans (un-drained) and 2 tbsp fresh parsley ( I used dried and just sprinkled what looked good).
3) Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook about 15 min.  Your ham steak should have been fully cooked in package so this is just to blend the flavors and get the veggies soft.
4) YUM YUM in your TUM TUM.

I had mine with broccoli cornbread of course!  (Recipe here) 

The soup is VERY good... I love soup when its cold.   I will probably be making  carrot soup later this week as well.

I went to yoga this morning and then the rest of the day was spent running around to different stores getting the huge list of groceries and then putting them away.  I had let my food stores get pretty low... check this out:

Before

After - its still pretty empty compared to how it usually is

See?  The dry goods were not nearly as low but that is because they wouldn't go bad just because I was gone for 10 days.

Lastly,  here are some art journal pics from yesterday and today - nothing fancy, but at least I am doing something creative:

Last night I saw 2 movies (I was too tired to do anything else.)  1st was Easy A - it was VERY good in my opinion.  Lots of witty humor and a cute little story too.  2nd was The Sorcerers Apprentice - I thought this one was good too.  It was cute at least.  It was definitely worth the rental price for both of the movies.

That's all for tonight, friends! "See" you tomorrow!

The Day After Christmas

Hey everyone!  Hope your Christmas was grand!  My Christmas rocked because I have been home for 10 days now!  I love being home with my family!! 

Did you guys get anything good?  Here are our pictures:

I wrapped one of Mom's presents in a Benadryl box to make sure she couldn't guess what was in it.

We always give dad some sort of nuts (Chocolate covered, or honey, etc.) and he ALWAYS makes a mess

One of my gifts was PJs from my grandma.

Yoga demo after opening presents lol

One of my gifts was all of this smell good stuff in my favorite scent!

 And I said I would tell you about our chocolate bark... here are the photos from that:

Steps to make it: melt 1 bag of chocolate chips (whatever kind you like!) and once melted pour onto a cookie sheet lined with foil.  Spread out the chocolate and then sprinkle on 1 cup of cranberries (original recipe called for sour cherries), 1 cup of chopped almonds, and 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger.  The original recipe also called for a tiny bit of coarse sea salt which I did not add because I did not think we had any.  It came out pretty good - VERY sweet, but isn't that the purpose of chocolate bark?  After you cool the chocolate then break up into pieces and store in a container in the fridge for up to a week.

So, even though I have not posted about it in a few days I have been doing a bit of art here and there. I have mostly been working on this art journal entry:

Its my new years resolutions!  Have you started yours yet? So far this is what I have:
1) Honor my body by doing yoga 3 or more times a week, eating healthy foods, having meatless Mondays (or other days of the week), continuing to work on recovery for my leg (i.e. getting stronger or more endurance), and being kind to myself and my body.
2) Further my education - I have already signed up for more college classes and I also intend to do some community college continuing education classes too.
3) Save $ for grad school... I already have a certain amount of $ that goes into my savings account at the end of each month.  If I can go without taking money out of savings I will be happy.  I will be happier if I can add extra into the savings account.  The idea is to get a decent amount saved up before I get out of the Army and am jobless while I go to school.

I always do new years resolutions but they are more of goals than things I have to do.  Last years resolutions were to continue saving $ ( I did but not as much as intended), Take the GRE and get a good score (done!), complete my portfolio (done!), continue to eat clean (well mostly hehe), lift weights more consistently (not really), recover to running a 5k (written when I still thought I'd be back and running by March... but later I realized it just wouldn't happen), and apply for a get into grad school (I've applied but I won't know if I am in until March.)

Its not on my resolutions list, but the family and I have decided to have biggest loser competition - starting today!  We all weighed today and its written down in my planner.  We will have a weigh in each week and who wins will be based on the % lost not the pounds!  With the way my body is now (the injury) its pretty unlikely that I can lose a lot of weight - it will be slow going but I am accepting that and not too upset by it anymore.  I just hope that this will motivate me to lose a bit so that I can ease the pressure on my joints to hopefully help with pain.  I also hope that it will motivate mom and dad so that they will be healthier - I want them around as long as possible!

Other Art Things:

Two snowflakes from the same wrapping paper as my gift was wrapped in.  They are pretty but I am not sure what I will do with this page yet.

Last night we watched a movie together - Evening.  Its a few years old (at least) but it was REALLY good - it made me cry.  It was about a mother who was dying and her two daughters that were there with her.  The mom kept remembering things from when we she was young.  Its probably an inexpensive buy or rent if you ever need something to watch. 

Later today we are going to see True Grit!  I guess that is it for now...hopefully I will have more to tell you later today or tomorrow. 

