Trunk OR Treat

Last night i went to my sisters wards Trunk-or-Treat and it was the cutest thing in the world. I mean, seriously. Look at these kids.and here is the nice, friendly, neighborhood PERV.my boss.

You're nasty, Clay.

Chistmas Wish List

Last night, my nephew Jack and i sat down and with permanent marker in hand (not a good idea) circled the toys in the Toys R Us wishbook. IT WAS HILARIOUS. I decided i would make my own wishlist-for fun, and for my mom.

Also please note that Jack would like a green ipod, a 3 foot animatronic triceritops that he can ride (totally frightening) and OF COURSE, Any and ALL Power Wheels.

1. Nikon D80k mom, i know you arent buying me this. I wish you would/could :) I will get this one myself. Christmas present to me.

2. A Makeup Train Case
i really want this MAC one. It only costs $225. Not bad, not bad.but i would more than happy with a 25 dollar Caboodle. Thanks Target!

3. Champion Sports Bras

Another Target classic. I love these sports bras, i have both styles and i find myself washing and washing constantly so that i dont have to wear any of my other ones. These things are the best thing ever made by Champion (even though i was a huge fan of the ankle sock when they used to be at walmart back in my junior high days). Santa could stuff my stocking full of these and i wouldnt even be a little bit sad to not get the classic trouser socks or bath and body works lotion.

4. Asics running shoeThanks to you mom, i have WIDE feet. Which means when at the gym, halfway through a run or a stint on the elliptical, my feet start to fall asleep and go numb. Regular athletic shoes just dont cut it. And with all the running have been doing, the Nike Shox just REALLY aren't cutting it. I need to get serious about my footwear. The asics shoes are generally wider and are built for running. I NEED THESE.

Thats about it. Mainly these days since i have 3 jobs i just buy what i need and dont hold out, but i want to give everyone a chance to contribute to my Christmas this year.

Mainly the main thing i want is for Jack to get this...
i told you it was frightening!

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory?

There is a contest this weekend at Anthropologie for a cookbook of your choice to whatever employee makes the best treats. So i made these.
Cute huh? I better freaking win. Nothing says fall like candy apples, right?
Oh and i should mention that they are teensy and bite sized. You use a melon baller to make little apples and cut lollipop sticks in half for the handles. So when i say teensy, i mean it.

I LOVE THINGS THAT ARE MINI.

Happy birthday, gurl.

I've been meaning to do this all day, and 10 minutes before its time to leave work i'm finally doing it.KAISA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I know we already gchatted for a teensy second today and i already got to wish you a happy birthday but i just want everyone else to know how great i think you are, especially on this special day.

Kaisa has been one of my best friends and favorite people since highschool. She is hilarious and sassy, and kind, and nonjudgemental (unless youre a nasty). Of course she was voted best personality or best all around person, or whatever it was in highschool. She really is one of the best ALL AROUND people i have ever known.

As we have gotten older, i have seen aspects of her life change and i've watched her grow and ive discovered many more great things about her. She has a great marriage (scott is another of those great "all around" people), 3 of the most darling little boys in the world, and the cutest house you've ever seen. Shes a good homemaker (always cooking and baking and everything is always perfect and its annoying how good she is at it all), shes a GREAT mother, and shes also such a great friend to me still. We are in totally different places in our lives and yet she is still never too busy (or too boring) to hang out with her single friend.

Kaisa i love you, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Welcome to your 25th year.
and have a very romantic canoe ride (canoe ride? thats seriously what you wanted? love it). You deserve it.

this would be longer but i ran out of time.

ONE MORE THING....ISN'T SHE A TOTAL BABE?

my gym playlist

I have been EXTREMELY disciplined in the last month and have been to the gym atleast 4 days a week which i dont think has ever happened in my entire life.

I know myself well and i know that if i am on the treadmill and there isn't something on the tv that REALLY catches my attention (and i dont mean an episode of Seinfeld), like the presidential debates or the finale runway shows of Project Runway- that my focus is on how much i want to stop and get off the treadmill. Im serious. I will barely of worked up a sweat and if im bored, a quarter of mile seems like a great place to end my run.

