There are times..

There are times in our lives when we have to remind ourselves that's its all going to be OK. That everything happens for a reason. Truly loving to me means being truly open.
Being open is a good thing.

Summer Girl

I took the Summer Girls Class. It was super affordable and I really like how easy it was to fallow. I used to buy online classes and not actually do them but now I try to learn as much as I can from them.  

My sister Angelica asked me to do a similar one like this one of her..I am excited to get started. I like how she turned out. She looks happy and whimsical. I like drawing making my girls look older right now. I felt like I was making a paper doll since I got to cut her out and paste her. I think maybe next time I will paste her on to a canvas instead of another piece of paper. Make and learn. 

Simple Sunday

Some days call for simplicity , today was one of them for me.

Paper Doll

Quick update..

Hi friends, Life over here is a little boring. I  have 8 weeks to go and I feel like I have 8 weeks to go. It might be a little slow here as I am feeling a little slow. I went to paper tales last week and took a class with Amy Tangerine. I felt inspired to start working on my photo album. It was so much fun. It  felt funny asking everyone to move every time I got up but I did not fit. I hope you are all doing well. I will check in soon.

Fathers Day celebration

Today was so much fun and I am sitting on my bed with my feet up excited to share my day with you. I spent most of the day with my dad. I picked him up and we went on a ferry ride from down town San Diego to Coronado. I love going on boats so I thought it would be fun for both of us. One of our favorite things to do before I was pregnant during the summer was go on a bike ride from my dads house to the ferry then across the bay for lunch and back. So since getting on the ferry was so much fun I wanted to do it again.  In Coronado we went to have lunch and an amazing Italian restaurant in Coronado. The pasta was so good. Then we saw Superman ( I did not really like it I do not like violent movies) but I love my dad so we saw it. We had a great day together. I am so lucky to have such a great dad . I love him so much. Hope you had a great day.

Gratitude

 A post on feeling Grateful

One of the things I struggle with the most is receiving gifts. I have so many confusing feelings when It comes to this. I have a really difficult time on my birthday because of the gifts and the attention.  I am sure there is some underlying reason why I feel this way and I am working on trying to figure it out. Its always hard to face our insecurities. There are people I feel God puts in our life to help us face certain parts of ourselves we need to work on. I have a girlfriend her name is Charlene and she gave me something as a baby present I would never would have done for myself. She gifted me a Belly photo shoot. She is a makeup artist and you can find her work here.

Loveloveloveit

I am shy when it come to having my picture taken..Charlene works with this photographer Alikay .

She was really sweet and it was easy for me not to be shy. She had a really good vibe about her. I had such a nice time.. I feel really grateful that my friend asked me to do this and I also feel very grateful. I guess its good to just close our eyes sometimes and say yes and Thank you. Thank you Charlene and Alikay for such a positive experience and I had a beautiful time.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” 
― Rumi

Summer Fun

There is a really safe place to take the kids Paddle Boarding in Carlsbad. Its run by the YMCA. The best thing about this place is there are no waves , its shallow and they cant get lost. All things that make this mom happy.

Christopher went all the around the Lagoon but my Bella stayed a little closer to me.

Next time we decided we are renting water bicycles. Two people per bike..Looks like fun.

I love the ages of 10 and 12 its fun because they are old enough to be independent but they still need me. The only thing about this age is they are starting to be independent of each other. You go this way so I will go that way sort of thing.

The best thing about the beach..
The bright Colors..

A quick stroll around town

We spent the afternoon yesterday in Hillcrest. Its one of my favorite parts of San Diego. We had dinner at the Burger Lounge. 

Then we walked around this cute little town. We went into American apparel and Urban Outfitters.. 

Ice cream

I heard this song this on Saturday and Its such a oldie but goodie. Just close your eyes and imagine flowing through the Sky holding his hand feeling all pink inside...eating ice cream..

So Very Happy

Happy Monday.. How was your weekend ? I would love to say mine was packed of fun stuff but we  mostly hung out at home watching movies.. We spent lots of time drawing and I cooked some what I thought were really good meals. The Last couple Saturdays I have felt so grateful just to be able to stay home and not drive.. A little boring but its working for me. Its funny how little traditions start working themselves into motion. In our house the biggest room is the master bedroom. It has enough room for me to have a table and set up my art stuff. As soon as I say I am going upstairs to paint my kids say I am coming mom. I love that there we are Isabella is on her I pad playing some creative game.. Christopher is usually reading or watching TV with me. We walk down stairs to go eat together and walk back up.. Let me say that we did go paddle boarding this weekend so I don't feel super guilty about staying home because we got out for most of Sunday. 

