New Gerber Daisy Prints, too!

Coffee Lovers, Rejoice!

For some calorie-free, guiltless indulgence:

All prints are listed in my Artfire shop - Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did! :)

Christine

From Let Down to Turn-Around

Well, I'm a little bummed to say that, due to the weather (and therefore directly affecting the amount of 'idiot drivers' on the road) I canceled my trip into DC on Saturday and rather, spent it with my dear friend who is recovering in the hospital. The hope is that I'll make it to the Basilica sometime after work this week...we'll see...

On a more optimistic note: I got my Artfire shop linked up to my Facebook page(s)...it also motivated me to finally publish my Vance Studios Facebook page

In other events, I've started to do a "Makeover" on myself and my life! I signed up for a gym membership a few weeks ago, and I've been going NEARLY everyday since then...some days are harder to get there than others! But my short term goal is to regain about half of my wardrobe that's been 'off limits' for a long while...my long term goal is to drop thirty! I do have to remind myself every few days that the first thing is building muscle, losing inches, then losing the excess.

I've also decided to dedicate time to a local youth group. I'm no longer coaching soccer, so I have a whole in my life in more than one way...so I thought that it would be the best way for me to meet other young adults in the area AND to serve this group of high schoolers! I'm really looking forward to the adventure that is in store for me! :)

Well, I have some ideas for a few more prints to add...let's see if I can actually stay put long enough to get them done! ;)

Christine

Back in the Swing of it!

I've been a little bit of a slacker lately towards my art...and thus my blog! In my defense, I did spend all last week after work preparing my house for a surprise birthday party for two of my college friends! This week, I still haven't recovered from the lack of sleep...

I'm looking forward to this weekend...for one, I get to sleep in (YAY!) but I'm getting the Nikon back out (first time since the vacation!). I've joined a DC/Maryland/Virginia photography group and I'm going out for on outing! We're going to the National Shrine in DC (Not to be confused with the National Cathedral...that's in a few weeks!) I've been to the Shrine many times before, but mainly for the purpose of Mass...not photography! I'm really looking forward to the trip! Next Saturday, I'm going to the Bull Run Battlefields...it's actually really close to my house, and to think that I've lived in the Civil War Battleground State of Virignia for....far more years than I would like to remember...and I've never yet been to see them!

Hope to post and list some new prints this weekend! :)

Christine

Artfire Set-up

Wow! After almost THREE months of having a verified Artfire account (www.vancestudios.artfire.com) I have finally scrambled up the energy to FINISH my shop set up! This morning (slightly procrasting going to the gym!) I decided that I was going to add my banner, some categories, and 18 new prints! That's a good start, although I have a LOT more that I would love to get into the shop! I'm really excited to see where this update takes me from here!

Christine

La Rupublica Dominicana

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here...but after readjusting to being back in the States, here's some of my favorite vacation pictures:

My sister and I (I'm in the black dress) with a donkey in front of the fort in Puerto Plato.

The sunrise over the ocean...so peaceful and calming! The sun was WHITE when it came up, although it washed out this picture, it's still pretty!

This was the beach we were at all week! Those cabana beds, hammocks and chairs are REALLY nice! And the trees are Dominican Grape Trees! Such a wonderful place, it was HARD to come back to working in an office...

This is our villa...it's a three suite house!

No AC?!

So, it's been a great few weeks...the summer is getting in full swing. The sunshine. The 90 degree heat. Pools are open. And my 23 year old AC unit has died! I bought the home warranty when I bought my house last August...so I called and they sent someone out to look at it. Well, previous owners didn't take care of the unit, so the motors and fans are full of dust, dirt, hair...and who KNOWS what else. Since the malfunction is due to the lack of cleaning, the warranty I have is void! FABULOUS!

Last week, I came down with the flu...nasty fever, muscle fatigue and soreness, sleepy, sore throat, coughing, want to crawl in hole forever, kind of flu! Well, after getting my employee evaluation-based pay raise (supposedly, the evaluation determines the pay raise...my evaluation was great but I'm still a "below average" employee for pay raises?!) I thought that it was best to call in sick only if needed...aka, I'm dying and cannot drive! With the proper timing of dayquil doses, I wasn't feeling TOO bad, although I could feel when the fever returned!

And to make the whole (short, holiday) week even MORE fun, the AC at work broke too! So I only was getting cool air in my car...!!

I'm currently having a Buy One Get One Free on all my metallic 8x10 prints in my Artfire shop! (http://www.artfire.com/users/vancestudios) It's also helping get my prints out of the tropical heat of my house and onto your walls at a great price!