Life By Lindsey Rae

I did one coat of paint on the bathroom and my hand is hurt. I got blisters from the roller. Actually, it was hurting after only a few hours, even before I finished one coat. I don't know why it got bad so quickly. Maybe I'm gripping it too hard...too stressed out or something....!
I probably won't be able to work very quickly now...gotta take some breaks and let the had heal!
Painting can be a little exhausting anyway. I think because once you get going, you don't want to stop 'cause you and the brushes are already dirty. So then, you don't end up eating for a long time and then start feeling bad.

I also dropped a drawer on my foot today, so my hands and the feet both have problems right now.

Tonight I'm working on starting to paint a bathroom. The builder painted the house in one color, which was an upgrade (anything more than white is) but it is all in the contractor-grade, flat paint, so it does not stand up well to any moisture. Easy to touch up, but easy to mess up too.
So, we decided the bathrooms definitely needed to be redone, as well as the kitchen. After only 3 months, we already had some stains that show through that flat paint, so we need something that is more washable. I think I got some hair gel or something like that on the wall just after we moved in, and it wasn't possible to paint over it. It kept showing through. So, we also had to do some primer on those spots. Kind of a pain, but fixing it now and using a different type of paint will prevent those kind of things make it easier in the future.

We already did the master bathroom a few weeks ago and so now we are doing the guest bath. I thought I would keep the color the same in this bathroom, but at the last minute when I was buying the paint today, I changed my mind. That was quite amazing in itself, because I usually can't make a decision to save my life and I actually made one today.

I think these color chips aren't really that accurate from my recent experience...the paint always turns out lighter. Although, I had heard in the past that you should always expect it to turn out darker.

After this, I want to do the kitchen for sure to get rid of that flat paint and then possibly the dining room. But, the dining room mostly just to change things up a bit with a different color. I'm not looking forward to doing the kitchen though.....with all the cabinets there will be so much trimming to do and I am very, very picky about it. I just hate those uneven lines some people do. I am not happy with some of the spots in my own house. They should just be more careful! It's tedious but I do all edges with a small artists paintbrush. It's kind of crazy, I know, but at least it keeps it nice and clean...and that causes me much less stress later on.

(P.S. I'm not supposed to do any of my art painting inside...Jerrod thinks I'm going to get some on the carpet or something like this. So, this is the only painting I'm allowed to do in the house...I really don't see what the difference is.)

In the past, I wrote a bunch about the animal paintings at the Nashville Zoo that we bid on at the silent auction. I first saw them a few years ago and elephant paintings were the first thing that I saw that got me hooked on animal paintings. (We don't have an elephant painting yet...just the meerkat one. Although we did get one for Jerrod's aunt for Christmas).
But, anyway, most of them that I have seen are mostly just random brush strokes of colors...more abstract, that sometimes turns out to look like something recognizable.

I just saw this video on YouTube of an elephant doing a painting, and it is amazing. This elephant can draw better than a lot of people can. You must watch this!

I've been very neglectful in writing anything here in the past while. I have just been either busy, tired, both...or not feeling like doing anything. So basically, I guess what I have been up to recently is:
- Songwriting
- Painting, both a bathroom with Jerrod and an old cedar chest I acquired a few months back. (more on that disaster later.)
- Practicing some recording with my new at home set up
- Playing with my camera and starting to make some videos
- Thinking a lot about what to do for my Primary class
- Planning lessons and shopping and making things for my Primary class
- Reading
- Researching things I am working on for music, art, primary, etc.
- Hanging out with Jerrod
- Doing a little scrapbooking, here and there...
- Sleeping more than I want to and feeling not so great some days.
- And more or less of the usual...It all sounds pretty usual!

Two things actually.

First: The dollar! The Canadian dollar is actually worth something! Basically equal to the almighty American dollar. A few years back this would have been great news for me and SO helpful when I was getting my money for student loans and trying to convert my Canadian money to American. I could have actually not lost money on it. However, now that I am paying them back, with the American dollars that we make, it would benefit me a lot more if the US dollar were stronger, because I could get more out of every dollar I pay back.
Why does that happen like that? It's like totally opposite of what I needed. Funny how things can work out totally backward. And unfortunately, it's one of those things that nobody can do anything about.
But it's just crazy that a few years back we only got like $0.60 on the dollar and now they are practically equal!

Another thing that I finally did was paint! I have been thinking and scheming about these paintings I want to do for months now. I have changed my mind about 300 times about what I was going to do...what colors....what size...so much, that I was terrified to actually start something for fear that I would finish it and then think of something better after it was done. These are really important to me because I want these to be for a big wall in my living room and they are going to be a focal point of the room. So, I was so nervous about actually making a decision, since I had so many ideas; I couldn't figure out what it was that I really wanted.
But on Wednesday night Jerrod had to go to Florida for an overnight business trip, so I decided that this would be a good time to work on my paintings...in the house...in the living room. (What Jerrod doesn't see will not stress him out. haha) So, since I had the opportunity to make a mess, I was forced to finally made a decision. First,I got 3 canvases...on sale for $10 each, 30"x40". (When I am done my total size artwork size combined will be 90"x40" which will be really cool, 'cause that's huge.) I started, but then I got a better idea and changed my mind again! But I think I finally have it. And I am almost finished one of them! I think I could have got more done if I hadn't changed my mind about it in the middle. But, anyway, I was finally able to mix the one right color that I wanted and I am very excited about that. I tested it a bunch first and finally I got the perfect shades. Color mixing is very, very difficult. I got some good colors though and I am just so glad that I finally made up my mind about what I'm going to do so I can stop worrying about it. I really do drive myself crazy. I love being an artist, but sometimes I think it's a curse because it can make your head hurt. I really do understand why so many creative people had/have mental disorders.
I would post a picture of what I made, but I need to finish a little more first. I have to go buy a little more paint tomorrow, since I wasted more than expected while experimenting.