This is how I am feeling about me and painting . I feel like I am all over the place. I want to try it all. Collaging pieces and painting girls and I jus love it all. It certainly makes me feel insecure about my stuff. Am I supposed to have all my stuff look alike? Do I have a style ? Is it ok to want to try it all? Who knows? This weekend  I was thinking about something I just love and thats my camera for sure. So I felt like here I am on top of the world with my camera. So very happy ..It was the story I wanted to tell through my little painting.

She looks happy right.. I am feeling Happy and Grateful for what I have and for my ever growing belly..

Its Sunday

I wish I had lots to share but this week was full of lots of driving . I do not like driving anymore. My hips hurt and I am sure its because of how much weight I have gained.. Its OK because its only temporary. My little boy will be here before I know it and I will get to stay home with him and not drive...YEAH !!!

I did paint last last night and I will show you later today. 

Hope you have a nice Sunday.

Book Love

I am in Book Love. This is the prettiest book I have ever been gifted. I love the color and the feel of her paintings but the stories they tell about her are the so good too. She was a very interesting woman. I think Frida herself is the biggest inspiration of all. 

See Life in Color

See Life in Color
Sometimes its hard to stay positive and its easy to get caught up  in the yucky colors of life. This painting is to remind myself to see life in color.  I am finding out that really early morning is when I am feeling most creative. I used to love sleeping in but that has changed. I am enjoying the quite. Its so funny I like the quite when my kids are in our home sleeping but its not the same when they are gone. I am having a really nice time being a mom being pregnant having them spoil me and being creative..

So there you go my latest creation. Do not forget to smile today.

Fitness Goals for June

Hi..I went for a walk today and my dad went for his long run.  I have gained 35 pounds in the last six months. My doctor told me he wanted me to try and slow down a bit on the food situation. In my last three pregnancies I gained over 60 pounds. It has been over ten years since I was pregnant and I have been running for about 9 years so the last ten years my fitness level has been pretty high. Making it easy for me to eat anything I want. I love food. I do try to eat healthy but lets just say that I love all food. I would rather work out really hard and eat what I want than eat a low calorie diet and work out less. I am not saying that this is correct its just me. Whats different about this pregnancy is that I am 41. So I have decide that I need some fitness goals. To try and motivate myself to stay healthy for the next 12 weeks. 

I went on a three mile walk today and are you ready it took me 1 hour to walk 3 miles..Thats because I have not been exercising at all. I do not want to lose weight I am after all 6 months pregnant . I just want to get myself back to healthy. I am feeling lazy (cause I have been) and its hard to move around. 

I can do this. I do well when I set goals for myself. Having a blog  and sharing this will help me hold myself accountable.. I was really hesitant to share pictures of myself pregnant but this is me today.

Happy June First.

Good Morning we made it. We are now half way through 2013. I woke early today to work on this painting for a bit and have enough time to say good morning and go for a long walk before my kids got up. I am working on this piece and I love her. The thing that I like the most is that she is smiling. I feel like its getting easier to relax when I paint and I believe that's because I have been practicing more. I painted 4 girls in May that makes me smile. 

I am taking 2 online Classes right now that I am really loving and learning a ton from.
Danita's mixed media from the heart
True Free Spirit by Mindy

I want to share that before I would sign up for classes and not finish them and then feel guilty but now I am very selective and I really push myself to watch the video and practice. Once I get started I do not want to stop. I am also going to share with you my challenges for the this month.
Gloria's Goals
walk 3 miles 5 days a week starting today.
Finish 4 paintings
Read 2 books
Cook a homemade meal 20 days this month
( I will be kind to myself because I am moving this month and I am a bit larger than normal )
Have a wonderful day and Happy 1st of the month.

Sharing Memorial Day

Hi guys.. I have been reading my new book and spending time with people I love. I have been tired and so I have been sneaking in as many naps as I can. I wanted to share a couple pictures from my families memorial day. I feel really lucky to have a big family . I fought my entire childhood to prove to myself that I was worth keeping. (Its a long story..) The last two years I have finally felt like all those feelings have somehow just faded and thats because I have grown into my family. I have somehow learned to accept that I am worthy and that even though I am not perfect I am enough. Its weird how time is teaching me how grateful I need to be. I look at my mom different and I look at my nephews and nieces with such amazement. Ok so maybe I am nesting. I do think that for me having kids of all ages has for sure taught me that it goes by so fast since I am choosing to spend most of the time with my mom and taking care of my sister my family has become the center of my heart. ( the picture above is me on the left and my sister in law on the right.)

So my family and I spent the day at the bay. Its so perfect how little kids can be happy all day playing with a water bottle. It shows how its the little things.