Except when my ipod is fully charged, and then im good for miles.

The last couple of weeks have been really good for running songs for me and i wanted to share my playlist in case you're having the same issues. (and maybe im hoping you will comment to tell me what your songs are so i can switch it up cause im already getting bored)

happy workout everyone.

weekend wrapup

All i did this weekend is work. OH WAIT, that's all i ever do every weekend. Right, right.

Friday after i got off of work, i ran home and changed and headed on over to Anthropologie for my only shift of the week. I got there and quickly started talking to one of the managers i hadn't worked with in what seems like months. And she asked what i have been up to since i last saw her and i told her all i do is go to the gym and paint. And she goes "what? you paint? you have to come in tomorrow and paint in the store. We were supposed to sponsor an artist this weekend, and i never got around to finding one. Will you come in?" and i thought, why the heck not? I was going to be painting at home watching Paris Hilton's BFF show reruns anyway, may as well throw in something new. So Friday night i went home and hurried and brainstormed what i could possibly paint at the store, while making some calls to get supplies i would need to get me ready.

Saturday, bright and early, i went with Megan and Jack and Lincoln to Jacks tball game. And i had to bring my new painting along so i could get started. I was supposed to be at Anthro by noon and it was already 9. So i found my spot on the bleachers and started painting a green houndstooth background. I wanted something with color, and i was going to do a pretty, muted-color damask but i thought that would be too intricate and i didn't have time...so the houndstooth won out.

By 1 (only an hour behind schedule) i was at Anthro with a painting that was sketched out (my manager Mark's pug, Oscar). The people at the District always are walking around the store with little teeny dogs, and we have dog treats in EXPENSIVE delicate bowls all over the store, so i figured a dog painting would be a good marketing tool. And i was right. People left and right were asking about my pet paintings and the pricing and all that jazz.
Here's my little set up near the entrance. I was there from 1 until about 5:30-6 and it was a total success. I made a lot of contacts, gave a lot of people my information on how to order, was able to raise my prices, and also crank out a pretty cool painting.

After my whirlwind art festival day i got home and relaxed for about an hour and then went to the gym until 9. I will tell you one thing, Saturday night is a good time to go to the gym because there is NO ONE there and you always get a good parking spot.

When i got back i worked some more on the houndstooth of the painting and watched SNL with my roommate Jackie, and then to sleep.

Sunday i miraculously slept in until 10. My roommate Candace heard me switching the laundry and asked "why are you up so early?" She was shocked when i told her it was 10. Both of us have an issue where we cant really sleep past 8. Its weird, but we did it and we felt so triumphant. Church was great, i wore a big huge purple flower headband and literally people were laughing at me in my ward. Granted they are cowboys from Alamo, but still.this picture makes me look like a cartoon. awesome. also note the middle part.

After church i went to my sisters house for our Sunday ritual. Dinner, play, and then kids go to sleep and we watch amazing race, desperate housewives and brothers and sisters while i paint.
I'll tell you one thing, houndtooth is a total b to paint. This painting still isn't done. The houndstooth needs to be fixed so its more uniform and needs another coat, and then the white houndstooth is going to be another shade of green, so look for that tomorrow. i hope i finish it tonight, its making my eyes crazy.

That's my weekend. Don't you wish you had my life?

I'm sorry guys, i got nothing else to blog.

if you're looking for me

I can be found today painting inside the Anthropologie in Henderson, Nevada-as part of an art festival and as Anthropologie's sponsored artist.

COME BY!

thank you inmate #999432

OK, so there was an Oprah last week about this kid who, the night before his college graduation and receiving a rolex from his parents at dinner...hired his roommate to hide in his parents home and shoot everyone to death when they got back. Which he did, except the kids dad survived (Also let me mention he wasnt actually graduating from college, nor was he a student at all...later discovered by police). So hes on death row now, obviously, and i was talking to a friend about it today and i got thinking about how the news reported it back when it happened. So i started googling, and somehow i found this guys blog. He has a blog from death row, don't ask me how. Maybe its fake. I actually hope it is. Murderers shouldn't have access to the internet and computers. ANYWAY...he has a section of artwork from his fellow inmates and i was totally creeped out by the whole thing until i saw this little guy...and my frown and uneasiness quickly turned into belly laughter.


