Farewell My Friend

Wednesday...Gratitude



No.41 ... I wanted to dedicate today's gratitude post to my little furry friend Luigi who unfortunately passed away over Christmas. He was a lovely bouncy little Chihuahua, known for his cheeky attitude towards our family dog George, and being babied by Snoopy the eldest of the 3 when they were still with us. He passed away peacefully, and wasn't alone when it happened so for him I am grateful that he didn't suffer and that I was by his side. It's been a sad time for the family but we have been enjoying fond memories of him since, remembering his life as positively as we can. He lived a long life of 16 years so it certainly was something we expected, especially as he'd been extremely poorly for a few days.

I won't be posting this weekend from Friday so I can spend time reflecting on my time with Luigi as it's something that hasn't happened properly with the holidays being so busy, and now that I am working again. I had him from when he was 8 weeks old so it has been hard, especially as he left us on Christmas Day. We had our Christmas on Christmas Eve so we were able to spend one last special time with him at least.

This is to Luigi, a very smart and good little dog, and my faithful little pal that always stood by me. We'll miss you.

x

Balloon Head

New Listing on Etsy - Click image to visit the listing

hello! Yes I know it has been a few days... man it's been a knackering two days but I have quite a bit to talk about. Next Monday and Friday as you know I am introducing my new features for Etsy sellers that are at around 20 sales or under, and had a fantastic response to requests on the Etsy forum about it! Already I have slots filled up for Monday Magic and I'm compiling an interview for a fab seller for Friday Finds! It's going to be great, I'm really excited about the introduction and hope that it does well to drive traffic into their stores. I know how hard it is to do that whether time is your enemy or lack of marketing knowledge. But next week I'll be blasting both posts around my individual communities on the web, including the likes of Twitter, Indie Public and Facebook, which should most definitely help a bit if not a lot! I have a lot of faith in Twitter for marketing and I intend to expand on the reason on my upcoming Coffee and Cake article this Sunday. So keep an eye out for that post as it's part two of my marketing series!

So yeah all in all I have achieved something for once! Lol!

Now, my fatigue... would you believe is completely about paper? LOL I have spent the ENTIRE week fussing over paper, i swear until 2am each night. As you may know already I am introducing my own line of ACEO, 5x7 and 8x12 prints to my Etsy store, in a choice of Archival Matte, 100% Cotton Rag, Satin Lustre or Premium Glossy paper. And I have my beautiful new printer to thank for that. I'm just so excited that I have not been satisfied with any old paper, as the last thing I want is for people to have my art adorning their walls or desktops, and for something bad like fade or moisture runs to damage them! So yeah... archival paper... weeeeeee!

Now another thing i want to introduce in a short while are greeting cards, note cards, calenders and gift tags. I'm quite excited about this, and doing my research today has made me even more enthusiastic at the prospect. it's going to be a fab way (as will my ACEO prints) to offer bundles of my work at lower prices, and value for money is something I think we all think about in times like the present! So this is something I think will be great for customers that want to purchase my work but would like to spend less. And despite being stationary I won't compromise on the paper! Nope, it'll still be archival and of the highest quality coupled with the pigment inks I use. BUT... As I'm still updating items in my store with new descriptions, and have a long list of ACEO's to list, plus new prints to make... it'll be a little while before I can devote time to it. But DEFINTELY in time for christmas, you can expect my high quality and stationary for yourselves or as gifts to hit my store :D

Work aside, I've also been trying to devote more time to the family. The other half is recovering from his cataract operation for the next few weeks so my son has been in his element squealing the house down with joyful noise (although I don't know if the neighbours would think that LOL). It's been none stop since mummy explained last week about daddy's trip to the hospital! He's "doctor" Yukio this week. So far he's been more of an entertainer, like getting his hairy troll puppet to do the can-can, and putting cups on his feet... oh I can't forget him prancing about in my hat and shoes the other day... I don't think we've really been able to contain the laughter since! Particularly as he dressed himself... seriously! I HAD to take photos LOL! But yes It's been hard not to want to get involved in the fun so part of me has been very easily distracted for the past week, even though I have had the opportunity to work. I have been mind you! Just with the odd distraction. But yeah... work and fun leads to a sleepy mum! So I'd better crack on! I may not get a chance to blog again until Sunday but hopefully I should do! Until then :D