My mom has 12 grandkids. They range from 3 to 18. This is my nephew..Its kinda crazy how my little brother has a 15 year old son. The weather was perfect in San Diego this is my nephew paddle boarding. Next year I will be in the water I am just to big right now. Did you see the picture of me up above. BIG comes to mind.

Don't you love this picture..My dad and my nieces..

Here you go.. This is my son playing frisbee.. I hope you like my pictures from this past monday. Have a wonderful day and I will be back.

Happy Monday

Happy Memorial Day to you. I am sitting in my living room with my coffee as my kids are sound asleep. I am just thinking about the fact that I will be moving shortly. In 25 days we will be in our new house that we just bought. I thought buying a house would feel so comforting but for some reason renting just seems like an easier task. I guess I always took for granted how easy  moving was in my past life. Someone else took care of all the paper work I took care of the house, this time I am much more involved and its  a-lot scarier than I imagined.  Being an adult brings so much responsibility . Our new house is about 1 mile from my moms house and my dads house. That brings me peace because I am close by. The coolest thing about this house is the back yard. Its huge and the neighbors behind our house have horses and Bella loves horses. It has a pool and a vegetable garden. I feel the most at peace and grounded when I am outside. The house is small but thats ok I have to much stuff anyway and I do believe that less is more. The kitchen is green and very 50s but in a cute way. It  reminds me of a doll house. I never thought we would get this house but the original buyers fell through and here we are. I hope I never move again after this. Here is the one good thing about getting a divorce ..You have to give the other person half so this time around it should be way easier. I only have half the stuff I used to have..
I started this painting yesterday.. I read this somewhere what do you want to paint? What do you want to see in your paintings. At this very moment I feel very pregnant and mommy. I feel like all I want is to be a good mom. Im sure it has to do with being 6 months pregnant but I feel very protective of my children. I wanted to paint something that represented all of the thoughts that are swimming in my head. Our new house the new baby and me trying my best to be a good mommy. So here it is...

There little initials are in each of the hearts.
C P J I
Together in our home. I honestly hope that I can always have a safe and happy home for them . I can only imagine we all want that for our kids. I am thinking that when I move in but not before I will write our new address around the canvas. This is going up in the new house. Im learning to accept with a smile all the wonderful things that seem to happen on my journey but what I am most grateful for is that I get to walk with journey with my kiddos. I adore being there mom.
Happy Memorial Day and be safe.

What you seek..

Morning.. Happy Saturday.. I am really excited about today. My dad is on his way over and we are going to Knotts Berry Farm. I cant really go on the fast rides but I can still enjoy myself. I got a new book yesterday and I have running on my mind. I miss it so much. I signed up for a couple halves last year and that fact that they are payed for is a great way to get myself motivated to start running.  The feeling I miss the most about running is when you start your run and your a little cold but your body is warming up and its really early so it feels like there is no one else out there. Love that feeling.  

Next year I hope to have many post that include doing what makes me the happiest.. Do you know what makes you super happy ? Sometimes its right in front of us we just have to see it accept and go with it. Have a great Saturday..

She Looks so Serious..

She looks so serious don't you think. I was feeling serious and  wishing I had a fox by my side all the time. If I could create my own world I would love to have him by my side as my companion all the time. My son asked me what my spirit animal was and I told him I was not sure but I thought a fox or an owl..He mama you spirit animal is a bird ..What kind of bird I asked him and he told me the kind that flies over me all the time to make sure I am OK.
I told him that sounded perfect. I love the cute conversations that come from something I painted. I added little flowers on her head  I think they make her look like royalty..I hope you are having a happy Friday. I am feeling really good lately. I am not to tired and that is a huge plus. 

Celebrating 12

We started out this morning by opening present and going out for Breakfast. Christopher was so excited to get his first electronic drum set and as we drove to breakfast I told him his dad and grandmother where waiting for us at breakfast to give him a huge hug.

The Birthday boy had a waffle with bacon and eggs..
Then we got in the car just christopher Isabella and I and drove to the happiest place on earth.

It started of kinda hot and there was so many people but as the day went on it cooled of and the longest we ever waited in line was 20 minutes.

We did a little bit of resting for me but for the most part we went on every ride he wanted to except for Matterhorn and Thunder Mountain where both closed...

I really do love the experience of Disneyland . I adore seeing my kids crazy happy  planning what ride we will go on next... I love thinking about the fact that at some point we get to go on my favorite ride Pirates of the Caribbean . I totally takes me back to being a little girl.

So much to do..

Everybody needed a break at some point. I think that celebrating turning 12 at Disneyland can be very successful . 

My favorite memorie from today was watching my kids skip in front of me as we made our way to the car...It was a good moment..