It's titled "Angel Babies"
Licho Escamilla #999432
(google him and you'll find out hes on death row too for murdering a cop outside a nightclub. awesome)

Tuesday Brain Dump

-Ingrid Michaelson's new CD came out today. I restrained myself and only got one song, "Be OK" and its so lovely and is from the House Bunny movie. DOWNLOAD IT.

-I decided I'm going to use my Boston ticket and save it until its a better time for a vacation. So no Boston in the fall :( I'm pretty upset about it but I'm trying to be responsible.

-Last night i plunged the toilet for the first time. It was an ordeal. Its been clogged since Saturday morning when my roommate Candace went out of town without unclogging it. I got a plunger last night and just thought "this will be easy, stick it in and heave and ho" WRONG. Every time i pushed down the plunger would turn inside out, and then when i would pull up i would get pee water and teensy pieces of toilet paper on my legs. It was a nightmare. After a few minor breakdowns, i was able to unclog it with the virtual help of Zach on gchat.

-Since i was covered in toilet, i decided to tackle another MUCH NEEDED bathroom job. I picked up some draino along with the plunger, and before i poured it into our sluggish shower drain, i decided to pull the drain off and see if there was anything i could just pull out. First let me preface this by saying, when i moved into the house i thought the liner of the shower was covered in brown hair dye. Wrong, it was mold. The curtain has since, OBVIOUSLY, been replaced....OK back to the story, i take the drain off...and immediately dry heave. It looked like a rat had scurried down into the drain and just decided to die right there. The job of cleaning out the much and LONG LONG LONG hairs took me about an hour. It should of taken maybe 5 minutes but i couldn't stop gagging and wanting to die. I had to take many breaks. GOOD NEWS...The drain is NO LONGER sluggish and its perfectly clean.

-If you are determined to clean your bathroom, a good idea wouldn't be to pour yourself a mug full of acai smoothie. Cause it looks like clogged drain.

-The wait is over, my boss got the signs and bumper sticker as a joke to put in his conservative friends yards and on their bumpers. PRETTY HILARIOUS. I think hes actually sending me back today to get some more signs.

-Today is a good day because i grabbed a pair of old pants that i haven't been able to fit in for a while...and THEY FIT! AND NO MUFFIN TOP. So great.

-Linsey is working on my business cards, and i am SO excited. How many of you have a real Martha Stewart friend to design your company identity? Not many of you, i know. I'm real lucky. And I've decided to package my paintings with some really cute baker's twine before sending them off, i cant wait till its all finished being designed. Its going to be so cute.

-I think Cumorah Credit Union has the stupidest online banking i have ever seen. Its so stupid, and i hate it so much.

-I'm really sad that I am not living in California right now with all of this Prop 8 stuff. I am really impressed with my friends and family who are all working so hard to preserve marriage. We are living in such crazy times, but I am glad that there are people who are seeking out the good and doing what needs to be done. Especially Beth for putting a bumper sticker on her car. WOW, that's dedication.

-Fresh&Easy, my favorite grocery store, has the same exact Tomato Basil soup as Provo's old love of mine, Hollywood Juice Cafe. I'm not kidding. Its EXACTLY the same, and it is so delicious. No bread bowl, no Parmesan, no crunchy won tons...but even then, so good that i could still eat it every meal. Plus its only got like 170 calories in one serving.

-Oh yeah, I'm a big calorie counter all of a sudden. Yeah, i know. Totally weird.

-Vegas is finally getting with the program and deciding to pretend to be fall. No changing leaves, but i did use my heater this weekend in my car. It smelled really bad, so i turned it off pretty quick...but still. It was on. I think it was even like 50 degrees! I can't wait 'till its acceptable to wear tights.

brutal. and so true...