moonangelnay x x x

From Day To Night

I seem to be cursed with this whole time malarky. Lol! I tell myself all the time about how much more efficient I will be after letting the wee hours anxieties form long lovely lists of plans for my future days. But I seem to get plagued with distractions (although they are necessary some of the time), then lo and behold I end up behind with my endevours. Today at least I'm slightly more relaxed about it, but I think that is more of a succumbing to the inevitable (no Naomi you cannot play the grand creator and MAKE time... not literally anyway). Ahhhhhh *that is a sigh I promise*, the joys of a mothers schedule! Well despite not getting absolutely all of what I hope to achieve daily done, I have at least catalogued a few new pieces to stick onto my etsy store over the next few weeks. I'll be playing nurse / "single mum" next week as my other half is having an operation and is on strict orders to take it easy for 3 weeks after. Which means I need a plan of action for keeping my son from bouncing off the walls for at least the first week so his father can get a good rest! So the ultimate full time action will be on the cards which sadly means I'll be cutting back on my beloved etsy work to cater for the boys needs.

I've planned ahead and have lots of goodies to share daily with everyone. It doesn't take a bajillion years to list on Etsy. It's the marketing that slows up my days, so treasuries will probably have to get cut (maybe not though), as will my hunt for the ultimate advertising tools. I should hopefully be able to continue blogging although they may be a little shorter and more scary due to impending bald patches (oh how will i live without my Etsy!), and i think a tweet here or there may get slipped past the little one without him noticing :)

All in all earlier this week had been about planning, so the stress levels were high, and I had been in a bit of a dark place... so to follow suit some of my recent work had taken a bit of a darker turn. That doesn't surprise me in the least. My style changes CONSTANTLY. I'm not a conventional artist at all really, I don't know why but I find it very hard to keep my style consistant yet I think it adds character to the fact that I lack it LOL. Contradiction and a half! It's the same with my fine and abstract art aswell. My photography has metamorphised now into something that I can now consider part of my being and not something I search for through a lense. I have total comfort in how I express myself through it so like I say it doesn't surprise me when each piece is as sporadic in style consistancy as i guess i am in moods LOL! i promise though that the work that is coming just as interesting. Becoming more light and wonderful (as has my mood the last few days lol!).

Tomorrow which is Friday the 17th of July my Etsy treasury "LAVENDER DREAMING" will be ending at around 9pm GMT London time so if you get the chance to check it out, please do! It's my best line of picks yet!

So I'd better show you a selection of recent uploads to Etsy. They are below! just click the titles if you want to see the listings directly :) All the best my dears!



Mandala Fire No.3 5x7 Abstract Fine Art Photography - By Moonangelnay



Rose Gold 5x7 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay


A Walk Through Life 8x12 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay

Vintage Bloom 5x7 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay

A Terrible Two! In The Nicest Possible Way :)

Whilst I'm waiting for my camera to hurry it up uploading 444 files onto my PC, I thought it was about time I caught up with the world of blogging. Or I guess it's the case of the world catching up with me lol! In any case, those of you that have been keeping an eye on my last posts will know why there would have been a delay this weekend just gone. My little boy Yukio turned two years old, and I can honestly say if there's anything terrible about it, he's been doing it for a long while already! Lmao! Hopefully we've been getting the tantrums in early, so shortly we'll have an easy ride of this apparently temperamental milestone lol!!!

We had a lovely weekend. I wish I could say that my weeks of planning and overspending (by at least £60 I reckon) were worth it for his Tiger party, but the last thing any of us expected was to be let down at the last minute by a lot of invited guests. Despite the month advancement, despite messages all through last week, and even a last minute check on saturday before buying an extraordinary amount of food to keep everyone fed. I couldn't believe my eyes when the texts started coming in, and felt worse when I couldn't express how I felt over it (Lately I just don't feel like there's any point to me doing that anymore...It's frustrating how it's ok for everyone else to). I can only say one message made absolute sense to me, with her lil baby being unwell and I've already chatted with my friend about that, but everyone else has pretty much let me down for pretty pathetic and annoying reasons.

