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Saturday, January 21, 2012

It is sneaking up on us ...

Valentine's Day that is.

Get your order in now for this great double heart necklace for your special someone
(even if it is for yourself - because YOU are special)

This necklace is made from Sterling Silver & Copper
Hangs from a 1.5mm antiqued copper ball chain.
The pendant is approx 1 1/4" x 1 1/4"
You can email me at paintinbyfaith@cox.net to order.
$36 + $5 shipping.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Once Upon A Time

I lived in a land full of fairies.
They would sprinkle me with amazing fairy dust.
I had the most amazing little girls room full of daisies & dragonflies.
We would run through fields of ...

Cotton.
Ok so I am really full of shit.
I lived in what we called hell.
Girstown USA
Whiteface, Texas
Better known as the middle of nowhere.
We all had stories.

Here is mine.

It was 2 days before my 15th birthday
The first time I drove down that long ass driveway lined with trees.
This was my first time to see a cotton field.
It was August & I thought it was some weird phenomenon
Snow?

Ok back to it.
We drove straight down that road to the office.
I was scared as hell in my grey Wrangler, blue & white striped shirt, green boots & the most hideous maroon & grey belt that hung down in front like I had a wiener.
I didn't not want to see the inside of that office.
Later I would find going to that office was sacred.
In we went ... me, my dad & my Nana.

I think we went to eat lunch in the dining room first.
Holy shit that scared me even more.
Walking in there with all these troubled girls eyes on nothing but me
The new girl.
You see I was not tough at all.
Matter of fact I was one big pussy.

My first roommates name was Traci.
She was very nice.

But I hated her because I wasn't suppose to be here.
We had another roommate but she had ran away.
She was my 'roommate' for many months but I never met her.
Oh & my dorm parents.
Holy shit.
I can't even begin to explain - but they too scared the shit out of me.
I mean really look at them.
He was 10' tall with a mustache that could hurt you alone.
And those boots ... that is another story.

So here I am & there goes my dad & Nana in her gold 1973 Buick LeSabre
(hey don't laugh that was my first car)
What the hell was I suppose to do now?

Well first off my birthday was in two days.
That was a strategic move.
See you couldn't be 'locked up' there after you turned 15.
So for my first birthday locked up I was there with all those eyes that scared me.
No calls.
Well you know that was against the rules.
30 days:
No calls from home.
No mail from home.
No contact with anything I fucking knew.

So you can imagine the pity fucking party I had for my 15th birthday.
My dad & Nana just dumped me in the middle of cotton hell with a bunch of crazy chics.
Oh yea after 2 days I was still 'the new girl'
And the 'mafia' wasn't digging  me & my maroon & grey wiener belt.

I was scared to death of the mafia momma too.
She is the smiley one on the bottom left with the pink shirt on.

I remember my first punishment was for calling my roommate Traci a bitch
I had to scrub our dining room floor in our dorm with a toothbrush.
Really?
Thanks for that lesson Betsy!

Well eventually I became very close to Cristi.
She was 2 years older than me.
She was like my big sister.
(psst .. that is the weiner belt)

Then she left me.
Like that she graduated & left.
I felt alone again.
Truly.
I had made other friends

But my sister just left me.
That girl there in the middle.
Thats Tonya.
Holy shit was I scared of her!
Then she moved into our dorm.
I don't remember why.
But I was glad ... we became friends.
Just was not so scary.
She was like the rest of us.
So we became very close.
Loved her.
I think we were roommates but I can't remember for sure.


She made bail.
She left me.

But not before we outed the creepy houseparents above!

So then we had some other crazy houseparents.
Don & Karen.
Oh Karen loved me.
When I would burp as loud as possible she would ground me.
Tee hee ... I didn't mean to burp Karen.
It is a natural bodily function.
Bitch.

Then there was Sherri & Stan!
Alas.
Family.

Oh no not real family.
But trust me they are family.

There is so much between the beginning & end I don't remember.
And so much I do.



Summer trips with girls we didn't normally 'hang' with
But loved nevertheless.


Trips to Boys Ranch that you get to know someone you may have never become close to otherwise.  And the next thing you know you love them too.
One thing I know for fact is we were hot!

I did things there I would never have done at home.
Well what did you expect ... we graduated with 13 people.
I had my own hog.

But the point to my story:
That mafia that I mentioned?!
Those girls are my sisters.
I love each & everyone of them.
With the good & bad we went through
I learned something from every single one of them that I carry with me today.
We graduated in 1991
We all left.
My sisters were gone.
Not one of them.
All of them.

Then there was FaceBook.
My hero.
Thank you Tom.
(wasn't that the guys name that was your first friend when you signed up?)

I have my sisters back in my life.
We are spread out all over this country & world.
But they are my sisters.
Take a few years from us ... but you will never take our love for each other!
We still slept together.
We still laughed together.
We will forever be bonded by that long driveway lined with trees.
And fairy dust.

Stay tuned for more pictures with more sisters!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

2012

Happy 2012.
I am excited to see what this year will bring.
I have a lot to look forward to.

In April I have my very first featured piece in Bead Trend magazine.
Then more in May & June.
I am working on something to submit for July.
August.
September.
You get it.

2011 proved to be a growing year for my business.
I am still finding my 'place' as a business -
But I am learning as I go.

I am going to jump in with both feet & try to publish a how to book.
That is my one & only New Year's Resolution.
Although I do have other goals.
I just don't want to put that huge stress on my shoulders.

Instead I am just going to continue to have fun.
Play with my torch.
And continue to love what I do.

Here is a great year for all of us!