I'm about to head off to the gym, but have been meaning to write down/store away/make a mental note of part of an email i received from one of my best friends Camilla. She got the email from her dad who is a fairly new General Authority. Its his thoughts and quotes from Elder Bednar, when he came to do some training a few weeks(? i think) ago in Texas....

just thought I'd share it here.

"if you don't have time (for prayer and scripture study) you are lying & deceiving yourself. Be more honest and say, "it is not as important to me now as other things i choose to do instead."

Just a tidbit of goodness that i probably need to read and remind myself of everyday. Thanks for sharing it with me, camilly.

Change

This afternoon i was given some cash and told by my boss i was going to be running him an errand. My mission was to get a couple of Obama/Biden yard signs and some Obama bumper stickers. I agreed even though I was a little concerned as to why my conservative boss wanted Obama paraphernalia. So off i drive to the Las Vegas edition of the Obama Camp. I pull into this regular looking business park to find that there isnt a car in the entire place that doesn't have a bumper sticker. I dont care who youre voting for, if you have a bumper sticker on your car youre nasty. ANYWAY, i go in to find TONS of grown adults. Old ladies, middle-aged men, twenty-something granolas and a handful of regulars. There were posters everywhere, people on laptops, others talking SO loud on the phone i couldnt even concentrate on my camera phone...lets just say it was a madhouse. At like 1:30pm.So a bunch of unemployed people are hanging out at the Obama Headquarters, tons of them. They want CHANGE. I got some advice...maybe they should stop sitting around calling registered Republicans on weekends, and start going on job interviews. That would be a good CHANGE i think.I left with 6 bumper stickers, 2 yard signs, and 2 propoganda posters with Obamas "obey" logo, all for 18 dollars. 50 cents per sticker, 8 bucks for the yard signs, and free posters (as long as they are put in a high traffic place). Good thing these Obama volunteers cant count cause i saved a dollar, SUCKAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!My boss is kind of mad i didnt bring the cardboard cutout back to the office with me. I asked how much it was and one guy said "oh i wish i could sell you that...Hell, i wish i could sell ME that!" really sir? what in the world would you do with a lifesize cutout of anyone, let alone a politician. People are so weird.these guys were having some sort of roundtable discussion on how great Obama is. The guy on the right in the gray shirt said "Really what it comes down to is this...Barack Obama is a genius"

I do want to say that i do not think that Obama is the anti-christ, or that I think the world will end if he is elected President. All im saying is, does he have to be so arrogant and pompous all the time? Whats with the smirk? Also i dont think anyone, even the President of the United States, or anyone running for it, needs an entire channel devoted to them on Dish Network...im just saying.

-oh and you'll find out what my boss wanted these for at a later date.

Oh Martha...

Last night after the gym (you guys i go like 4-5 times a week now! Are you so proud? I am), i went over to Michaels to see if they had any canvas on sale and grab some paint. Well i didnt leave with any art supplies, instead i stood in the Martha Stewart Craft aisle for a good 30-40 minutes just staring at it all and thinking up all of the amazing things i could create.
I bought this puppet kit for Jack. My sister helped him make it today. He had to do it when his little brother Lincoln was taking a nap, so its pretty obvious that my sister left him in his pajamas atleast until 1:30 or 2. Awesome Megan.
(i love him and his little corn teeth)

Adorable or Annoying?

I used to be obsessed with Abercrombie bags (highschool), and then it was picture frames (also highschool), and then it was big cocktail rings and pearls, or MAC eyeshadows...what im getting at is, i go through these phases of being totally obsessed with certain things. These days its hair accessories. Mainly huge ones.

Are they adorable or are they annoying? I mean i think they are adorable, and i will continue wearing them even if your find them annoying. 99% of the time i have some sort of accessory in my hair whether its a humongous flower or a subtle leopard print bobby pin. And the days i dont have anything, are the days where i braid a little half headband (think Jessica Simpson/Lauren of "the hills").
Anyway. What are your thoughts? I really want to purchase this Lou&Lee headband. I am obsessed with the netting.

question..

why do people buy Chevy Astrovans? UGLIEST CAR EVER MADE

I shouldnt be allowed to blog when

i took an Ambien 25 minutes ago with every intention to sleep and not to blog. But i just have to tell about my boring awesome weekend, so get ready. Hope this makes sense cause if it doesn't it will probably be funnier. here we go,....