I've not slept for about 2 weeks through trying to fit planning around work (and this is with knowing who was coming... the lot was based on the headcount). 2am-ers all the way for such a long time including the night before cooking for the confirmed guests, coupled with the usual full time mum thang, a friend of mine passing away, the most busy schedule I've had to cope with alone (other half was working) since I was in the best and most active job of my life, multiple family members being extremely ill ranging from angina to cancer including one surgery that was yesterday (better check on my brother actually), and still I managed to make it all happen as I don't see the point in halting movement in life because of circumstances. I can't really do that because I have my son to think about and when you're a full time mum to an energetic toddler, the last thing you could do is let them down by letting life get you down. That doesn't make me a strong or more capable person, but I can't afford to let my emotions or fatigue take over when I have things to do. But considering so many people let me down at the last minute, loads of excess food is going off with the heatwave, loadsa party games i bought (including the coolest tiger pinata) didnt get played, I'm feeling pretty much like a mug for believing that people would think the same way I would do. Co-dependancy creeping back into my life probably, but on a practical level I really don't see how hard it is to get on with life when you flippin have to. And believe me I've been through enough and going through enough to know what it's like to suffer inwardly, yet I don't let it stop me. Otherwise I'd be letting people around me down by expecting them to pat me on the back and try and understand it all. I don't want people to understand my problems, it's not fair to expect that, it's the reason I don't bother going on about them anymore! You just get on with it don't you? Personally, regardless of how I may feel I do try and do what I can when I say I will. I haven't always been like that mind you, but nowadays I'm a little more thorough than I was before I had my son. I wouldn't say I push myself to the limit, but I do think that when things need to be done, they need to get done unless something awful occurs. Moan moan moan. Well it doesn't matter, regardless of how I feel Yukio still had his little girlfriend over and enjoyed his day mowing the lawn... all day... lol. It's a shame that the party games are all still in packages and the one's I prepared are sitting staring at me across the room, but I'm chuffed my dad's generous donation of a bouncy castle went down well with Yukio and his little friend.

The best part of the weekend though was taking him to meet Thomas The Tank Engine in Thomas Land yesterday at Drayton Manor Theme Park. Wow... I don't know what much else I can say about that! I managed to take what feels like a million pictures, and despite the stoney look on Yukio's face he had the best time ever I reckon. He LOVED it when he could see Thomas coming to pick us up to transfer our behinds to another part of the park. But everything about it was incredible. The staff were brilliant with the kids, waving at them and being all smiley (which is hard to come by in this country I swear), the rides were spot on in terms of entertainment for the family and being gentle enough for the little ones, and the Thomas Themed shop just has to be the biggest load of commercialised madness I've ever come across... whatever you can think of... with a Thomas theme... man I shoulda taken some pictures of that! Doh.

Anyways! That really cheered me up! I was close to tears a few times watching Yukio's little face throughout the day. He's going to be a little adrenaline junkie like his mummy ^_^ LOL!

So all in all... great coupla days. Like I say depite the let downs, I'm pleased one of my friends and her kids could make it and my friends without kids could do, as well as my mum and Elric's too. It was a lovely sunny day in the end, and the BBQ was great! At least we don't have to buy party stuff for next year with the overspend!

Right. Time to catch up with my Etsy Shop. Until next time x

Not So Busy Bee...

I think it's fair to say that today has been too much of a blur for my liking. I really do think that the people invented time to cheese me off because it seems to pass by so quickly nowadays. I do think time is speeding up but that's a whole other blog!

Right now though I'm feeling a bit flustered at the lack of stuff I have managed to do today, having been given the opportunity via a baby free house!!! I guess my only consolation is that my mum has been telling me to have a few hours to myself to try and get over this cold, of which I had a few... Not by choice really. "Relax" she told me earlier. In my life that's a bit of a myth lol!!!

Well my form of relaxation came in the form of painting the walls... and I think I performed a splendid display of 'live action DIY mum'! But all came to a standstill when a particular gloss my other half insists needs to go on the frames, COULD NOT be found anywhere. Yet, it's matt twin has been driving me nuts at the corner of my eye all afternoon. I was VERY tempted to use that instead, but Elric wants it all to look shiny. So a velvety room is out of the question, no matter how tempting it is to lob it at the wall. The can is still sitting obnoxiously on the windowsill, probably cackling at me in a parallel universe. The frustration comes from time yet again by the way. There is slight appropriateness to my desperation.