Have a great day!

Merry Christmas Eve

Hey guys!  Just a short Christmas Eve post!!  Here are some pics from the last few days.  I ate lunch with mom at her work on Wednesday - she made me a peppermint hot chocolate (she works at Starbucks inside Microsoft):

 On the way to the mall with dad for Christmas shopping I ate this:

I had never tried this flavor before and it was GREAT.  It was my most favorite Larabar tried yet!  I would definitely eat it again.

Then I saw a pink car and thus had to capture it:

At dinner Wednesday night we were being silly:

The spoon is not dirty its a reflection

 Thursday we went to look at Christmas lights:

Its very hard to get good pictures of houses at night - thus, I only have 2 photos.  We found this awesome house that had its own show - tune your radio in to the station on the sign outside the house and at the times posted the lights corresponded to the music!  I took a video - no sound but you get to see the cool lights:

Today we went to the hair salon.  Mom wanted a hair cut.  Two ladies with mullets came in for a trim - the hair stylist said mullets were making a comeback.  We have no idea why.

Later we went and saw How Do You Know at the movie theater. We both thought it was a really good movie. 

We just made some chocolate bark but since its still cooling I'm not sure how it will taste.  I will let you know though - once we try it out.

 I hope you all are getting to spend lots of time with your loved ones!  I am really enjoying spending time with my family!!

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas!

List it Tuesday

So, Aimee at Artsyville did not have a List It Tuesday post today, but I am going to play anyways because I finished my Army Acronyms page!!

So, the Acronyms are as follows:
1) APFT - Army Physical Fitness Test
2) NCO - Noncommissioned Officer
3) BCGs - Birth Control Glasses
4) ACU - Army Combat Uniform
5)PT - Physical Training
6) NVG - Night Vision Goggles
7) MRE - Meal Read to Eat
8) DFAC - Dining Facility
9) MEB - Medical Evaluation Board
10) COB - Close of Business
11) CAC - Common Access Card
12) 1SG - First Sergeant
13) CDR - Commander
14) SSG - Staff Sergeant
15) ETS - Expiration Term of Service
16) PX - Post Exchange
17) AIT - Advanced Individual Training
18) FTX - Field Training Exercise


Today I braved Walmart at 8am- is wasn't so bad.  Then I made 15 mini loafs of bread - 6 pumpkin, 6 gingerbread, and 3 banana nut bread.  They are for mom to take to work tomorrow to give out for Christmas gifts.  She asked me to get the ingredients, not to make them, but I decided to do it anyways since I did not have anything else to do and she would probably be tired after work.

Then a few hours later I went to the mall in search of some new glasses. Which ones do you think I should get?

 

I ended up leaving with a new book on yoga and a Dr. Pepper (the best soda ever!) t-shirt.  Here is another photo from the mall adventure:

For dinner tonight we just had sandwiches and soup.  I had avocado on my sandwich - I really think the healthy fat helps me stay full, too bad its so high calorie.  After dinner we went to Kohl's to get mom some new pants for work.

Next up - watching the newest American Pickers Episode!  Do any of you watch that show?  We love it.  We also love Antiques Road Show.  I just like learning all the cool history!  "See" you tomorrow!

Creative Every Day Check-in 20 DEC

Here are some photos of works-in-progress from the last few days:

I'm home visiting for Christmas so my art isn't going to be too complicated - I brought a small and medium journal, a small zipper bag of pens/markers, travel water colors, and my neocolors.  Hopefully will have something "fished" soon.

Today I art journaled this:

During hot yoga this morning it occurred to me that its not really appropriate for me to call myself injured anymore.  At what point do you go from being injured to disabled?  Doesn't "injured" imply that you will one day get better?  I have already been told by several doctors that I will not get any better.  I personally think I have the potential to get slightly better if I could have time to focus my life towards building strength and losing weight (less pressure on the hurt areas) but that it is unlikely that I will every significantly better than I am now.  But its not right for me to say I am disabled, right?  I mean by dictionary definition I am, but by societal definition 99% of all people would probably say I am perfectly fine. 

In addition to wondering about what is a culturally acceptable term to describe my physical condition, I was thinking how the term that I chose also will affect me mentally.  Here is that whole positive psychology thing again!  Should I say "injured" for the unconscious implication of hope and desire to get better?  If I say disabled am I being unconsciously negative?  These are the crazy things I think about. 

Ok, I'm starting to get hungry, so I'm off to the kitchen to make some lunch!!  Have a great day.

Just for fun...a Santa Sunggie:

I look rather fat here but I had on a coat underneath the snuggie