General Conference.

OK so General Conference is always so good (duh), but lets be honest...8 hours of church can be boring (so i maybe have a self-diagnosed Attention Deficit problem, so what?). I mean that in the greatest way. It really is great. It could be way worse, i could be in church clothes for those 8 hours...which actually i did that on my mission and probably a few times when i lived in Utah...so its really not THAT bad but seriously people! 8 hours of church in pajamas? TOTALLY AWESOME. Even more awesome is that i watched 2 sessions from my bed...whoever the genius is who dreamed up the conference you tube thing is really amazing.

My personal highlights of conference (its really all great and hard to choose a few...)
-Elder Eyring's talk as well as the session he conducted. Can i get this man to sell textbooks on tape? I would surely learn more. That emotional voice, gets me every time.
-The little darlings singing one of my all time faves "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet", and also the little bossy redhead who was totally mean to the nice boy with his hand in his pocket. yeah buddy, we all saw it. IT WAS HILARIOUS.
-Sister Allred's talk on missionary work. I really enjoyed her talk last weekend at the Relief Society Broadcast and was pleasantly surprised to hear that darling little Costa Rican again.
-Elder Anderson's talk on building up Zion and helping each other out (helped feed my socialistic ideals in a more Christlike way, less obama way...so it was a good thing)

Friday night babysat my nephews for megan and justins 6th anniversary. They went to a Mexican restaurant at the Southpointe and then to Target, muy romantico. While they were gone i gave Lincoln a haircut (mullet), boys a bath, wiped jacks bum, read some books, snuck some of moms sugar cookies (im the cool babysitter) and then off to bed where sweet lincoln allowed me to snuggle him for a while. THE BEST. All kids sleeping soundly in their beds at 8, and i was free to paint these little guys while i had Joel McHale as my background boyfriend, and then maybe some Paris is my new BFF...don't judge me. There is a girl from EDH on it. and by Sunday morning it was totally complete, with an email back from the buyer saying "wow. this is rad." So i think i did good.The babies name is Magnus, and i am a fan. Its Sweedish, which is his dads heritage, and Magnus...that just sounds like a pretty kick-A name.

Sunday i tackled a couple more paintings. One that is 100% custom, its not done, she has secret symbols for me incorporate however i want...but all the colors, all the everthing...its all Lea.its a gift for new groom Rob, who is obviously dancing with her in the picture. I like now that i have color under my belt and i also really like that Lea knew exactly what she wanted so i haven't been worried about misrepresenting her.

The other painting is SO TEENSY SMALL and was able to knock that one out pretty quick tonight while watching the amazing race, desperate housewives and brothers and sisters (Ive got a lot of shows, i know, but i get things done too!) Its a little missionary just giving the regular cool guy missionary sign "hang loose" with his shades on. But those arent his legs. The picture was waist up so i had to do some google image seraching for "mens slacks"its small. i told you.

One more thing before i go to bed(i am so drugged on ambien right now that i am swaying, so this probably makes no sense....but here is the funniest SNL skit in years for your enjoyment.


just wait, the urine will start to flow if you watch it all the way through MAYBE a couple of times.

FNL fans without Direct TV

find last nights episode here

now i dont have to wait till february and nothing could make me happier today.

for my mom

I get by with a little help from my friends

The economy tanked, so did my etsy shop and my little painting business. That plus not being featured on any blogs or anything...hasn't helped. I haven't had an order in over 2 weeks. Just one fake order/scam from a guy wanting a painting of a girl he stalks that plays college basketball (don't ask).

If you want to help (i would love it! but its ok if you cant) you can do 3 things...

1. Buy a painting
2. Tell a rich friend to buy a painting; &
3. Add the button to my etsy shop to your blog or website. ( don't know how to post the code up to be copied and pasted without it just turning into the actual button and no code...so email me at shavs.lewis@gmail.com)

Thanks friends.

OH and those of you who do post the buttons get 15% off your order (before shipping)