Anyway, ignoring that color entirely! I managed to improve upon his painting with the main wall ;) and started the lower wall near to our sofa. I was pretty chuffed when I was done with that bit, which was why I was ready for color number 3 but... I despairingly gave up after the gloss hunt and twiddled my thumbs ever since. I'm not normally this over dramatic LOL! But I just want the house in order before the stampede of toddlers on sunday! Not to mention all the food I have to cook the day before, and the decorations I need to put up... *sigh* I hate it when I'm on a role and something distrupts it. Really throws me off, particularly when I'm not doing my daily mum thing! So currently I'm contemplating a late night of painting once the boys are back from visiting grandad (gonna make Elric find the gloss he so insists is sitting by the matt equivalent lol!), because I don't really think my brain can handle much else today lol!!!

Infact, away from my wonderfully productive day I have updated a few listings on etsy which I have neglected to share. I made a point of changing some listings to reflect other prices for prints in my store, as even though print sizes and prices are written into my profile, I have a hunch people probably don't look at it, and therefore only see the default size and price for all photography on there (8x12). So now there are some 5x7 listings (although remember they can be changed if you wish for something larger! Convo me on etsy for that). Anyway here are the new photographs I have listed. Each photo will take you directly to the listing which should allow you to view a larger photo too :) moonangelnay.etsy.com

Violet Star 5x7 $10

Sketchy 5x7 $13

Frog 5x7 $10

Iris Munch 5x7 $10

Happy Father's Day To All The Cool Dad's In The World!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeey! Finally a day where all good men in the world can have some appreciation has arrived lol! It's not a day I'm too familiar with, and I know that sounds bizarre but up until a couple of years ago I never really knew my own. I lost contact with my dad when I was 2. Long story best saved for another time! I did grow up with a step-father but to be honest it wasn't the happiest of relationships, and he knows why that is. But as a result of that I never really felt close to him, and up until my mum decided to break away from their relationship I found out a lot that made my entire childhood make a lot of sense. All in all I think I was robbed of the father presense in my life (or at least one that I had respect for), so today for me FINALLY is a day I can be excited about! ^_^ A big up to my dad, cuz he does one hell of a job looking after all my brothers and sisters in Wales (I have 6 siblings you know). He's poorly at the mo, so the appreciation I think would make him a happy man :)

One problem... My poor other half Elric was on nights last night and is fast asleep, and my dad is unreachable via the phone! lol! He lives in Cardiff (good 180 miles from here), so being able to take a stroll to the old man's house, or a 5 minute car trip is out of the question I guess. So I'm on my own until Elric wakes up... Unless Yukio wakes up first!

I had to do the whole fathers day thing on Friday because of Elrics shifts this weekend, which is a shame really as the prospect of doing it all at the same time with other families across the world is kinda special. You know day's like this are lovely (minus the commercialism which is enough to put me off), because it's one time only a few times a year where without thinking about it consciously, we are all probably thinking along the same lines, a whole lot of love is going around and we are connected via our focus and intentions. Now that to me is what these days should be about. Besides what they are designed for, millions of people around the world for once are all sharing a common value, and it's things like that that make you wonder why it's not doable all the time. But that's the human condition for ya! At least for one day we can look at our loved ones and remember who they are.

moonangelnay xxx

Oh No!

Yes, needless to say I am another one of probably millions today that has decided to become part of the blogging community... Woman what are you doing???? she says... I say that a lot actually...

So now that I've dabbled a bit here and there, making a beautiful display of this "personal" page of mine, I have discoved that I have neither ideas, nor the most remote wit to entertain the mass internetees that are now likely to slate these poor attempts on a first blog! Oh well i have my integrity to show for it! LOL! But yeah, what the heck do you write on this kind of thing? All I am thinking now is my son is napping, and I should probably do something else (i say else, it really should just be SOMETHING) constructive before i melt before the screen and give the other half more to worry about! I remember feeling like I knew what I was doing starting this, and to be honest there is a vague memory of a plan! You MAY see some of my knitted creations on here sometime, or you MAY see some of my artwork... Even a picture or two of the crazy life I lead with the two rather jolly chaps that I love dearly, and the pets too.
In the meantime I think I'll mull over my sudden confusion and make sure that the next blog may offer something more than just my befuddled jibberish! I can't help but think that once I had a brain (hah!) that functioned slightly better than it does now... motherhood for ya, but all worth it in the end! Until next time folks!